This blog is for those 18 and older.

Sunday, October 4, 2020

For a Limted Time Only! ~ PETS IN SPACE 5 ANTHOLOGY ~ Coming October 6th

PETS IN SPACE 5 ANTHOLOGY 

~ 12 Original, Never Before Released Stories ~ A Portion of First Month's Proceeds Donated to Hero-Dogs.org (a non-profit that supports our Veterans and First Responders)


Release Date: October 6th, 2020

Pets in Space® 5 authors are:  S.E. Smith, Michelle Diener, Veronica Scott, Pauline Baird Jones, Laurie A. Green, Carol Van Natta, Regine Abel, Alexis Glynn Latner, JC Hay, Kyndra Hatch, Cassandra Chandler, and Leslie Chase

 PETS IN SPACE® 5 ANTHOLOGY BLURB:

It’s time for an escape! Pets in Space® 5 is back for the fifth amazing year! Escape to new worlds with twelve of today’s top Science Fiction Romance authors. They have written 12 original, never-before-released stories filled with action, adventure, suspense, humor, and romance that will take you out of this world. The giving doesn’t stop there. For the fifth year, Pets in Space® will be donating a portion of the first month proceeds to Hero-Dogs.org, a non-profit charity that supports our veterans and First Responders. If you are ready to forget the world around you and make a difference while you are having fun, grab your copy before it’s gone!

PETS IN SPACE® 5 STORIES

The King's Quest

A Dragon Lords of Valdier Short Story

by S.E. Smith


A quest to save his world leads a King to a Goddess.

King Tamblin, ruler of the Kingdom of Glitter, prepares for battle after the aliens foretold by his sister, Tia, return to their world. He will stop at nothing to prevent the creatures from decimating the small moon again. Yet, there is little he or the Kingdom of the Sand People can do to stop the invasion. Their last hope for survival rests on his shoulders when Tia insists he journey on a quest to find the beautiful and mysterious Arosa, Queen of the Wood Fairies, and ask for her help.

 Arosa, considered a Goddess on many worlds she visits, is stunned when a playful trick to entertain the Dragonlings of Valdier turns her life upside down. She never expects to feel the strange yet exhilarating emotions that Tamblin stirs inside her. Her kind were supposed to observe other species, not fall in love with them!

 Attempting to keep her distance, Arosa assigns a small bat to guard Tamblin, just for her own peace of mind, but it isn’t long until the bat alerts her that Tamblin is in danger, and Arosa realizes that she will break all the rules to protect him.

 Arosa can admit to herself that she loves Tamblin, but will the King return her feelings when he discovers that she is more than just the Queen of the Wood Fairies—that she has the power to not only save his world, but create entire galaxies?


DARK AMBITIONS

A Class 5 Novella

by Michelle Diener

A hostage situation gone bad leaves a human woman and her new furry friend to rescue her alien teammates.

It's been months since Rose McKenzie was taken far from Earth. She's trying to make a place for herself amongst the Grih, with help from her Grihan lover, Captain Dav Jallan, and the dangerous and loyal Sazo, a powerful artificial intelligence who's integrated with an infamous Class 5 battleship.

When Rose gets the chance to join an exploration team going down to collect information from a planet in Grihan airspace, she jumps at the opportunity to stretch her legs and breathe some real air.

But someone is already on the planet—the Krik—and they don't want anyone to know what they're up to. The Krik are the chaos agents of the United Council, often riding the edge of the law or over it. They ambush the exploration team and take them prisoner, but they don't realize they didn't get everyone. They didn't get Rose.

With Dav, and his spaceship the Barrist, lured away by a distress signal, Rose and Sazo, along with a furry friend Rose has made, are the exploration team's only hope at rescue. And Rose never leaves a friend behind.


STAR CRUISE: RETURN VOYAGE

The Sectors SF Romance Series

By Veronica Scott


His darkest secret is her worst nightmare but might save her life when an old enemy from her past shows up on the RETURN VOYAGE…


Gianna Nadenoft is a reclusive survivor of one of the worst interstellar cruise ship disasters in the history of the Sectors. Now a renowned artist, she hasn’t left her home planet in decades, not since returning there after the wreck as a traumatized three-year-old. With her service animal at her side, she’s going to attempt to travel across the star systems to attend her brother’s wedding and reunite with her fellow survivors.

