The Russian
Temptation
by Nikki Navarre
Tone: Sexy, smart, splashy, glamorous, seething with international
intrigue
Heat Level: hot
Elements/Tags: spy romance, international intrigue, Russia,
espionage, thriller, spy thriller, romantic suspense
Publisher: River Valley Publishing
Publishing Date: October 1, 2013 (ebook), November 1, 2013 (print)
Series: Foreign Affairs, Book Two
Format: Print and ebook (Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Smashwords)
Words: 90K
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DOSSIER FOR NIKKI
NAVARRE
Back Cover:
She wants the truth. He wants her.
Ambassador and scientist Skylar
Rossi is determined to expose security breaches in an illegal Russian chemical
weapons plant. Her mission is personal. She’s spent a lifetime atoning for the
sins of her father, an international arms dealer. But the moment
she steps off the Trans-Siberian train in Khimgorod—a city that doesn’t exist
on any map—she’s alone, isolated and deep in enemy territory. She can trust no
one, especially her so-called security escort, the refined and lethal Nikolai
Markov.
Ex-KGB agent Nikolai Markov’s
assignment is to keep Russia’s dirty little secrets out of Skylar’s hands…by
any means necessary. But Skylar Rossi is more than just the mark. She’s
responsible for his brother’s death and it’s payback time. So why is he suddenly
feeling protective about a woman he might have to kill?
The stakes quickly turn deadly,
and Skylar needs Nikolai to keep her safe. But their own chemistry may be far
more dangerous…
Buy Links:
Meet Author Nikki
Navarre:
_Author_HeadShot.jpg)
DOSSIER FOR NIKKI
NAVARRE
DECLASSIFIED
Subject:
Nikki Navarre
Assignment:
Double Agent
Cover:
Diplomat. Playgirl. Author of The Russian Temptation.
Nikki Navarre is the author of
the award-winning Foreign Affairs series and the sinister twin of unsuspecting
historical romance author Laura Navarre. In her other life, Nikki is a
diplomat who’s lived in Russia and works on weapons of mass destruction issues.
In the line of duty, she’s been trapped in an elevator in a nuclear power
plant and has stalked the corridors of facilities churning out nerve agent and
other apocalyptic weapons. In this capacity, she meets many of the world’s most
dangerous men.
Inspired by the perilous
realities of her real life, Nikki writes romantic suspense set in glamorous
international locales and laced with political intrigue. Her literary
credentials are suspiciously similar to those of her innocent twin. A
member of Romance Writers of America’s Published Author Network (PAN), winner
of the 2012 Pacific Northwest Writers Association award for romance and many
other awards, Nikki holds an M.F.A. in Writing Popular Fiction from the
University of Southern Maine, an M.A. in National Security Policy from The
George Washington University, and other alarming credentials.
Based in an island compound in
the Pacific Northwest with her screenwriter husband and two Siberian cats as
accomplices, she divides her time between her writing career and other
adventures for U.S. government clients. Her notorious exploits in the
world of diplomacy will get her in trouble one of these days.
The Russian Temptation may be the last mistake she ever makes.
Nikki’s Coordinates:
Excerpt from The Russian Temptation
By Nikki Navarre
“Ilya,” Nikolai Markov said calmly,
still watching her. “Take Dr. Rossi’s suitcase and attaché case to the train.”
Swiftly Skylar slipped in front of the
hired muscle and blocked their path. She tightened her grip on her attaché
case, not about to let it vanish the way her purse had. They’d have to be one
hell of a lot more forceful to separate her from the documents she carried.
But she hoped to avoid that outcome.
Donning a professional smile, she extended
her free hand. “I’m pleased to meet you, Mister…?”
“Just Ilya, Dr. Rossi,” said Nikolai
Markov. “He’s a man of few words.”
Of course, without a surname she
wouldn’t be able to look him up, using her contacts at the U.S. Embassy, when
she returned to Moscow. No doubt any name they gave her would be false, but
sometimes an alias turned up back at Langley.
