Spotlight: A Viscount for the Spinster by Samantha Holt

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(Spinsters and Rebels, #1)

Publication date: July 27th 2023

Genres: Adult, Historical Romance

Synopsis:

Some sinners deserve a second chance. Not this one, though…

Miss Maisie Beaufort has no intention of running away ever again. She’s more than ready to return home after a decade in the midst of society and take charge of her life as a spinster businesswoman. Nothing will distract her. Especially not her first love, the rebel who destroyed her young heart…

Apollo Everly always knew Maisie was too good for small town life…and for a spare heir like him. He never stopped wanting her, though. Not that it matters. Even though he’s reformed and a viscount, his lingering reputation is still a threat to her. He should stay away. But fate—and Mother Nature—seem to have other ideas…

If Maisie and Apollo want to rebuild their village after a devastating flood, they’ll need to work together. The only question now is whether they can trust each other when it matters most. And if they can avoid heartbreak this time around…

If you love second chance romance, spinsters, and a hero who will prove he isn’t beyond redemption set amongst a village of unusual and eccentric characters, A Viscount for the Spinster is perfect for lovers of steamy historical romance!

Excerpt

The fierce beat of Apollo’s heart thudded against her palm. Warmth seeped into her fingertips and left her breathless. She glanced briefly to the side, spying the tile embedded inches into the ground.

That could have been her.

She met Apollo’s gaze, his pupils dark. His breaths were ragged and whispered through her hair. She smelled sweetness on his breath for a moment until it gave way to a soapy fragrance that wrapped about her.

His arms framed her against the wall, a protective cocoon that should have slowed the pounding of her pulse. But he was so close. Inches away. And he was so warm. Her fingers remained splayed upon his chest. She couldn’t move them even if she wanted to.

And she didn’t.

The firmness of his chest and thump, thump of his heart eased away the breathlessness and brought her back to the world. A breeze tousled her hair, sending a curl tickling around her neck. Somewhere in the village a baby cried. And the tingle of awareness that came with touching Apollo continued, rippling through her and leaving her feeling as though her entire body was aflame.

When she met his gaze, everything but the awareness dissolved. Gone were the sounds of life in the village. She swore she could hear the raging hammer of his heart which had yet to slow and each thick inhale she took.

Maisie dragged her gaze over his features, lingering upon the white scar then to the slight stubble on his jaw and up again to meet a gaze that remained intense. All she needed to do was push him away. To utter a quick thank you for saving her life and retreat inside.

Neither her legs nor her arms would obey such a command.

His gaze flicked down and up again. He twisted the golden ring on his index finger, his body swaying ever so slightly forward.

Her breaths quickened, rasping in her throat. A single word would stop him. All she had to do was force one from her throat and it would put an end to the inevitable.

Perhaps she’d known this would always come, even from the moment she’d first spotted him. Perhaps that was why she’d hidden from him. Apollo had always held sway over her, and years apart hadn’t changed that. If anything, it was worse. She liked the man he had grown into far too much.

“Maisie,” he murmured, his tone guttural.

She blinked. Her name echoed in her ears, and a flash of recollection flared. He’d uttered her name in exactly the same manner when he’d sent her away. A word tinged with regret.

Well, she wasn’t giving either of them anything to regret now.

She ducked under his arm and backed up by several steps. He offered a rough curse and pushed away from the wall.

“That was a mistake.”

He scrutinized her, his face giving nothing away. Could he not at least show regret at his actions? It would make escaping what had to have been a near kiss easier—if he did not really want it either.

She knew what she wanted, and it wasn’t a kiss from Apollo.

Was it?

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About the Author

USA TODAY Bestselling Author Samantha Holt is known for fun, witty, and usually steamy historical romances. She's been a full-time writer for longer than she ever thought possible having originally trained as a nurse and an archaeologist. She's a champion napper, owner of too many animals, mum to twins, and lives in a small village near the very middle of England.

