Enter to Win a
Paperback Copy of KILL WITHOUT MERCY
KILL WITHOUT MERCY
ARES Security #1
Alexandra Ivy
Released Dec 29th, 2015
Kensington: Zebra
From the hellhole of a Taliban
prison to sweet freedom, five brave military heroes have made it home—and
they’re ready to take on the civilian missions no one else can. Individually
they’re intimidating. Together they’re invincible. They’re the men of ARES
Security.
Rafe Vargas is only in Newton, Iowa,
to clear out his late grandfather’s small house. As the covert ops specialist
for ARES Security, he's eager to get back to his new life in Texas. But when he
crosses paths with Annie White, a haunted beauty with skeletons in her closet,
he can't just walk away—not when she’s clearly in danger…
There’s a mysterious serial killer
on the loose with a link to Annie’s dark past. And the closer he gets, the
deeper Rafe’s instinct to protect kicks in. But even with his considerable
skill, Annie’s courage, and his ARES buddies behind him, the slaying won’t
stop. Now it’s only a matter of time before Annie’s next—unless they can
unravel a history of deadly lies that won’t be buried.
“A
fantastic blend of romance and suspense…thrilling to the end.” --Mary Burton,
USA Today bestselling author
Excerpt:
Excerpt
#2
Annie stopped at the gas
station at the edge of town, filling up her tank before she headed back to Denver
God, she was an idiot.
She’d prepared herself to discover that there was another
murderer sneaking around town. Or even that her visions were a symptom of her
growing mental instability. But it’d never occurred to her that she might
actually be recognized.
Now she felt raw. Exposed. And vulnerable in a way she
hadn’t felt for years.
God forgive her. She didn’t want to be a coward, but she
couldn’t bear to endure another round of the lingering stares and finger
pointing. Or even the sickening pity that had nearly drowned her after she’d
been found in the bomb shelter with her father and the bodies.
For no reason at all, the image of a lean, fiercely
beautiful male face rose to her Rafe Vargas.
He’d been gorgeous. And charming. And sexy enough to make
her body tingle with appreciation, even when she’d been trying to make him go
away.
The sort of male who could have any woman he wanted.
And now he knew she was . . . broken.
It made her feel ridiculously ashamed.
She shivered as the early morning air cut through her
sweatshirt, and replaced the gas nozzle as she headed into the nearby building.
The best thing was to return to Denver
Yes. She would pretend she’d never even traveled to Newton
But first she had to have a cup of coffee.
The bell tinkled as she pulled open the door and entered
the warmth of the convenience store that had three small tables at the back
where a group of elderly men were gathered to drink their coffee and discuss
the weather.
She deliberately avoided their curious gazes as she
headed to the side of the store to fill a Styrofoam cup with coffee. Popping a
lid on top, she moved to the front counter where a middle-aged man was filling
a glass container with freshly baked pastries.
On cue, her stomach growled, her mouth watering at the
sight of the doughnuts and fritters and muffins.
Yum.
Deep-fried sugar and grease.
It was exactly the sort of temptation she usually tried
to avoid. But today she allowed her gaze to linger. She’d skipped dinner, and
breakfast had been shot to hell.
Why not indulge?
Some days low-fat yogurt just wasn’t going to cut it.
“Morning,” the man boomed,
ridiculously happy considering it was barely seven.
“Good morning.”
“Nip in the air,” he unnecessarily pointed out. “Snow
can’t be far off.”
She kept her head bent, her gaze focused on the glass
case. “Yes.”
Accepting that Annie wasn’t in the mood for chitchat, he
got straight to business. “Can I get you something?”
She pointed to her pastry of choice. “A blueberry
muffin.”
“You got it.”
She stepped to the end of the counter as he efficiently
wrapped the muffin and dropped it into a bag. Setting down the coffee, she
pulled out her debit card, her gaze captured by the poster plastered to the
back of the cash register.
MISSING.
HAVEYOU
SEEN THISWOMAN?
A
REWARD FOR ANY INFORMATION.
PLEASE
CONTACT THE NEWTON POLICE DEPARTMENT.
Annie hissed, feeling as if she’d taken a punch to the
gut. “Shit,” she muttered.
