"Amazing, well written book that is part of a series but can be read in any order"
Reviewed by Laurie Simpson
Posted March 29, 2015
Romance Paranormal | Fantasy Urban
Ionie Gifford is a reporter looking for answers. The "Others" don't frighten her, after all humans can be pretty horrible too. Everyone deserves respect even if they aren't human. She's smart, tenacious and can put two and two together enough to know something is not quite right with a story she is working on. She also wants to know about her mother's murder and believes if she can just find an angel...well, she may get some closure and she is willing to risk all.
Enter Jarrid, Half Angel Assassin in her bosses' office no less! Ionie has no idea the real reason Jarrid has entered her life. An outlaw angel wants her dead. Jarrid needs her to flush the renegade angel out. A deal is struck. Jarrid has a plan but when the half-breed angel with no remorse finds himself falling for the brave and unflinching Ionie he is forced to make the ultimate sacrifice. Will it be love or the possible end of his servitude to Heaven.
ANGEL BAIT is the second book in the amazing SUMMARYHe's not that kind of angel.
Jarrid is a βBound Oneβ: half angel, half human, trained
from childhood to enforce
Heavenβs laws on earth. An assassin with no remorse. And
no choice. When he
discovers an ancient ritual called Ascension, which might
give him a shot at
freedom, he canβt resist his lifelong dream. He only
needs to find one last
Renegade angel and take him downβ¦using a certain woman to
flush the angel out of
hiding.
She's not what he's expecting.
News reporter Ionie Gifford has no clue an outlaw angel
wants her dead, much less
why, but she does know one thing: the enigmatic Jarrid,
with his penetrating silver
eyes and his worship-worthy body, is her ticket to the
city's supernatural
underworld, where she might finally be able to locate her
mother's killer. For that
kind of information, she's willing to risk everything...
They can't be together -- but can't keep apart...
Blindsided by Ionie's beauty and tenacity, Jarrid finds
the millennia-old glacier
around his heart melting. But when he's faced with a
choice, will he sacrifice
Ionie for freedom from his brutal servitudeβor agree to
be bound for eternity, to
protect the life of the woman he's falling in love with?
From novelist Tricia Skinner comes a story that will have
fans of action-packed
love stories applauding. Seamlessly combining elements of
paranormal romance and
gritty urban fantasy, the Angel Assassins series is a
heart-pounding spin on angel
mythology.
EXCERPTShe leaned back and studied him, taking in the casual way
his thigh rested against a
chair. Her throat closed, smothering her clever retort.
Jarrid angled his chiseled
face to study items on her desk, and Ionie caught the
awed stares of her passing
colleagues.
One woman tripped over her own feet.
Another face-planted into a wall.
Jesus Christ.
The half-angel was so handsome it hurt. Jarrid didnβt
seem to notice the attention
directed at him. Or maybe he didnβt care.
βYouβre upset I wonβt allow photos, but you still plan to
work with me,β he said,
his fingers sliding over a shriveled dictionary. βI want
to know why.β
βIβm not upset.β Ionie snorted, a sound she hoped made
her seem indifferent. βYouβve
answered my prayers. Iβm used to working obits, or
chasing the occasional fire
truck.β
He flicked his head at the desk adjoining hers. βYou work
with someone?β
βI donβt do partners.β
βYet you will do me.β The simple statement, spoken in his
sexy rumble, liquefied the
marrow in her bones.
βUh,β she said. βMy work takes on a whole new meaning
when you say it.β
He leaned in, a smooth slide of firm muscle and taut
flesh. She caught a whiff of
his scent; she hadnβt noticed it before. Something
nameless, celestial like the man
β the being β it belonged to. She inhaled deep, lulled by
his nearness. Gorgeous. No
other word fit him better.
βIs there a problem?β Jarridβs lips curved down. His tone
held an edge she couldnβt
place.
βProblem?β Marioβs smooth voice yanked Ionie from her
trance. She shook her head and
leaned away from the nephilim. βYou okay, kid?β
What the hell was she doing? Ionie strained to smile at
Jarrid. The half-angelβs
face presented a solid mask, obscuring any hint of his
reaction.
βIβm fine,β she said. βMario, this is Jarrid. Heβs with
The Bound Ones β¦ and my new
story. Jarrid, this is Mario Hernandez. He trained me on
the graveyard shift.β
βStory?β The men exchanged handshakes. She could see
Marioβs mind working behind his
casual expression.
