It's our pleasure to welcome J.L. Saint (who also writes as Jennifer St. Giles and Jennifer Saints) back to The Romance Dish. Jennifer's next book, Tactical Deception, an ebook that will be released March 13th by Samhain Publishing, is the second book in her terrific Silent Warrior military romantic suspense series. (Read PJ's review of the first book in the series, Collateral Damage here.) When not busy writing new books, Jennifer's days - and nights - are filled with her responsibilities as a mother, nurse, event planner and vice-president of a charitable foundation that helps women's and children's causes. One wonders when she sleeps!
First let me thank the gracious ladies of the Romance Dish
for inviting me back to share my upcoming book,
Tactical Deception. It is the second book in my Silent Warrior
Series, and takes up just shortly after
Collateral Damage left off. The world is still reeling from recent events
and the men from Delta are all fighting to pull their lives together after
tragedy. They are flawed and vulnerable
and make mistakes, but my Silent Warriors have the courage to walk through fire
when it comes to protecting their country and loved ones. My inspiration for writing these books is the many men and women who have put their lives on the line for our
country. There aren’t enough thanks that
can cover the debt, but I can share stories about heroes and heroines like
them, so others may be inspired to express their thanks.
I also write romance because I believe that love
is the greatest thing. Love is the the
greatest gift we can give to another and the greatest need every heart
has. So I invite you to read my stories
about love and heroes and heroines who discover love as they put their life and
hearts on the line. From gothic
historical to paranormal to contemporary romance to thrillers, you can catch
excerpts of them all at
Jenniferstgiles.com.
I'd love for you to share your story with me. Who is the silent hero or heroine in your
life? I’d love to hear about them.
I will be giving away one ebook copy of
Collateral Damage
and one ebook copy of
Tactical Deception to two lucky winners.
Tactical Deception, Silent
Warrior Series, Book 2
One tormented soldier. One woman. Eight snipers. Someone’s
going down…
The fallout from the team’s failed mission to Lebanon is
still tearing Lt. Col. Roger Weston apart. God help them all if the media gets
wind of the real story. Worse, guilt is eating him alive over a decision that
left a fallen warrior’s wife without a husband…and exposed to danger from her
radical family.
No matter what, Mari Dalton’s safety and wellbeing—and that
of her unborn child—come first.
Mari is certain God is punishing her. She loved the man who
rescued her from a windowless cell in Afghanistan, and never betrayed their
marriage. But she has never been able to forget her body’s reaction to Roger.
Now she is the target of terrorists bent on destroying the heart of America. As
Roger lays his life on the line to protect her, they uncover a plot already in
motion to assassinate the President. As the world teeters on the edge of chaos,
any hope for a future rests in Roger’s already blood-stained hands…and the
quietly faithful woman who holds his heart.
Excerpt from Tactical Deception.
Before the guilt of Neil’s death could get another
strangling hold on him, Roger marched to his bedroom door. He couldn’t
effectively take care of Mari if she hid herself from him. Something had to
change. He knocked on the door.
No answer.
He knocked harder.
Still no answer. Worried now, he opened the door. “Mari?”
Light from the bathroom highlighted her figure at the
window. She stood minus her
abaya and hijab—her black gown and
head scarf. She wore a long tunic over slim pants, a vision of cream-colored
silk and ebony hair that fell well below her waist. Gold leaves embroidered the
collar, sleeves and hems of her outfit. The effect was delicate, exotic, almost
ethereal.
Tears streamed down her cheeks and she had her hands pressed
to her abdomen, to the child growing within her.
“Are you hurting? Is it the baby? Do you need to go to the
hospital?”
“No. The baby is fine. No pain.”
Relief had his blood rushing with dizzying force, leaving
him almost light-headed and his chest tightened into a knot. Emotion, pain, and
desire sucker punched him in the gut and below. What kind of low-bellied dick
was he?
The lowest he decided. He couldn’t stop his heated arousal in
response to her
beauty, but he damn well could ignore it and remember with every shred of
decency he had in him that if it wasn’t for him, Neil would be with Mari right
now and none of the shit that had happened to her lately would have occurred.
She stood frozen a moment then turned, reaching for her
black gown.
“Don’t. Please don’t hide from me.” His voice escaped in a
harsh rasp.
She paused, looking at him, her hand resting on her heavy
gown. Her golden eyes were wide with…fear?
He covered the distance between them.
“Are you afraid of me?” Their gazes met and she lowered
hers.
He knew before he slid his thumb under her chin how soft her
skin was. Just weeks ago, he’d lost his restraint and kissed her tear-dampened
cheeks after Dugar had taken a shot at her outside the hospital. That night
he’d held her bandaged hand as she’d restlessly slept between nightmares. And
until helping her up from the street today, it was the last time he’d touched
her.
He clasped her hand resting on her gown and brought it to
his chest, placing her palm firmly over his racing heart. Her gaze reconnected
with his and he asked her again. “Are you afraid of me?”
“No,” she whispered before shutting her eyes and pulling her
hand away.
She said no, but he swore he saw fear swirling in her
conflicted expression.
“Why then? Why didn’t you tell me how bad things were for
you? I could have helped or gotten you help. And why didn’t you tell me about
the shooting lessons? I would have arranged for them. Made sure you were safe.”
“You would have?” She blinked at him with surprise. “But you
were adamant about me not leaving the post for any reason. Not even to go with
Holly to the store in Fayetteville.”
