Eye of the Storm (Storm #2) by M. Stratton
Release Date: February 18th
Adult Contemporary Romance
Cover Designed by MGBookCovers
Hosted by: Between the Sheets Promotions
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Synopsis
Evie Taylor loves her life in Boston,
running her bookstore and café, but an accident has made it so she needs to
return home to take care of her grandmother. With extra time on her hands, she
decides to start looking for the monster that haunts her best friend’s
nightmares. A chain of events starts no one could see coming.
When the last person she ever expects shows up and rings her grandmother’s doorbell she finds herself in the middle of danger. Bound together in a common mission, they’ll search the world looking for answers. But can they find them in time or will they end up paying the ultimate price?
As the storm rages around them, they find each other, and the calm in the Eye of the Storm.
When the last person she ever expects shows up and rings her grandmother’s doorbell she finds herself in the middle of danger. Bound together in a common mission, they’ll search the world looking for answers. But can they find them in time or will they end up paying the ultimate price?
As the storm rages around them, they find each other, and the calm in the Eye of the Storm.
About The Author
M. Stratton is an International Amazon
bestselling author in the romantic suspense and mystery suspense categories for
her debut novel After the Storm. She is a self-proclaimed dork that loves to
make people laugh and can trip over nothing. Her inner rock star is always on
stage performing to a sold out crowd but is quiet and shy on the outside.
She lives with her husband and son in Arizona, which is a big difference from where she grew up north of Chicago Illinois. As an only child she learned to tell herself stories to make the long winters go by quicker while dreaming of summer vacations. Now as an adult she still makes up stories to pass the time, but now she writes them down to share with other people.
When not writing you can find M. watching football (Go Bears!), NASCAR, or classic movies, watching her husband and father restore classic cars, and seeing who can be sillier, her or her son, and of course reading.
Things you don’t know about M. Stratton:
1. She loves the movie Twister… she can say all the lines along with the actors. She will also use those lines in real life as often as possible.
2. Halloween is her favorite holiday. She starts planning months in advance. She has more Halloween decorations than Christmas.
3. She once made up a monologue about her love of chocolate chip cookie dough for her high school drama class.
4. There are times she thinks she is so funny she has tears running down her face while laughing at herself.
5. M. can play the clarinet but is in awe of anyone who can play the guitar, piano or drums, pretty much anything where your hands have to do two different things at the same time.
6. Cary Grant is her favorite actor. When she was in high school after Cary Grant died one of the cable stations ran a marathon, she watched his movies from 6 in the morning all day and night until 4 AM the next day.
7. Reading has always been an escape for her. She can devour a book in hours. When she moved in with her husband she literally donated over 1,000 books and saved over 1,000 for herself. She can reread books over and over again if she loves them. There are some that she has reread about once a year for the past 20 years.
8. She eloped after knowing her husband for only two months in 2006. They are still married over seven years later.
She lives with her husband and son in Arizona, which is a big difference from where she grew up north of Chicago Illinois. As an only child she learned to tell herself stories to make the long winters go by quicker while dreaming of summer vacations. Now as an adult she still makes up stories to pass the time, but now she writes them down to share with other people.
When not writing you can find M. watching football (Go Bears!), NASCAR, or classic movies, watching her husband and father restore classic cars, and seeing who can be sillier, her or her son, and of course reading.
Things you don’t know about M. Stratton:
1. She loves the movie Twister… she can say all the lines along with the actors. She will also use those lines in real life as often as possible.
2. Halloween is her favorite holiday. She starts planning months in advance. She has more Halloween decorations than Christmas.
3. She once made up a monologue about her love of chocolate chip cookie dough for her high school drama class.
4. There are times she thinks she is so funny she has tears running down her face while laughing at herself.
5. M. can play the clarinet but is in awe of anyone who can play the guitar, piano or drums, pretty much anything where your hands have to do two different things at the same time.