 Trevor Hanson is a security officer aboard the cruise liner Nebula Zephyr with his own traumatic past as a former Special Forces soldier and prisoner of war. He’s assigned to provide personal protection to Gianna during her time aboard the ship but soon finds his interest turning from professional to romantic.

 Onboard the Nebula Zephyr, powerful enemies are watching Gianna and making plans to seize this rare opportunity to gain access to her and the secrets they believe she’s still keeping about the wreck. Can Trevor overcome his personal demons and rise to the occasion to save Gianna from the danger waiting on his ship, or will she slip through his fingers and suffer a terrible fate deferred from her last disastrous voyage?

 

GENERAL’S HOLIDAY

Project Enterprise Series Story

By Pauline Baird Jones


A General wanting an adventure gets more than he bargains for when a lady with a pet frog asks for help. 


A lady, a frog, and the General that wanted to be Picard…

 General John Halliwell, Commander of the Project Enterprise Earth Expedition, has spent most of his time in the Garradian Galaxy being shot at and shooting back. When a mysterious and intriguing lady arrives on Kikk asking for some non-shooting help, he is intrigued enough to listen.

 All Naxe has ever known is a life of hiding and providing. With the end of the war, freedom still feels further than ever. Determined to end the stalemate that threatens her people, she will break all the rules—even the one where she asks General Halliwell for help.

 Of course, she should have known better. Trouble—and the shooting—starts the moment she brings the general and his team to the Scoyfol ships. It won’t matter that the enterprising General Halliwell is the first man to remind her she is a woman if they are dead! Is it possible to end the stalemate, survive the shooting, and still find a happily ever after? 


JUGGERNAUT

The Inherited Stars Series

By Laurie A. Green

When a top-secret site is threatened, a security commander must decide if she can trust a mysterious stranger and his bioengineered StarDog to help her root out a dangerous spy.


Lieutenant Commander Dekessa “Dek” Garr is second-in-command of a security force that protects a discovery buried deep inside an ancient lava tube. The implications of the find are staggering, and the stakes are high if their enemy—the Alliance—ever learns the truth about Site D. When her commander suddenly departs with zero warning and a mysterious visitor arrives, her job becomes a whole new level of complicated.

 Sno Telon has an exercise to perform, and he isn’t about to let anyone stop him--including the dedicated acting commander known as Dek. But when his partner, CaSandra, a bioengineered dog-cat-weasel-mongoose, takes an immediate liking to the team leader, Sno realizes there’s much more to the woman than harsh words and hard scowls.

 When Dek is attacked by an invisible foe who infiltrates the off-limits excavation, she immediately suspects Telon as the obvious culprit. But her interrogations of the man don’t go as planned and an unlikely bond forms between them as they reach a startling conclusion. Could the invisible perpetrator actually be an Alliance spy who’s about to blow open the secrets of Site D?

 Can Dek trust Telon and his StarDog partner to help root out a possible Alliance operative, even if it means breaking every security protocol in the process? If her instincts about Telon are wrong, Site D could be lost forever…as well as her life.


GALACTIC SEARCH AND RESCUE

Central Galactic Concordance Series

By Carol Van Natta


When disaster response turns deadly, can two star-crossed Galactic Search and Rescue responders fight their own agency—and their feelings for each other—to save the day?


Rescuers Taz and Rylando can’t let their forbidden attraction get in the way of saving lives. When a planetary disaster turns deadly, can they save an entire town... and each other?

 Subcaptain Taz Correa, telekinetic talent and first-responder in the military’s underfunded and overworked Galactic Search and Rescue division, hides her unprofessional attraction for teammate Rylando and his unorthodox team of animal assistants. When catastrophe strikes a politically important town, Taz, Rylando, and his animals are the only rescuers left to respond.

 Subcaptain Rylando Dalroinn loves his telepathic connection to his animals, but wants a heart connection with teammate Taz. Unfortunately, not only is it against the rules, but he doesn’t know how to tell her. And in GSAR, rescue missions always come first.

 Kaz lives her worst nightmare when trapped underground with the animals in a hidden room set to blow sky high. Everything Rylando loves is in peril, and now he’s at the mercy of people who aren’t just victims.

