A former SEAL, a genius drone engineer, killers hot on their trail
Everyone knows about my love affair with SEALS, centering of course around New York Times best-selling author (and great friend) former SEAL Jack Carr. Through him, I have learned of the courage, honor, and valor of Navy SEALs, so writing them as my heroes is an easy task. In CRITICAL DENSITY, Hannah Modell, a brilliant drone engineer, is framed for the accidental drop of a killing payload on a sitting U. S. Senator. Isolated with a guard dog in a hotel room “for her protection”, she escapes and ends up with Matt “Viper” Roman, partner in Galaxy, whose motto is “We are your last resort.” Follow them as they race to find the real killer while dealing with the hot sexual tension exploding between them.
Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Book #1 in the series, RETROGRADE!
Critical Density
Book two in the Galaxy series
Running for her life, saved by a hunky former SEAL, she never expected the sex to be as hot as the danger zone.
Hannah Modell thought she had life by the tail: a great job as a drone engineer at top-notch Lowden Tactical with one successful project after another…until it all blew up in her face. Literally. Now she’s on the run. If she hadn’t met the sexy stranger, she has no idea what would have happened. But former SEAL Matt “Viper” Roman turned out to be both an answer to a prayer and the sexiest man alive. As the men of the mysterious agency, Galaxy, race against time to prove her innocence and find the real culprit, things heat to the boiling point between Hannah and Viper.
Hannah Modell looked out the window of her hotel suite to the aesthetic view of…the parking lot. Beyond it she could see other buildings in downtown Houston, accented by the sparkle of the evening’s lights just coming on. Traffic filled the streets as people came and went, punctuated by the impatient honking of horns. She’d be happy to be in that irritated crowd. She’d be happy to be anyplace except this hotel. Scratch that. Anyplace except for Houston.
Fourteen days since it happened, and she was still shocked by the whole thing. She and the rest of her GO-Team had been in a remote location, delivering explosives to take out a key terrorist figure who was hiding out in a house in upstate New York. The word was he planned a strike on a major United States city and their assignment was to take him out first.
Her GO-Team had been flown to an isolated location to launch the drone, which was outfitted with special equipment because of the explosives and had a long-range capacity. People from various branches of the government and the military would be back at Lowden watching the feed from the camera on the drone. It was only the third time Hannah had been tasked with doing something this enormous and she’d spent hours checking and double-checking everything to make sure nothing would go wrong. She knew she’d probably driven her team nuts, but she didn’t care. There was no room for error in a situation like this.
She was stunned when the helicopter carrying Greg Kingsley, Lowden’s vice president, had shown up at their site. Jumping out of the chopper he’d told them they had to shut down the job. Right. Now. Right that minute. For a moment, she’d just stood there, stunned.
“But—why?”
“There’s a situation, Hannah. Something went wrong big time with the drone delivery. A fuckup and we have a tragedy on our hands.”
“A tragedy?” She’d stared at him like he was speaking a foreign language. We need to shut down here at once.
“Worse than that. A disaster of epic proportions. We have to get everyone out of here while we sort this out.”
“But—”
“No buts. Lowden needs to see you ASAP, since this is your baby.”
What the hell?
She’d pestered him for details, but he had little to say beyond what he’d told her. Just said to wait until they were back at Lowden. She could not understand how this had happened. Misdirect a drone to dump its payload in a different place? Her? Hell, no. She was committed to her job, her country, her patriotism. That’s why working for a paramilitary company that did black jobs for the government had been so satisfying. Because she got to serve her country in a way a lot of people never could. She didn’t even have friends outside of the job. How disgusting was that?
The moment they landed at the complex they’d hustled her right to Eric Lowden’s office, where he’d told her she was off the job until the situation was resolved.
Situation? This was a hell of a lot more than that.
Do you need to know anything else about this story? I mean, seriously? Marti Wells is going to have the time of her life climbing this tree! Mmm-hmm.
