Love After. Waterloo: Blurb: When Lady Melton and her son, Daniel, are forced to join antagonistic Captain Belling and the last group of wounded British soldiers evacuating Waterloo and traveling back to London, she expects clashes with army deserters. What she doesn’t anticipate is how much she and her son will need the belligerent Captain after they reach London. https://books2read.com/suziloveLAW
Book Hook: Lady Melton had conversed with gentlemen in Brussels who’d held similar views to the Captain, and who had looked down their aristocratic noses at any lady who defied tradition. Explaining her long-term interest in medicine to men who assumed that ladies lived to sip, shop, and embroider had been futile, and one of many reasons that she’d gladly left London and traveled to the Continent to live with her brothers. Ironic that she and her unborn child had been safer in battle-torn Europe than in the country of her birth, and sad that she and Daniel were now forced to return to family members that she disliked and a claustrophobic lifestyle that she barely tolerated.
She glanced around the Captain’s headquarters. Most of the walls remained intact, so at least she and her son would be partially protected from the elements tonight. Her brothers’ house hadn’t fared so well. British infantrymen had commandeered a French cannon and had been dragging it down the road towards Brussels when it had misfired. The shell had gone high over the trees and exploded near Brendon’s camp-side hospital. The majority of the roof had collapsed, dragging down large sections of the walls, and forcing them to sleep in army tents the past few nights.
Despite Wellington’s victory over Napoleon four days earlier, soldiers, to use the term loosely, still lingered around Waterloo. They and deserters from both sides had joined local famers in picking through the remains of bodies, uniforms, and armory to pilfer anything of value. There’d been nowhere safe to hide a lady and her son, so her brothers had packed what remained of their equipment and taken them, along with a few wounded British soldiers, to the Captain’s quarters, knowing that his orders were to protect whoever remained of French stragglers and deserters.
The twins hadn’t lingered, because Wellington and what was left of his British troops were marching back towards Brussels and Brendon’s skills as a physician were urgently needed. Benjamin, an aide to Wellington, had stayed to organize the repatriation of their soldiers and the departure of their sister and nephew.
When Lady Melton and son join antagonistic Captain Belling and last group of wounded British soldiers evacuating Waterloo, she expects clashes with army deserters.What she doesn’t anticipate is how much she and her son will need the belligerent Captain after they reach London. #RegencyRomance #MilitaryRomance https://books2read.com/suziloveLAW
Book Hooks: Ironic that Lady Melton and her unborn child had been safer in battle-torn Europe than in England. #MilitaryRomance #RegencyRomance #BattleofWaterloo books2read.com/suziloveLAW
Love After. Waterloo: Blurb: When Lady Melton and her son, Daniel, are forced to join antagonistic Captain Belling and the last group of wounded British soldiers evacuating Waterloo and traveling back to London, she expects clashes with army deserters. What she doesn’t anticipate is how much she and her son will need the belligerent Captain after they reach London. https://books2read.com/suziloveLAW
Book Hook: “I remember who you are, Lady Melton,” Captain Belling said in a cold voice, barely glancing over his shoulder at them. “The only thing I don’t know is why the hell you and that child are still anywhere near Waterloo, when all women were ordered to evacuate a week ago.”
“That child has a name, Captain. His name is Daniel, or if you are a stickler for formality, Viscount Melton.”The captain turned and frowned down at her son, who stared back at him with blatant curiosity and a small amount of animosity, as forthright as any young and intelligent child. Even at his young age, Daniel was a shrewd judge of character, and had been instructed by his uncles to be careful about trusting strangers. When the Captain turned back to the tattered maps spread over his makeshift desk, Anne ignored his unspoken dismissal and used the time to observe the infuriating man without having his condemning gaze fixed on her, as it had been a week earlier at the Duke and Duchess of Richmond’s extravagant Brussels ball. If she and Daniel were to travel with his group of wounded soldiers, Anne wanted to learn as much as possible about their leader. Her son’s survival depended on her being well informed and prepared for any eventuality.
Dust filtered down through a gaping hole in the high roof and settled in the Captain’s hair, turning it a darker brown than his normal golden yellow, though a bucketful of dust wouldn’t make any difference to the state of his stained uniform. His left pants’ leg had been sliced open to the knee, the two sides pinned clear of the large bandage winding down most of his leg, while a spindly wooden crutch was propped against the table.