 If Taz, Rylando, and the animals can’t find their way to save each other fast and neutralize the threat, the whole town will become a disaster statistic.



REAPER

Xian Warriors Series

By Regine Abel 


Can love exist between a genetically engineered warrior and the beautiful, but scarred woman he rescues?


She survived against the odds...

Janelle’s life is defined by the small, underground research base she has always called home. Imprisoned for twenty years after the base was bombed, she and the few Creckel survivors are running out of time as the last of their resources are depleted. With no hope for rescue, she and her companions wait for the dreaded Reaper to finish what the bombs missed.

Reaper, a half-human, half-Kryptid, is part of the Vanguard—an elite peacekeeping force determined to help the survivors left behind by war. New intel leads him to a remote research base where he discovers Creckel survivors—and a lone human woman named Janelle.

 Janelle’s life hasn’t prepared her for the breathtakingly stunning, genetically engineered warrior. His words, filled with impossible promises, make her believe there is a place for her somewhere in the vast universe—with him by her side. Is it possible that dreams can come true, or will guilt for another man’s deeds shatter her new hope?



PASTFINDERS

Starways Series

By Alexis Glynn Latner


A stupendous discovery in an alien archaeological dig leads to love between a psychic xenoarchaeologist and the bureaucrat overseeing the dig, and now the past will abruptly change the future. 


With a little bit of luck….

Mercury Chancer came to the planet Tellus as a member of an archaeological team investigating ancient alien ruins. The archaeologists have to work fast because a terraforming flood will soon put the ruins under water, but Mercury isn’t worried. She has a psychic gift that changes the laws of probability, bringing her accidental luck which should help the team.

Boerdelim “Haze” Tel-Hazon works for the Office of Planetary Protection. An official visit to the dig site leads him to Mercury—and a strange, shapeshifting alien animal. Haze is shaken when a long-forgotten trauma from his past comes alive. With Mercury’s luck and the help from a sympathetic alien animal, he just might survive!

Just when Haze didn’t think things could get any worse, the archaeologists make a stupendous discovery—and greedy enemies take notice. When the archaeologists prove they are not the defenseless scientists they pretend to be, Haze has to wonder—will flood, foes, and the resurgent past defeat them, or will luck and love win the day?


MITTENS NOT INCLUDED

TriSystems: Smugglers Series

By JC Hay


She’s everything he’s tried to forget and makes him everything he wishes he could be. 


Three little kittens have lost their way…

Layth Ali thought he was happy. On board the Sentinel of Gems, he is allowed to run the medical bay as he sees fit, and the crew appreciates his talents. Most importantly, the smugglers don’t ask him questions about his past, or pressure him to leave his self-imposed exile. But when a new passenger and her precious cargo get dumped into his lap, it’s all he can do to deflect her incessant questions and keep her at arm’s length.

 Meja Aquarone knew she was courting trouble when she stole a litter of kittens from the lab where she worked, but she refused to allow their perceived flaw to become a death sentence. Now she’s on the run, hoping that the crew of the Sentinel can smuggle her someplace safe without her employers finding her. She wasn’t expecting to find someone on board who understood the tiny creatures, or who shielded his compassion behind a wall of spiky indifference, but ten minutes with the ship’s doctor leaves her curious to know more.

 Forced to go to the one place Layth swore never to return, the walls are closing around them. With a corporate bounty on their heads, and three cats becoming increasingly difficult to hide, Layth and Meja have to decide – what are they willing to sacrifice to gain the safety they desire? And is that protection worth being alone?



FINDING MOGHA

Before The Fall Series

By Kyndra Hatch


Can a common goal bring an unlikely pair together?


Dani Myers is on the run and running out of time. Her discovery of a young Korthan Hellhound in a lab sends her on a desperate mission. The pup isn’t some obscure test animal; it is a sentient Mogha that can speak. The last thing she needs as she tries to save the creature is to have her ship shot out from under her.

 K’vyn doesn’t hate all humans, just the ones that won’t cease terraforming Korthan worlds. Their disregard for life has driven his people to the brink of all-out war. When a human supply freighter shows up in Korthan territory near the beloved Mogha home world, he is duty bound to rid the galaxy of another human ship. A distress call as the ship crashes creates an unexpected soul-deep pull inside him.

