Friday 3 February 2017

New Release Spotlight: Final Exit by Lena Diaz

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Final Exit
EXIT Inc. #3
By: Lena Diaz
Releasing January 31, 2017
Avon


Final Exit

Exit Inc. Series

Lena Diaz concludes her sexy, suspenseful EXIT Inc. series as an FBI agent teams up with a beautiful assassin to uncover a deadly government conspiracy...

After a tragic mistake nearly destroyed his life, Special Agent Kade Quinn will do whatever it takes to save his career. His latest mission? Track and capture the remaining EXIT operatives to determine if they’re still a threat. But his next target—a stunning female assassin—is both elusive and dangerously appealing.

Bailey Stark has outsmarted the FBI so far, but she’s tired of running. Tired of watching her friends ambushed by government agents in tactical gear and never seen again. She suspects they aren’t being evaluated—they’re being exterminated—and she’s determined to convince Agent Quinn his mission is a lie before it’s too late. Bailey doesn’t want to rely on him. She definitely shouldn’t desire him. But she knows teaming up with the skilled, sexy agent may be her only hope.

Kade doesn’t want to believe Bailey’s claims, but he promises to keep her safe. Trusting one another is difficult. Fighting their attraction is harder. And as they uncover the disturbing truth behind his mission . . . staying alive will be nearly
impossible.

    AMAZON | B & N | GOOGLE | iTUNES | KOBO

Excerpt
Friday, 11:55 p.m.
It was a perfect night to catch a killer. A warm breeze blew out of the south at about six miles per hour. Rain-heavy clouds covered the half-moon, plunging the cliff where Special Agent Kade Quinn stood into darkness. He was betting on the old cliché, third time’s a charm. And also betting on the numbers—that his six, shiny new special agents could take down one highly skilled, remarkably cunning, experienced assassin.
Not the kind of odds to go to Vegas over. But he had to work with what he had. If things went as planned, Bailey Stark would soon be in custody like the dozens of other EXIT Inc. Enforcers that his team had managed to capture. The now-defunct company could never again fool the public into believing that all it did was offer vacation packages, so-called “EXtreme International Tours.” The clandestine organization’s true legacy as a corrupt front for government-sanctioned murder would end with the capture of the last few Enforcers. By the time his mission was over, every last one functioning members of society.
And innocents like Abby would never again become the victims of killers like Bailey. 
Between the nightmare of his wife’s death and the near-constant ache in his ruined left leg, Kade had his own, very personal, debt with EXIT. And he planned on collecting. He scanned the tree line. Past the red oak and Ponderosa pines, the Colorado Rockies squatted like dark sentinels watching over tonight’s operation. Below him, in the middle of a wide, nearly treeless valley, was ground zero, the two-story cottage that Bailey believed would be her sanctuary. Instead, it would become her last stand. A quarter-mile-long driveway connected a two-lane highway to this remote property. At close to midnight and an hour’s drive from Boulder, the road was essentially deserted. Kade couldn’t have asked for a better place to launch an ambush. And if his intel was correct, Bailey should arrive within the next half hour.
Only a few minutes later the two-way radio on his belt crackled to life. “Big Bear to Lone Wolf. Come in.”
Kade rolled his eyes and pressed the transmit button. “Kade here. What’s the situation report, Nichols?”
You’re ruining my fun, boss.” He shook his head but played along. He had to pick his battles. “Lone Wolf to Big Bear. What’s the sitrep?”
Much better.” A chuckle sounded through the radio. “A beat-up, dark blue Camaro just turned off the highway. One occupant. Looks to be our target. She’s heading toward the cottage.”
Use the SUV to block the road behind her. If she gets spooked, I don’t want her doing a one-eighty and making it to the highway.”
Affirmative. Big Bear out.”
Kade clicked off the mic and belatedly wished he’d downed a handful of antacids before driving out here. Being assigned these eager, raw newbies had to be his penance for his breakdown after the accident. They were also the reason he was here in person rather than monitoring the mission remotely per the usual protocol. Tonight’s target had already tricked his team and gotten away—twice. Kade was here to make sure that didn’t happen again.
Cord,” he said through the two-way. “Sitrep.”
You mean you aren’t going to call me Little Bear?”
Do you want me to?” He was half-afraid of the answer.
Hell no. I’m not in junior high.”
You guys know I can hear you, right?” Nichols chimed in.
Sitrep,” Kade growled.
She just passed my ten o’clock,” Cord announced. “Dom should have her in his sights in a few seconds.”
Already do,” Dominic confirmed. “The car is pulling up to the house. We’re all set.”
Radio silence in three, two, one.” Kade clicked off the transmitter.
They couldn’t risk the sound of static or a mistimed transmission alerting their target. Or at least, that was the official reason for breaking communications. Unofficially, he needed a few moments of silence to get his impatience under control. What had happened to the bureau’s standards? Big Bear, Little Bear? Hell, two of his agents—Dom and Jack—had tattoos. Since when had the FBI allowed tats? Quantico was going soft.
He looked through the binoculars. Instead of driving into the attached garage as expected, Bailey did a three-point turn and parked the Camaro pointing down the driveway. Was she suspicious? Had she purposely positioned her vehicle for a quick getaway? His hands tightened around the binoculars. The driver’s door opened. A petite woman in dark-colored shorts and a white T-shirt emerged. A pistol was holstered at her waist and her shoulder-length, curly red hair reflected like flames in the soft glow of the porch light. Even at this distance she had the kinds of curves that made men pay attention—including Kade, much to his chagrin.
He had more reason than most to despise Enforcers, and yet his breath caught every time he looked at one of her photographs in the case file. He couldn’t imagine the effect she’d have on him if he ever got within a few feet of her in person. It was bad enough that his pulse quickened whenever those deep green eyes gazed back at him from her pictures. But what he hated the most was the odd feeling of kinship he felt toward her, a tug of empathy when he saw the shadows in her eyes, the same shadows he saw every time he looked in a mirror. He couldn’t help wondering what had happened to harden her and make her look so lost, so sad, so incredibly . . . alone.
Originally from Kentucky, romantic suspense author Lena Diaz also lived in California and Louisiana before settling in Northeast Florida with her husband, two children, and a Shetland Sheepdog named Sparky. A Romance Writers of America Golden Heart® finalist, she's won the prestigious Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense and has been a finalist for the National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award. She loves to watch action movies, garden, and hike in the beautiful Tennessee Smoky Mountains.