His large physique had attracted her even before their dance at the ball, though his striking physical attributes didn’t compensate for his belligerent attitude, or for his obvious displeasure at encountering her both in Brussels and near the battlefield. Still, the Captain had undoubtedly scowled in a similar fashion at many women he’d met either in Brussels or at Waterloo, as she’d heard him spout his narrow-minded view at the ball to his fellow officers. The Captain believed that in the vicinity of battles only men should be allowed. Not women, and especially not ladies.
Book Hooks: Captain Belling said in a cold voice, “The only thing I don’t know is why the hell you and that child are still near Waterloo.” #MilitaryRomance #RegencyRomance #BattleofWaterloo books2read.com/suziloveLAW
Pleasure House Ball: Brenton, Lord Mallory, attends his first courtesan’s ball in ten years to appease his concerned friends, though he’d rather stay home and read to his motherless daughter. Though mortified that Brenton unmasks her at a scandalous ball, Lady Lillian Armstrong doesn’t regret their night together. Book 3 Irresistible Aristocrats books2read.com/suzilovePHB
Excerpt: For himself, Brent was past caring if he was seen at a courtesan’s ball, even stark naked, but he’d never risk Lillian’s reputation. The only garment within reach in the cupboard they were hiding is was a silk robe covered in pink and purple cabbage roses and with a frilled neckline but, deciding that beggars couldn’t be choosy, he shoved his arms into the sleeves and tied the belt at his waist.
Lillian clamped two hands over her mouth to stop giggles from escaping, but he gave a what-else-can-I-do shrug and pretended his masculinity remained intact, despite the feminine gilding. Thankfully, she seemed composed, which was in direct contrast to his own distress, emotional and physical, at not managing their time together better.
Counting backwards from a hundred usually calmed him and had taken the edge of the anger and frustration he’d suffered during the last months of his marriage, so he closed his eyes and focused on counting. One hundred, ninety-nine, ninety-eight, ninety-seven—
‘Bloody hell,’ Brent yelled. Lillian had wrapped a hand around him just as the wardrobe’s door flew open and four faces peered inside.
Lillian screamed. Brent pushed her firmly behind him and she burrowed behind his broad back and pulled the scarf across her face. He addressed the occupants of the room as if it was an every day occurrence to hide in a cupboard at an orgy. ‘Hello Browning, and Browning’s guests,’ he said cheerfully. ‘Having a nice foursome?’
Before Lillian had dipped her head, she’d glimpsed the faces of their four onlookers. Faces that showed emotions ranging from utter amusement from their host, Browning, curiosity from his companions. Perhaps for them hiding in a cupboard was normal. The thought made her giggle again and she tried to poke her head out from behind Brent’s silk clad bottom to see what Browning would do, but Brent reached behind him and pushed her head down again.
‘Glad you’re enjoying yourself, Mallory.’ Browning’s amusement sounded in his voice, and she sensed that he was attempting to shift Brent aside so he could get a look at her face. ‘Didn’t think naked romps were your cup of tea these days, old boy.’
Book Hooks: Brent was past caring if he was seen at a courtesan’s ball. #RegencyRomance #HistRom #ReadARegency #EroticRomance books2read.com/suzilovePHB
Pleasure House Ball: Brenton, Lord Mallory, attends his first courtesan’s ball in ten years to appease his concerned friends, though he’d rather stay home and read to his motherless daughter. Though mortified that Brenton unmasks her at a scandalous ball, Lady Lillian Armstrong doesn’t regret their night together. Book 3 Irresistible Aristocrats books2read.com/suzilovePHB
Excerpt
‘Lillian,’ Brent hissed through gritted teeth. ‘Have you been paying attention to me? I know most of the gentlemen attending this ball and there isn’t one of them that’s good enough for you.’
‘Not even you?’ At his shocked look, she waved her hand between them. ‘Sorry. I know you’re not interested in me. Not in that way, anyway.’
She watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed, hard. Was she mistaken? Did he find her attractive, after all? Because, Lord knew, she found him, and his muscled body, very enticing. Many a time she’d ridden behind him purposely so she could watch his taut behind rise and fall in the saddle, his thighs stretched tight as he rose slightly in the stirrups and his coat pulling across wide shoulders. She’d secretly been pleased that he wouldn’t allow visitors to his house, declaring that he and his daughter were still grieving. Though she knew that was a fabrication to prevent his mother from bringing a constant stream of eligible ladies to visit, she enjoyed being the only woman who saw him dressed down and carefree as they rode together. Which they did often.
