When Olivia Doyle’s father dies under suspicious
circumstances, rather than inheriting a family fortune, she inherits a new
identity. She learns they were placed in the Federal Witness Protection Program
when she was five years old. Her father was involved in an art forgery ring and
testified against the mob. Brought up not to trust anyone, Olivia has a
difficult time relying on U.S. Marshal Ethan Ryder to protect her, and to keep
her secret. She fears her father may have continued his life of crime through
her art gallery. She has little choice but to depend on Ethan when she realizes
someone is now after her. Olivia’s search for the truth leads her and Ethan
across country to a family and past she doesn’t remember.
At the age of ten, Ethan witnessed a brutal murder. He vowed
when he grew up, he’d protect people in danger. Protecting Olivia is difficult
when she won’t trust him. He soon realizes his desire to protect her goes
beyond doing his job, but if his judgment becomes clouded by emotions, her
safety could be jeopardized.
Can Ethan and Olivia learn to trust each other when they uncover secrets that will change their lives forever?
The footsteps drew closer. Her breathing quickened. The
intruder paused outside the door and she held her breath, a death grip on the
pepper spray. The barrel of a gun appeared through the doorway, followed by a
man. In that split second, she blasted him with a steady stream.
“Shit!” he yelled, snapping his head away from the line of
fire.
Unsure if she’d made a direct hit, she flew past him, still
spraying the air behind her. Although it wasn’t a blanket mist, she couldn’t
help but inhale some of the toxic vapors in the air. Her eyes burned slightly
and she coughed, racing down the hallway and across the open foyer.
She was almost to the door when the guy yelled out in a
raspy voice, “Touch that door handle and I’ll shoot it off.”
She came to a screeching halt, unsure if he planned on
aiming for the handle or her hand. The blood pulsating in her ears muffled the
roar of the lawn mower as it passed by near a window. Nobody would hear her
scream. She eyed the security alarm keypad on the wall by the door. Two quick
steps and she could hit the panic button. Two quick steps and she might get
shot. She slowly turned around, her gaze locking on the gun pointed at her from
the opposite side of the foyer. Sheer panic pressed against her chest, and she
sucked in a deep breath.
The guy cleared his throat. “I’m not gonna hurt you.” He
cautiously lowered the gun, but didn’t holster it. “Unless you spray that crap
again.” He blinked rapidly and ran a hand up over the top of his head, sweeping
back a clump of wet hair. Her aim had obviously been off. It was impossible to
spray straight when her body was shaking uncontrollably.
The guy’s dark hair was just shy of touching his shoulders
and he had a five o’clock shadow. A black T-shirt covered his broad chest and
faded, relaxed fitting jeans contradicted his rigid stance. A scar across his
cheekbone, and a thin one slashing his eyebrow, added to his don’t mess with me
look.
“I’m Ethan Ryder with the U.S. Marshals.” The man flashed a
badge, then slipped it back in his pants’ pocket.
If the mob had hunted down her dad, who was to say it hadn’t
been through a U.S. Marshal snitch? He’d trusted Roy Howard, not Ethan Ryder.
Maybe he wasn’t even with the U.S. Marshals. Rather coincidental that he showed
up right after a robbery.
“I assume you’re Olivia Doyle?”
At the back of her mind she heard her dad’s voice. Don’t
trust him, Livvy. Be leery of people you know and certainly don’t trust someone
you don’t know.
Eliza Daly’s first attempt at creative writing was in fourth
grade. She and her friends were huge Charlie’s Angels fans and she would sit in
her bedroom at night writing scripts for them to act out at recess the
following day. She was Kelly Garrett. Fast forward to the present, she’s still
writing stories about beautiful women who always get their men. The journey
from fourth grade script writer to published author wasn’t an easy one, but it
was always an adventure and the final destination was well worth it.
When Eliza isn’t traveling for her job as an event planner,
or tracing her ancestry roots through Ireland, she’s at home in Milwaukee
working on her next novel, bouncing ideas off her husband Mark, and her cats
Quigley, Frankie, and Sammy.
Find Eliza Daly:
Like Eliza Daly on Facebook
Follow Eliza Daly on Twitter @ElizaDalyAuthor
Become a fan of Eliza Daly on Goodreads
Website: http://www.elizadaly.com/
Find Eliza Daly:
Like Eliza Daly on Facebook
Follow Eliza Daly on Twitter @ElizaDalyAuthor
Become a fan of Eliza Daly on Goodreads
Website: http://www.elizadaly.com/
Eliza will be awarding a one $20 Amazon or B & N Gift
Certificates to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour, and a $10 Amazon
or B & N Gift Certificate, winner's choice, to four (4) randomly drawn commenters
during the tour. A $10 Amazon or B & N Gift Certificate, winner's choice,
will be awarded to a randomly drawn host.
You should follow the tour and comment; the
more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be
found here:
I enjoyed the excerpt, the story sounds very intriguing.
ReplyDeletelyra.lucky7 at gmail dot com
I like the excerpt, thanks.
ReplyDeletemagic5905 at embarqmail dot com
Thank you so much for having me here today to celebrate the recent release of my romantic suspense, Identity Crisis. Have a great day!
ReplyDeletethank you again for another chance <3
ReplyDeletelilypondreads at gmail dot com
Sounds like a nice read
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmail dot com