Lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice. In theory. But in one
small town, in one family, that theory is put to the test.
Growing up in a rural town in Massachusetts was supposed to be safe,
but for SILVIE CHILDS, that safety was shattered by a kidnapping attempt that
forever changed her life. Now, nearly twenty years later, that sense of safety
is challenged again by the kidnapping attempt on her young niece, and Silvie is
left struggling with one question: How can something like this happen twice in
one family?
It is a dilemma shared by NICK FAHEY, the detective assigned to the
case. Arriving on the scene of the abduction attempt, Nick expects to run a
routine investigation. Until he meets the victim, the niece of a woman he once
considered a dear friend. Unfortunately, these days Silvie Childs can barely
stand the sight of him.
Once there was a time when Silvie Childs worshipped Nick Fahey,
believing he could do no wrong. Until the accident that nearly killed her
brother; the accident that Nick reportedly caused. Coming on the heels of her
own near abduction, the accident skewed Silvie’s ability to trust men –
especially Nick. But now, with the attempt on her niece’s safety, Silvie finds
herself in the untenable position of having to trust Nick to bring the
kidnapper to justice.
That trust is severely tested when, after only two months, the case is
closed for lack of new evidence. Feeling betrayed by the system in which she
works as a paralegal and by Nick, Silvie takes matters into her own hands.
Contacting local news stations to generate interest in the case, allowing
herself to be filmed hanging sketches of the suspect on telephone poles, she
will risk her own safety to protect that of her niece. When her efforts re-open
the wounds of her past, she is once again forced to put her trust in the one
man who still has the power to hurt her – Nick.
Buy
Links:
Excerpt:
“What’s this?”
he asked, cupping her face in his hand and running the thumb along the lower
edge of her too-full lips. “A little hint of maturity? Silvie Childs apologizing?”
She nipped his
thumb at the jibe, not hard, just enough that he hissed out a breath in
reaction. All hint of humor fled from him. He was intent, serious now, every
nerve in his body on high alert. “Is that how you want to play it?” he
whispered, his voice guttural. “Huh?” He moved a little closer to her,
maneuvering her up against the open door. Slipped his thumb between her lips,
parting them. “You think we’ve danced around this enough for one day, hmm?”
“I don’t know
what you mean.” Her lips brushed against his thumb as she spoke, igniting a
spark within him. Interesting.
“Liar,” he said
as he dipped his head close enough to replace his thumb with his lips. But he
didn’t. Instead, he skimmed his lips along her cheekbone to her right ear,
flicked his tongue along the rim of the opening. Into her ear, he whispered,
“When you stop lying to yourself, I’ll give you what you want.”
She grabbed the
hand he still cupped her face with, the gesture almost – convulsive. Hmm, what was that
about? Her breath in his ear sent a shiver throughout his body. “And what,” she
whispered against his cheek, “do you think I want?”
He nipped her
earlobe, smiled at her shocked gasp. Soothing the nip with a flick of his
tongue, he murmured, “Oh, I don’t know.” Into her ear, “Think about it.” Sliding his lips along her cheek as he withdrew,
he couldn’t resist allowing the tip of his tongue to flit across her lips in
parting. When she opened her mouth as if in protest, he warned, “Uh-ah, you’ve
got to stop lying to yourself first.”
She slipped her
fingers into his hair, grabbing hanks of it to anchor his head and prevent his
retreat. He resisted the urge to smile – and to kiss her when she made the
overture to him. He merely slipped his thumb back over her lips, using it as a
barrier between them. When she cast him a pleading look, he asked, “Do you
still hate me?”
“Yes,” she
admitted when he slid his thumb away, releasing her lips from captivity. “More
than ever.”
He smiled and
angled his head, as if preparing to kiss her. “Why?” he asked instead.
“You know why!”
“Mm,” he
murmured, accepting that as her answer. “And who do you hate more right now?”
He dipped his head a little closer. “Me, because I won’t do what you want – or you, because you want it?”
“Me, all me,”
she whispered as she swooped in close and took what she wanted from him. What
he allowed her to take from him.
Voraciously.
Good
Lord, he thought moments before she pulled away, shock at her own
actions clearly written on her face. Where had she learned to kiss like that?
“Ah, Silvie,”
he said, dragging his thumb over her full lower lip before he favored her with
a lingering, open-mouthed kiss, “I don’t think you hate me as much as you think you do.” He pulled back before she
could respond – to his words or his kiss – and jogged down the three short
steps from her front porch to the walkway. “Goodnight, Silvie,” he called over
a shoulder. “Lock the door behind me.”
Author Bio:
Descended
from the same bloodline that spawned the likes of James Russell, Amy and Robert
Lowell, Margay Leah Justice was fated to be a writer herself from a young age.
But even before she knew that there was a name for what she was doing, she knew
one thing: She had a deep and unconditional love for the written word. A love
that would challenge her in times of need, abandon her in times of distress,
and rediscover her in times of hope. Through her writing, Margay has learned to
cope with every curve ball life has thrown her, including the challenges of
single parenting, the harsh realities of living in a shelter, coping with the
diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis, and the roller coaster ride of dealing with a
child who suffers from bipolar disorder. But along the way she has rediscovered
the amazing power of words.
Margay
currently lives in Massachusetts with her two daughters, two cats, and a myriad
of characters who vie for her attention and demand that their own stories be
told. In her spare time, she is an avid knitter, knitting her way through a
stash of yarn that almost rivals her tbr pile!
No comments:
Post a Comment