Meanwhile, Ilya-with-no-last-name hulked
over her, face buried under his muffler, gray eyes like dirty ice staring
through her with a chilling lack of interest. This thug could break her in two
with his bare hands. Thankfully, his orders were simply to assist with her
luggage.
When he didn’t accept her hand, Skylar
kept smiling and pivoted toward his partner. A scar snaked through the rough
terrain of this one’s pitted face. But he gave his name gruffly as Artur—again
with no surname, of course.
“Dr. Rossi,” Nikolai Markov said gently,
“your train departs in one minute thirty seconds. Go aboard now, please.”
Sucking down another lungful of icy
oxygen, she gripped her attaché case firmly with both hands.
“According to the schedule Anton Belov
provided, my first meeting with the mayor of Khimgorod is scheduled in three
hours. Even with Dr. Belov indisposed, I’m sure the mayor can resolve any minor
issues that may arise.”
For a heartbeat, Nikolai Markov stared
at her with those opaque black eyes. Perhaps she’d succeeded at last in
surprising him, though his demeanor gave nothing away.
“I am afraid Dr. Belov’s…indisposition
has resulted in the cancellation of your entire itinerary—from your meetings to
your hotel reservation. Go aboard now, please, Dr. Rossi. This is no place for
diplomatic negotiation.”
Without engaging in a physical scuffle,
she couldn’t prevent Artur from hoisting her suitcase as though it weighed
nothing. Well, she could work without a change of clothing if necessary, and
pick up local toiletries in town. What mattered was that she still had her
documents.
“I’m not leaving, Mr. Markov.” Skylar
looked him straight in the eye.
“These discussions are a top priority
for my government, and I’m operating under official instructions from the
highest level. Moreover, my tickets were purchased with taxpayer dollars, and
funds for my lodging were already wired to the hotel. I’m committed to these meetings,
even if it means sleeping on a couch in the lobby.”
She angled her chin up and pinned him
with the imperial look she’d learned from her celebrity mother. “I’d like to go
to the hotel now, please, so I can freshen up before the mayor.”
As if to underscore her words, the train
jerked forward, its carriages clanking and rattling as the locomotive did its
work.
Too late now to send me back.
Another indication that Markov, whatever
his agenda, wasn’t acting under official orders. Or else the train would have
waited.
Still, a sense of mounting apprehension
made her scalp crawl. All too clearly, someone didn’t want her here. Maybe the
FSB had decided her presence was a liability. Wouldn’t be the first time the
Russian spy agency and the Foreign Ministry had disagreed.
“This is unfortunate, Dr. Rossi,”
Nikolai Markov murmured.
His dark eyes shifted to Ilya. Jerking a
nod as some unspoken message flashed between them, the goon trudged forward.
Violating her diplomatic immunity, his hard hand closed on her shoulder.
A coil of anxiety tightened her chest.
People had disappeared in Siberia before—millions of them, in fact. Officially,
the city of Khimgorod didn’t even exist. She’d called her office from
Novosibirsk, but the Russians could claim she’d never even arrived…
She did her best to conceal her qualms.
The secret to negotiating with Russians was embedded in the old deodorant
commercial.
Never let them see you sweat.
“Artur,” Nikolai Markov said. “Take our
American guest’s suitcase to the car.”
Pivoting, Markov glided toward the only
break in the top-security barricade, where a concrete guard shanty, bathed in
harsh light, guarded the exit. The silver gleam of a cell phone flashed as he
tucked the device against his ear and muttered into it.
Skin prickling with apprehension, she
followed, her shoulder gripped by Ilya as he quick-marched her from behind.
Nikolai Markov crossed the treacherous platform with balletic grace, stepping
lightly as a deer across the black ice—almost mesmerizing, in a way. The man
looked and moved like no security watchdog she’d ever encountered.
Thanks to her father, she’d encountered
the best.
At least he’d agreed to bring her into
town, which moved her one step closer to her goal. The chemical weapons combine
was a thirty-mile drive past the city itself, according to the satellite
imagery.
As they approached the station exit,
Markov snapped the phone shut and dropped back beside her.
