Material Witness
Authors: L. A. Mondello,Lisa Mondello
MATERIAL WITNESS
By L.A.
Mondello
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Published by: Lisa Mondello
* * * * *
Copyright © 2012 by Lisa Mondello
License Notes
This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This
eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people unless it is part of the
lending program. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was
not purchased for lending through Amazon for Kindle, then you delete it from
your device and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's
work.
* * * * *
This book is dedicated with love to my dear friend Scott Ricciuti. Check
out his latest CD,
Like the Red Haunts the Wine
, at
http://www.ScottRicciuti.com
Keep the music alive…
* * * * *
*
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"Mondello's latest, a pulse-pounding, pitch-perfect addition to
the romantic-suspense genre... Terrific escapist entertainment, as good as
anything in Janet Evanovich's oeuvre."
- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Material Witness, named one of Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2012!
“Truly a joy to read.”
-
Susan Mobley
Her
Heart for the Asking - 4 STARS Romantic Times
“The Marriage Contract is a very entertaining read.”
- Sunnye Tiedemann
The
Marriage Contract – 4 STARS Romantic Times
“Cradle of Secrets, a story shrouded in mystery, darkness and
confusion, is quite difficult to resist…captivating, and often quite
emotional.”
– Robin Taylor
Cradle
of Secrets – 4 STARS Romantic Times
“Lisa Mondello's Her Only Protector is an extremely stimulating romance
and suspense story.”
– Robin Taylor
Her
Only Protector – 4.5 STARS Romantic Times
“Mondello's action-packed story has a nice developing romance.”
– Susan Mobley
Yuletide
Protector – 4 STARS Romantic Times
*
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Who does she trust when she’s living the
real-life horror of one of her crime novels…
Bestselling crime novelist Cassie Alvarez, aka Cassie Lang,
has murder on her mind when she walks into Rory's Bar underdressed and
undercover to research her latest crime novel. Researching the cool, blue-eyed
and dashingly handsome man at the end of the bar stirs her senses more than she
wants to admit. But is this man of leather armor all he appears to be?
Playing White Knight to an innocent wasn't how Detective Jake
Santos planned to spend his time undercover. But there’s no way "CJ"
is what she claims to be, and that nagging tightness in Jake's chest tells him
he'd better take her home to safety and leave it at that. Then the barroom
explodes with gunfire, leaving a trail of dead that includes a notorious
Providence crime boss and an undercover FBI agent. When Cassie’s name is leaked
to the media as the only witness to the grisly murders, Cassie insists she only
trusts Jake to protect her.
The FBI wants their star witness happy and will do anything
to make sure Cassie testifies. But it is clear to Jake that the shooter isn’t
the only person who wants Cassie dead. Not knowing who to trust, he vows to
protect Cassie at all cost despite the fact that guarding the beautiful
novelist is a serious distraction.
* * * * *
Ebooks
by Lisa Mondello
Texas Hearts Series (Contemporary Western Romance)
Her Heart for the Asking - book 1
His Heart for the Trusting - book 2
Leaving
Liberty – book 5 (
To be released in 2013
)
Texas Hearts Box Set (Books 1-3)
Fate with a Helping Hand Series (Contemporary Romance)
All I Want for Christmas is You - book 1
The Marriage Contract – book 2
The Knight and Maggie’s Baby – book 3
The
Knight and the Cowgirl – book 4 (
Soon to be released in 2013
)
Tempting Fate Box Set (books 1-3)
Heroes of Providence Series (Romantic Suspense)
Material Witness - book 1
(**Named one of Kirkus
Reviews Best Books of 2012
)
Safe
Haven – book 2 (
Soon to be released in 2013
)
Nothing But Trouble (Contemporary Western Romance)
Unsuitably
Perfect (Box Set – 3 books in 1)
Love
Me Some Cowboy (Box Set – 5 books in 1)
* * * * *
Dear Reader
with chance to win a Free EReader
* * * * *
MATERIAL WITNESS
By L.A. Mondello
She was going to kill Maureen.
There was no doubt about it now.
Cassie Alvarez yanked down the hem of
her too-short red spandex mini-dress, trying to conceal what every man with a
pulse at Rory's seemed to be ogling over. She was tired, cold and exposed, but
it was no use. No matter how much she covered her bare flesh, she was all out
there like the woman of the night she was pretending to be.
Damn Maureen…and damn her for
listening.
It had taken Cassie all of ten
seconds after seating herself at the bar to realize just how big a mistake
she’d made in coming to a bar owned by one of Providence’s most notorious crime
bosses. When you walk through fire, you get burned. With all the stares she’d
gotten just walking across the floor, she felt like burnt toast.
Definitely murder.
It was her forte. The only question
left was how? She’d plotted many murders in the past. She was good at it. And
nothing was too harsh for what Maureen was putting her through tonight. The
least Maureen could have done was come here with her since it was her idea.
