Why should I provide my email address?

Start saving money today with our FREE daily newsletter packed with the best FREE and bargain Kindle book deals. We will never share your email address!
Sign Up Now!

KND Kindle Free Book Alert for October 31: Nine Brand New Freebies, Plus The Best Kindle Deals Anywhere…
All Sponsored by Prescott Lane’s First Position (Today’s Sponsor – $1.99)

Join our thousands of happy subscribers. It's FREE!

Get Deep Discounts on Premium Bestsellers, Plus Free Books for Your Kindle! – Subscribe now http://www.bookgorilla.com/kcc

button_subscribe

BookGorilla-logo-small(1)

But first, a word from ... Today's Sponsor
First Position is a book about second chances and how capable we are of handling them. It's a story about love and lies, power and fear.
First Position
by Prescott Lane
4.1 stars - 69 reviews
Supports Us with Commissions Earned
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here's the set-up:
Emory faces life’s challenges at the one place that’s never failed her, the ballet barre.  But even the barre can’t steady her when fate brings her face-to-face with her old college flame, Mason, who’s hoping to return to the NFL after a career-threatening injury.  Before they can surrender to their sexual desires and find salvation in each other’s arms, they need to come to terms with their past.  Mason must confront the demons that have set him on a path of self-destruction, while Emory must decide whether to keep her painful secrets locked away, or expose them and risk losing the love of her life.  But nothing can prepare Mason for what Emory has kept hidden, or the possibility that he himself may be to blame for the very secrets she keeps – and why they continue to haunt her.
One Reviewer Notes:
This is a second chance romance book that will appeal to readers who enjoy some drama and angst in their books. It centres around Emory and Mason who were college sweethearts. Six years has passed and they reconnect and give their relationship another go. They have a lot of issues to sort through and must learn to trust each other again in order to move on from their past.
Hook Me Up Book Blog
About the Author
Prescott Lane lives in New Orleans, LA with her husband, two kids, and two dogs. She sold her first story at the tender age of 5 to her father for a quarter and has had a love of writing ever since.
UK CUSTOMERS: Click on the title below to download
First Position

*  *  *

★9★ KND FREEBIES – Just For Today!

Prices may change at any moment, so always check the price before you buy! This post is dated Thursday, October 31, 2013, and the titles mentioned here may remain free only until midnight PST tonight.

Please note: References to prices on this website refer to prices on the main Amazon.com website for US customers. Prices will vary for readers located outside the US, and even for US customers, prices may change at any time. Always check the price on Amazon before making a purchase.

*  *  *

4.5 stars – 99 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:
When ten-year-old Peter moves into his grandfather’s creepy old mansion in a small town, bad, baaaaad things start to happen.

*  *  *

5.0 stars – 1 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:
In the year 2059, the best part of Ellie MacIntyre’s day is her morning  coffee and it’s all downhill from there. When a talking dog and cat enlist her aid in finding their missing brother, everything she ever knew about the universe is knocked on its keister by a six foot warrior with smoldering dark eyes.

*  *  *

4.8 stars – 5 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:
This book is designed to help you learn how to deal with addicts, alcoholics or substance abusers. Like most people, you are probably exhausted from trying to cope with all of the lies, arguments, anger, broken trust, stealing, manipulation and insane behaviors that accompany having a relationship with an addict.

*  *  *

The Last Chord

by Douglas Wynne

5.0 stars – 1 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:
In this short story by the author of The Devil of Echo Lake, a vintage instruments appraiser discovers a haunted guitar and unlocks a lost song that may herald the birth of the apocalypse. Includes a preview chapter of Wynne’s second novel, Steel Breeze.

*  *  *

Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:
Rowan had never wanted to be a hero. The role had just found her. Her heroics isolated her from her friends and she’s begun to regret her fifteen minutes of fame. But now the peaceful town of Durham, NC has once again been invaded by magic. Overrun by ravenous rats, the town is in big trouble. Rowan from the popular “Rowan Series” is back to once again defend Durham. Defeating the Evil Dr. Ravenen was no walk in the park and some new villain from fairyland seems to be behind this new threat. Rowan must summon all her courage to save her family, her friends, and her city, but this time even that might not be enough.

*  *  *

4.3 stars – 11 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:
Seventeen years ago, authors Tom and Vonne Barnett were suddenly confronted with every parent’s worst medical “bolt from the blue”: their only child, 30-month-old Emily, was diagnosed with an advanced – meaning metastasized – pediatric cancer. At the time, the thirty-something couple was living in northern Virginia.

*  *  *

4.4 stars – 301 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:
Cade MacKenzie is prepared to give his life to destroy the cartel that killed his lover, but the only way to draw them out is to present them with the perfect bait.

*  *  *

Refuge (Book One)

by N. G. Osborne

4.6 stars – 103 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:
On a dusty, sweltering night, Noor Khan, a beautiful, headstrong Afghan refugee, comes face-to-face with Charlie Matthews, a brash, young American aid worker. To Noor’s fury, Charlie breaks every cultural norm and pursues her. She wants nothing to do with him: her sole aim in life is to earn an overseas scholarship so she can escape the miseries of the refugee camps.

*  *  *

4.2 stars – 51 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Or check out the Audible.com version of Revenge of the Mad Scientist (Book One: Airship Adventure Chronicles)
in its Audible Audio Edition, Unabridged!
Here’s the set-up:
When Lady Arabella Trunkett’s father, the High Lord Minister of Urbannia is kidnapped, all clues point to the mysterious country of Gandiss and the world is thrown into political upheaval.

*  *  *

Check out our Free Book Search Tool for a boatload of free books

or check here for the best deals today on Kindle!

100kindlebooksKDDeals

 

bookgorilla99cent

KND Freebies: Exciting romantic suspense LOVE WILL FIND A WAY is featured in today’s Free Kindle Nation Shorts excerpt

It’s the latest “wonderful read” by romantic suspense author Anji Nolan…

…and readers are delighted to find  the “colorful characters, witty writing” — and of course — intense romance they’ve come to expect.

Don’t miss it while it’s 60% off the regular price!

Love Will Find a Way (Crimson Romance)

by Anji Nolan

5.0 stars – 1 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:
When Emily Wilkes, a cargo agent with Transcontinental Airlines, meets Bill Bailey, a wealthy businessman twenty-six years her senior, they embark on a love affair. They are together for three years when she meets Jack Clemmons in Monaco. Jack is a younger version of Bill, and could be everything Emily ever wanted. However, although her loyalty is momentarily tested, she commits herself to Bill, who knows — and can overlook — the indiscretions of her past. Jack, who is deeply attracted to Emily, reluctantly accepts her decision.

But when Emily’s roommate and co-worker Jude Cameron steals a large quantity of diamonds from the Transcontinental warehouse vault, the police accuse Emily of being Jude’s accomplice. And while the evidence against Emily is circumstantial, omissions from her past stack up to harm her.

Both Bill and Jack have the means to clear Emily’s name  until Bill dies from a massive heart attack. Do Jack’s feelings run deep enough to help her, or has Emily’s rejection hurt him too badly?

Praise for Anji Nolan’s earlier novels:

Wonderful Read!
“…colorful characters, witty writing and all set in beautiful northern Arizona! Looking forward to reading the series…”

Great read
“A gripping read which is ideal for reading on a long journey or draped on your sun lounger. The plot twists and turns…I was delighted to see that part of the ‘romantic’ interest revolves around an older couple for a change…”

an excerpt from

Love Will Find a Way

by Anji Nolan

CHAPTER ONE

The rhythmic beating of wings alerted her, and Emily looked up to see a gull hovering fifteen feet or so above the chaise on which she reclined.

“It’s a thief you know,” said an accent tinged voice.

Startled, she turned. “Who’s a thief?” She shielded her eyes against the sun, and recognized the elegantly dressed blonde from the night before. “Oh hi, Jack Clemmons isn’t it?”

He took off his sunglasses revealing ice blue eyes. “You remembered.”

“How could anyone forget you after such generous contributions to the awards dinner?”

“I’d rather you remembered my sparkling wit and personality.”

Emily smiled. “It was a receiving line. I don’t recall any chit-chat.”

“Yet I remembered the tall redhead with green eyes.”

“Occupational hazard, there aren’t many of us left.” Emily swung her legs from the chaise and retied her pareo about her hips. “So Jack, I’m guessing the accent is South African.”

“You would be correct, and you are American.”

She giggled. “No shit Sherlock, what gave me away?”

“You’re very blunt, aren’t you?”

“Is that a problem?”

Jack slipped his glasses back on as Emily dug hers from her bag.

“Not at all; I like a strong woman. Did you have fun last night?”

“I’d have had more if I’d won the diamond tennis bracelet.”