With her head tilted to one side so she could peer up at him, she said, ‘Are you? Interested in me that way? As a woman.’
She heard the hiss of his indrawn breath and sensed she was about to be rejected. Being rejected by her husband had wounded her feminine pride, though even that pain hadn’t destroyed her. By contrast, if her best friend, the man that knew her better than her mother, turned away from her, the pain would kill her. She spun towards the door, desperate to escape.
‘Ah, there you are.’ Her companion, Maggie, stepped through the balcony doorway and strode towards her. She eyed Brenton, slowly appraising him from top to toe, before turning her back to him. ‘I was worried when I couldn’t find you. Are you all right?’
Brenton stepped around Maggie and gave her the same disdainful look as she’d given him. He gave a small bow and said, ‘I’m Brenton. And your name is…?’
Maggie rolled her eyes. ‘I know better than to reveal myself here. And I already know who you are, my lord.’
Lillian squirmed when Brent’s gaze flicked towards her and back to Maggie. ‘I’ve told my friend about you, Brent.’
‘I see.’ He turned to Maggie and leaned in close. ‘And what sort of friend are you that you brought a young woman to an event that caters to less than respectable ladies?’
‘The best sort, my lord.’ Maggie didn’t flinch form Brent’s blunt question. ‘The sort of friend who recognizes that a woman has been scarred by men and life and needs a chance to enjoy herself without censure. Needs a night of fun and frolic, rather than one of fear and loneliness.’
‘Loneliness?’ Brent repeated the word in surprise and looked at Lillian. ‘Is she correct? You’ve been lonely.’
‘In my marriage, yes, I was lonely. Geoffrey didn’t like me to see my own friends or family too much. He wanted me at home, where he could keep me under control, or attending events on his arm. A decorative addition to enhance his reputation as a man who purchased only the best quality goods. Immaculate clothing, flashy carriage, well-bred horses, and a household where he ruled supreme. There was little room for me to breathe.’
He touched her arm. ‘I’m sorry to have failed you so badly. I was so swept up in my own misery and battling to keep my wife’s affairs under wraps that I gave no thought to how your life was when in London.’
Book Hooks: Brent looked at Lillian. ‘Is she correct? You’ve been lonely.’#RegencyRomance #HistRom #ReadARegency #EroticRomance books2read.com/suzilovePHB
Pleasure House Ball: Brenton, Lord Mallory, attends his first courtesan’s ball in ten years to appease his concerned friends, though he’d rather stay home and read to his motherless daughter. Though mortified that Brenton unmasks her at a scandalous ball, Lady Lillian Armstrong doesn’t regret their night together. Book 3 Irresistible Aristocrats books2read.com/suzilovePHB
Excerpt
‘Brent, why are you eager for me to risk a repeat of my miserable marriage?’ Lady Lillian asked. ‘When you’ve declared that you’ll never marry again.’
‘Because you’re a woman and I’m a man.’
Lillian’s eyes narrowed. ‘That’s a very biased view, and I thought you better than that.’
Brent groaned. ‘You’re right. It’s unfair to tell you to risk more unhappiness when I won’t.’
‘Everyone knows you’re avoiding your family because they push eligible ladies towards you. They want you to remarry and give your daughter a new mother.’
‘They’ve no right to interfere in our lives, mine or my daughter’s. We’re happy as we are, the two of us.’
‘Your wife hurt you, deeply, and so you’ve refused to even speak to the women your mother thinks suitable.’
‘I speak to you.’
‘Only because I visit you and drag you away from your house to go riding. I refuse to let you retreat from the world. You’re a wonderful man with a lot to give to another woman. To another wife.’
‘You’re the only lady that I can tolerate being near for more than ten minutes.’
‘And you’re the only man I’d select for a second husband, and you’re against marriage.’ She looked towards a group of men smoking at the far end of the verandah. ‘Hence my venture into the unknown tonight. The sedate balls are full of married men or old lechers, as all the exciting men are here instead.’ She pointed towards the cluster of five or six young men. ‘Perhaps one of them might be the boost I need to restore my faith in the male gender. A virile young man who knows about pleasurable sex.’