 Dani’s decision to smuggle the Mogha called C’hase back to his home world might not have been her smartest move, but she felt she had no choice when she overheard plans to terraform the animal’s home planet. Now, without help from the Korthan who shot her down, she’ll never be able to warn the Mogha inhabitants of impending doom.

 She isn’t sure which surprises her more after she crashes on an unknown planet—the fact that she is still alive, or the mutual attraction between her and K’vyn, the Korthan who did the shooting. Is it possible a Korthan and a human can work together to save C’hase and the Mogha home world, or will they be caught between those that want to terraform and the Korthans determined to save the Mogha from extinction?



RATE OF RETURN

The Department of Homeworld Security

By Cassandra Chandler


An alien warrior must make a choice between his mission and the human woman who is his bond mate.


Kimmy loves being co-owner of the only pet parlor in the county. She has always been serious when it comes to taking care of animals. Any kind of animal—except maybe the two dogs fighting in her yard in the middle of the night. The canines she is familiar with don’t have tentacles, glow, or change into one of the hottest guys she has ever seen.

Serac is intrigued by the courageous Earthling that ran to his aid, wielding only a primitive weapon called a ‘broom’. He and his adorable, six-legged pet aren’t mythical beings. They are aliens—and they aren't alone. He needs to stay focused, but focusing is impossible when Kimmy accidentally imprints with the Lyrian pet he is supposed to deliver. To complicate matters further, his zyln, the elemental spirit that lives within him, is just as enamored with her as he is, plus his ex-partner is determined to capture her for his own nefarious ends!

With billions of sentients throughout the galaxy depending on him, Serac’s mission has to come first. If he walks away from Kimmy, he knows he'll leave his heart behind. But will he be leaving her in the hands of his ex-partner?



GLITCH

Crashland Colony Romance Series

by Leslie Chase


She swore she'd never forgive the alien pirates who stranded her. But that was before she met Karnac.


Famous last words....

I made a promise to myself never to forget what the alien Prytheen stole from me. When one of them tells me that we're fated mates, it doesn’t change anything. Nothing could make me change my mind! Not the fact he gets along with Glitch, my holographic cat. Not the fact that he has a killer body and a smoldering gaze that leaves me short of breath. I won’t let my guard down.

Karnac is an alien pirate. Unfortunately, he is also the second part of the technical staff at the Crashland Colony broadcast station. I patch the human stuff, he takes care of the Prytheen tech. My promise to keep everything professional between us goes south when Glitch spots disaster heading straight for the colony.

It is amazing how a life or death situation can change your perspective. Maybe having a crude, arrogant, domineering Prytheen pirate of my own wouldn’t be such a bad idea?

BUY LINKS

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2BRiWxU

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pets-Space-5-SE-Smith-ebook/dp/B08F2XF73Q/

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/Pets-Space-5-SE-Smith-ebook/dp/B08F2XF73Q/

Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/Pets-Space-5-SE-Smith-ebook/dp/B08F2XF73Q/

 Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/pets-in-space-5

 Apple Books: https://apple.co/30maDUg

 Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pets-in-space-5-s-e-smith/1137421518?ean=2940162669395

 GooglePlay: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/SE_Smith_Pets_in_Space_5?id=AGH0DwAAQBAJ&hl=en

Publisher: Cats, Dogs and Otherworldly Creatures

Formats Available: ebook only

Price: $4.99

Website: https://www.petsinspaceantho.com

Pets in Space® Anthology Store: https://www.petsinspaceantho.com/store/

Newsletter Signup:  http://www.petsinspaceantho.com/stay-in-touch/

Pets in Space® Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PetsInSpace/

Book Cover Link: https://www.petsinspaceantho.com/wp-content/uploads/Pets-in-Space-5-600x900-LR.jpg

Cover Artist: Melody Simmons, https://bookcoverscre8tive.com/

Pet Illustrations: Adrian, https://www.fiverr.com/krrjuus

Please use #PetsInSpace in your social media so we can join in the discussion...


