Sizzle, March 2014
A MacKenzie Security Novel
by Liliana Hart
Author Self-Published
Featuring: Archer Ryan; Declan MacKenzie; Audrey Sharpe
250 pages
ISBN: 1494763281
EAN: 9781494763282
Kindle: B00H2Z110Y
Paperback / e-Book
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"SIZZLE an action packed steamy good read."
Reviewed by Shellie Surles
Posted February 25, 2014
Romance Suspense | Romance Military
SIZZLE starts and ends with a bang. This steamy
romance is full of action and exciting characters.
Audrey
Sharpe is a sexy CIA officer with amazing training and
skills who suffers a deep betrayal and spends years in
search of revenge.
Archer Ryan works for MacKenzie Security as one of its top
operators and is sent in search of Audrey to recruit her
for the company. When he finds her he discovers more than
he bargained for or could ever have hoped for.
The tension
between Archer and Audrey beings to SIZZLE as they hunt for
the focus of Audrey's obsession and seek revenge. The man
Audrey seeks is even more of a threat and danger than
Archer ever imagined. Archer and Audrey will have to pull
out all the stops to find him and bring him to justice
while at the same time stopping a worldwide threat and
fighting the sexual tension between them.
SIZZLE is part of Liliana Hart's Mackenzie's Security
world.
The MacKenzie Security world is full of action, love,
revenge, pain,
and hope and every story draws you deeper into their lives
and loves. This is a fun, quick read that grabs you from
the start and keeps you reading till the end.
Learn more about Sizzle
SUMMARY
A killer who taught her everything she knows…
A mission that pits her skills against his…
And a new partner that makes her body…Sizzle When Declan MacKenzie asks Archer Ryan to do a special
job for MacKenzie Security, Archer has no choice but to say
yes. He owes Declan his life, and Declan more than has his
hands full with his own family problems. Little does Archer
know he’ll be chasing a would-be recruit all the way to hell
and back. Or maybe Alaska just seems like hell. Audrey Sharpe works for no one but herself. Not even when
the most elite security company in the country wants her.
She doesn’t have time to worry about MacKenzies. She’s
racing against the clock to hunt down the man who taught her
everything she knows and to stop him from killing more
innocent people. When sexy, but tough as nails, Archer Ryan
keeps getting in her way, Audrey has to decide whether he’ll
be an asset or a distraction her body and mind can’t afford.
ExcerptPROLOGUELyon, France Three years ago She’d broken all the rules. But boy, had it been worth
it. Audrey Sharpe tried to open her eyes, but they only
fluttered before closing again. The effort was too much. Maybe she’d just stay like this
forever—her heart pounding, the
sweat cooling on her skin, and the weight of a very
attractive man pressing her into the
mattress. “I don’t think I can move,” Jonah Salt murmured against her
neck. “I’m not complaining. I can’t feel my legs anyway.” Her eyes
slowly opened and she
noticed some of the candles had guttered out, so the room
was cast in shadow instead of a
soft yellow glow. Jonah had been her partner and trainer for the last eight
months. And as of tonight,
he was her lover. They were covert agents for Oblivion, an
off the books division of the
CIA, and they’d just finished a mission they’d been working
for months. It hadn’t exactly
gone as planned, and now they were waiting to tie up a few
loose ends and see what their
debriefing orders were. The small chateau that had been turned into a boutique hotel
was where they’d
planned to regroup if the mission was compromised. It was
high traffic and touristy, and
no one would ever suspect that they were anything other than
a normal couple. It was an
