Kill Devil Hills Series #2 
Release Date: May 25th, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-928044-45-1
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Format: ebook & print
Length: Novel (70,000 words)
*National Excellence in Storytelling finalist*
BLURB:
Keep your friends close.
Harper Sorenson’s husband died during a security contracting job in Syria more than a year ago. The official report said he was killed in an enemy ambush, but she doesn’t buy it. And until she knows the truth, she can’t move on. When someone tries to silence her, she knows she’s on the right track. Unfortunately, now she has no choice but to rely on the man she blames for everything—her dead husband’s best friend.
And your enemies closer.
Jared Blackmore was there the day Pete died. Gravely wounded himself in the ambush, he still can’t remember everything that happened. His own search for answers results in resistance from every angle, and he begins to fear the worst—that they’re dealing with a cover up. With Harper now in danger, he drops everything to protect her. He might have promised Pete that he would take care of her, but it’s far more personal than that, and he’s worried he won’t be able to hide his attraction any longer. With the bodies piling up and danger closing in, they don’t know who to trust. He must uncover the truth before it’s too late—before they both wind up dead—and before she figures out exactly how much she means to him.
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EXCERPT
He hid his face in her hair and just held on, fighting back the horror and anguish.
“I’m sorry I ever blamed you,” she whispered, her cheek cradled against his chest.
He shook his head, unable to answer. He didn’t blame her for doubting him. Didn’t blame her for being angry or still holding him responsible for Pete’s death on some level. Pete wouldn’t have taken the job if it hadn’t been for him.
He didn’t know how long they stood like that, clinging to each other in the cramped kitchen. Gradually the threat of tears subsided. The lump in his throat receded and his breathing turned back to normal.
Finally he became aware of her hand sliding up and down his back, slow and soothing. Her palm moved up to the back of his neck, her fingers playing in his hair. Then she lifted her head and nuzzled the edge of his jaw.
Surprise jolted him, followed immediately by a hot rush of need. He turned his face toward her, got lost for a moment staring down into those incredible silver eyes. Eyes that were still haunted, but now filled with desperation and a silent question he was only too fucking grateful to answer.
Without thinking, he cupped the back of her head and sought those tempting lips with his own. Harper pressed her body full length against him, fingers tightening at his nape as she met the kiss eagerly.
Fire streaked through his gut. He had both hands in her hair, greedily drinking her in, savoring every glide and stroke of her tongue against his.
He’d never felt like this. Never needed anyone the way he needed her right now.
He was desperate to lose himself in her, to banish every single shadow in her eyes and burn them away with pleasure. Show her without words what she meant to him, that he was already falling for her and would do fucking anything to make her his.
The kiss quickly turned ravenous. He couldn’t get enough. Couldn’t get close enough. Deep enough.
He wanted more. Everything. To feel every inch of her silky skin and bury himself as deep as he could get in her warmth.
Her fingers gripped the bottom of his shirt and began dragging it up. He helped her, lifting his arms over his head to peel the cotton away, his heart pounding out of control.
She froze, her eyes locking on the shrapnel and burn scars on his upper chest, arms and belly. There were more on his thighs. The places his vest hadn’t been able to protect him from the RPG blast.
She looked up at him, her expression stricken. “Jared…”
He cupped her cheek in his hand, stroking her petal-soft cheek with his thumb. He didn’t want her to feel sorry for him. “You were right. It should’ve been me. And I would’ve traded places with him in a heartbeat if it meant him coming back to you alive.”
Torment flashed in her eyes, but then she gripped his wrist and shook her head, her expression impossibly sad. “No. I wouldn’t have wanted you to die in his place. And…I’m glad you’re here with me now.”
Jared stared down at her, afraid to breathe as he read the truth in her face. His heart clenched, the swift pain making him suck in a breath.
She needed him. She wanted him. Nothing else mattered but that.
He scooped her up, holding her close as he carried her up the stairs, determined to take care of her in every way she’d let him.