Deep inside, it was exactly what she’d been expecting,
and yet it still came as a mind-numbing shock.
The man placed the bag next to her coffee, studying her
with open curiosity. “Something wrong?”
She nodded her head toward the poster. “Is the woman
still missing?”
“Yep.” He folded his arms over his barrel chest, his
expression one of genuine concern. “Jenny Brown. A local gal.”
“When did it happen?”
“Eight days ago.” He grimaced. “She went to Des
Moines
She studied his broad face. Clearly he didn’t buy the
story. If he did he wouldn’t have up a missing poster, would he?
“But not you?” she prompted.
“It’s possible, I suppose. It wouldn’t be the first time
Jenny ran around on her husband,” he reluctantly admitted. “But it’s not like
her to leave her kid behind.”
Annie gripped the edge of the counter, her knees feeling
oddly weak. “She has children?”
He nodded. “A little boy.”
They always had children. Except for
her.
She studied the picture in the middle of the poster, her
stomach churning with fear. “She looks so young,” she breathed, taking in the
rounded face and big brown eyes.
“Jenny had a rough start to life,” the man said, his tone
defensive. Did he think Annie was judging the poor woman? She hoped not. She
hated people who judged the victim, as if being hurt was somehow their own
fault. “She was only fifteen when she had her son, but she’s always tried to be
a good mom.” He abruptly halted, his blue eyes narrowing with suspicion. “Wait.
You’re not a reporter, are you?”
“Good Lord, no,” Annie denied in fervent tones.
The press had hounded her until she’d at last arrived at
her foster parents’ ranch. Thankfully, Douglas had
threatened to shoot them the first time he caught them on his property.
They’d eventually disappeared.
“We had one bastard down here just yesterday trying to
tie Jenny’s disappearance to the Newton Slayer,” the man said, shaking his head
in disgust.
“How could that be possible?” she asked, her voice
hoarse. “The Slayer’s dead, isn’t he?”
The man scowled. “Of course he is. Had his throat slit in
his jail cell. The sheriff claims he has a part of his ashes in that trophy he
keeps on his desk.”
Her fingers tightened on the counter until her knuckles
turned white.
Oh God, oh God, oh God.
She couldn’t think about
her father now.
Even after all these years, it still hurt too much.
“Then why would the reporter suspect the missing girl is
the work of the Slayer?”
“Just looking to sell his story,” the man said. “Tried to
imply we arrested the wrong man and the Slayer is still out there.” He gave a
short, humorless laugh. “We shut that down right quick and in a hurry. Then he
said it must be a copycat, but if that were true another girl would already be
missing. Everyone knows the killer took women every two days. Regular as
clockwork. Well, except for the sheriff ’s wife, who was taken just the day
after Kathy Benson.” He blinked as Annie made a small sound of distress, and
belatedly punched in the cost of the coffee and the muffin into the cash
register. “I assume the reporter’s next guess would have been that the Slayer’s
ghost was taking women, if we hadn’t run him out of town,” he muttered, clearly
trying to lighten the atmosphere.
Annie swiped her debit card, anxious to be away from the
man’s distracting chatter. “Probably.”
“So, are you just passing through?” the man demanded as
he handed her the receipt.
Annie wanted to say yes. She’d already made the decision
to leave.
Hadn’t she?
Jenny, after all, was probably off playing house with
some other man.
Or in Vegas with a friend.
There was no reason at all to connect her disappearance
to the previous murders.
But even as her lips parted, she knew she couldn’t just
drive away.
“No,” she muttered, turning to head toward the door. “It
looks like I’ll be staying.”
BUY NOW
Amazon | B & N | Google Play | iTunes | Kobo
a Rafflecopter giveaway
ALEXANDRA IVY graduated from Truman University with a degree in
theatre before deciding she preferred to bring her characters to life on paper
rather than stage. She currently lives in Missouri with her extraordinarily
patient husband and teenage sons. To stay updated on Alexandra’s Guardian
series or to chat with other readers, please visit her website at
www.alexandraivy.com.
Review Copy Provided Thru NetGalley
Thank you for featuring KILL WITHOUT MERCY!
ReplyDeleteIt was a pleasure. I Love her writing!
Delete