6. Cary Grant is her favorite actor. When she was in high school after Cary Grant died one of the cable stations ran a marathon, she watched his movies from 6 in the morning all day and night until 4 AM the next day.
7. Reading has always been an escape for her. She can devour a book in hours. When she moved in with her husband she literally donated over 1,000 books and saved over 1,000 for herself. She can reread books over and over again if she loves them. There are some that she has reread about once a year for the past 20 years.
8. She eloped after knowing her husband for only two months in 2006. They are still married over seven years later.
Excerpt
PROLOGUE
Anthony Maldono sat back in his chair and looked out the window of his home in
La Jolla California at the ocean. The turbulent waves crashed on the beach and
he felt it fit his mood exactly. He looked at the computer screen and scowled
at the e-mail which was still waiting for his reply, he stood and walked over
to where he kept his files his private investigators compiled for him about
everyone and everything involved with Alexia Hanson and Jeremy Ellison. Looking
through them until he came to the one labeled “Evie Taylor,” he pulled it out
and started to review it.
He didn’t understand why she would contact him. Thinking it might be good to
surprise her, he started moving his plans up.
~*~
Jeremy lay back in the bed, staring up at
the ceiling, listening to the gossip show coming from the other room about
Alexia and Noah’s wedding. Right now, he hated his life. He knew it was
temporary, but he couldn’t wait for a change to come. A change he was going to
make.
He formulated his plan. He’d spent considerable time and money keeping track of
everybody while staying hidden. He knew Anthony Maldono as well as he knew
himself and he knew what Anthony would do next. He wasn’t done making Anthony’s
life miserable. Time to step it up a level.
For the past nine months he’d watched the authorities run around trying to find
him and Anthony made a free man, it was time to start moving. It made his blood
pump that he was finally going to be able to do something. He looked into the
other room where the woman he had to depend on was shoving fist after fist of
popcorn in her mouth. He wanted to get up and stick a knife in her gut. He
hated her. He wanted her dead. But he had to wait since he had a plan. A plan
that would increase the stakes in the game he was playing.
Chapter One
One month after Noah and Lexi’s wedding…
Evie Taylor sighed and flopped down in the chair. She tossed the dusting rag on
the table, tilted her head back and closed her eyes. She was bored and longed
to get back to Boston to run her bookstore and café. The past ten months she’d
spent two extended stays back home. Once for Lexi and now for her grandmother.
She’d heard from Jesse and everything was running fine, but she missed new
shipments coming in and setting up the displays. Not to mention, getting to sample
new desserts from the café. She loved helping a fellow booklover find a new
author. In fact, she set up a whole section of the book store for indie
authors. It opened a whole new world to her regular customers.
She looked around her grandmother’s living room. Knickknacks as far as the eye
could see. But that was how bored she was; she’d resorted to dusting.
She’d come home to Ipswich, Massachusetts when her best friend, Lexi Hanson,
now Matthews, had been attacked. She remembered the fear and anger that coursed
through her veins when she got the phone call. The drive up was a blur, she
couldn’t get there fast enough. In the weeks that followed, she never left
Lexi. She completely amazed her with her strength.
Now she was back in Ipswich again, taking care of her grandmother who broke her
arm partying with one of the male guests in a hotel room. She shivered thinking
about what they were doing that could have gotten her grandmother’s arm broken.
She knew it wasn’t pretty since her grandmother was naked when the paramedics
arrived.
“Evie honey, do you want something for lunch?” Evelyne Stone called from the
kitchen.
Evie hefted herself up out of the chair, walked into the kitchen, and put her
hands on her hips. “Grandma, why am I here if you insist on doing everything
yourself?”
Evelyne tsked, “Now honey, you know I need you, but there are some things I can
do myself. Besides I need to get my wing back in working order, sooner rather
than later, we’ve got a girl’s cruise coming up in a month and there are going
to be men that need taming.” She tried to wave her arm around almost knocking
over the pitcher of iced tea on the counter.
