Title: DEADLY APPRENTICE, O’Halleran Security Int’l., Book 5
Author: TJ Logan
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Book Blurb:
His scars are a gruesome reminder of why they all must die…
To purge the terror from his past, a madman sets about punishing innocent victims for the crimes of another. Each death brings him one step closer to his ultimate target. Will he make it through his list before his secrets are revealed?
A former cop learned playing by the rules gets people killed…
Mathias O’Halleran gives up his career as a cop after an innocent child dies on his watch. He goes to work for O’Halleran Security, where red tape and bureaucracy never get in the way of justice. When military heroes who served their country with honor disappear and turn up dead, he’ll do whatever it takes, cross any line to take down the person responsible.
A renowned forensic pathologist holds the key to bringing down a murderer…
Dr. Beatrice Rose Parker was a solitary child with a love of books and science. She has dedicated her life to giving voice to the dead and closure to their families. Beatrice faces the biggest challenge of her career when the mutilated remains of five heroes are found buried.
Can Beatrice piece together the forensic puzzle before the killer moves to the next name on his list? What will Mathias do when his father unintentionally becomes the only obstacle between the murderer and his freedom?
Excerpt:
Mathias O’Halleran stared at the grisly crime scene photos on the flat-screen mounted on the wall of the strategy room. It had been two weeks since they discovered a crazed killer kept his victims in a dank basement, and the rancid smell of death still lingered in his nostrils. Unbidden, a different, equally horrific crime scene invaded his thoughts. A little four-year-old girl’s lifeless, dark brown eyes stared up at him—
“Mathias?”
At the sound of his brother Jonathan’s voice, he blinked hard to erase the image, scrubbed his hand down his face and tore his eyes away from the screen. “Sorry.”
His brother gave him a long look tinged with a mixture of concern and understanding, then continued.
“Sandy’s parents and her husband asked that I convey their deepest appreciation to everyone for finding the man who murdered her.” Jonathan clicked the wireless mouse, and the photos were replaced with a screen saver of the O’Halleran Security International crest. “It’s given them a sense of closure and solace, knowing he can’t do to any other women what he did to Sandy.”
Mathias worked for Jonathan, who was the head of the Pacific Northwest operation of O’Halleran Security International, OSI. They specialized in close protection, private security, national and international hostage retrieval, tracking, and cybersecurity. Forensics would soon be added to their already impressive list of expertise.
Beck’s deep voice boomed from the speaker at the center of the table. As the founder of OSI, his oldest brother often participated in debriefs from the headquarters in California. This one was especially important to him. To all of them.
“As you all know, there was a setback in this investigation when the lab botched the DNA work.” Papers shuffled in the background. “To prevent that from happening again, two months ago I met with and hired Dr. Beatrice Rose Parker to head up our forensics division. She submitted her design specifications for the new laboratory, and Jonathan tells me dad’s crew is kicking ass on getting it done. Anyway, she’ll be overseeing the rest of their project and will head up the facility once it’s operational. Her credentials are impeccable, and you’ll be meeting her sometime today. I’ve got a conference call with Burke, so I’ll let Jonathan get back to his briefing.”
Beck cleared his throat. “One last thing. This most recent investigation was intensely personal for all of us. I want you to know how much I appreciate your professionalism. I especially appreciate you destroying that piece of shit that made the mistake of coming after one of our own. Great job, everyone.” With that, he hung up.
Jonathan reached across the table and pressed a button to disconnect the call.
The investigation he referenced involved two young women who were kidnapped in broad daylight, held captive, then forced to write their last will and testament before being buried alive. Their bodies were found months later.
The case became personal for the O’Hallerans when they discovered both women had a connection to their sister, Emily. The sense of urgency to find the madman increased further when Christina Lambert, Emily’s best friend and OSI’s beloved office manager, was also kidnapped. Fortunately, they got to her before … Well, they got to her in time.
“Dr. Parker arrived earlier and is upstairs with Christina. Once she’s in the system and badged up, Christina will escort her down here to the strategy room.” Jonathan swiveled his chair to face Mathias. “You’ll be working directly with her to ensure she has everything she needs to get that lab up and running as soon as possible. Money is not an issue, and time is of the essence.”
