Guest Post & Giveaway with Tiffany Snow, TURN ON A DIME - BLANE'S TURN

Blane Kirk is a Navy SEAL turned high-powered attorney with old money and an even older pedigree. Yes, he plays the field, changing women as often as he changes his ties, but they’re not complaining. He has only two rules – 1) Don’t date employees and 2) Don’t get emotionally involved. Those rules have served him well. He sees no reason to change his ways, until his Runner, an employee in his law firm named Kathleen Turner, does an unexpected face plant in his lap.Kathleen’s too young, too innocent, and suddenly much too vulnerable when her friend is murdered and Blane knows she could be next. Keeping her alive means keeping her close, but can Blane keep her safe...from him? Kathleen’s like no woman he’s ever met, and protecting her could be the one thing he never expected that would make his life turn on a dime.

TURN ON A DIME – BLANE’S TURN is a companion novel to NO TURNING BACK, Book One in The Kathleen Turner Series.

 

TURN ON A DIME – KADE’S TURN will be released in the Fall of 2013.

It was a matter of minutes before Blane was pulling into Kathleen’s parking lot. He’d used the Jag’s speed to his advantage, the streets deserted at this time of night. He grabbed his gun from the glove box, checking the clip to make sure it was loaded, then shoved it the back of his pants. Its comforting weight against the small of his back eased Blane’s peace of mind. He hated having to go unarmed.

He knocked on Kathleen’s door, waiting impatiently for her to answer. His skin was practically twitching at the idea that she wasn’t safe. It was with relief that he saw the door open and she stood there, unhurt.

Kathleen didn’t say anything, just stepped back so Blane could enter. He could tell at once she was in shock. Her face was stark white, her eyes barely seeming to focus on anything.

Blane took her arm and led her to the battered couch, sitting next to her and taking her hands in his. They were freezing and fine tremors shook her, though she seemed wholly unaware of it.

“Your hands are like ice, Kathleen,” Blane said. “Tell me what happened.” He gently rubbed her hands, trying to ground her before she recounted her tale. Blane had lost count of the times he’d done this with family members and friends of victims of a violent crime. Their reactions were almost always the same. Shock, horror, fear, grief.

She looked up, her eyes wide. Haltingly, she spoke.

“I was asleep. Something woke me. I heard arguing. I thought it was Sheila and her boyfriend, Mark. Then it stopped.

“I couldn’t go back to sleep. I was worried about her. So I got up and went over to her place.”

Tears started slipping down her cheeks, tracks that spilled from eyes made even more brilliant blue from the saline. She wasn’t sobbing or making any noise at all as she told him what happened. She just cried. It was like a punch to Blane’s gut, and he was forcefully reminded of the supposed power of a woman’s tears over the opposite gender. He’d always thought himself immune.

Guess not.

“The door was open, so I went in,” she continued. “And she was in her bed. And blood was everywhere—” She couldn’t continue. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to take her in his arms while she cried on his shoulder, her small form shaking with the force of her grief.

Blane held her closer than appropriate, but couldn’t seem to help himself, running his hands up and down her back and cursing himself six ways from Sunday for enjoying holding her a little too much for a situation such as this. He justified it by reminding himself that she was alone. She needed him.

He liked that. A lot.

When her sobs had died down, he asked, “You went into the apartment by yourself?”

She nodded, her body still clinging to his.

“Did you see anyone?”

“No.”

Blane’s eyes slipped shut in dismay and the next question was said more curtly than he intended. “So the person who did this could have still been there when you walked in?”

Kathleen didn’t answer, but a violent shiver ran through her and Blane instinctively tightened his hold.

Had this been some random thing? Was it a matter of luck, of the capricious whim of fate that the killer had chosen the door on his right rather than the one on his left? Had Blane nearly lost Kathleen tonight, before she’d ever been his to lose?

The thought had him pulling back. The need to make sure she was safe, that no one lurked nearby waiting to hurt her, was riding him hard.

“I’m going to check things out,” he said, unable to resist the compulsion to act.

“No,” she said, grabbing a fistful of his jacket. “They might still be out there!” Her eyes were wide with panic.

Ouch. It might take a while for his ego to cope with that direct hit.

“It’s all right,” Blane said, removing his Glock. Her eyes widened at the sight of the weapon.

“Why do you have a gun?” she asked.

Her naiveté was kind of sweet, refreshing. Blane had seen too much of the world to have any illusions left as to the people he sometimes defended. “Have you met our clients? Don’t worry. I know how to use it.”

The obvious doubt on her face was another blow to his pride. What, did she think he was some pansy-ass that needed protecting rather than being the one who provided the protection? He was definitely losing his edge.

“But… how?” she asked.

He was starting to get seriously offended. “Military,” he replied curtly. Enough of this conversation. They were wasting time. He stood. “Stay here,” he ordered.

The World According to Blane (5 Rules)

1 – Trust must be earned.

2 – Disloyalty will not be forgiven.

3 – If you’re my friend, I’ll lay down my life for you.

4 – Everyone wants something.  Nothing’s for free.

5 – A man’s role is to protect and defend. Anything less is unacceptable.

I love to write and am thrilled to be a part of the Amazon Montlake family. My debut novel, NO TURNING BACK, is the first book in The Kathleen Turner Series. I write about things I love to read myself - a heroine who could be a neighbor or best friend; two men who each portray their own version of darkness and light, each vying for her affection; and a story that focuses as much on the characters as it does the suspense. NO TURNING BACK, TURN TO ME, and TURNING POINT currently comprise The Kathleen Turner Series. The fourth book, OUT OF TURN, will be released 12/17/13. There will be a total of five books in the Kathleen Turner Series.

As for me, I've been reading romance novels since I was way too young to read such things, have an unhealthy obsession for all things Doctor Who, prefer Pepsi to Coke and Absolut to both, think men who drink girly cocktails are wusses, have learned to never stop believing in my beloved St. Louis Cardinals, and can recite the entire scripts of When Harry Met Sally and Apollo 13. George Washington is cool, Bon Jovi still rocks the house, and Bruce Willis is the ultimate alpha-male hero. Most of all, romance never, ever gets old.

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