#Giveaway & #Excerpt from Watching Over You by Lori Foster

 

About the Book

Watching Over You
(McKenzies of Ridge Trail #3)
by Lori Foster
ebook, 384 pages
Published December 28th 2021 by HQN Books
ISBN1488078009

Mysterious, unpredictable and most definitely scorching hot.

While investigating a criminal network, Detective Crosby Albertson keeps crossing paths with members of the highly trained, suspiciously well-informed McKenzie family. They’re always one step ahead of him—especially their alarmingly attractive intel specialist, Madison. And he needs to find out why.

Madison McKenzie is the tech and surveillance whiz of her family’s operation. A recent case introduced her to Detective Albertson. She finds herself irresistibly drawn to the sexy and mysterious cop. There’s just one problem. He’s a detective and her family’s work is secret. When Crosby starts digging for information about the McKenzies, Madison’s got to get him off the scent…while keeping him at a safe distance. 

AMAZON | B&N 

Excerpt

Snuggled into her chic white snowsuit, complete with a faux fur trimmed trapper hat and attached goggles, Madison parked her SUV behind Crosby’s car, all the while wonder¬ing why he would tool around in this weather in a sedan. At least he had chains on his tires, using some common sense.
She wondered, too, why he would stand there on the side¬walk outside a small mom-and-pop store and do that whole-body frowning thing. Something had angered him, but she didn’t yet know what. Since he hadn’t looked at her, she fig¬ured she wasn’t the cause of his irritation this time—a nice change for once.
After staring through the window for a flat ten seconds, Crosby went into the store, leaving her with a tingle of an¬ticipation at seeing him again. The last time she’d been so close to him was well before Christmas, and now it was early February. She’d kissed him then… And he’d laughed.
Worse, he thought she’d kissed him for underhanded rea¬sons.
She was still mad at him for that—she really was—but even though their relationship was strained at best, hostile at worst, she’d missed him.
Assuming he wouldn’t recognize her bundled up as she was for the weather, Madison trudged through the deep snow and entered the quaint store. A bell jingled above the front door, drawing attention her way.
As was her habit, she immediately did a quick assessment of the small interior. Shelves lined every wall, packed from top to bottom. Besides Crosby, she noted a clerk behind the counter and a youth who’d been stocking the shelves.
Unfortunately, there were also three men in the process of robbing the place.
Well. She supposed that explained Crosby’s fierce frown.
She also had the terrible suspicion that he recognized her even under all her winter gear. Had he been onto her follow¬ing him all along?
His cleverness was just one more appealing trait she ad¬mired.
Guns drawn and faces hidden behind thick winter ski masks, the robbers mostly kept their attention on Crosby and the clerk, but they did repeatedly glance her way. Aggressively, one of the men gestured with his gun, say¬ing, “What the hell are you people doing out on a day like this?”
Another man said, “I knew we should have locked the door.”
Crosby said, “I offered, if you’ll recall.”
So he’d considered locking her out? Too bad for him.
Dressed as she was, the men couldn’t see much of her face or body, but she felt certain they knew she was female. It was there in the way she stood with her hands on her hips, in the long hair trailing out of her hat and probably in the way her lips smiled. “Am I interrupting?”
The man who waved the gun around barked, “Over here, now.”
That suited her just fine.
As Madison started forward, her awareness of Crosby sharpened. Today he wore a dark puffer coat, thick wool scarf and padded gloves. Always, no matter the situation, he managed to look like an impeccable male model. Well, except for his sandy-brown hair. He wore it just long enough for it to curl a little at the very ends. It gave him an appeal¬ingly messy look in stark contrast with his otherwise im¬maculate appearance.
Those dark-as-sin eyes of his never left the men standing before him, though he didn’t look anxious about the situation.
Annoyed, yes. Alert, certainly. She sensed more than saw that all he needed was an opening, and he’d take on all three of the intruders.
In that, she could certainly assist.
As she strode forward, she asked the stock boy, “Would you mind ducking behind that shelf?”
Startled, the kid said, “Um…” 
The robbers all started protesting at the same time, one of them barking, “No one fucking moves!”
Speaking over him, Madison said to the clerk, “If you could possibly duck down very quickly?”
Crosby issued a sound like a snarl and took a quick step to his left, which effectively shielded the clerk. The older man dropped fast behind the counter. That got the kid moving, too, and he jumped behind a shelf of canned goods.
With the two innocents protected, she set about wrap¬ping up the danger.
“Bitch!” one of the robbers snapped, lunging for her and catching her arm in a viselike grip. Madison let him propel her forward. Deliberately crashing into him, she grabbed his wrist to control the weapon. Because the floor was concrete and could cause a ricochet, she forced his arm up and back. The gun discharged, the sound loud in the small store, but the bullet merely hit a wall of beer cases. The yeasty brew sprayed out.
Fluid, even graceful—or so she liked to think—she swung the first man’s gun hand around and, since he fired again, caused him to pop the second man in the thigh, making him buckle.
Guy number two cursed a blue streak as he went down.
The dummy who’d grabbed her slipped in the beer and went down, finally releasing the gun. She wrenched it away, turned and shot him in the shoulder. His shout of pain min¬gled with curse words.
Crosby had already gone after the third man, making quick work of subduing him. She heard the snap of bone and knew it was the man’s arm breaking. That one wouldn’t be holding a gun for a while.
Furious, guy number two held his bloody thigh with one hand and took aim at her with the other. 
Crosby kicked his gun away at the same time she stomped his privates. Her snow boots were heavy, her aim sure.
As if in slow motion, the dude curled in on himself, his groan low and deep.
She had just a moment to admire Crosby’s skill, seeing him finish off the third man with a punch that sent him col¬lapsing back into a display of chips.
Three men, now all wounded, two with gunshot wounds and one with a broken arm. Crosby grabbed the one she’d shot in the shoulder, stopping him from scurrying away.
He used that effective one-punch power she so often ad¬mired in her brothers and put the guy to sleep.
“Well done,” Madison said, smiling at how seamlessly they’d worked as a team. Leaning over the counter, she said to the clerk, “Could you call 911, please? In this weather, it might take them a bit to respond. They’ll need as much no¬tice as possible.”
Rigid, Crosby stood there glowering at her among the fallen bodies, spilled beer and scattered chips. Rage still permeated his entire being.
Those clenched fists of his? Impressive.
The rock-solid line of his shoulders under his coat? Very stirring.
“You,” he whispered, the sound raw-edged with anger, “are not in charge here.”
Smiling, Madison held up her hands. Unlike her brothers, she didn’t mind stepping back—just a little.

Excerpted from Watching Over You by Lori Foster. Copyright © 2021 by Lori Foster. Published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

The McKenzies of Ridge Trail Series

About the Author

Since first publishing in January 1996, Lori Foster has become a USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly and New York Times bestselling author. Lori has published through a variety of houses, including Kensington, St. Martin’s, Harlequin, Silhouette, Samhain, and Berkley/Jove. She is currently published with HQN.

http://www.lorifoster.com/

Giveaway

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