Title: Valor
Series: Until You, Book 4
Author: Karrie Roman
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: January 14, 2019
Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 85800
Genre: Contemporary, law enforcement, shark photographer, kidnapping, attempted murder, older MC
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Synopsis
Years ago Asher Winsome almost lost his
life in the jaws of a great white shark. It was the scariest moment of his
life—until his four-year-old nephew is kidnapped. Called home to be with his
family, who see him as the black sheep, Asher must rely on every bit of his
courage if he’s going to help get his nephew back. But this is not an ordinary
kidnapping. And the outcome will leave Asher running for his life.
Former FBI agent Alec Banner buries
himself in his work to forget everything that’s missing in his life. His job,
at a private company run by an old friend, locating missing children can be
tough and brutal, but Alec is no stranger to working with the worst of
humanity. From the minute he’s called to help on the Winsome kidnapping he
knows something is different.
Thrown together under such difficult
circumstances Asher and Alec are drawn to each other’s unrelenting courage even
in the face of their fears. But a relationship begun under such impossible
stress can’t survive. When his job is finished Alec runs from Asher and his
growing feelings, but the danger hasn’t passed, in fact it has only just begun.
And both men will need to be brave if they are to survive.
Excerpt
Valor
Karrie Roman © 2019
All Rights Reserved
Prologue
Jesus Christ, he couldn’t get out of
that happy, fucking home quick enough. The fact he’d put a bullet between the
eyes of an abusive monster less than twenty-four hours ago wasn’t what had Alec
Banner’s heart aching, his breath stuttering, and his legs itching to run. No,
he’d had little trouble doing that.
What had him fleeing from the company of
a man he considered his best friend, and three other men who’d become very
important to him, had been all the fucking love wafting around the
room—infecting everyone but him.
Alec had been friends with Ben Cronin
for well over a decade. Though they’d lost contact for a few years, they’d
reconnected close to a year ago. These days, he spent plenty of time with Ben.
They’d been working together for several months now, locating missing and
abducted children. Working at Chasing Hope was grueling, but very rewarding.
Alec didn’t regret leaving the FBI to join Ben’s company at all.
It wasn’t Ben he was fleeing, though.
Nor was it Ben’s partner. Ethan was a fucking dreamboat, but Ben was the lucky
asshole who’d snagged his heart. Alec had no problem admitting he had a tiny
crush on Ethan. Would it ever cause trouble between him and Ben? Fuck no,
because no matter what, there was no way Alec would ever do anything about it.
Alec Banner had a lot of faults, but disloyalty wasn’t one of them. He’d pine
away for Ethan like a miserable bastard until he—hopefully—found a dreamboat of
his own to love.
No, despite his messy feelings, the
reason Alec was fleeing Ben’s brother’s house before he completely fucking lost
it was because he couldn’t stand to see how happy the two couples there were.
He’d witnessed the love between Ben and Ethan for months, and despite them
going through a really rough time, they’d been going through it together. Alec
had seen firsthand what it should be like to have a real partner. Someone to
love, to care about. Someone who’d have your back no matter what.
Instead, he was expected to fucking sit
back and watch how happy Ben’s brother, Cameron, and his lover, Zach, were? He
couldn’t do it. Selfish maybe, but he was nearly forty years old and he’d had
one boyfriend who’d lasted six months and a nine-month relationship with a
woman, which had been explosive but ultimately fizzled out because she wouldn’t
walk down the aisle with him. Her refusal had hurt like hell at the time, but
looking back on it, years later, he was so glad Heather had rejected him. He
was pretty sure he’d be a divorced father of three by now if she hadn’t.
Here was Zach, who was
twenty-fucking-two and had found the love of his life in Cameron, and try as he
might, Alec couldn’t shake the jealousy. He wanted that; he wanted what those
men had.
There was only one thing Alec knew of to
help when life went to shit, and that was work. He never turned to the bottle
or eating his feelings when he was miserable, like some people did. Alec’s
choice of pick-me-up was to tuck his head down and his ass up and get stuck
into as much work as possible.
He pulled out his phone and thumbed
through his contacts. Ryan Lowe was near the top of his list. Ryan was the
brains and bank behind Chasing Hope, the company Alec worked for locating
missing kids. Ryan had told Alec earlier he may have a job for him, and as he
hit the call button he hoped to god Ryan did. Alec desperately needed something
to keep him busy.
“Alec, how’d it go?” Ryan answered
without preamble.
Alec knew Ryan would have heard from Ben
or Ethan that they’d rescued Zach from Cameron’s crazy ex, but he wasn’t
exactly sure if they’d have told him how far they’d gone, so he offered only a
concise answer. “Good. All done. What else have you got for me?”
“Well, I’m sure we’ve got a case, but
I’m waiting to hear back. I’ve already got Jacey putting a file together for
you. Little boy, four, was taken this morning from his local park. The family
is affluent and well-known in their community. The mother is certain there’ll
be a ransom demand. She wants the cops called, but she’s getting pushback from
her husband and the in-laws. I think you should head out to them ASAP, see what
you think and be ready to act.”
His phone beeped as Ryan spoke, likely
to signal the arrival of the file from Jacey. She was an absolute genius with
technology, and he expected she’d have provided him with information, not only
about the immediate family but the extended one, including friends, staff, and
coworkers. Knowing Jacey, he’d even get information on the people the parents
went to kindergarten with. She’d have dug up whatever dirt there was to find in
a short amount of time, and no doubt she’d already be digging through old data
to find even more.
