Excerpt and giveaway: Twisted Truths by Rebecca Zanetti
Twisted Truths by Rebecca Zanetti Series: Blood Brothers #2
Published by Headline Publishing Group on November 14th 2017
Pages: 432
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Twisted Truths is the third book in New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Zanetti's breathtaking romantic suspense series, Blood Brothers, that will be loved by fans of Karen Rose, Kylie Brant, Elaine Levine, Maya Banks's KGI series and Lisa Jackson.
Noni is desperate. Her infant niece has been kidnapped, and the only person who can save her is a private detective with too many secrets to count - and more enemies than he can name. A man who walked away from Noni without any warning a year ago and broke her heart. But with Talia's life on the line, Noni won't take no for an answer...
The moment Denver Jones sees Noni, the memories come rushing back. The fire in her eyes. The determination in her voice. The danger of having her in his life. Denver had to push her away once, but now with vicious criminals threatening Noni and her niece, he'll do whatever it takes to protect them. But enemies from his past are circling, and they'll use anything - and anyone - to get to Denver.
Twisted Truths Releases 14th Nov!!
She was leading a team, an untrained, totally vulnerable team, to chase after a dangerous gang member. And she was a lotion and candle maker, for God’s sakes. What the hell was she thinking?
It had been so long since she’d seen him, and within seconds, her entire body had flared to life. Her heart thundered. How could he still affect her like this?
There were times she wished she hadn’t met him…that she didn’t know what it felt like to be loved by him. To feel as if she were the only thing in the world for him.
She was good and strong and sweet and somebody he shouldn’t touch. But he’d wanted so badly to touch her, so he’d played a part he thought she’d like. For the briefest of time, he’d pretended he could be a normal guy courting an amazing woman. But he wasn’t normal, and he’d get her killed if she stayed in his life.
He was so close, she couldn’t move her hands from his chest. Every inch of her was caught by him. Unable to move.
Every night when he closed his eyes and tried to sleep, he saw her face. Smelled her scent. Not once had he let himself hope that he’d see her again. Touch her again. He’d figured his short time with her would have to sustain him for the rest of his life. The time when he’d almost had a life—a real one with her. He’d whispered ‘goodbye’ as he’d left town, and he’d meant it, even though his chest had felt like somebody had sliced into him with a blade.
Oh, she’d known he was a good private detective, but she hadn’t realized he was so comfortable with the darker and illegal side of life. There was so much she didn’t know about him.
Candles flickered in the middle of the table. He’d forgotten how much she liked to entertain. She’d been the first woman ever to cook for him and care if he enjoyed the meal or not. God, he’d missed her.
He’d tried not to love her, and he’d tried to protect her by being honest about his plans to leave. Apparently he’d fucked that one up seriously.
She was worried about his feelings? After what he’d done? Who he was? He swallowed and nodded, looking into his second empty bowl. He’d dreamed of meals like this with a woman like her years ago. It was too good to last.
“Leaving you hurt me. Losing myself in a bottle didn’t help, either.” He held himself perfectly still as if fighting himself.
A bottle? “You rarely drink.”
He breathed out. “I tried it but even that didn’t erase you. Nothing could.”
Short Excerpt
Slowly, numbly, she shrugged. “I knew you were dangerous and relentless in pursuing somebody,” she whispered. But a killer? Her search for him had held a romantic element, and she knew it. This guy was all edge—no romance. “Am I in danger?” Her voice quivered, but she had to know.
“Yes.” He didn’t move. Didn’t even seem to breathe.
She blinked. Rapidly. “From you?”
His eyes darkened. “No. The only thing I’m capable of breaking is your heart.”
Cold swam through her. The arrogance. “You think you broke my heart?”
His lip twisted. “I know I did.” His tone was low with what seemed like self-hatred. Dark and raw. “I’m sorry.”
Those words. She’d needed those words and hadn’t realized how badly. “Thank you,” she said, going on instinct. “Then how am I in danger?”
“I’m in danger, and anybody close to me is free game for an enemy who will keep coming until I’m dead. Until everything I care about, everything I dream about, is taken away and I want death.” He looked back down at the computer, intensity pouring from him.
Whoa. Okay. Denver didn’t have one bit of hysteria in him. His words scared her, but curiosity still rose up. “Who?”
“Irrelevant. As soon as we get Talia back, you have to forget me. Now. Back to Richie.”
She could live forever, and she’d never forget him. Not for one second had she been able to pretend he didn’t exist. But he was right. They had to find Talia, but he still needed to explain more. She had a right to know everything. “I have files on everything.” She threw her pack at Denver, and he easily caught it before it smashed him in the face.
He didn’t so much as frown. “Thank you.”
She swallowed. They were in the same room. After a year of hurting for him, he was right there in solid form. More than solid. She hadn’t imagined his hard body or intense charisma. He owned every room he walked into with no effort. She’d never met anybody like him, and here he was. Her body tingled, her heart ached, and her mind spun. Yeah. Denver was definitely there. “What now?” she asked, her eyes gritty and her throat scratchy.
“I’ll do some research.” Slowly, numbly, she shrugged. “I knew you were dangerous and relentless in pursuing somebody,” she whispered. But a killer? Her search for him had held a romantic element, and she knew it. This guy was all edge—no romance. “Am I in danger?” Her voice quivered, but she had to know.
“Yes.” He didn’t move. Didn’t even seem to breathe.
She blinked. Rapidly. “From you?”
His eyes darkened. “No. The only thing I’m capable of breaking is your heart.”
Cold swam through her. The arrogance. “You think you broke my heart?”
His lip twisted. “I know I did.” His tone was low with what seemed like self-hatred. Dark and raw. “I’m sorry.”
Those words. She’d needed those words and hadn’t realized how badly. “Thank you,” she said, going on instinct. “Then how am I in danger?”
“I’m in danger, and anybody close to me is free game for an enemy who will keep coming until I’m dead. Until everything I care about, everything I dream about, is taken away and I want death.” He looked back down at the computer, intensity pouring from him.
Whoa. Okay. Denver didn’t have one bit of hysteria in him. His words scared her, but curiosity still rose up. “Who?”
“Irrelevant. As soon as we get Talia back, you have to forget me. Now. Back to Richie.”
She could live forever, and she’d never forget him. Not for one second had she been able to pretend he didn’t exist. But he was right. They had to find Talia, but he still needed to explain more. She had a right to know everything. “I have files on everything.” She threw her pack at Denver, and he easily caught it before it smashed him in the face.
He didn’t so much as frown. “Thank you.”
She swallowed. They were in the same room. After a year of hurting for him, he was right there in solid form. More than solid. She hadn’t imagined his hard body or intense charisma. He owned every room he walked into with no effort. She’d never met anybody like him, and here he was. Her body tingled, her heart ached, and her mind spun. Yeah. Denver was definitely there. “What now?” she asked, her eyes gritty and her throat scratchy.
“I’ll do some research.”
Long Excerpt
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.”
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About Rebecca Zanetti
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Rebecca Zanetti has worked as an art curator, Senate aide, lawyer, college professor, and a hearing examiner – only to culminate it all in stories about Alpha males and the women who claim them. She writes dark paranormals, romantic suspense, and sexy contemporary romances.
Growing up amid the glorious backdrops and winter wonderlands of the Pacific Northwest has given Rebecca fantastic scenery and adventures to weave into her stories. She resides in the wild north with her husband, children, and extended family who inspire her every day–or at the very least give her plenty of characters to write about.
