Today we are celebrating the release of FATAL INVASION, a romantic thriller title that is part of the Fatal series by Marie Force. Purchase links for the book can be found below.
FATAL INVASION by Marie Force
The 13th romantic thriller title in the Fatal Series.
Book Blurb:
First the fire, then the heat…
A brutal home invasion. Two small traumatized survivors who may have witnessed the horror. Lieutenant Sam Holland has never worked a case quite like this one, in which her eye-witnesses are five-year-old twins. But when Sam steps up in a big way for them, she risks her heart as much as her career.
While Sam and her husband, Vice President Nick Cappuano, go to battle in more ways than one for her tiny witnesses, her colleague Sergeant Tommy “Gonzo” Gonzales battles his own demons. Months of unbearable grief and despair come to a head in an unimaginable way that threatens Gonzo’s status with the department and his relationship with his fiancée, Christina.
With trouble both at the precinct and on the case, Sam struggles to keep her priorities straight at home and at work while trying not to lose her heart to her latest crime victims.
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EXCERPT
Fatal Invasion,
Fatal Series Book 12
By Marie Force
Chapter 1
By Marie Force
Chapter 1
“This is a classic
case of be careful what you wish for.” Nick placed a stack of folded dress
shirts in a suitcase that already held socks, underwear, workout clothes and
several pairs of jeans. Only Nick would start packing seven days before his
scheduled departure for Europe next Sunday, the day after Freddie and Elin’s
wedding. “That’s the lesson learned here.”
“Only
anal-retentive freakazoids pack a week before a trip.” Sam sat at the foot of
the bed and watched him pack with a growing sense of dread. “Three freaking
weeks. The last time you were gone that long, I nearly lost my mind, and I
don’t have much of a mind left to lose.”
“Come with me,”
he said for the hundredth time since the president asked him to make the
diplomatic trip, representing the administration on a visit with some of the
country’s closest allies. Since President Nelson was still recovering—in more
ways than one—from his son’s criminal activities, several of the allies had
requested he send his popular vice president in his stead.
Sam flopped on
the bed. “I can’t. I have work and Scotty, and Freddie is going on his
honeymoon for two weeks and… I can’t.” No Nick at home to entertain
her. No Freddie at work to entertain her. The next few weeks were going to
totally suck monkey balls.
“Actually, you can.”
Nick hovered above her, propped on arms ripped with muscles, his splendid chest
on full display. “You have more vacation time saved up than you can use in a
lifetime, and you have the right to actually use it. Scotty will be
fine with Shelby, your dad and Celia, your sisters and the Secret Service here
to entertain him. We could even ask Mrs. Littlefield to come up for the
weekends.”
Their son’s
former guardian would love the chance to spend time with him, but Sam didn’t
feel right about leaving him for so long. However, the thought of being without
Nick for three endless weeks made her sick. His trip to Iran earlier in the
year had been pure torture, especially since it kept getting extended.
“Why’d you have
to tell Nelson you wanted to be more than a figurehead vice president?” She
play-punched his chest. “Everything was fine when he was ignoring you.”
He kissed her
lips and then her neck. “You’re so, so cute when you pout.”
“Badass cops do not pout.”
“Mine does when
she doesn’t get her own way, and it’s truly adorable.”
She scowled at
him. “Badass cops are not adorable.”
“Mine is.” Leaving
a trail of hot kisses on her neck, he said, “Come with me, Samantha. London,
Paris, Rome, the Vatican, Amsterdam, Brussels, The Hague. Come see the world
with me.”
Sam had never
been to Europe and had always wanted to go, so she was sorely tempted to say to
hell with her responsibilities.
“Come on.”
He rolled her earlobe between his teeth and pressed against her suggestively. “Three
whole weeks together away from the madness of DC. You know you want
to go. Gonzo could cover for you at work, and things have been slow anyway.”
There hadn’t
been a homicide in more than a week, which meant they were due, and that was
another reason to stay home. “Don’t say that and put a jinx on us.”
“Come away with
me. Scotty will be fine. We’ll FaceTime with him every day and bring him presents.
He’ll be well cared for by everyone else who loves him.” He kissed her neck as
he unbuttoned her shirt and pushed it aside. “You’d get to meet the Queen of
England.”
Sam moaned. She loved the
queen—speaking of a badass female.
“And the Pope. Plus,
you’ll need some clothes—and shoes. Lots of shoes.”
“Stop it.”
She turned her face to avoid his kiss. “You’re fighting dirty.”
“Because I want
my wife to come with me on the trip of a lifetime? I need you
Samantha.”
As he well
knew, she could deny him nothing when he said he needed her. “Fine, I’ll go!
But only if it’s okay with Scotty and if I can swing it at work.”
