Sexy Men of Mystery Book 6
Jessica Frost
About: Detective Greg Volenti has led a boring, lonely life up until now. All he’s ever cared about was his job, and catching the bad guys. After getting a lead in the murder he’s investigating, he gets into his car to head to the precinct. But someone’s in there waiting for him and knocks him out. He awakens later in the middle of the forest. No one’s around for miles, except a sexy, unconscious man lying near him. Who is this gorgeous man and what are they doing here together?
Micah Lawson wakes up when a handsome stranger shakes him. Frightened, at first he thinks this man’s the kidnapper who brought him here. But they soon realize they’re both the victims in this sick game.
They must put aside their doubts and fears and trust one another to survive. It proves easier said than done. Micah has an evil secret he’s keeping at all costs. As their sexual attraction and feelings of love blossom, so does the danger lurking in the forest. They aren’t alone. Someone’s listening, watching, and waiting for the perfect time to attack. Can they escape before whoever’s stalking them makes their move?
Excerpt: The icy coldness numbing his body was what awoke Detective Greg Volenti from unconsciousness. His head ached. The trees and their fallen leaves that surrounded him spun like a merry-go-round before his eyes.
“Where am I?” he asked when he lifted his head.
Vertigo reeled him over as he turned to the side and vomited. Bile and what remained of his chicken salad sandwich he’d eaten for lunch spewed from his throat, burning the lining of his esophagus in the process. Sharp, stabbing pains in his abdomen kept him hurling even though he’d emptied his stomach’s contents ten seconds ago. Ah man, that hurt!
He closed his eyes and waited until the spasms subsided and then sat up. His head continued to throb. He touched the back of it and felt a large bump. He didn’t remember hitting it. But from the size of the lump, it was a pretty strong blow.
After a few seconds, he realized his hands stung, as well. He pulled up his jacket’s sleeves slightly and saw scrapes and bruises across the front and side of his lower arms and hands.
He moaned, releasing the breath he’d held for some time. Taking in his environment, he found himself in an unknown wooded area. Panic struck him across the face like a locomotive. How did he get here? The last thing he remembered was getting into his car to head back to the precinct. A rag had suddenly appeared in his peripheral vision and before he could react, his assailant smothered him with whatever it was soaked in, most probably chloroform. Everything went black seconds later. And now he woke up here. How much time had elapsed?
He slowly stood and began to walk around. Other than the disturbed leaves in the area where he’d laid just seconds ago, there was no other sign he’d been dragged or carried to this place. It was as if he just appeared on the ground out of thin air. The possibility wasn’t probable, other than in works of fiction. Someone had obviously dragged or carried him here and then covered their tracks so he wouldn’t be able to figure out where they came from and in which direction he could escape.
Why? Who would have wanted to do this to him? What could they possibly gain from all this?
He had enemies. Yeah. Hell, he had many. Being a detective in the Newark Police Department, that came with the territory. Could this all be related to the homicide case he was working on now? Where three college students were kidnapped from their dorm rooms and found days later mutilated and hanging from tree stumps in various areas around the city? His detective senses said, yes, they were related.
What he didn’t understand was what they would gain by doing this. Was this some sort of game to distract him and the police department so the serial killer or killers could plot more kidnappings and killings? Or was this a warning that if he continued to investigate this case, then bad things would continue to happen to him?
Whatever the reason, all Greg knew was that he was steaming mad. He kicked the oak tree’s trunk in front of him as he continued to walk around the perimeter.
Nothing, no sign that anyone other than himself had been in the vicinity recently. Yeah, these bastards were smart. Damn smart. They knew how to clean the area of any telltale signs to help Greg solve the mystery of who they were and where they’d gone to.
He leaned on the tree and stared into the sky. The beaming early October sun brought some heat to his cold body, but not much. With only his light fall jacket as insulation, he’d freeze soon enough if he didn’t keep moving. Taking a deep breath, he pushed himself off the tree’s trunk and forged ahead.
He had been walking around for ten minutes and wondering how long it would take the guys at the precinct to realize he was missing and put out an APB, when he thought he heard moaning coming from up ahead.
He slipped his hand to where his holster usually sat on his hip before remembering he wasn’t wearing his gun. Other than the clothes on his back, he had no wallet, no cell phone, nothing on him, except his watch.
He thought he saw movement to his left. Hiding behind the tree beside him, he peeked in that direction. From what he could see, something was moving close to the ground. Getting in a crouched position, he moved closer, using trees and bushes as visual obstructions so whoever or whatever was moving wouldn’t notice his approach from the side.
More mumbles floated through the air. It didn’t take him long to realize someone was lying on the ground. He ran to the person. To his surprise he saw an extremely handsome, muscular, dark-haired male lying on the grass in the cover of two small trees. His arms rested by his side unmoving, but his head and legs thrashed from side to side. The man’s eyes fluttered open and closed as if he was fighting to gain consciousness. Greg knelt down beside him and touched his arm. A spark of electricity channeled through his fingers through their contact. An odd sensation of giddiness overcame him and his heart skipped several beats as he admired the unconscious stranger’s face and sinewy body. He touched the man’s cheek and felt like swooning. Why? Why was he reacting like this?
Could he have been drugged? Given some sort of aphrodisiac mixture that had his body acting in this way? He shook his head and tried to rein in his body’s reaction and focus on the dire situation at hand, which was who the hell this person was and what they were both doing here.
The man’s bewitching hazel eyes suddenly sprang wide open. The look of utter fear masked his expression. He jolted up into a sitting position and pushed away from Greg with his feet kicking. He glared up at him. “Who are you? Why did you bring me here?”
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Thanks so much for featuring my book on your blog. :)
ReplyDeleteJessica
You're most welcome, sweetie! :) xo
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