Somebody wants Cara
Sinclair dead. Joe
Reynolds is determined to keep her alive, but that's not all he
wants.
Divorcing one of the west coast's most notorious crime bosses is probably not the best idea Cara ever had. If not for her half brother, Brian, convincing her abusive ex-husband to leave her alone, she'd have been dead six months ago.
Now Joe, a man she meets right before two gunmen try to kill them both, tells her it's not her ex-husband who's out to get her. Joe just saved her life and she wants to trust him, but who else could possibly want her dead? And why does she get the feeling Joe didn't appear in her life just by chance?
Joe's undercover investigation into Cara's family business reveals Sinclair Arms Distributing is selling illegal automatic weapons. The investigation goes bad and one of Joe's operatives dies, but not before telling Joe that Cara's life is in danger.
Divorcing one of the west coast's most notorious crime bosses is probably not the best idea Cara ever had. If not for her half brother, Brian, convincing her abusive ex-husband to leave her alone, she'd have been dead six months ago.
Now Joe, a man she meets right before two gunmen try to kill them both, tells her it's not her ex-husband who's out to get her. Joe just saved her life and she wants to trust him, but who else could possibly want her dead? And why does she get the feeling Joe didn't appear in her life just by chance?
Joe's undercover investigation into Cara's family business reveals Sinclair Arms Distributing is selling illegal automatic weapons. The investigation goes bad and one of Joe's operatives dies, but not before telling Joe that Cara's life is in danger.
Joe promises to keep
her safe, but he also intends to use her to find the evidence he needs against
her brother. All he has to do is convince her to trust him.
Falling in love with her isn't part of the plan.
Falling in love with her isn't part of the plan.
********** EXCERPT **********
“Are
you crazy? I can’t do that!”
“Yes, you can.”
She looked again at the edge of the platform and envisioned herself jumping off. Her mind recoiled, and a sick feeling swirled in her stomach. She leaned back against the pole.
“You go. Maybe if I see you do it, I’ll be able to jump.”
“You can’t stay up here by yourself.”
She groaned again, and her stomach churned. “Isn’t there any other way down?”
“Trust me. This is the safest way.”
Everything required trust with him. So, did she trust him? If she ever got back on the ground, she might be able to answer that question. She looked over the edge of the platform. There’s no way!
“Take your time. Go when you’re ready…unless you want me to give you a little push.”
“You wouldn’t dare!” She wrapped her arms around the pole.
“You really don’t trust me, do you?” He laughed.
“I was starting to, before you said the word push.”
“There’s hope then? If I choose my words more carefully?”
“Maybe…if I ever get down from here.”
“Let’s sit for a minute. Things will look different from that perspective.” He sat, dangling his long legs over the side. Cara positioned herself beside him, her hands nervously flexing on the rope that joined her to the zip line.
“Jumping doesn’t seem any more reasonable from here.” Too bad, since sitting close enough to rub shoulders with him made her nearly as uncomfortable as the stupid zip line.
“We’ll just hang out and talk for a while then. That okay?” He gripped the edge of the platform and leaned forward, turning to look at her.
“The last time we talked, it ended badly.”
“Now we know which subjects to stay away from.”
“Yeah, anything to do with either of our private lives.”
“I think it was your ex-husband and my desire to protect you from him that got us crossways with each other.”
Cara glanced sideways at him, He was looking at her. Their eyes met. The strangest emotions coursed through her. Somehow, it didn’t sound so bad when he said it like that. Who didn’t want a knight in shining armor? She was afraid for Joe, but he sounded so confident he could protect her, and himself, she almost believed it. Recognizing the danger in that, she tore her eyes away from his.
“We’re making progress. You didn’t rip into me that time.” A grin came through in his voice.
“It doesn’t do any good to try talking sense into you.” She tried to sound serious, but her heart was no longer in it. She forced her mind back to the task at hand, considering the likelihood she’d ever be able to zip off this ledge. What was the worst that could happen? The cable could break and she’d plummet thirty feet to the ground. End all of her problems. More likely, it would be a gradual descent, with the jump from the platform the only really exciting part. She could do this.
“We’ve got unfinished business, you know. We might as well take care of it while we’re sitting here.”
“What’s that?”
“I almost had you talked into dinner that night we met.”
“You weren’t even close.”
“I think you were as intrigued with the idea as I was.” He grinned. “I also think we stood a good chance of ending the evening with a kiss.”
“That’s a stretch. You’re making the same mistake you made that night. Going from confident to arrogant in about two seconds flat. There was no chance in hell you were going to get a kiss.” Cara smiled at his wounded look.
“Will my chances ever improve?” His eyes met hers again.
“Yes, you can.”
She looked again at the edge of the platform and envisioned herself jumping off. Her mind recoiled, and a sick feeling swirled in her stomach. She leaned back against the pole.
“You go. Maybe if I see you do it, I’ll be able to jump.”
“You can’t stay up here by yourself.”
She groaned again, and her stomach churned. “Isn’t there any other way down?”
“Trust me. This is the safest way.”
Everything required trust with him. So, did she trust him? If she ever got back on the ground, she might be able to answer that question. She looked over the edge of the platform. There’s no way!
