As I've just got a release day for Kera's book Killer at Christmas of December 13th, I'll tease you from there I think.
(no cover yet so here's Dark Isle, the island in Loch Lomond the facility is on)
blurb...
A killer and a hooker? An unlikely mix, especially, at Christmas.
Rio Buchanan, a Government operative, and member of the Dispatchers specializes in seduction. He just never thought his target would be his ex-wife. Andie might now be a hooker, but there’s no way she’s a traitor.
There’s only one way to get to the truth—kidnap her to keep her safe.
Andie doesn’t know what to think when Rio disrupts her life again, let alone when she wakes up in a prison cell shackled to him, and not in a fun, kinky way.
The secrets of his job already ended their marriage. Will they now end her life too?
Imprisoned on the Dark Isle they have to work together to catch a traitor, and discover if they can forge a new life together.
Shit, his head ached. He hated
being cooped up in a flying tin can, dreaded what he would find when he got to
his destination and swore long and hard at the idiots who had behaved so badly
in the past that the airline didn’t serve alcohol before 8 a.m. Not that he
normally drank at such a time, but he’d not been to bed, and was squashed
between an overweight Geordie and a chattering airhead whose leg kept rubbing
up against his thigh.
The guy had snorted, farted,
and snored his way through the flight. Once he’d drunk three miniature rums
he’d pulled out of his pocket—against the rules but the crew didn’t see him—and
eaten a selection of snacks so fast Rio felt sick on the bloke’s behalf. The
airhead—call me Cherine—had dropped her nuts and fondled Rio’s nuts as she picked the packet up with an inane giggle so
often he was about ready to stuff both sets down her throat and gag her.
Except, he hoped to be able to fly commercial again sometime, and being charged
with attempted murder or disorderly behavior on a plane wasn’t likely to help him
in that quest.
“Look sweetheart, if you do
that again you might find I’ve accidentally broken your fingers,” he said wearily
as he lifted her hand and squeezed the digits somewhat cruelly. “Once is an
accident, twice is persistent, and times three to now is a fucking annoyance.
If you want your bloody nuts so much just eat them and stop trying to finger
mine. Okay?”
She went the color of the
plane’s logo, stood up and stalked down the aisle to the lavatory. Someone
behind giggled and the blond haired, stocky guy across from Rio raised one
eyebrow. “Bit harsh, buddy?”
“You sit here then, and let
Octopus Annie feel you up. I’ll have bruises where no bruise ever should be.
She’s got nails like talons, and grips like a bloody bird of prey.” Rio
grinned. “Apt description actually.”
The guy nodded. “Point taken
and no thanks. I’m off to visit my woman. I don’t think Andie would be too
pleased if I went with unusable assets.”
Andie? It had to be a coincidence,
surely? “That’s an unusual name for a girl,” Rio said with a non-committal
smile. ‘Short for Andrea?”
“Nope. Her name is Sandie, but
there were four Sandies in her class so she went for Andie. She’s a sweet
thing, not at all boyish if you know what I mean.” The guy sketched an
hourglass figure in the air. “I don’t know why she just didn’t use her proper name,
Sandrine, but hey—that’s women for you.”
Rio’s breath left him. How
likely were there two people named Sandrine who called themselves Andie because
of too many Sandies at school. But sweet? That didn’t sound like his ex-wife?
They’d split because they were both opinionated, wouldn’t back down, and there
was no give and take. He needed to probe more. Because if this was the guy
Darke spoke about, he, Rio needed to make plans.
“Yeah, women, eh?” What else
could he say? “So, she knows you’re on your way home?”
The bloke shook his head. “She’s expecting me
later, but it’s not home, she’s just working out there for a bit. I’m gonna get
there early, use the key she doesn’t know I’ve got, and surprise her. I’ll show
her what she’s missing. For some reason she won’t move in with me. God knows why.
I’m sure she would be the perfect Susie Homemaker.” He winked. “You know. A lady
in the kitchen and let me lead in the bedroom. A quick tweak here and there and
wham bam thank you ma’am every so often and she’d be happy. I get my shirts
ironed and my rocks off when I can’t get to my mistress.”
What a fucking asshole.
“Everything covered then.” Rio
sat back and plotted. “Lucky bastard. I’m between woman and I tell ya, my wrist
aches. Hey what’s your name? I can keep calling you hey.”
The guy guffawed. A bit like a
hyena. “Anton Hoag. You?”
Anton
Hogg? Ant… Hogg? Can’t be a coincidence. Fuck it to hell.
“I’m Ron.” Rio used the name
he often did as an alias. “Ron Parker. Hey you want another?” He pointed to the
coke can in front of Anton. “I’m off to get one.”
“I’ll have the rum to go in
it.”
Figures. Rio nodded, walked to the
front of the plane, and purchased the drinks. He bet the guy got the time
alcohol was served down to the second.
Anton was a bit of a
contradiction. Killer or drunk? He didn’t seem the sort of bastard who’d let
his woman work as a hooker but who knew? Nor did he seem the sort to kill women
and do whatever it was that was dirty and underhanded. But then didn’t most
serial killers look like they kissed babies and helped old women across the
road?
Rio put the rum down next to
Anton and tucked his can of soda in the pocket of his own seatback. The next
few minutes relied on Anton the asshole not knowing where Rio had stashed his
carry-on, and not paying any notice to Rio’s next move.
A diversion in the form of
Cherine helped. She stomped down the aisle and glared at Rio. “Will you get my
bag down? There’s a spare seat at the back. I’m moving.”
“My pleasure.” Her bag was next to Anton’s. Assholes of the world unite? Rio flipped
the catch of the overhead locker and handed down the case Cherine pointed to.
Barbie pink and sparkly. What else?
She tuned without a word of
thanks and Rio slid his fingers around the lock of a nondescript black leather
bag, and played around for several long seconds. Success. He moved the zipper, slid his fingers inside the tiny gap until
he found what he was looking for. Pulled it out, relocked the zip, and moved
away from the hold-all to the very end of the locker.
“More space now, I can put my
backpack up and not have it squash my toes.” He bent to his battered rucksack
and slipped it in the space now vacant. Grabbed his purloined treasure and
shoved it deep inside.
Satisfied, Rio settled back to
endure the last hour of the flight. At least with Octopus Annie aka Cherine
gone he could stretch out a bit. Snoring, snorting, farting, window seat man
never moved.
The plane landed, Rio grabbed
his possessions and set off down the aisle and into the terminal building as
soon as he could. He needed to get away before Asshole Anton realized that not
only was his lady no longer his, his passport seemed to have vanished out of a
locked bag.
Sometimes the skills learned at Dispatcher school
came in useful. Even the non-killing ones.
Catch the other #MidWeekTeases here
Happy reading,
love Raven and Kera x
