He was a man of action—especially when it came to
protecting his new undercover partner…
MAN OF ACTION
Omega Sector: Critical Response #4
Janie Crouch
Releasing June 21st, 2016
Harlequin Intrigue
He was a
man of action—especially when it came to protecting his new undercover
partner…
At nineteen, Andrea Gordon's life
was forever changed. After proving herself instrumental in a bank hostage
crisis, she became one of Omega Sector's top agents. Four years later, her
skill at reading people is unrivaled—until she meets fellow profiler Brandon
Han. Paired together to track a serial killer who has been targeting at-risk
women, the two become entangled beyond the case. Their mutual attraction
deepens as they get closer to the truth. But when Andrea's own sordid past
surfaces, they will both be forced to question everything about the assignment…and
each other.
BUY NOW
Excerpt
This
whole thing was a terrible idea. Going back to Buckeye? Terrible.
Going back with the likes of Brandon Han? Even worse. The plane hit
some turbulence at thirty-five thousand feet, as if nodding in
agreement with Andrea’s conclusion.
Brandon
didn’t want to work with her on the case. He’d made that
abundantly clear in Steve’s office. She wanted to assume it was her
fault, that he knew about her shortcomings and lack of education as
an Omega consultant, but forced herself to stop. He’d mentioned
liking to work alone. She could understand that, too. Andrea liked
working alone, but for different reasons.
Brandon’s
irritation had been pretty tangible when she’d sat down next to him
at the airport. It had just grown as they waited for their flight,
first when she’d mentioned him being complicated, then when they
were both looking through the case files.
By
the time they got on the plane, about an hour after their scheduled
departure time, Brandon was hardly even talking to her. He was
mad—she had no idea why—and she was awkward—as usual around
someone she was so attracted to. Good times.
Andrea
tried to pretend she was reading the files when he handed them to
her, but she wasn’t. She knew better than to even try. Her dyslexia
made reading simple books difficult, although she had learned some
exercises to help with that. But reading handwritten notes and case
files often written in different fonts and sizes—that pretty much
just led to a headache and frustration.
She’d
had an extra hour at her apartment so she’d used the special
software on her computer to scan a few pages so they could be
converted into audio clips. She’d found that listening worked much
better for her than trying to read. Unfortunately she hadn’t had
enough time to scan all the files as she normally would.
Listening
to the files on audio clips had just made Brandon more irritated.
Andrea had no idea what to do about that, so she ignored it. She
would listen to the clips she had, then spend this evening—all
night if she had to—reading through the files in her room, when she
was alone and it was quiet. She refused to go into that meeting with
the local police tomorrow unprepared.
She
didn’t want to go back there at all. If it wasn’t for Steve
asking her to go, Andrea wouldn’t have done it, serial killer or
not.
Maybe
they wouldn’t run into anyone she knew. Or maybe the people in
Buckeye wouldn’t recognize her. She’d gone to great lengths to
look nothing like the girl who had worked at Jaguar’s. Her blond
hair was shorter, cut in a flattering bob; her makeup was tasteful.
She’d learned how to dress and present herself in a professional
manner.
She
doubted her own aunt and uncle would recognize her. Not that she
planned to drop in on them. She hadn’t seen them since the last
time her uncle, in a drunken stupor again, had awakened her with a
backhand that had sent her sprawling from her bed to the floor when
she was seventeen. Another punch had sent her hurling into a glass
table. She’d gotten away from him and hidden that night, wrapping
her cut arm in a T-shirt.
The
next morning she’d told her aunt, who’d looked the other way
again
during all the commotion, that she was going to school.
Andrea
hadn’t gone to school. And she hadn’t gone back home. Ever again.
She
hadn’t gone far, just to the other side of the town she’d only
ever known as home, but they hadn’t come looking for her. Had
probably been relieved that she’d left.
So
yeah, no joyous homecoming in Buckeye.
Nominated for the 2014 & 2015 Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice
Award, and a finalist in multiple other Romance literary awards, Janie
Crouch loves to read – almost exclusively romance – and has been doing
so since middle school. She cut her teeth on Harlequin (Mills & Boon)
Romances when she lived in Wales, UK as a preteen, then moved on to a passion
for romantic suspense as an adult.
Janie
recently relocated with her husband and four children to Germany (due to
her husband's job as support for the U.S. Military), after living in Virginia
for nearly 20 years. When she’s not listening to the voices in her head
(and even when she is), she enjoys traveling, long-distance running,
movie-watching, knitting and adventure (obstacle) racing.
She
teaches online communication classes for an American college part time, and
writes full time. Most of all, she loves to laugh and smile and count her
blessings. And her blessings are many.
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