The Characters of BREAKING THROUGH (Book 2 of the SEAL Team Heartbreakers)
This past week I participated in a release party on Kalypso Masters' blog for her new release Nobody's Perfect. I thought I'd post my blog on my site this morning in case you didn't get a chance to read the excepts from my new book BREAKING THROUGH (Book 2 of the SEAL Team Heartbreakers)
To tell you a little about the book. BREAKING THROUGH has four story lines going at the same time. Three romances and a suspense plot.
It was
released September 6, 2012. And I thought I’d give readers a taste of each
story line explored in the book. Read on and find out about each of the characters
in my new book.
Ensign Brett
“Cutter” Weaver has just awakened from a month long coma to find he’s being
investigated for the murder of a young Iraqi boy. NCIS approaches him about the
protection detail. But he has no memory of his last days in Iraq and his SEAL
team buddy Derrick Armstrong isn’t talking. And worse, the men in the two cover
vehicles that accompanied them on the detail are dead. What can he do to prove
his innocence?
Jackson stood at the window, his hands
in his pockets. “Crouch said you had some paperwork for me.” He turned to face
Brett.
“Yes, sir. Dr. Stewart has released me
for duty, sir.”
Jackson accepted the manila folder
with a frown and opened it. He flipped through the paperwork, studied the
documents for a few moments, and set aside the packet. “There’s a problem with
sending you back to your team.”
Brett sucked in a breath. Fucking knew it. Saw it coming a mile off. The
blow still hit as though he’d been sucker-punched in the nuts. He breathed
through the anger, but betrayal clawed at his gut nearly choking him. “What kind of —pro- problem?” This was not the time for this fucking
speech thing to kick in.
Jackson’s eyes narrowed. “Your position
on NCIS’s radar for the shit about the missing boy was a catalyst. It’s brought
scrutiny back to the team concerning Derrick’s take down. NCIS is trying to say
the men acted in the capacity of police officers. I think they’re trying to put
pressure on the whole team to give you and Armstrong up.”
“But we didn’t do anything.”
“How can you be sure if you can’t
remember, Weaver?”
Where was the man’s belief? He’d
voiced it the last time he’d stood here in this office.
He studied Jackson’s expression, and
anger as hard and unbending as iron ate up the hurt. “I have a good reputation
in the teams. I’m a SEAL, and I’ve conducted myself as a SEAL should in all
things. My record speaks
for itself. The only way my enlistment will end is if I’m killed in combat.”
Jackson’s gaze shifted. “You’ll have
to wait until this is settled before returning to the team. I’ll have orders
for you in a few days. Dismissed, Ensign.”
Brett forced his hand up in a salute
he didn’t believe the fucker deserved. You could judge a man by how he treated
his family. Captain Jackson had dismissed his wife and child the moment he’d
slammed the door behind them. That told him Jackson would sacrifice whomever he
had to, to bring this shit to an end.
He wasn’t going to be made into a sacrificial lamb to make Jackson’s life
easier. Fuck that.
Tess Kelly is
the only daughter of award winning journalist Ian Kelly. Tess works for the San
Diego Tribune writing for the Life Styles page. Though she’s not interested in
covering international stories like her father, she’s always wanted more. When
Brett Weaver approaches her with the story of the lifetime, she can’t say no.
But she soon learns the wounded warrior is a force to be reckoned with and
she’s torn between her ambition and her feelings for him. Will she release the story and end
Brett’s SEAL career?
The moment she placed her hand in his,
her breathing grew unsteady. He tugged her to her feet and into his arms with
an ease that had her breath catching altogether. At five foot five and a
hundred and twenty pounds, she’d thought herself sturdy, but held against
Brett’s six-foot frame with his broad shoulders and chest stretched before her,
she felt delicate.
His hand splayed against her back, but
he didn’t pull her in too close. He guided her just near enough for their
bodies to brush as he led her into a slow, swaying rhythm, part seduction, part
torture.
She couldn’t have sex with him. He was
a source.
He was in trouble, but every time she
looked into his baby blues, she just couldn’t believe him capable of
cold-blooded murder.
And the more she got to know him, the
more she was drawn to him.
But could she trust her instincts?
She gnawed her lower lip.
“Relax, I don’t bite,” he said,
resting his cheek against her hair.