He scowled as he watched the young men laugh and slap each other on the back. ‘Those pups are too inexperienced to give a woman pleasure. At that age, it’s all over too quickly. You need someone who will leave you limp with pleasure.’ He shook his head and seemed to collect himself.
Lillian swallowed. She didn’t doubt that Brent knew many ways to make sex exciting and unforgettable, but there was no point imagining herself with him when she knew how studiously he avoided contact with women these days. Well, except for her and his cook.
‘Not all men are cruel,’ he was saying when she paid attention to his words rather than the way his trousers stretched across his groin when he had his hands on his hips and his coat tails pulled aside. ‘Some husbands value their wives and treat them like queens.’
She sighed. ‘A nice thought, Brent, but unless you can introduce me to one of those paragons of husbands, I’m reduced to finding my excitement with one of the gentlemen here tonight.’
PHB_Lord Mallory, attends first courtesan’s ball in years to appease concerned friends. http://books2read.com/suzilovePHB
Book Hooks: ‘Why are you eager for me to risk a repeat of my miserable marriage?’ Lady Lillian asked. #RegencyRomance #HistRom #ReadARegency #EroticRomance books2read.com/suzilovePHB
Kelly’s Justice. I lived in Vanuatu, South Pacific, for 9 years and loved setting my book there.
Blurb: Kelly normally needs no help solving international security problems, but when someone from her past damages her reputation and threatens her life, she needs assistance. Joining forces with her old friend from the Australian army, now an expert on South Pacific politics, they destroy an island drug cartel and rescue kidnapped teenagers. https://books2read.com/SuziLoveKellysJustice
Excerpt
Working in tandem, Kelly and Grant hauled their captive up and supported him as they hop-walked him back towards the shed.
“Are the kids all there? All five of them?”
“I didn’t hang around to find out,” Grant said. “You screamed. I ran.”
Back at the shed, the rest of the team had things under control. The three most mobile hostages were climbing into the van and one of the girls was being supported by a tall young man who had his arms around her shoulders and was helping her move towards the vehicle.
Kelly and Grant looked inside the shed. The last girl was being carefully moved from the dirty mattress on the floor onto the folding stretcher they’d brought with them in the van.
They rushed forward to help as this girl looked battered and bruised, though she was being incredibly brave as they settled her on the stretcher. Four of them picked up the ends to carry her as carefully as they could to the sunshine outside. As they lifted the stretcher, she gave a pained moan and held her left arm to her chest. The edges of the stretcher had folded inwards and squeezed her arm, causing all color to drain from her face, so thankfully the distance to the van wasn’t far.
Looked like a dislocated shoulder and possibly broken bones in her forearm, but her other limbs looked okay and her only bleeding was from a gash on the side of her face where she’d obviously been struck, hard and repeatedly. No clothing appeared to be ripped or missing on this girl or the others, so though they had obviously suffered physical abuse, thankfully there was no outward evidence of sexual assault.
The other four teens squashed onto one seat, leaving one free to slide in the stretcher and ensure that the injured girl didn’t need to climb up, or to sit upright. Unfortunately, island roads were made of compacted coral and were notoriously full of potholes, so the poor girl would definitely suffer on the drive back to town thanks to the rocking and bouncing of the van.
Jacky was doctoring minor injuries on the boys with antibiotic cream and dosing them with water and pain killers, but overall the three boys appeared to have suffered less abuse than the two girls. Both girls looked teary, a combination of shock and relief at having been rescued before their abductors had administered any more beatings. Or had escalated the level of their abuse.
“What are your names?” Kelly asked. Even though she’d read the briefing notes, she wanted these kids to tell her their details themselves so she could list the kid’s injuries and have a full report to send back to Marci. Their anxious families would be relieved to hear the five teenagers were all alive and safe, but would want to know every detail of their children’s injuries.
She quickly jotted a list of the kid’s personal details.
Kimberley, 18, daughter of the American senator who had requested Marci’s help. Lacerations to face. Antibiotic ointment applied and was given pain killers. Probable dislocated shoulder and broken bone in forearm and put into a sling.
Brodie, 18, American.
Aaron, 17, American.
All three American college students who had volunteered to help rebuild four schools in different villages after their mini conference wrapped up.