Evie rushed over and caught it, giving her grandmother a look. “Can you please
take it down a notch? You aren’t fifty anymore.”
“Pah. Come on, honey, lighten up. I know you’ve got it in you. Maybe you should
go with us. I know there will be some young hot guys there.”
“And how do you know this?”
“Because we signed up for a party cruise. Average age is twenty-four. I know
that’s a bit young for you, but hey, you can still have fun.”
Evie closed her eyes and mentally prepared herself for the call from the cruise
company to come pick up the Troublesome Trio from whichever port the ship was
docked at. Although now that Lexi was married to Noah, he might have better
connections and be able to get them home quicker than commercial flights. Something
to bring up to them when they got back.
A knock sounded at the door. “Hold that thought.” Evie went to answer the door,
absently pushing back the hair that had escaped her ponytail. They’d rented out
the cottage on the back of her grandmother’s property and the tenant was due to
show up sometime either today or tomorrow. They had no idea who was renting it
since a corporation had completed the transaction.
She could see the shadow of a tall man through the frosted glass. Evie had
hoped the renter would be a family to distract her grandmother so she might get
some rest and not some man to chase around. She opened the door and looked up
into the face that haunted Lexi’s nightmares. She stifled a scream and started
to slam the door on him.
He slapped one strong hand on the door and
stopped it from closing. “I’m not him.” His low voice with a hint of British
accent washed over her. She hesitated for a moment and that was all it took for
him to work his way into the house.
“Wait. Don’t come any closer. How do I know you aren’t him?” She needed to keep
him talking to find out if it was Jeremy or Anthony. Her grandmother was just
in the other room, hopefully paying attention to what was going on. If it was
Jeremy, she could call the police without him knowing. She wasn’t sure why
Jeremy would come here though, it was Lexi he wanted. If it was Anthony, why
was he here?
She watched as he rolled the sleeves up on his arms. She let out a deep breath;
there was no scar. She knew what Lexi had done to Jeremy with the cuticle
scissors. Since Jeremy hadn’t been heard from, and they had been checking
hospitals and doctor’s offices she knew there was no way a plastic surgeon could
have repaired the damage so that nothing was there. She nodded her head trying
to still her beating heart. “I suggest you wear short sleeves while you are
here, otherwise you’re going to have a lot of explaining to do.”
“I knew this wasn’t going to be easy. You knew that when you sent me that
e-mail. If you don’t mind, I’d like the keys to the cottage so I can get
settled. It’s been a long day.” He ran his hand through his black, wavy hair.
“Of course, they’re just in the living room.” Evie turned and walked to the
curio cabinet. Thoughts whirled through her mind as she tried to calm her
shaking hands. She shivered as he came up behind her.
“You don’t have to be scared of me. I’m not here to hurt anyone.”
She turned towards him. “That’s good, because Lexi has been hurt enough. I know
it was no picnic what you went through, but I won’t have you hurting her.” She
stood up to him, secretly liking the fact he was taller than her own six-foot
height. Staring into his shocking blue eyes, she couldn’t deny how gorgeous he
was. He carried himself like he was used to getting what he wanted. “You never
replied to my e-mail. So I have no idea why you’re here.”
“Don’t think I haven’t done my research before arriving. I know who you are and
what Lexi means to you.” He took a step closer to her. “But don’t think I’m
going to let that get in the way of getting the answers I want.”
She took a step closer to him so that they were standing toe to toe. “Listen,
buster, I’ll get in the way if I need to. I’ll be keeping an eye on you.” She
turned back around to get the keys. The next thing she heard was a thunk and a
moan. She quickly turned and tried to catch Anthony as he crumpled to the
ground.
She landed on her back partially underneath him just catching his head before
it hit the ground. Letting out a grunt as his weight pinned her down she looked
up at her grandmother who still had the frying pan clutched in her one good
hand. “Really?”