FOR MORE DETAILS ON OUR PETS IN SPACE® 5 AUTHORS…

S.E. Smith: https://sesmithfl.com/

Michelle Diener: https://www.michellediener.com/

Veronica Scott: https://veronicascott.wordpress.com/

Pauline Baird Jones: http://paulinebjones.com

Laurie A. Green: https://www.laurieagreen.com

Carol Van Natta: https://author.carolvannatta.com/

Regine Abel: https://www.regineabel.com/

Alexis Glynn Latner: http://www.alexisglynnlatner.com/

JC Hay: http://jchay.com/

Kyndra Hatch: http://kyndrahatch.blogspot.com/

Cassandra Chandler: https://cassandra-chandler.com/

Leslie Chase: https://www.leslie-chase.com/


OUR CHARITY:  HERO-DOGS.ORG

Proud supporters of Hero-Dogs.org, Pets in Space® authors have donated over $15,300 in the past four years to help place specially trained dogs with veterans and first responders. 10% of all pre-orders and the first month’s royalties of Pets in Space® 5 will again go to Hero-Dogs.org. Open your hearts and grab your limited release copy of Pets in Space® 5 today so together we can continue to assist this worthy charity! https://www.hero-dogs.org/



Friday, October 2, 2020

 


Forever My Duke

(Unlikely Duchesses #2)

by 

Olivia Drake

★★★

Historical Romance


“Life is full of what ifs…”


Hadrian Ames, Duke of Clayton, has decided to finally take a bride.  Known to be cold and always proper, Clayton needs a wife that will be obedient and know precisely how to handle the running of a household and be a suitable Duchess.  What he didn’t plan on was falling for the exact opposite…a forward thinking American that will bow nor scrape to any man…even if he is a Duke.


Natalie Fanshawe made a deathbed promise to her dearest friend to take her son to England to be raised amongst his family.  Natalie has grown to care for the young orphan, and is unsure why her friend wished to see him raised with a family that had disowned her when she married for love rather than money and a title and moved to America.  When she finds herself without transport and stranded at an inn, she begrudgingly accepts the Duke of Clayton’s assistance…after all, they are traveling to the same estate…where Hadrian will be meeting his prospective bride.  Hadrian, or Mr. Clayton as she refers to him, is not at all like the stuffy British Lords she’s imagined, and as they spend more time together, these opposites find out they are better together than apart.

Forever My Duke by Olivia Drake is a well written regency romance with everything you’d expect in the genre.  There were times when Natalie came off as being a wee bit unbending and preachy in her views, but overall, I enjoyed the story and would recommend.  While this is the second installment to the Unlikely Duchesses series, it may be read standalone.





Sharing what I love, 

Veronica





 

**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **



AMAZON BUY LINK


Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Outfox by Sandra Brown

 When I found a new book by Sandra Brown, I had to get it!  And the read delivered just what I needed.

Drex Easton, an FBI agent not in good standing with his boss, takes a pretend break from his office and sets out on his own.  His mission is to surveil and arrest the man he is sure marries rich woman that eventually disappear.  That includes his mom from many years ago.

Talia Shafer is married to the man, Jasper, that Drex is after.  Talia is rich and beautiful and just what Jasper looks for no matter what alias he's using.  


Which brings Drex to one of the most complicated parts of his mission.  Is Talia Jasper's next victim, or is she in cahoots with him? 

Drex rents an apartment across the street from the two and disguises himself as a writer.  Getting to know the "neighbors", Drex is repulsed by Jasper.  Talia is another story. She's standoffish, yet alluring.  Hard for Drex to figure her out between kisses and rebuttals, but when more women die it becomes time to end the mystery.

Never assume the next page of the story because it will be different!


Happy reading,

Dawn  





Monday, September 28, 2020

Daring and the Duke

I'm currently reading Daring and the Duke by Sarah Maclean. It's the 3rd book in The Barenuckle Bastards series. Overall, I recommend the series if you like regency romance. The 3rd book is a bit heavy with emotional stakes, which I tend not to like. But it rounds out the series and makes sense why this one was heavier. 


New York Times 
bestselling author Sarah MacLean returns with the much-anticipated final book in her Bareknuckle Bastards series, featuring a scoundrel duke and the powerful woman who brings him to his knees.


Grace Condry has spent a lifetime running from her past. Betrayed as a child by her only love and raised on the streets, she now hides in plain sight as queen of London's darkest corners. Grace has a sharp mind and a powerful right hook and has never met an enemy she could not best...until the man she once loved returns.

