Blog Tour July 21-August 4
At a benefit dinner, community activist Maria Cervantes overhears two men plotting a terrorist attack that could rock Miami to its core. But before she can alert authorities, she’s almost killed in a massive explosion—and wakes up in a hospital with no memory of what happened. As the sole survivor of the attack, she is now a person of interest to the NSA—and especially to Agent Cade O’Reilly. Because Maria is the one woman Cade has never been able to forget.Years ago, they were closer than either was willing to admit—until Cade disappeared when Maria needed him most. Now he’s sticking by her, whether she likes it or not. Because the memories locked inside her mind could hold vital clues to the next attack. Because terrorists want her dead—and because he never wants to let her go again.
Bound to Danger Excerpt:
The bathroom lights were too harsh, so she crawled to the entry and shut them off. Relief rolled over her at the sudden dimness. There was still a little stream of light from the bedroom, but her eyes didn’t hurt anymore. Wanting to call Nash and her mother, she opened her clutch but frowned when she didn’t see her phone. The purse wasn’t big, so it wasn’t as if it was hiding in a compartment. Which meant it had likely fallen out in the SUV. Lord, she couldn’t even remember if she’d brought it. Everything about tonight and the last few days was too fuzzy. Cursing, she snapped the clutch shut and struggled to her feet. She shouldn’t have come tonight and didn’t want to be lying on the floor when Mrs. Dobbins and her mother found her.
As Maria entered the bedroom, she heard loud male shouting coming from the next room. At least three men. Two had accents she couldn’t place, but one man she recognized. She hadn’t even realized he’d be at the party. She wanted to say hello but was too ill to face anyone and the shouting was escalating.
A low hum of panic threaded through her veins as the shouting suddenly increased in volume. She couldn’t make out the words, but then everything got quieter. Curious and worried, she hurried to the shared wall and pressed her ear against it.
“You cannot bomb the Freedom Tower last,” the familiar voice said, anger punching through each word.
“We can and will. It is symbolic,” an accented voice growled.
“No, the tower is a landmark. If you try to wait it won’t work. The police, the FBI, and everyone hunting you will . . .”
Maria wavered on her feet. Bomb the Freedom Tower? Panic gripped her with sharp talons, digging into her chest until it was hard to breathe. Blood rushed in her ears and she shook her head, trying to clear her panic so she could hear better. Straining, she held her breath as a man talked about bombing other Miami landmarks and individual residences. Some names she recognized well. Then there was a vile curse about hating the United States and all it stood for.
When everything suddenly went quiet, she pushed away from the wall. What the hell had she just heard? Terror was like a live thing inside her, pushing back most of her nausea. She had to tell someone what she’d just heard. While she didn’t recognize two of the voices, she knew the third one. And it scared the holy hell out of her that a man she knew, a man she trusted, was involved with . . . whatever was going on.
Her gaze landed on the door, but she backed away from it. There was no way she could exit through it. What if she ran into one of those men in the hallway? Looking around the unfamiliar room, she hurried to a double panel of ceiling-to-floor curtains. Peering behind one of the thick silk panels, she realized the curtains covered two French doors.
When she untwisted the lock the sound seemed overpronounced in the stillness even though she knew no one could have heard it. As she slipped outside onto the small balcony, the cool air rushed over her skin and a chill snaked through her that had nothing to do with the weather or her sickness.
Glancing around the expansive moonlit acreage, she looked for a guard or any signs of life. Are you freaking kidding me? The place had to be crawling with extra security.
Maria slipped off her heels and hurried across the small stone patio outside the room she’d been in. Immediately her feet hit grass. It was cool under her toes, but nothing could calm her right now. Pure panic raged through her as she hurried across the yard. Even through all the trees, on all sides she could only see a wall of hedges engulfing this place. Heading east across the yard in what she thought was the direction in which Nash had originally parked, she picked up her pace. She still felt shaky and nauseated, but nothing could stop her now. The hair on the back of her neck rose as another fear set in. What if someone had seen her leave that room? Or was watching her right now?
Katie Reus Bio:
Katie Reus is the New York Times, USA Today, & IndieReader bestselling author of the Red Stone Security series, the Moon Shifter series and the Deadly Ops series. She fell in love with romance at a young age thanks to books she pilfered from her mom's stash. Years later she loves reading romance almost as much as she loves writing it. However, she didn't always know she wanted to be a writer. After changing majors many times, she finally graduated with a degree in psychology. Not long after that she discovered a new love. Writing. She now spends her days writing dark paranormal romance and sexy romantic suspense.
Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Newsletter Signup
Great job building the tension in this excerpt. Don't know if I can handle an entire book if there isn't some downtime. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI really admire your writing style and the ability to hook readers with very little. I can't wait for more.
ReplyDeleteThat was a really suspenseful excerpt and makes me want to read more!
ReplyDeleteMarcy Shuler