Honor Among Seals by Dixie Lee Brown Book Tour and Giveaway :)
Honor Among
Seals
Hearts of Valor #2
by
Dixie Lee Brown
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Pub
Date: 10/9/2018
Working
for a security company with his brothers-in-arms has given former
SEAL Matt “MacGyver” Iverson a reason to get up every morning.
But keeping a runaway bride from harm isn’t in his job description
. . .
Former Marine Kellie
Greyson is in over her head. A cold-hearted ultimatum leaves her no
choice but to wed mob boss Tony Palazzi. But when she overhears his
deadly plans for her after she says ‘I do,’ Kellie flees his
casino, only to wind up in a seedy Vegas bar. The next thing she
knows, she’s waking up beside a protective powerhouse of a man . .
.
Though Kellie’s body
kickstarts his into high gear, MacGyver is all business trying to
convince her that they need each other. Both are looking for missing
people—and all roads lead to Palazzi. MacGyver will have to lay all
his cards on the table to get Kellie to trust him in a game they
might not survive . . .
Chapter
One
Kellie
Greyson peered from beneath lowered lashes at the three solemn men
making no secret of the fact they were watching her every move. Tony
Palazzi, that slimy piece of horse manure, and two of his thugs
leaned their backs against the bar to her left, holding drinks they’d
yet to sample. Second day in a row. Good.
Maybe the low-cut tops and miniskirts I bought aren’t a waste of
money after all. The
sky-high heels were killing her feet, though. Combat boots had been
far more comfortable. She
placed a hundred dollars’ worth of chips in the betting circle of
the Blackjack table, and the dealer dispensed cards to each of four
players, turning up a five for himself. The first two gamblers went
bust. The third stayed at eighteen. To make Tony think she
appreciated his perusal, Kellie smiled before tapping her finger on
the table beside the seven of spades and two of hearts she’d been
dealt. The dealer hit her with an ace, and a murmur of approval
rippled through the players to her right. Kellie
watched in amusement as the dealer appeared to swat absently, as
though at a pesky fly buzzing around his ear—the obvious signal
about as subtle as a freight train. His hole card was a nine, and
when he dealt himself another nine, he did a lousy job of hiding his
frustration. She
reached for the chips he pushed toward her, leaving a small bet on
the table for the next deal. When he shoved those chips toward her
too, she glanced at him. The dealer nodded to someone behind her,
and, immediately, a heavy hand dropped on her shoulder. One
of the muscled suits, who’d been standing with Tony a moment ago,
leaned to speak in her ear. “Miss, please come with us.” His tone
left no room for discussion. Kellie
glanced over his shoulder to see who “us” was and met the stern
glare of Tony’s other gorilla. Well,
it’s about friggin’ time. Three
days she’d been here, choking on the foul air, counting cards and
beating the house—waiting for this exact moment. She grabbed her
chips, which the helpful dealer had placed in a box, and stood to
accompany her escorts to the cashier’s window. After she cashed
out, she’d demand to speak with the owner of the Dominion Hotel and
Casino, whose orders were, apparently, getting her tossed out. At
long last, she’d have her chance to find out what Tony knew about
her sister. Except…they
weren’t taking her to the cashier’s window. Sandwiching her
between them, the two beefy men veered toward the elevators. “Where
are you taking me?” There was really only one place they could be
going, and Kellie’s restrained excitement warred with nervousness.
One
of the men pushed the top button beside the closed elevator, and an
arrow flashed on, pointing up. “Mr. Palazzi wants to talk to you.”
The doors opened, and the man gripped her elbow, guiding her ahead of
him into the car. His hand moved over the panel of buttons and the
number forty lit up—the top floor. The second man fingered a card
on a lanyard around his neck and slid it into a slot above the
numbers. The elevator started upward. Kellie’s
heart rate lurched into overdrive. Her palms started to sweat, in
spite of her plan having finally become reality. All she had to do
was continue her charade a while longer. She fished a tube of
lipstick from her purse and swiped on a fresh coat of Parisian Red.
Tony’s vice was women—and his
weakness
would be her means to the information she needed. Saliva pooled at
the back of her throat as revulsion threatened her determination. Stick
to the plan. She’d
been over this a hundred times. Tony had been the last person to see
Anna before she disappeared. Her sister’s missing person’s case
was now officially cold. But Tony, Las Vegas businessman and crime
boss, knew something. She felt it in every fiber of her being. All
she had to do was get close enough to make him trust her—long
enough to find a thread of evidence—something or someone who knew
what happened and was willing to tell the story. To
find her sister, Kellie would use the assets the good Lord gave her
without conscience. As much as she despised playing the slut card,
that description epitomized the type of woman Tony was attracted to.
She’d seen
the pictures, read the stories in the rag magazines and seen the
women hanging on his arm. Dumb, beautiful and the sleazier the
better. That was what it would take to catch the eye of the rich and
powerful Tony Palazzi. Kellie
wasn’t gorgeous, by any stretch of the imagination, and she
certainly wasn’t dumb, but she cleaned up good enough, and her
strong, toned legs, thanks to four years in the Marine Corps, had
garnered her fair share of admiration. She could play the vamp if
incentivized—and finding Anna, possibly alive, was incentive
enough. There was nothing she wouldn’t do to bring her home.