She's usually writing (or napping) but when she's not, Samantha is plotting (books of course!) with her husband, drinking coffee, climbing hills that are far too high for her fitness levels or visiting stately homes and pretending she's posh.

You can claim a free book by signing to to her newsletter www.samanthaholtromance.com

If you're not sure where to start, why not try:

 Capturing the Bride (The Kidnap Club #1). A fun Regency read full of spice and an unusual heroine trying to escape an arranged marriage and a hero who has no idea how to keep his hands off her!

 You're the Rogue That I Want (Rogues of Redmere #1) is a longer read with heat, witty dialogue, a feisty heroine and adventure. All books in the series are standalone.

 There Are Plenty More Dukes in the Sea (The Inheritance Clause #1) is a fun, steamy read focused on the Templeton family as they fight to save their inheritance.

 Wake Me With a Kiss is a sweet, fairytale romance. Twists on Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella are also available if you love a clean, fun read.

 To Steal a Highlander's Heart is a full length dive into the world of sexy highlanders. For those who love braw Scots, some steamy scenes, and medieval romance, this series is a perfect escape.

Connect:

http://www.samanthaholtromance.com/

https://www.facebook.com/samanthaholtromance/

https://twitter.com/samholtwrites

https://www.instagram.com/samantha_and_duke/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6458884.Samantha_Holt

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Spotlight: Viscount of Villainy by Scarlett Scott

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Release Date: July 27

FREE IN KINDLE UNLIMITED

From USA Today bestselling author Scarlett Scott comes the next highly anticipated, deliciously wicked installment in the Sins and Scoundrels series.

A brutal phaeton accident left Viscount Torrington’s memory in tatters and his body broken. But certain parts of his old life prove easily relearned. Drinking, gambling, and wenching? Check. Torrie is on a one-man mission toward complete debauchery. Anything to distract himself from the misery of the night he lost everything. Until an accidental kidnapping leads him to the woman he’ll never forget.

Five. The number of disastrous Seasons Miss Elizabeth Brooke suffered before resigning herself to her fate as a governess. A lady without a dowry can only exist on the benevolence of her relatives for so long before she admits defeat. Zero. The amount of scandals she is permitted to cause before she loses her position. Which is why being unintentionally spirited away by a handsome, dissolute lord spells complete and utter ruin.

Torrie has no place in his life for a wife, particularly not one as icy and prim as Miss Brooke. But even he can acknowledge that compromising a governess, albeit by mistake, necessitates getting caught in the parson’s mousetrap. He’ll marry Miss Brooke and send her to the country so he can continue with his life, uninterrupted. But there’s one small problem with Torrie’s plan. He neglected to take into account just how tempting his new wife would be. And now, he’s about to lose something far more precious than his memory. His heart.

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About the Author

Amazon bestselling author Scarlett Scott writes steamy Victorian and Regency historical romances with strong, intelligent heroines and sexy alpha heroes. She lives in Pennsylvania with her Canadian husband, their adorable identical twins, and one TV-loving dog.

A self-professed literary junkie and nerd, she loves reading anything but especially romance novels, poetry, and Middle English verse. When she’s not writing, reading, wrangling kids, or indulging in her inappropriate sense of humor, you can catch up with her in her reader group.

Keep up with Scarlett Scott and subscribe to her newsletter https://scarlettscottauthor.com/contact/

To learn more about Scarlett Scott & her books, visit here!

Connect with Scarlett Scott: https://scarlettscottauthor.com/contact/

Spotlight: Eva by Diane Solomon

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Publication date: July 15th 2023

Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Suspense

Synopsis:

Eva possesses a unique and powerful gift. But is it a curse?

She plays down her beauty, to avoid attention. But it doesn’t work. She has a magnetic quality, a calm, a power of which she is unaware. Never having known her father and having lost her mother when she was young, Eva believes she’s better off alone. She only connects deeply with animals, they are her first love. But another great love is on the horizon, along with other life-changing discoveries.