He held out a solid practical hand. “So, come take a look at the bird.” Jack helped Emily to her feet, and led her to the parapet. “See the hotel’s seafood delivery.”

“And?”

He pointed. “Look up there.”

The gull had left the terrace and perched on a flagpole across the street. With wings outstretched, it bounced wildly and squawked in agitation as a deliveryman hoisted a basket of seafood on his shoulder.

“Now watch the cheeky moocher,” Jack said.

As soon as the fishmonger disappeared down the alley, the gull launched off the pole, and swooped onto the cart. There, head cocked and wings extended, it plucked an expensive tidbit from its kelpy resting-place. It rose high again, and overhead the terrace, dropped its cargo. A large snail hit the ground, bounced twice, and came to rest against the parapet. The bird swooped down beside the mollusk, and tentatively poked the cracked shell to see if its beak would penetrate. When it would not, the hungry flyer danced around the stricken escargot, webbed-feet slapping aggressively on concrete.

Coming from the city, Emily had never seen anything like the seagull dance, and as she watched in rapt fascination the bird regrouped, took the snail back in its beak, and for a second time, rose in the air letting the mollusk plummet to the unforgiving terrace below. This time, a large chunk of shell broke off, exposing the delicacy inside, and before another could swoop in and steal its hard-earned meal, the gull plucked out the spongy gastropod, swallowed it down and returned to its purloining perch across the street.

“Crafty little critter isn’t it?” said Jack.

“Might say the same about you; how long were you standing behind me?”

“A couple of minutes. I didn’t mean to disturb your sunbathing, but I couldn’t resist letting you know why the dinner I’m about to buy you is so expensive.”

“What makes you think I’m going to dinner with you?” She returned to the chaise.

“Because you said you would.”

“Excuse me?”

“I clearly made an impression the last time we spoke.”

“And when exactly was that?”

“You don’t remember Walvis Bay Holdings’ diamond shipment? Last week; you expedited the gems transfer to the clearing house after the courier screwed up. My father, in his usual accusatory fashion, thought the gems had been stolen, and you said you’d make it your mission to locate them before leaving for Monaco.”

“That was you, you sound different.”

“Last week I was calling ship-to-shore.”

“You called me at JFK airport from a boat?”

“My father wanted his gems in house before he left the U.S. A business colleague said call Emiline Wilks at Transcontinental, she’ll make it happen. So I did.”

“Your father called Europe from the U.S. to have you check on a shipment clearing in New York?”

“Yup, he called me here, to call you there, to do that.”

“Holy Christmas, that’s one convoluted chain of command.”

“Par for my father’s course. He refuses to get personally involved with us peasants. Gets just about anybody, to do anything, at any time he wants.”

“You know the chance of anyone stealing a shipment from Transcontinental is pretty remote. Only a couple of us know how to access the vault, and the courier guards have the pickups timed to the minute.”

“Doesn’t wash with my father; he sees the bad in everybody.”

“Now there’s a boatload of familial resentment.”

“You better believe it. He has me on a leash so tight, I about choke myself. So, are we on for dinner, or no?”

“I’m not sure. My room-mate is due in today. Besides Transcontinental really frowns on employees accepting gratuities.”

“Female room-mate?”

“Something like that.”

“Well that clarifies things.”

“She’s a lesbian.”

“And you are…”

Emily smiled. “Not.”

“Boyfriend with you?”

“I’m a little old for ‘boyfriends’.”

“You know what I mean.”

“There is someone, back in the states. Is that going to prevent you from taking me to dinner?”

“Don’t see him with you, so probably not.”

“Then we’ll say no more about him and move on.”

“Good. And my offer is not a gratuity.” Jack pulled up a chair. “Look around, it appears we’re the only people under sixty staying at this hotel, and since we’re both going to get hungry at some point, why not eat together. It’ll be fun, and we can talk about something other than stock portfolios, how much we dropped on the tables last night, or who died when, from what, and left whom, God knows how much money.”

“You’re staying here too?”

“No. At the moment I’m a glorified tour guide living on The Adamas, that’s my father’s yacht.”

“How exotic.” Emily extended her hand. “But a promise is a promise. Hello Jack, my friends call me Emily.”

“Well I’m pleased you so generously brought me into the realm of ‘friend’ and might I suggest dinner at six. Shall I meet you in the lobby or come to your room.”

“Umm, let me think about that…” Emily tapped a finger on the arm of the chaise.

“Oh come on now, you didn’t think I was suggesting—”

“Suggesting what, Mr. Clemmons?”

Jack blushed. “Er, nothing.  I’ll be in the lobby at six.” He smiled thinly and walked away.

***

Emily saw Jack as the elevator doors opened. And not knowing where they would be going, but realizing most anywhere in Monte Carlo is dressy, she had opted to wear a silk faille two-piece, with Manolos and matching purse.

Jack walked forward and kissed her routinely on both cheeks. “A vision in pale blue, how lovely, Misook I believe.”

“How perceptive, are you a buyer for Saks in your spare time?”

He smiled. “And the shoes?”

“Don’t tell me you know they’re Manolo Blahniks?”

“I was going to say can you walk in them?”

“What had you in mind? If you’re thinking the Appalachian Trail we could have a problem, but if it’s just a turn around the square, I’m your gal.”

“Then Ms. Emily Sarcasm you are indeed my gal,” he proffered his arm. “Walk this way.”

She linked his arm as he led her under the cavernous dome of The Hermitage’s Jardin d’Hiver, and as they stepped out into Monaco’s balmy evening air, he paused. “Room-mate arrive?”

“Yes, finally. I was in the shower and didn’t even see her. She stopped at the room long enough to ditch her bag then went to the casino. She drives me nuts with her gambling. She’s always working on ‘her system’ or looking for a cock-a-mamie angle to make money. I’m sick of bailing her out and listening to her sob stories.”

“Sob stories, “asked Jack.

“The tables are rigged. Somebody stole my stash. A compulsive gamblers usual excuses.”

“Look up there.” Jack pointed to a street corner lamppost.

“What are they?”

“Cameras. They are everywhere. The Monaco Tourist Authority brags that you could leave a million bucks in a convertible and if it was stolen, they’d have the thief before he got to the border.”

“Well that takes care of that excuse. What about the rigged tables?”

“Now that’s out of my sphere of knowledge; I never gamble. What little money my father pays me is precious.”

“Maybe you should meet her and try and impart that wisdom, I’m getting nowhere. In fact, some things have happened lately to make me realize it’s time we parted ways. Anyway, I sent her a message at the casino saying I was having dinner with you. And I’m sort of glad I wasn’t around when she arrived. Her mood, which is not good at the best of times, will not have improved by sitting in Geneva airport for twenty four hours waiting to use her staff pass.”

“Isn’t getting all psyched up for a trip and being left hanging irritating?”

“For those of us who aren’t rich enough to live on a yacht in Monte Carlo harbor, getting a free pass or paying ten percent is worth the hassle.”

“Direct, but point taken. Keep walking Ms. Emily, I can see we’re going to get along like a house on fire.”

 Along with Jack and Emily, many others had chosen to promenade before the impressive Belle Époque buildings of the Square Beaumarchais, and as the smell of coffee and expensive perfume permeated the air, Emily enjoyed the solid feel of Jack’s arm, and the way his body fit next to hers.

“So, Jack, what if I’d been a frumpy matron, with bleached blonde hair and ill-fitting dentures. Would we still be going out to dinner?”

“You think I’m that shallow?”

“Just saying.”

They stopped at Raffi’s, an open air café bustling with patrons. “So, here we are,” said Jack, leading her to a table replete with canapés and an open bottle of champagne.

“I see you called ahead,” said Emily.

“It pays to be prepared.” Jack poured the wine. “Being airline staff, you obviously get to travel anywhere, have you been here before?”

“First time. This champagne is yummy, and I love canapés. I could happily make a meal of them. How about you?”

“Canapés?”

She giggled. “Monaco; you live here all the time?”

“No, my father has me organize tours for his business associates. This is just one venue for me. I stay on the yacht until it loads up, then I decamp to The Hermitage.”

“So that’s why you were loitering about.”

“I’m not sure The Hermitage would approve of anyone loitering about.”

“It is a bit old school,’ said Emily. “But I really do like it. I sat in the lobby for hours yesterday imagining all the famous people who’d checked in.”

“You know it’s stood on the Square Beaumarchais since the early 1900’s, and while most people know about Monte Carlo’s casino because it has been in several movies, I think The Hermitage is the more beautiful building. Did you know it’s a registered historical monument?”

Emily giggled. “That your tour-guide speech?”

“Yup, that’s the opening salvo.”

“Sounds good.”

