Kill Shot By Amber Malloy

Synopsis: 

FROM POPULAR ROMANCE AUTHOR AMBER MALLOY

Book two in the Spies R Us series

The only thing standing in the way of one perfect life is her torturous past.

Invited to speak for the United Nations, International Attorney Ashe Marcille is on the fast track. However, everything changes when she finds her law partner dead. Left with no option but to abandon her hard-earned career, she goes on the run.

Walker Knight, owner of a high-tech security firm, left the spy games years ago. A former agent for J8, he had no intention of returning to that life until the agency calls in one last favor. It should have been an easy job—pick up then drop off a lawyer with no questions asked. But, best laid plans…

Attracted to the attorney from the minute he laid eyes on her, Walker sets out to solve her case. Until he can figure out who wants her dead, he’ll have to keep her close…very close.

Excerpt: 

O’Brien’s, the Midtown Manhattan pub, aired the NBA playoffs on every television in the bar. Walker Knight ordered another round of Jameson for his boys. His crew—younger than him by at least ten years—congratulated each other on a job well done.

“To the best security team this side of the Pacific.” He lifted his drink for a toast.
“Come on, boss. We thought you were going to say ‘in the world’,” a newbie joked.
“That’s a tall order. It’ll take more than one job together for that.” Walker wanted to celebrate, just not to the level of wasted. His crew had no problem staying up all night, but he needed to catch some zzzs. “Next round’s on me.”
They’d spent eighteen hours on a plane to the Middle East. In three short days the team had taken down a faction of a religious sect named Glory’s Soldiers. Pleased with their quick extermination of the zealots, WLK Security’s oil clients had provided them with a major bonus.
As he was signaling for the bartender to settle their tab, a newbie squeezed in beside him.
“What’s next?” the rookie asked.
With a total of three partners—two from his school days and one silent—they ran a private security firm. Walker led their missions and could always tell the adrenaline junkies from the dedicated worker bees.
“Give it a couple of days,” he lied. Walker honestly didn’t think he would see the guy again. The kid’s jumpy nature grated on his nerves.
The bar cheered at the Knicks’ three-point basket at the buzzer. After signing the credit receipt, he chucked deuces to his crew. Dead on his feet, Walker headed for the exit. He couldn’t wait for his head to hit the pillow.
As his phone vibrated in his pants, he fought the urge to ignore it, but habit forced him to fish it out of his pocket.
“Walker,” he answered.
“Well, if it isn’t my Knight in shining armor,” the woman cooed.
Walker stopped in his tracks. That voice was straight out of his past. A form of Neverland—not all bad, but not one he wanted to deal with.
A shoulder check from a drunk blonde got him back into gear. She winked on her way past, and he smiled in return but offered nothing more. “Thought I would never hear from you again. How did you crawl your way back from the dead, Eden Morgan?” he said.

Excerpt 2

As he stepped onto the wraparound porch to unlock the door, he promised himself to make this visit a quick in and out. J8 wanted Ashe released into their custody. If the agency didn’t have a history of turning and burning their targets, he would have given her up willingly a few weeks back.
Walker reached for the ancient lock and opened the front door to the blue-colored wood home. A full-on assault of rich tomato sauce intermingling with the ocean breeze smacked him in the face.
It had been closed off for the better part of a decade, so Walker hadn’t stepped into it since his teen years. Before Ashe’s arrival, sheets had covered the furniture. He took in the bright tones of blue and cream that warmed the house.
Following the sound of voices toward the patio, he noted the changes she’d made to the cottage since he’d stashed her there. Once furnished in thick fabrics and dark tones, the light and airy ambience enhanced the feel-good energy of his old summer haunt.
The sound of Ashe’s laughter drew him into the kitchen, where pots boiled and bubbled on top of the stove. His stomach rumbled from the heady aroma, but the sight of Ashe shook him to his core. Walker hadn’t felt this type of attraction to a woman in years.
Clad in a bikini and a skimpy cover-up, she stood outside the French doors. Wild, reddish-brown curls streamed down her back. He’d suggested she change her appearance, but he’d had no idea Ashe would resemble something out of a 1950s B-movie.
The absolute best genre ever!
“Are you looking to replace that flooring upstairs?” Nosey neighbor Tom’s nasally tone snapped him back to reality. “Dan, two streets over, is a whiz with carpentry.”
Ashe raked stray leaves from the pool with the cleaning pole. “Not sure. I’ll have to check with—” She stopped mid-sentence. “Speaking of the devil.”
Walker stepped out of the house, and she greeted him with a smile.
“Walker!” Tom scrambled to get up from the lounge chair. His nosey-ass neighbor had built his deck above eye-level of the fence, a fact that hadn’t gone unnoticed by his grandparents. “What’s it been…ten years?”
He waved for the old man to take a seat before he fell over. “I haven’t been able to get out this way much,” he admitted. Without his grandparents around, he’d felt no need to visit.
“Military, right? Then what? Private work for the government?”
Walker didn’t answer. He could tell the man didn’t know anything.
“Your fiancée here has been quite the hit around the neighborhood.”
“How so?” he asked, intrigued about Ashe’s title, among other things. She’d remodeled his grandparents’ home, cooked and flirted with his lusty neighbor. Apparently, the gorgeous attorney had been bored.
“What am I going on about? You two haven’t had a proper greeting. Go on and give your fella a smooch hello.”
“We’re fine. We don’t need to—” Walker began.
Ashe’s soft lips cut off his next word. Against good common sense but not his will, he put his hands around her waist and deepened their kiss.
A warm ball of lust spread through his body. Revved up, he wanted more, but she pulled out of his grip with a wink. “I’ve got dinner going. We’ll catch you later,” Ashe said to Tom.
“Oh, okay. Yeah, I’ve got a new Jeopardy to watch anyway,” Tom muttered.
Walker grabbed her hand and led her into the house.
With a sexy laugh, she hurried to close the double doors. “Sorry about that. The snitch would have ratted us out to the whole neighborhood by the time the ten o’clock news hit the air.”
Walker bit back a smile. “So, we’re engaged now…”