EXIT Inc. – What the Heck is it?

Just what is “EXIT”? The simple answer is that it’s an acronym that stands for “EXtreme International Tours”. EXIT Inc. is a company that matches tour guides and vacation packages with people who want extreme, fun, and dangerous outdoor experiences all over the world. This can range from riding fiver rapids and ziplining across deep canyons to climbing Mount Everest or some other equally exciting but dangerous endeavor. All under the protection of an experienced and capable guide. But is that really what EXIT is about?

Of course not.

The tour company part of EXIT Inc. is just a front, a cover for its real mission as a clandestine government organization. Many of the tour guides at EXIT are really agents, called Enforcers, who take on the dirty jobs that other alphabet agencies can’t, or won’t, tackle—including assassinations. The Enforcers take out the bad guys before the bad guys can hurt more people.

Or, at least, that’s what it’s supposed to be about.

What the heroes in the EXIT books quickly discover is that there is far more to EXIT than even they knew. There’s a conspiracy, that may go all the way to the top. Enforcers are being tricked, used for someone’s personal gain. As a result, some of the people being “taken out” by Enforcers may not be bad guys after all.

Each of the EXIT novels (there are three in all, with FINAL EXIT being the last) focuses on a different Enforcer, and a dilemma each of them has to resolve. Meanwhile, the series itself has an overarching thread through all of the books, showing what happens to EXIT Inc. as its Enforcers begin to realize they are being used. FINAL EXIT is the explosive conclusion when readers finally find out what happens to the company and those who are behind it.

Yes, the books are most enjoyable when read in order as a series. However, each one is also stand-alone, following a specific problem that the hero and heroine have to tackle together while they fall in love. It’s always my goal to make each of my books a fully satisfying read regardless of whether you’ve read any of the others in the series.