“I hate it. Standing around, spouting a load of nonsense to people who don’t give a rat’s ass, it’s demoralizing.” Jack took a large swallow of champagne. “I’d give my right arm to chuck it all in.”

“You work for your father. Tell him you’re not happy and want to do something else.”

“Wish I could. It’s not that simple.”

“Why? I’m presuming you’re over twenty-one.”

“I got into a bit of trouble back home. I’m under court orders.”

“What did you do, murder someone?”

“Not quite.”

“Uh-oh. How ‘not quite’?”

“Motor vehicle fatality. Some friends and I got a little drunk—”

“A little?”

“Okay, a lot. You really want to know. My story isn’t pretty.”

“Stuff that makes anyone as bent out of shape as you appear to be, rarely is. I’m a big girl let’s hear it.”

“The trouble started at my graduation ceremony.”

“In South Africa?”

Jack nodded. “Cape Town University, I studied international finance. I was valedictorian and me a bunch of friends started celebrating that, and our freedom from school, hours before the speeches ended.”

“Okay, we got the drunk driver admission. What next?”

“After polishing off two magnums of champagne, a bottle of vodka and a fifth of gin, we piled into three convertibles and headed for the beach.”

“And is that where the bad stuff happened?”

Jack frowned. “You gonna let me get through this or what?”

“Sorry, airline worker, deadlines are a religion.”

“With the booze gone, someone suggested we hit The Palms. It’s a ritzy beach resort on the dunes, but they refused us entry, ‘cos we were all so cooked.  And I said ‘let’s try Nelly Palmers’. It was a ways off, but they’d serve a pickled warthog, if it had a cent. I was the only one who knew the way, so I took the lead.”

“When you knew you were too looped to drive?”

“I’m not proud of that,” answered Jack. “But we wanted some fun. Needed to let off steam and celebrate our freedom. I admit I was driving fast. But the roads were empty, and everyone seemed okay with it. Nobody said slow down so I hurtled on. Then as I rounded a corner, I misjudged the curve, and ended up fishtailing for half a mile.”

“Did you crash?”

“No. But the wall of dust I kicked up wiped out visibility for the guys behind me. I was totally unaware anything had happened until there was an explosion.”

“Jesus!”

“Pretty much my thought.” Jack took another sip of wine. “As I looked in my rearview, a huge orange fireball was where my friends should be. I slammed my car into reverse and my friend Rick and I jumped out, and the girls with us took off to get help.

At first, we just stood and watched as pieces of metal shot from the mushroom cloud rising into the sky. We were helpless. Jimbo, driver of the second car, had veered across the road and hit a power pole, which snapped in two. The front of his car was folded round the stake like a giant fortune cookie, and the overhead wires had snapped, catapulting the top of the pole across the road.”

“Oh my God,” said Emily hand to her mouth.

“It sliced through the third car, like a cheese cutter.” Jack paused to collect himself. “Then I heard a scream. Rick said it was my imagination, but it wasn’t. I couldn’t see much through the smoke, but I had to do something and stumbled forward. A wall of flame exploded out of nowhere and when I hit the ground, I felt a body. I pulled it from the flames, and Rick who was pre-med, stayed with them as I began to circle the area looking for other survivors. There was another explosion. I recall being launched upward. Then everything went black.”

“Jack I am so sorry. I assume your friends died.”

His eyes glazed and he nodded. “Everything was my fault.”

“You tried to help; there was nothing you could do.”

“Seven of my closest friends died because of my reckless stupidity.”

Emily touched his arm. “It was an accident Jack, one of those awful inexplicable things that just happen.”

“Apparently the judge trying my case wasn’t entirely of the same opinion. If it hadn’t been for my father’s influence I’d be in jail now.”

“So that’s a good thing.”

“No it isn’t. Before we left the court my father not only convinced the judge that to prevent another drunken episode he should retain control over me until I was thirty. But also, that I was unfit to handle the responsibility of an inheritance left me by my mother.”

“That’s not all bad. How old are you now?”

“I’ll be twenty-nine in a few weeks.”

“So another year or so and you’re free.”

“It’s not that easy.”

“I smell a cop-out Mr. Clemmons. Are we feeling just a tad sorry for our self?”

Jack smiled indulgently. “I told you, my major at university was international finance. You can’t disappear for years and pick up where you left off. Things move so fast, you have to be right on top of trends or you’re lost.”

“Your life isn’t so bad,” Emily replied. “You live on a yacht, travel the world—”

“A penniless lackey at my father’s beck and call.”

“We’re all at somebody’s beck and call. You just have to make the best of the hand you’re dealt.”

“Oh my Miss Emiline Wilks, where were you three years ago?”

“Let’s see; Fiji, meeting Bill.”

“Are you going to tell me about him?”

“He was opening a resort and we hit it off after I helped him with something.”

Jack smiled. “Much like you helped me.”

“Yeah, that’s me, the all American girl-scout.”

Jack took Emily’s hand. “I have badges you can earn.”

“I’m sure you do, but here’s our waiter, so just tell him what you’d like to eat.”

Jack grinned and kissed her knuckles.

***

During dinner, Emily was amazed how much Jack knew about the world, but how unaware he was of the effect his good looks and attentive demeanor had on a woman. The two conversed in bits and pieces of languages they’d learned on their travels, swapped horror stories about lost luggage, and laughed uncontrollably about misadventures with foreign plumbing. They criticized everything about monopolistic communication companies, and the lack of a universal electrical system. And when it appeared a crowd was gathering, and their table was needed, Emily suggested they return to The Hermitage for a nightcap.

Emily led Jack to a quiet spot in The Hermitage’s lounge, and a waiter immediately attended them. “Coffee all right, or do you want something stronger,” she asked.

“Coffee’s good. I do love how civilized this place is. They really don’t mind if you sit all night and just watch the world go by. Now, tell me about the boyfrie—sorry, gentleman friend back in America. I assume you argued and are now unattached.”

“And you would be wrong. I’m not only here for the awards dinner. I’m working out an issue.”

“Oh?”

“Bill and I have the same philosophies, we like many of the same things. But when it comes right down to it, his age gives him limitations. He’s a lot older than me, twenty-six years in fact.”

Jack whistled.

“Thank you for that unnecessary musical interlude.”

Jack grinned. “Sorry, the age thing was a bit of a shock, please go on.”

“Bill is extremely special. He helped me when I needed a friend. He’s supportive, and generous. He has the wherewithal to give me most everything I want—”

“I hear you. That ‘most anything’ will put a spanner in the works every time.”

“You’ve got some pretty sarcastic notions for a grown man who appears to be completely controlled by his father. What are you, twenty-nine going on twelve?”

“Touché Ms. Emily, I now have official warning that you bite.”

“Sorry, but I’ve known Bill three years, and he’s pretty much everything to me.”

“But you’re still single, so I assume he’s married.”

“There you go again. No, he’s not.”

“Then what’s holding him back?”

“He wants marriage, but I’m still thinking about it.”

“After three years. Why?”

“Because it’s none of your beeswax, that’s why.”

Jack ran a finger across an eyebrow. “Now I’m sorry. We were getting on so well, I thought we could be honest.”

“You’re right. If our relationship is so perfect, why am I having dinner and flirting with a virtual stranger? I can only say it’s complicated.”

“I’m quite good at complicated. Tell me, my shoulder is at your disposal.”

“I want kids,” said Emily sadly. “Lots of them. But Bill caught mumps at the wrong time and he’s sterile.”

“Now that’s a biggee. Couldn’t you adopt?”

“He says he’s too old.”

“Then I see your dilemma.”

“Do you want kids?”

Jack raised an eyebrow. “Is that an invitation?”

“Be serious.”

Jack covered her hand with his. “I am. I’m very attracted to you, can’t you feel it?”

“You just met me. You have no idea who I am.”

“Don’t care. We feel right, that’s good enough for me.”

“Well Mr. Clemmons, in case you have forgotten, I’m taken.” Emily watched Jack for a moment, attempting to assess what was happening between them. She loved Bill, of that she had no doubt. But in a few short hours, Jack had set her senses reeling, had her heart pounding and introduced feelings that muddled her thinking.

“You know,” Jack said, breaking the silence. “Twelve guests can live comfortably aboard The Adamas, and the crew is ready to take off anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice.”

“What are you trying to do, sell me a cruise?”

He laughed. “Not even close, I’m trying to sell you me.”

Emily wasn’t ready to admit Jack was irresistible. “On such a night with so charming a companion tearing at my sensibilities, I could easily surrender,” she said playfully. “Unfortunately, unlike you, my circumstances don’t allow me to sail off at a moment’s notice.”

“Are you making fun of me?”