Maureen’s idea. But despite all the
convincing, Cassie couldn’t figure out exactly why she’d actually agreed. Her
editor had always been good at pulling her strings. And that nauseated Cassie
even more than having her thighs stuck to the barstool.
Note to self:
Learn to assert yourself with
your editor
even if she is your best friend.
Cassie vowed to do just that right
after she was finished wringing Maureen's bony little neck.
Turning her attention to her diet
soda, Cassie used her red-striped straw to play with the maraschino cherry that
had sunk to the bottom of the glass. The bartender wiped the polished surface
of the bar as he made his way closer to Cassie. She made eye contact with him
when came close enough. With her hand still holding the sweating glass, he
snatched her drink and dumped the contents into a bucket behind the counter.
“Hey, I was still drinking that.”
“You’ve been stirring it for an hour.
It’s nothing but melted ice and you’re making a mess of my bar. Doesn’t look
good. Here’s another one.”
Before she could protest further, he
had a clean glass full of ice under the soda fountain and was filling it.
“Don’t worry. I don’t expect you to
tip me twice.”
While her mouth was still dropped
open, he made his way down to the other end of the bar, wiping as he went.
She'd give anything to be home right now wearing her favorite Boston Bruins
tee-shirt and the Brown University sweat pants that, even though they’d seen
better days, Cassie refused to give up. Instead of three-and-a-half-inch
stilettos, her feet would be warm in her fuzzy slippers. Instead, she was stuck
in a bar watching people who’d be the inspiration for her next crime novel.
“Life mimicking art,” she mumbled.
“How’s that for stupidity, Cass?”
She blinked her sore eyes as the haze
of the neon lights on the window assaulted them. The quickest way to get out of
here was to take notes and get into the head of her character. How could she
write about a woman who was so devastated by circumstance, who felt trapped in
a life beyond her control, if she hadn’t lived it? She needed to step outside
herself to break this block.
The room was thinning out now, but
there were still enough people to talk to. The couple in their fifties, arguing
at a table, looked too self-absorbed to do her any good. The “suit” with the
combed-over shiny head, sitting alone at a table by the bathroom, looked like
he was about to fall asleep in his martini.
Cassie snapped her glance away from
him as he lifted his head in her direction. Better to leave this man with his
troubles and not make them one of hers.
The argument from the couple grew
louder. Apparently they’d both had a little too much to drink and were loud
enough for Cassie to hear every intimate detail.
Someone was walking home
tonight.
And then there was the black-armored
thug seated at the end of the bar, staring at
her
. Yeah she’d noticed.
His interest in her was unmistakable. Their gazes locked for a lingering
moment. The heat in his eyes was piercing.
Cassie glanced down at her cleavage
and to her bare legs. It couldn’t be the dress. There was nothing but a few
scraps of fabric covering her.
Slowly, she turned to look over her
shoulder, just to see if she was wrong and he was actually looking at someone
else. The table behind her was empty. When she turned back, it was as if he’d
caught her in a radar lock.
Terrific.
“A little too eager beaver, but…”
she muttered.
The guy was hunched over with his long
arms draped stiffly on top of the bar with his black leather jacket encasing
him like body armor. His strong jaw had a don't-fuck-with-me tightness she was
sure was bred of years of hanging out in a dive like this.
Cassie wanted to feel bad for him. All
of them really. What made a person come to a place like this thinking it could
resolve their sorrows? She had to find out. Only then would she understand her
character.
As she always did with people she
encountered, Cassie began to formulate a character sketch. She couldn't quite
come up with one for this guy though. He was…
Okay, so he was a good-looking thug.
If she’d met him anywhere else she would have been…attracted to him. Her
insides stirred violently, causing heat to rise from the pit of her stomach, up
her chest and to her already warm cheeks, making them flame.
It’s only research, for God’s sake!
She was only pretending to be a
hooker to research her next crime novel. It wasn’t like she was actually going
to pick up the guy.
She pulled her cell phone out of her
purse and began texting.
You’re a dead woman, Maureen. Remind
me tomorrow how much I hate you for this.
Cassie pressed the send button.
A few seconds later, her phone
vibrated. A quick look at the glowing screen and she saw Maureen’s name.
Quit
acting like a baby! You’re a grown woman. Shake your girls, ask some questions,
and then get back to that computer! You’ll be writing in no time! M.
“If I shake my
girls
, I’ll
fall out of the damned dress,” Cassie said.
The bartender must have caught her
muttering because he was headed in her direction again. Before he could say
anything, she said, “I’m all set.”
With a heaving sigh, Cassie turned
her attention back to Mr. Thug with the cool leather jacket and smoky blue
eyes. Might as well go for broke. Stretching one of her long legs over the
other, tugging at the hem of the obscenely short dress to keep it in place, she
tossed him her most seductive smile. She’d talk to him for two minutes tops and
then she’d be gone. If she failed, she'd have to give back her advance.