He's
one of the smartest, the best ... and the baddest.
Since
Dane achieved his lifelong dream of becoming a Navy Seal, his life has been
packed with action ... but now he wants more. Especially after seeing several
of his friends find something – someone – special.
On a mission hunting a
chemical weapons terrorist, Dane runs into a captivating woman, and everything
about her touches his deepest needs. But the circumstances are suspicious, and
he can’t determine whose side she’s on.
Marielle came to Germany
for a short busman’s holiday, only to end up running away from the very man she
came to see, and into the arms of a man she knows she’ll never be able to keep.
As their
situation slides from bad to worse to desperate, their lives are on the line.
And so are their hearts.
Buy links:
Amazon
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Excerpt 1:
So why had she come?
Finally she admitted the answer. Curiosity.
He wanted to know what she was doing and how it related to his work. And likely how it might be of interest to his
employers. She knew he was teaching here in Germany as well as doing cutting
edge research on similar types of chemicals. But he worked in weapons research.
And that was something she couldn’t handle herself. But she felt compelled to
find out what he was doing and for whom. Had he changed so much that he’d
create weapons to be used against his country?
She wanted to know but at the same time, she didn’t. What
would she do if she found out something unnerving? Unless it was to warn her
own country that this type of thing was further advanced than anyone thought it
was.
Not that anyone would listen.
Still, if the opportunity presented itself, she’d find out
what Michaels wanted – and what he was up to – if she could.
As she turned around to head back into the garden, unable to
forget what was going on beside her, the phone rang. There he was. She smiled.
“Hi, Professor. Where are you?”
“I’m coming over,” Professor Michaels said. “You up and
awake?”
“I’m both.” She glanced out the window for the dozenth time
to stare at the house beside her. “When?”
“I’m here already,” he said. “I’m outside and walking toward
the front door.”
The house was huge, so it took a moment to reach the front
window and look out. He was indeed coming her way – and he’d been coming
from the direction of the house beside her.
The house where the intruder had jumped over the wall into
the back yard.
Odd. Then maybe he’d come from the house on the far side.
But at least now she could tell him what she’d seen, if he didn’t already know.
As she watched him sneak a look behind him and quicken his pace, she wondered
just what the hell was going on.
She opened the front door for him.
His face lit up. “Marielle,” he called out. “How good to see
you.”
He rushed inside and closed the door. “How are you?”
All the right words were coming out but the tone was off.
Too forced. Too fast. Too jovial. And his eyes swelled as if searching the room
around her.
“I’m fine,” she said, studying him careful. “What’s going
on?”
His feigned surprise finished setting off her bullshit
meter. “Nothing at all.” He motioned at the house next door. “There just
appeared to be some odd goings on over there.”
“I thought that was your house,” she said, quietly walking
back to the kitchen to retrieve her coffee cup.
“No, not at all. I’m several houses over,” he said glibly.
Too smooth. And that information didn’t jibe with the information she knew
already. In fact, it was just different enough, she wondered why he was lying.
What the hell was going on?
Excerpt 2:
The plane landed as she was waking up and rubbing the sleep from
her eyes. She stared out the window in confusion. Uhm, she didn’t know what
time it was, but it surely could not have been time for a transatlantic flight
like she’d expected. And neither did this small, flat, rundown airstrip look
like an international airport.
Where the hell was she?
With Masters’ cage gripped tight in her hand, she turned to
look at the men.
Only they were all geared up. Fear shot through her. What
had happened? Why hadn’t they said something to her? Masters meowed in his
cage. She dragged the cage onto her lap and curled up in the corner, trying to
still the panic in her stomach.
The only good thing was she was feeling relatively normal.
The headache was still there but less a pounding than a dull ache. But…she
stared outside in the evening light and wondered what the hell she was supposed
to do here.
And where was Dane. He should have explained what was going
on long before now.
“How are you feeling?” Dane stood in front of her. His gaze
deep, assessing.
“Fine,” she said, her voice trembling despite her best
attempts to keep it firm. “Where are we and why?”
“We’re in Italy. Our flight was diverted as we were given
new information.”
She nodded as if she understood, but in truth, no one could
understand anything given the little information he’d given her. “And me? Where
am I going?”
“That’s possibly a choice. In theory you’re supposed to go
to a medical clinic on your own where the US Embassy will contact you.”
“What?” She blinked, trying to understand how it was she
went from being a protected casualty to a don’t-need-dumped-at-the-next-stop,
person.
“I see,” she managed in a calm, slightly strangled voice.
“Then I guess I’d better grab my things.”
“Or…”
She stopped in her attempt to put Masters down on the seat
beside her so she could stand up. And twisted to look at him. “Or?”