“Yes,” her
husband said on a long exhale. “We’ll have so much fun.”
“Will we
actually get to see anything?”
He pushed
himself up to continue packing. “I’ll make sure of it.”
“Um, excuse me.”
“What’s up?”
“My temperature
after your attempts at persuasion.”
A slow, lazy
smile spread across his face, making him the sexiest man in this universe—and
the next. “Is my baby feeling a little needy?”
She pulled her
T-shirt over her head and released the front clasp on her bra. “More than a
little.”
“We can’t have
that.” Stepping to the foot of the bed, he grasped the legs of her yoga pants
and yanked them off.
“Lock the door.”
“Scotty’s
asleep.”
“Lock the door,
or this isn’t happening.” With Secret Service agents all over their house, Sam
couldn’t relax if the door wasn’t locked.
“This is
definitely happening, but if it’ll make you happy, I’ll lock the door.”
“It’ll make me
happy, which will, in turn, make you happy.” She splayed her legs
wide-open to give him a show as he returned from locking the door, and was
rewarded with gorgeous hazel eyes that heated with desire when he saw her
waiting for him.
“You little
vixen,” he muttered.
“I don’t know what you’re
talking about.”
“Sure, you don’t,”
he said, laughing as he came down on top of her and set out to give her a
preview of what three weeks away together might be like.
They broke the news
to Scotty the next morning at breakfast. “So,” Nick said tentatively, “what
would you think if Mom came with me to Europe?”
Thirteen-year-old
Scotty, never at his best first thing in the morning, shrugged. “It’s fine.”
“Really?” Sam
said. “You wouldn’t mind? Shelby, Tracy and Angela would be around to hang with
you, and Gramps and Celia too. We thought maybe Mrs. Littlefield could come up
for a weekend or two if she’s free.”
“Sure, that
sounds good.”
Sam glanced at
Nick, who seemed equally perplexed by his lack of reaction. They’d expected him
to ask to come with them, at the very least.
“Is everything
okay?” Sam asked her son.
“Uh-huh.” He
finished his cereal and got up to put the bowl in the sink. “I’m going to
finish getting ready for school.”
“Okay, bud,” Nick
said.
“Something’s
up,” Sam said as soon as Scotty left the room.
“I agree. He
didn’t even ask if he could miss school to come with us.”
“I thought the
same thing.”
“We’ll
have to see if we can get him to talk to us before we go—and not in the
morning,” Nick said.
“I’ll ask
Shelby to make spaghetti for dinner. That always puts him in a good mood.” Sam’s
phone rang, and when she saw the number for Dispatch, she groaned. “Damn it.
You jinxed me!” So much for getting out of Dodge without having to worry about
work. She took the call. “Holland.”
“Lieutenant,
there was a fire overnight in Chevy Chase.” The dispatcher referred to the
exclusive Northwest neighborhood that was home to a former U.S. president,
ambassadors and other wealthy residents. “We have two DOA at the scene,” the
dispatcher said, reciting the address. “The fire marshal has requested Homicide
detectives.”
“Did he say
why?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Okay, I’m on
my way.” Thankfully, she’d showered and gotten dressed before she woke Scotty. “Please
call Sergeant Gonzales and Detective Cruz and ask them to meet me there.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Sam flipped her
phone closed with a satisfying smack. That smacking sound was one of many
reasons she’d never upgrade to a smart phone.
“You’ll still
be able to come with me, right?” Nick asked, looking adorably uncertain.
Sam went over
to where he sat at the table and kissed him. “I’ll talk to Malone today and see
if I can make it happen.”
“Keep me
posted.”
A ringing phone woke
Christina Billings from a sound sleep. Two-year-old Alex had been up during the
night with a fever and cold that was making him miserable and her sleep
deprived. Her fiancé, Tommy, had slept through that and apparently couldn’t hear
his phone ringing either. He was due at work in an hour and was usually up by
now.
“Tommy.”
She nudged him, but he didn’t stir. “Tommy. Your phone.”
He came to
slowly, blinking rapidly.
“The phone,
Tommy. Answer it before it wakes Alex.” He needed more sleep and so did she, or
this was going to be a very long day.
Tommy grabbed
the phone from the bedside table.
Christina saw
the word Dispatch on the screen.
“Gonzales.”
She couldn’t
hear the dispatcher’s side of the conversation, but she heard Tommy’s grunt of acknowledgment
before he ended the call, closing his eyes even as he continued to clutch the
phone.
Christina
wondered if he was going back to sleep after being called into work. She was
about to say something when he got out of bed and headed for the shower.
Nine months ago
today, his partner, A. J. Arnold, had been gunned down right in front of Tommy
as they approached a suspect. After a long downward spiral following Arnold’s
murder, Tommy had seemed to rebound somewhat during the summer. But the rebound
hadn’t lasted into the fall.
