Declan (13 page)

Thank you to Mark, for putting the smile back on my face, and for supporting my writing, you encourage me always.

To Colette Goodchild, who started off as a reader and has become my very special friend. She’s there for me when I’m at my lowest, and helps me through the doubt.

To Francessca of Francessca’s Romance Reviews who not only organises all my last minute tours, but encourages me and supports me and tells me off as if she was my mother! I can’t tell you how much difference you make to me lovely lady.

To Tracie Podger, my fellow author who seems to be as enthusiastic about Declan as my beta team. It’s an honour to know you, you crazy lady.

Thank you as always to my amazing team of beta readers, I couldn’t do this without you.

To my fantastic street team who promote me for the love of it, thank you.

To the bloggers who share my teasers, review my books and bring you my new releases – I couldn’t do this without you.

And to the readers who enjoy our books – thank you for giving me a reason to keep doing what I love.

Severed Angel (Severed MC #1)

Carnal Desire (Severed MC #2)

Severed Justice (Severed MC #3)

Carnal Persuasion (Severed MC #4)

Strip Back (Naked Nights 0.5 Eric’s Story)

Strip Teaser (Naked Nights 1)

The ‘Non’ Adventures of Alice the erotic author (a series of short stories)

I'm a passionate reader, blogger, publisher, and author. I love nothing more than helping other Indie authors publish their books - be that reviewing, beta reading, formatting or proofreading.

I love erotic suspense that's well written and engages the reader, and I love promoting the heck out of it over on my book blog
http://www.kinkybookklub.co.uk

Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/avamanello

Twitter:

@AvaManello

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/AvaManello

Website:

http://www.avamanello.co.uk

By Freya Barker

Released April, 2015

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1DlrIc8

Patience has always been Caleb Whitetail's strength. Quiet and unassuming is what you see with the GFI investigator, but the blood boils hot right under the surface. He kept his distance for years only to see the woman who has held his attention almost lose her life not just once, but twice. He is done standing in the shadows.

Katie Acker, once a tough and athletic security specialist now struggles daily to walk. The closest to family she has are her colleagues at GFI. Especially the man who saved her life and always has her back. So when she unwittingly becomes the focus of a Mexican cartel, it’s no big surprise she finds him right by her side.

With the combustive change in their deepening bond, Katie and Caleb do not see the oncoming danger - until it surrounds them.

Read on for a sneak-peek!

Freya Barker has always loved being creative. From an early age on she danced and sang, doodled, created, cooked, baked, quilted and crafted. Her latest creative outlets were influenced by an ever-present love for reading. First through blogging, then cover art and design, and finally writing.

Born and raised in the Netherlands, she packed her two toddlers, and eight suitcases filled with toys to move to Canada. No stranger to new beginnings, she thrives on them.

With the kids grown and out in the world, Freya is at the ‘prime’ of her life. The body might be a bit ramshackle, but the spirit is high and as adventurous as ever. Something you may see reflected here and there in some of her heroines.... none of who will likely be wilting flowers.

Freya craved reading about 'real' people, those who are perhaps less than perfect, but just as deserving of romance, hot monkey sex and some thrills and chills in their lives – So she decided to write about them.

Find Freya here -

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/FreyaBarkerWriter

Twitter: @freya_barker

Web:
http://www.freyabarker.com

Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/FreyaBarker

The first thing I notice when she walks into the room are her pale green eyes. It almost looks like they are lit from within.

"Hey Katie, meet Caleb. He'll be working with us on contract basis, same as you."

I hold out my hand and she slips in her smaller one. Soft - the feeling of her skin against mine causes an involuntary shiver up my spine, and I notice her sharp intake of breath. I try to get a read on her, but her eyes lower under my scrutiny.
Hmmm
. Interesting. The top of her head reaches my chin, and to my large frame, her entire body seems much smaller than my first impression of her.

"Good to meet you." Her voice has a smoky sound to it, a deeper pitch, a quality you wouldn't expect coming from the woman with a pixie face, flowing dark hair and those large expressive eyes. Despite her athletic build, she almost appears fragile to me.

"Same here."

Her eyes flick up to mine and then move to Gus, owner of Gus Flemming Investigations, and the man whose reputation finally convinced me to give in to his tenacious pursuit of my services.

I am a loner. I don't generally work with partners or under a boss. I like my independence and the freedom it provides me, but I haven't been able to resist the lure of working with the investigator who has one of the highest success rates in the state. It helps that the case he called me in on hits close to home. Literally. A child gone missing from the reservation I grew up on. I feel this one deep. I left the reservation under less than friendly circumstance. My fifteen year-old sister had died after a brutally short stint with cancer, leaving my family destroyed. My parents were never the same and both my brother and I carried the scars of our fucked up family life, on our souls, after she passed away.