Evelyne didn’t move. “Really? Well, what the hell do you expect me to do when I
see this monster standing in my living room hulking over my granddaughter?”
“Didn’t you pause to listen what we were talking about before you came out
swinging? It’s not Jeremy, its Anthony looking for answers, and now he’s
knocked out on top of me and squashing me.”
She lowered the frying pan. “Oh, well, I guess that’s not good.”
“You think? I could use a little help here.” Evie tried not to notice his hard
body. Their faces were close to each other. She watched as his eyes started to
flutter open. She held her breath wondering what he was going to be like when
he woke up.
His words were slurred as he said, “You’ve got beautiful blue cat eyes. Here
kitty-kitty, don’t scratch me.” His hand came out to brush her hair back. “I
can make you purr.”
She watched as his eyes rolled back and he passed back out. Oh shitcrickets, I
might be in trouble with this one. Why does he have to be so fucking hot? She
looked up at her grandmother who had a shocked expression on her face and her
hand covering her mouth.
“Oh honey, did he just say what I thought he said? We’re going to have to watch
him. Come on; let’s get you up from under him. That is no place for a lady to
be.”
“Since when did you ever care about acting like a lady?”
“I care about acting like a lady; it’s just more fun to say and do what’s on my
mind at my age.” She tilted her head to the side. “You know, he does have a
nice ass.”
“Not helping.” Evie started to wiggle out from under him. It took more effort
than she would have thought. She tried not to show how good it felt having his
rock hard body on top of hers as she slid out from under his. She needed
distance and went into the kitchen to get some cold water thinking she just
might need a cold shower. She came back out and dumped it over his head.
~*~
Anthony leapt off the floor looking around trying to remember where he was and
what dangers could be around. His eyes settled on Evie.
“Anthony, it’s ok.”
He shook his head to clear it and brought his hands up, his head was throbbing.
Once he knew where he was, his heart slowed down. He squinted his eyes at the
old lady trying to hide the frying pan behind her back. “I don’t think you’ll
be needing that. I’d appreciate it if you would put it away.” He turned to look
at Evie. “And if I could have the keys to the cottage please. I’d like to lie
down after I make sure the doors are locked.” He eyed Evelyne and the frying
pan who had the grace to look ashamed.
Evie walked toward him and took his arm. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to take a
look at your head and get you some aspirin before you leave. It might not be
good for you to go to sleep right away.”
She led him to the kitchen. He thought it might be better if he could keep an
eye on the old lady. “As long as you’re sure she’s not going to try to poison
me, we should be fine.” He sat down in the chair and wondered what he had
gotten himself into.
He saw Evie give her grandmother a look as she went to the cabinet and got a
pill bottle and a glass. He looked at her, not quite trusting, as she filled
the glass with water. She took two of the pills and drank them down then handed
him the glass and shook out two additional pills. He took them without a word.
Watching as she crossed back over to put the glass in the sink he was startled
when the back door burst open and two more old ladies burst in each of them
holding a weapon. He quickly jumped up and went around to the other side of the
room keeping the table between them all the while his head throbbed in protest
of moving so quickly.
“Stop,” Evie yelled at them. “It’s not what
you think.”
One of them waved her brass candlestick in the air inching her way into the
room. “Let me at the yellow-livered-no-good-scum-sucking-scalawag! I’ll show
him not to mess with women.”
Evie rushed over to stop in front of them. “No, you don’t understand, that’s
not Jeremy.”
“You can’t be sure. Let us at him, we’ll beat the truth out of him.” The other
one looked dangerous as she swung a baseball bat around.
“Stop it. Listen to me. He’s not Jeremy.” She turned to Anthony. “Can you
please show them your arm? You all know what Lexi did to Jeremy’s arm. Anthony
doesn’t have that scar. There’s no way there wouldn’t be any damage to his arm
at this point. It would be a long, jagged scar, not to mention, we know she
went deep enough to ruin the muscle. Chill out.” She didn’t move until they
both lowered their weapons. “Now do you want to explain why you are here acting
like a couple of Charlie’s Angels?” She crossed her arms across her chest.
