“Me too.” She cuddled into his arms. God, she fit so well against him. “I want to keep running my catering business. Charlie might quit and I don’t blame him, but he might stay on. He’s got a few things to think about, he said.”
Gabe gritted his teeth hearing her talk about another guy. She was in his arms, after all.
“But the company is a part of me and I want to keep it going. The government officials gave me some resistance about being able to visit An-mei wherever they take her, but Harte said there might be some provisions made in conjunction with Centurion Corporation, plus he had a talk with me about the kitchen here.”
“You provide a calming influence for us.” He kissed her forehead. “Stabilizing. And you feed us good.”
She pressed kisses along his jaw, just about driving him crazy. “Basically what he said. So long as I can commute from here to the city when I have catering engagements, I like the idea of living here. He said we could have the guest cabin, or another residence could be built. I’m kind of blown away by the idea.”
“We.” He couldn’t hold back any more. Rational conversation was going to have to hold for a while. “You said ‘we.’”
She kissed him then, hot and inviting, until they were both breathless. “I love you, Gabe. So yes, ‘we.’ Zhí zĭ zhī shŏu, yŭ zĭ xié lăo. For life or for death, holding your hand, and aging with you.”
He’d tried so hard to go it alone for so long. He’d fucked up a lot of things in his life. But somewhere, sometime in his truly crazed life he must’ve done something good, because here she was, and she was his.
And he was hers.
“I love you, Maylin.” And he was going to show her. Over and over.
* * * * *
We hope you enjoyed HIDDEN IMPACT! Watch for DEADLY TESTIMONY, the next book in the SAFEGUARD series, coming in 2016 from Piper J. Drake and Carina Press.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Courtney Miller-Callihan, for believing in me and for endless patience with my random insanity.
Thank you to Katee Robert and Christi Barth for your encouragement and concise advice. Without you, I don’t know how long it would’ve taken me to gather the courage to make the leap.
Thank you to Angela James and Stephanie Doig for your help in bringing this story from rough to polished.
Coming soon from Piper J. Drake
and Carina Press
Deadly Testimony
Contracted Defense
About the Author
Piper J. Drake (or “PJ”) began her writing career as “PJ Schnyder” writing science fiction and paranormal romance and steampunk. She has recently received the FF&P PRISM award for her work, as well as the NJRW Golden Leaf award and Parsec award.
Now Piper is exploring the complexity of romantic suspense.
Play Find the Piper around the internet for insight into her frequent travels and inspirations for her stories.
PiperJDrake.com
When there’s danger lurking, count on the Men of Midnight to save the day.
MIDNIGHT VENGEANCE
Men of Midnight, book one
“A long-awaited return to Lisa Marie Rice’s beloved series.”—Fresh Fiction
Morton “Jacko” Jackman isn’t afraid of anything. He’s a former Navy SEAL sniper, and he’s been in more firefights than most people have had hot meals. Lauren Dare scares him. Gorgeous, talented and refined, she’s the type of woman who could never be interested in a guy like him. So he’s loved her fiercely in secret. Until now.
MIDNIGHT PROMISES
Men of Midnight, book two
“I’d highly recommend MIDNIGHT PROMISES to any romantic suspense reader. You won’t be able to put it down.”—Harlequin Junkie blog, Top Pick
Felicity Ward is no stranger to secrets. Raised in the Witness Protection Program, her whole childhood was a lie. But she couldn’t have known that her family’s secrets—secrets she didn’t even know she was keeping—could spark a nuclear war. And nothing could have prepared her for the tough, sexy warrior who first saves her life and then vows to protect it, no matter what.
MIDNIGHT SECRETS
Men of Midnight, book three
“Every now and then a book falls in my lap that keeps me up all night. MIDNIGHT SECRETS did that exactly!”—Bitten by Love Reviews
Former Navy SEAL Joe Harris nearly died—twice—on a medevac helo after being blown up by an IED. He’s not moving too great these days, but if there was ever a woman designed to jump-start a man’s hormones, it would be his new neighbor. Meeting Isabel—loving Isabel—brought Joe back to life, and he’s not going to let anyone take her from him, not even a high-powered politician who needs to keep Isabel from remembering what he’s done.
MIDNIGHT FIRE
Men of Midnight, book four
The boy Summer Redding loved and thought dead is back—now he’s a hardened warrior, a man out for revenge, and he’ll fight to the death to protect what is his, and that includes her.
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Discover suspense, MC action and romance in Jill Sorenson’s Dirty Eleven series. RIDING DIRTY and SHOOTING DIRTY are available now!
