L: "Love, Lies & Deceit"

Love, Lies & Deceit was my first romantic suspense novel. It's available in different e-book formats at Red Rose Publishing and for a Kindle at amazon.com.

Against regulations, rookie CIA officer Julie McBride and her training officer, Jason Reid fell in love. But, when Jason is arrested for treason, Julie has to decide whether she believes in him enough to risk her own career and life to help him prove his innocence.

Love, Lies and Deceit excerpt:

Back on the highway, Julie took the George Washington Memorial Highway to Alexandria and to her apartment. When she walked in the door, a strange feeling came over her. She turned on the light and looked around the room. Everything looked in its place. She put her keys and purse on the table and walked into the kitchen. That's when she noticed the glass sitting next to the sink, used. She knew she hadn't dirtied a glass that morning. She walked into the living room and got her gun from the desk drawer. The only place someone could be hiding in her apartment was the bathroom or the bedroom.

She walked toward the bathroom. The door stood ajar. With her foot she pushed it all the way open and turned on the light. No one was inside, or hiding in the shower. Once in the hallway, she stepped toward the bedroom. This door was open, but the room inside was dark. With gun in one hand, she reached in to flick the switch with the other. But, before she could turn the light on, a hand grabbed her arm with the gun and flung her on the bed. Someone landed on top of her and pinned down her hand with the gun. Her attempt to scream was stifled because a hand clasped over her mouth. She tried to struggle, but he was too strong.

"Stop fighting me and don't scream." The man took the gun out of her hand.

"I'm going to take my hand away from your mouth. You aren't going to scream, are you?"

She shook her head no. Gradually, he removed his hand from over her mouth until she was able to speak. "Get off me, you bastard!" She had recognized her assailant's voice.

He rolled off and she turned on the light. Jason stood on the other side of the bed from her. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I needed to talk to you."

"You couldn't pick up the phone and call me? I would have come to your apartment." She rolled her neck to make sure she was okay.

"My phone is being monitored."

"What do you want?"

"I need your help, but first I need to know if I can trust you." He swallowed hard. "Did you have anything to do with the drop in Austria, resulting in my arrest?"

She looked at her gun in his hand. "You still have my gun. How I answer your question determines what you do with it."

He placed her gun on her bed. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize I still had it. Julie, I have to know if you were involved in some way."

She laughed. "I must be a pretty damn good spy if you need to ask me that. No, I had nothing to do with it."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, dropping his head. "I believe you."

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