EXCERPT:
Valdez, Alaska
The
piercing ring of the cell phone lying on his nightstand didn’t bode well. There was no such thing as good news at three o’clock in the morning.
With a
sigh, Rafe rolled over and grabbed the phone, scrubbed a hand over his face as
he pressed it against his ear. “Brodie.”
“Police
Chief Rosen here. We’ve got a problem,
Rafe, and it’s not a good one. I need
you to meet me down at the harbor. How
soon can you get here?”
Rafe
swung his long legs to the side of the bed and sat up.
“Ten minutes.
What’s this about, Chief?”
“It’s
Scotty Ferris, Rafe. I’m afraid he’s
dead. I’ll fill you in when you get
here. I’ll be waiting on the dock next
to the Scorpion.” The police chief hung up the phone.
For
several long moments, Rafe just sat there.
His chest felt tight. Scotty
Ferris was twenty-four years old, a handsome, hard-working kid who was engaged
to be married. His June wedding to
Cassie Webster, one of the local girls, was only three weeks away. Cassie was going to be crushed.
Rafe
swore softly. What the hell could have
happened?
But in
this rugged country where the climate, wild animals, or just bad judgment could
get you killed, accidents happened all the time.
Shoving
himself up from the bed, Rafe grabbed a pair of worn jeans off the chair and
jerked them on, pulled a sweatshirt over his head, pulled on his heavy sox, and
shoved his size-thirteen feet into a pair of high-topped, rubber-soled boots. Since the temperature at night even in late
May was still in the thirties and it had rained during the night, he grabbed
his jacket as he headed for the steps down to the garage.
The boat
harbor wasn’t far from his house. Sea Scorpion was his flagship charter fishing
boat, a thirty-eight-foot Mac, his pride and joy. It was the boat he usually captained himself,
one of three that made up his fleet.
Scotty Ferris was part of Scorpion’s
crew.
Rafe
thought of the young man as he parked his dark green Ford Expedition in a spot
in front of the harbor, climbed out, and closed the door. Puddles from last night’s rain sloshed
against his boots as he made his way toward the dock. The occasional street light burned into the
darkness but quiet surrounded him, along with the familiar salty tang of the
sea.
Rafe
couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
Which
brought his thoughts full-circle to Scotty.
With year-round residents numbering less that forty-five hundred,
everyone knew everyone who lived there.
And everyone knew and liked Scotty.
The kid had been born in Valdez.
He thrived on the rugged lifestyle, planned to marry and raise kids
here, probably never would have left.
What the
hell had happened? Rafe thought again as he walked toward his boat.
And why
did Chief Rosen want to meet him at the Scorpion?
A few
spaces down from where'd he parked, Rafe spotted a black-and-silver Ford police
SUV. In the distance, the familiar
antenna above the wheelhouse of the Scorpion
marked where the boat bobbed near the middle of the dock.
Rafe
started down the long wooden walkway, his gaze on the group of people gathered
next to where the Scorpion was
moored. The area was cordoned off with
yellow crime scene tape, the boat clearly off limits until the police were
finished collecting evidence.
Police
Chief Clifford Rosen, a stout man in his fifties, bald head ringed by thinning
gray hair, stood next to a figure lying on the dock, covered by a long white
cloth. Knowing Scotty Ferris lay under
the cloth made Rafe’s stomach burn.
“What
happened?” he asked the chief.
“Looks
like he was robbed,” Rosen answered.
“Wallet’s missing, jewelry’s gone.
Car keys. Cell phone’s missing. Single blow to the back of the head. Blunt instrument. Baseball bat seems the most likely, something
that size that was easy to handle.”
“Jesus.”
“I asked
you to come down because I need someone to identify the body. With his parents both dead, I figured better
you than his fiancée. Soon as you do
that, I’ll break the news to the Webster girl.”
Rafe
just nodded. Cassie was going to be
devastated. She and Scotty were crazy in
love, the kind Rafe figured had a good chance of lasting. Sometimes fate could be a real bastard.
One of
the officers, a red-haired young cop Rafe recognized as Rusty Donovan, leaned
down and lifted the edge of the sheet.
