Callie’s mind holds the key to weapons of mass destruction, both nuclear and biological. As a child, she drew the attention of an obscure military branch who kidnapped and held her in the bowels of a Think Tank.
Following a daring escape, death and destruction dog her steps yet can’t diminish her determination in seeking justice.
Nate Crofton left his black-ops unit seeking a quieter existence as a private investigator. When an ex-teammate draws him into a web of tangled lies and betrayal, he can’t resist the young prodigy in need of protection.
Little does he know the blue-eyed enigma holds incredible secrets and can take care of herself, along with the team sworn to protect her.
Together, they rely on each other’s strengths to stay one step ahead of agents, both foreign and domestic, while navigating their growing attraction.
A must-read for fans of for fans of CM Sutter, Dale Mayer, Dean Koontz, LT Ryan, and Fiona Quinn.
Timing remained key to survival while the erratic, pounding pulse in her ears rivaled a snare drum’s buzz roll, an executioner’s beat. Before the adrenaline in her blood circulated again, she’d be free or dead, depending on which card destiny threw her way.
Crouched between Jake on the left and Franklin on the right, she took a deep breath and waited for the signal. Both men risked their lives to set her free yet asked for nothing in return.
“Whatever happens, don’t look back and don’t hesitate, regardless of what you see or hear,” Franklin issued orders per routine. Years in the military merged certain traits with his basic character. A glance at his watch then around the corner, he assessed the building’s front.
Wind shrieked through specimen trees dotting the courtyard and offered the illusion of cover. Neither would stop a bullet.
A shimmer of perspiration glazed Jake’s forehead. Steel in his gaze matched the resolve of his harsh whispers.
Jake gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “We’re in this together, Callie. This is our best shot. Let’s go. It’s time to set you free.”
Omission of flaxen-haired warbler attested to his degree of concentration. No quips, no banter, just streamlined focus.
Her mind defaulted to calculating estimated distances while factoring in wind resistance, depth of snow, and the time needed to reach the tree line beyond the fence.
The perimeter guard pulled up his collar against the frigid wind in passing. She wondered if he knew exactly who, and what, he secured.
Anxiety innervated and stimulated her senses, twisted higher by the potential for failure. Unable to distinguish between the urge to run or freeze, she was caught in a limbo of her biological making.
Static squelch of the second perimeter patrol’s radio faded with distance. Each circuit of the border yielded a like check-in. Stereo came from the electrical channel noise of a tower watchman’s walkie-talkie above.
Something felt— off.
The facility’s floodlights defined the unmistakable profile of the rooftop sentry. Light glinted off the barrel of his automatic rifle.
Seconds into her nightmare bid for freedom, an earsplitting siren blasted the silence.
Jake rushed forward with a stronger grip on her upper arm. Additional pressure compelled her to tap into unrealized energy reserves.
Her life changed in ten strides.
Franklin’s grip on her other arm convulsed before sliding to her wrist, then releasing. “Go, Jake. Get her out of here. I’ll hold them off as long as I can.”
Reily Garrett is a writer, mother, and companion to three long coat German shepherds. When not working with her dogs, she’s sitting at her desk with her fur kids by her side.
Author of chilling suspense and snarky romance, her stories span the distance of romantic thrillers, paranormal romance, and erotic romance. Regardless of genre, each book delves into a dark and twisted imagination yet is tempered with romance and a touch of humor.
Reviews by Kirkus Reviews, San Francisco Bay Review, and BestThrillers.com best describe her work:
“This could be James Patterson, Lee Child, and Tess Gerritsen rolled into one, but the dark, twisted methods used by the serial killer could surprise even those readers…” – San Francisco Bay Review
Jack Cassidy heads the team opening the next in an exclusive line of boutique hotels, this one in wine country. Working with his best friend’s sister should make it easier, tapping into her expertise about the area and its wines. The pair have been friends for years, so sharing an apartment shouldn’t pose any issues… except for the simmering heat building between them.