“Got it. Where am I headed?”
“Del Mar. Get a flight to San Diego.
I’ll get a hotel booked for you in Del Mar and text the details.”
“On my way.”
“Hey…you okay, Alec?”
Ryan was a sweetheart, tender and caring
and far too innocent for this line of work. And yet he’d dragged himself into
the misery of missing kids because he wanted to help—and found himself in a
position where he could. He was one of the good guys, but Alec worried how it
would all affect him. Alec had been dealing with scum for years; he knew the
horror stories, and he’d hardened his heart to them, but Ryan? Alec worried
about him.
“Tired, that’s all. I’m fine, Ryan, but
thanks for caring.”
They exchanged a few niceties regarding
Ryan and his partner, Lucas. Alec repeated several more times that he was, in
fact, all right, despite the events of the past twenty-four hours, when Ryan
asked before hanging up.
Alec made his way to the airport and
settled in to wait for his flight. Getting in and out of Cody, Wyoming, wasn’t
always easy. He didn’t mind curling up on one of the uncomfortable chairs
common to most airports while he waited, though. He pulled out his tablet and
opened the file Jacey had sent him.
The Winsome family of Del Mar wasn’t
simply affluent, they were filthy fucking rich. The patriarch was one Edmund
Winsome, who was a founding partner of one of the biggest law firms in Southern
California. Matriarch Phyllis Winsome had brought her family’s considerable
wealth to the marriage and together they had built a formidable empire for
their two sons. From the images Jacey sent, they were an austere-looking couple
who screamed wealth from every perfectly coiffed hair on their heads.
Oldest son—and father of the missing
boy—Kane Winsome worked for his father’s firm. He hadn’t quite made partner
yet, but from what Alec read, he was well on his way. Alec found the photo
Jacey had sent and studied the image of Kane Winsome. He was a younger version
of his father. Light-brown hair was cut to within an inch of its life and was
gelled into what was probably the latest style, steel-gray eyes glared at the
lens, and thin lips pursed to show their impatience with whomever had taken the
photo. Alec tried not to judge a book by its cover, but if he had to, then the
title would be Pride and Prejudice. A more modern day Fitzwilliam Darcy he
couldn’t imagine finding.
Kane’s wife, Madeline, came from a
wealthy family herself, though not on the scale of the Winsome’s wealth. She
worked as a florist and could not look more opposite to her husband if she
tried. She had a mane of flowing, dark, almost black hair that perfectly
matched her dark skin. Her eyes were a deep brown but were lit by what Alec
suspected was her natural joie de vivre. It was hard to tell from a photo, but
she looked petite. Alec had no doubt she would be a lioness, though, when it
came to her loved ones. While her husband glared and pouted at the camera,
Madeline Winsome laughed and flirted with it.
He scrolled to another image—this one of
Kane and Madeline together each holding hands with a toddling child he assumed
to be the missing Jack. The photo must be at least a year old given that Jack
was now four. The family looked—happy. Gone was Kane’s stern face, replaced
with a beaming smile, his gaze fixed on his son. Madeline looked the same as in
the solo photo as she, too, stared at her son. The little boy was adorable. His
smile matched his parents’ as he seemed to be frozen in an attempt to take an
ungainly step. The photo captured more than a simple image of family—it
portrayed love, purely and simply.
Alec would read the file more thoroughly
on the plane and over the days to come, but for now, he only wanted to get a
feel for this family. He couldn’t even begin to imagine the hell they must be
going through.
Movement around him alerted him to the
fact that his flight was boarding. Alec took his place in line, greeting the
staff politely as always. He was a firm believer in catching more flies with
honey than vinegar, and a pleasant exchange with airline staff had him either
sitting in an exit row or with an extra beverage more times than he cared to
remember.
He made his way to his seat, delighted
to see an almost empty flight. With luck, the two seats beside him would remain
vacant so he might be able to get a couple of hours sleep. He settled in and
took another look at the files while he waited for takeoff.
Next in the file was the second son,
Kane’s brother. As Alec skimmed his bio, he realized instantly that Asher
Winsome was the black sheep of the family. He too had studied law, as his
father and brother had, but Asher’s most recent job was listed as marine
photographer, location—varied. Interesting.
Alec scrolled to the attached
photograph, his eyes popping like some kind of cartoon character. Jesus Christ,
he’d never seen anyone more gorgeous. Asher Winsome was drop-dead stunning. The
photo wasn’t even a good one, so he could only imagine how devastating the man
would be in real life. His hair was a few shades darker than his brother’s, and
he wore it long, just scraping his shoulders. His gray eyes were lighter than
Kane’s. Alec couldn’t wait to see them in person to find out if they were as
silver as they appeared in the photo. His smile was crooked and shy; his entire
demeanor coy. Alec was insanely jealous of whoever had taken the photo and
coaxed that look out of the man.
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Meet the Author
Karrie lives in Australia’s sunshine state with her husband and two sons, though she hates the sun with a passion. She dreams of one day living in the wettest and coldest habitable place she can find. She has been writing stories in her head for years but has finally managed to pull the words out of her head and share them with others. She spends her days trying to type her stories on the computer without disturbing her beloved cat Lu curled up on the keyboard. She probably reads far too much.Website | Twitter
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