βOn Patrickβs say so.β She suppressed some of her
excitement. βIβm doing a feature
on angel society.β
βAngels donβt seek attention. Why the switch?β
βTimes change,β Jarrid said in a tight, controlled voice.
The older reporter narrowed his eyes at the flat tone.
She didnβt blame him.
βDoesnβt explain why the boys above have sent a nephilim.
Arenβt you guys a bit high
level for PR?β
The muscles in Jarridβs arms ticked. βMy work is
classified.β
βI bet,β Mario said.
Ionie stared at her friend, then Jarrid. The corded line
of his neck bulged with
thick, throbbing veins. Her source appeared ready to
pounce on the curious old coot.
She slid off her chair. βWe should get going.β
Neither man moved. Ionie reached out and touched Jarridβs
bicep. His arm shifted
beneath her hand like sheβd branded him. She removed her
fingers before he decided
to break them off.
No touching. Got it.
Without a word, he marched from the office. With the
weird question and answer
session over, she grabbed her bag and hauled ass to catch
up.
βWhat happened back there?β She jogged to keep pace with
him, his long strides
churning yards of polished marble floor in his wake. βWhy
are you acting like this?β
He turned on her with a scowl. βYour buddy is
inquisitive.β
βNewsflash. Heβs a reporter, like me. Nosey is what we
do.β That didnβt help. Not
the way Jarrid stared at her as if sheβd sprouted horns.
βYouβre a big deal in
Heaven, huh? If itβs a secret, you shouldnβt be hanging
around journalists. We suck
up secrets for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.β
βWe keep to ourselves.β A tremor of annoyance filtered
through the words.
βNot anymore.β The two of them standing in a newspaper
lobby made the whole
conversation seem ridiculous. Ionie stepped closer to
Jarrid and angled her head to
see his eyes. βNot many people can say theyβve seen, or
met, an angel. Your kind
might want to keep on the down low, but when you step
out, youβre going to draw
attention.β
His steady glare told her he didnβt believe a word. Or
maybe he didnβt like what he
heard. Or maybe he just liked glaring at her like sheβd
eventually shut the hell up.
Jerk. Angels werenβt the only ones who preferred
seclusion. Try tracking down the
Fae. Those bastards were near impossible to get out in
the open. Sheβd tried.
βAngels and nephilim are private. I get the cloak and
dagger bull, but you came to
me. This covert thing? You want people to answer your
questions?β
He gave a microscopic bob of his head.
βFirst lesson? People are naturally curious, especially
humans.β Ionie moistened her
bottom lip. She hated the nervous response, but Jarrid
held a remote control on her
anxiety. βThey may have questions for you, too. Weβre
drawn to the unknown like
butter to toast, at least according to my grandma. Iβll
help you. Youβll help me.
Everybody gets what they need.β
Silver eyes dipped to her lips.
The gap between them sizzled like someone had flipped on
a low-voltage current.
Every hair on her skin saluted. She stared into his eyes
and her heartbeat doubled.
By now she should be nervous, but the hint of danger she
sensed in him only brought
an embarrassing rush of arousal.
Her face must have flushed apple red because Jarridβs
mouth parted. His now wide
gaze traced over her features, lingering on her cheeks
and lips. She should kiss
him. Kiss him right in the middle of her workplace. Kiss
him in front of Stan the
desk clerk who took classified ads. One kiss on the
nephilimβs too-full lips. One
hard press β¦ .
She licked her lip again. His gaze tracked her tongue.
Before she could lean into
his body and act on the impulse, he jerked back and
stepped out of reach.
βWhat are you doing?β His voice was low, dangerous.
What was she doing? Sheβd almost pounced on a guy at
work! She didnβt jump her
sources. Another wave of heat seared her face and she
stared at her feet. βSo β¦ we
still have a deal?β
Jarrid didnβt reply. She chanced a peek at him and he
looked pissed. His back was
ramrod straight and his eyes glowed. Maybe sheβd offended
his angel sensibilities
with her odd human reactions.
Wasnβt he half-Human? Did he feel an attraction to her?
A miserable minute ticked by.
βWe still have a deal,β he said. βFirst, you meet my
brothers.β
BOOK SERIESAngel Assassins ANGEL BAIT
#0.5
β’ November 2014
 ANGEL KIN
#1.0
β’ May 2014
 ANGEL LOVER
#2.0
β’ July 2015
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