Single-minded and ruthless, Ewan, Duke of Marwick, has spent a decade searching for the woman he never stopped loving. A long-ago gamble may have lost her forever, but Ewan will go to any lengths to win Grace back...and make her his duchess.

Reconciliation is the last thing Grace desires. Unable to forgive the past, she vows to take her revenge. But revenge requires keeping Ewan close, and soon her enemy seems to be something else altogether--something she can't resist, even as he threatens the world she's built, the life she's claimed...and the heart she swore he'd never steal again.

You can find your copy at all major retailers.


Sunday, September 27, 2020

New Release ~ THE GUARDIAN by Donna Grant

 



The Guardian

(Sons of Texas, Book 5)

by

Donna Grant

 


They live to protect. They live to fight for honor and justice. They live to love the women who have captured their souls. These are the Sons of Texas, from New York Times bestselling author Donna Grant.

Knowledge is power.




Blurb ~


As a double agent, Maks Petrov has been so many people, he doesn’t know who he is anymore. While he prefers to work alone, taking down an organization like the Saints requires some help—even if he loathes asking for it. Just one day in the company of a sexy, fearless, and brilliant information broker makes him realize what he’s been missing in life…and fantasizing about what he could have.

Eden Fontaine thought she knew the evils of the world until she was confronted with knowledge of the Saints and what they’ve done—and still could do. Lucky for her, she has Maks by her side, a trained operative who not only makes her feel safe and cared for but also makes her blood run hot. Eden’s never thought much about settling down, but Maks makes her crave a world without the Saints and the handsome guardian by her side for all eternity.

With the Saints upping their game, Maks and Eden have one shot at assembling the intelligence necessary to take down the evil organization for good. If they can, they may have a chance at the happily ever after they both deserve.


Book Buy Links ~

✦Kindle→ https://amzn.to/2uHwDMj

✦Nook→ https://dgrant.co/39QE9UF

✦Kobo→ https://dgrant.co/3gXoo1O

✦Apple→ https://apple.co/3300luN

✦Audible→ https://dgrant.co/3arURe9

✦Tantor→ https://dgrant.co/2DVCYrC


~ Take a look inside ~


It wasn’t even dawn when Eden exited her flat. Maks kept to the shadows across the street as he noted her tight expression and the way she looked around nervously. She had replaced her tote with a backpack and a crossbody purse. Her steps were quick as she began walking.

Maks had wondered all night if she had found his message. It had been hours after he left her flat before a light had come on. And it and more had remained on until just a few minutes before she left. From his spot across the street, he saw that no one had come into the building aside from the delivery woman earlier. He waited, his gaze searching the shadows. If anyone was watching her, now would be the time they made their move to trail her.

Sure enough, two men fell into step behind her at different places. Maks looked in the opposite direction, but there was no sign of anyone else. He discreetly peeled himself from the shadows and started walking in the same direction as Eden and the two men.

When he realized her direction, Maks became curious as to where she was going via train. She didn’t stop to purchase a ticket once inside the terminal. Instead, she went straight to the platform for the trains heading to Budapest.

Both men following her hurried to buy tickets. Maks didn’t have that kind of time. He got next to someone going toward the platform with their voucher out to scan and bumped into them, taking their ticket at the same time. He dropped some money into the man’s coat pocket to make up for the theft. With his cap pulled down low, Maks used his travel document and got through before the other two men had even received their tickets.

Maks moved in behind Eden. He kept one eye on her and the other on anyone who looked suspicious. Just as the 5:47 a.m. train arrived, the men rushed onto the platform. They hadn’t seen him yet, which meant that they weren’t looking for him. Their mission was Eden. Maks wasn’t sure if that indicated they were supposed to just follow her or kill her. Regardless, he was going to put an end to all of it soon.

The moment the doors of the train opened, Eden got on and headed toward the front of the third car. Maks stayed behind, letting others go before him. The two goons got on in separate cars. Maks left the one in Eden’s car and went after the other. With long strides, he caught up with the man quickly enough.

Maks bumped into him roughly. “Entschuldigung sie. Excuse me,” he said.

The man barely looked his way, his attention on trying to keep his focus on Eden. Maks used that to his advantage and elbowed him in the back of the head, slamming the man’s face into a metal pole and knocking him out instantly.