act they’d perfected dozens of times before. But this time had been different. Between the leftover
adrenaline rush and the king
size bed that dominated the room, it had only taken one look
for the sexual tension to
crackle between them. It had been a race to the finish after
that. But she didn’t regret her
actions. Something had been building between them for weeks, though
Audrey could admit
she’d been attracted to him since he’d been assigned as her
trainer. There was something
about the sheer maleness of him that had drawn her in like a
moth to flame. Jonah hadn’t
been quite so quick to accept her though. Audrey knew her looks made people underestimate her ability,
and she accepted her
beauty as a tool—a weapon just as deadly as the knife she
perpetually wore in her boot. But others, especially men in this business, didn’t trust
her beauty, thinking there was
nothing beneath the surface. So she had to continually prove
herself and her abilities, and
be better than they were. Jonah had been wary to take her
on. But she soon proved her
looks were nothing more than a distraction to hide the
killer she was beneath. She’d been Israeli Mossad—one of the elite Kidon assassins—
before she’d been
captured and tortured by the Syrians. All Mossad agents were
trained to withstand
various torture techniques, and though the training wasn’t
pleasant, it had kept her from
spilling secrets that would have betrayed her country. U.S. intelligence agents had rescued her. And she’d been
given a choice once she’d
been debriefed and made contact with her superiors. She was
deemed ineffective by
the Kidon since she’d been captured, and she had no wish to
be one of the numerous
intelligence gatherers who did nothing but stare at a
computer screen all day. She
belonged in the field. So she’d taken the offer the U.S. had
given her. A new identity. A
new country. A new team. She’d had no family left in Israel, and though her loyalty
had always been to her
homeland, she felt the move to the United States was the
best she could have made. Her
two home countries were allies, and she would defend her new
country with honor, just
as she had her last. Her cell phone buzzed—an insistent hum that droned on and on
—from the little table
across the room. But she was in no hurry to go back to the
real world. “You need to get that?” Jonah asked, kissing the side of her
neck before rolling to the
other side of the bed. He sat up and ran his fingers through
tousled blonde hair in need of
a trim. “That’s my private line, so no. Not until tomorrow. I’ve got
the satellite phone if the
agency needs to get in touch.” He stood without any self-consciousness at all, and she
watched in pure female
appreciation as the muscles in his back and buttocks flexed
as he stretched. Jonah was
an interesting man. Quiet in a lot of ways. But she felt
like she’d come to know him well
over the last eight months. He was fourteen years older than
her own twenty-seven years,
and what they said about older men being excellent lovers
was true. He knew exactly
what he was doing, where to touch and taste to make her
blood sing. His face was an interesting one rather than handsome. The
lines that fanned from
his eyes and the corners of his mouth were deep, and his
beard was flecked with the
occasional strand of white. But it was his eyes she’d first
noticed. They were the most
beautiful shade of blue. She wasn’t even sure blue was the
correct color to describe them. Streaks of silver shot through them and the iris was ringed
by a dark navy. She’d seen
them turn cold and implacable as a glacier when they were on
the job. And she’d seen
them melt to the color of a summer lake only moments ago. “We’ve got an early morning tomorrow. The boat will be here
to pick us up for
debriefing.” Audrey sighed and pulled the covers over her chilled skin.
“My favorite part.