When they learn of her gift, the media jackals gather, and Eva is forced into the limelight she’s avoided all her life. Facing challenges at every turn, including her own inner demons, she must fight to protect, even embrace, her newfound ability.

But someone wants her dead.

Excerpt

Prologue

Summer 1995, New England Marine Institute,

Near Fall River, Massachusetts

There they were, speeding to greet her, the reason Marianne could haul herself out of bed at 5 a.m. The two dolphins chirped and whirred, pressing up against her legs where she sat on the wood planks of the dock.

“Good morning, Mamie. Hey Sugarloaf!” She stroked their noses, then gasped as she slid into the water. Although a warm day in early July, the seawater off the coast of Massachusetts held a definite chill.

Being allowed to swim with these rescued wild dolphins was an act of spiritual generosity on their part. Anytime she needed peace and comfort she found it with them.

Mamie nuzzled her beak against Marianne’s belly, cackled, and grinned her huge grin, then Sugarloaf gently bumped his melon directly into her abdomen. That’s odd. It is as if they know. But how was that possible? She had only found out herself a few days ago.

When Sugarloaf whacked her gently with his tail, she grinned. “Ok, I hear you. Breakfast!” Pulling herself up out of the water, she reached for the bucket of fish on ice. The dolphins gulped down mackerel and herring and smiled for more.

Due to the additional responsibility, this summer internship was more rewarding than the previous year. Now, instead of assigning her grunt work, the staff in charge at NEMI felt safe with her and she was now entrusted with feeding and entertaining the rescued dolphins.

This was her life’s dream. But she was going to need a Bachelor’s, then a Master’s in marine biology. How would she manage? A lump formed in the back of her throat as she tried to figure out, yet again, how to tell her dad.

Gazing out across the gray-blue water, she could just make out the outline of the Elizabeth Islands. One was Cuttyhunk. It had been just as the travel brochure described: “An hour’s sail to a secluded paradise.” She sighed. An unusually warm day in May had extended into a glorious evening of sunburn, seafood, and laughter, with a sense of magic in the air. Not to mention the shots of Tequila, which added confidence, even pushiness, to his advances. She never knew if alcohol released a person’s inhibitions, to display who that person really was, or if it created a totally different persona. Well, it didn’t matter, now. To be fair, she’d had a few glasses of wine herself, so the fault wasn’t all his.

Mamie sidled up to Marianne’s leg and chattered softly. Sliding back into the water with plastic balls, Marianne played with her two friends, laughing out loud as they leaped into the air, tossing the balls back and forth.

“Marianne, good morning!”

“Hey, Trish!” Marianne headed back to the dock.

Tiny Trish Silva was in her mid-fifties, but from a distance looked sixteen. Slender and fit, she buzzed with energy, making Marianne think of a honeybee or a hummingbird, staying that thin thanks to a super-charged metabolism. Trish called out, “Labs show Mamie’s still thiamine deficient, so we have to dose her. You fed them yet?”

Marianne grinned. “Oh, I think I can persuade her.” She slipped the pasty little ball of nutrients into a chunk of fish and tossed it down Mamie’s open mouth. “Ta-da.”

Trish asked, “So, did you end it with him?”

Marianne nodded.

“How did he take it?”

“Not bad. At first.”

Trish shook her head. “Huh. What do you mean, at first?”

“Well, now he just keeps calling…”

“Oh man, seriously? I didn’t know rich guys did that.”

“Well, he’ll get it, eventually.” Marianne heard the doubt in her own voice and when Trish gave her an odd look, she repeated, “He’ll get it. If I ignore him, he’ll get the message.”

Trish shuddered. “Glad I don’t have to go through any of that anymore. OK, moving on, we had a rescue last night–Jeremy and the team found a short-beaked common dolphin, a baby, just a few days old. She’s in the smallest tank and we’ve been holding her afloat…” She glanced at her watch. “Peter’s on now, then I need you to take a shift.”

