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Into The Fury
BOSS, Inc. #1
BOSS, Inc. #1
By: Kat Martin
Releasing January 26, 2016
Zebra
Zebra
Valerie, aka Valentine Hart, needs the money her modeling contract to finish her degree and make her dream of being a veterinarian come true. Except what is supposed to be a simple job turns into a nightmare when she and the other models receive threatening notes and then one of the women are murdered. Assigned a bodyguard, Valerie tries her hardest to resist the temptation Ethan offers. Yet, it's impossible.
What a highly entertaining, fast-paced read Ms. Martin has delivered with this book that offered plenty of surprises with its plot twists, and encompasses the sexy protector trope. I really liked how it started with Ethan receiving his instructions and soon after taking charge of what he needs to do to protect the models.
Intense and well-written dialogue definitely kept me as a reader on the edge-of-my-seat with its suspense as the hero does his utmost to help the police solve the murders that occur while keeping Valerie safe. She isn't at all what he expected and getting to know her makes for great sexual tension, which eventually spills over onto the pages through hot sex scenes.
I really enjoyed both the main and secondary characters. Valerie is strong, smart, brave. At first, when Ethan makes the wrong assumption about her, it annoyed me. But I'm glad she managed to change his opinion because he should never judge a book by its cover. Or more to the point, never judge a person by their appearance nor what they do for a living, as it might be a temporary arrangement. Also, I liked how much she trusted Ethan to protect her.
While Ethan, he's strong and protective. As an ex-cop, he certainly knows what he's doing when it comes to investigating the crimes. Yet, the more he digs, the more dangerous things become. Especially when it becomes clear that his investigation has some people rattled, and puts a target on his head. Also, I loved the relationship Ethan had with his daughter. She means the world to him.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story and I'm really looking forward to the next book in this series. The ending wrapped this book up perfectly, and I loved how Valerie teased Ethan with her answer to his question. I would recommend Into the Fury by Kat Martin, if you enjoy romantic suspense or the sexy protector trope.
OVERALL RATING:
OVERALL RATING:
A bodyguard, a bounty hunter, a P.I.--the men of Brodie Operations Security Service, Inc. are down for the job. . .
Sinners, whores, and sluts beware--your time is at hand: a faceless menace is threatening lingerie models on a cross country tour, and Ethan Brodie is there to defend and protect.
Ethan's learned the hard way that beauty is no substitute for character. So even though Valentine Hart is one of the most breathtaking women he's ever seen, he's keeping his hands off and his eyes open. Or that's what he tells himself.
Then one of the models is murdered, and the closer Ethan gets to the answers, the closer he finds himself to Valentine--and the hotter the pressure feels. There's more to Val--more to the other girls--than he could have guessed. But one is keeping a secret that could kill them all.
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“Beau Desmond,
meet Ethan Brodie,” Carlyle said. “The guy with the ’stache is Dirk Reynolds.”
Desmond reached out a hand and Ethan
and Dirk both shook.
“Ethan’s heading up the additional
security team we’ve hired. He’s also a PI, so he’ll be doing some digging,
trying to find out who sent those notes.”
“Long as he keeps his nose out of my
business he can do whatever he wants,” Desmond said.
One of Ethan’s eyebrows went up. So
it was going to be a pissing contest. Who’s the toughest, who’s the best at his
job. He’d been afraid of that when he’d spotted the earrings.
“I’ll do my best to stay out of your
way,” Ethan said diplomatically. He was there to do a job. He’d do it with or
without Beau Desmond.
“Make sure you do,” Beau said,
determined to get the last word.
Carlyle made no comment, but clearly
he had picked up on Desmond’s belligerent attitude. As they walked away, Dirk
was grinning in anticipation. He loved nothing better than making a dickhead
look like a fool.
“Beau’s good at his job,” Carlyle
said. “Be helpful if you kept that in mind.”
“Oh, I will,” Ethan said.
Dirk wisely made no comment.