They’re going to be pissed we didn’t get the identity of
Proteus. Francois Renard was
the only person we’ve been able to find who’s had direct
contact with him. I still don’t
understand how they got the explosives in. He was right
there under surveillance and no
one saw anyone go in or out. We’re going to take the rap for
that.” “Maybe a slap on the knuckles. But it wasn’t our job to keep
Renard alive. It was our
job to get him out. Those explosives were well placed and
well timed. We’re lucky to be
alive. In fact, I’m going to be feeling the aches and pains
of this mission for a while.” He
rubbed his hand over the growth of beard on his face and
turned to give her a wry smile. “Field work gets harder as you get older.” “If it makes you feel better, I wrenched my knee when we
jumped into that drainage
ditch.” His eyebrows raised in surprise. “You should have said
something. I would have
been… gentler.” His mouth quirked and she snorted out a
laugh. He could always make
her laugh. “Endorphins make an excellent pain killer.” “Hmm, good point. Don’t feel bad about losing Renard. We’ll
find out who Proteus
is sooner or later. He’s on every worldwide agency’s watch
list.” Audrey licked her lips and debated whether or not to pass
along the information
she had. He was her partner. Now her lover. And it wasn’t
that she didn’t trust him. She trusted him with her life. But her Mossad training ran
deep, and she wasn’t used to
sharing viable information. She wasn’t used to having a
partner, period. Before she could change her mind, she decided to tell him
what she’d learned. “I’ve
got a contact from back home. He thinks he’s got a line on
the identity of Proteus, and
I’ve been waiting for him to get in touch.” “How did he get close enough to get an identity? Can your
informant be trusted?” “Shai isn’t Mossad, but he works special assignments on
occasion for the Israeli
government as a contractor. He told me he set a trap for
Proteus. You know how we have
that partial recording of Proteus’s voice talking to
Renard?” “Right, but the voice was distorted.” “Shai is a genius with computers. He didn’t care about the
voice. He wanted to use
the partial set of numbers Proteus gave to Renard for
payment. Shai was able to use those
numbers to find the account. And from there he said it was
simple to lay a trap. The next
time Proteus gets online, Shai will have his identity.” “Very clever of your friend. Good work,” he nodded
approvingly. “You’re not angry at me for keeping it from you?” “Not at all, love. We all have secrets. Secrets are our line
of business. But I’m glad
you trusted me enough to tell me. You and I are going to be
a hell of a team.” He came
toward her and ran his finger down the gentle slope of her
jawline. “I wanted you from
the moment I saw you.” “Liar,” she said, laughing. “You told me I wouldn’t last two
days under your
training. I believe you also told me there was no place for
beauty queens in espionage. I
was never a beauty queen, by the way.” “You and that damn memory of yours. You never forget
anything,” he said, grinning. “And it looks like I was wrong. You lasted more than two
days. Now I can’t imagine my
life without you in it.” He leaned down and kissed her softly and she felt her heart
sigh. This man could
make her love him. She was already half way there. And that
was something she’d need
to think about. She’d never been in love before, and the
feeling was both euphoric and
terrifying at the same time. “I’m going to get in the shower. Care to join me?” “As tempting as that is, I’m not moving from this spot until
morning. I’m exhausted.
And I’m not sure my legs are ready for walking.” He kissed her again and moved toward the bathroom. “You do
excellent things for a
man’s ego, love. When should your friend have a lockdown on
Proteus?” “The last I heard from him was the day before we went in for
Renard. He said he
thought he’d have it within forty-eight hours.” “Excellent. You sure you don’t want to join me? I’m feeling
very…rejuvenated all of
a sudden.” “Yes, I can see that,” she said, laughing again. “Why don’t
you come back here
instead?” “You’re a temptress, Agent Sharpe. But I’m made of stronger
stuff than that.” He closed the bathroom door behind him, and Audrey snuggled
down in the covers
as the shower turned on. She smiled as she heard him
whistling. The man loved to
whistle, especially while they were prepping for a job. It
was his thinking mechanism,
and she knew once he started whistling she needed to be
quiet and let him ponder through
possibilities. It was just one of the quirks they’d learned
about each other over their time
together. Wasn’t that what love was? Learning each other’s
idiosyncrasies—likes and
dislikes—how to read each other so you knew what your
partner wanted without him
having to ask? God. Maybe she was already in love with him. Her phone
buzzed again, but her
realization kept her immobilized. Love. She never thought a
relationship would be
something she could have. She’d been trained from her
twelfth year for Mossad, and then
at eighteen she’d been selected for the elite Kidon. She’d
known nothing else. Her future
had been determined for her, and she’d always accepted it as
it was. But Jonah Salt had taken what she’d known and turned it
upside down. He’d been
her trainer, her friend, and her lover. And she loved him.
