He's been chasing a memory . . .
KISS, MARRY, KILL
Iron Clad Security #1
Sidney Halston
Releasing March 28th, 2017
Swerve
It was just
supposed to be a regular Thursday afternoon…and then he saw her. Sitting in
seat L214, one seat over from his at the baseball game, right next to her
douche of a soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend. An impromptu kiss for the kiss cam, and
Jax knew his life would never be the same. Five years and a tour in Afghanistan
later, Jax is back stateside running his own private security firm, Iron-Clad,
with his best friend. He isn't the man he used to be... but Megan isn't the
sexy and sweet, though sheltered, twenty-two-year-old he left behind, either.
And she's in trouble.
...but now they're on the run.
Excerpt #1
“Promise me, you’ll be happy,” he sang from the other
side of the door. “Promise me, you’ll
always sing. Promise me you’ll never settle . . .” He jiggled the door
handle. “Meggy? Where are you, my little mouse?” he said in a sing-song voice,
sounding nice enough. Soft enough.
Safe
enough. But Megan Cruz knew better. The
man trying to lure her out of her enormous walk-in closet was deranged. Megan
huddled in a corner behind all of her cocktail dresses, her knees pushed up and
a butcher knife in one of her trembling hands. Just waiting. Waiting for the cops
to show up, or for Ryan to finally find her. If she could stop breathing, she
would. Trying to stay perfectly still and utterly quiet was an impossible feat
with her hands shaking so violently. Surely he could hear her fear from where
he stood on the other side of the door. If he walked deep enough into the
closet, the dresses that served as a barrier between them would not be
sufficient to shield her. And the fact that he’d broken into her house in the
middle of the night was a good indication that he did want to hurt her.
Twenty
minutes earlier she had been sitting on her bed, completely immersed in writing
some lyrics in her notebook, when she heard the sound of a window shattering
downstairs. Her house may have been huge, but it wouldn’t take long for whoever
had broken in to find her, especially since her room was the first one up the
grand staircase, even more obvious because of its huge double doors. Not about
to sit and wait to find out if it was her stalker or a robber who had broken in,
she immediately sent a text to her parents who lived close by, praying they’d
understand the message: Break in. 911.
Help! Then she silenced her phone and tucked it into her bra. She had also
grabbed the enormous butcher knife she’d hid under mattress six months ago when
Ryan had started sending her disturbing emails and letters.
At
that time she’d thought he was just an overzealous fan and had worried she was
being overly cautious, but now, as she cowered in fear, she realized how wrong
she’d been. Megan actually held her breath when she heard the squeaky noise of
the hinges of her closet door. He was inside now. Sweat dripped down her back
and her heart pounded so loudly it seemed he had to have heard it. It felt as
if it was going to physically come out of her chest, together with the sandwich
she’d eaten a few hours ago. Peering under the hanging clothes she could see
green
Converse
sneakers moving closer to where she sat curled into a small ball, her arms
around her knees.
“Oh
Meggy, where are you? Sing for me, my naughty little mouse. Just one song. Just
‘Promise Me,’ that’s my favorite.”As
he stepped closer, she tightened her grip on the knife.
“You’re
supposed to make your fans happy.” His voice was louder and more agitated this
time.
She
could hear the fabric running through his fingers as he caressed her clothes,
shifting the fragile curtain of dresses and shirts she was hiding behind.
“Oh,
this is what you wore to the Grammys last month!” He pulled the dress out, and
Megan tensed when a sliver of light cut through her hiding place. The small gap
where the dress had hung made her more visible, and if he happened to look down
he’d undoubtedly see her on the floor behind the rest of the clothes. She shut
her eyes. “This is perfect. You can wear this when you sing for me at my house.
Does anyone else know how much you love the chase, Meggy? Am I the only one
that knows your secret? I have your new room all ready for you. We can play and
sing all the time...It’ll be so fun, Meggy.”
His
feet were moving slowly, as if he had all the time in the world. She could tell
he was directly in front of her now by how close the sound of his heavy
breathing was and by the way the rubber soles of his sneakers skidded against
the wood floor. She shut her eyes harder and braced herself. She didn’t need
her eyes open to see him—the memory was burned into her brain. His face was
unassuming and his body unimposing. White skin, rounded cheeks, kind-looking
face, maybe even cute, if he wasn’t a complete sociopath. He wasn’t too thin or
too large, not too tall, not too short. Just an ordinary-looking guy. One you
would smile at in line for coffee or at the grocery store. The non-threatening
Good Samaritan who helped you with your flat tire. Completely harmless,
completely average, except for his eyes, gray eyes that were a bit too large
and had a slight tilt upward, reminding her of a cat. Gray eyes that could be
considered attractive if it weren’t for the coldness behind them.
Megan
didn’t want to die looking into that coldness. She didn’t want to die hiding in
her closet, with the creepy man asking her to sing the song that was about the
best four days of her entire life. The four days that also changed the course
of her life. Ironic, she would potentially die thinking of those memories.
USA Today bestselling author, Sidney
Halston lives her life with one simple rule: "Just Do
It"--Nike. And that's exactly what she did.
After working hard as an attorney, Sidney picked up a pen for the first time at thirty years old to begin her dream of writing. Having never written anything other than very exciting legal briefs, she found an outlet for her imaginative, romantic side and wrote Seeing Red. That first pen stroke sealed the deal, and she fell in love with writing. Sidney lives in South Florida with her husband and children. She loves her family above all else, and reading follows a close second. When she's not writing, you can find her reading and reading and reading. She's a reader first and a writer second. When she's not writing or reading, her life is complete and utter chaos, trying to balance family life with work and writing (and reading). But she wouldn't have it any other way.
After working hard as an attorney, Sidney picked up a pen for the first time at thirty years old to begin her dream of writing. Having never written anything other than very exciting legal briefs, she found an outlet for her imaginative, romantic side and wrote Seeing Red. That first pen stroke sealed the deal, and she fell in love with writing. Sidney lives in South Florida with her husband and children. She loves her family above all else, and reading follows a close second. When she's not writing, you can find her reading and reading and reading. She's a reader first and a writer second. When she's not writing or reading, her life is complete and utter chaos, trying to balance family life with work and writing (and reading). But she wouldn't have it any other way.
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