Winter’s Heat
by Cristin
Harber
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After
putting her life on the line to protect classified intelligence, military
psychologist Mia Kensington is on a cross-country road trip from hell with an
intrusive save-the-day hero. Uninterested in his white knight act, she’d rather
take her chances without the ruggedly handsome, cold-blooded operative who
boasts an alpha complex and too many guns.
Colby
Winters, an elite member of The Titan Group, has a single objective on his
black ops mission: recover a document important to national security. It was
supposed to be an easy in-and-out operation. But now, by any means necessary
becomes a survival mantra when he faces off with a stunning woman he can’t
leave behind.
When
Titan’s safe houses are compromised, Colby stashes Mia at his home, exposing
his secret—he’s the adoptive father of an orphaned baby girl. Too soon, danger
arrives and Mia lands in the hands of a sadistic cartel king with a taste for
torture. As hours bleed into fear-drenched days, Colby races across the globe
and through a firestorm of bullets to save the woman he can’t live without.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt
: Colby Winters is running out of a cartel
kingpin’s mansion during a gunfight to a waiting Titan team member.
Gunfire surrounded her. Coming for them, shooting away from
them. They fired. He fired back. The burnt gunpowder floated behind him,
blazing into her nose and eyes. Still, she pushed, moving as he moved, tracing
his cross-hatched steps, ducking when he ducked. A shadow behind the man.
She heard a thump. He growled and missed a step but didn’t
stop moving. Brilliant red blood sprayed onto her. He didn’t slow. Her legs
burned keeping the pace.
They rounded the corner, and he pressed her against the
stucco wall. His blood stained her. It painted the wall and covered his hands.
Vehicles came their way. Armed men poured from a hole in the perimeter fence
like ants from an anthill. Fireballs from the jungle hit the vehicles. Violent
explosions sent deadly fireworks into the sky. Rubber and diesel burned hot.
Black smoke billowed around the armed men running toward them.
The heat, humidity, and smoke would have slowed a lesser
man. So would a gunshot wound. He scanned the vast lawn.
“We have to make it past that hole in the fence. There’s a
vehicle waiting for us. We’ve got a sniper in the trees, and two more men on
the ground. When you see someone dressed like me, you run like hell toward him.
Got it?”
“You’re hurt.” She wanted to run her hands across his skin
and stop the bleeding.
He ignored her. “Say it, Mia. Can you do this?”
“I can.” She gave him a strong nod, exacerbating her
headache. She didn’t care. Colby was here, and she’d do whatever he needed her
to do.
“You got this. Let’s go.”
He gave her a small push in the right direction. Bullets
sounded around her. Men ran toward them, guns pointed their way. The shots hit
the grass, spitting up dirt, and slapping her face. She tasted blood and grit,
and felt the filth in her mouth, which caked her lips and teeth.
White-hot pain rocketed through her. A dizzying flash made
her stumble. He grabbed her upright.
“Flesh wound. Keep going,” he shouted above the noise. His
teeth were gritted together. He huddled beside her, pulling her. “There’s
Jared. Run!”
Another thump. He was hit again, as he shielded her from the
rain of artillery. One by one, men advanced toward them and were dropped by a
sniper. But as one went down, another appeared.
She heard another bullet hit. Winters dropped to his knee,
pulled Mia under him, and cursed violent threats. His sweat and blood coated
her. She felt it through the layers of clothing and vests. He scooped her with
one arm and crawled behind a statue.
“How bad are you hurt, Colby?”
“Doesn’t matter.” His labored breaths worsened with each
passing moment.
“How bad, damn it?”
Winters stopped laboring and laughed. “You’re unreal, you
know that?”
Mia glared at him.
“Bad. But I think Kevlar got most of it. Everything heals.
I’m not worried. Jared’s twenty yards ahead, picking them off. We have to go
for it right now. Or we don’t have a chance. You got it, babe?”
“I can do this.”
“I know you can. Run, baby, run.” He took off at a limped
sprint, acting as a barrier from the fire again.
His leg went out from under him. The whiz of bullets went to
slow motion, the sound ceased. Mia dropped on bent knees, watching him on the
ground.
“Run, goddamn it,” he shouted. His veins popped out of his
neck as he fired into the distance.
The world came back, loud and furious. Her legs moved, even
though her mind was numb. Jared appeared out of nowhere. He jumped from his perch
and snared her with an arm, dragging her into the vehicle.
“Wait. Colby.”
Jared threw the vehicle into gear and spun tires as he tore
down the makeshift road. Branches and jungle leaves scratched at the
windshield.
Mia launched at Jared, hitting his shoulder.
“Colby’s hurt.” Tears and terror filled her throat. The very
depths of her soul ached. Her screech turned to a pleading whisper. “Please.
Help him.”
“They were right on your tail. They’ve got him by now.”
Dread ricocheted through her head. All the pain and loss
pressed onto her. Suffocating despair ripped her apart. Tears streamed down.
Rapid breaths came fast. Too fast. She tried to cut them off but failed. All
went black.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cristin
Harber
Romantic Suspense
Author:
Higher Stakes. Hotter Action.
MOM. WIFE.
AUTHOR. Lover of all
things sexy and happily ever after.
I live
outside Washington, DC with my family: my husband (who doesn’t mind my
collection of book boyfriends), an independent toddler, and an English bulldog
named Britta who loves to be a conversation piece. Oh, we have a baby on the
way—arriving about the same time as WINTERS HEAT debuts!
I love
southern food, listen to country music, am always too hot or too cold, and
spend hours reading and writing. I cheer on my University of Louisville
Cardinals-GO CARDS! When I’m not pregnant (or nursing), I like a little bourbon
or sweet wine. Pregnant or not, I love a lot of chocolate.
I can’t save
the world, so instead, I write about those that do. There’s a special place in
my heart for those who keep us safe. My Titan series debuts this fall with five
titles available in 2013: WINTERS HEAT, GARRISON’S CREED, WESTIN’S CHASE,
CHASED, and GAMBLED.
Cristin will be awarding a $25 GC to Victoria’s Secret, and gifted e-copies of the five titles in the series to one randomly drawn commenter during this tour
AND the Virtual Super Book Blast tour.
Follow the tour and comment; the more comments, the better chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/09/virtual-blurb-blitz-winters-heat-by.html
I am blessed to have an office, and too busy to take advantage of it. I tend to write wherever I can sit down. Or stand. I'm not particular. However, it is difficult to block out a love scene in Chuck E Cheese.
Favorite book in the last few months? Bonds of Need (Wicked Play, #2) by Lynda Aicher
The second Happily Bedded Bliss title is available now. I loved writing