“Edgy, sexy, and full of suspense! A great
read from a great new author!”
~J.R. Ward on Hard As It Gets
Five dishonored soldiers.
Former Special Forces.
One last mission.
These are the men of Hard Ink.
Tall, dark, and lethal...
Trouble just walked into Nicholas Rixey's tattoo parlor. Becca Merritt is warm, sexy, wholesome--pure temptation to a very jaded Nick. He's left his military life behind to become co-owner of Hard Ink Tattoo, but Becca is his ex-commander's daughter. Loyalty won't let him turn her away. Lust has plenty to do with it too.
With her brother presumed kidnapped, Becca needs Nick. She just wasn't expecting to want him so much. As their investigation turns into all-out war with an organized crime ring, only Nick can protect her. And only Becca can heal the scars no one else sees.
Desire is the easy part. Love is as hard as it gets. Good thing Nick is always up for a challenge...
Hey everyone! I’m soooo excited to be celebrating my release of Hard As It Gets, the first book in my new Hard Ink series that follows the surviving members of a disgraced Army Special Forces unit as they follow new leads to uncover the conspiracy that saw them discharged from the military. Running their covert operation out of the back of Nick Rixey’s tattoo parlor, their mission brings them into all-out war against an organized crime ring. Along the way, the team finds love and support in unexpected places—but will they be able to regain their stolen honor?
Today, I wanted to share a suspenseful excerpt from the book where heroine Becca Merritt takes a meeting with one of the bad guys in her effort to save her brother – enjoy!
Today, I wanted to share a suspenseful excerpt from the book where heroine Becca Merritt takes a meeting with one of the bad guys in her effort to save her brother – enjoy!
Excerpt ~ a meeting with the enemy…
Tires screeched against pavement. Becca whirled toward the parking lot. Through the new spring leaves, she could just make out a dark SUV cutting diagonally across the mostly open spaces. Her heart leapt into her throat, but she kept her eyes straight ahead. It was critical she not do anything to give the impression she wasn’t alone.
God, how am I going to do this? Just breathe, Bec. This is too important to screw up.
Right. As long as her lungs kept operating, she’d be fine.
The truck whipped into the driveway about twenty feet in front of her, the drive that also led to the boat put-in and dock where Miguel and Shane were pretending to be Sunday fishermen. Score one for the good guys—getting her attacker in this space was one of the things they’d hoped for. It was why they’d chosen the pavilion as their rendezvous point.
She recognized the driver right away. Her would-be kidnapper. In her mind’s eye, she saw him crossing the staff break room. It was definitely the same man. And, thank God, he’d come alone. Eyes drilling into her, he got out of the idling truck and crossed the grass looking like the gangster he apparently was—baggy jeans, hoody, chains at his neck. But, geez, he’d been beaten to hell judging by the bruises and cuts on his face. Every moment of this situation was more surreal than the next.
“That’s close enough,” she said when he reached the edge of the sidewalk that ringed the pavilion. Becca retreated behind a picnic table, placing a barrier between them.
He glared but stopped on the sidewalk. “So we meet again.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say we’ve met, since you know who I am, but I don’t know you.” Her gaze dropped to his hand, but she couldn’t get a good look at the tattoos there from this angle.
His brown eyes narrowed. “All you need to know is I’m the one who can help get your brother back.”
It sounded too good to be true. The breeze blew strands of hair loose from her ponytail, and she swept them away from her eyes. “What is it you want?”
“To know how your bro put two and two together.” Becca nearly groaned and her hands fisted. She had no more patience for bullshit mystery. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? Don’t play games with me.”
“Charlie found something that was supposed to be hidden, and we need to know what led him to it.”
“How am I supposed to find that out?” she asked, a chill running down her spine despite the nice morning. The hint of a smile played around the corners of his wide mouth. “I was thinking about that . . .”
A scuff. Rubber on concrete. Goose bumps erupted across her neck as she turned. Time slowed to a crawl, and everything happened at once.
Two guys stepped out of the trees and entered the far side of the pavilion. Both had guns.
Panic had barely welled up inside her as one screamed and fell to the ground for no apparent reason. The other bolted but, just as suddenly, crashed to the ground with a shout and a cry. Could Beckett’s silencer be the cause?
The punks writhed on the grass, but one of them returned fire, the gun’s report echoing loudly under the pavilion’s roof. Becca instinctively crouched down, hands cradling her head. Her gaze whipped to her attacker.
Expression absolutely livid, he stalked around the table with a gun pointed at her head. “Not getting away this time, bitch.”
She backtracked the opposite direction, her hand reaching for her gun.
His roiling gaze tracked the movement and he lunged.
Becca took off across the concrete, catching her shin on the blunt edge of a bench in a flash of pain. The stumble slowed her, and he grabbed her ponytail. Her head wrenched back, nearly taking her off her feet. Suddenly, her air was gone, his arm trapping her in a tight chokehold that had her clawing and gasping. Nearby, footsteps pounded on the earth. The team?
They’ll get to me, they’ll get to me, they’ll get to me in time.
Above her, the bright blue sky filled with little pinpoints of light as the guy’s arm compressed her windpipe. And her medical training meant she knew she had mere seconds before blacking out.
Did you have a favorite line from the excerpt?
Thanks for reading! ~Laura
Thanks for reading! ~Laura
Laura is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over a dozen books in contemporary and paranormal romance. Growing up, Laura’s large extended family believed in the supernatural, and family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long fascination with storytelling and all things paranormal. She lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.
Review:
Filled with mystery, suspense, and sizzling romance Hard As It Gets is a book you'll have a hard time putting down. Laura Kaye did a wonderful job with this book and I'm looking forward to reading more from her in the future. It was completely different from what I would have expected, in a good way, since it really exceeded all of my expectations. The story has a fantastic plot, that will keep you guessing all the way through it. The characters are fantastic, with several of the secondary characters really standing out. Nick's brother and the members of his team are among those I can't wait to hear more about.
And, Wow! The chemistry between Nick and Becca is crazy, off the charts hot! There are several scenes that are going to leave you needing a fan, a cool drink of water, or maybe even a cold shower. Even with all of the crazy stuff going on around them Nick and Becca are continually drawn to each other and I loved how the romance grew between them.
Overall, this was a wonderful start to the Hard Ink Series. With lots of questions still left unanswered, I can't wait to read the next installment!
4 out of 5 Stars
