Title: Fleeing the Storm
Author: Sue Ward Drake
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Book Blurb:
No matter what else he is, Jack Guidry, former New Orleans undercover cop turned bounty hunter, is a stubborn cuss who never gives up. He works all the angles necessary to nab his fugitive, even if that means getting up close and personal with the lovely, but wary, French Quarter pastry chef Grace Comstock.
Grace isn’t talking, certainly not to the handsome rogue who suspiciously pops up everywhere she goes. All she wants is to keep her orphaned niece safe, so when a masked kidnapper ambushes them, she flees New Orleans—straight into the path of a dangerous hurricane.
Though she agrees to talk to Jack, she hadn’t planned to ride out the storm with him. But that’s what happens once he saves her and the baby from drowning. Even though he denies his attraction, Jack can’t help feeling protective of this beautiful, frightened woman. When they wind up fighting for their lives, can Grace trust Jack enough to help him bring his fugitive to justice?
Excerpt:
Grace looked up through her open driver’s window at Jack who jogged to a stop beside her car. “I’m leaving.”
“Then I’m glad I caught you,” Jack said in his naturally sexy voice, not even breathless. “We need to talk.”
What she needed was to escape Wes Crain and his masked men as soon as possible. She left the engine running and stepped out of the car to confront Jack, tamping down her rising blood pressure. “How did you know where to find me?”
“Your address is a matter of public record, and your nice neighbor told me where you parked.”
Of course he had an answer all set, but now all the questions she’d ever had about him flooded back. “Why were you at Crain’s house when I got mugged? Why were you helping at the festival?”
Why am I even talking to you now?
“Whoa. Which question do you want me to answer?”
She glanced in the back seat at her niece, Katie, playing with her stuffed dinosaur. “I’m going to drive off if you don’t answer both of them.”
He braced a hand on the top of her car, moving in way too close. A lock of wavy sun-streaked hair fell over his brow, making him look even more like the latest Hollywood heartthrob. “It’s my job to keep track of Wes Crain. That’s why you saw me both places.”
She tensed. “Does that mean you work for him?”
“No way. He’s a fugitive wanted by the law, and I need to arrest him. Do you know where he is?” Jack lifted an eyebrow.
“No.” She rested her hands on the open car door. “You said you weren’t a policeman any longer, but I don’t know exactly who you are.”
“I’m the bail recovery agent responsible for taking him back into custody.” Jack pulled papers from the pocket of a lightweight jacket and handed them to her. “These give me the necessary arrest authority.”
The documents looked official, notarized and everything. She handed them back.
“I need your help.” He gave her what she’d come to see as his trademark smile.
Heat flashed through her, but she stiffened and narrowed her gaze. Jack wasn’t telling her everything. “Why do you think I can help?”
“I’m hoping when you and I start talking, you’ll reveal something that will give me an idea where to find him.” Jack clasped his hands, his hazel eyes serious. “From what I saw at the concert, I thought you might want to help me put him back in jail.”
She laughed. “The man has enough money to get out again.”
“The judge won’t be anxious to give him the opportunity. He’ll probably be stuck until sentenced this time.”
With Crain in jail, she’d be able to stop looking over her shoulder and cringing every time her phone rang. But did she really want to get more involved? Jack was a stranger. He could have quit the police force under a cloud and helping him might come back to bite her. “I don’t know much about him. It was my sister who worked for him, not me.”
Jack’s expression sobered. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
Grace tightened her crossed arms. “How do you know about Melanie’s accident?”
“That’s also a matter of public record.” He gave a grim nod. “Again, I’m sorry you lost her.”
“You should be talking to her. She would have had lots to say about Wes Crain.” That was no longer possible, and Grace should do what she could to help Jack if she wanted to get Melanie’s old boss off her back. And she did. But today wouldn’t work. The clouds overhead were growing darker and darker. Any minute the rain would start, and she wanted to be gone before it started. “Let’s talk when I get back.”
Jack lowered his voice. “Every day I lose makes it harder for me to find him.”
“In case you don’t know, there’s a hurricane coming. I’m evacuating.”
“I can follow you to where you’re going and buy you that coffee we discussed. Then we can talk.” His lips quirked, and his smile melted her insides like a pat of butter in a skillet. “Please.”
“Are you begging me?”
He got down on his knees right there on the French Quarter sidewalk and raised his clasped hands. “Say ‘yes.’”
“Look, he’s proposing,” one of the men outside the corner grocery shouted.
The other two beer drinkers turned toward them. The guy coming out of the store with a bag of groceries stopped and stared. A businessman crossing the street paused and stepped back onto the curb.
“You’re creating a scene.” Grace gestured for Jack to stand.
“Is it working?”
“Yes.” She rolled her eyes.
Jack bounded to his feet and called over his shoulder to the on-lookers. “She said ‘yes.’”
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3PTZy4s
(paperback)
Kindle: https://amzn.to/3LVqXzY
Barnes and Noble: https://bit.ly/3afpo2v
Kobo: https://bit.ly/38pgNd4
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/sue-ward-drake
What makes your featured book a must-read?
Fleeing the Storm offers a thrilling, action-packed romantic suspense read with a stress on family values and authentic New Orleans and south Louisiana insights by a long-time resident. Take a trip down Royal Street in the French Quarter and indulge in a bowl of thick, tasty gumbo—or one of the heroine’s French pastries.
Giveaway –
Enter to win a $45 Amazon US or Amazon Canada gift card
Open Internationally. You must have an active Amazon US or CA account to win.
Runs August 9 – August 18, 2022.
Winner will be drawn on August 19, 2022.
Author Biography:
Award-winning author, Sue Ward Drake, loves using her experiences living in a farmhouse in Greece and her years in the French Quarter as fuel for her stories as often as possible. She writes contemporary romance and romantic suspense and speaks at conferences on writing suspense and disabilities. For news of the next thrilling Big Easy Brothers romantic suspense and other romances, visit www.SueWardDrake.com or sign up for her newsletter and get a free story: https://suewarddrake.com/sign-up-for-my-newsletter/
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