| x |
| x |
| x |
| Stay Updated MySpace Newsletter |
 |
| Sign up for my monthly newsletter HERE! |
| Don't miss books 1 & 2 |
 |
 |
 |
| WHATEVER IT TAKES Spellbound Book 3 The best laid plans can come back to bite you in the ass… Government Operative Gideon Bishop thrives on high-risk situations, but even his most volatile mission is nothing compared to coming face-to-face with his past. He’s spent the last four years trying to forget Tate Calder and their scorching affair, but the only way to get the information he needs is to keep her close—and keep his hands off her. Because the only thing riskier than protecting a woman who insists on hiding the truth is giving in to the attraction that still crackles between them. All Tate wants is a quiet holiday with zero interruptions from her family, and even fewer from the witch's council bent on recruiting her. Instead, she finds herself on the run from lethal mercenaries and the police with the one man she never expected to see again. To protect her family’s secrets, she’ll do whatever it takes to keep Gideon from learning the truth. Even if it means risking her heart to seduce him—over and over again. EXCERPT “Take a seat.” He didn’t move past the doorway, instead watching her root through drawers for the necessary supplies. “You pull a lot of bullets out of people?” Unsure if he asked because he could see her hands shaking, she countered with, “Do you put that many in people?” She regretted the question almost instantly, certain she didn’t really want to know the answer. Talking might keep her from thinking about what she had to do, but there had to be smarter topics than his bullet-to-kill ratio. He hadn’t elaborated on what he did for the government, so either he was lying about that to begin with or he worked for some branch of the CIA or another obscure agency. As if the whole situation could feel any more surreal. She motioned to the stuff she’d laid out. “What else do I need?” “Besides a medical degree?” He surveyed everything with no small amount of skepticism. “Take off your shirt.” “How about we slow down for a second, Florence Nightingale.” She scowled at the second crack about her on-the-fly nursing skills, but noticed he sounded more strained than before. “Take off your shirt,” she repeated. “I’ll be right back.” She ventured down the hall until she came to the office. In its usual cupboard, she withdrew the bottle of whiskey Lena kept here for her husband. The older couple were friends of her father’s and the reason she’d fallen in love with living on the island to begin with. She stopped, glanced at the phone. Hesitating another moment, she snatched it up and punched in Sawyer’s number. “Not a good idea.” She jumped as Gideon’s hand closed over hers. He replaced the phone, but didn’t back off when she turned around. She flattened a palm on the desk, needing all the support she could muster with Gideon breathing down her neck—literally. While she had always been able to hold her own with her brother and cousins, she didn’t know how much fight she had left in her tonight. “If I don’t let my family know I’m okay, they’ll go on the warpath.” He gave her a doubtful look. “You don’t know my family.” Or the Tribunal. “You can call them when we’re off the island,” he conceded. “That won’t be until morning.” “And there’s no way to know how long these guys have been interested in you. We can’t rule out the possibility they’ve already done their homework and know who in your family to watch.” She frowned. “Now you’re talking like more than a couple guys are involved in this.” “Maybe. Maybe not, but we’re better off not taking that kind of chance.” “Okay,” she managed, though if a phone call was out, that meant she’d have to wait for an opportunity to make a personal visit without Gideon knowing. He opened his mouth, but she shook her head. “If you’re about to say that I need to trust you, save your breath.” A half smile caught the corner of his mouth, and she realized he had stripped off his shirt. The bandage wrapped around his biceps was dark red, and she couldn’t help but wonder how the night would have turned out if the bullet had struck another few inches to left. “Hey.” Between his soothing tone and proximity, she should have known better than to raise her head and meet his gaze. “I’m sorry you got caught up in this, Tate.” “Me too.” “I’ll figure this out and you can get back to your life.” “And pretend none of this happened?” Pretend her friend hadn’t been murdered today? The excitement of the last hour caught up with her, piling on top of everything else the last twelve hours had delivered, and a tear slipped down her cheek. She reached up to brush it away, but Gideon beat her to it. Instead of his using his hand, he caught the tear with his lips. Get a sneak peek at Chapter One! |