Excerpt!
He stopped and shook his head. “No, sorry. Señor Vargas should have asked to talk to me by now. I’m trying to come up with why, and I think better when I move.”
“Maybe he’s busy with something else,” she suggested.
One side of his mouth quirked up. “That’s on the mental list.”
“Along with a dozen other items,” Nyx said, trying to ignore the way that sort-of smile made her heart beat faster.
“At least that many.” Lurch didn’t relax, but some of the tension left his face and it made his lips soften. She found herself wondering what it would feel like to kiss him. Really kiss him, not that fake goodnight brush of lips they’d done last night.
Clearing her throat, she got to her feet and stood in front of him. “What do you need me to do? I want to help.”
“You’re doing what I need—following orders, and not becoming overly emotional or demanding. That helps more than you realize.”
Nyx nodded. She understood more than he knew. Her dad told her all the time that emotional reactions got people killed. He’d also trained her to obey orders when the situation warranted it. Like now. Her dad would expect her to listen to Lurch, to follow his lead. And she would. If she came up with a plan to get them out of here, she’d run it by him. If he told her it wouldn’t work, she’d do more thinking.
What she wouldn’t do was go rogue.
“You’re in charge,” Nyx assured him, wanting him to understand she wouldn’t be a bigger liability than she was already. “You’re the one with experience. If we need research done, then I can take over. Grad school taught me my way around a library.”
Lurch smiled and Nyx nearly sighed. It was a good thing he didn’t do that often, or she’d be in big trouble.
“Thanks. I’m aware you like to call the shots.”
How did he know that?
His smile broadened. “Fireball, I realized the first time we met that you were strong-willed. It’s one of the things I appreciate about you.”
It was Nyx’s turn to smile. “As I recall, it irritated you when we met, not something you deemed a virtue.”
“You’re wrong,” he said. “If you’d walked away when I glared, I would have forgotten about you.”
Was he implying that he hadn’t put her out of his mind? Or was she reading too much into it because she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him?
Lurch’s hands went to her hips, and he pulled her closer. Although he seemed to be looking at her, his gaze was to his right. The balcony. One of the guards was peering in the window. Damn, she was glad he was cognizant of what was going on around them but disappointed that his touch was for show. Nyx put her hands on his shoulders and tried for an adoring expression.
“Our relationship will never be dull, since you like issuing orders, too.” Nyx forced the teasing tone in case he’d missed a microphone, but fear had returned. Her life literally hung on the whim of a drug lord.
In the treacherous world of covert operations, Special Forces Sgt. Case “Lurch” Lundquist thrives on danger. Undercover as a gunrunner, he dances on the razor’s edge, avoiding rebel forces who hunt him relentlessly. But when his mission jeopardizes a woman’s life, he breaks the rules to protect her.
Nyx Templeton is no damsel in distress—usually. But this time, she’s out of her depth. She doesn’t trust the rugged mercenary who steps in, until she recognizes him from a picture she saw years earlier. He’s her brother’s best friend. She remains quiet, knowing one wrong word could cost him everything.
Case battles to stay focused, but Nyx is a distraction. When she boldly asks him to cash in her V-card, he can’t resist. It’s not just a yes—it’s a hell, yes!
But in the high-stakes game of arms dealing, every edge counts. Nyx unwittingly becomes a pawn, and Case must navigate a deadly web of betrayal to keep her safe. As shadows close in, their love becomes the ultimate weapon—one that could save them both or destroy everything they hold dear.
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Patti O'Shea's passions are writing, airplanes and traveling. Fortunately, she's been able to enjoy all three. After receiving a degree in advertising copywriting, she took a job with a major U.S. airline and now works in 757 Engineering. Besides teaching her about the planes she loves, it's given her an opportunity to travel to places like Australia, Papua New Guinea and Canada's Yukon Territory.
Writing, though, remains her primary love. Patti created her first romance when she was in junior high school and has been hooked ever since. She should have figured out she was a writer years earlier, however, since her dolls had such involved lives, complete with goals, motivation and conflict.
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