She held up her thumb and forefinger. “Little bit. So what’s the scoop Jack?”

“I’m not entirely sure what you’re getting at,” answered Jack. “But here goes. Someone with no knowledge of the impact you’re having on me, might suggest that I plan to impress you with my surroundings, and simply maneuver you into a sexual encounter.”

“But you’re not?”

“Not exactly…”

“How ‘not exactly’?”

“Good grief, you certainly know how to put a guy on the spot.”

“All part of my charm, dish.”

“You’re a genuinely interesting person, you’ve woven your way into my psyche, and I want so much more than sex from you.”

Emily laughed. “Did you get that line off a crackerjack box?”

“Was it good? Did I convince you about the not-just-sex thing?”

Emily held up her thumb and finger again. “Little bit,” she giggled. “But if you remember, I’m taken.”

“I haven’t forgotten,” whispered Jack. “Don’t you feel anything between us?”

Emily chewed on her lip. “How about we get more coffee and you tell me about your family.”

“It’s not a pretty subject.”

“Everybody has a gross Uncle Morty in the closet. How bad can yours be?”

Jack smiled. “You know Emily I can’t believe I feel so comfortable with you. We just met and I feel like I’ve known you all my life. What’s that all about?”

“It doesn’t have to be about anything. Sometimes it’s simply two people becoming friends and getting together for dinner and a chat.”

“Is that all we are?”

“I don’t know you well enough to answer that.”

Jack summoned the lounge waiter. “The hell with coffee. If I’m going to spill my guts, I need a brandy. You want some?”

“I’ll have a sip of yours if that’s okay.” He summoned the waiter.

Emily took a small sip when he handed her the snifter. “Our meeting is simply karma,” she said. “An amusing cosmic event.”

“Don’t be flip,” said Jack. “I’m serious. What sort of spell have you put on me?”

“I don’t need a spell Jack. I might feel something too. But I can keep everything in perspective and not get carried away.”

“I’ve wanted to carry you away from the minute I saw you.”

“I know. Now tell me something really personal about yourself. Then, when you get me drunk and disabled, violate my person, and leave me spent and abandoned in the Kasbah; I can point the police directly at you.”

“God, I really love your sense of humor.”

Jack reached for her hand and she pulled it away.

“Tell me who you are Jack Clemmons.”

CHAPTER TWO

Jack offered Emily the brandy but she declined more. Then he took a large swallow, and set the glass aside. “I’m the only child of Peter and Iona Clemmons of Walvis Bay, a small township on the Atlantic coast of west central Namibia in Africa. The settlement is about eleven-hundred square kilometers and has a population of around forty-six thousand. Most of us can trace our families back to the eighteen hundreds, when Dutch colonists incorporated the bay into the Cape Colony.”

“So your heritage is European, like mine, yay, something in common. What do your folks do?”

“Walvis Bay’s main claim to fame is a deep-water port, and my father is the major shareholder of the freight handling company that enables thousands of cargo ships to dock there. He also owns Walvis Bay Holdings, trading Namibian commodities like industrial diamonds, copper, gold, zinc, and uranium all over the world.”

“So he’s rich.”

“Ridiculously.”

“Ergo, so are you.”

“Not so fast my little gold-digging friend; let me tell you why that will probably never be.” Jack took a swallow of brandy. “For some time, my father and other influential business leaders have been working to convince corporations to use our docks, instead of South Africa’s further to the south. Their goal is to promote Walvis Bay and its commercial potential, and my no-brain useless job is to float around the world and select venues from which my father can host meetings and fancy parties for potential business partners. By bringing The Adamas, to Monaco, I get to be a glorified deckhand pandering to the ostentatious whims of the world’s fat cat corporate vipers. In the coming month, I have the pleasure of remaining on hand to provide tour guide services to a parade of diamond dripping dowagers, while father convinces their husband’s to part with their money.”

“Yikes, that’s some speech, and did I detect a smidge of anger in there?”

“Do you blame me?”

“So you’re an events coordinator; it doesn’t sound like a bad job to me. Try loading airline cargo for a living. Tell your father you’re going to find a position you like better, somewhere else.”

“It’s not as simple as that.”

“Tell him you’re unhappy and need to find something that inspires you. He’s your dad, surely he wants you to be happy and fulfilled.”

“You’d think, but as he sees it, my life is an ongoing catalog of mistakes.”

“We’ve all made mistakes.”

“There you are,” said Jack. “Spirit lifting again, you sure you’re taken?”

“Positive. Now don’t try and change the subject. Why don’t you simply jump outside the box, go it alone, plunge into the unknown.”

“Would your parents trust you to plunge into the unknown?”

“I don’t have any parents around to stop me. They died in car accident when I was a kid. My grandmother raised me for a couple of years before she also died. Then I was sort of adopted by Jude, who is now my compulsive gambler roommate, and her companion Tina. It’s funny; I found it strengthening to come from a place where I had to grow up fast. But I know the downside is that it makes you feel very isolated.”

“You don’t seem to have a problem being outgoing.”

“Believe me until I met Bill, I was where you are. I once found it difficult to bare even a pinch of my soul. But when you find someone you can totally trust, and let all your angst out, things will fall into place.”

“How’d you get so wise, what are you twenty-five?”

“Twenty-eight,” answered Emily. “What does your mother say about all this conflict?”

“Don’t have a mother. Maybe none of this crap would have happened if I did.”

“That’s a real what-the-heck statement, what happened to her?”

“She and another couple were killed by elephant poachers while on safari. My father barely got out alive.”

“No wonder he’s over protective.”

“It’s not that. He never cared about me. My mother was his only love and once she was gone, all he did was work. I was raised by a series of governesses, and servants. Can you imagine what it’s like to be surrounded by a bunch of people who only care about you because your father pays them?”

She squeezed his hand. “I can’t begin to understand what you went through. All I can say is; I’ve only known you a couple of days, and I care about you.”

“Do you know how good it feels to hear someone say that?”

“Actually, I do. Now lose the blues.” Emily looked at her watch. “Wow, look at the time. I’ve had a lovely time Jack. Dinner was scrummy and your tour guiding was impeccable. But I have to get back to my room. Jude is probably pacing the floor wondering where I am.”

“Will I see you again?”

Emily smiled. They had opened, and closed, a million Pandora’s boxes. Had discussed politics, religion, and world affairs, and had compatibly set the world to rights with similar ideologies and irreverent humor. Philosophically Jack appeared to be a younger version of Bill, and Emily found that revelation dangerously intoxicating.  “As I said, you’re a few years too late.”

“It’s never too late,” whispered Jack. He was delighted he’d at last found a strong, intelligent woman who could hold her own on a dozen disparate subjects. And while she seemed reticent to delve too deeply into her personal life, he brushed any concern aside. Everyone is entitled to a few secrets. He certainly had his share. When he looked in her eyes, seeing honesty and sincerity went along with her beauty and intelligence, whatever hers might be; he didn’t care. And he couldn’t let her simply disappear from his life.  “Have dinner with me tomorrow. I’ll show you the yacht.”

“Open ocean with a man I just met…really?”

Jack put “scout fingers” to his temple. “No seriously, dinner and a boat ride. That’s all, I swear.”

“Let me think about it. Goodnight Jack.”

“At least let me walk you to your room.”

Emily raised an eyebrow. “The elevator is it Buster.” As the doors closed, she watched his face. He had the look of an abandoned puppy.

CHAPTER THREE

When Emily entered her room, it was clear Jude had not returned. It wasn’t unusual for her roommate to disappear for days on end to gamble, so Emily tidied up the space and got ready for bed.

Surrounded by the cool permanence of The Hermitage’s ancient marble bathroom, Emily took up a silver-backed hairbrush that had been her Grandmother’s and drew long sweeps through her chestnut hair. Her eyes closed, as she took pleasure from the relaxing strokes of the precious memento of happier times. But her mind was filled with confusion. Bill had shown his appreciation for her in a million ways, and showered her with affection and attention. Nevertheless, something intangible was always missing. Thoughts of Jack raced through her mind, and unexpected guilt flooded over her. Had he displayed that intangible something? Conflict threatened to overwhelm her, and as a barely perceptible draft wafted across her lashes, Emily opened her eyes. Her mother’s face looked back from the mirror.

It wasn’t the first time Cindy Wilks had appeared. She was always there when Emily had a crisis of conscience. Although this time, she looked different. Her hazel eyes, familiar with gentle acquiescence, were gone, replaced by Emily’s deep green. They were full of unquestionable determination, and her mother’s small calm voice echoed uncharacteristically loud in her head. What are you thinking? Bill isn’t perfect, but he’s the man for you. He can give you almost everything.  Jack Clemmons is a flirtation. Don’t give up what you have, for someone you barely know.