Only seventeen at the time, almost eighteen, I was marked by the experience and pissed off at the world. I'm sure they were happy to see the back of me when I enlisted.

"I want you to work together on the disappearance of this twelve-year old. Stick your heads together and see what you can come up with. She's been gone for seventy-two hours and her family is frantic. Details are in the file."

Gus hands each of us a folder and his eyes linger on my hand, the one that still holds Katie's much smaller one. Reluctantly I let her go to grab the file Gus is holding out.

Great. My first partner, and it has to be this woman. When I look at her, my displeasure must have shown on my face, because her eyes are shooting fire. I can hear Gus chuckle, "Don't underestimate that tidy little package you see there, my friend. Katie has proven herself to be a great asset to my team when called upon."

"What the fuck, Gus? Tidy little package? Sexist much?" She punches him in the shoulder.

"Ah babe, you know I couldn't do without ya…" Gus throws his arm around her shoulder and smiles down.

The interaction between the two should have been a warning.

*****

"Get behind me," I hiss at Katie as she is trying to get ahead of me into the small shed.

We managed to get a lead on the girl from one of her friends in Shiprock. Or rather, Katie managed. She was amazing at pulling the information from the twelve-year old friend. The missing girl had been talking to a guy online who had filled her head with promises and lies, finally convincing her to meet in town. Her poor parents were drowning in self-recrimination for not keeping a closer eye on her internet activities. But we had a place to start and with the help of a young computer wiz kid Gus has working at the office, we managed to identify the guy. A local kid; only eighteen himself, had been talking to her online for the past two months. When we visit his home address, he's not there, but his mother is. She directs us to the small building at the back of this abandoned business that belongs to his dad.

"Don't fucking tell me what to do, Caleb." Katie hisses back, pushing ahead despite my caution. Following close behind her I see some movement from the corner of my eye just as we step inside. I instinctively throw myself on Katie, taking her down with force. The bullet that explodes from the shaking gun that had been pointed at her finds its way, unobstructed, into the wall on our other side. I roll off Katie and come up with my own weapon ready in my hand, aiming at the figure in the corner. The acrid smell of urine hits my nose as the kid who is holed up there throws down the gun and wets his pants.

"Don't h-hurt me," he stutters, his hands stretched toward me with his palms out.

"Jesus..." I run my free hand through my hair, scanning the small space, while keep my gun trained on the kid. "You okay, Katie?"

"Fine." Comes the terse reply.

"Can you check on her?" I nod my head in the direction of a pile of bedding, hiding what appears to be a very scared young girl. I get up and make sure the gun is far away from the kid's reach before pushing him face-down on the ground and securing his hands with a zip tie. "Is she ok?" I hear Katie's soothing murmurs as she checks over the terrified little girl.

"You hurting anywhere, honey?"

"N-no, he didn't hurt me," a shaky little voice answers Katie's question. "He loves me."

Katie looks over at me with her eyebrows raised, and I feel the same shock and frustration she obviously does. Fucking internet romance gone bad. And I almost killed the kid. Christ, I need a drink.

By the time we get most of their story the sound of emergency vehicles is filling the yard, and I grab my charge by the arm and pull him up.

"Come on, Romeo. Time to face the music."

Katie follows close behind with her arm around the pretty young girl who is crying. "He didn't do anything wrong! We just wanted to be together."

"Sweetheart, he is an adult and you are a minor. That is wrong. Not only that, he tried to shoot us with a gun he stole from his father's locker. That is all kinds of wrong."

Katie only succeeds in making the girl cry harder.

With both kids taken care of and her parents on their way to the hospital where she will be checked out, Katie and I are left staring at each other.

"Look-"

"Listen up-" Katie interrupts, "I'm sorry."

I'm surprised; I was about to apologize to her for taking her down so hard. "What for?"

"I could've gotten us hurt. I was pissed and not focused on my surroundings."

"Well I was about to tell you sorry myself, for trying to order you around. Still trying to get used to this 'partner' thing."

She cracks a little smile and it does something to me. Even the brief minutes laying on top of her in the midst of chaos, I was fully aware of every curve of her body and the faint citrus smell of her in my nostrils.

"Want to go for a drink with me and discuss our partnership?"

Her eyes go wide and she is about to answer me when the slam of a car door and fast approaching footsteps draw our attention.

"Holy fuck, honey - you okay?" Gus wraps his arms around Katie and presses a kiss to the top of her head. Oh. So that's how it is.

I shake my head slightly and try to shake the unfamiliar burn of jealousy. Damn.

After a brief report to Gus, I make my excuses and am on my way to my car when Katie calls my name and I turn around. Trotting up to where I'm standing by my truck, she grabs onto my arm.

"Rain check?"

I look over to where Gus is standing, talking to one of the officers left on scene and contemplate my answer.

"You let me know when you're available and I might take you up on it."

A flash of guilt passes through her eyes and with ae walks back over to his side.