Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Date of publication: July 2016
A COVERT MISSION
Maddy Powers’s life revolves around cocktail parties, political fundraisers, and charity events — but she can’t forget the daring former SEAL who appropriated her father’s yacht a few months ago … or the scorching kiss they shared before he disappeared into the deep blue sea.
SPARKS A FLAMING DESIRE
Bran Pallidino carries a dark secret behind his lady-killer eyes — one that keeps him from pursuing a serious relationship with Maddy. But when she’s taken hostage during a trip to the Dry Tortugas, the men of Deep Six Salvage drop their treasure hunt for a sunken galleon and embark on a dangerous mission to save Maddy.
WITH EARTH-SHATTERING REPERCUSSIONS
As they fight her merciless kidnappers, they discover this isn’t a simple hostage situation, but something far more sinister. Passion boils between Bran and Maddy, but what good is putting their hearts on the line if they don’t survive the dawn?
7:29 p.m.…
Hurt.
The word rolled over Bran’s heart like an Abrams tank, smashing the
organ beneath its steel tracks.
“Maddy…” He whispered her name. “I…” He stopped himself from saying,
I woulda answered if the satellite dish hadn’t blown down. Because
he wasn’t sure that was the truth. And he was many things. But a liar wasn’t
one of them.
The muscles on the back of his neck tensed, and he ran his hand over
them before blurting, “The truth is, I didn’t decide to come ’til the last
minute.”
“Why?” She blinked up at him, her
stormy eyes searching his face.
He didn’t say anything, simply raised a brow and waited. Maddy was a
smart cookie, so it didn’t take her long to figure it out. He saw the moment
shock and realization struck.
“Oh.” She shook her head, frowning. “Sorry… I thought maybe we were…
Because there was that thing on my father’s yacht. And then the last three
months we’ve… But…never mind. Doesn’t matter. My bad.”
Bran didn’t know which he regretted more. Seeing that look on her
face, or the burning mothersucker of a gash across his thigh.
On second thought, I do know. It
was definitely her expression. His thigh would heal with time. But he’d never
forget that he’d hurt Maddy. Hurt her, mislead her, and…embarrassed her in
front of Mason and the park ranger.
“Maddy.” He cupped her chin in his hand again. Partly to make her
meet his eyes, and partly because he couldn’t stop himself from touching her.
Her skin was so soft and warm. Had there ever been a woman as eminently touchable
as Maddy?
“Sure, I get it.” She jerked her chin from his hand.
“Well, I sure as shit don’t,” said the park ranger whose embroidered
name read “Rick.” Seriously? Ranger Rick? He was once
again in front of the kitchenette’s counter. But he wasn’t leaning against the
Formica countertop. He was pacing back and forth. Back and forth. “I don’t get
anything about this.” There was a slightly hysterical edge to his voice. “Who
are those men? What are they doing here? And who in God’s name are you
guys?”
Bran stared down at the golden crown of Maddy’s head glinting
brightly in the dim light. His fingers itched to run through the strands of her
short, silky hair. Then his fingers weren’t itching to do anything but curl
into fists. She no longer hesitated on his stitches, instead going after them
like a dollar-a-day factory seamstress. He had to bite the inside of his cheek
to keep from sucking in a harsh breath when the needle punctured fresh flesh.
He thought about asking her to take it easy, but she had made
that comment about his Grand Master of Ceremonies—which he’d like to keep fully
intact and sporting just the one hole. So he decided to keep his mouth shut and
endure. And besides, he probably deserved it after the way he’d bumbled things
between them.
You really are an asshole, you know?
the supremely unhelpful voice that lived in his head commented.
Roger that. He knew.
“I can’t answer the first question,” he told Ranger Rick, his eyes
nearly crossing when Maddy hit a particularly tender spot. Sweat broke out
across his brow and the back of his neck. “But if I had to guess, I’d say the
answer to the second question is ransom. Maddy’s family is beyond rich—we’re
talking Daddy Warbucks—and whoever these assholes are, they probably thought
it’d be easy to snatch her from a remote island in the middle of the Gulf.”
“There was an article that ran in the Houston
Chronicle about me and the scholarship girls and this
trip,” Maddy said consideringly. “Anyone with an eye toward kidnapping could’ve
seen it. I should’ve thought about that. I should’ve—”
“This isn’t your fault,” Bran assured her before turning back to
Rick. “As for who we are.” He wagged a finger between
himself and Mason. Just keep talking. Just keep talking. Ow! Shit!
He jumped. He couldn’t help it. And instead of looking contrite, Maddy
scowled at him. Heaven help him, it made her mouth look even more tempting.
“What did I tell you about that tough-guy, don’t-cry crap?” she
demanded. “Am I hurtin’ you?”
“I’m f—”
She narrowed her eyes, daring him to say I’m fine one
more time.
He cleared his throat and motioned with a hand toward his
half-stitched wound. “Please continue.”
She hesitated, turning her head to view him from the corner of her
eye as if that might help her see through his bullshit. She must’ve been
satisfied with what she saw—confirming he could have had a job on the
stage—because after a second, she bent back to her work.
He blew out a covert breath and curled one hand around the edge of
his chair, gripping the wood so hard he was surprised he didn’t splinter it.
“We’re your neighbors,” he told Ranger Rick through his clenched jaw.
“Huh?” Rick’s youthful face scrunched up.
“We live on Wayfarer Island.”
“Ah, the six retired Navy SEALs who are looking for the lost
treasure of the Santa Cristina.”
Bran lifted a brow.
“News travels fast in the Keys,” Rick clarified.
Ain’t that the truth?
About the author:
Julie Ann Walker is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Black Knights Inc. romantic suspense series. You can find her on her bicycle along the lake shore in Chicago or blasting away at her keyboard, trying to wrangle her capricious imagination into submission. She lives in Chicago, IL.
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