As the cover rolled back, Rafe’s gaze fixed on Scotty. The boy’s brown eyes were open, staring
sightlessly into the black night sky.
His handsome face was frozen in a look of surprise.
He was
wearing a jacket but it was unzipped, revealing a long-sleeved blue T-shirt
that read FISHERMEN DO IT DEEPER. Rafe
could almost see the grin on the kid’s face when he’d put it on.
“It’s
him,” he said darkly. “Scott Ferris.”
“You
know what he was doing down here?”
“No.”
But once
he got his head wrapped around Scotty’s death, he intended to find out.
The
breakfast crowd at the Pelican Café had begun to arrive, as people did every
morning when it opened at six A.M. The café had been started in the fifties and
been going strong every since. Of course
it had passed through a dozen different owners, had its ups and downs, and been
near financial ruin more than once.
Having
purchased the restaurant six months ago, Olivia Chandler was the most recent
person to step into the driver’s seat.
Unlike the previous owner, who had let the place sink into disrepair,
Olivia had been making changes, most of which had been heralded with great
enthusiasm by the local customers.
“Well,
look who’s coming,” Nell said. The buxom
woman with salt-and-pepper hair helped her run the café. “If it isn’t Mr. Tall, Dark, and
Handsome."
Liv
followed her gaze out the window to the man in jeans and a sweatshirt crossing
the outside patio. The brick patio was
empty now while it was still cold, but with summer approaching, soon would be
noisy with people.
Katie
walked past just then, heading for a table with a platter of bacon and eggs on
the flat of her hand. “I just call him
Mr. Freakin’ Hot.”
“Shame
on you,” Liv teased. “You just turned
twenty one. Rafe Brodie’s got to be at
least a dozen years older.”
“Just
means he’s a man not a boy. And I like a
guy with a little experience.”
“From
what I hear, he has plenty of that,” Liv said dryly as Katie sailed off to
deliver the food.
Nell
chuckled. “I’m fifty years old and that
man can still make me swoon.”
Olivia
busied herself wiping off the long Formica-topped counter as Rafe shoved
through the door, ringing the bell above.
Seating himself in his usual booth, he stretched his long legs out in
front of him. Rafe was a regular in the
café, which sat on North Harbor Road right across from the boat dock.
“Katie’s
busy,” Nell said with a match-making glint in her eyes. “Why don’t you wait on him?”
Olivia
shook her head. “I’m busy, too. You go ahead.”
Knowing
there was no persuading her, Nell sighed.
“Probably better you don’t.
Everyone in town knows Rafe’s a dedicated bachelor.”
Dedicated
bachelor or not, Nell and Katie were right.
With the thick dark brown hair curling just over his collar, the faint
shadow of beard that usually lined his hard jaw, and those hot, whiskey-brown
eyes, he was one of the best-looking men Olivia had ever seen.
Which
was exactly the reason she had avoided him since the day she had met him.
No use
putting temptation in her path. It was
simply too dangerous.
She
watched as Nell chatted with him a moment, then the easy smile Nell usually
gave him slipped from her face. The
coffee pot wavered. Rafe grabbed the
glass pot to keep her from dropping it and spilled hot coffee over his
hand.
Olivia
didn’t hesitate, just grabbed a towel, wet it with cold water, and hurried in
Rafe's direction. He was sitting down
again, Nell fussing over him, relieved to see Olivia approaching.
“Here--wrap
this around your fingers.” Liv handed
him the wet towel. “It’s cold enough to
ease the pain and keep the burn from getting worse.”
“I’m all
right,” Rafe said. “It’s no big
deal.” But he accepted the wet cloth and
looped it over the back of a big suntanned hand.
The man
was all of six-four, two-hundred-plus pounds, with a solid, athletic build and
very wide shoulders. Liv was five-nine,
but Rafe was more than half a head taller.
She tried not to stare at his mouth, which seemed harder this morning,
without the smile he always had for Nell.
She
glanced in her friend’s direction, sucked in a breath as Nell’s pale blue eyes
filled with tears.
“Oh,
God, what is it?”