“It isn’t that. I’m more at ease in
the professional realm than I am the personal one.” Oh, shit. Did I just admit
that?
Dancing with this man was personal.
She was sharing her space with him. But it didn’t feel like an invasion for him
to hold her. It felt—amazing. She wanted to lean into him. He smelled like
laundry soap and grill smoke, blended with the light fragrance of cologne and
the underlying scent of him.
The pressure of his hand guided her
closer,
and she had no choice but to relax when every muscle turned to liquid. A rush
of need set afire every nerve. Her hand slid from his shoulder to rest against
his chest, the muscle there evident beneath her touch. “This isn’t a good
idea.” Her voice came out just above a whisper.
“We’re just dancing. What’s not good
about it?” His husky voice wreaked
havoc on
the aching heat growing between her thighs.
What could she say when every inch of
her was alive to every move he made? Had they been alone, she’d have been
tempted to hook a knee around his hip and press against the growing bulge that
brushed against her belly.
Oliver Shaker spoke before either of
them was aware of his approach. “Call me if you need anything, Cutter.” The
baby lay nestled against his shoulder asleep, her little form so relaxed her
limbs looked boneless.
“Thanks, Greenback,” Brett said.
“Good night,” Selena offered, her soft voice almost
carried away by the stiffening breeze.
Though Brett continued to hold Tess
for several moments, the interruption had broken the spell. She pulled away and
slumped back into her chair,
feeling like a teenager caught necking in the back seat of a car.
This
was the first time she’d gotten so twisted up over a man
she’d actually wanted to throw caution to the wind. Brett Weaver was dangerous.
Lieutenant
Adam “Hawk” Yazzie is Brett’s SEAL team CO. He knows Brett is innocent, but
when he comes head-to-head with the people investigating his teammate, Hawk
finds his own career and freedom hanging in the balance. Can he fight free of
the allegations threatening him so he can have a life with the woman he loves?
And now he was going to see his girl,
even if it was just for a minute between patients. He lengthened his stride and
excitement brought a surge in his heart rate and his temperature. He’d missed
her every day and every night of the three weeks he’d been gone.
A woman passed him the hall and
paused. “May I help you?” she asked.
“I’m looking for Zoe Weaver. She’s a
physical therapist here.”
The woman’s eyes ran down over his
brown t-shirt and desert cammies, all the way to his boots. The come-on
registered only long enough for him to frown. Not interested.
“And you are?” she asked
Her boyfriend. Her partner. Her lover.
Her man. It was growing more awkward for him each time someone asked. Zoe
deserved to be a wife. He wanted to be a husband. So, why wasn’t he remedying that situation?
“I’m Adam Yazzie, her boyfriend. I’ve
been gone three weeks on a training op and just wanted to see her.”
The woman’s attitude changed from
scoping him out to being helpful. “She’s with a patient, but I’ll slip into the
room and tell her you’re here. You can go down to the lounge and get a cup of
coffee while you wait. It’s just three doors down and to the right.”
“Thanks.” A patient with an artificial
arm fitted at the elbow walked by and saluted him with his hook. Their eyes met
for a moment and Hawk returned the salute. By
the grace of God. Hawk was reminded every day how lucky he was. He wandered
down the hall to a room with a kitchen, a small table and chairs, and a
television mounted high on the wall in one corner. The smell of fresh coffee
permeated the room. He leaned against the counter uninterested. All he wanted
was to see Zoe and hold her.
Five minutes passed and he was reading
the same poster about the stages of grief for the tenth time when Zoe rushed
in. For a split second they just looked at one another, and then they were in
each other’s arms. Zoe’s head
pressed against his chest and her arms clung tight around his waist, her
breasts pushing into his ribs. He breathed in her vanilla scent. Vanilla and
her. God knew what he smelled like after riding from Miramar to the base in the
back of a truck. Maybe he should have stopped to shower. He ran his hand down
her back to her waist with one hand while he cupped her head with the other and
tangled his fingers in her ponytail.
When she finally leaned back to look
up at him and smiled, his mouth found hers. Her lips parted and their tongues
tangled. The kiss went on and on as they tried to make up for three weeks of
separation.
When he finally raised his head her
voice came wispy with emotion. “I’ve missed you so much.”