Campbell Taylor’s one of only a handful of women to battle the all-boys club and go for the title of master sommelier. She didn’t rise to her position by being a pushover, but living and working with her brother’s best friend – the man she’s secretly crushed on for years – might prove to be her greatest challenge. How can she get him to see her as more than Cameron’s little sister? And will their undeniable attraction derail her dreams?
They both stood and Campbell stumbled into him. Jack caught her shoulders in his large hands and her fingers splayed across his powerful hard chest.
She tilted her head back and their gazes locked. “Jack.” His name escaped on a long breathy sigh. Every inch of her was pressed against his chiseled body and a shiver rushed through her.
His eyes hooded and he yanked her closer. He slid his hands up to frame her face and lowered his mouth to hers in a whisper of a kiss. Sampling. Testing. Asking.
She answered. Her lips parted and their tongues tangled and stroked and sparred. He tasted like crème brûlée and heaven and how she’d always imagined his beautiful mouth would feel against hers. She slid her arms around his neck, thrusting her fingers into his close-cropped dark hair. A hum escaped her throat and she changed the angle of the kiss, teasing and tasting.
She dug her nails into his scalp. More. She wanted more of him. Needed more. His clean masculine scent, his powerful body, the overwhelming sense of him, was like a match tossed onto the fire raging inside her.
He growled, stroked his hands down her back, and cupped her ass, rocking her against the steel ridge of his arousal. He slanted his mouth across hers and took her deeper. The overhead lights and the rest of the world receded and all her focus narrowed down to their connection.
The heat blazed between them.
He pulled his head back, his breath ragged, his eyes closed, the dark lashes fanning out over his cheekbones. He lowered his head again and trailed kisses down her neck and found the tender spot in the hollow of her throat. Goosebumps erupted along her skin and her back arched, crushing her breasts against him. Her head lolled back, suddenly too heavy to handle the onslaught of sensation coursing through her.
“Campbell,” he rasped her name and the hint of stubble on his jaw felt like a rough cat’s tongue against her skin.
She shivered. “Jack.” She kept her eyes squeezed shut, unwilling to allow anything to invade this perfect bubble enveloping them.
A sharp chime sounded from a distance, piercing said bubble. For a moment, neither of them moved.
Claire Marti is an award winning and USA Today Bestselling author of swoonworthy Contemporary Romance novels set in Southern California, including the Pacific Vista Ranch series and the spin-off California Suits series. She lives in San Diego with her husband, silly dog, and two clever cats.
Claire started writing stories as soon as she was old enough to pick up pencil and paper. After graduating from the University of Virginia with a BA in English Literature, Claire was sidetracked by other careers, including practicing law, selling software for legal publishers, and managing a non-profit animal rescue for a Hollywood actress.
When Claire’s not writing, she’s teaching yoga. You can find her sixty+ online classes on the international website www.yogadownload.com. A breast cancer survivor, Claire is a sought-after speaker on the power of yoga and meditation. She’s been published in numerous magazines with articles on wellness and is the author of a memoir, Come Ride with Me Along the Big C, on her experience beating breast cancer. Claire loves to hear from readers!
I fell hard and fast for the son of an elite wolf pack. Then he rejected me.
Asher was my fated mate, and he took off when I needed him most, rejecting me and my inner wolf. Then my half-sister is murdered at an exclusive college that’s enshrouded in magic and secrets. When the school offers me a scholarship, I accept and move onto campus. I’m going to find out who killed her, then rip them apart. And if I run into Asher while I’m there? He’ll learn I’m no longer his sweet little thing. He’s about to taste the fury of a wolf shifter scorned.
Everly’s everything to me, but to protect her, I had to shove her away. If I go near her, the Drudge Pack will discover who she truly is. My father—their enforcer—will kill her. But when she shows up at Ravenmire College, my inner wolf hungers. I’ll do anything to keep her safe—even if that means sacrificing myself and betraying my dangerous family.
Asher stood beneath a long-needle pine. When I paused, he strode forward, letting the moonlight touch his gorgeous features. He cupped my face with his warm hands.