Emily had never felt her mother’s presence so intensely, or heard her message so clearly. No matter what, she could not see Jack Clemmons again. She pushed the sadness of her mother’s loss into the remotest corner of her memory. And as the vision faded; Emily replaced the hairbrush in its case.

CHAPTER FOUR

Emily woke as the sun poured through the balcony window. Jude’s bed had not been slept in, and she shook her head. What now? How much has she lost, and how much is it going to cost? Emily was fed up with Jude’s gambling; fed up with the lies and deceit, and more than fed up helping someone who would never change, out of tricky situations. However, as Emily climbed into the shower, she determined to put a positive spin on Jude’s hopeless situation. Her mind was finally made up. As soon as she returned to America, she was putting Jude’s nonsense behind her, and moving in with Bill.

Emily was dressed when she heard the Ving card in the door, followed by a cuss word. She knew it could only be Jude. And as her roommate stepped inside the room there was no mistaking she was as mad.

“Don’t say a fucking word,” snapped Jude. “I lost all my money and now I’m leaving.”

“Excuse me?”

“Shut up and get my ticket.”

“We’re wait-list for tomorrow, remember. And what happened to your face?”

A purpled bruise and an angry welt accompanied a cut around Jude’s eye. “Had an argument with somebody, and they may be waiting down stairs. Go get my ticket.”

“First, tell me what happened.”

“Don’t want to talk about it,” hissed Jude. “Just do as I say. Go get the goddamn ticket.”

“Whoa, hang on, why are you mad at me?”

“I’m not. Get the fucking ticket.”

“The flight is fully booked,” said Emily calmly. “You won’t get on today.”

“I need to leave now. And I want some money for a cab.”

“Money? Why do you want money? Surely you left some in the hotel safe.”

“What word didn’t you understand when I said ‘I lost all my money’?”

“Oh my God what did you do? Do you owe money now? Who did this to you?”

“Skip the inquisition, and move your ass.”

“I knew this would happen if you went to the casino. Well tough luck Jude, you’re on your own. I’ll get your ticket, but I’m through bailing you out.”

As Emily headed for the door, Jude grabbed her arm, and viscously twisted it behind her back. “You ungrateful spoiled brat. All I want is cab fare to Nice airport. Now you’ve got two choices, either you give it willingly, or I’ll beat it out of you.”

Squirming from her grasp, Emily lurched toward the door, but Jude was too quick. She grabbed Emily’s hair, pulled her back into the room, and spun her onto the bed.

“You crazy bitch,” screamed Emily. “You’ve gone too far this time. I warned you what would happen if you hit me again. I’m calling the authorities.”

Jude slapped Emily hard as she reached for the phone. “My, my, haven’t you suddenly become Miss Upstanding citizen. Now we have to change the plan.” She ripped the phone wire from the wall. “It’s obvious you can’t be trusted so…” Jude turned, and dragged a suitcase from the closet. She threw it at Emily, grazing her face. “Get packing.”

Emily felt a bump forming on her cheek bone. “Screw you, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll give you the ticket and some money, and you can get the hell away from me.”

“Too late for that; you’re coming with me, if I have to drag you.” Jude took a step toward the bed. “Besides you owe me.”

“Owe you? Are you kidding? We had this conversation a dozen times. I’m done. I owe you nothing.”

Jude’s eyes glazed as she took hold of Emily’s hair. “Who was it gave you shelter when your husband kicked you out? Who protected your lily-white ass after Bear Mountain? Who gave you money for drugs when you were selling your ass in the street?”

“That wasn’t me,” said Emily. “That was you, and Tina. Look, none of what you’re saying makes sense. You need help, let me call a doctor.”

Emily attempted to stand, but Jude pushed her down and pulled a cigarette lighter from her pocket. Re-connecting with Emily’s hair, she flicked on the lighter and moved the flame closer. “What if I simply deal with you right now? Nobody will know, I can say it was an accident. You wanted a cigarette, the wind blew your hair and with too much hairspray, whoosh, up it went a ball of flames.”

Tears streamed down Emily’s face. Jude was clearly unbalanced and in no state to reason. “Okay Jude, whatever you say. We can sort this out. Let me go so I can pack. We’ll go home, right now. Give me a few minutes.”

As Jude backed off, Emily threw her things into the suitcase.

*

Within the hour Emily had retrieved her money and their tickets from the hotel’s safety deposit box, and the pair made their way back to reception. Jude watched Emily closely, but she was able to scrawl ‘help, call the police’ on the credit card receipt.

“Sorry Mademoiselle,” said the desk clerk, pushing the receipt back toward Emily. “What might this say?”

“Er, it’s a thank you…a thank you to the housekeepers,” whispered Emily.

But Jude was within earshot, and after snatching the receipt, stood with her full weight on Emily’s foot. “Sorry, our mistake,” she said to the clerk. “Wrong amount for the tip, could you print us another receipt?”  The desk clerk turned to get another docket. “Do that again,” Jude hissed, “and I’ll kill you.”

The receipt was produced, signed without further incident, and the women got in a cab to Nice airport.

***

After several miles of tense silence, Jude put her hand on Emily’s knee. “Why so quiet?” she said. “Aren’t you glad to be going home?”

Emily slapped the hand away. “Shut up, I don’t want to hear any of your crap right now.”

“Maybe you’d rather I dropped you off here, and let your rich boyfriend rescue you.”

“Anything would be preferable to listening to you.”

“Is that so?” said Jude. “Well maybe he’d like to hear what I have to say.”

“There’s nothing you could say about me that would bother him, so shut up.”

“Oh, I think there is Miss High and Mighty. Do his hoity-toity fat-cat family and friends know you’re a lowly cargo bum taking him for every penny you can get? Might they be interested to know you were raised by a pair of drinking, gambling, drug-taking lesbians?”

“That’s not the way it is, and you know it. Just shut up. I’m through with you.”

“Are you indeed? Well maybe you’ll feel better after talking to the police.”

“Yes. That would be a good thing.” Emily leaned forward to redirect the driver. “Let’s stop the cab right now.”

Jude’s hand clamped onto Emily’s knee, squeezing the bone so tightly, pains shot from her ankle to thigh. “Not so fast Miss innocent, let’s review. What possible excuse could you come up with, for not reporting my involvement in that fatal accident, on Bear Mountain? How would you explain checks written from your bank account to drug dealers in Jackson Heights? Or get this one, how would you justify talking to my contacts as I smuggled certain restricted commodities through the warehouse? And just to completely immerse you in the world of the unrighteous, I’m going to let you in on the score to end all scores when I get back to the States.”

“Yeah right,” said Emily. “What are you going to do, rob a bank?”

“Better…I’m relieving good old Transcontinental of a zillion dollars’ worth of diamonds.”

Emily raised an eyebrow. “You’re sick, and a truly certifiable idiot. It can’t be done. You wouldn’t get ten miles from the airport.”

“My poor naïve Emily. I told you. I have friends, and those friends have friends, and when the shit hits the fan only you will be front and center with all manner of nasty things hanging over your head.”

“You talk such a load of bull-shit; everybody knows nothing you say is true.”

“And of course everybody knows what an innocent goody two shoes you are.”

“I’ve never done anything illegal.”

“Umm, now let’s see. Your silence after the Bear Mountain incident, Jackson Heights drug dealer pay-off.” Jude was counting off on her fingers. “Accessory to smuggling—”

“I can explain all that.”

“Well maybe you can. But in the meantime, you’ll lose your job and your fancy friends, and let’s see…all kinds of ugliness will happen to a pretty thing like you in prison.”

“You’ll get caught and lose everything too.”

“Na-ah. My friends have been covering my ass for some time and will continue to do it in the future.” Jude smiled malevolently. “You must know sacrificing you would be nothing to them, or me, for that matter. So, unless you want the wrath of some very nasty people raining down on your head, I suggest you keep your trap shut, and do as you’re told.”

The contempt in Emily’s eyes was impossible to hide.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Jude bent Emily’s fingers painfully. “And let me tell you. You say one word to anyone, and I will drop you so deep in the shit a submarine couldn’t get you out. Do you know what I mean?”

Emily snatched her hand free. “You need to be in an institution, you know that.”

It was true she owed Jude. She and her partner Tina took her in when she had nowhere else to go, but that was years ago. And as Emily recalled those early days, understanding how circumstances had changed the dynamic of their relationship since, she knew it was now imperative she find a place of her own. Feeling obligated to Jude might have prevented her from moving on. But since Tina was killed, Jude’s increasingly explosive outbursts were more than anyone could take. The awards dinner in Monaco had been a welcome opportunity to escape the tensions of living with so bitter a person. Now, as she stared blankly into the back of the seat in front of her, Emily could see no way out. She would do as she was told. She would keep quiet, and hope that like in times past, no-one would discover the truth.