Hawk cupped her face with both of his
hands and just studied each feature. He’d never known he was capable of loving
anyone as completely as he loved her. “The words me too don’t even scratch the
surface.”
Her dark blue eyes looked even darker
since the kiss. He took her lips
again, this time with all the tenderness that rose inside him.
“You can’t keep looking at me like
that, kissing me like that. You’re
either going to make me cry or we’re going to have to find a storage closet
somewhere,” she said, her laugh shaky.
“There’s an idea. What time do you get
off?”
A grin curved her lips. “As soon as I
get home, I hope.”
Zoe Weaver is
Brett’s sister and Hawk’s girlfriend. When Zoe learns both her brother and Hawk
are under investigation she’s outraged.
How can anyone threaten them with prison when all they’ve done is put
their life in jeopardy to save hers? She’s determined to do everything she can
to support them. But Zoe has a secret she fears might distract Hawk and put his
life at risk. Will she tell him before he deploys to Iraq, or after?
Zoe slid out of her seat and into his
lap. She ran her hands over his close-cropped hair. “Why are they doing this now?”
“Because I pissed somebody off,
because I was pissed off. They were giving me the runaround, and they weren’t
doing their damn jobs. They didn’t like having that pointed out. I’m hoping
it’s a warning just to stay the hell out of their business. But if it’s not … ”
Could her stomach possibly get any
more knotted?
He focused on her, his gaze steady while his hands moved up and
down her back restlessly. “When you came back to me after our breakup, I made a promise to
myself. I’d held things back from you and it caused problems between us. I’m
not making that mistake again.”
His words grabbed her by the throat and made her own
reticence about the baby seem more a lie than an attempt to keep him safe. The
words were there on the tip of her tongue, begging to be spoken. But how could
she drop the news on him when he was twisted up about this? He was turning to
her for comfort, not something more to worry about.
She cupped his face and kissed him. “I
love you, Adam Yazzie. No matter what happens, I’ll never stop loving
you.” She kissed him again and
felt the familiar heat of his response in the way his arms tightened around
her, the way his lips and tongue moved against hers.
The growing intensity of his kisses,
his touch as he unbuttoned her blouse, set in motion a languorous spiral of
need. She wanted to spread her legs and take him inside right here on the chair. But her leg
wouldn’t allow it.
Hawk rose with her in his arms and
dodged through the kitchen door in the direction of the bedroom. “It’s going to
be okay,” he murmured against her lips. “We’re going to be okay.”
Not
if you keep lying to him, her conscience whispered. I’ll tell him later, after we’ve held each
other. After he’s less upset.
He lowered her to the bed. She shut out the nagging voice and drew him down
to her.
Clara Weaver
is Brett and Zoe’s mother. Clara just retired from her teaching position and is
thinking about relocating so she can be closer to her two youngest children. She
runs into Dr. Russell Connelly, the physician who cared for Brett during his
coma, and is caught unaware when she feels an overwhelming attraction to him.
She’s been a widow for over twenty years and though she’s had a date here and
there she’s never felt that special spark with anyone but her husband. Until
now. Will she be brave enough to set aside her age related insecurities and
open her heart to another man?
She’d been looking for more. She’d
been looking for what she’d had with Joe. But she’d never found even a hint of
that special something with the four men she’d gone out with.
Then on her fiftieth birthday—She
cringed at the memory. Charlie Cooper was a nice guy. But she’d felt
self-conscious and uncomfortable afterwards. Guilty, too. Though he’d called
and tried to ask her out several times, she’d never seen him again.
Her gaze rose to her reflection in the
microwave door above the stove. She touched the fine lines around her eyes and
mouth. What was it Russell Connelly saw when he looked at her?
She turned away from her reflection.
Fifty-five was worse than fifty. Five years worse. Pathetically worse. If
Russell were interested, how would she feel if he wanted more? The panicked
beating of her heart was her only answer.
Dr. Russell
Connelly is stunned by the connection he feels for Clara but his estranged son
has just arrived to visit and brought with him tragic news. Evan is ill and has come to mend their
differences, if he can. It isn’t the best time to start a new relationship with
Clara. And how can Russell ask this woman who’s already lost so much, to open
her heart to the both of them when one of them may die?
She
smiled again. “Clara. Surely you can call me Clara now.”
