Synopsis
At a benefit dinner, community activist Maria Cervantes
overhears two men plotting a terrorist attack that could rock Miami to its
core. But before she can alert authorities, she’s almost killed in a massive
explosion—and wakes up in a hospital with no memory of what happened. As the
sole survivor of the attack, she is now a person of interest to the NSA—and
especially to Agent Cade O’Reilly. Because Maria is the one woman Cade has
never been able to forget.
Years ago, they were closer than either was willing to
admit—until Cade disappeared when Maria needed him most. Now he’s sticking by
her, whether she likes it or not. Because the memories locked inside her mind
could hold vital clues to the next attack. Because terrorists want her dead—and
because he never wants to let her go again.
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Giveaway
Excerpt
Forcing her
body to obey her when all she wanted to do was curl into a ball and cry until
she passed out, she got up. Cool air rushed over her exposed back and backside
as her feet hit the chilly linoleum floor. She wasn’t wearing any panties and
the hospital gown wasn’t covering much of her. She didn’t care.
Right now she
didn’t care about much at all.
Sometime when
she’d been asleep her dirty, rumpled gown had been removed from the room. And
someone had left a small bag of clothes on the bench by the window. No doubt
Nash had brought her something to wear. He’d been in to see her a few times,
but she’d asked him to leave each time. She felt like a complete bitch because
she knew he just wanted to help, but she didn’t care. Nothing could help, and
being alone with her pain was the only way she could cope right now.
Feeling as if
she were a hundred years old, she’d started unzipping the small brown leather
bag when the door opened. As she turned to look over her shoulder, she found
Nash, a uniformed police officer, and another really tall, thuggish-looking man
entering.
Her eyes
widened in recognition. The tattoos were new, but the thug was
Cade O’Reilly. He’d served in the Marines with her brother. They’d been best
friends and her brother, Riel, named after her father, had even brought him
home a few times. But that was years ago. Eight to be exact. It was hard to
forget the man who’d completely cut her out of his life after her brother died,
as if she meant nothing to him.
Cade towered
over Nash—who was pretty tall himself—and had a sleeve of tattoos on one arm
and a couple on the other. His jet-black hair was almost shaved, the skull trim
close to his head, just like the last time she’d seen him. He was . . .
intimidating. Always had been. And startlingly handsome in that bad-boy way she
was sure had made plenty of women . . . Yeah, she wasn’t even
going there.
She swiveled
quickly, putting her back to the window so she wasn’t flashing them. Reaching
around to her back, she clasped the hospital gown together. “You can’t knock?”
she practically shouted, her voice raspy from crying, not sure whom she was
directing the question to.
“I told them
you weren’t to be bothered, but—”
The police
officer cut Nash off, his gaze kind but direct. “Ms. Cervantes, this man is
from the NSA and needs to ask you some questions. As soon as you’re done, the
doctors will release you.”
“I know who
he is.” She bit the words out angrily, earning a surprised look from Nash and a
controlled look from Cade.
She might
know Cade, or she had at one time, but she hadn’t known he worked for the NSA.
After her brother’s death he’d stopped communicating with her. Her brother had
brought him home during one of their short leaves, and she and Cade had become
friends. Good friends. They’d e-mailed all the time,
for almost a year straight. Right near the end of their long correspondence,
things had shifted between them, had been heading into more than friendly
territory. Then after Riel died, it was as if Cade had too. It had cut her so
deep to lose him on top of her brother. And now he showed up in the hospital
room after her mom’s death and wanted to talk to her? Hell no.
About the Author
Katie Reus is the New York Times, USA Today, &
IndieReader bestselling author of the Red Stone Security series, the Moon
Shifter series and the Deadly Ops series. She fell in love with romance at a
young age thanks to books she pilfered from her mom's stash. Years later she
loves reading romance almost as much as she loves writing it. However, she
didn't always know she wanted to be a writer. After changing majors many times,
she finally graduated with a degree in psychology. Not long after that she
discovered a new love. Writing. She now spends her days writing dark paranormal
romance and sexy romantic suspense.
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