“Going to a shoe sale in a crowded mall is different than
going to a gun range. Besides, learning to protect yourself is more important
than buying shoes.” Roger raked his fingers through his hair. He
remembered the conversation they’d had a few weeks back. And yeah, he’d been
pretty strong in his objections about them going to the mall. But then, someone
had been calling in bomb threats at that time too. It had been three weeks
after Dugar’s attempts to kill her and Roger would have bet money Dugar was
behind the threats. He hadn’t told Mari about any of it though. He hadn’t
wanted her to worry. Only to heal.
She frowned at him as if he’d grown horns. “What?” he asked.
Had he said something wrong?
“So what does that mean? I am not supposed to do something,
but if it’s something you approve of then it is all right to do it?”
Hell. She made him sound as if he were a bipolar prison
guard. He counted to ten, hoping to ease his frustration, but it didn’t work. “No.
Well, sometimes, maybe, yes. I mean—” Tension knotted his brow. What did he
mean? Couldn’t she see the difference between the two outings? “We can discuss
the details later. I just need to know why you couldn’t tell me about the
anxiety you’re having and that you wanted to learn self-defense.”
“I didn’t want you to worry.”
Roger opened his mouth then shut it. He’d kept things from
her for the same reason, but this was different. She’d put herself in both
physical and mental jeopardy. Then again, hadn’t he set himself as her prison
guard as opposed to a bodyguard? Had he done anything personal to put her at
ease enough to be able to share her anxiety with him? No, he’d let his guilt
and his need to avoid his attraction to her
keep her at a cold, formal distance. He had to change. “You can’t do that anymore. From now on,
no matter what you want to do, just tell me and whether I like it or not, I
will help you do it, okay? It is the only way I can assure your safety.”
“That’s it? If I want to go buy shoes then you’ll take me?”
He exhaled. “Yes. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to voice
my opinion on whether it’s a smart thing to do or not. And if I really think something is too dangerous
then I expect you to respect my serious concerns. This isn’t a forever state of
affairs. It’s just until Dugar is caught, then you’ll be your own woman, okay?”
Her own woman? Did
she even know who she was? Mari looked up at Roger, her heart racing so fast
she could barely think. A few moments
ago, she’d been staring out at the purple-red sunset, wondering how she could
face Roger. She’d done exactly what he’d
told her not to do and it had turned out so badly. She’d been sickened over how miserably she’d
failed in establishing any shred of independence. Her worst fears about herself had come true. She’d
had a total panicked meltdown. She’d been thrust back into the darkness of what
had happened in Afghanistan. She’d hit the bottom and was surprised that she’d
survived it all. Her pride was bruised, but she was okay.
Now she was not only facing Roger but… she stood alone with
him, in his bedroom, wearing only her tunic and pants and she wasn’t
embarrassed or shamed. She wanted this
familiarity between them.
He wasn’t as mad as she thought he would be either.
It wasn’t as if her choosing to leave the post didn’t
matter. She could see that he was clearly upset and worried about her. But it
wasn’t how she’d thought it would be. Her father would have—
Roger wasn’t her father. Never would be. But he wasn’t the
easygoing teddy bear Neil had been either. In some ways Roger was like a fierce
warrior. Dangerous and remote. She’d seen the deadly anger in his eyes when it
came to Dugar. She had no doubt that Roger would kill Dugar with his bare hands
if he had to. She’d also seen a haunted darkness in him too. Roger had deep
secrets that she instinctively knew he’d never let another person near.
Neil had been different. There wasn’t a part of him he
didn’t openly share with her. It wasn’t that he didn’t keep information from
her. There were things about his job he couldn’t tell her and things she would
never ask him. But his soul and heart had wrapped warmly around her as
accepting and loving as a puppy. He’d never said anything to curtail what she
did, but then, she’d never ventured beyond the strictures of her upbringing. It
was two years before he could talk her into going to the store alone.
It wasn’t until she met Holly that Mari started thinking
about doing things outside of the rules, about getting an education, a job,
learning to shoot a gun, and yes, one of those things was standing without her abaya
before a man who wasn’t her husband, her brother or her father. A man who said
she could be her own woman? What did
that mean?
“Okay?” Roger angled his head to look into her eyes as he
set his hands on her shoulders.
She nodded. Her tongue was tied in the gratefulness clogging
her throat and in the fire burning through her senses at his heated touch. He’d
made this whole big problem and the fiasco of the day all so simple. So easy to
let go of and move forward. At least she thought he had. Currently her mind
reeled, making coherent thought debatable. His nearness and intensity had her
blood racing places her mind couldn’t go yet.
He released her and stepped back. “Hungry?”
“Yes.” She drew in a much-needed breath of air. She thought
about grabbing her abaya and putting it on now. Considering the way he made her
feel, it would be safer.
“What do you want to eat for dinner?” He started walking out
of the bedroom, but his gaze fell on the rumpled bed and she cringed. It looked
as if a tornado had struck it; she’d tossed and turned so much.
She rushed over to straighten the bedcovers. “Whatever you
want will be fine.”
She didn’t dare look at him. What he must think. He’d loaned
her his bed and she couldn’t even leave it neat. Leaning forward with her knees
against the mattress, she fixed the blanket and threw the pillows back up to
the headboard. She stood back quickly and hit a hard, hot body—an unmistakably
aroused, hard, hot, male body. His arm wrapped around her when she teetered
with surprise and a visceral shock wave of want hit her hard.