Why
hadn’t he noticed this beautiful,
vibrant woman two months ago?
Because
she’d been the mother of his patient, and he’d been keeping his professional
distance.
But
also, because she’d been under tremendous stress.
Her
son had lain in a coma. Her older daughter had had an emergency C-section, a
baby girl,
if he remembered correctly. And the same team member rumored to have injured
Brett and caused his coma had nearly killed her youngest daughter.
“Dad.”
Evan’s
voice just behind him caught his attention. He tore his gaze away from Clara
Weaver to face his son.
Time
stopped. His heart plunged. My God. What
the hell happened? He barely bit back the exclamation. What’s wrong?
Yassin al-Yussef
is a humble Iraqi businessman who has acted as a liaison between business
people in Iraq and the American military to bring prosperity to his fellow
countrymen. His son Sanjay was delivered home from the base by a protection detail
of Navy SEALs and Marines. Or was he?
Four long months had passed since he had
seen his son. Four months filled with an unrelenting fear and grief that
he could no longer bear.
He
had watched Levla change from a vibrant, joyful woman to a
shadow. She disappeared into her grief more and more each day. Though she never
spoke the words, he knew she blamed him
for trusting to strangers to deliver their
only child home. He blamed himself. He had allowed his work to devour
his life, and now his son was gone.
Anger
and grief twisted together, clawing at his insides,
burrowing into his brain. The men who were supposed to keep him safe and see
him home safely must have killed him.
They had to pay.
Blurb: What
happens when a Navy SEAL wakes from a month-long coma to discover he’s being
investigated for murder?
When Ensign Brett Weaver is accused of
murder, he knows he’s innocent, but how can he prove it with Naval
Investigators breathing down his neck? A chance meeting with reporter Tess
Kelly offers him an opportunity to get the press on his side. But can he trust
her to keep his other secrets off the record?
Tess works hard to live up to her
father's expectations. When Brett offers her information about SEAL training in
exchange for an introduction to her award-winning journalist father, she jumps
at the chance. The situation Brett lobs into her father's lap is a major
scoop. But the secret she discovers about Brett is just as newsworthy.
Will her feelings for this wounded warrior win out, or will she release a story
guaranteed to destroy Brett’s SEAL career?
When Tess’s father is kidnapped,
Brett’s team is deployed to find him. At the same time, a leak in the
investigation puts Tess and Brett’s lives in danger. Will Brett be able to
break through the lasting effects of his injuries and prove he’s once again a
battle-ready SEAL? Or will he and Tess lose everything at the whim of a
vengeful killer?
Breaking Through is available at:
And will be available at Apple, Kobo,
and other distributers in a few days.
It is also available in print at
Amazon.
And for those of you haven't read the first book. BREAKING FREE. Here's the cover and blurb for it. I think the story line is just as good as my second book. And the romance is really special.
Zoe Weaver is determined never to get involved with a man in uniform.
Her father was killed during the Gulf War. Her brother Brett, is in a
coma. If that isn’t enough, Zoe has scars both physical and emotional
from a hit and run accident that almost cost her a leg. She refuses to
lay her fragile self-esteem, or her heart, on the line for a man who
puts his military career ahead of his family. But her brother’s
commanding officer, Lieutenant Adam “Hawk” Yazzie, triggers a passion
beyond her experience. Is she strong enough to love Hawk and, when the
time comes, watch him go to war?
Lieutenant “Hawk” Yazzie, is a SEAL.
The Navy is his life, and his family. He’s learned the hard way he can’t
be there for anyone. He finds Zoe’s combination of feisty femininity
hard to resist, but the guilt he carries prevents him from offering a
commitment to anyone ---but the Navy. Will he love Zoe and leave her?
When Zoe and Hawk investigate the events surrounding her brother’s
injuries, they grow suspicious of three members of Hawk’s team. Hawk is
torn between loyalty to his men and his need to see justice done. But
when he tries to save a troubled teammate’s career he unwittingly puts
Zoe’s life in danger. Can he lead the rest of the team in a rescue
operation to save her? Or will one of Hawk's brothers in arms destroy
the woman he loves?
If you're so inclined to share this blog and your thoughts on the books with me, I'd love it!
Thanks,
Teresa R.
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