The first two books, EXIT Strategy and No EXIT, feature heroes who are Enforcers. In FINAL EXIT, it’s the heroine who’s the Enforcer. How cool is that? I loved writing a super-strong female character who was smart, fierce, and willing to fight to the death for the people she cared about. And who better to pair her with as the love interest than a by-the-book FBI agent who was her polar opposite? Bailey and Kade were a super-fun couple to write. Forced to work together against EXIT, they have to overcome their mutual distrust of each other in order to survive. And along the way, of course (after all, it is a romance), they fall in love. And they live happily ever after!

Rafflecopter Giveaway (3 print sets of the EXIT, INC. series (includes: Exit Strategy, No Exit, and Final Exit))

New Release Spotlight: The Ten Club by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

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The Ten Club
The King Trilogy #5
By: Mimi Jean Pamfiloff
Releasing January 31, 2017
Self-Published
The Ten Club

The King Trilogy


From New York Times Bestseller Mimi Jean Pamfiloff…
Book #5 and the FINALE of the King Series


HE WANTS TO OWN HER. King doesn’t recall dying and he definitely doesn’t recall this feisty woman Mia who claims to be his wife. But he’s happy to make her his if she’ll be obedient and loyal. After all, a king needs a queen, and now that he’s back from the dead, this evil billionaire has big plans.

SHE WANTS HIM DEAD. Mia Turner made painful sacrifices to save the love of her life from his cursed hell. So when he promised to love and protect her always, she believed him. But after he trades his life to save his brother, she’s left all alone with a baby and a broken heart. Until he returns. Evil, more powerful, and with absolutely no memory of her.

Can she find a way to bring back the man he once was, or will she have to send him back to hell?



PROLOGUE
MIA

I rolled out of bed, feeling unrested and sore and out of my mind with grief. It had been another rough night for me, one of many to come, I assumed. But what else could I do?
You’ll find coffee. Then you’ll try to find a way to keep breathing. Because that was what widows did.  
As I stumbled toward my bedroom doorway to go check on the baby, the phone rang on my nightstand. The caller ID said Mack.
Hello?”
Mia, I don’t know how to say this, but he didn’t stay dead. He’s back, but he’s not him anymore.”
What?” I blinked. “Could you repeat that?”
King is back, Mia. And he made it clear he’s not letting me end 10 Club.”
I’ll call you,” I started hyperventilating, “back,” and passed out.