Maks grabbed him before he could fall and said loud enough for others to hear, “You shouldn’t have had that last drink.”

The onlookers shook their heads and went back to doing what they had been doing before. Maks lugged the man to one of the seats in the back of the car and used the guy’s scarf to bind his hands to the rail just as the train left the station. He took a few minutes to check the man’s pockets and grabbed his wallet and mobile phone.

Maks then straightened, putting the items into his coat pocket before walking through the car and into the next one where Eden and the other goon were sitting. Eden was facing the front of the train, situated near the window. Her head was turned to look outside, her leg bouncing nervously up and down. The man sat diagonally to her across the aisle, his gaze locked on her. Eden was oblivious to it, as most would be. Only the trained knew what to look for in such situations.

Once more, the goon didn’t look his way. It was as if his only target was Eden, and he believed nothing could stand in his way of completing a successful mission. Too bad for him and his buddy that Maks was involved.

Maks sat across from the man and waited for him to look his way. It didn’t take long. It was just a glance, but the goon did a double-take and realized that Maks wasn’t just any passenger. Maks smiled and raised his brows, inviting the man to make a move.

The goon didn’t disappoint. He lunged, going straight for Maks’ throat. Maks kicked the man’s legs out from under him and used the downward momentum of the goon’s body to punch him in the throat. The man went limp, gagging as he struggled for breath. Maks then knocked him out with a quick punch to the goon’s jaw.

Across the aisle, Eden stared at him with wide eyes and a shocked expression. He ignored her for the moment and propped the man back up in his seat. Maks looked around, but no one seemed to be paying attention since everyone was on some kind of electronic gadget.

Maks then moved into the spot next to Eden. She squished herself as small as she could against the window. He didn’t look her way. “If I wanted you dead, I would’ve done it last night in your flat while you slept.”

There was a beat of silence as anger mixed with fear in her expression. “That was you?”

“You obviously did a search like I wanted. Otherwise, two men wouldn’t have been following you.”

“Two? What?”

He turned his face to her then, noting her confused and wary expression. “They’ve been on your tail since you walked from your flat, where I was also watching. The other one is in the car behind us.”

“Are…are they dead?” she asked in a whisper.

“No.”

She swallowed, the sound loud even on the high-speed train. “Is Maks your real name?”

“Yes.”

“You sound American.”

He looked forward then and released a breath. “Because I am.”

“How did you find me? Why did you come into my apartment? What are the Saints? Why are you still following me?”

With every question, her body uncurled, muscles going tight with annoyance and indignation. He looked at her once more. “I followed you from the office yesterday. I wanted to find out who you were. The Saints are a secret organization that has infiltrated every government, military, and security agency in the world. And I knew if you looked into them, they’d send someone. And…I need your help.”

She turned her head away to look out the window. She was silent for several minutes. Maks had taken a risk by asking for her help. He wasn’t sure why he’d done it. Maybe it was because of how he’d seen her yesterday—carefree and happy. If she was involved with the Saints, they wouldn’t have sent men after her.

At least, that was his thought.

“It’s not nice to break into someone’s house,” Eden stated before she looked at him.

He met her hazel eyes. “Extreme times call for extreme measures. I had to know what kind of person you were.”

“So, the words you left on my computer were a test?” she asked, her eyes narrowing in anger.

Max shrugged. “Call it whatever you want.”

“You wanted me to prove that you can trust me?” She rolled her eyes, snorting. “You’re the one who should be gaining my trust. Not the other way around.”

Without a doubt, she intrigued him. Eden wasn’t used to his way of life. Her reactions since the night before proved that. And yet she had spunk despite her fear. She might have a bright outlook on life, but she wasn’t one to be taken advantage of either.

“All right,” he said. “You have a point. However, you’re the one who has been doing research on me.”

She settled more comfortably in the chair. “That’s actually not true. My coworkers are, as well. Though it’s difficult to do when you don’t exist.”

“How good are you at your job?”

“Good enough that SynTech offered me a package to work for them—including moving me to Vienna—that nearly doubled what I was making on my own. And I was making a very good living working for myself.”

Maks bit back a smile. Yeah, she had pluck in spades. Which was a good thing because she was going to need it.

“The entire floor of IBs were looking for anything and everything on you,” she continued. “What did you do to get someone so riled up?”