Likes him, my wolf sighed.
“Missed you,” he whispered.
“You, too.” My heart rate picked up to double time.
His lips captured mine, softly at first, then harder and with growing need.
I wasn’t sure where this was going between us, but I did know one thing. Cats might rule and wolves might drool, but Asher was my catnip. Whenever he touched me, I purred.
“Jeez,” Shorty groused through the screen door of the food truck behind me. “Don’t be doin’ any of that crap so close to my truck. Go on with you. Take a walk on the beach or something. Kids.”
Pulling away from Asher, I snorted out a laugh. I gazed up into his warm brown eyes that sparkled solely for me and held out my hand.
“Take a walk with me, Ash?” I asked coyly. He told me I was the only one who could call him Ash.
He took my hand and tugged me close, wrapping his arm around my waist and holding me against his warm frame.
Likes, my wolf sighed again. Likes him lots.
Asher guided me around the truck, across the sidewalk, and out onto the sand.
During the day, crowds of humans mobbed Old Orchard Beach. Once the sun had set and the tourists headed to their rented condos and hotels, the locals could breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy the quiet. And late at night, especially when the moon bathed the sky with her milky gaze, wolves like me and Ash could run.
I kicked off my shoes and shimmied out of my jeans and long-sleeve shirt—I wisely wore thin shorts and a tank underneath.
Asher watched, his smoldering eyes tracing my every curve as I moved. We’d come close to going all the way but hadn’t done it yet. I wasn’t sure why I resisted. He made it clear he wanted to. The heat simmering in my veins told me I did too. I guess I wanted to wait. We’d only known each other for a few months.
He had to leave for college soon, but he said he’d come back for each of his breaks. We had plenty of time to do things then.
“Shift?” he asked.
Yesss, my wolf sighed. She rose and stomped her paws, eager.
The first time I shifted, it felt like my skin turned itself inside out, ripping muscles, tendons, and breaking my bones to morph five-four, skinny old me into a gorgeous white wolf with steel gray tufts on her ears and the tip of her tail.
Go for it, babe, I told my wolf, stepping back in my mind.
She leaped forward, jumping into my skin.
Ash joined us, and I could feel his grin as our wolves touched noses then rubbed necks.
Likes so much, she said. She gave him a wolfy grin and raced toward the water, charging a wave and yipping with joy. He followed, only a bit more sedate.
When she kicked up her feet and ran through the shallows, he kept pace, nipping at her ruff and huffing with pleasure.
They ran for what felt like forever, and it recharged my soul. Shifting might turn me inside out, but it put me back together again after, making me brand new.
My wolf flopped on the sand and rolled, shimmying her back to scratch an itch. Asher’s wolf stood nearby, watchful. As protective as Ash.
Time’s up, I finally said. She’d run and play with him all night long if I let her. I wanted to, but Ash would leave for college in three days, and I needed to be with him more than I wanted to breathe.
We morphed back.
Ash gathered me into his arms. His kiss drank me in as the final push settled, turning me back into what I was before. My wolf changing back to me. His wolf into him. Us.
I moaned, pressing myself fully against him.
We eased apart, and he took my hands with that special gleam in his eyes he shared solely with me.
Things couldn’t get any better than this. Sometimes, I dreamed we were fated.
A feeling I couldn’t define sped across my skin, leaving goosebumps behind. I told myself it was nothing. The wind with a hint of the crispness of fall. A bit of stray magic lingering in the air.
It couldn’t be us. Nothing would come between me and Ash.
Marty writes young adult fiction with plenty of suspense and romance, plus a touch of humor. When she’s not dreaming up ways to mess with her character’s lives, she works as an RN. She lives in New England with her husband, three children, three geriatric cats, and a spunky Yorkie pup who keeps her on her toes.
She also writes adult contemporary romance and romantic suspense under the pen name, Marlie May. Marty/Marlie was a 2018 RWA ® Golden Heart ® Finalist in contemporary short and romantic suspense.