CHAPTER FIVE

Jack put down the phone and smiled. He always dreaded his father’s calls, because they invariably ended with him having to apologize for forgetting to organize some nit-picking little social detail. However, it seemed Emily’s spirit had not only bolstered his confidence on a personal level, but also prompted him to remember every tiny detail of Peter Clemmons ‘must have’ list.

He dialed The Hermitage to invite Emily to that evening’s dinner party. However, when he asked to be put through to her room, Gaston, the Guest Services Director told him Ms. Wilks had checked out.

“Do you remember her checking out?” Jack asked.

“But of course, she is normally a very beautiful woman.”

“Normally?” cut in Jack.

“Why yes Monsieur Clemmons. But this day it seemed she had befallen some accident for she had a large angry place down the side of her face.”

Jack frowned. “Did she seem upset?”

“I am not qualified to judge such a thing monsieur. But she seemed a little, er, agitated when she handed me the credit card receipt.”

“Was she questioning the charges?” asked Jack.

“I don’t think so. She had written something there, but it was so badly written I couldn’t make it out. I asked her to translate and she said it was a thank you to the staff.”

“How do you mean badly written?” asked Jack, who’d seen Emily’s neat, precise penmanship.

“It was like my mother’s writing and she has a shaky hand.”

“Do you still have the receipt?” asked Jack.

“No monsieur, the older women with her snatched it from my hand before I could staple it to the invoice.”

“So where is your signed proof of payment?”

“I gave her another receipt,” said Gaston.

“And this other woman; was there anything you remember about her?”

“Mais oui Monsieur. She was, excuse my bluntness, very masculine, and extremely angry about something. It might have had to do with the bruising and cuts on her face.”

“They both had injury?” asked a concerned Jack. “Good grief Gaston, what on earth was going on? Did you register any reports of a disturbance in Ms. Wilks room?”

“No, but it was Ferdinand who first brought the ladies condition to my attention.” Gaston handed the phone to the desk clerk. “Ferdinand, tell Monsieur Clemmons about the ladies departure.”

“When I brought down their suitcases, I remember Mademoiselle Wilks repeatedly asking the older woman why they were leaving,” answered Ferdinand. “And she wanted to make a phone call, but was not allowed to do so. I assumed the older lady was irritated because the younger had them running late.”

“Thank you Ferdinand. You have been most helpful. Please put Gaston back on the phone.”

“Oui Monsieur.”

“Gaston, I have to call and find out if Ms. Wilks is alright. Could you give me her address and phone number off the registration card?”

“For you monsieur, yes. But it will be of little help. The address is simply listed as J.F.K. airport, USA, there is no phone number.”

“Isn’t that unusual?”

“Not for airline staff. If there are any problems, we simply bill the airline. However, the police authorities require a passport and full information upon entering Monaco. Maybe they can help?”

Jack might have accepted Emily’s leaving as her choice had he not been told of her distressing appearance. Now, he had to find out what happened, and knew exactly who could help.

***

“Hello, Jack old friend,” said Chief Inspector Labande. “What can I do for you?”

“I know this is unorthodox, but could you let me have Emiline Wilks or Judith Cameron’s complete address from the cards filled out when they entered Monaco?”

“That is not something we share with civilians Jack. May I ask the reason you need such information?”

“Er…it’s personal.”

“Naturellement, go on.”

“We er, that is she, Ms. Wilks and I, are to be married,” said Jack, resorting to a necessary lie. “I believe Ms. Cameron objects to our union and er, I think she may have taken my fiancée back to America to prevent our marriage.”

“Ah mais oui, a matter of the heart. We in Monaco understand such things. However, I am unable to help in this matter. All records are temporarily sealed while we investigate a murder along the waterfront.”

“A murder,” said a shocked Jack. “In Monaco?”

“It seems times are changing even in our little paradise. And since it is a rare occurrence, you understand how we must be very careful.”

“Yes, of course, I understand. Any idea when you might be able to give me the information?”

“Who knows?”

“Charles please; I know murder is a huge deal in Monaco, but all I want is one little address.”

“It is out of my hands. I suggest you come back in a week.”

“A week,” said Jack. “That’s an eternity. Couldn’t I try again tomorrow?”

“Jack, I tell you this because we are friends. But after I tell you what we are doing, you will see how very busy we are, and why you cannot return for at least a week.” Labande waited for some sort of confirmation that Jack agreed, but receiving no indication, he continued. “As you know, we have cameras everywhere in the principality and can pinpoint any trouble outdoors. However, it appears our dead woman knew our system well. She was well known on the Cote d’ Azure for discretely picking up tourists and taking them back to her apartment to steal their money. We have been watching her for a while and had no cause to apprehend her. But now, with this messy business, we have to go back to our cameras and identify all the individuals with whom she had contact.”

“You have the film. Surely it’s a simple case of matching passport records. This is Monaco; stuff like this doesn’t happen here. Why will it take a week to pull a few pictures?”

“As I said, times are changing. This type of thievery is more common than one might think. Naturally, it’s not something we want to advertise, so very bad for Monaco’s tourist reputation. However, when it happens, we have to look at mountains of security camera pictures and compare them to every passport and ID card we have, to see if a tourist or local is involved.”

“Surely someone must have seen something. This is a small place with eyes everywhere.”

“Just so, and right now we are closing in on one lead. A casino receptionist recognized the murder victim as being in the company of an American woman, to whom she passed a message on the night of the tragedy.”

Jack interrupted.  “Whoa, stop right there. You said an American, who was given a message at the casino?”

“Yes,” said Labande. “The message was relayed as her passport was being photographed.”

“That’s my friend. Well not my friend. My friends, friend. She sent the message. It was her friend. The friend of the one I’m looking for.”

“Jack slow down, you are making no sense, whose friend did what? Look you need to come down to police headquarters. Do you want me to send a car for you?”

***

Within the hour, Jack was with the Inspector of Records, in front of a computer displaying all the information he required. Armed with everything he needed and oblivious to the bigger picture, Jack was eager to contact Emily. He turned to leave, but Labande blocked the door.

“No no, Jack, you cannot simply leave. You are now part of an on-going murder investigation, and you must do nothing to jeopardize it. You will need to give statements, and you cannot contact Mademoiselle Wilks, as she may alert Judith Cameron.”

“Emily wouldn’t say anything,” Jack snapped. “Besides, she could be in danger. Gaston at The Hermitage told me she had bruises on her face.”

“In that case,” interrupted Labande. “It is even more important you do nothing to interfere. If this Judith Cameron killed the Dutch woman, and afterwards beat your friend, she is very dangerous. Mademoiselle Wilks may be in fear and who knows what she might say to protect herself from another beating. You will say and do nothing, and you will not leave Monaco until I give you permission.” Jack began to protest, but was quieted. “You must give me your word you will do nothing to contact Emiline Wilks. If our investigation is damaged by your interference, our friendship will mean nothing, I will arrest you as an accessory. Do I make myself clear?”

Jack nodded sheepishly. “Who will protect Emily? Don’t you see the Cameron woman forced her to leave the Principality? I knew she wouldn’t leave willingly without saying goodbye.”

“Jack, I’m sorry, but this is the way it must be. I will contact the FBI and other American authorities and they will protect your friend if she is innocent.”

“What do you mean, if she is innocent, of course she is innocent. She was with me on the evening of the murder.”

“I understand what you say and we will need to hear more about that. Come with me now, and I will take a full statement. But make no mistake, once that is done and you leave here, I will be checking on your whereabouts. You may not leave the Principality until I tell you, and if you try to leave, it will be very bad for you.”

… Continued…

Download the entire book now to continue reading on Kindle!

Love Will Find a Way
(Crimson Romance)
by Anji Nolan

Special Kindle Price: $1.99!
(reduced from $4.99 for
limited time only)

Kindle Nation Daily eBook of The Day: You’re in For a Wild Ride in Layton Green’s Thriller The Egyptian (The Dominic Grey Series) – 4.4 Stars on 100+ Rave Reviews!

4.4 stars – 126 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:

The second book in a globe-hopping thriller series whose protagonists investigate the world’s most bizarre and dangerous cults.