Anthony was doing his best to keep up with everything that was happening, but
he was a little lost. He tried to remember what he’d learned about Lexi and her
friends; he thought these two were Evelyne’s friends. Taking a closer look he
decided the one with candlestick must be Leigh while the other had to be Marie
based on the descriptions he had of them. He just wanted to get out of here
with his head still on his shoulders.
Evelyne cleared her throat. “Well, see honey, it’s like this. When I got a look
at who was at the door, I called the girls to come over for backup.”
Evie shook her head. “Shouldn’t you have called, oh I don’t know, the police?
You know, someone trained.”
The ladies had the decency to look ashamed. Marie sheepishly spoke up. “They
don’t take our phone calls anymore.”
“What? How can that be? No, don’t answer, I
know why, but they can’t do that. This is a perfect example as to why they
can’t ignore your calls.” Evie looked at Anthony. “Sorry, nothing personal, but
what if you had been Jeremy.”
She threw her arms out while talking to the ladies. “So basically you are
telling me that you guys could be hurt or in danger and they are just going to
leave you hanging? All because you have made a few false reports to get a look
at the new young hot recruits? Seriously? I’m going to have a talk with them.”
She started looking around the kitchen for something, stopping only when
Anthony cleared his throat.
“Before you go, can I get the key so that I can get away from Mrs. White, Mrs.
Peacock and Miss Scarlett before they decide to play a live version of Clue?
Mrs. White already tried to kill me in the living room with a frying pan.”
Leigh pumped her fist in the air. “Woo-hoo, I’m Miss Scarlett.”
Evelyne shook her head. “Why do you get to be Miss Scarlett? I want to be Miss
Scarlett. Mrs. White is boring.” She looked at Leigh and they smiled. “I know.
Marie can be Mrs. White. She’d like that better than being known as Mrs.
Peacock. And we know I love the cock.”
Anthony shook his head not believing what he just heard. He felt like he was
being tossed around in a storm. He watched Evie laughing and something stirred
in his chest. She was drop-dead gorgeous, tall, and loyal. He was amazed at how
quickly she jumped to the defense of people. Even him, after only knowing he
was Anthony, and not Jeremy, for a short time. He watched the sway of her hips
as she walked out of the room. When she came back a few minutes later, she
never broke eye contact. He liked the fact that she didn’t seem to back down
easy. He was getting lost in her, and the magic she wove with those cat eyes.
He had to get out of this house.
“Here you go.” She dropped the keys in his hand and handed him some papers. “I
printed out information on concussions. Make sure you follow what they tell you
to do. If you have any symptoms that they list, come get me, and I’ll take you
to the hospital. Lexi and Noah are still on their honeymoon. I’d appreciate it
if you let me talk to her first before you go barging in there.”
“What makes you think I’d go barging in there?” When she didn’t say anything,
just staring at him with a look of disbelief on her face, he continued. “Fine,
I thought they were due back yesterday.”
“Do I want to know how you found out about that? It’s not exactly public
knowledge.” She shook her head. “Never mind. They decided to stay a week or two
longer. I’ll have a talk with Lexi when she gets back. This is something that
has to be done in person and not over the phone. I’m not going to ruin her
honeymoon because of Jeremy. He’s taken enough from her already. Now let me
show you to the cottage so you can get settled and we can talk more, later.”
Very quickly she showed him to the cottage not saying much. Once he was inside
she left quickly. The next thing Anthony knew he was left alone looking at the
back of the closed door. He walked to the window and watched her walking back
towards the main house. He wasn’t sure where this journey was going to take him
but by the looks of it, it was going to be one hell of a ride.
Giveaway
1 signed copy of After The Storm and Eye Of
The Storm
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