The Executioner Returns!

Whoo hoo...my hot romantic suspense thriller returns to fight another day!

NB: This book is a re-release and has been previously published. It was originally in the BOYS DOWN UNDER anthology.

THE EXECUTIONER is now available for download from Amazon and it's only 99c!

Here's the blurb:

A team building exercise at a remote location reignites the heat between former lovers Madeleine Smith and Nicholas Garabaldi .  When team members start dying they must learn to trust again so they can outwit whoever is killing off the group one by one. Is this the “Executioner” from the indigenous Dream Time legend of the local Bilbulmun tribe?  Or is someone closer to home responsible?


EXCERPT:

Whoever said it was warm in Western Australia lied. It was bloody freezing as they speed-hiked through dense scrub the next morning, heading for some special spot off the beaten track. Although Gary said there was a clearing up ahead, Maddie had her doubts. All she could see was bush and more bush. After a cold outdoor shower with just a canvas sheet for privacy, and a greasy breakfast consisting of leftover sausages, she wasn’t in the mood for any of this. Not that she had any choice. The whole camp population was there on the track. All ten of them.

Ouch! Another twig scraped across her calf as she trudged further forward in an attempt to reach the others. Oh Joy. The group had stopped. The sun streaked through to an area where the trees were less dense, so she moved quickly to stand in and soak up its warming rays.

Gary clapped his hands and stood up on a fallen log, elevating him above the crowd. “Gather round folks. Let’s get ready for our first group exercise.”

The J-boys—Jason and Jerome—jumped to attention, first in line, to hear the day’s activities. What a couple of brown noses. Maddie slowly made her way over to the group, making a mental note to never look that eager. Geez Louise, if her new boss didn’t take her at face value then they could find someone else. Honesty had always worked for her in the past—if you didn’t count her relationship with Nick. Honesty got her where she is now. Alone and trying to make a new life for herself, but she would not dwell on that. All men are bastards! She knew that for a fact, but with Nick she’d forgotten for a while. Not anymore. Playthings, they are just playthings. She intended to use them and have fun, but that was as far as it would go.

“Everyone clear on what you’re doing?”

Oh shit. What did she miss? “Um, er…actually, not quite, Gary. Could you run that by me again?”

Jason raced to her side. As he reached out to take her arm, he changed his mind quick smart when she gave him her best ‘Don’t even think about it’ look. “I’ll look after you Maddie, don’t worry.”

Goody. “Thanks Jason. I feel really safe now. Let’s get going and you can tell me what the plan is while we’re on the track." God, she hoped he hadn’t heard her moans last night when he’d come into her tent.

Jerome sidled up to her other side and Gary smirked at her. “Looks like you’re in good hands, Maddie. I’ll let the boys explain. See you this afternoon, and remember dinner is at six.”

She didn’t know what the objectives were, but she did know their best chance of success was to work as a cohesive team.

“Okay guys, what’s the plan?”

Jason pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and waved it in front of her face. “Plan? Oh yes, I have the map and we need to reach the checkpoints by a certain time and then make it back to camp in time for dinner.”

Maddie looked around and saw the rest of the group looking at her expectantly. Four faces looking to her for guidance. What a joke. Why did they think she would have any answers? They knew nothing about her. “Look, one of you guys must have an idea about how to go about this?”

They alternatively shook their heads or turned away. Just great. “No one?”

Jo, the only other girl in the group spoke up. “You look like you’ve done this before Maddie. You have all the right clothes on and your boots look like you’d be right at home in the bush.”

Maddie laughed out loud. This was absurd. “You’re kidding, right? I borrowed my girlfriend’s hiking boots and the khakis are all new. I have no idea what to do." She looked at them all in turn. “Didn’t anyone here do the Scout thing?”

The Bobsy twins actually blushed. Blushed. Oh shit, they were screwed. The other group were already picking up their gear and heading off like they did this sort of thing every other day.

Taking a deep breath she braced herself for action. Okay, she could do this. Breathe in, breathe out. “Alright then, what’s the deal again? I missed some of the instructions.”

Jason shoved the crumpled paper into her hands. “This is the map we have to follow." He pointed to a red cross at the bottom of the page. “This is where we are now”—he slid his finger across the page to the top where there was a green circle—“and this is base camp. These small blue crosses along the way are the checkpoints where we find a clue as to how to get to the next checkpoint.”

Not too tricky. “Okay then. All we have to do is make sure we get on the right path. Anyone got a compass?" Blanks looks met her visual sweep of their faces. “Right. No compass." Shrugging, she picked up her backpack and slid her arms through the straps, pulling it in place on her back. “Not to worry, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, so the sun is over to our left, so that makes North right in front of us. We need to go south." She turned completely around and scanned the scrub for signs of a track.

“Everyone locked and loaded?”

Jerome shrieked. “Huh? I didn’t think we had any guns?”

“Sorry mate, it was just an expression. Are you all packed?”

Jason smirked lasciviously, tucking his thumbs into the rim of his jeans. “Oh, we’re packing alright.”

Jo lightly slapped him over the back of the head with her open palm as she walked past. “Keep it in your pants, you perve!" She walked over to Maddie and started to walk beside her. “Don’t worry about lover-boy there. He’s all talk.”

Maddie laughed. “No worries, I figured that one out for myself last night when he brought dinner to my tent. I’ve been handling dickheads like him all my life.”

“I’m sure you have, what with boobs and legs like yours.”

“Yeah, the curse of the boobs!”

They turned and looked at each other before they both burst into gales of laughter. “I think I’m gonna love working with you, Maddie.”

“I was just thinking the same thing, Jo.”

“When you two women have stopped gossiping can we get started?”

Maddie turned back to Jason and smiled. “Sure. Just make sure you can keep up with us. We’d hate for you big macho guys to get lost.”

Turning back to Jo, she smiled as the woman nodded in silent agreement. They both picked up the pace and headed down the track while the blokes scurried to catch up. Maddie smiled to herself as they both tunneled through the branches and further into the scrub. Jerome had dropped his water bottle in the rush and the other two guys just gave up and ran.

This day just might be fun after all.

Available NOW from AMAZON and at 99c it's a cheap read!

"Suspense, a crazy killer, and some sizzling sex make The Executioner an exciting story..." Nanette, Joyfully Reviewed