Author: Stacey Joy Netzel

Series: Italy Intrigue Series #3

Release Date: May 19, 2015

~ SYNOPSIS ~

One year after being shot in Italy, Rachel Sanders returns in search of the jeweled cross that triggered a heartbreaking family betrayal. Determined to keep the treasure from her mother’s greedy hands, she’s caught off guard by the interference of an irresistibly charming rival. His unexpected offer to help might be self-serving, but she’s thrown into a precarious situation where she can’t refuse...and finds she doesn’t want to anyway. 

But they’re not the only ones after the cross. Ruthless players willing to do anything to recover the treasure first put Nick and Rachel’s lives at risk. Despite all the secrets and lies, lines quickly blur between the con and the real deal. Can love survive a double-cross when the mystery is unlocked?

~ EXCERPT ~

Nick unsuccessfully fought a yawn and then rubbed his hand over the scruff on his jaw as he watched the entryway of Rachel’s building from his shaded vantage point across the street. After she’d bolted last night, he’d started his search at the first bar closest to his rental. When he didn’t find the two guys who’d broken in, he moved on to the next. And the next.

He’d half-expected them to stop at the first place along the way to wherever they were going, but unfortunately, they proved to be smarter than they’d sounded. Getting up to be at the train station for the first run at five-thirty hadn’t paid off, either. He seriously hadn’t expected it to be so hard to find a tall blond man with a shorter bald guy that early in the morning.

Operating on three hours of sleep left him tired and cranky. Even with his sunglasses on, the bright morning sunshine hurt his eyes. Every blink felt like his eyelids were coated in sandpaper. He desperately needed another shot of caffeine, but the way his luck was going, the moment he stepped away from his lookout, the oldest Sanders sibling would slip right through his fingers. Following her might give him something of use to put him back in the game.

She finally made an appearance about twenty minutes after nine, turning west as she exited the building. She strolled along the ancient city streets as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Her hair glinted like spun gold in the sun, swaying back and forth across her back in time with the swish of a just above the knee peach colored dress.

He followed at a distance, wondering if he was making the right move. His gaze lingered on those long legs, her toned calves enhanced by another pair of heeled sandals.

Nope, no wondering about it. The fact he couldn’t forget the feel of her body pressed against his in the darkened bedroom told him this plan was definitely not his smartest move.

Unfortunately, with the letters lost, the sexy, leggy blond was the only move he could make.

So long as he didn’t make a move on her, he should be fine. Right?

Riiight.

Nick noticed she’d gotten a little farther ahead than he was comfortable with, and then he lost sight of her when she moved in front of a group of early-bird tourists.

Sonofabitch.

He couldn’t afford to lose track of her. After she’d had the daring to follow him and try to take back her stuff, he needed to see what she was up to.

He hurried to catch up, but she was nowhere to be found as he searched up one street, and down the next. Vanished without a trace. Drawing in a deep breath through his nose, he blew it back out through his mouth. He loved Italy, but the convoluted layout of Venice’s streets and canals was really starting to get on his nerves.

Frustration piled on the events of last night, compounded by little sleep. He strode to the end of the street, and out into the market square of Santa Maria Formosa, feeling like he could shake his fists at the heavens.

“Lose something, Nicholas?”

He whirled around to find his quarry leaning against a building, those gorgeous legs of hers crossed at the ankles. Looking casual and unconcerned, she twirled a pair of sunglasses round and round in one hand.

Be nice. You need her.