“You got it.” Mathias nodded once. Helping Dr. Parker might not be as pulse-pounding as an operational assignment, but it was critical to the success of future missions.
“She’ll be staying in one of the furnished OSI townhomes until she finds her own place.” Jonathan glanced over at his wife, sitting to his right. “Same one you were in when you first started working with OSI, Andi.”
“I have some pretty yummy memories from my time there.” She waggled her eyebrows at Jonathan, who winked at her.
Killian, Mathias’s twin, groaned and scrunched up his face in mock disgust. “Oh, come on. Get a room already.”
“Jealous?” Andi teased.
“Maybe a little bit,” he grumbled. An unusual admission from Mathias’s carefree twin. Could his brother be tired of playing the field? Not likely.
Jonathan’s cell phone vibrated on the table, and he scooped it up. “Hey, Christina. Okay, no problem.” He hung up. “Beatrice has her badge, and they’re getting her settled in her temporary office. In the meantime, I want to bring you all up to speed on our other ongoing operations.”
“That woman is a miracle worker. I do not know how she manages to get people on-boarded so quickly. Especially considering what she just went through.” Andi’s voice held a mixture of awe and concern.
After the killer kidnapped Christina, he’d drugged her and taken her to an old abandoned fire shack in the woods. OSI’s team found her chained up like an animal in the basement, with a dead body less than twenty feet away. She’d spent one night in the hospital and reported to work the very next day, acting as if nothing happened. The only outward signs of her trauma were the bandages around her wrists and the haunted look in her eyes that she couldn’t hide. No matter how hard she tried. Everyone was concerned about her, but she insisted she was fine.
“Emily’s keeping a sharp eye on her. If anyone can get Christina to open up and deal with what happened to her, it’s our sister.” Mathias admired his baby sister and wasn’t the least bit surprised by her commitment to her best friend. She was an O’Halleran, after all.
Jonathan flipped open a file folder with the distinctive red hashed border and the words TOP SECRET printed across the front.
“Okay, first up is Team Two. They are currently ten clicks out from their target’s primary location.” He jiggled the mouse, and the logo disappeared. A few taps later, and a collection of aerial photos of a large home in the middle of a dense jungle filled the screen, all taken from different angles and confirming the same thing—the place was heavily guarded and fortified.
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What makes your featured book a must-read?
This review from USA Today & NY Times bestselling author, Lori Foster, sort of says it all:
Dang, TJ Logan NEVER disappoints. I've loved every single book in the O'Halleran Security Int’l. series, but I think Mathias may be my new favorite. Such a patient, sexy, lovable bad ass! Beatrice needed a little time to get used to him and his larger-than-life presence, and he gave her that - while also advancing his pursuit. Bea is such a smart, focused, caring woman. I especially liked that she had such a great relationship with her parents. It's nice to read about two leading characters who each have strong family bonds. They have issues. There are things they have to work through (including bringing down a serial killer!) but abuse from family isn't a problem. I love that. Oh, and I LOVE how close Mathias is to his twin. (I'm sure Killian's book is going to be amazing as well!) The evil bad guy deserves a lot of sympathy. There's a secondary female character who I think will also get a story - she was that interesting (and also pretty twisted). I can't wait to see what else this author has in store. Whatever it is, I'm confident it'll be amazing. Highly recommended - but then I recommend the entire series. It's a winner!
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Author Biography:
TJ Logan is an award-winning author of the O'Halleran Security Int'l. (OSI) Romantic Suspense series, anchored by strong themes of Family, Honor and Loyalty. The books are all connected, but each has its own HEA.
Growing up in a military family, living all over the country, surrounded by five brothers ... and living to talk about it, and being part of the team who managed a Secret program for one of the world's largest defense companies, not to mention competing in Int’l. Defensive Pistol events, have all given her an interesting perspective on life. And every bit of it goes into her writing!
Her uber-supportive husband (he got her logo tattooed on his thigh! TATTOOED ... ON HIS THIGH!!), two amazing grown sons, the two beautiful women who love them, and an absolutely perfect grandson and granddaughter are the joys of her life.
Family, Honor, and Loyalty aren't just words in a tagline to TJ, they are everything.
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