Tattooed As Trouble
(Vegas Vixens, #3)
By: J.L. Hammer
Publisher: Entangled
Published: Feb. 8, 2016
Genre: Romance
For Raegan “Rae” Storm, the trouble in her life is as permanent as the tattoo stamped on her shoulder. After witnessing a double murder, she becomes the target of a bloodthirsty mafia and enters the Witness Protection Program in exchange for her testimony. With her life on the line, the last thing she expects is to lose her heart to the mysterious, handsome Quinn Bronson, the U.S. Marshal protecting her.
Driven by honor and his commitment to his job, Bronson rescues Rae from threats time and time again, but fighting off hit men is easier than ignoring his attraction for the one woman he should never desire: the witness. As danger presses in on Bronson and Rae, neither knows whom they can trust, and their forbidden love could be what destroys them.
He leaned his elbows on the table, his expression serious.
“Never assume anything’s safe. Break the program’s rules, or trust the wrong person, and you’re dead.”
Her throat moved visibly several times before she swallowed. “Okay.”
“And don’t ever forget to use your code name any time you identify yourself.”
“Code name?”
“Orchid.”
She rested her chin on her open palm and appeared to be thinking things over. Bronson glanced at his watch, surprised he still had four hours and forty minutes left out of his six-hour shift of guarding her. Inwardly, he groaned.
“Orchid doesn’t sound very tough. Can I pick another one?”
“No.”
“How about Xena? Now that’s tough.” She gave a curt nod as if it were decided.
“I picked Orchid myself and that’s what it’s going to be.”
The name had just come to him last night. His mother loved orchids, and the elegant flowers on their kitchen table had brightened up the rather drab atmosphere of his childhood house.
“You think I’m comparable to a fragile, high maintenance flower?”
Why did a woman always think the worst? “It’s an elegant, lovely flower.” He realized what he’d said and snapped his mouth shut.
“Bronson, you really think that?” she whispered.
He shoved to his feet, mentally kicking himself. Why the hell had he said that? Next he’d be reciting poetry. “If you ever have to call you must state this first when identifying yourself: ‘The orchids bloomed late last spring.’”
Her features twisted in an odd expression. “That’s strange. Couldn’t I say something that didn’t make me sound like a spy?”
“You’re not a spy, so stop worrying about it.”
She snapped her fingers. “Maybe I could say ‘I want to get a price on that blue two-door Toyota.’”
His brows furrowed, his patience wearing thin. “No.”
“Okay, actually this code would be better, because girls do it all the time: ‘Can you turn off my curling iron? I accidently left it plugged in.’”
He leveled her a hard stare. “No, it stays ‘The orchids bloomed late last spring.’ Now stop being difficult and repeat it.”
She lifted her hands in the air. “Whatever you say. The orchids bloomed last…late last spring.”
He strode across the kitchen and paused at the doorway.
“By the way you’re right…orchids are definitely high maintenance.”
J.L. Hammer is a California girl and enjoys living in her small mountain town with her husband and two children. She is a member of the International Thriller Writers and the Romance Writers of America. When she isn’t writing or lost in the pages of a good book, she loves traveling, listening to country music, or just enjoying a nice glass of wine. Visit J.L. online to discover her exciting novels.
Orchids are a pain to grow and maintain that’s for sure!
She’s sassy, I love it!
lol’ed at the code name back and forth and the code phrase. That reminds me, we need to get another orchid at work 😀
Haha! Great excerpt! She definitely shares qualities with an orchid!!
Oh that looks like a fun one!