Read an #Excerpt from Deeper Than The Ocean by Julie Ann Walker

About the Book

Deeper Than The Ocean
The Deep Six Book 4
by Julie Ann Walker
Format: 305 pages, Kindle Edition
Published: May 31, 2021 by Limerence Publications LLC

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julie Ann Walker delivers perfect pulse-pounding romantic suspense! The former Navy SEALs of Deep Six Salvage thought they could retire to the sea and hunt for treasures of the deep, but when trouble comes to visit, there'll be hell to pay.

Ray “Wolf” Roanhorse took one look at Chrissy and knew she was the woman of his dreams. There’s a hitch, however. He screwed things up with her. Big time. Now all she wants is to be friends. He’ll have to be his most charismatic and charming self if he has any hope of changing her mind. And winning her heart.

Christina Szarek knows all about sexy, brooding men like Wolf. She grew up watching her mother fall for – and be broken by – plenty of them. If she had her way, she’d avoid Wolf altogether. But they’re partners in the hunt for the Santa Cristina’s legendary treasure. Avoidance is impossible. And the longer she’s near him, the more he chips away at the walls she’s erected against him.

The danger to Chrissy doesn’t only come from her burgeoning feelings, however. There are mysterious players who would see her silenced – for good. And Wolf, with his wicked grin and spec-ops training, is all that stands between her and a date with death in the deep.

AMAZON | B&N 

Excerpt

“Wolf...” She said his name simply because she wanted to hear it. Then something occurred to her. Propping her head in her hand, she gazed down at him. “How did you get that nickname anyway?”
“You mean Wolf?” He frowned. 
She rolled her eyes. “What else would I be talking about?”
“Smartass.” He shook his head, but there was affection in his eyes. “I was confused since it’s not really a nickname. It’s my middle name.”
“Your middle name is Wolf?”
“Sort of.”
She blinked. “I’m confused.”
“My middle name is Waya, which is Cherokee for Wolf. When I was little, my family called me Waya. But once I started school, I was teased by the other boys for havin’ what they thought sounded like a girl name. So I asked everyone to start callin’ me by the English version.” He hitched his shoulder. “I’ve been Wolf since I was six years old. Although, my elisi still sometimes calls me Waya.”
“You don’t talk much about your indigenous heritage.” She cocked her head. “Why is that?”
He scratched his chin in thought. Then he admitted, “Probably two reasons. The first one bein’ there’s still real and pervasive discrimination against Native peoples. I remember my third grade teacher, Mrs. Yates, tellin’ the class ‘The only reason Oklahoma exists as a state is ‘cause the Indians were too drunk and too stoned on peyote to keep their land.’”
Chrissy’s heart shriveled at the thought of little Wolf hearing that from an adult who was supposed pass on the knowledge of cursive writing and multiplication tables, but instead passed on bigotry, hatred, and unspeakable misinformation. 
“It was better to blend in,” he continued. “Which was actually pretty easy. I mean, it’s not like I was playin’ stickball and goin’ to pow wows and stomp dances every weekend. I was playin’ baseball, eatin’ hotdogs, and helpin’ my grandparents on their farm. Pretty much like every other kid from my neck of the woods.”
She nodded. “I get it. At that age no one wants to be other.”
“Oh, I mean I loved my Cherokee culture. And durin’ the festivals I did play stickball and go to pow wows and stomp dances. It’s simply that it wasn’t part of the day-to-day, and I learned not to advertise it.”
She nodded again. “And the second reason?” 
“I’ve never felt like an authority on the culture or traditions, so I’m not comfortable talkin’ about it. My grandmother is an authority. And believe me, as an adult I can sit and listen to her for hours. But when I was younger?” His expression turned chagrined. “I was more interested in how to make a mountain of nachos than one-pot venison stew. More excited to talk about girls than the Cherokee creation myths.”
“Still,” she sighed, “it must be nice to belong to something bigger than yourself. To a history that spreads out over millennia.”
He nodded. “Gloria Steinman once described white Americans as ‘a people without a tribe.’ I supposed, deep in all of us, there’s a need to belong to somethin’ larger, somethin’ older and more fundamental.”  
Maybe that’s why Chrissy had always longed for a big family. She was trying to build her own tribe. Trying to be part of something larger than herself.

The Deep Six Series

About the Author

A New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Julie loves to travel the world looking for views to compete with her deadlines. And if those views happen to come with a blue sky and sunshine? All the better! When she's not writing, Julie enjoys camping, hiking, cycling, fishing, cooking, petting every dog that walks by her, and... reading, of course!

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