Have you read my bounty hunter stories? I love getting my guys and girls out into the woods on a chase. It’s like doing your morning constitutional to get your blood going (for me, climbing the stairs—LOL). Yeah, get them into the woods so you can see your heroes in action. The opening of Hardman is no different, and yet, this takedown has a little more spice than usual. I’ve posted the scene on Hardman‘s book page.
Follow the link below and enjoy! Then come back and tell me whether you’ve met any of the other characters in the scene before (which stories have you read)? It’s okay to say you haven’t taken that dumpster dive into pure action-adventure adrenaline, yet. LOL. One commenter will get his or her choice of one of my previous Montana Bounty Hunter books!
Danger is sexy. Why? Pounding heart, rushing blood, a wild cry in the night. Is it danger or passion? Hard to tell because they evoke the same responses. They wake us up and put all our senses on high alert. The difference is while one can end in death, the other can lead to eternal love. Danger also makes us vulnerable. Forcing us to trust, and Delia has a big problem with that…
After 2020, Delia Sloane struggles to keep Rainbow Falls Resort afloat while grieving the loss of her father and husband. She refuses to let her Key Largo slice of paradise—a haven for non-mainstream couples—die. But when a serial killer begins attacking her guests—leaving a single dreadlock on each victim—everything spins out of control, including what’s left of her family.
Hides a killer…
After her brother’s experience with police brutality, the last place she wants to turn to for help is law enforcement. Scarred mentally by a deadly force incident, Detective Will Peterson has avoided homicide cases. But only he has the skills to drill into the elusive killer’s twisted mind.
And it just got personal…
When a hurricane strikes, exposing the horrible truth behind Delia’s losses and threatening everything she holds dear, trusting Will may be her only hope. Are they up to the challenge?
They climbed the metal staircase and arrived at her door. Her hand trembled as she swiped the card key and opened it.
Will’s eyes looked electric blue in the semi-darkness, burning into her soul.
“Would you like me to come in?” he asked, his voice so husky she could barely understand him.
The throbbing magnetic pulse between them was much easier to comprehend.
She answered by grabbing his hand and pulling him inside. While he closed the door, she turned on her pineapple-shaped lamp, nearly knocking it over. She felt as if she swam underwater as he looped his arms around her waist. She locked her own behind his neck, exploring the crisp texture of his hair while they kissed again.
His hot tongue explored her mouth, making her melt at every joint, especially between her legs. The olive pantsuit she wore seemed to catch fire as her skin ignited with desire. Was it chemistry? Or the danger?
Stop. They had to stop.
She wrenched her mouth away. “I-I haven’t been with anyone since Keith.”
“There’s been no one since Amy, either.”
“Then why are we here?” she asked.
He brushed his knuckles down her cheek. “Because we need each other.”
Maybe if she hadn’t heard about the video of her father, she wouldn’t be so emotional right now. So vulnerable. It felt as if a dam had broken inside her, washing away all her control.
Every pain she’d ever suffered bubbled to the surface—Keith’s drowning, Jamal’s injury and imprisonment, her economic problems.
The force of it flooded her. Made her grab the lapels of his blazer and wrench it off. As if joining with him would cure every pain she’d ever endured. Wildness and pain filled his eyes, too. He grabbed her hips and slammed them against his pelvis. Against his steel-hard desire.
She kissed him until her lips bruised. Until the pain mixed with the losses screaming and aching inside her.
“Where’s your bedroom?” he asked, breathing hard against her cheek.
She cupped her hand over the swollen ridge behind his zipper. “We’re not going to make it that far.”
Afton Locke is a USA Today Bestselling Author who prefers romantic fantasies to everyday reality. Fantasies take her to different times, races, places, and beyond. She lives with her husband, several unnamed dust bunnies, and a black cat that can be scary or cuddly, depending on the current book. When she’s not writing, Afton enjoys hiking, cooking, reading, and watching retro T.V.
First, thank you to everyone who picked up their copy of Preacher! Thank you, thank you! And bless those who left a review. Very much appreciated! But if you’ve already read the book, you should be asking for the next story, and I didn’t leave that any big mystery whose story it will be…
His name’s Pierce Hardman.