“What happened to her?”

Trish ran her hands through her spiky gray hair. “An incident with a boat propeller–cut her fin up badly. The vet’s been and stitched her up, but she’s lost a lot of blood. We couldn’t find her mother or the pod. We named her Grace.”

The two women headed back toward the facility, where the tanks held rescued turtles, otters, dolphins, and sometimes whales. They were returned to the wild, if and when possible. The center tried to limit human contact so most could be sent back to the ocean, but sometimes the animals were too injured to be considered releasable.

There, in the small holding tank, Marianne saw Peter, a staff biologist, holding the new infant. Only about two feet long, the little dolphin lay still in Peter’s hands. While keeping her afloat, her blowhole out of the water, he reached for a bottle of formula and held the nipple to the dolphin’s stubby snout. She didn’t respond.

“Hasn’t eaten yet,” he said.

“Not a good sign.” Trish sighed.

Marianne climbed down into the water and took over from Peter.

“Give us a shout if you have any problems,” Trish said as she and Peter headed for the door.

Marianne stared down at Grace. The nasty cut in the baby’s fin was held together by a clear line of stitches. Otherwise, the little dolphin’s gray skin was flawless. Through the water, Marianne could make out the distinctive yellow and gray pattern in the shape of an hourglass on her flank.

A big eye watched her.

“Hey, little Gracie, you’ll be fine, you’ll be fine.” She crooned to the baby dolphin, but it remained still.

A strange stirring in her lower belly sent an icy sensation racing up Marianne’s spine. It wasn’t pain, exactly, just pressure, almost as if her insides were vibrating. She’d never felt anything like it. Was this normal in the first few weeks?

Then the little dolphin in her arms began to stir, almost vibrate, as well. And the sensation of pressure in her abdomen grew even stronger. She opened her mouth to call for help, but then the dolphin shivered, relaxed, and lay motionless. Marianne felt another chill of dread.

She called over her shoulder, “Trish, Trish? Can you come?”

As she shouted, Grace’s tail began to sweep up and down, and Marianne could feel its muscles bunching and tightening. Marianne gasped, as with a burst of energy the dolphin pushed out of her arms. The strange sensation down low in her abdomen faded until it disappeared.

“Trish! Come quickly!” She held on to the ladder and watched, mesmerized, as Grace swooped around the tank.

Trish came running out of one of the doors just in time to see the little dolphin return to Marianne and press up against her.

“That’s great!” Trish grinned and squatted down at the edge of the tank.

Grace gave a series of clicking sounds and Marianne reached for the bottle of formula. The baby pulled at it noisily, and after demolishing the bottle, took off around the tank again. Marianne threw back her head and laughed.

“Marianne,” a voice shouted from the doorway. It was Jennifer, the motherly admin/receptionist at the front desk. “Someone’s here asking for you. Young guy… tall, blond...”

Trish flashed Marianne a look. “Is that him?”

Marianne muttered, “Oh for God’s sake.” She called back to Jennifer. “Tell him I’m unavailable, OK? Thanks, Jen.”

“Oh, Marianne. That’s annoying.” Trish touched her arm. “And a bit scary! What are you going to do?”

Marianne shook her head and bit her lip.

This situation was getting out of hand.

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About the Author

Diane Solomon has written seven books published by Eloquent Rascals Publishing, the most recent of which is Eva.

Diane began her career in the UK as a singer and songwriter on her own BBC TV show. Then, after 15 years of traveling the world as an entertainer, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome destroyed her career. She struggled for almost eight years, wading through half a life. Finally regaining her health with the help of a homeopathic remedy. She wrote Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Guide to The Homeopathic Treatment of CFS/ME, hoping to help others afflicted with this dreadful disease. It quickly became the best-selling book in the homeopathy section in November 2015. 

Since then she has written and published the fantasy time travel  Ravenstone series, written with her husband Mark Carey. For middle schoolers, these are The Ravenstone: The Secret of Ninham Mountain and The Ravenstone: The Twain. She also wrote 88 Guys for Coffee, a humorous women's novel about online dating.