At a mausoleum in Cairo’s most notorious cemetery, a mercenary receives a package containing a silver test tube suspended in hydraulic stasis.An investigative reporter tracking rogue biomedical companies is terrified by the appearance of a mummified man outside her Manhattan apartment.A Bulgarian scientist who dabbles in the occult makes a startling discovery in his underground laboratory.These seemingly separate events collide when Dominic Grey and Viktor Radek, private investigators of cults, are hired by the CEO of an Egyptian biomedical firm to locate stolen research integral to the company’s new life extension product. However, after witnessing the slaughter of a team of scientists by the remnants of a dangerous cult thought long abandoned, Grey and Viktor turn from pursuers to pursued.From the gleaming corridors of visionary laboratories to the cobblestone alleys of Eastern Europe to a lost oasis in the Sahara, Grey and Viktor must sift through science and myth to uncover the truth behind the Egyptian and his sinister biotech – before that truth kills them.

Reviews

“Stirring and imaginative, with an engaging premise that is briskly paced. Both the characters in the story and the reader are in for a wild ride.” – Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of The King’s Deception

“James Bond and the X-Files had a love child, this book would be it.” – Keryl Raist, To Publish or Not to Publish

About The Author

Visit Layton Green’s Amazon Author Page

Layton Green is the author of the Dominic Grey series. Please visit him at www.laytongreen.com for additional information on Layton, his works, and more. You might find him in the corner of a dark and smoky café in Bogotá, researching the next Dominic Grey novel.

And here, in the comfort of your own browser, is your free sample of The Egyptian by Layton Green:

Happy Halloween! Here’s Your Kindle Daily Deals For Oct. 31
Featuring Mary Maddox’s Award-Winning Horror Novel Talion

But first, a word from … Today’s Sponsor

Talion

by Mary Maddox

4.3 stars – 48 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:

Global Ebook Awards Silver Medal Winner

Meet Rad Sanders, the most terrifying serial killer you will ever encounter, in a thriller unlike any you have ever read…

Lu Jakes lives with her alcoholic father and abusive stepmother, Norlene, at Hidden Creek Lodge in the Utah mountains. When the beautiful Lisa is sent by her protective parents to stay at the lodge for the summer, Lu makes her first real friend – dangerously unaware that Lisa’s is not the only new face at the resort.

For Lisa has been followed by Rad Sanders, a sadistic killer who has plans for the girls – sick plans that will drag them and their families to the very brink of hell. Rad stalks Lu and Lisa, waiting for his moment, certain that his deadly plan cannot fail.

But unknown to Rad, Lu has a secret. She can see things that nobody else can see: the spirit Talion and his companions. But are these spirits real or a trick of the mind? And will Lu’s special gift help her and Lisa as the killer closes in…

TALION is a gripping, intense tale of friendship, family and dark desires, that blends Thomas Harris with Stephen King.  It is a book that will make you want to sleep with all the lights on – if you can sleep at all.

Rated R for adult language and scenes of disturbing violence.

Review
“”Silence of the Lambs” meets “The Turn of the Screw” . . . . The story is propelled by suspense, and made delicious by Maddox’s Ray Bradbury-like gift for deft, deep-shadowed description.”  —Charleston Times-Courier

*  *  *

Never miss another great sale again – Free and Bargain eBooks & Apps delivered straight to your email everyday! Subscribe now! http://www.bookgorilla.com/kcc

BookGorilla-logo-small

*  *  *

Each day’s Kindle Daily Deal is sponsored by one paid title on Kindle Nation. We encourage you to support our sponsors and thank you for considering them.

and now … Today’s Kindle Daily Deal!

Click on the image below

Screen Shot 2013-10-31 at 6.58.43 AM

Just 99 Cents! A Modern Take on “Pride And Prejudice” That Proves True Love is Worth Risking a Little Pride: Definitely, Maybe in Love By Ophelia London

4.5 stars – 13 Reviews
Text-to-Speech: Enabled

Here’s the set-up:

Her theory of attraction is about to get a new angle

Spring Honeycutt wants two things: to ace her sustainable living thesis and to save the environment. Both seem hopelessly unobtainable until her college professor suggests that with a new angle, her paper could be published. Spring swears she’ll do whatever it takes to ensure that happens.”Whatever it takes,” however, means forming a partnership with the very hot, very privileged, very conceited Henry Knightly.Henry is Spring’s only hope at publication, but he’s also the über-rich son of a land developer and cash-strapped Spring’s polar opposite—though she can’t help being attracted to the way he pushes her buttons, both politically and physically. Spring finds there’s more to Henry than his old money and argyle sweaters…but can she drop the loud-and-proud act long enough to let him in? Suddenly, choosing between what she wants and what she needs puts Spring at odds with everything she believes in.Definitely, Maybe in Love is a modern take on Pride and Prejudice that proves true love is worth risking a little pride.

5-Star Amazon Reviews

“This book makes me want to watch Pride and Prejudice again. Followed by Bridget Jones’ Diary. Ophelia London once again creates characters that are relatable and flawed. The setting took me right back to my own college days. And the love story between Spring and Henry sucked me in. DMIL strikes just the right balance between Jane Austen and Ophelia London. I can honestly say I fell in love with this book!”

“Great Pride and Prejudice inspired story. I think I am in love with Henry (Mr Darcy). I found myself not being able to put it down and loved watching as Springer and Henry fall in love.”

“I ardently recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a good introduction into new adult. And especially to fans of Pride and Prejudice!”

*  *  *

Need More Romance in Your Life? We Got Your Fix ;)

Free and Bargain romance eBooks delivered straight to your email everyday! Subscribe now! http://www.bookgorilla.com/kcc

BookGorilla-logo-small

Grab This Amazing 11-in-1 Romance Bundle Today And Get in Touch With Your Animal Side Tonight….

Shifter Romance Boxed Set – Just 99 Cents For 11 Titles!

Shifter Romance Boxed Set (11 Book Bundle)

by Marina Maddix, Tawny Taylor, Celia Kyle, Elixa Everett, Dawn Steele, Aubrey Rose, Cynthia Brint, Eliza Gayle, Julianne Reyer, Selena Kitt

Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:

Lions and tigers and bears…oh, yeah! This collection of shifter romances is guaranteed to heat up your cool autumn evenings with ten stories (350,000 total words!) of curve-loving werebears, sassy werecats and, of course, everyone’s favorite: alpha werewolves. Pick up this boxed set today and get in touch with your animal side tonight — just 99¢ for a limited time! (Regular Price $9.99!)

Stories from New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors Aubrey Rose, Eliza Gayle, Adriana Hunter, Terry Towers (writing as Elixa Everett), Tawny Taylor , Aphrodite Hunt (writing as Dawn Steele) and Marina Maddix ,as well as #1 Paranormal author Celia Kyle, Top 20 Shifter Romance author Cynthia Brint, and Top 100 Amazon and Barnes and Noble bestselling and award winning author Selena Kitt.

LAID BEAR by Marina Maddix: Curvy Bethany can’t believe her luck when her devastatingly hot neighbor Max falls for her. But his secret threatens her future…and her life.

BEARED TO YOU by Tawny Taylor: Curvy city girl Abby is thrilled when a hot, naked man shows up on her cabin’s front doorstep and stokes a blaze or two, in the fireplace and in her body…until he turns into a bear…and the two of them are forced to run for their lives through the untamed Alaskan wilderness.

HE AIN’T LION by Celia Kyle: Life sucks… And then you get turned into a werelion… And then have lotsa awesome sex…

WHATEVER HE NEEDS HER TO BE by Elixa Everett: What would you do to win over the man of your dreams? For shapeshifter Selena, it’s simply a matter of being whatever he needs her to be.

WANTED BY THE ALPHAS by Dawn Steele: New girl in a new town, Shannon, meets two extremely gorgeous and extremely different men who are vying for her attention — but who happen to be a witch and an alpha werewolf at war with each other.

BLIND WOLF by Aubrey Rose: A blind werewolf leading a pack of stragglers finally finds his one true mate — then realizes she’s human…

UNTIL THE FLOOD by Cynthia Brint: Fiona believes the love of her life died years ago, so how will she handle his return…and the fact that he’s no longer human?

DESIRES OF THE WOLFMAN by Julianne Reyer: A newlywed couple faces their deepest fantasies and fears as they’re thrust from their little rural community into a world of werewolf turmoil and mystery.

CAT LOVER (Book 1) by Selena Kitt: Sebastian and Katie are having relationship issues when her ex shows up to complicate things, but that’s the least of their worries, because Katie is finally changing–into something not quite human.

BETTER MATE THAN NEVER by Adriana Hunter: Caleb Stone has wanted Paige for as long as he can remember but there’s a reason he’s always kept his distance. Wolves, more specifically, Lycan’s, can’t mate with humans. Worse, he can sense her incredibly intense hunger for him but he knows that he can never give her what she wants, or needs.But when Paige is kidnapped by a powerful enemy Caleb has no choice but to go after her even if it means revealing his true identity…even if means risking it all.