Ryan, 18, Australian waiting to join the Air Force.
Catrina, 17, about to start training as a nurse.
List completed, Kelly started questioning the group to try and work out who had taken them, and more importantly, why. Their story seemed to be a case of wrong place, wrong time, more than a deliberate attack and kidnapping as four out of the five had no high profile or super rich parents.
The kids had decided to spend their day off from their community work by going by boat to the town of Port Vila, the main town on the most populated island. They’d hired a car and went exploring the local villages and beaches. At a coastal village, they’d bought local food for lunch and were driving to another beach to enjoy their lunch when they’d taken a wrong turn.
By the time they’d realized their mistake and were attempting to turn their rental car around, a vehicle full of men had driven up the dirt road behind them and blocked in their car. The new arrivals had yelled lots of demands, but the teenagers hadn’t understood the language being spoken and had signaled, by arm gestures and pointing down the road, that they would drive away.
After ten minutes of total confusion on the parts of both parties, the group of kids had been forced out of their rental car and marched, at gunpoint, up the track. Using guns rather than words, the newly arrived men had herded the group into the front section of the large shed, where they’d been held captive for the past few days.
Their captors had singled out the two girls as the weakest members of the group after the three young guys had tried to bluster their way past the men and their guns and get to the road. Unfortunately, every time they’d attempted an exit from the shed or a bolt for freedom, they’d been confronted by a line of men carrying weapons and forced back into the shed.
Broken English man had targeted the two girls, battering them repeatedly with a barrage of questions about who the girls were, where they’d come from, how many kids had been with them and why only five of them had driven down this road. Doing their best to explain with broken English and mimes, the girls had tried desperately to convince their captor that they’d turned their rental car around as soon as they’d sighted the shed. And that they knew nothing about what was happening at this remote shed. They were simply tourists looking for a swimming beach. Nothing had worked. Not their mimes, broken English or their begging.
Kelly’s Justice. I lived in Vanuatu, South Pacific, for 9 years and loved setting my book there.
Blurb: Kelly normally needs no help solving international security problems, but when someone from her past damages her reputation and threatens her life, she needs assistance. Joining forces with her old friend from the Australian army, now an expert on South Pacific politics, they destroy an island drug cartel and rescue kidnapped teenagers. https://books2read.com/SuziLoveKellysJustice
Excerpt
Kelly and Grant had guessed correctly that the other three kidnappers had no weapons because as soon a bullet was fired they turned and bolted around the shed, one on the left and two on the right. They sprinted towards them, but no-telephone-man quickly re-emerged through the shed door holding a weapon.
Kelly made a lightning change of direction and came at him from the side with a solid round house kick which knocked the rifle from his hands and the gun flew up into the air. She followed up with a chop to his neck, a knee to his groin and finished him off with a two-handed blow to his head. The man went down in a heap, screaming in pain, presumably from a burst ear drum.
Jacky’s voice called from one hundred meters down the road where she and Terry were closing in at a fast pace. “We’ve got this. Go after the runners.”
Kelly shot around the right of the buildings and sprinted after the two unarmed men who had crazily trampled their way through the undergrowth, giving her a clear path to follow them. She mentally thanked Marci and her grueling fitness course, because the long hours they’d all put in scrambling over and under obstacles and working out in the gym had honed her fitness so she wasn’t even puffing when she came up behind the pair of runaways. When she caught them up, they used their least bit of energy to try to run ahead with a desperate burst of speed.
Kelly kicked the feet out from the slower of the two and he hit the ground face down and slid, squalling like a baby as branches stripped skin from his face and ripped his clothing. When she lifted her foot to the side of his head, he squealed like a pig and covered his bleeding head with his arms. Quick as a flash, she took the chance to grab his arms and zip tie his hands behind his head. Planting her foot in the small of his back, she yelled, “Stay down or I’ll shoot.”
The quaking man might not have understood the language she spoke, but he sure as hell understood her gun digging into his temple and her finger pointing at the ground. The idiot frantically nodded, chanting something in his own language while his sobs increased and his chants became wails. He sounded like a two year old having a temper tantrum. Huh, not a trained operative then.