In the last
month, since his new partner, Cameron Green, had joined the squad, Christina
had watched him regress into his grief. He’d said and done all the right things
when it came to welcoming Cameron, but he was obviously spiraling again, and
she had no idea what to do to help him or how to reach him. Even when lying
next to her in bed, he seemed so far away from her.
Sometimes, when
she had a rare moment alone, she allowed her thoughts to wander to life without
Tommy and Alex at the center of it. She loved them both—desperately—but she
wasn’t sure how much more she could take of the distant, closed-off version of
the man she loved. They were supposed to have been married by now. Like
everything else, that plan had been shoved aside to make room for Tommy’s
overwhelming grief. It’d been months since they’d discussed getting married. In
the meantime, she took care of Alex and everything else while Tommy worked and
came home to sleep before starting the cycle all over again.
They didn’t
talk about anything other than Alex. They never went anywhere together or as a
family. They hadn’t had sex in so long she’d forgotten when it had last
happened. She was as unhappy as she’d ever been. Something had to give—and
soon, or she would be forced to decide whether their relationship was still
healthy for her. She did not want to have to make that decision.
Only the
thought of leaving Tommy at his lowest moment, not to mention leaving Alex, had
kept her from making a move before now. She loved that little boy with her
whole heart and soul. She’d stepped away from her own career as Nick’s chief of
staff to stay home with him and had hoped to add to their family by now. When
she thought about the early days of her relationship with Tommy, when they’d
been so madly in love, she couldn’t have imagined feeling as insignificant to
him as a piece of furniture that was always there when he finally decided to
come home.
Christina hadn’t
told anyone about the trouble brewing between them. In her heart of hearts, she
hoped they could still work it out somehow, and the last thing she needed was
her friends and family holding a grudge against him forever—and they would if
they had any idea just how bad things had gotten. Her parents had questioned the
wisdom of her giving up a high-profile job to stay home to care for her
boyfriend’s child, especially when she’d made more money than him. But she’d
been ready for a break from the political rat race when Alex came along, and
she had no regrets about her decision. Or she hadn’t until Tommy checked out of
their relationship.
This weekend
they’d be expected to celebrate at Freddie and Elin’s wedding, and she’d have
to pretend that everything was fine in her relationship when it was anything
but. She wasn’t sure how she would pull off another convincing performance for
their friends. Tommy was one of Freddie’s groomsmen, so she’d get to spend most
of that day on her own while he attended to his friend.
Dangling at the
end of her rope in this situation, more than once she’d thought about taking
Alex and leaving, even though she had no legal right to take him. Another thing
they’d never gotten around to—her adoption of him after his mother was killed.
What would Tommy do if she left with his son? Call the police on her? That made
her laugh bitterly. She’d be surprised if he noticed they were gone.
Tommy came out
of the bathroom and went to the closet where he had clean clothes to choose
from thanks to her. Did he ever wonder how that happened? He put on jeans and a
black T-shirt and then went to unlock the bedside drawer where he kept his
badge, weapon and cuffs.
She watched him
slide the weapon into the holster he wore on his hip and jam the cuffs and
badge into the back pockets of his jeans, the same way he did every day.
Holding her breath, she waited to see if he would say anything to her or come
around the bed to kiss her goodbye the way he used to before disaster struck,
but like he did so often these days, he simply turned and left the room.
A minute later,
she heard the front door close behind him.
For a long time
after he left, she lay in bed staring up at the ceiling with tears running down
her cheeks. She couldn’t take much more of this.
CHECK OUT THE REST OF THE FATAL SERIES
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AUTHOR INFORMATION:
Marie Force is the New York Times bestselling author of contemporary romance, including the indie-published Gansett Island Series and the Fatal Series from Harlequin Books. In addition, she is the author of the Butler, Vermont Series, the Green Mountain Series and the erotic romance Quantum Series. In 2019, her new historical Gilded series from Kensington Books will debut with Duchess By Deception.
All together, her books have sold 6.5 million copies worldwide, have been translated into more than a dozen languages and have appeared on the New York Times bestseller list many times. She is also a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller, a Speigel bestseller in Germany, a frequent speaker and publishing workshop presenter as well as a publisher through her Jack’s House Publishing romance imprint. She is a two-time nominee for the Romance Writers of America’s RITA® award for romance fiction.
Her goals in life are simple—to finish raising two happy, healthy, productive young adults, to keep writing books for as long as she possibly can and to never be on a flight that makes the news.
Join Marie's mailing list for news about new books and upcoming appearances in your area. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter @marieforce and on Instagram. Join one of Marie's many reader groups. Contact Marie at marie@marieforce.com.
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