This former SEAL thought BUD/S was hard, but convincing his new trainer that all work and no play doesn’t make a bigger, badder bounty hunter might just be the greatest challenge of his life…
I’m not satisfied with that blurb, but blurbs are torturous and I suck at them. I’ll work on it.
In the meantime, can we celebrate the fact that we’re well into the Dead Horse, MT spinoff series now? I love everything about the town. Coming up with kooky names for the town’s businesses was completely fun and some readers helped with that! This is the reading order and includes the short story, “In the Wild”…
Click on the covers to learn more about these stories!
And then comes,
Contest
For a chance to win a copy of one of the original Montana Bounty Hunters stories, answer me this…
Since I have this wonderful, crazy little town of Dead Horse, should I plan to write some stories that don’t necessarily center around the bounty hunters just for fun? Would that be something you’d like to see?
Oh, and take a look at the cover reveal my dd put together for Hardman. Is this hot or what?
La-la-la-la… I’m so excited! And I just can’t hide it! And now, I have that song in my head, but I think I like it.
PREACHER’S OUT! Did I say it loud enough? 🙂
I’m excited for you all to read it. It’s Book #2 to feature the hunters in the Dead Horse, MT office. I had a ton of fun writing the story, and I think you’ll be able to tell. Nadine’s still my favorite Dead Horse oldtimer!
Well, I don’t know what else to say to entice you into reading the book. I think I’ve probably done enough. Oh, wait! Did I mention it’s FREE in Kindle Unlimited? 🙂
Follow the link!
Preacher
MONTANA BOUNTY HUNTERS: DEAD HORSE, MT Authentic Men… Real Adventures…
An ex-Delta Force soldier, now Montana Bounty Hunter, finds himself slipping naturally into protector-mode when a small-town dessert chef is threatened by mysterious attacks.
Former Delta Force soldier, Dylan “Preacher” Priestley, is the latest hire for the newly formed office of Montana Bounty Hunters: Dead Horse, MT. He’s just settling into the job and getting to know the community when he meets the owner of Deadly Delights, Laura Pinchot. The attraction is immediate, but he finds he’s a little shy about approaching the curvy beauty, until a rock tossed through her store window gives him the “in” he needed.
Laura isn’t a life-long resident of Dead Horse, but she’s sunk her money into the donut shop and isn’t going anywhere. When a string of mysterious attacks target her store, she’s alarmed but doesn’t think it’s anything more than some kids’ pranks. However, when Preacher witnesses the latest assault against her business, she’s grateful for his quick thinking and protection when it appears the attacks are more personal than she’d imagined. That the handsome ex-soldier appears to be interested in her amazes her; she’s not exactly built like a model, but he quickly puts her insecurities to rest in the sexiest of ways.
With the support of his bounty hunter team, Preacher sticks close to Laura while the team tries to solve the mystery of who is after her. As their connection only grows hotter, he’s determined to keep her out of harm’s way.
Available in eBook now!
Also available in Print! FREE in KU!
If you love the book, do me a HUGE favor. Tell someone else about it! Write a review! You’ll have my gratitude, and I’ll be soooooo much happier writing the next installment of my Montana Bounty Hunters: Dead Horse, MT series! And you really do want to see what’s coming next!
It’s Sunday, and I’m still being a little lazy after last week’s craziness. I finished up my plans for the coming week, so now, I think I might kick back and play some Fishdom on my phone. Anyone else play that game? It drives me nuts!
Anyway, just wanted to remind you about Preacher, which releases tomorrow after midnight (the print version is already live)! I can’t wait to hear what you have to say about the story! For sure, let me know if you’re still loving the bounty hunters. I hope so because I truly have a blast writing them.
It’s Saturday! I’m catching up on email and administrivia! I finished and uploaded Preachera couple of days ago. I can’t wait for you to read it! The book releases on Tuesday, January 19th! I hope you already have it pre-ordered. 🙂
In the meantime, let’s have some fun!
Puzzle-Contest
For a chance to win a download of any of my currently available Montana Bounty Hunters, tell me what awaits her at the bottom! Have fun with this challenge!