Jacky would only need to follow the wailing to find this one. Kelly took off again through the scrub, but the faster man had been so panicked he’d plowed through bushes and broken branches and left her an open trail to follow. She jumped broken bushes, weaved in and out of the dense scrub and sighted her prey just ahead.
“Stop or I’ll shoot,” she screamed in every language she knew. He fleetingly turned a frightened face to her, but then raced off again. “Shit,” she muttered, raising her pistol. They’d all practiced firing on the run at the compound, over and over. Even though it wasn’t Kelly’s best skill, Marci’s insistence on them being at least proficient at armed pursuit proved a blessing. She lifted her arm and fired. The guy screamed and fell to the ground, clutching his right leg as blood poured from his knee. Even with one leg out of action, he tried to shuffle backwards towards the scrub.
Kelly stood over him, her weapon now aimed at his groin, when Grant came rushing up. Bending over, hands to his knees, he sucked in some deep breaths.
“Christ, Kelly.” He struggled to catch his breath. “I heard the shot and thought it was you.” Ignoring the man groaning on the ground, he pulled her in for a hug, despite them both wearing bullet proof vests and layered clothing. “I swear my heart stopped,” he muttered onto the top of her head. The wounded man writhed on the ground, grasping his bent leg and moaning loudly. “Wow, Kel, good shooting there. Got his knee from behind while he was running.”
“Yeah, well,” Kelly muttered. “Marci, my boss, won’t be happy.”
“Really?” Grant held her away from him but kept his hands on her upper arms. “Why the hell not?”
“Because we trained hard for this, and I have one of the best hit rates.”
“So?” Grant said, looking puzzled.
“I was aiming for his lower leg, not his knee.”
Grant burst out laughing. “Then don’t tell her. Our secret.”
Drama and romance at the duke’s snowbound British country estate. Michael Brandon travels to introduce the woman he loves to family but is shocked when his missing brother arrives. December Scandal Book 3 Scandalous Siblings https://books2read.com/suziloveDS
Excerpt:1844 Martin House, England.
Michael Brandon strolled after Cayle St. Martin, the Duke of Sherwyn, when the duke strode to the hallway to greet the latest group of travelers. They’d be, like him, grateful to accept the duke’s hospitality because they’d all become stranded after heavy snowfalls had led to rapidly rising water levels and an impassable local bridge.
He leaned on a wall and watched Mason, the efficient butler at Martin House, ease open the massive front door while three footmen braced their shoulders against the door to stop it blowing fully open. The house had already been full of family members gathered for Christmas, but with the addition of several groups of half-frozen travelers arriving every hour during the afternoon, the house’s walls must be groaning under the excess number of guests needing beds.
Several massive rooms in Martin House had been opened and warmed for the weary travelers who had descended on the duke and his family, but those large fires needed constant feeding with logs of wood. Therefore, Sherwyn couldn’t risk a barrage of snow and sleet blowing inside his house from the courtyard because, in such inclement weather, his footmen might not be able to collect more firewood for another week. Little wonder then that the duke hovered near the front entrance and supervised each subsequent arrival, his charming duchess by his side to add her won welcome.
Michael and his party had been the first to beg assistance from Sherwyn this afternoon, as he’d known that Sherwyn had left London a week earlier and would already be in residence at his country home. There had been a flurry of social events in London over the past two weeks before the Ton left the city and retreated to their country estates to wait out the colder months. Though this extreme weather had caught everyone by surprise.
It was barely mid December and the nearby bridge usually served the locals well through that month and into the New Year. Water levels normally only rose and covered the bridge after the snowstorms of January. Michael and Cayle were long time friends and so he knew Cayle had loathed this house, his family seat, when his father and stepmother had been in residence, but now that Cayle was the duke, and a married man, he had decided to turn this house into a more welcoming family gathering place. Even with the influx of visitors, invited or not, the staff here were jolly and efficient, a rare combination in the serving ranks.
Kelly’s Justice. I lived in Vanuatu, South Pacific, for 9 years and loved setting my book there.
Blurb: Kelly normally needs no help solving international security problems, but when someone from her past damages her reputation and threatens her life, she needs assistance. Joining forces with her old friend from the Australian army, now an expert on South Pacific politics, they destroy an island drug cartel and rescue kidnapped teenagers. https://books2read.com/SuziLoveKellysJustice
Excerpt
Kelly and Grant went into the kidnappers compound first, as they both spoke a reasonable amount of Bislama, the local Pidgin, plus conversational French. Before independence, Vanuatu had been a condominium, shared by both Britain and France. The locals referred to it as pandemonium as both languages were spoken and street signage was in both languages and most locals spoke a variety of languages. Foreigners who didn’t speak any of languages stood out. Luckily, Kelly and Grant could competently converse with most of the people they encountered.