Now retired from practice and focused on writing, Diane lives in beautiful New Hampshire with her husband, Mark. She writes, edits, researches, designs and builds gardens, always seeking more knowledge, more understanding, and more creative flow.

Connect:

http://www.eloquentrascals.com/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086970980833

https://www.instagram.com/dianelsolomon/

https://twitter.com/DianeSolomon

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14687934.Diane_Solomon

Spotlight: The Island of Zoe by Dino Hajiyorgi & Christos Sourligas

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Genre: Fantasy Romance

A young Greek American woman travels to the island of Petra bearing precious cargo: her late grandmother’s body, to be buried on the land where the old woman spent her youth. But when Zoe arrives on Petra, she finds that her grandmother, Maria, has left her an opulent villa and old family secrets hidden in the mystery of the island.

Zoe notices how spry and fit the island’s elderly residents are. In fact, no one has miraculously died in over seventy years, and time actually stands still on Petra. After Stefanos, a dapper older gentleman, ends his life the night of Grandma’s funeral, Zoe learns that Stefanos and her grandmother were lovers and realizes there’s much more to the island than meets the eye.

Zoe sets out to discover the island and uncovers strange happenings: there isn’t a single working clock or telephone, rich migrants from all over the world live clandestinely in the hills, the island is on permanent lock-down by the Greek Navy, and the main residents are subjected to repeated medical tests. Manos, the raki-loving bon vivant who runs the local general store, hints that the islanders are paying a price for what they did to Grandma Maria and Stefanos but refuses to reveal more.

Hoping to sell her grandmother’s house and use the money to help her troubled retail business back in America, Zoe inadvertently falls for the local priest’s son, Paris, who will soon be a priest in his own right. As romantic tension mounts between them, he admits his reluctance to become a priest. Believing Zoe is a threat to their immortality, several islanders gang up on Zoe and try to expel her from Petra when more truths come to light…

Buy on Amazon | Bookshop.org

About the Authors

Dino Hajiyorgi was born in Istanbul in 1963 and lived in Chalkida, Greece. An award-winning writer, he was a film school graduate of ArtCenter College of Design in California, and worked as an animation series scriptwriter for Greek and German studios. A honorary member of the Athenian Club of Science Fiction, his short stories appeared in newspapers, magazines, anthologies, and in the Greek edition of Asimov’s Magazine. Dino’s additional published books are: “Nighttime Traditions”, “Ashes on Marble”, “Wolf of the Sea”, and “Saltibango and the Cats of Hydra”.

Christos Sourligas is an award-winning and bestselling author and award-winning filmmaker. He has created and produced multiple feature films and television shows, and as a former senior executive for several internationally-renowned television production companies, he’s successfully brought shows into the homes of over 1.5 billion television viewers worldwide, airing in over 140 countries, and on 100 airlines. He also serves as a mentor and volunteer with various awards events, festivals and non-profit organizations. Christos resides in Montreal, Canada, and travels often to his ancestral home in Arcadia, Greece.

Website * Facebook * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

Spotlight: Taniwha Creek by Stephanie Ruth

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(Otago Waters)
Publication date: July 22nd 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

Maybe friends really do make the best lovers…

Barista Maddie Stalwart-Jones has known Todd Kaihanga all her life, but no matter where her brain wanders when she’s not vigilant, she refuses to consider her brother’s best mate as anything other than off limits. It would be all wrong, right? The self-proclaimed pessimist is intent on ignoring the fact her cafe manager is the only guy she can relax and be herself around, and the only person she’s comfortable talking about her dead brother with.

Intent on escaping Wānaka, where everyone seems to have an opinion on her intimate business and family history, falling for Todd would be highly inconvenient.