“Take your time. Go when you’re ready…unless you want me to give you a little push.”
“You wouldn’t dare!” She wrapped her arms around the pole.
“You really don’t trust me, do you?” He laughed.
“I was starting to, before you said the word push.”
“There’s hope then? If I choose my words more carefully?”
“Maybe…if I ever get down from here.”
“Let’s sit for a minute. Things will look different from that perspective.” He sat, dangling his long legs over the side. Cara positioned herself beside him, her hands nervously flexing on the rope that joined her to the zip line.
“Jumping doesn’t seem any more reasonable from here.” Too bad, since sitting close enough to rub shoulders with him made her nearly as uncomfortable as the stupid zip line.
“We’ll just hang out and talk for a while then. That okay?” He gripped the edge of the platform and leaned forward, turning to look at her.
“The last time we talked, it ended badly.”
“Now we know which subjects to stay away from.”
“Yeah, anything to do with either of our private lives.”
“I think it was your ex-husband and my desire to protect you from him that got us crossways with each other.”
Cara glanced sideways at him, He was looking at her. Their eyes met. The strangest emotions coursed through her. Somehow, it didn’t sound so bad when he said it like that. Who didn’t want a knight in shining armor? She was afraid for Joe, but he sounded so confident he could protect her, and himself, she almost believed it. Recognizing the danger in that, she tore her eyes away from his.
“We’re making progress. You didn’t rip into me that time.” A grin came through in his voice.
“It doesn’t do any good to try talking sense into you.” She tried to sound serious, but her heart was no longer in it. She forced her mind back to the task at hand, considering the likelihood she’d ever be able to zip off this ledge. What was the worst that could happen? The cable could break and she’d plummet thirty feet to the ground. End all of her problems. More likely, it would be a gradual descent, with the jump from the platform the only really exciting part. She could do this.
“We’ve got unfinished business, you know. We might as well take care of it while we’re sitting here.”
“What’s that?”
“I almost had you talked into dinner that night we met.”
“You weren’t even close.”
“I think you were as intrigued with the idea as I was.” He grinned. “I also think we stood a good chance of ending the evening with a kiss.”
“That’s a stretch. You’re making the same mistake you made that night. Going from confident to arrogant in about two seconds flat. There was no chance in hell you were going to get a kiss.” Cara smiled at his wounded look.
“Will my chances ever improve?” His eyes met hers again.
********* GUEST POST **********
Hello! I’m Tina Michaels, and I’m pleased to have
Cara Sinclair with me today. I’ll be asking her some questions about her
experiences as told in Dixie Lee Brown’s new romantic suspense novel, ALL OR
NOTHING.
Tina: Cara, do you feel lucky to be alive?
Cara: Absolutely! I went from being oblivious of any
danger…to someone trying to kill
me…to a complete stranger saving my life. If Joe
hadn’t shown up when he did…well, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be here
now.
Tina: Even before the attempt on your life, you weren’t what
you’d call happy, were you?
Cara: Not by any stretch of the imagination, but I don’t like to
dwell on that period of my life. Women in abusive relationships like I was need to know
there’s hope.
Sometimes you have to put your trust in someone else, and for those of us who
trust no one, that can be extremely difficult.
Tina: What one word would you use to describe
Joe?
Cara: (Laughing) That’s easy. Confident. Of course, I called him
arrogant when I first met him, but…no…confident describes him
best.
Tina: So, tell me. Is he hot?
Cara: I think so. He has the kindest, warmest golden-brown eyes
I’ve ever seen. His dark brown hair is a little long over his
ears, and he always has just a hint of five o’clock shadow. That little-boy smile of his can go
from mischief to romance in about two seconds flat. He works out and trains all the time so he’s in very good
shape. He’s not at all
hard to look at.
Tina: There’ve been some rumors surface about what Joe does for a
living. Any truth to them?
Cara: (Shrugs) As with most rumors, there’s probably an iota of
truth mixed in. Joe can be a very dangerous man when he has to be, but I
wouldn’t believe everything you hear.
Tina: Is it true you’re an expert
marksman?
Cara: I’m pretty good. My family owns Sinclair Arms Distributing, and my brother and I grew up on a firing range.
Cara: I’m pretty good. My family owns Sinclair Arms Distributing, and my brother and I grew up on a firing range.
Tina: How
do you decide if you can trust someone?
Cara: Well, Joe tells me I’m lousy at that very thing. (Laughs)
Some people have a sixth sense or something that tells them who to trust and who
not to trust. Apparently, I don’t have that safety feature, so for most of my
life I’ve trusted everybody, good or bad. Many times that hasn’t
worked out as well as I’d
hoped.
Tina: What’s next for you and Joe?
Cara: I try
not to look too far ahead. I’m happy with the way things are now, and I feel like I’ve finally come home. Everything is
perfect. Joe is amazing. I have friends here…a dog. How could life be any
better? I want to enjoy this time and see where it takes
us.
Tina: You’re a wise woman, Cara. Best of luck to both of you.
Thanks for stopping by to chat with me.
Thanks for tuning in for the show today. I
have a feeling you’ll enjoy Cara and Joe’s story—ALL OR NOTHING.