Nothing. The
elevator doors slid open directly into Tony’s office. Tall and
slim, with glistening black hair and pretty-boy features that belied
his evil heart, he leaned against the edge of his desk and stared. The
man on her right gave her a shove and stepped into the room behind
her. The doors slid shut and the elevator whirred to life again,
taking the other man back the way they’d come. Tony
pushed away from the desk and advanced toward her, his face a mask of
annoyance. “Who are you, and why are you here?” Despite
having prepared herself, mentally and emotionally, to meet the
casino’s owner on his turf, his nearness and obvious anger almost
made her back up a step. She stopped herself just in time. I
can do this.
Just
play the
role.
Locking away any emotions that might trip her up was second nature,
also courtesy of the Marine Corps. She allowed a faint smile to curve
her lips. “My name is Kellie Greyson. As to why I’m here…I’m
afraid you’ll have to enlighten me.” Tony
stopped in front of her, snatched the box of chips from her hand and
set it on a nearby table. He slid the strap of her small handbag off
her shoulder and rummaged through it until he found her driver’s
license. Sidestepping her, he handed the ID to his thug and whispered
something. The man disappeared through a doorway to the right of the
desk. Kellie
seethed at Tony’s arrogance and the high-handed examination of her
personal property, but the object of this exercise was to convince
him he could trust her, so she’d let it go. She
raised an eyebrow. “You don’t believe me?”
Tony
turned his back, setting her purse on the edge of his desk. “You
were counting cards in my casino.” Kellie
shrugged. “That’s not against the law.” He
faced her again, a cold smile stopping far short of his eyes. “It’s
frowned upon. Surely you’re aware of that. I’m curious why you
were so obvious. Winning eighty percent of the hands you’re dealt
is sure to get you caught and kicked out.” Kellie
glided forward until she reached a chair positioned in front of his
desk, sat and crossed her legs. “If that’s the case, why did it
take you so long to catch me?” His
lecherous appraisal flicked over her legs and back to her face.
“Because I enjoyed watching you.” She
caught herself before disgust mushroomed and seeped through her
facade. With effort, her smile widened. “I could say the same to
you. Perhaps that’s why I kept coming back.” The
door swung open and Tony’s man returned, striding across the room
until he reached his boss. Their whispered exchange continued for far
too long, unnerving her, and suddenly the wisdom of her scheme came
into question. The
hired man didn’t look at her as he scooted by to resume his silent
vigil in front of the elevator doors. “Well?
Am I who I said I was?” Kellie stayed in character, clinging to her
bravado, but it was definitely slipping. Something
was wrong. Either Tony’s penetrating gaze saw right through her, or
he simply wasn’t interested. Either way, her sixth sense said it
was time to go, regroup and try again another day. A
smirk twisted Tony’s features, and his silence battered her
flagging confidence. She pushed to her feet with a deep sigh. “It’s
settled then. You have your money back, and I promise never to set
foot in your casino again.” She stepped toward the desk and reached
for her handbag. “I’ll let myself
out.” Tony
moved quicker, catching the strap of her handbag, and ripped it from
her fingers. “I’m afraid I can’t let you leave, Kellie. You
see…counting cards is a felony, if you use a computer.” He
reached inside her bag and brought out a pocket-sized device she’d
never seen before. Kellie’s
uneasiness grew. “That’s not mine.” “You
know that, and I know that, but the Nevada Gaming Commission will
believe what I tell them. And I’m going to tell them I found it in
your handbag, where you hid it after I caught you cheating.” Tony
stepped closer, draped his arm around her shoulders and led her back
to her chair.
Heart Of A Seal
Hearts
of Valor #1
They’re
brothers in arms, Navy SEALS risking their lives for their country .
. . and the women they love.
This is Luke Harding’s story.
Six months in a desert hellhole taught Navy SEAL Luke Harding things he never wanted to learn about life and death. Only tender memories of the beautiful brunette he met a few weeks before his deployment helped get him through the torturous days and nights. Back in the States after a perilous rescue, physically and emotionally damaged, Luke’s about to plunge into a new kind of war. In a seemingly bucolic Idaho town, Sally Duncan faces real—and unpredictable—danger.
All Sally ever wanted was a safe place to raise her nine-year-old daughter. Her identity hidden behind a façade of secrets and lies, can she trust Luke—a man she barely knows—with the truth? Even as they give in to long-denied passion, a killer with a personal vendetta is setting an ambush that will leave them praying for a miracle and fighting for the future they may not live to see.
This is Luke Harding’s story.
Six months in a desert hellhole taught Navy SEAL Luke Harding things he never wanted to learn about life and death. Only tender memories of the beautiful brunette he met a few weeks before his deployment helped get him through the torturous days and nights. Back in the States after a perilous rescue, physically and emotionally damaged, Luke’s about to plunge into a new kind of war. In a seemingly bucolic Idaho town, Sally Duncan faces real—and unpredictable—danger.
All Sally ever wanted was a safe place to raise her nine-year-old daughter. Her identity hidden behind a façade of secrets and lies, can she trust Luke—a man she barely knows—with the truth? Even as they give in to long-denied passion, a killer with a personal vendetta is setting an ambush that will leave them praying for a miracle and fighting for the future they may not live to see.
Dixie Lee Brown lives and writes in Central Oregon, inspired by gorgeous scenery and three hundred sunny days a year. Having moved from South Dakota as a child to Washington, Montana and then to Oregon, she feels at home in the west. She resides with two dogs and a cat, who are currently all the responsibility she can handle. Dixie works fulltime as a bookkeeper. When she's not writing or working, she loves to read, enjoy movies, and if it were possible, she’d spend all of her time at the beach. She is also the author of the Trust No One romantic suspense series, published by Avon Impulse.
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