Todd’s a patient guy, but he’s over waiting around for Maddie to notice he could be so much more than a shoulder to lean on. When Maddie’s mother finally agrees to accept some much needed help with her run down property, it’s a perfect catalyst for Todd to prove to his high school crush that his optimistic streak isn’t a curse, it’s the perfect yin to her yang. The wedding of the year is about to kick off, and there’s only one woman he wants to be dancing with.

A mid-summer Valentine’s Day novella, TANIWHA CREEK joins Stephanie Ruth’s award winning Otago Waters series, set in the beautiful South Island of Aotearoa, New Zealand. Each book stands alone, but reading them in order provides a deeper experience. Intended for readers who enjoy their slow-burn, feel-good romance on the steamy side, with the promise of a happily ever after.

Reader discretion advised, this novella deals with the trauma of a past road accident, and hoarding.

Sign on to Stephanie Ruth’s newsletter to receive bonus short stories, prologues, epilogues, and cut scenes set in the same world with the characters you love at www.stephanie-ruth.com

Excerpt

Childhood Friends:

“I had a knot in my bootlace.” Todd’s lament came from the bank and Maddie turned to take in the view of him, standing there in his close-fit cotton boxers. 

Dark skin and defined pecs, oozing athletic grace.

“Aww. Shame,” Maddie mock-commiserated, but her words came out a lot more strangled than she’d intended, missing the sarcastic bent she’d been aiming for.

Todd was no longer a lanky teenager, and if he hadn’t been Mitchell’s best friend Maddie would’ve definitely given herself leave to notice that salient point long before now.

“You were never one to pass up a challenge.” Todd grinned as he waded out towards her. “A surefire way to know you wouln’t give up was to make everything into a race.”

Flipping onto her back to stop herself staring, Maddie pushed off, moving further away from the guy she didn’t quite recognise. 

“Though you were never one to make it a fair fight,” she countered.

“Not fair? I always play fair!” But Maddie could hear by the tone of Todd’s voice the declaration was paired with his boyish grin, so wasn’t to be trusted. “You only won today because I let you.” 

“I won because you tripped yourself up, didn’t plan ahead, and believed a mere T-shirt could stop me getting past you,” she scoffed.

“Last in. I guess that makes me Taniwha, then.” Todd’s soft threat came a second before he went under. 

Maddie was nervy enough to let out a muted squeak. 

Todd’s wade-in had stirred up a bit of sediment from the bottom of the waterhole, and Maddie panicked when she realised it made him all but invisible when paired with the dappled light reflecting off the surface.

Being chased had always ratcheted up her adrenaline, and adding lack of visibility to the game only upped the ante.

Kicking away from where she’d seen him last, Maddie free-styled towards the deeper water near the bank where the flow was clearer. Hearing Todd re-surface behind her, she turned just in time to see his feet disappearing again as he trailed her underwater like a sly crocodile.

Her squeal came unbidden when something touched her foot, and her reactive kick connected with a solid body. 

Not reptilian. Definitely human. 

She was laughing when Todd finally stopped mucking around, pulling her under by the feet as the game dictated.

When they resurfaced it was together, but only Maddie was spluttering. 

Todd was suddenly very close, and practically naked. “Your knickers are totally see-through underwater,” he teased.

If her knickers were, then her bra definitely was, too.

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About the Author

Award winning New Zealand contemporary romance novelist and short story writer, Stephanie Ruth lives in the South Island, Te Waipounamu, with her husband, three children, and an ever expanding array of animals. If it doesn't have a happy ending in some form or other, Stephanie's not writing it.

Connect:

https://www.stephanie-ruth.com/

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Spotlight: Watch Your Back by Stacy Claflin

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(Ariana Jones, #1)

Publication date: May 22nd 2022

Genres: Adult, Thriller

Synopsis:

Even perfect neighborhoods have deadly secrets.

Ariana and Damon moved to the gated neighborhood of Rosy Hills to leave behind their traumatic pasts. Now they have their dream jobs and are part of a tight group of friends. All of that crumbles when their neighbor Rita disappears without a trace.

