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INTO THE FURY
BOSS, Inc. #1
Kat Martin
Releasing on January 26, 2016.
Zebra
A
bodyguard, a bounty hunter, a P.I.--the men of Brodie Operations
Security Service, Inc. are down for the job. . .
Sinners,
whores, and sluts beware--your time is at hand: a faceless menace is
threatening lingerie models on a cross country tour, and Ethan Brodie
is there to defend and protect.
Ethan's
learned the hard way that beauty is no substitute for character. So
even though Valentine Hart is one of the most breathtaking women he's
ever seen, he's keeping his hands off and his eyes open. Or that's
what he tells himself.
Then
one of the models is murdered, and the closer Ethan gets to the
answers, the closer he finds himself to Valentine--and the hotter the
pressure feels. There's more to Val--more to the other girls--than he
could have guessed. But one is keeping a secret that could kill them
all.
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After
he’d talked to Heather and a couple of the other girls about the
notes they’d received, he’d decided to concentrate on the four
women who lived in the Seattle area, since the note had likely come
from someone in the vicinity.
That
meant Valentine, Megan, Delilah, and Isabel. He’d spoken to all but
Isabel and come up with zilch.
He
figured Mark Dargan, Valentine’s trainer, was worth talking to. As
Ethan shoved through the glass front door, the familiar sounds of
clanking metal and the thud of weights dropping onto rubber mats
reached him. The air conditioner hummed, keeping the rooms just shy
of chilly, exactly the way he liked to work out.
At
the front desk he asked for Dargan, found him easily. Six feet tall,
blond and athletic, the guy seemed popular with everyone in the gym.
He was working with a client, midforties, balding, and probably
fighting to keep the weight off. Fortunately, the workout was coming
to an end.
Finished
with the last set, Dargan’s client set down the barbells, said
good-bye, grabbed his workout towel, and headed off to the showers.
“You’re
Mark?”
“That’s
right.”
“Ethan
Brodie. I’m working security for La Belle. You know the name,
right?”
“Yeah.
One of my clients models for La Belle.”
“Valentine
Hart.”
“That’s
right. What can I do for you?”
“With
the show coming up, we’re trying to nail down any potential
problems before they arise. Valentine mentioned she’d had trouble a
couple of times with guys working out at the gym. Said you’d
handled them.”
Dargan
shrugged a set of lean-muscled shoulders. The guy was in great shape.
But he got paid to be, same as Ethan.
“Wasn’t
any big deal,” Dargan said. “One or two got flirty, tried to get
a date. One got a little pushy.” Mark grinned. “I told him I was
Val’s boyfriend and he’d better leave her alone.”
“Are
you?”
Mark
shook his head. “Don’t I wish. She’s too busy for men. Or at
least that’s what she says. We’ve never really been more than
friends anyway, and besides, I’ve started seeing someone.”
“Good
for you.”
“Val’s
the best,” Mark said. “She’s got a beautiful figure, not overly
muscled, you know? Just smooth and toned and fit. That’s what La
Belle wants in a model. It’s my job to keep her that way.”
Ethan
thought of how she’d looked in black tights under a pair of cutoff
jeans, midriff bare, her top cut just low enough to hint at full
breasts. His mind conjured an image of what she’d look like in
nothing but skimpy lingerie, and an unwanted tightening started in
his groin.
“Any
chance the guy who gave her trouble would pursue the matter, send
some kind of threatening note to Val and some of the other models?”
“I
don’t think so. The man never bothered her again, only came around
here a few times after that. Most guys start working out but stop
after a couple of months.” Mark’s gaze ran over Ethan. “Not
you, though. You stay in shape.”
“Part
of my job, same as you.”
“You’re
a bodyguard, right? How about keeping a special eye out for Val? Like
I said, she’s the best.”
“Seems
you aren’t the only one who thinks so.” Mark glanced over, caught
a wave from his next customer. “Anything else?”
Ethan
handed him a card. “Not unless you think of something.”
Mark
took the card and walked away, and Ethan headed for the door. As he
reached the parking lot, he looked down at his big stainless-steel
wristwatch. It wasn’t that late. Clouds still hovered above the
city, but a weak sun pushed through in places.
It
wasn’t Hannah’s bedtime yet. His daughter would still be awake,
and he wanted to see her. Since he would soon be leaving the city, he
was determined to make that happen, and this time Ally wasn’t going
to stop him.
The
porch light was on when he rolled up in front of the big two-story
house, parked his black four-door Wrangler hardtop at the curb.
Through the curtains, he could see the yellow glow of the lamp next
to the sofa in the living room.
He
had almost reached the front door when he heard Allison’s laughter
out in the backyard. Ethan stepped off the cement path and headed in
that direction. Stopping at the side gate, he lifted the latch,
shoved the gate open, and kept walking.
Allison
Winfield sat in a blue canvas swing on the big covered patio. A man
in a short-sleeved yellow Izod shirt, sandy brown hair neatly combed,
sat in the swing beside her.