Leaving Beau Desmond behind, Carlyle led them into a room where
four men stood drinking coffee. They each wore jeans and a black T-shirt with a
white La Belle logo on the front left corner, the symbol for male and female, a
round circle with a cross at the bottom and an arrow off the circle at the top.
The shirts made them easily
identifiable as La Belle security. He and Dirk had been given a stack when
they’d walked in that morning and each was wearing one now. Carlyle made the
introductions. “Listen up, you men. The guy on my right is Ethan Brodie. He’s
heading up additional security for the show. That means the four of you. The
guy next to him is Dirk Reynolds. They’re both professionals. They know what
they’re doing, so listen and do what they say.”
The men introduced themselves one at
a time. They all had some security experience, not much. A sandy-haired,
thirty-something parking lot guard named Sandowski, a tall beanpole of a guy
named Walt Wizzy who had worked for Walmart. A Hispanic named Pete Hernandez
who was built like a brick house but stood only about five foot six and, by the
jut of his chin, probably had a little-man’s complex. Ethan figured if there
was trouble in the group, Hernandez would be it.
A black guy named Joe Posey was an
ex-cop, but he was older and out of shape. The men were hardly first string,
but Ethan figured unless something really bad went down, they would do just
fine.
He gave the guys a brief rundown of
what he expected them to do. “Your job is to keep people out of the theater who
aren’t supposed to be here. With this many women around, there’s bound to be a
handful of smart-asses who think they’re God’s gift. Handle them pleasantly but
firmly. Whatever bullshit story they come up with, don’t let them anywhere near
the models. You get in over your head with one or more of them, use your radio
to call for backup. Questions?”
No one spoke.
“The second part of your job is to
keep an eye out for anyone or anything that looks suspicious. Someone who has
ill intent, no matter what it might be. Report anything out of the ordinary
directly to me or Dirk, and don’t be afraid to say something, even if it seems
insignificant. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.”
Joe Posey raised a dark hand. “I
heard a rumor someone sent threatening notes to some of the models. That true?”
It was, but Carlyle didn’t want the
media getting their hands on the information, turning the show into some kind
of circus.
“These women model lingerie,” Ethan
said. “They get all kinds of mail, some good, some not so good. Carlyle has his
own men escorting the ladies to and from the theater, so you don’t have to
worry about that.”
He ended by filling them in on what
Carlyle had told him. “Rehearsals the rest of the week. They start at eight in
the morning, go till they’re finished. We’re here before they get here until
after they leave. The show is on Saturday night, then we travel. You all
understand we’ll be spending some time on the road, right?”
The men rumbled an affirmative.
“One last thing: Keep your hands off
the girls. No fraternizing, no hassling the women. Stick to that rule and we’ll
get along just fine. Break that rule—you’re fired.”
They had all been warned, but it
didn’t hurt to repeat the warning. “Now, I’d like you to spend some time
getting familiar with the theater. You need to find all the nooks and crannies,
places some joker could hide. Take your time and make it thorough.”
It was a task he and Dirk would be
performing, too, as soon as Carlyle was finished with them. The group of men
broke up and headed out the door.
Ethan turned to Carlyle, who had
been standing quietly to one side. “What’s next?”
“Now I introduce you to our ten top
models. There are thirty in all, but these are the stars of the show, the ones
who got notes like the one I showed you. These are the women I’d like you to
focus on.”
Carlyle led them out of the room,
back to the rear of the stage, where all thirty models were lined up, ready to
start rehearsing.
“There are five segments to the
show,” Carlyle explained. “Countries of the World, Nashville, Devil-Angel,
Winter Wonderland, and Diamond Jubilee. There’s a wrap with the entire cast,
then we’re finished. Each of the women makes at least two costumes changes.
They’re working on the World segment now. Follow me.”
Ethan and Dirk followed Carlyle
toward the group of women standing in a semicircle, taking direction from the
choreographer of the show, who stood in front of them.
“That’s Daniel Clemens. He can be a
little pissy, but he’s damn good at his job. We couldn’t do the show without
him.”
