Welcome to the Weird, the Wild, & the Wicked for the Men & Women of the Military Giveaway Hop celebrating Veteran's Day! It is such an honor to be part of this hop and my first romantic suspense with SEALs will be out in 2013. So rather than talk about how my family is involved with the military (which it isn't), I thought I'd give you an excerpt of my upcoming military menage,
The Navy's Ghost.
The Navy's Ghost Excerpt:
Lieutenant
Junior Grade Todd “Magic” Hunter lengthened his strides down the hallway of
Bethesda Medical Center, searching for the nurses’ station to find out where
they’d moved Ghost. His gut clenched at the thought she may not have made
it after all their efforts to save her. Dammit, if the stupid doctors lost her
after he managed to clamp her artery shut, he’d tear this place apart.
Beside him,
silent and deadly, Lieutenant Jim “Retro” Waters looked quiet enough, but Magic
knew the bigger man was going out of his mind with worry. Waters was 6’4”, 230
pounds of badass SEAL with black hair and deep brown eyes. His face was
chiseled and squared-jawed, like Robert Redford, complete with the cleft in his
chin, and his eyes could bore a hole through concrete when he stared. He could
be alternately scary or mysterious, projecting the Bad Boy image perfectly, and
women melted at his feet, much to the other SEALs’ disgust.
“Where are the
fucking nurses?” Retro growled.
“Doesn’t matter.
Read the white board,” Magic remarked, pointing to the Nurse Rotation board
behind the desk. They found Brickman listed with a nurse’s name.
“Room 15.”
They shifted
direction like a school of fish, quick and coordinated in their movements
without awkwardness. Magic felt some of his tension fade as he approached the
room. Ghost was no longer in the ICU. That had to be a good thing.
But when they
reached the door, they both paused and looked at each other, suddenly nervous.
Pussy. Just open the damn door and look in on her.
She’s not dead.
He hoped. He
watched Retro take a deep breath, then depress the door handle and push the
door slowly open.
The room was dark
and empty of ornamentation, only the bed and the medical equipment filled the
small space. Magic’s anger kindled when he realized there were no flowers or
balloons to liven the somber atmosphere and he vowed to remedy that
immediately. He heard Retro suck his breath in a little fast and he swung his
gaze finally to the occupant in the bed.
She was asleep,
her head turned toward the shaded window as if seeking the light. She looked so
small and fragile, though he knew she was anything but, and his chest tightened
with anguish at her condition.
Dear God, why her? Of all of us, why her?
“Open the
shades, Retro,” Magic whispered as he retreated to the door to snag the chart
in the holder outside. “Let her see the light when she wakes up.”
Retro glided
across the floor in silence and twisted the rod hanging from the top of the
window. The last light of the setting sun painted orange stripes on the wall
and the foot of the bed as Magic looked over the chart, too afraid to take in
the details of Ghost’s body beneath the covers. He was barely aware of Retro
snagging a chair and planting himself in it beside the bed. He did notice when
his best friend took Ghost’s hand and held it, his broad shoulders slumping in
dismay.
“What’s it say,
Magic?” Retro rumbled without looking up. “How’s she doing?”
“She’s doing
good,” Magic replied absently as he read. “They’ve got her on 10 cc’s of
Dilaudid.”
Retro whistled
softly. “That should take the edge
off.”
“Yeah. Captain
said it was ugly, her leg.” Magic grimaced as he remembered slicing through her
thigh muscles with his field knife to get to her artery. He’d butchered her and
her blood had been everywhere, but he’d somehow found the artery and staunched
the flow before it took her soul with it. “They stitched her up and the CT
scans show the artery’s strong, but her leg looks like the victim of a shark
attack. Fuck, Retro, I carved her up like a Thanksgiving turkey!”
“Yeah, but it
saved her life. I don’t think she’d begrudge that. Have they given her anything
for bone and muscle replacement?”
“They’ve
increased her calcium intake for bone replacement and protein for muscle and
soft tissue development. Progress is ‘satisfactory’.”
Retro snorted.
“Not satisfactory for me…or Ghost, I’d bet.”
Magic heard the
anguish in Retro’s quiet words and wondered for the hundredth time when the
larger SEAL was going to admit he’d fallen for their female comrade.
Probably never now that he knows I love her, too.
Magic was still
kicking himself over revealing to his best buddy that he loved Lt. Christiana
“Ghost” Brickman, realizing it only when she lay dying under his hands on that
grimy warehouse floor. He’d never been so focused in his life and he’d thanked every
god out there for it each day since. At least they’d gotten the bastard who
lured her into an ambush and the homegrown terrorists paying him. A small
victory in the face of the tragedy that lay in the bed in front of him.
Setting the
chart aside, Magic approached the bed and stared down at the woman sleeping
there.
Sleeping
beauty. He felt a half grin slide over his face. Yeah, but don’t kiss her to wake her up. He’d find himself on his
back with a knife at his throat and a rabid weasel on his chest.
God, he loved
her. He’d loved her ever since she’d gotten those hostages out through the
drainage pipe no wider than a meter in diameter right under the noses of the
Afghani guards. She’d been magnificent and lethal, and his cock had hardened at
the thought of having her not only by his side, but in his bed. She had him
hooked when she told them about the guard who opened his fly and pissed on the
wall right next to her, never seeing her.
That had been
their first real op right after graduating from BUD/S training and his love had
only grown from there. He’d said nothing to her, of course, not willing to
trash the amazing friendship and trust they’d developed over the last four and
a half years in Team 4, Squad Beta.
Now she lay in a
bed, recovering from the worst wound he’d ever seen in the field and his heart
broke for her.
“No, probably
not satisfactory to her at all,” he agreed, noting the IV bag hung nearly empty.
The nurse would be in to change it soon. “She’ll never be back with the Squad,
you know.”
“What?” Retro
looked startled.
Magic nodded,
his chest tightening. “Perforated artery and fractured femur. It’s a done deal.
She’s beached.”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah.”
“What’s she
going to do now? The SEALs was all she ever wanted.”
“I don’t know.”
Magic studied
the fading sunlight on Retro’s face and knew the other man’s heart was breaking
as much as his own. They knew Ghost best, her hopes and fears, her strengths
and weaknesses. Hell, they even knew she hated Tequila and cilantro, loved
Dutch chocolate wine and Indian food, and hoped to visit Machu Pichu whenever
they got more than a few days leave at a time.
You’ll get to go now, Ghost. He doubted
she’d be very pleased with her opportunity.
“This is gonna
kill her, Magic,” Retro murmured, his voice hollow with despair.
“No, it’s not.
She’s tougher than this. She’s tougher than any of us. Hasn’t she taught us
that enough times over the last four years?”
Retro laughed
without humor. “Yeah, she has.” He kept rubbing the back of her hand in gentle
circles with his thumb. “I hope she wakes up soon. I want her to know we’re
here.”
“Yeah, me too.”
Ah, I love the SEALs. I'm only as awesome as they are in my mind. :) Now for the giveaway portion of my post. I'm giving away a signed copy of
Queen Bitch of the Callowwood Pack, a Siobhan Muir mug, and a Siobhan Muir tote bag to three lucky commenters, because this
is a menage. ;) All you have to do
is tell me what's your favorite branch of the military and why, and leave a valid email address or Twitter handle so I can contact you if you win. Following my blog is optional. My giveaway is open to US/CAN residents, although you must be at least 18 years old to win, and please void where prohibited. The hop runs until November 15th and the winner will be announced here on the blog on Friday, November 16th. And don't forget to visit all the other blogs on the following list. There are many prizes to be won. So thanks for stopping by, good luck in the giveaway, and happy reading! :)
