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BETRAYED: Book 3 in USA Today best-selling author Taylor Lee’s Sizzling HOT Detective Series, The Criminal Affairs Collection.
•Viviana,
his renegade cop, is hard enough to control. Now Jax has to fend off
an interloper who is almost as sexy and arrogant as he is. And that is
saying something.
•The Rising Star Political Hotshot wants Viviana’s expertise. Not incidentally, he wants her!
•Viviana
has spent her life denying her ugly past. But her nightmares have
caught up with her. The Sexy Police Chief insists that together they
will find and punish the evil men who abused her.
Excerpt:
Jax pulled up in front of the precinct building and arrowed his Alpha Romeo into the designated parking spot for the chief of police. Quickly rounding the snazzy automobile, he was at the passenger side before Viviana could open the door. Ignoring her attempt to push his hand away, he reached for her and pulled her up next to him. Tipping up her chin, he forced her to meet his gaze. Seeing the constricted expression straining her pale face, he shoved at his concern and forced a tight smile to curve his lips.
“Oh no you don’t, sweetheart. No pushing away the guy who loves you just because we’re
going to meet the team. Don’t worry, Sergeant Moreau. It’s an ill-kept secret that the SJPD chief
of police is ass-over-elbows in love with the gorgeous VCU sergeant known as the Enchantress.”
When she frowned and tried to pull away, he shook his head and blew out a hard sigh. “Listen
up, baby. We had a challenging night, but we got through it. The same way we’re going to do
everything from now on—together.”
When she didn’t answer, he grinned. “Don’t worry, baby, I’m not going to cuff you to my
side. You still get to be your ornery self, the renowned shining star of the Violent Crimes Unit.
However, know that the arrogant police chief intends to make his presence known.” He added
with a chuckle, “He’ll likely be a more frequent visitor at the VCU. Which is to be expected
given that we are now working as a team.”
Jax was relieved that his intentionally cocky assertion brought some angry color to her
cheeks. Anything was better than the strained expression that had lived on her usually expressive
face since she had woken from her troubled sleep. It had taken him over an hour to rock her back
to sleep following what had to have been a terrifying nightmare. It wasn’t as though she hadn’t
had them before. Since he’d moved her into his condominium, and now that they were sleeping
together every night, Jax had become aware of how troubled her sleep was. In the last ten days,
she’d had three full-blown nightmares, the worst being last night’s.
As she had done after her previous nightmares, Viviana refused to acknowledge her
midnight terror. Not so much as commenting on the fact that she’d spent most of the night
huddled on his lap, she’d dashed past him down the rooftop staircase. From there, she
sequestered herself in her bathroom until it was time to leave for their morning meeting. A fierce
scowl and a raised shoulder greeted his suggestion that she have a piece of toast and perhaps
some fruit for breakfast. Her refusal was firm and more than a little confrontational. “You should
know by now, Jax, that I don’t like breakfast and that I don’t like to talk before I’ve had my
coffee.”
Jax shot her a narrow grin as he handed her a thermos filled with her required coffee, a brew
that he insisted could hold its own with paint thinner. When she brushed by him, heading for her
car in the driveway, he shook his head and pulled her next to him. “Uh-uh, darlin’. You’re going
to ride with me this morning. In that we are going to the same place for the same meeting, two
cars aren’t necessary.”
She glared at him. “What if I need my car during the day? Or do you plan to cuff me to your
fucking side for the entire day?”
Not responding to her aggrieved query, he shrugged. “If you do need a car, I’m confident
your partner, Detective O’Reilly, or your supervisor, Commander Bannon, will be pleased to
ferry you around.” Pulling her next to him and ignoring her attempt to free herself, he murmured,
“And you can relax, darlin’. I’m not going to force you to talk about your nightmare last night.”
At her surprised start, he continued, “At least not now.” Lifting her chin, he gazed into her
stormy, azure eyes. “But, Viviana, we are going to discuss what happened last night. You know
that, don’t you, sweetheart?” When she slammed her eyes closed, refusing to meet his gaze, he brushed his lips across her heated cheek and said, “But for now, we’re going to get into my car
and head to the precinct for a very important meeting.”
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