CONTRACT SIGNED (Triggerman,Inc #1) by Marie Harte-Review and Excerpt tour
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 17, 2017
Three assassins and a… baby?
Triggerman, Inc., Book 1
Noel “Ice” Cavanaugh’s method is foolproof. Get in, do the job, get out, melt away without a trace. Chill out until his next mark is assigned. Neat. Tidy. No mistakes.
This time, though, something isn’t right. Two somethings. First a random attack that feels not-so-random. Then he discovers someone’s left a baby on his doorstep with a note claiming it’s his. And the sexy neighbor who found the boy first has too many questions in her eyes to ignore.
When her handsome, mysterious neighbor suddenly asks her out on a date, Adeline Rose has suspicions he’s fishing for “help” with his bundle of…joy? By date’s end, she’s convinced Nick’s just as distant as he seems—until a scorching goodnight kiss ends with sex against the nearest wall, the heat between them burning away all thoughts of careful.
Now Noel has more than one problem on his hands. Splitting baby duty between three badass assassins, figuring out how to fit more time with Addy into his no-room-for-error schedule…and keeping both of them safe from the danger he’s increasingly sure has followed him home.
Product Warnings
Beware a killer with a heart of gold, a baby who needs constant changing, and unrequited love that’s actually quite…requited.
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REVIEW: CONTRACT SIGNED is the first installment in Marie Harte’s contemporary adult TRIGGERMAN, INC romantic suspense series. This is hired assassin/secret government agent Noel ‘Ice’ Cavanaugh, and elementary school teacher Adeline ‘Addy’ Rose’s story line.
Told from several third person perspectives including Addy and Noel, CONTRACT SIGNED follows the building relationship between thirty year old government agent/ assassin Noel ‘Ice’ Cavanaugh, and twenty six year old elementary school teacher Adeline ‘Addy’ Rose, and Noel’s desperate need to protect the woman with whom he is falling in love. Noel is a contractor for the ‘Business’, a secret government organization that ‘takes care’ of the filth and political low lifes destroying people’s lives. But a number of recent attempts on Noel’s life, seemingly unconnected to his current contract finds Noel calling in a couple of other agents whose own connections to Noel grow over night. A four month old baby boy is left with Noel’s neighbor Addy Rose along with a note proclaiming Noel is the father. What ensues is the search for the truth about the abandoned baby boy; the building romance between Addy and Noel; and Noel’s attempts to stay one step ahead of whomever is out to destroy his life.
Addy Rose has lusted after her quiet, withdrawn neighbor for close to two years; a man so distant that Addy struggles to see past the cold and darkened façade but a man who tugs at Addy’s heart. Noel is an agent; raised on the streets of hard life and trained to be a killer by the man in charge.
The relationship between Addy and Noel begins as neighbors then friends leading to lovers and more. Noel has secretly coveted his sexy neighbor but his lifestyle is not conducive to relationships or love. With both of their lives threatened by an unknown source Noel reluctantly brings Addy into his life risking the truth about his present and the past. The $ex scenes are intimate, provocative and intense.
We are introduced to Noel’s fellow agents: Deacon, a thief known as the Shadow, and Hammer aka the Destroyer, as well as their handler, a man known only to the reader as Big Joe but a man who remains in the background giving out assignments and cleaning up when a job is done. Addy’s best friend Solene Hansen is a former model, and day care manager who may or may not have an attraction to Deacon, and Vi, a nurse working for the Business has caught the eye of the Hammer.
The world building looks at the dangerous life of a secret agent; an assassin who has been targeted in a game of betrayal and revenge. We also get a glimpse into the softer side of three assassins for hire when a four month old baby literally falls into their lives.
CONTRACT SIGNED has moments of humor and fun; secrets and lies; romance and love. The premise is intriguing and dramatic; the characters are energetic and inspiring; the romance is passionate and intense. CONTRACT SIGNED is a moving and thrilling start to a new series.
Copy supplied for review
Reviewed by Sandy
“Save me a few,” he ordered, unable to look away from a blushing Addy.
“You can let me go now, Noel. I’m not going to fall.”
Deacon snickered. Hammer cleared his throat.
Much as he didn’t want to, Noel released his hold on her narrow waist. “Sure.” He didn’t step back, though.
She did. “Ah, I should go.”
“Not yet.” Noel felt frustrated. He’d been doing his best to get along with Thing 1 and Thing 2, but the idiots weren’t helping. Neither guy would admit to being the baby’s father, though they acknowledged what a great time they’d had in Mexico. The DNA results they’d sent in would take a few weeks. Until then, he refused to let the guys go home.
The baby was not his problem alone. The dirty diapers, the feedings, the constant crying—they were annoying but bearable. The kid’s adorable smiles and laughter, admittedly, warmed that coldness inside him without even trying.
The two assassins crowding his private space, invading the schedules and normalcy of his home, however, gave him constant headaches. He’d ached to shoot at least one of them ten times a day, and they’d only arrived forty-eight hours ago.
He wouldn’t have minded Addy dropping by before now, and that surprised him. He’d actually wanted to go next door several times over the past few days, to see her pretty eyes and watch her smile. Silly, but the baby was making him feel more human than he liked to admit.
At least with Hammer and Deacon in residence, he wouldn’t be stuck playing babysitter forever. No matter how cute the kid was, a baby wouldn’t fit Noel’s lifestyle. Nor would a sexy, innocent neighbor who was looking way too good in that sweater and jeans.
Remember, Noel, she’s too good for you. Way out of your league.
“Hey, Addy, how’d you like to grab some dinner sometime?” Deacon asked out of the blue.
Noel should have poisoned the playboy years ago. He glared, his control once again shot to hell. “She can’t.”
“I can’t?” Addy sounded confused.
“She’s got a date with me later.”
“I do?”
He nodded and guided her toward the front office, where he pulled them both inside then closed the door. Now standing with her in a smaller space, just the two of them, alone, he felt himself relax.
“Um, Noel? What’s going on?”
She didn’t appear pleased. Crap. Probably should have asked her out instead of ordering her.
Award-winning author Marie Harte has been writing professionally since 2005. She’s both a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author and has written over 100 books and counting. Marie writes books with heat, humor, and character. She writes independently and for several publishers, to include Sourcebooks and Samhain. Though currently writing contemporary romance, she also writes paranormal and romantic suspense.
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