Nell
blinked and the tears rolled down her cheeks.
She wiped at the wetness with a trembling hand. “I could tell something was wrong. It was stamped all over Rafe’s face.”
Liv
glanced from one of them to the other, saw the same grim expression on both of
their faces. “Tell me what’s happened.”
Nell
swallowed. “It’s...it’s Scotty. He was murdered last night.”
Liv
glanced across the table at Rafe. His
jaw looked iron-hard, his eyes so dark she could barely see a hint of
gold. For the first time it occurred to
her that Rafe was hurting, too. Scotty
was his first mate and they were friends.
Cassie had said Scott idolized Rafe, had thought of him as an older
brother.
His dark
eyes to her face. “Scott was a good
man. One of the best. Whoever killed him is going to pay.”
A little
shiver ran through her. It wasn’t a
statement. It was a vow.
And Liv completely believed it.
AGAINST
THE TIDE
By Kat
Martin
Release date: 5/26/15
BACK
COVER COPY
Secrets—and safety—melt
under a midnight sun…
Liv Chandler is running for her life, and the cops haven’t been able to do a thing to help. But there’s one man who makes her feel safe, no matter what…rugged charter boat captain Rafe Brodie.
To Rafe, Liv is a beautiful mystery, one he can’t ignore. He means to unearth her secrets, and in the process, if luck is on his side, maybe the spark between them will ignite.
But Liv’s past is more dangerous than Rafe could guess, and when his first mate turns up dead, she fears that she’s next. That there’s something else coming she can’t see. That even Rafe and the remote village of Valdez, Alaska can’t protect her forever…
Liv Chandler is running for her life, and the cops haven’t been able to do a thing to help. But there’s one man who makes her feel safe, no matter what…rugged charter boat captain Rafe Brodie.
To Rafe, Liv is a beautiful mystery, one he can’t ignore. He means to unearth her secrets, and in the process, if luck is on his side, maybe the spark between them will ignite.
But Liv’s past is more dangerous than Rafe could guess, and when his first mate turns up dead, she fears that she’s next. That there’s something else coming she can’t see. That even Rafe and the remote village of Valdez, Alaska can’t protect her forever…
SHORT
BLURB
Secrets
and Danger Threaten in the Land of the Midnight Sun…
Liv
Chandler is running for her life. She
can’t trust anyone, not even the one man who makes her feel safe—rugged
charter boat captain, Rafe Brodie.
Rafe
is determined to uncover Liv's secrets,
but the beautiful café owner has a past more dangerous than Rafe can
guess. Something terrible is coming…and
even in remote Valdez , Alaska
REVIEW
QUOTES
“Martin’s latest novel
leaves readers breathless with the absorbing combination of mystery and
romance.” —RTBookReviews
“This book is action
packed. It has plenty of suspense and I love that the story wasn't just given
away. It all evolved into something fabulous. It will have you looking for the
other Brodie books.” —Crystal’s Reviews
What
are readers saying about AGAINST THE TIDE?
“A sexy romantic thriller I didn't want
to stop reading.” —Paige, Mertztown, PA
“Thrilling, suspenseful and keeps you
hanging on till the very end! And...delicious romance!” — Misty, Galt, CA
“This book was a great read! Characters were intriguing. Story was easy to get swept away with.”
—Elissa, Collegeville, PA
“Awesome book from start to finish. I
was hooked right away & couldn't put it down!” —Amy, Las Cruces, NM
“Sexy and Intriguing read. A must read
if you love to get caught up in love and romance and danger.” —Kristen,
Oklahoma City, OK
“I loved it! Kat martin describes the
scenes with such detail it feels as if you're right there in the story. Loved
the characters and the whole plot.” —Lisa, Slippery Rock, PA
LINKS
BUY
LINKS
SOCIAL
MEDIA
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Kat-Martin/e/B000AQ0OJQ/
IDENTIFIERS
ASIN: B00ONTR60Q
ISBN: 9781420133868
ISBN-10: 1420133861
ISBN-13: 978-1420133868
Happy Reading!
~!~ Amanda, Novel Addiction ~!~