LUCAS by Eliza Gayle: An uneasy alliance, a mating call that won’t be denied, rituals that must be honored, and unrelenting enemies who will stop at nothing to get what they want. In the end, there’s really only one choice… for Lucas.

*  *  *

Need More Romance in Your Life? We Got Your Fix 😉

Free and Bargain romance eBooks delivered straight to your email everyday! Subscribe now! http://www.bookgorilla.com/kcc

BookGorilla-logo-small

★13★ Must-Have Freebies in Today’s KND Kindle Free Book Alert for Oct. 30 Featuring The Best Kindle Deals Anywhere…
Check Out This Spotlight Freebie: The Grimm Chronicles, Vol. 1

But first, a word from ... Today's Sponsor

The Grimm Chronicles, Vol. 1

by Isabella Fontaine, Ken Brosky
4.3 stars - 69 reviews
Supports Us with Commissions Earned
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here's the set-up:
200 years ago, the Brothers Grimm unleashed their stories upon the world. Literally.

Now the characters of the Grimms' stories walk among us. With every day that passes, they grow more evil. They are the Corrupted, and only a hero can stop them.

For 18-year-old Alice Goodenough, that means taking precious time off from her summer vacation. In addition to volunteering at the local library, Alice must stop the Corrupted who are now actively hunting her down. With the help of her magic pen and her trusty rabbit friend, the world has suddenly gotten a lot more complex. The Corrupted are everywhere, and only Alice can see them for what they truly are.

This book contains the first 3 episodes of the critically acclaimed series:

Episode 1: Prince Charming Must Die!

Alice Goodenough has been chosen to be the new hero, but not before undergoing a test to see if she's worthy. Shaken, confused, Alice discovers that her weapon is a magic fountain pen and
her ammunition is her mind: whatever she can draw, she can create. With the help of a rabbit friend, Alice must learn the ways of the hero and discover the truth about her frightening dreams: who is the terrible creature feeding on its victims at night?


Episode 2: Happily Never After

Alice's nightmares have begun to grow more real. Terrifying man-eating rats are plaguing the city of Chicago, and it's up to Alice to figure out a way to stop them. But before she can do that, she'll have to face off with an even more dangerous enemy sent to kill her.

An enemy that has killed heroes before ...


Episode 3: Revenge of the Castle Cats

After being rushed to the hospital, Alice Goodenough finds herself trapped in the worst dream imaginable: a horrible monster is hunting in the darkness, searching for its next victim: Alice. It will stop at nothing to kill her.

And that's not the worst of it. All across the city, people are growing more addicted to Castle Cats, a smartphone game created by Grayle Incorporated. And it's not just a game. The more you play, the more it controls you. Soon, Alice learns that the dwarfs who run Grayle Incorporated are watching her everywhere she goes, using human beings to spy on her.

There must be a confrontation. Sam Grayle and his brothers have to be stopped. And Alice is going to need help.

*  *  *

★12★ MORE FREEBIES – Just For Today!

Prices may change at any moment, so always check the price before you buy! This post is dated Wednesday, October 30, 2013, and the titles mentioned here may remain free only until midnight PST tonight.

Please note: References to prices on this website refer to prices on the main Amazon.com website for US customers. Prices will vary for readers located outside the US, and even for US customers, prices may change at any time. Always check the price on Amazon before making a purchase.

*  *  *

Animate Me

by Ruth Clampett

4.7 stars – 83 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:
She seemed far beyond his reach…could love draw them together? For years shy animator Nathan has carried a torch for Brooke, the beautiful and dynamic Director of Development at their animation studio, even creating B-Girl, a comic-book heroine in her likeness. When a new project throws the two of them together, lovestruck Nathan finally seizes his moment – only to find Arnauld, head of the animation studio, claiming exclusive rights to Brooke’s affections.

*  *  *

4.9 stars – 150 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:
Foreign Enemies And Traitors” is set in the near future in an America that is creeping steadily toward socialist tyranny, in the midst of the second Great Depression. A year after earthquakes have devastated the Tennessee Valley, survivors are resisting demands by the federal government to relocate to FEMA refugee centers. United States National Guard units have proven ineffective at forcing these survivors out of the earthquake-damaged regions, due to their reluctance to employ deadly force against fellow Americans.

*  *  *

Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:
Rowan had never wanted to be a hero. The role had just found her. Her heroics isolated her from her friends and she’s begun to regret her fifteen minutes of fame. But now the peaceful town of Durham, NC has once again been invaded by magic. Overrun by ravenous rats, the town is in big trouble. Rowan from the popular “Rowan Series” is back to once again defend Durham. Defeating the Evil Dr. Ravenen was no walk in the park and some new villain from fairyland seems to be behind this new threat. Rowan must summon all her courage to save her family, her friends, and her city, but this time even that might not be enough.

*  *  *

4.4 stars – 34 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:
Romance? Love? In this Once Upon A Romance Series Book 1 romantic comedy, Charlotte (Charlie) King doesn’t have time for either one. All she wants is her late father’s dream to come true by making his beloved King’s Department Store thrive again. However, her stepmother has other ideas. Charlie agrees to help her stepmother find grooms for her sheltered stepsisters. In exchange, the stepmother will release her stronghold on the store’s budget. After all, one good deed deserves another, right? But, Charlie has no idea what her heart’s in for when…

*  *  *

4.6 stars – 95 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:
Whether it’s cold and flu viruses, high blood pressure, or arthritis, herbs have offered reliable relief for centuries. Herbs Gone Wild! (Volume 1 of the Herbs Gone Wild! Series) shares practical remedies in an entertaining and easy-to-read format so you can be your family’s home herbalist. Learn what herbs to use for cold and flu symptoms, first aid, general aches and pains, and more. Medicinal teas and tinctures with proper dosages are laid out simply. You’ll even learn how to make your own tinctures and salves, saving money and improving your family’s health naturally.

*  *  *

Big Girls Do It Boxed Set

by Jasinda Wilder

4.3 stars – 113 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Or check out the Audible.com version of Big Girls Do It Boxed Set
in its Audible Audio Edition, Unabridged!
Here’s the set-up:
***Enjoy all four of the Big Girls Do It stories in one volume, with special expanded scenes available only in this collection!***

*  *  *

4.7 stars – 75 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:
The good folks at Mt. Zion Baptist are doing their best to keep the church flowing smoothly while Pastor Phillips takes time off to be with his wife in her final days. Beatrice “Mama B” Jackson even opens her home so that the women’s groups can continue to meet faithfully after some “rascal” stole the copper from the church’s air conditioning unit. With her semi-estranged granddaughter and great-grandson staying in the guest room, Mama B soon has a full house.

*  *  *

5.0 stars – 6 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:
The title alone is enough to entice you into this wonderfully written book by Moneca Sims. Behind the title a brilliant informative delivery of inspiring personal victory unfolds and gently draws the reader into a willing desire to initiate a physical and emotional change in their own life. The beauty of how Moneca delivers her epiphany is in the simplicity and summary manner in which she conveys some complex topics of weight loss, health and nutrition into a very easy read.

*  *  *

4.1 stars – 62 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Or check out the Audible.com version of Ambersley (Lords of London)
in its Audible Audio Edition, Unabridged!
Here’s the set-up:
Traumatized by a blaze that killed her parents, young Johanna remembers nothing of her privileged past and remains ignorant of the dangers that surround her. She grows up among the servants, where she develops a sense of purpose that helps her survive the betrayal that unmasks her true identity. Once she is forced to take her proper place in Regency society as the highly sought heiress to the Ambersley fortune, she must defy the relatives who would make her a pawn in their struggle for power.

*  *  *

100 Days in Deadland

by Rachel Aukes

4.6 stars – 91 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:
The world ended on a Thursday. In one day, the world succumbed to a pestilence that decimated the living. In its place rose a new species: vicious, gruesome, wandering zombies with an insatiable hunger for the living. There is no government. No shelter. No hope.

*  *  *

daynight

by Megan Thomason

4.3 stars – 239 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:
Earth’s benevolent non-profit by day, Thera’s totalitarian regime by night. Their motto: Because Everyone Deserves a Second Chance at Life(TM). Reality: the SCI subjects Second Chancers to strict controls and politically motivated science experiments like Cleaving–forced lifetime union between two people who have sex. Punishment for disobeying SCI edicts? Immediate Exile or death.

*  *  *

4.4 stars – 723 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:
Scientist Maryse Robicheaux thought that a lot of her problems had gone away with her mother-in-law’s death. The woman was rude, pushy, manipulative and used her considerable wealth to run herd over the entire town of Mudbug, Louisiana.

*  *  *

Check out our Free Book Search Tool for a boatload of free books

or check here for the best deals today on Kindle!

100kindlebooksKDDeals

 

bookgorilla99cent