In
the fading light, Ethan could see Hannah sitting crosslegged on the
patio a few feet away, playing with the doll he had given her. Her
silky blond hair, pulled up in a ponytail, swung from the top of her
head, and her blue eyes danced as she spoke to the doll she’d named
Martha, God only knew why.
His
heart squeezed. Surely his little girl couldn’t have changed so
much in the few weeks since he’d seen her. Surely she didn’t look
older, more grown up. Yet, as he watched her, it seemed that she did.
He
started striding toward her, heard her squeal of delight when she
spotted him, felt a tightening in his chest.
“Daddy!”
She was on her feet and racing toward him, the ponytail on top of her
head bobbing madly. “Daddy!”
Ethan
bent and scooped her up in his arms. She smelled like cinnamon graham
crackers mixed with a child’s natural sweetness. Just holding her
made his heart hurt.
“Hi,
sweet cakes. How’s Daddy’s best little girl?”
She
giggled, slid her arms around his neck. “I’m Daddy’s only
little girl.”
Ally’s
shrill voice had him turning. “What are you doing here, Ethan? You
know you aren’t welcome.” Allison Winfield was auburn-haired, of
average height, and very pretty. She had a great figure and came from
a family with way too much money.
She
was also spoiled and conniving. When he’d met her, he’d been so
in lust he hadn’t been able to see her faults. By the time she was
pregnant with Hannah, it had been too late. “I’ve got a job
that’ll take me out of town for a while,” he said. “I wanted to
see Hannah before I left the city.” He kissed his daughter’s soft
cheek and she giggled. Hannah made up for all the trouble Ally gave
him.
“The
least you could do was call before you showed up uninvited.”
“Every
time I call, you say you’re just leaving. There’s never a time
that’s convenient. She’s my daughter, too, Ally. If you don’t
start making it easier for me to see her, I’m going to take you
back to court.”
He’d
had to hire an attorney and get a DNA test to prove he was Hannah’s
father. He’d spent a small fortune on legal fees to establish his
rights, and if Allison continued to block his visitation, he was
going to have to go to court again.
“Do
whatever you like,” Allison said smugly. Because she was still on
Daddy’s purse strings, legal fees and court costs weren’t a
problem for her. “You should have thought of Hannah before you left
me.”
“You’re
the one who ended it, Ally. I would have married you and you know
it.”
“And
divorced me. You made no bones about it. You said from the start you
didn’t think it would work.”
“I
couldn’t make you happy. Both of us knew that.” He tipped his
head to the man who stood watching from a few feet away, back
straight, shoulders rigid. Slender, athletic, and handsome, he looked
like a guy who played tennis or golf; not a tough guy, but ready to
defend his damsel in distress.
“Who’s
your friend?” Ethan asked.
Allison
glanced behind her, tossed her shoulder-length auburn curls, gave the
poor fool a come-on smile. “That’s Arthur. If it’s any of your
business, which it isn’t.”
Ethan
ignored the guy, tried not to feel sorry for him. “I just want to
see Hannah, Ally. I’d think you’d be happy about it. Seems like
you could use a little time to yourself once in a while.”
Arthur
walked up beside her, set a hand possessively at her waist. “If you
want me to make him leave, Allison, I will.”
“Take
it easy,” Ethan said. “I’m just here to see my kid.” He
turned to Ally. “Give me five minutes and I’m gone.”
Her
mouth curved into a catty smile. “Why should I?”
“Because
if you don’t, there’s going to be trouble and your friend will
feel obliged to interfere. That won’t go well for him. Five
minutes. That’s all I want.”
She
cast Arthur a glance. He was puffed up and ready to fight. Ally must
have known what the outcome would be if she goaded him any further.
“Fine.
Five minutes. Then you leave.”
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Kat
Martin is the author of twenty-one Historical and Contemporary
Romance novels. She tackles many different aspects of her genre with
settings ranging from the rugged West to the Antebellum South,
Regency, Georgian, and Medieval England. Not one to shy away from
change, she also tackles Contemporary Romantic Suspense novels which
involve the paranormal. Some of her titles include Nothing But
Velvet, Sweet Vengeance, and Dangerous Passions. These works have won
a bevy of awards including a recent Romantic Times Magazine
nomination for Best Historical Romance of 1998 for her latest
release, Wicked Promise. She is also published in, among others,
Germany, Norway, Sweden, China, Russia, and Spain.
Before
starting her writing career in 1985, Kat was a real estate broker.
During that time, she met her husband, Larry Jay Martin, also a
Kensington author. After double majoring in Anthropology and History
at the University of California at Santa Barbara, she found herself
incredibly interested in the past. In fact, she and Larry often do
research in the areas where their books take place. She remarks, "We
like to stay in out-of-the-way inns and houses built in times past.
It's fun and it gives a wonderful sense of a bygone era."
In
May, Kat will release her next Historical Romance, Night Secrets.
Following that is an upcoming Zebra release, a Contemporary Romantic
Suspense entitled The Silent Rose, which will be out in August. "It's
a ghostly tale of romance and intrigue that was based on a real life
incident," says Kat. "It's a little bit scary, a whole lot
sexy, and hopefully lots of fun to read."
INTO THE WHIRLWIND
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