CHAPTER ONE
KING
Tonight calls for a celebration. No, it is not a birthday nor an anniversary. Men like me do not give a dark fuck about life’s shitty little milestones. We care only for power or money—same fucking thing. And after tonight, I will have enough of both to break the fucking world.
Hey, baby,” says the topless bleach blonde rubbing her ass on my cock over my black slacks to the beat of the music, “I’m free after work.”
Shut up and keep dancing.” Women like her don’t come close to doing it for me, but she is the hottest, most expensive stripper in this private bar. A thousand dollars a minute. It’s pocket change to me; however, everyone here tonight now wonders why I’m treating myself.
Just as I hoped.
My eyes sweep the smoky, dimly lit bar filled with 10 Club members sitting at little tables, whispering in the shadows, making their deals and bartering for whatever sadistic crap will get them off tonight—sex slaves, drugs, torture, murder, whatever. Anything goes. Of course, they’re all talking about me, as well.
I smile and take a long victory drag off my cigar, ceremoniously blowing the smoke into the air above. I want them all to see me gloating. I want them talking to the other degenerate 10 Club fucks and speculating what I am up to. Because regardless of what it is, they’ll all want to steal it from me. They’ll all want a piece.
I’m counting on it.
That’s enough.” I push the blonde’s ass forward, rise from my seat, and straighten my blood red tie. I’ve done what I came for and can already hear the phones vibrating with speculation around the world at the hundred other 10 Club establishments like this one. “King is here.” “Something’s going down.” “What do you know and what’s the price?” they’re all saying.
They’ll never guess. Not in a million years.
I toss a thick roll of hundreds at the stripper, who goes on her hands and knees to fetch it from the floor. I can feel her lust-filled eyes on me as I step over her like the dog she is. After all, she’s 10 Club property, not even human in my eyes. But she made her choice. We all have. No one is part of this debauchery by accident. That’s not to say some aren’t backed into impossible corners, forced to choose between things such as death or becoming part of our secret society comprised of two levels—the powerful and the powerless.
Make that three levels. Because there’s me. At the top.
I stroll toward the set of heavy iron doors and make my exit into the dark alley. It’s raining and windy. Typical for a January in San Francisco. Personally, I like the somber feel of this weather—fits my mood. Dark as fuck.
I am ten steps from my sleek black Mercedes when I hear footsteps splashing through puddles behind me. From the sound of the short strides, I know it’s a woman.
Fucking idiot. Doesn’t she know I despise desperation? And I definitely don’t pay to fuck strippers who are owned by 10 Club. God only knows where that pussy’s been.
I shake my head, pulling my keys from my pocket, and hit the unlock button on the remote. “Sorry, sweetheart. Not interested.”
You’re King, right?”
The soft voice is unfamiliar, so I turn my head. She’s petite, blonde, and mildly interesting to look at; however, it’s hard to tell just how interesting since she’s wearing a garish yellow raincoat.
Who’s asking?” I say.
Yes or no,” she replies with a hint of a growl in her sweet voice.
My, my. Aren’t we a demanding little thing? I decide to play along. Of course, she has no clue I can snap her neck with the twitch of my fingers.
Let us pretend for a moment that I have replied with a yes. What’s in it for me?” I ask.
She steps closer, which definitely draws my attention. Most people fear me. They don’t know why, they often don’t even realize it, but they definitely fear me. This one doesn’t seem afraid.
Either that or she’s too desperate to notice she’s in the presence of something black hearted.
They say you are the man who can find anything or anyone for a price,” she says.
I like the way this conversation is moving. It means she wants something, and now that the streetlamp above has given me a better look at her luscious little lips, I’m fairly sure we can come to some sort of arrangement.
I cock a brow, silently urging her to continue.
I-I need help finding someone.”
Someone very important, I hope. Because I think I might like to add you to my collection. I collect many things, including people, although usually not for sex. I can get that without having to take on the responsibility of ownership. But for her, I might make an exception. Her wavy, shoulder-length blonde hair and wide blue eyes are at the top of my list when it comes to turn-ons, but what really gets me off are naivety and fearlessness. She has plenty of both.
Go on,” I say.
I want you to help me find my husband.”
Tonight just got a whole hell of a lot more interesting. Because I love taking things that don’t belong to me, and I sure as hell love breaking a person’s soul.
I dip my head to give her a good look. She should see the face of the man who will be fucking her for the next few years until I grow tired of her and trade her away to another club member, likely one of those sick fuckers who enjoys making lampshades from women’s legs and breasts. Like I said, anything goes in 10 Club, just as long as you’ve got ten billion in the bank and money to pay your dues—one billion a year—which buys you complete immunity from any government anywhere in the world. Of course, we own all the governments. How do you think so many sadistic pricks make it into office? Power and money are everything.