“Or you stay here with the pilot.”
“That’s a hell of a choice.” She eyed him. “Is it safe?”
He nodded.
“Is it a good idea?”
He nodded. “If you want to. Unless you have friends who want
to deal with the embassy or a family support system in Italy, about two hundred
and forty miles from Rome, then stay.”
Not likely. She studied his carefully blank face and knew
what her next question had to be. “Am I allowed to stay on board?”
He shook his head. “Not likely. We’re not asking for
permission. You’re here. They know that. We’ve been diverted for an excellent
reason. Makes sense that they’d know you’re still here.”
“But?” There was more to this.
“It’s your choice.” He turned and joined his team at the
back of the plane, leaving her stunned and confused.
Did he want her to stay? He implied as much. No, he implied
she should stay. Not that he wanted her to stay.
Determined to get to the bottom of this, she stood up and walked to where the
men were, only they were exiting faster than she could reach them. By the time
they were there, Dane was getting ready to close the door, locking her in.
“Wait,” she called out. “I thought you said I could leave.”
He gave her a crooked grin that did crazy things to her
heart and said, “I lied.”
And he shut and locked the door behind him, locking her
inside.
With a smile on her face.
She glanced back at her work then out to the hallway. “I
don’t know what I can do. I can’t destroy the information as it is kept on
servers I can’t access. They have backup files everywhere.”
“Right. So maybe give it to the source that might be able to
help.”
She sent him a wry glance. “You mean the government.”
He shrugged. “I know they have a bad rap in many ways but
they aren’t all bad, and they are trying to save lives. Our soldiers’ lives.”
“I’m not sure what I’m allowed to do,” she said quietly. “I’ll
need to talk to my Ph.D. committee and see what their understanding is with
Tenesco.” She rubbed her temple.
“I can’t see Tenesco liking any government interference.”
Then his voice changed as he added, “Unless it’s a government contract as their
money is good and the contracts lucrative.”
She blinked. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“But we’d have to make sure the company isn’t behind the
deaths or the espionage.”
“Lord, I hope not. I’ve really enjoyed working here. Thought
they were honorable. But there are always a few people who are much less so.
But maybe the old owners were and after the takeover, not so much.”
“Or the reverse. Nothing can be determined right now. In
fact, I think we’ve been here long enough.” He stopped and cocked his head. “Is
there a back way out of the building?”
“Actually there is,” she said in surprise. “I used to use it
to avoid a coworker.”
He stilled. “What coworker?”
“Dave. He had a thing for me and wouldn’t take no for an
answer.”
“Why haven’t we heard about Dave before?” He tried to tone
down the harsh tone, but it was damn hard when he was only just now getting
this information. Cell phone in hand, he was already texting his team. “What
was Dave’s last name, when did he work here, what was his relationship with the
rest of the company?”
Startled, she gave a half laugh. “It was nothing, honest. I
have no idea what his relationship was here, but he was gone months and months
ago.”
“Before the day is over, we’ll know,” he said. “Let’s grab
what you need and leave. We’re late.”
“Late for what,” she asked in bewilderment. “Where are we
going?”
“Out. We’ve been here too long.” And instinct was screaming
at him to run. Now. He peered into the hallway while she packed up her laptop.
“We need to go,” he snapped, turning back to find out what
was taking her so long.
She was back at her desk and clicking buttons. Then she
pulled out drawers to collect her belongings. She grabbed up the pages she’d
collected off the floor and stuffed them into her bag.
“Hurry.”
“I’m almost done,” she cried softly. “It needs another
minute.” She stared up at him, her eyes huge orbs. “What’s wrong and why the
panic now?”
“Instinct,” he said in a clipped voice. “And we’re going, now.” He grabbed her arm and led her out the door still
protesting. “Which way to the back exit?”
Finally, as if understanding the urgency driving him, she
turned to the right, the opposite direction Candice had gone and said, “This
way.”
About the author:
Dale Mayer is a USA Today bestselling author best known for
her Psychic Visions and Family Blood Ties series. Her contemporary romances are
raw and full of passion and emotion (Second Chances, SKIN), her thrillers will
keep you guessing (By Death series), and her romantic comedies will keep you
giggling (It’s a Dog’s Life and Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy series).
She honors the stories that come to her – and some of
them are crazy and break all the rules and cross multiple genres!
To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many
different fields with books available on resume writing, companion gardening
and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials
Series. All her books are available in print and ebook format.
To find out more about Dale and her books, visit her at http://www.dalemayer.com. Or connect with
her online with Twitter at www.twitter.com/dalemayer
and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dalemayer.author.
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