The question of the hour was
whether or not he loved her too. She blew out a shaky breath at that thought and told herself
to relax as the shower
turned off. Jonah was excellent at reading people. If she
wasn’t careful he’d know her
feelings, and if he didn’t feel the same, that could ruin
their partnership. They were
already breaking agency rules by being involved. They’d be
reprimanded and reassigned
to different partners in a heartbeat if their sexual
relationship was discovered. Discretion was key—both their outward relationship as well
as her personal feelings. Her training had been ingrained and extensive. She could
keep her emotions to herself—
she’d never cried out once when she’d been tortured by her
Syrian captors. And she’d
carry the scars on her back and torso forever. But they
certainly hadn’t bothered Jonah. He had his own share of scars. The scars were just part of
who he was, just as hers were
part of who she was. She propped up on her elbow when he came out of the
bathroom. A towel was slung
low on his hips and droplets of water clung to his skin.
He’d shaved and his hair was
slicked back from his face. “It’s dangerous to keep looking at me like that, love.” “It’s dangerous to make threats if you don’t intend to
follow through,” she said, her
voice low and seductive. She pulled back the sheet and her
blood pounded faster as his
eyes darkened with desire. Her phone buzzed again and he moved to the table, distracted
by the interruption. She could tell by the short length of the buzz that it was a
text message instead of a call. “Can you toss that to me?” she said. “I guess they’re not
going to leave me alone
until I answer.” Jonah picked the phone up from the table and looked at the
screen. “Looks like your
friend found Proteus.” Adrenaline surged through her veins at the information.
Proteus was one of the most
dangerous men in the world. He was the mastermind of too
many crimes to count, but
there was never enough evidence to pursue. Only statements
from witnesses that never
managed to survive let them know that he existed at all. Audrey caught the phone with one hand and glanced at the
screen, feeling her blood
chill at the information there. She looked up in time to
watch Jonah pull the trigger. The fact that the bullet was silenced didn’t make it hurt
any less when it pierced her
chest. The force of it knocked her against the headboard and
she struggled to breathe as
what felt like molten lead burned through her lungs. She stared at the face of her partner—her lover—and she knew
she couldn’t hide her surprise. She’d never suspected. Never
thought he could be Proteus. And now she’d be
dead because of it. “Surprised, love?” She sucked in a breath and heard the whistling sound from
her lungs. There was no
use trying to speak. “As you can understand, it’s time for me to leave. You’ll
have to go through
debriefing by yourself. Though I’m not sure they care much
at the morgue.” His smile was a slash of cruelty and his eyes were cold as
ice. Her lips were wet and
she tasted the blood as it bubbled from her mouth. “Thanks for giving me the name of your informant. I’ll take
care of him
immediately. And thanks for the fuck. It was definitely—
memorable.” Her gun was in the nightstand drawer. She might have a
chance if she could just get
to it in time, but she wasn’t sure she could move her arm.
She focused on breathing and
put the pain away as she’d been trained to do. Her mind
zeroed in on the area of her body
where the bullet had pierced, slowing the beat of her heart
so her blood didn’t pump from
the wound quite as fast. She knew how to survive. It was
these skills Mossad excelled at
over the American agencies. Jonah began to dress quickly and he started scattering
things across the room, tossing
tables and their belongings about. But he kept his eye on
her. He knew her training better
than anyone. Knew that she could be just as deadly while
wounded. Audrey’s time was running out and she’d never have a better
opportunity to try
and take him down. She made her move and pulled out the
drawer, reaching for the
gun inside, but the agony of another bullet had her slumping
against the blood soaked
mattress. “You could never hope to be better than me, love. You’re too
soft. It’s why you
failed as a Mossad agent and why you’ve failed now. Didn’t I
tell you to never trust
anyone? Even your partner? I told you we all have secrets.” She didn’t even feel the third bullet as it entered her
body. Her eyesight dimmed and the
only sound was her waning heartbeat and the soft click of
the door as he left her there to
die.
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