Maks decided not to answer that for the moment. He might want her help, but that didn’t mean he trusted her. Not with the information that he was a spy. “You found something. In Amsterdam.”

She froze, once more taken off guard. Her visible reactions helped for him to put more trust in her, because reactions like that couldn’t be faked. Not to someone like him, who had been trained to look for anything that wasn’t genuine.

“How could you possibly know about that?” she demanded.

He lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “I saw you at your desk through my scope. You were watching footage of me in the train station.”

“Damn,” she mumbled and looked forward. “I never expected that.”

Maks took pity on her when he saw the amount of stress she was under. “I shouldn’t have gotten you to look into the Saints.”

Her head snapped to him. “Why did you pick me?”

A lie filled his head, but he didn’t say the words. “I saw you yesterday. People aren’t usually that cheerful going into work, but you were. I then did some recon on the building and spotted you again.”

“I saw you yesterday at lunch. Twice,” she said with a firm nod.

Maks didn’t confirm or deny that.

“I thought I was losing my mind,” she said more to herself than to him.

He tilted his head to the side. “Why didn’t you report me to your boss? I’m sure you handed over the train station footage.”

She cut her eyes to him and twisted her lips. “Actually, I didn’t. Another coworker of mine, Kyle, was the one who used his special algorithm to locate where you’d been. I kinda stole that information from him and used it myself.”

He couldn’t help but smile at her kinda stole comment. “That still doesn’t explain why you didn’t turn over the information.”

“I don’t know,” she said with a half-hearted shrug. “From the moment they gave us the picture of you, there was something about you that pulled at me. At first, I thought it was because finding information on you was a challenge, but,”—she paused, a frown creasing her brow—“it’s more than that. Yet I can’t explain it.”

Maks knew precisely what she was talking about because he’d felt the same thing about her from the moment he first laid eyes on her. “I’m glad you didn’t tell anyone about that.”

“I didn’t tell anyone that I thought I saw you yesterday, either.” She rolled her eyes, chuckling softly. “I’d stayed up the night before doing more digging on you from my home computer, so I chalked it up to me being tired.”

Now he knew why she’d slept for so long. “Did Kyle find me?”

“Yeah. He was in the office with the suits yesterday when I left for lunch. I’m not sure how much he found. My guess is that he didn’t see the footage of you jumping in front of the train, though.”

Maks was even more impressed that she’d found that. “I was being tailed and had to run.”

“Tailed? How did they find you?”

“They knew I was in Amsterdam since I’d been found earlier that night. It made sense to watch public transportation.”

She licked her lips. “I got a decent look at your face on the CCTV from the station. You did good keeping yourself from being seen, but after you got to the other platform and walked with the crowd up the steps to the main floor, they got a good shot of three-quarters of your face.”

Shit. He couldn’t make mistakes like that. While he couldn’t account for every camera—because some were hidden on purpose—he should’ve expected one to be in that spot to catch those coming up from the trains below.

“How did you know who was looking into you?” Eden asked in puzzlement.

“I have a friend who is a hacker. She found the company that was hired to dig up information about me.”

Eden glanced away. “I see. Did you intend to pick someone to help you?”

“No,” he admitted. “I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. I needed to look at the building, learn more about the company and their employees, and go from there.”

“You don’t seem concerned that someone is looking for you.”

Maks drew in a deep breath and slowly released it. “It comes with the territory, I suppose.”

“How do you live like this?”

“I suppose you get used to it.”

She looked out the window, nodding absently. Then she faced him. “Are you a spy?”

He stared into her hazel eyes, a dozen lies coming to mind. Whoever was looking for him had already blown his cover. So what if someone knew his profession? He was going down, and he was going to take anyone and everyone associated with the Saints down with him.

“Yes,” he replied.

Her eyes widened briefly. “I didn’t expect you to admit it.”

“I usually don’t.”

“Why tell me, then?”

He smiled, chuckling softly. “Damned if I know.”


Author Bio ~    


New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Donna Grant has been praised for her "totally addictive" and "unique and sensual" stories. Her latest acclaimed series, Dark Kings, features a thrilling combination of dragons, Fae, and immortal Highlanders who are dark, dangerous, and irresistible. She lives in Texas with an assortment of animals.


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