What’s a girl to do
when she falls in love with the man whose mission it is to bring her down?
With the murder of her
only sister, Sara, just a few months past, Lily Valier—a woman of beauty and
substance—tops the sheriff’s list of suspects in small town Maine, and for a
very good reason. Dear old Dad had willed his fortune to Sara and only Sara,
leaving Lily to fend for herself. However, with no murder weapon or witnesses,
the evidence against Lily is only circumstantial.
Enter P.I. Aiden
O’Rourke, black-haired and blue-eyed, charged with gaining Lily’s trust and
learning her secrets, all to finally get the goods on her. Things move fast and
feelings run deep, yet when Lily discovers the truth about Aiden, everything
begins to come apart.
Aiden’s torn. Despite
his feelings for her, Lily is the most logical suspect, with a great big fat
motive. Except something’s not quite right. Aiden trusts his instincts and
they’re screaming at him to have a look at a former suspect with far more to
hide than first appeared. With little left to lose, Lily decides to stand her
ground, and staying put has its consequences when the murder weapon finally
turns up—and it’s Lily’s gun.
What happens to love,
when trust is betrayed?
Excerpt
The ghosts of those we love never leave us.
They live on in our hearts but break them too, Lily thought as she flipped the
sign on the door of the Higgstown Diner from “Open” to “Closed.” Then she sank
wearily onto a stool at the counter, finally at the end of the workday. Now she
could let loose the heaviness weighing her down. Hot tears stung her eyes and
she let them. It was OK. There was no one around to witness her breakdown. She
rested her head in her hands and heaved with sobs.
“Sara, please talk to me. Give me a sign
you’re still around,” Lily said to the air. “I miss you so much.” More tears
washed down her cheeks. It had been three months since her sister’s death, and
there was still no escaping Sara’s ghost. Even the chipped Arborite counter
where she now sat, with the wonky red upholstered stool that swiveled just a
little too much to the right, brought back memories. Lily could see her older
sister as plainly as if she were standing in front of her now, black hair piled
high in a bun and that blue eye shadow she was so fond of. Lily smiled through
her tears.
Sara had been a whiz at the grill, whipping
up orders faster than Lily ever could. God, how long had the diner been a part
of their lives? More than twenty-five years, she guessed. They were just kids
when their mother, Nancy, bought the place—Lily, seven, and Sara, twelve.
A creak came from the back of the diner.
Lily lifted her head to listen. Another small groan of the floorboards. Could
Sara be giving her a sign?
“Sara?” Lily slid off the stool.
A tall, dark figure loomed in the doorway.
Lily froze, her heart near exploding. “What
do you want?” she choked out in a thin voice.
He stepped nearer. “Open the register.” His
voice was a deep whisper.
A balaclava hid his face; the seams of a
dark gray coat strained over a thickly muscled physique. He aimed the gun in
his right hand at her chest.
Her feet seemed rooted to the floor.
“I said, open the register.”
The man moved close enough for Lily to
catch his scent—a mix of sweat and cheap aftershave. He shoved her forward,
snapping her from her stupor, and followed as she made her way behind the
counter to the cash register.
A glowing red light caught her attention.
She hadn’t turned off the coffee maker! In one quick movement, Lily grabbed the
pot’s plastic handle and launched the scorching brew at the woolen knit of the
intruder’s balaclava. The gun landed with a thud between his booted feet as he
clawed at the steaming mask plastered to his face.
Now was her chance. Lily shouldered past
him to the front door. Her fingers, thick and clumsy with panic, fumbled as she
tried in vain to turn the two deadbolt locks. She ordered herself to calm down.
Take a breath. C’mon, you can do this, she told herself, but her heart
jackhammered in her chest, and her ears pulsed with the rush of blood behind
them.
Suddenly, a face appeared on the other side
of the glass front door of the diner, sending Lily backward, nearly tripping
over her own feet.
The stranger on the other side of the door
took her in. A look of confusion flickered across his face. Then, as if coming
back to himself, he yelled, “Hurry. Unlock the door!” The cold night air
whipped his dark hair wildly around his face. His pale blue eyes locked on
hers.
Panic had hijacked her brain. She didn’t know
what to do. He could be an accomplice.
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Bio
Jeanne Bannon has worked in the publishing industry for
over twenty years, first as a freelance journalist, then as an in-house editor
for LexisNexis Canada. She currently works as a freelance editor and writer and
is represented by Karen Thomas of the Serendipity Literary Agency.Jeanne’s debut novel, Invisible, is a young adult paranormal romance, published by Solstice Publishing and has recently been optioned for film. Invisible is an Amazon bestseller both domestically and internationally and continues to receive wonderful reviews.
On October 3rd, 2014, Nowhere to Run, Jeanne’s latest novel, is set to be released by Etopia Press. Nowhere to Run tells the story of Lily Valier, a woman of substance and beauty, and her dilemma when she falls in love with a man whose mission it is to bring her down.
Currently, Jeanne is finishing up work on her third novel, Dark Angel, a paranormal thriller.
When not
reading or writing, Jeanne enjoys spending time with her daughters, Nina and
Sara and her husband, David. She’s also the proud mother of two fur babies, a
cuddly and affectionate Boston Terrier named Lila and Spencer, a rambunctious
tabby, who can be a very bad boy.
Links:
Twitter: @JeanneBannon
FB author page: https://www.facebook.com/Jeanne.Bannon.author
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