I lean down and let her drink in my dark features. Yes, look into my eyes, sweetheart. See the promise of suffering in their cold gray depths. But as I stare back at her, there’s nothing. No fear in her eyes. No sadness or desperation. She’s void of all emotion.
Tonight just got a whole hell of a lot less interesting. It’s no fun for me if they’re already broken.
Sorry. I’m busy.” I turn away and pop open the driver-side door.
Wait. Aren’t you going to help me?”
I could,” I say blandly, sliding into the cool leather of the driver’s seat, “however, as you’ve pointed out, I am the man who can find anyone or anything for a price. You don’t have anything I want.”
She wedges herself between me and the car door I’m about to close. “Name it. Name your price, King.” She grabs my shoulder and my groin floods with heated lust. Is it because she’s not the least bit afraid and should be? Probably. Like I said, fearlessness and naivety make my dick hard.
I look up at her, deciding to make an offer though I would probably be better off going home to enjoy a bottle of expensive scotch and prepare for my dinner party. No. I won’t be cooking or cleaning. I have slaves for such mundane bullcrap. This preparation is something else entirely.
My price is you,” I say, thinking she might make an interesting toy.
She doesn’t bat an eyelash, which is surprising. They usually look a little offended or shocked when I tell them I’d like to own them.
No deal,” she says.
I shrug and start the engine. “Then I’m afraid we must part ways. Good luck finding him.”
I have money. A lot of money.”
Not interested.” I’m already obscenely wealthy and will soon have the kinds of funds that make or break GDPs of first world countries. Whatever cash she’s got is a pittance.
I give her a push and send her stumbling back so I can close the door.
Wait!” She gets her footing straightened out and comes at me again. I almost admire her persistence. Almost.
I have a ring,” she announces. “I’m told it can keep a person from dying.”
I push back on the heavy door to prevent it from slamming into her. She’s got my attention. A man like me is always interested in items that bring back the dead or prevent people from dying once I do. Especially now.
I turn off the engine, slowly step from the car, and look down at her as she shrinks back a few feet. That’s when I notice something’s different about her. The light doesn’t quite touch her, but instead reflects off a nearly undetectable sheen of energy surrounding her.
And we’re back to a very interesting evening, indeed. People like her are rare. In fact, they are nearly extinct. I might have had something to do with that, but what can I say? In my younger years, I wasn’t a fan of her people.
How did you come about such an object?” I ask.
She lifts her delicate chin defiantly. I fucking love it. She’s dancing with the devil and showing such bravery.
None of your business.”
Such bravado. I chuckle. “All right then, how do you know it works?”
I just know. Do we have a deal? Yes or no, King.”
That sounds like something I might say, so I appreciate it. “I confess I am intrigued; therefore I will say yes. However, I should warn you that welshers are shown no mercy. If you do not deliver, for any reason, you will belong to me, and I won’t be kind.”
The woman freezes.
Ah, there it is. Fear. My black heart tingles with delight. Now we are getting somewhere.
I won’t back out,” she says. “And the ring will work.”
Very good.” I slide a card from the inside pocket of my coat and hand it over. “Be here tomorrow night at eight. I’m throwing a dinner party.”
I-I don’t understand.”
I’m a busy man. You want me to find your missing husband, then we work when and where I say. That’s the deal. Take it or leave it.” Of course, that’s a complete lie. I have no intention of helping her, but she will most certainly be useful to me. In fact, she’s exactly what I’ve been needing. Saves me the trouble of having to kill my brother’s woman. For now.
She nods in compliance.
Very good. And don’t be late. Ever.” I return to my car, close the door, and restart the engine, realizing that she’s simply standing there staring at me and that I’ve forgotten something.
I lower the window. “What’s your name?”
She suddenly looks like someone has punched her in the stomach—a pained stillness in her face, and shoulders hunched forward like she wants to be sick. I’m guessing it’s all sinking in. Yes, sweetheart, you’ve just made a deal with the devil. Actually, I’m worse. A thousand times over. There is no divine creation in my past. No possibility of regaining my wings. I am the sort of man who makes this world a horrible place to live in.
Not even death dares to fuck with me.
I look at the little woman, wondering what the hell she’s waiting for. “Well?”
Mia. My name is Mia Turner.”


 AMAZON | B & N | ITUNES | KOBO

**ON SALE The King Trilogy. The first three book in the trilogy for only 99 cents.

Mimi Jean Pamfiloff is a USA Today and New York Times bestselling romance author. Although she obtained her MBA and worked for more than fifteen years in the corporate world, she believes that it’s never too late to come out of the romance closet and follow your dream. Mimi lives with her Latin Lover hubby, two pirates-in-training (their boys), and the rat terrier duo, Snowflake and Mini Me, in Arizona. She hopes to make you laugh when you need it most and continues to pray daily that leather pants will make a big comeback for men.


Rafflecopter Giveaway (4 Winners will receive All FIVE Paperbacks in the USA TODAY Bestselling KING SERIES (US ONLY)