“I’ve modified your travel arrangements,
Dr. Rossi. Although your stay will, of necessity, last no longer than 2300
hours this evening when the next train arrives, all guests are required to
adhere to the laws and regulations that govern this closed city.”
“I’d expect nothing else.” Discreetly
she tried to slip free of Ilya. But the hired muscle only tightened his grip.
Despite the insulating layers between them, her shoulder began to ache.
For a heartbeat, Markov’s gaze flickered
toward her.
“Ilya,” he said quietly.
Just like that, his trained watchdog
released her.
Skylar resisted the impulse to rub her
aching shoulder and returned to the business at hand. “I’ve been thoroughly
briefed on the laws that govern the closed cities—”
“Given the possible consequences of any
deviation, allow me to refresh your memory, Dr. Rossi.” As they approached the
barbed-wire fence, his gaze swept the perimeter. “No photographs are allowed
anywhere in the city or its environs. If you disregard this rule, your camera
will be confiscated and destroyed, and you may be subject to legal penalties,
possibly including detainment.”
“I understand.” The weight of her smart
phone, with its embedded camera, seemed suddenly heavy in her briefcase.
“No PDAs or smart phones.” For a breath,
his eyes flickered toward her, as though he’d read her mind. “If you disregard
this rule, the device will be confiscated and destroyed, and you will be
subject to legal penalties, possibly including detainment.”
“I understand perfectly, Mr. Markov.
This isn’t the first closed city I’ve visited.”
“No laptop computer or tablet,” he
continued, “no radio equipment or other electronic device is allowed to
visitors anywhere in the city. If you disregard this rule—”
“My equipment will be confiscated and
destroyed, and I’ll probably be thrown in jail. I catch the drift,” she said lightly,
working to interject a note of humor.
They hadn’t gotten off to an auspicious
start. If she intended to succeed, she needed to build goodwill and lay the
foundation for future cooperation with the local officials, including the
security office. “I believe I understand the seriousness of our situation.”
“For your sake, I hope so.” He slanted
her an ironic glance. “Immediately upon arrival at the hotel, you’ll be
required to surrender your mobile phone and laptop, that automatic quartz watch
you’re wearing, and any other electronic devices secreted among your
possessions. Your telephone may be used in the lobby if a representative of our
security office monitors your communications.”
“I understand.” Carefully she stepped
around a patch of icy ground. If she went sprawling, she doubted the charming
Ilya would catch her. Then they’d be airlifting her to the hospital in
Novosibirsk.
The security measures were identical to
those in a dozen closed cities—locations whose secret facilities performed
covert nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons activities. They didn’t appear
on any map, but they turned up in the satellite photos—far too extensive to
camouflage.
In fact, the existence of these
top-secret regulations at Khimgorod, a city where the Russians insisted they’d
never done any offensive work, told Skylar her hunch had been right. Something
nasty was going on at the Khimgorod Chemical Combine.
“I hope you do understand, Dr. Rossi.”
Halting at the guard shanty, Nikolai Markov pivoted toward her. “Any violation
of these rules will result in your deportation. In addition, you may face
other… consequences. Regrettably one can never be certain, in such a provincial
region, whether the local militsia will recognize diplomatic
immunity—or choose to ignore it.”
“That would make my government very
unhappy, Mr. Markov,” she said softly.
Intrigued? Comment here for a chance to
win a print or e-book copy of The Russian Seduction,Book One in
the Foreign Affairs series. Skylar and Nikolai’s adventures continue
athttp://amzn.to/1caeAtA
Giveaway Details:
One commenter per the total number of stops will be gifted a digital or print copy of THE RUSSIAN SEDUCTION, book two of the Foreign Affairs series. Please follow the Rafflecopter directions.
Additionally, Nikki has a $50 electronic gift certificate giveaway going on on her Facebook page in celebration of the release and her upcoming Facebook event!
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Loved the excerpt. I love reading romantic suspense books.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by, Theresa! I'm hosting a "Passport to Suspense" Facebook Party with five other romantic suspense authors on my FB page at NikkiNavarreAuthor on Nov. 20 if you're interested! Tons of giveaways and lots of fun.
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