TWISTED TRUTHS
by
Rebecca Zanetti
Part
of the BLOOD BROTHERS series.
November 14, 2017 |
Trade paperback: $14.99 | eBook: $5.99 | ISBN: 978145559431
"TOP PICK! 4
1/2 stars! Zanetti proves that when it
comes to RS, she is
in a class by herself!" ―RT Book
Reviews
One year ago, Denver Jones blew up his life
and left everything behind. To stay alive, he had no other choice. But now,
when video footage of the woman he could never forget goes viral, begging for
his help, he has no choice but to go to her. Her niece has been kidnapped and
Denver and his blood brothers are the only people she can trust.
But Denver isn't the only one watching that
video. The deadly forces from his past see it too-and they'll use anything--and
anyone--they can to lure Denver out of hiding to exact their revenge.
Noni slowly came awake with a heater at her back. The smell of male and forest filled her
senses.
Denver.
She stilled and listened to his even breathing. He was asleep. Good.
She took a moment to feel his presence in bed again. Some of the happiest times in her entire life
had been with him in bed. Man, she’d
fallen for him fast and hard. They’d
only dated for about three months, but she could remember each and every detail
as if it were yesterday. The feeling of
him in bed was right.
Yet it wasn’t. It
couldn’t be. For months after he’d left,
she hadn’t slept in her bed. She’d
watched television until falling asleep on the sofa in her living room.
She couldn’t do this. Be
with him like this. Everything feminine
in her wanted to turn around and snuggle into his arms. But he’d be gone soon, and she knew it. Why torture herself? The room was still dark, so dawn had yet to
arrive. She slid from the bed as quietly
as she could, turned and backtracked to the doorway.
He slept on his back on top of the covers, his huge body taking
up most of the bed. His movements were
nil, but his breathing even. How tired
had he been? A lock of his black hair
had fallen on his forehead, and her fingers itched to push it away. To caress down his hard jaw and muscled neck
to that wide chest. She’d once spent an
entire morning kissing that chest.
Man, she missed him. Even
now, with him near and her so pissed, she missed those moments. When he was hers to touch.
Enough wallowing. That
was beneath her, and she was stronger than this. There was no choice. She swallowed and gathered her courage, sliding
out of the room and quietly shutting the door.
After a quick trip to the one bathroom, she tiptoed into the living room
and surveyed the computers. The
materials from her backpack were spread over a table, while other manila files
and yellow notepads were scattered around.
Forgoing hers for his, she flipped through them. A small, very small, part of her felt guilty
to be going through Denver’s things. The
other part, the one he’d abandoned alone in a bed in Alaska, didn’t give a
hoot. The man would never level with
her, so she’d be the detective in this case.
The file held a bunch of notes and pictures of red-headed
women. Something about a Copper Killer
serial case filled one. She pushed it
aside and opened another file labeled as “Dr. Madison.”
“See anything that interests you?” Denver asked from hallway entry.
Noni jumped, her lungs compressing. “I’m just getting started.” She would not feel bad. “I read about the Copper Killer case in the
newspaper. He was a serial killer who
focused on redheads. They caught the guy here in Snowville, right?”
“We caught the guy,”
Denver said, not moving. He leaned
against the door frame, his hair mussed up, whiskers covering his square
jaw. His ragged T-shirt was wrinkled,
and his jeans ripped, and nothing in the world had ever looked so
delicious. Sexy, tousled, and dangerous.
Noni cleared her throat.
A pulse set up between her legs.
So that’s why he had been in town.
“That wasn’t in the news.”
“It wouldn’t be.” He
pushed away from the door frame toward her, holding out his hand. “My records.”
She clutched them to her chest.
“I’m not done snooping.”
“Yes, you are.” He
grasped the manila folders with two fingers and pulled.
She could fight him, but in a tug of war, she’d probably
lose. Or at least get a paper cut, and
those sucked. “Who is Dr. Madison?”
At the question, his lazy indulgence disappeared. A flash of heat hit his eyes, and for the
moment, he looked every bit as deadly as he’d warned her that he could be. Barely leashed violence poured off him in a
heat she could actually feel. “Nobody,”
he said, his voice guttural.
Noni gaped at him. At the
change in him—in a second. “Right. I, ah, I can see that.”
Then the gates shuttered closed.
A veil fell over his expressive eyes, effectively shutting her out.
She exhaled. “I’d
forgotten that look.” When they’d dated,
every time she’d asked about his life, about his childhood, he’d shut her
out. And she’d let him. Oh, she’d sensed the pain in his past, and
she’d just accepted him, knowing someday he’d open up to her. Someday he’d feel free enough, safe enough,
to confide in her. “I was such a fucking
idiot,” she muttered, letting the truth finally in. Even when they’d been together, he hadn’t let
her know him.
“No, you’re not,” he said gently. “I’m good at playing a part. Really good.”
Fire lashed her. She
jumped up, sending the chair flying back.
He had fooled her, and he had done a good job with it. But there had been moments…real moments. She had to trust herself and what she
felt. Could she shake him? Get him to admit it was more than just a
part? “Oh, baby. You’re not that
good.”
“No?” he asked silkily.
“No.” She levered up
right into his face, finally trusting her instincts. “I may not know the details of your life, of
your big secrets, but I know you a little bit, asshole.” She slapped a hand on his chest. Hard.
“Whether you like it or not, you revealed some of your true self.” While
she didn’t know the facts, she knew his heart.
Whether he liked it or not. Since
he’d shown up in her motel room, she hadn’t had time to really think. No way would he hurt her. While he was dangerous, she was safe. “Suck on that.”
“Maybe,” he said, pressing his hand over hers. “It doesn’t change anything. We’re gonna find this baby and get you
safe. Then I have another job to do.”
“Jobs,” she sputtered as his heart beat so steadily against her
palm. “Tons of jobs, right?”
“No. Just one.” His hand completely covered hers, and she
couldn’t move it. The way he said the
words gave her pause. Such finality in
each syllable.
Her gaze dropped to the files in his other hand. “Dr. Madison?”
He slowly nodded.
“You’re trying to find her?”
That’s what he did, right? He
found people or things. His detective
agency found the lost. That’s what he’d
always said.
“Yes.”
She swallowed. “Then
what?” Instinct chilled down her back,
but she didn’t know why. Tension choked
around them. “What happens to Dr.
Madison?”
“I’m going to kill her.”
With that, Denver released Noni’s hand and moved around her to the
computers. “Now. Let’s find that baby.”
The Series
Rebecca Zanetti is the author of over
twenty-five romantic suspense, dark paranormal, and contemporary romances, and
her books have appeared multiple times on the New York Times, USA Today, and
Amazon bestseller lists. She has received a Publisher's Weekly Starred Review
for Wicked Edge, Romantic Times Reviewer Choice Nominations for Forgotten Sins
and Sweet Revenge, and RT Top Picks for several of her novels. She lives in the wilds of the Pacific
Northwest with her own alpha hero, two kids, a couple of dogs, a crazy
cat...and a huge extended family. She believes
strongly in luck, karma, and working her butt off...and she thinks one of the
best things about being an author, unlike the lawyer she used to be, is that
she can let the crazy out. Find Rebecca at: www.rebeccazanetti.com
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