Into the Whirlwind
by Kat Martin
Release Date: May 31, 2016
Blurb
A bodyguard, a bounty hunter, a private investigator, no one can handle the heat like the men of BOSS, Inc.
Megan O’Brien is at her wit’s end. Her three-year-old son has been kidnapped. No police, says the ransom demand. Fearing for her son’s life, Meg has no choice but to turn to her former bodyguard, Dirk Reynolds.
Dirk’s never forgiven Meg for the way she left him after their brief affair. But with bounty hunter Luke Brodie on his side, Dirk knows he’s got to help Meg rescue her son.
The few clues they’ve gathered send them spiraling into a murky world of big banking and international crime. Meg may be way out of her depths, but she’s seeing a side of Dirk she never suspected—one no woman could possibly resist.
Want to Win?
Kat is giving away a copy of Into the Fury, the first book in this series. To be entered to win, leave a comment below, including your email address. Winners will be announced June 10, 2016.
My Thoughts
Into the Whirlwind is another romantic suspense roller coaster ride by my neighbor (in Montana terms), Kat Martin. As with everything else she writes, Kat’s dedication to her craft and her work ethic shines through every page.
The second in the new series she’s writing, the story picks up after Megan O’Brien has put an end to her affair with Dirk Reynolds, fearing their romance will be lethal for her son. Little does she know that Dirk is not the one to fear, and she turns to him for help. Against his better judgment, he agrees to help her, and their pair face one danger after another to try to find Megan’s son.
Save this one for a weekend. You won’t be able to put it down. (Scroll down for an excerpt.)
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About Kat Martin
New York Times bestselling author Kat Martin is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara where she majored in Anthropology and also studied History. She is married to L.J. Martin, author of western, non-fiction, and suspense novels.
Kat has written more than sixty-five novels. Sixteen million copies of her books are in print and she has been published in twenty foreign countries, including Japan, France, Germany, Argentina, Greece, China, Russia, and Spain.
Born in Bakersfield, California, Kat currently resides in Missoula, Montana, on a small ranch in the beautiful Sapphire mountains.
Her last 10 books have hit the prestigious New York Times bestseller list. AGAINST THE WILD, AGAINST THE SKY, AGAINST THE TIDE and INTO THE FURY her latest release, took top ten spots.
Visit Kat’s website at www.katmartin.com
Or look for her on Facebook at Katmartin/author.
You can also find Kat here:
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6TuRr6l0c0
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@katmartinauthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26236863-into-the-whirlwind
Excerpt
“Sleep well?” Luke asked with a disapproving glare and the lift of a single dark eyebrow, clearly guessing where Dirk had spent the night.
“I could use a few more hours.”
“I’ll bet you could.”
“If it’s any of your business–which it isn’t–last night wasn’t about me, it was about Meg. She’s barely holding it together, Luke. She’s a friend. She needed me last night. I gave her what she needed.”
Luke’s disgruntle faded. “Maybe you did, but at what cost to you, bro?”
Dirk didn’t answer. His head was still too full of Meg. Even after a long hot shower, the smell of her perfume teased his senses. He could still taste her on his tongue.
It had taken him months to get over her. Now he was right back where he’d been before.
“We need to get her boy back before you screw yourself up completely,” Luke said.
Dirk sighed. “You’re right. We bring Charlie home and I’m out of here.”
Dirk clipped his holster onto his belt, pulled out his Browning nine mil and checked the load while Luke checked his Beretta. They were both wearing ankle guns, Dirk a .38 snub-nosed revolver, Luke a Glock 27, subcompact .40 cal.
Dirk shoved his little .22 revolver back into his jean’s pocket. The switchblade was probably in a pocket of Luke’s desert camos or stuffed down one of his heavy leather Army boots.
Dirk glanced out the window. It was a dark, ominous morning, but the thick gray overcast would help them blend in, make them less noticeable as they waited for Santini at the bowling alley.
“You better leave a note for Meg,” Luke said, and Dirk nodded.
He had just scratched out a message and set it on the dining room table when a knock sounded at the front door.
Luke went to check. “It’s O’Brien.” He pulled open the door.
“I got the money.” Edwin O’Brien strode into the entry. “It’s mostly hundreds, banded in thousands, a few stacks of tens and twenties, all stashed in twelve, twenty-pound canvas bags locked in my trunk.”
“Jesus,” Dirk said. “I hope to hell you trust the people who helped you put it there.”
“They’re good people. They know how much Charlie means to me.”
“I’m glad you came,” Luke said. “You can stay with Meg. We’ve got a lead. We’re just getting ready to leave.”
“Mrs. Wills said she’d be over this morning,” Dirk added, “but it’d be good for you to be with Meg if the kidnappers call.”
“You think they will?”
“Like I said, I think they’ll stick to the plan. That means no call till this afternoon. They’ve thought this through. They’ve got an exit strategy. They have contingencies in place in case something goes wrong.” Like they had when Pam’s phone had been pinged, giving away their location. “They don’t want any more hiccups.”
“We need to leave,” Luke said.
“Where are you going?” O’Brien asked.
“We’ve got a possible location for the babysitter’s boyfriend. We need to talk to him.”
“If you’ve found something, maybe it’s time to bring in the police.”
Dirk turned at the sound of feminine footfalls, felt a tightening in his chest when he spotted Meg.
“We aren’t doing that, Dad. If we do, they might kill Charlie.” She looked better this morning, a faint trace of color in her cheeks, the smudges gone from beneath her blue eyes. He’d done that for her. It was impossible to regret what had happened between them last night.
“We’ve got to go,” Luke said.
Meg straightened to her impressive five-foot-ten-inch height and looked Dirk straight in the face.
“Yes, it is, and I’m going with you. If Santini tells us where to find Charlie, we can go get him.”
Dirk’s gaze ran over her clothes: dark blue jeans and a black turtleneck sweater, her feet in a pair of hiking boots, her hair pulled tightly back at the nape of her neck. She’d thought this through. It was going to be hell trying to talk her out of it.
He reached out and caught her shoulders. “You can’t go this time, hon–Meg. Today’s the big payoff. These guys are bound to be nervous. Anything could set them off. If we go after Charlie, I need to be able to concentrate on keeping him safe and not worry about what might be happening to you.”
“He might need me, Dirk. I’m his mother. I have to be there. I promise I’ll stay out of your way.”
O’Brien spoke to his daughter. “You’re being ridiculous, Meg. These men are professionals. You’re a woman.”
“She’s a woman, all right,” Luke drawled, sticking his two-cents in again where it wasn’t wanted. “But I think she’s proved herself to be more than that.”
It was totally true, but it didn’t change anything. “Jesus, Luke. We can’t take her with us. It’s too dangerous.”
Luke’s laser blue eyes zeroed in on Dirk’s face. “Santini may not even show. If he does and we get a location, Meg can stay in the car. If we find the boy, he’s going to need his mother.”
“I’m going,” Meg said. “Charlie’s my son. I have to be there, Dirk.”
He looked up at the ceiling, fighting for control. As much as he didn’t want to take her, part of him admired her courage. Add to that, there was no way he’d stay home and wait if the boy were his son.
A sigh of resignation whispered through him. “You’ll do what I tell you, right? Just like before?”
“I will, I promise.”
“We need to go now,” Luke said.
“Say a prayer for us, Daddy.” Meg leaned over and kissed her father’s cheek, then turned and started walking toward the door.
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