For rehearsal, most of the women
were wearing black leggings under a collection of very short skirts, cutoff
jeans, long T-shirts, and cutoff sweatshirts.
“For the next few days they’ll be
working on their routines. There’s a full dress rehearsal the day before the
show. That’ll include final costume fittings, live orchestra, everything.”
Ethan’s gaze ran over the women. At
least for the moment, they were decently covered. Their casual dress didn’t
change the fact that each woman was incredibly beautiful, their faces right out
of a magazine.
Carlyle roll-called ten names and
the women came forward. A couple of redheads, five blondes, two brunettes, and
an ebony-skinned beauty with amazing cheekbones and long jet-black hair.
Ethan flicked a glance at Dirk, who
carefully kept his eyes straight ahead.
“Ladies, these men will be working
as additional security while we’re on tour. Ethan Brodie is the big guy on the
right. Dirk Reynolds is the guy with the ’stache.”
Carlyle smiled. “Do me a favor and
cut them some slack. They have a job to do, same as you. It’s easier if they
don’t have to contend with naughty smiles and flirty remarks.”
The women chuckled good-naturedly.
“Introduce yourselves. First names
are enough. Start at the far end and work this way.” A redhead stepped forward.
“I’m Caralee,” she said with a soft Southern drawl.
“I am Katerina.” A beautiful,
smiling blonde with a hint of Russia in her voice.
As the women each spoke their names,
Ethan mentally attached the name to a face, knew Dirk would be doing the same.
The redheads were Caralee and Megan. The blondes were Heather; Katerina, the
Russian; Delilah, with very high cheekbones; Ursula—either German or Austrian;
and Valentine.
The brunettes were Isabel, a young
Sophia Loren lookalike; and Carmen, a pretty, dark-eyed Latina. The exotic
ebony-skinned woman was Amarika. From Africa, maybe. He couldn’t be sure.
He let his gaze travel over the
women a final time, paused for a moment on the one who called herself
Valentine. He liked blondes, always had. All five of them had gleaming long
blond hair, some straight, some wavy. Valentine’s was the color of honey. It
curled softly down her back and swung around her shoulders.
She was maybe five nine, about an
inch shorter than the redhead named Megan, who stood beside her. Most of the
girls were around five ten; a couple, including Amarika, appeared to be at
least six feet. All of them wore strappy high heels that pushed them up another
five or six inches.
In a room full of gorgeous women, it took a
helluva lot to stand out. He heard throaty laughter, realized it came from
redheaded Megan. Next to her, the blonde flashed a grin, and a stunning pair of
dimples popped out. He’d remember that one now, Valentine.
Sounded more like a stripper than a classy underwear model,
but hey, what did he know?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kat Martin is the author of twenty-one Historical and Contemporary Romance novels. She tackles many different aspects of her genre with settings ranging from the rugged West to the Antebellum South, Regency, Georgian, and Medieval England. Not one to shy away from change, she also tackles Contemporary Romantic Suspense novels which involve the paranormal. Some of her titles include Nothing But Velvet, Sweet Vengeance, and Dangerous Passions. These works have won a bevy of awards including a recent Romantic Times Magazine nomination for Best Historical Romance of 1998 for her latest release, Wicked Promise. She is also published in, among others, Germany, Norway, Sweden, China, Russia, and Spain.
Before starting her writing career in 1985, Kat was a real estate broker. During that time, she met her husband, Larry Jay Martin, also a Kensington author. After double majoring in Anthropology and History at the University of California at Santa Barbara, she found herself incredibly interested in the past. In fact, she and Larry often do research in the areas where their books take place. She remarks, "We like to stay in out-of-the-way inns and houses built in times past. It's fun and it gives a wonderful sense of a bygone era."
In May, Kat will release her next Historical Romance, Night Secrets. Following that is an upcoming Zebra release, a Contemporary Romantic Suspense entitled The Silent Rose, which will be out in August. "It's a ghostly tale of romance and intrigue that was based on a real life incident," says Kat. "It's a little bit scary, a whole lot sexy, and hopefully lots of fun to read."
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