RIDING DIRTY
Dirty Eleven, book one
“Sorenson has done her homework, capturing the culture of this group of outlaws while providing electrifying steaminess, which will leave readers breathless and hungrily awaiting SHOOTING DIRTY.”—Library Journal, starred review
Psychologist Mia Richards wants revenge. Her new client, tattooed Cole “Shank” Shepherd, provides the perfect means. She just has to manipulate the felon-turned-informant into eliminating her husband’s killers—members of a rival motorcycle club. The first step, seducing Cole, is simple. As for walking away before she falls hard—it’s already too late…
SHOOTING DIRTY
Dirty Eleven, book two
Ace Clemmons has wanted Janelle from the moment he first saw her. Taking her captive while he carried out his last hit as a member of Dirty Eleven nearly broke him. Now that he’s gone straight, he’s back in her life, looking to stake his claim. He can’t erase the past but he’ll do anything to make it up to her.
Janelle Parker needs a new start, far away from the trailer park and the strip club. A down and dirty affair with a tattooed criminal is a step in the wrong direction, but she can’t resist Ace’s deliciously commanding touch, which has haunted her dreams for months. Soon they’re both in too deep, falling hard and fast—until an old feud with a rival motorcycle club explodes into an all-out war. Dirty Eleven’s enemies won’t hesitate to hurt Janelle to get to Ace. She has to fight to survive…and for the fiercest love she’s ever known.
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Addicted to shows like CSI and The Blacklist?
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Lara had hoped to come into this new position without dragging any of her past behind her. She’d wanted a clean start, but that wasn’t going to happen now.
“We have to assume that with Lara’s photo out there it’s possible that somebody in Moretti’s ring might see it and know that it was Lara who infiltrated them two
years ago. It’s possible somebody is out there and looking for revenge.” Victoria looked at Lara. “Maybe it’s time for you to disappear again for a little while until we see how this all plays out.”
“No.” The single word fired out of Lara like a gunshot. “I’m not hiding any longer. I spent over a year in a safe house and I’m not going into lockdown now or ever again.” No way. No how. She needed to get her life back on track.
“So, how high might the risk be to Lara?” Xander asked.
“As I said, with Lara’s help we managed to get Moretti and some of his men behind bars, but we don’t know who might have slipped our noose,” Victoria replied. “And we don’t know how far Moretti’s reach might be beyond his prison walls.”
“I’m not backing down,” Lara said firmly. She’d given up enough because of that monster. She wasn’t about to sacrifice another piece of her soul to the man.
She clenched her hands into fists beneath the table. She needed this job. She needed this new assignment to work out. Her undercover work had made her a virtual pariah within the FBI organization. The last thing she wanted was for this new gig not to work. Then she’d be relegated to desk duty for the rest of her career.
“I’ve got her back if any threats come her way,” Nick said, his dark eyes unfathomable as he held Lara’s gaze.
“We all have her back,” Mei said. The same sentiment rang out from everyone around the table.
Lara might have been grateful if these weren’t all new teammates, if she’d developed a trust with any of them. But, she hadn’t had time to build any confidence in them and ultimately knew she could only depend on herself.
Victoria looked at her again, a question lingering in her eyes.
“I’m here to stay,” Lara said grimly. Moretti was in prison, but even while she’d spent so much time in the safe house in the darkest, deepest recesses of her mind, she’d always known somehow that it wasn’t finished…
Catch all 8 parts of this brand new crime serial. Part one is available free!
TOUGH JUSTICE: EXPOSED (Part 1 of 8) by New York Times bestselling author Carla Cassidy
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You’ll love… .
TOUGH JUSTICE
Justice is worth every sacrifice.
A brand new 8 part reading experience!
FBI Agent Lara Grant has finally put her life as an undercover operative behind her and started a new assignment in New York City. But her past and present collide and become ever more twisted as a spate of murders send a message that is cruelly, chillingly personal…
Tough Justice: Exposed (Part 1 of 8) by New York Times bestselling author Carla Cassidy
Tough Justice: Watched (Part 2 of 8) by Tyler Ann Snell
Tough Justice: Burned (Part 3 of 8) by Carol Ericson
Tough Justice: Trapped (Part 4 of 8) by Gail Barrett
Tough Justice: Twisted (Part 5 of 8) by Gail Barrett
Tough Justice: Ambushed (Part 6 of 8) by Carol Ericson
Tough Justice: Betrayed (Part 7 of 8) by Tyler Ann Snell
Tough Justice: Hunted (Part 8 of 8) by Carla Cassidy
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ISBN-13: 9781459290211
Hidden Impact
Copyright © 2015 by Piper J. Drake
Edited by Angela James and Stephanie Doig
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.
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Hidden Impact Page 26