Almost Release Time

THE BIG GUNS, the final book in my Mystery Men miniseries from Intrigue, officially comes out next week but appears to be shipping from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Yay!!!

I think of this as a woman-in-peril story. Sometimes folks view the woman in this type of story as weak. I don't. The heroine, Sela, is very pretty and a lot of people write her off as a hot, dumb blonde. Many think she's sleeping with the boss, Trevor. She's none of those things. I see her as a survivor. Here's an example – after she's kidnapped (that's not a spoiler since it happens in Chapter 1) and Zach comes to the rescue, she doesn't sit down and cry. She fights.

"Sela, don't move!" The harsh whisper echoed around her.

Zach.

Short brown hair and a lean body that proved he had not gone soft since his days in the military. She couldn't see him, but she sensed him. He found her. Just one more unfairness on the worse day of her life.

She tried to climb to her feet but he grabbed her around the waist and lifted her up as if she weighed little more than a kitchen towel. She kicked out her legs and fought him anyway.

"Stop," he ordered.

That was never going to happen. The fear pumping through her had her keyed up and ready for battle. She called him every name she could think of and none of them nice.



He coughed when she landed a heel in his shin. "I have parents."

She stilled. "What?"

"They're likely sitting on a sofa in Pennsylvania."

"I don't-"

"So that particular nickname you just called me doesn't apply."

"You're joking? Now?" Did he think it would calm her down? Because it did and the realization made her furious.

"Do you have a better strategy?" he asked.

"Yeah, we get out of here before Johnnie finds us." Hope skipped through her. "Unless you killed him."

"First, keep your voice down." Zach's grip loosened but not enough for her to slip away. "Second, he's very much alive. Bleeding and dumb as a stick, but alive."

For some reason, that struck her as the wrong answer. "Why?"

Zach pressed a finger against his lips. "Quiet."

"Just kill him and be done with it."

"Bloodthirsty little thing, aren't you?"

"I have no idea why you showed up when you did, but I've got to get out of here." She lowered her voice when Zach scowled. "You can either help me or not, but I'm going."

When she started squirming again, he clamped her feet between his legs and trapped her arms by her sides. "You're going to hurt yourself."

"I'm going to hurt you." She clenched her teeth together and strained her neck. She tried to lift her arms but his iron hold settled around her again.

"Probably, but then you won't have any way out of here. Now, stop." Zach whispered his harsh command against her ear.

She froze this time. No movement at all. "Out?"

"Yes."

"We're leaving?"

"I'm not sure yet."

Wrong answer. "When will you be?"

"Still deciding the best way to proceed, but I can think of better places to spend an evening than with that guy." Zach's voice softened, but his grip sure didn't.

"What are you talking about?"

"In case you didn't notice, the creature in that cabin wants you dead or, at the very least, plans to take you to someone who does."