Join Christy’s email list to get this story free! A notorious gang puts a bounty on Detective Cady Matthews’s head after she takes down their leader, leaving her no choice but to hide until she can testify at trial. But her temporary home across the country on a remote North Carolina island isn’t as peaceful as she initially thinks. Living under the new identity of Cassidy Livingston, she struggles to keep her investigative skills tucked away, especially after a body washes ashore. When local police bungle the murder investigation, she can’t resist stepping in. But Cassidy is supposed to be keeping a low profile. One wrong move could lead to both her discovery and her demise. Can she bring justice to the island . . . or will the hidden currents surrounding her pull her under for good? Hidden Currents is the first book in the six-book Lantern Beach Mystery series. Each book contains a standalone mystery, but there are overarching mysteries within the entire series. Get it now for
I absolutely adored the TV show Chuck. So in Protection for Hire, Charles’s alias at the party, Charles Carmichael, is in honor of Chuck Bartowsky’s favorite alias from the TV show.
There also used to be a Captain Awesome reference, but unfortunately my editor took it out. So here’s the original excerpt from chapter 23:
Josh led Velma out onto the dance floor and Charles drew Tessa into his arms.
He felt as if a circle had been completed.
She looked up at him, her brown eyes glowing with flecks of emerald. He thought she might have stopped breathing—he knew he did. He’d been wanting to hold her since the moment he saw her at the foot of his stairs, regal in that blue gown. She hadn’t been transformed so much as enhanced—before, her confidence had been in her walk and her athletic grace, but tonight, it shone from every pore, in the tilt of her chin, the sway of her hips, the toss of her head. His hand at her waist tightened.
“The music’s started,” she murmured, and he realized they’d been standing still at the edge of the dancing area. He swept her into the slow, sensuous tango.
“Needed rescuing, did you?” she asked.
He frowned at her. “You obviously didn’t.”
“Oh, Josh already knows who we are and what we’re doing here.”
“You told him?”
She explained about Karissa.
“Do you trust him?”
“Josh assured me that they could torture him like Wesley in The Princess Bride, but they’d never get him to tell what he knows about us.”
“Oh. That completely reassures me.” Then again, she’d gained an ally tonight with Captain Awesome over there, whereas Charles had spent most of his time trying to keep Ms. Crackhead from throwing him over her shoulder and hoofing it out of the ballroom.
Comments
And Awesome is one of my favourite TV characters. Because he is awesome - handsome, intelligent, loving husband and father, and not one bit arrogant, even though he has every reason to be.
Looking forward to the sequel to Protection for Hire (perhaps Captain Awesome will get a mention in that?).