Now it looks like one of their own could be a killer. Ariana and Damon must figure out who it is, or they risk never finding Rita alive. If they don’t reach her in time, they could all end up dead…

Excerpt

“Rita, where are you?” he called.

She readied herself to run again.

His footsteps sounded close. “Ready or not, here I come.”

She held her breath. Waited.

Had to get the shoes off.

“Rita…”

A shiver shot down her spine.

“You can’t hide forever,” he said, now sounding farther away.

Stomach lurching, she peeked around the corner.

He neared the swings, his back to her.

She loosened the buckle on her right pump. It stuck. Resisted.

Footsteps grew closer.

Now he was heading her way.

She froze. Tried to fix her buckle. Fumbled.

“There you are!”

Heart nearly giving out, she turned.

He stood halfway between the playground and her.

Rita leaped to her feet and ran. Her right shoe clung to her foot loosely, the buckle not fully undone. Made it hard to remain steady. She kicked, trying to free herself from it.

Finally lost it as she darted between bushes. Rough bark dug into her bare foot. Then concrete as she reached the sidewalk. Her hips protested the three-inch difference between her two feet, one shoed and the other not.

“Gotcha!” His arms wrapped around her middle. He squeezed.

She struggled and kicked, barely able to breathe. “Help! I’m being—”

He covered her mouth.

She bit his finger.

He swore at her. Didn’t let go. Pulled her back toward the park.

Rita squirmed and flailed. Scratched at him.

She wasn’t going down without a fight.

They flew to the ground.

She landed with a hard thud.

He crashed on top of her.

She pushed and strained to get out from under him.

“This could’ve all been avoided,” he grunted. “I only wanted to talk.”

“Could’ve fooled me.” She tried to push him off.

“Don’t you see we’re meant for each other?”

Rita almost laughed at the irony of his words. “This is your way of winning me back?”

“You have to see the obvious.”

The truth was clearer now than before. But pointing that out wouldn’t do any good. Just needed to get away. Get her phone back and call the cops.

Had to think fast.

“You think we can work things out?” she asked, and stopped resisting.

“If you’re willing to change.” He loosened his hold.

She bit back a sarcastic retort. Needed to get him to move off her. “What do you want me to do?”

“You have to stop flirting with guys at the bar, for starters,” he said, giving her more space.

Not enough to run.

“Let’s talk about that,” she said.

He rolled off her and started to say something.

Rita jumped up and ran.

He called after her.

She raced to the park. Through it.

He screamed profanities at her, getting closer.

She yelled for help. For all the good that would do.

Her restaurant came into view.

All she needed was to get to her car. Her fingerprint would start it. Thank God for technology. She’d lost her keys and purse somewhere along the way. Hadn’t even noticed when.

She reached her property.

Something hard struck the back of her head.

Rita flew forward. Landed hard on the ground, her car just out of reach.

Another hit to the head.

Everything went black.

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About the Author

Stacy Claflin is a USA Today bestselling thriller author who has published more than 75 novels, including Girl in Trouble and The Perfect Death. She has always been curious about the human mind, and in her quest to learn more, she earned a degree in Psychology. Her favorite course was Abnormal Behavior, which has been useful in writing fiction.

Her love for thrillers goes back to her early childhood when she fell in love with Unsolved Mysteries and America’s Most Wanted. When Stacy was five, she got mad at a babysitter who wouldn’t let her watch the evening news. These days, she spends her free time listening to true crime podcasts or watching documentaries on the subject.

She has been telling stories for as long as she can remember, and as child would often get into trouble for trying to convince friends her wild tales were true. Now she puts her creativity to better use by writing page-turning stories that leave readers begging for more.

Stacy occasionally dabbles in other genres, so as you peruse her library of works, you’ll find some romance and paranormal tales, all with strong suspense elements.

Join Stacy's newsletter to get three free novels: https://stacyclaflin.com/newsletter

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