Welcome to another Snippet Saturday! Today’s theme is ‘Emotional’. Check out my excerpt from Dangerous Grounds, and then click on the links below to read others!
Somethings hot in Seattle, and its not just the espresso. The Seattle Steam series. Madisons needs are simple. All she wants are two things: Make Ooo La Latt the newest trend in espresso, and seduce the sexiest cop in Seattle.
But things arent going exactly as planned. First, Gabes a little hung up on the fact that shes his best friends little sister, and hes determined to keep his hands off. Second, her shop gets robbed by the increasingly violent Espresso Bandit, and now shes the only one who can identify him. Gabe whisks her into hiding for her own protection, but soon finds his heart is under assault by the lusciousand persistent Madison.
But no matter where they hide, danger follows. On such dangerous grounds, the trick will be to live long enough to keep the flame alive.
EXCERPT
The first shot may have missed, but the man who stood in the entrance to the shop had raised his gun to take aim at Madison again.
“Get down, Maddie!” Gabe ordered as he pulled his own gun from its holster and put in a quick call for backup.
Madison snapped out of her frozen stupor, and finally fell to the ground so fast it was almost comical.
Gabe used the espresso counter as cover and stood just enough to where he could get off a shot. The other man had the same idea, and right after Gabe fired, a stinging heat seared across his shoulder.
The other man wasn’t unscathed either. He groaned and grabbed his arm, then turned and fled the shop.
Gabe jumped up and ran after him, his feet pounding the sidewalk as he tried to keep up. But the man had a car parked near the curb, and a second later he jumped in it and squealed out of the parking lot.
“Shit.” He slowed to a walk and put his gun back in the holster, then reached for his radio. After calling in a description of the getaway vehicle, he gave his shoulder a tentative roll to determine the extent of his own injury.
Very little blood and pain. It was only a graze, nothing serious. He turned and hurried back to the shop.
Madison wasn’t in sight and his heart pounded with sudden fear.
“Maddie?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
Gabe followed the sound of her voice to behind the counter. She still lay on her stomach, her face cushioned on her arm. She didn’t sit up or even turn to look at him.
“You can get up now. It’s safe.”
“I know.”
Gabe sighed, not in the mood to accommodate the hysterics she might be ready to embark on.
“Do you think I’m a complete idiot?” Her voice trembled. “Because I am. I was so damn sure of myself and my own invincibility. If he had shot me, I would have deserved it.”
His anger diminished some. She realized she’d been out of line. This was the Maddie he liked and admired. Gabe knelt down beside her and rubbed her back.
“You deserve a good spanking, but not to get shot. That reminds me.” He glanced up at the sound of sirens.
“What?” She sat up and gave him a quizzical look. “You want to spank me?”
“No, I need to have my arm looked at.”
“Your arm? Oh, God!” Madison lurched to her feet to inspect his injury. “Oh my God! You were shot? Gabe, you were shot! This is all my fault.”
She started to babble and tears were falling. Gabe’s mouth twitched with slight amusement, even if it was wrong. He watched her for another moment before trying to calm her down.
“It’s a graze, Maddie.” He pulled her into the curve of his good arm. “I don’t even feel it. Easy, girl.”
“A graze?” She hiccupped. “Are you sure? You need to go to the hospital. Now. Go get it looked at, Gabe. Please, before you bleed to death.”
Gabe laughed, and before he could respond the bell above the shop rang. He gently set her aside and went to greet the half-dozen officers who’d just arrived. Brian came in behind Sarah, Maddie’s lone employee. He watched as the girl rushed to Maddie’s side.
“Oh no! What happened? Madison? Are you okay?”
Thankfully she had a friend to talk to now. Maddie still looked pretty shaken.
Gabe turned back to the officers and began to fill them in on the situation. Once done he turned to glance at Madison who still spoke with Sarah.
“She was lucky she wasn’t shot,” Brian said, shaking his head.
“Yeah, she ran out alone ahead of me. I told her not to. The woman doesn’t seem to get how bad this situation is.” He jerked a hand through his hair. “This is getting way too dangerous for her. Look, I need to get my arm checked out, and I want to have a talk with the sergeant. I’m going to head out. Brian, stay alert and keep her—them—safe.”
“Of course,” the younger man said, his hand covering the gun at his side. “Nothing’s going to happen.”
“Damn right,” Gabe muttered and walked out the door. “I’m going to see to it.”
Jaci Burton
Eliza Gayle
Michelle Pillow
Mandy Roth
Juliana Stone
Lacey Savage
McKenna Jeffries
Moira Rogers
Taige Crenshaw
Vivian Arend
Sasha White
Ashley Ladd
Victoria Janssen
Shelli Stevens
Shelley Munro
TJ Michaels
Lauren Dane
Beth Kery
Leah Braemel
