A missing girl from the past. A monster from the present…
When Bethany Stafford-Lyons accepted a position as personal assistant at Sirius Consulting, she didn’t expect to become embroiled in the murky world of American politics within a week of starting the job, but with money tight, she has little choice but to follow her new boss Alaric McLain overseas.
Together with Emmy Black, Alaric’s ex-girlfriend, they find themselves back on the trail of a stolen painting, but that’s not the only mystery they have to solve. Fourteen years ago, teenage homecoming queen Piper Simms disappeared, and finding her might be the only way to stop a criminal from stealing a seat in the US senate.
Catching a killer is all in a day’s work for Emmy Black, but her world is rocked by a betrayal from somebody very close to her. Can she fight back? Or will a ghost from the past destroy her future?
Red After Dark is the thirteenth novel in the Blackwood Security series.
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Excerpt – Bethany…
If two weeks ago, somebody had told me that I’d be sitting on a private jet heading for an apparently luxurious estate near Richmond, Virginia, I’d have died laughing.
But there I was, and quite honestly, there was nothing funny about the situation.
In fact, everyone on board looked tense.
Emmy Black was sitting at the table up front, pieces of gun spread out across the polished black wood in front of her. She’d been cleaning the thing since we left Northolt. When we hit turbulence half an hour ago, the bullets had all rolled onto the floor, and she’d cursed like hell while she crawled around retrieving them. Then she’d lined them up neatly on end again, exactly the same as they were before.
Sky Malone, her not-quite-eighteen-year-old sidekick, had downed a large glass of wine as soon as we levelled out, and now she was sprawled on the grey leather sofa, lips twitching. Even in sleep, she was unsettled. Could I blame her? Not really. She’d quit her whole life to work for Emmy, left everything she knew, and no way would Emmy give her an easy ride.
And then there was Alaric. My hot new boss. My hot new totally off-limits boss who rumour said had stolen ten million dollars from the FBI then done a bunk. I was almost certain that he hadn’t. Almost. There was still a tiny niggle at the back of my mind that wouldn’t let me trust him completely. I knew he lied. I’d seen him do it, smoothly, convincingly, without a hint of guilt clouding those soft brown eyes.
Excerpt – Emmy…
“We’re not taking the Corvette?” Daniela di Grassi dumped her bag next to my brand new Range Rover and made a face. “What sort of a road trip is this?”
Originally, Dan had booked this week off to go on vacation with her family, but then Ethan, her significant other, got asked to produce a charity single to raise money for a recent earthquake in Haiti, and he didn’t want to say no. And Caleb, their son, had been more excited about hanging out at the studio with a bunch of pop-star-rock-stars than a jaunt to Italy anyway, so they’d postponed the trip until summer. Caleb’s principal would be happy—she hated when Dan snuck him out of school, never mind that seeing the world was more of an education than a project on the life cycle of woodlice or whatever he was working on this week.
And me? I was happy too. Dan had been one of my best friends for over a decade, and with so much going on in our lives, we didn’t see enough of each other anymore. An adventure in Kentucky was just what the doctor ordered. Actually, I might need a whole hospital since Dan had offered to share the driving.
“No, we’re not taking the Corvette. Firstly, I can’t fit all my guns in the trunk, and secondly, if you’re taking a turn behind the wheel, this is the vehicle I want to crash in.”
“Oh ye of little faith.”
“How many times have you crashed this year?”
She counted on her fingers. “Four? Five? Does the fox count? It ran right out in front of me.”
“You needed a new bumper. Yes, it counts.”
“Well, how many speeding tickets has Mack disappeared for you?”
Mackenzie Cain was another of my besties as well as being Blackwood’s best hacker.
“Uh, two.”
“Really? This year? That seems low.”
“This month,” I admitted. “Put your stuff in the car, Dan.”
Excerpt – Sky…
“There’s been a change of plan,” Black said.
Day three of my new job, and I’d already drafted my resignation letter. The handwriting was a little shaky because I’d been too tired to hold the pen properly, but it was still legible.
So far, I’d run the equivalent of a marathon while Alex rode a trail bike alongside, lifted weights until I thought my arms were going to fall off while Black watched over me, turned black and blue through fight training, and possibly broken a toe when I tripped up the stairs in exhaustion. My ears were still ringing from shooting, and the amount of damage I could do with plants terrified me. I was never, ever eating anything cooked by Sofia. Carmen was also trying to teach me Spanish, but I couldn’t remember anything except joder.
And now Black wanted to change things?
“Does it involve me running anywhere? Because I’m not sure I can crawl.”
“I have to go to Kentucky.”
Hurrah. Did that mean I’d get a lie-in? “Have fun.”
“So you’ll have a new trainer tomorrow.”
Fucking fantastic. “Is he a sadist in his spare time?”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“Oh, good. Then he can’t possibly be as bad as the last trainer.”
“Tell me again why we hired you? Because it wasn’t for your charming personality.”
“Right now, I’m not even sure.”
Excerpt – Alaric…
They often used to sneak out to CJ’s Diner in the old days. CJ’s served the best cheeseburgers, and the high-sided booths kept private conversations safe from prying ears. Eight years had passed since Alaric last set foot in there, and the place hadn’t changed a bit. Same wood-panelled walls, same faded red vinyl seating, same crackly jukebox. Even the same waitress, although her hair was mostly grey now.
“I haven’t been here in forever,” Emmy murmured as Alaric led her towards “their” table—the one right at the back, nestled beside an ancient cigarette machine. An Out of Order sign was taped over the coin slot.
“What can I get ya, hun?” the waitress asked, no hint of recognition in her eyes.
Alaric already knew what Emmy would have. “Two cheeseburgers with everything, two portions of fries, one of onion rings, a diet cola, and a sparkling water.”
Emmy always said that if they split the onion rings, they could also split a dessert afterwards. Calories shared were calories halved. They’d spent hours in this place, talking and laughing about nothing in particular, but tonight, Emmy could barely muster a smile.
“They’ve got chocolate orange cheesecake.” Alaric nodded towards the glass counter at the front. “I bet it’s the same recipe.”
It had been her favourite. If he’d ever mustered up the courage to give her the ring he’d bought all those years ago, he’d planned to hide it in a slice.
“I’m not that hungry.”
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