When Grant threw an arm across her shoulders, she stiffened, but he grinned. “Gotta look the part, sweetlips. Think we’re being watched.”
She fake smiled while she poked him in the ribs. “Yes, Pookie. Two either side of the shed. One on left armed. Can’t see weapons on others.”
Grant squeezed her shoulder. “Play tourist as long as we can. Then you take right and I’ll go left.”
“Big generator on left. Too big for normal farm.” She looked up at him adoringly and gave him another sickly-sweet smile while sliding her hand to the pistol in her holster. The loose peasant blouse she’d worn over her training singlet hid the bullet proof vest and her Glock. She turned slightly towards Grant, giving him time to slide out his own pistol and hold it behind his back.
As they took more steps towards the shed, the men standing guard in front straightened and went on alert. Kelly lifted a hand, gave a friendly smile, and said in English, “Hi, guys. Our car broke down and we wanted to use your telephone.”
Their expressions didn’t change so English wasn’t their first language. She greeted them again in Bislama, but still no reaction. Grant tried French. The men shifted on their feet, their expressions wary but, apart from the man on the far left, the men didn’t appear to have weapons. By their appearance, she guessed they were from Asia, possibly Indonesia.
Kelly made the universal sign by holding an invisible phone to her ear. “Phone,” she said.
“No phone.” He pointed down the dirt road. “You go.”
Kelly’s Justice. I lived in Vanuatu, South Pacific, for 9 years and loved setting my book there.
Blurb: Kelly normally needs no help solving international security problems, but when someone from her past damages her reputation and threatens her life, she needs assistance. Joining forces with her old friend from the Australian army, now an expert on South Pacific politics, they destroy an island drug cartel and rescue kidnapped teenagers. https://books2read.com/SuziLoveKellysJustice
Excerpt
“Why didn’t you leave the army, but stay around?” Grant asked Kelly. “Australia or Vanuatu. Always plenty of private security jobs up for grabs.”
“No, I couldn’t. The brass made it clear I needed to resign, or I would be legally charged. And if I lost my case, I might be jailed as well as dishonorably discharged.” She huffed. “So I was forced out of the career I loved on an unproven drug charge while Ronnie invented the cheating story to make himself look like the injured party. He wanted me out of the army and away from my friends, yet he insisted I stay around. Take a desk job with a friend of his, a business partner, so he could keep doing whatever he wanted while I was kept close and still under his control.”
“So, you ran away?” His face screwed up with pain “I’m sorry. I should have tried harder to help you sort out that mess. Done more to keep you in Australia. You could have taken a private security job. Kept fighting crime.”
That made her laugh. Between their army friends, there was a long standing joke about Kelly’s drive to fight crime and get justice for victims. They frequently teased her about being the female Aussie version of Superman. Fighting for justice on all fronts.
She shook her head. “No. Staying around was too dangerous because Ronnie discovered that I’d been digging through his paperwork to find something incriminating on he and his business mate. Whatever I uncovered would always make me a threat to Ronnie and anyone working with him. My only option was to get out of the country before his associates became aware that I had uncovered some of their secrets. I didn’t have enough evidence to expose them at that time, though Ronnie sensed I was about to go public with what I knew. I needed to leave Vanuatu quickly before things went from bad to worse. I didn’t know how far Ronnie would go to ensure my silence.”
“Briefing in five in the common room,” Jacky called to her.
Kelly was grateful that her partner had subtly nudged the other two men towards the building and allowed she and Grant a few minutes privacy. She acknowledged her friend with a nod. “Be right there.”
She turned to Grant. “Water under the bridge now. I always knew Ronnie could track me down, same as you could have found me with a bit of sleuthing. Hiding from anyone ex-military isn’t foolproof so I covered my tracks enough that old friends or distant family members couldn’t trace me, although I knew that one day my past would reappear.” She waved a hand towards Jacky. “But I’m living in a safer place now and working with people who’d protect me with their dying breath.”
