All the way from Alberta, Canada, Beverley Bateman stopped by to share some news about her book, Targeted.
Targeted is the third book in the Hawkins Ranch
Series. The series was born when I was staying at an
elegant hotel in Victoria, BC. I was looking down into the lobby from the
mezzanine and imagined a cowboy in boots with spurs striding across the marble
floor. I came up with the first brother in the Hawkins family. Kye is the third
brother, an adopted member of the Blackfoot tribe.
Blurb
After an eleven
year absence Janna Kincaid inherits a ranch and is forced to return to a town
she only remembers with unhappiness, a man to whom she was briefly married and
never wants to see again, and someone is trying to kill her.Kye Hawkins has loved Janna since he first met her. They were married but a few weeks later she ran away, without an explanation. He still hasn’t figured out why. Now she’s coming back. Does she still love him? Can he rekindle the romance and also prevent her from being killed.
Janna doesn’t want Kye’s help in anyway, yet he always seems to be there when she’s in trouble. Can they work together to find a killer, save the Native burial ground and home of the spirits, and find romance again?
Excerpt
Someone had shot her
back tire. Janna gripped the wheel to keep the vehicle on the road. She debated
whether to try and outrun the shooter, wherever he was, or find cover. The
windshield shattered as a third bullet entered the passenger side.
So
much for outrunning the shooter.
She scanned the area
and spotted an outcropping of rocks a few feet ahead on her right. She aimed
the vehicle in that direction.
Two more shots, and
both the back tires went down.
Definitely
find cover.
Janna ducked low
behind the steering wheel until the vehicle reached the rocks. When the car
stopped, she grabbed the keys from the ignition and her purse and dove out the
door. Bullets bounced off the rocks behind her as she scrambled for cover.
Whoever was doing the shooting was serous. Anyone of the shots could have hit
her.
She reached the
rocks, keeping low until she got to the middle where she curled up as tightly
as possible, her back against a rock. Her heart pounded in her ears, her
breathing came in gasps. This was getting to be a habit. First someone tried to
kill her in Seattle, and now, out in this god-forsaken country.
What
the hell is going on? Why are they shooting at me? Was it the same person who
shot at me in Seattle? That doesn’t seem likely, but who even knew I was coming
here? Maybe it’s someone just trying to rob a stranger.
Yeah
right, be honest, Janna, does this road look like many strangers came this way?
And if they did, would they have a lot to steal? You really think this person
selected a spot in the rocks where he would have a good shot at my vehicle.
Coincidence? Not damn likely.
At least she’d worn
boots and jeans—even if they were designer jeans. Now they were filthy, and so
was her red sweater and jean jacket.
Another shot hit the
rock behind her. She rolled over onto her stomach, shaded her eyes, and
squinted into the sun. He must be up on the cliffs straight ahead. She wasn’t
sure, but she thought she might have glimpsed a light, maybe a reflection off
his scope.
Terrific!
Now what? My gun is in my purse. I could fire back, but that would be a waste
of bullets at this distance.
She yanked out her
cell and punched in 9-1-1.
Damn—no reception.
A pounding pulsed
through the ground. It felt like horses. A hand appeared in front of her face.
“Grab it and jump
on.”
The deep, rumbling
voice was not asking. It was an order.
Buy Links
Social Media Links
Author Bio
Beverley Bateman now lives in Medicine Hat, Alberta,
exchanging the Okanagan vineyards and orchards for ranches and farms. She lives there with her husband and Shiba Inu dogs. Winters she heads south.
She writes her latest romantic suspense in both places. Hunted, Missing and
the newest – Targeted are part of her Montana, Hawkins Ranch series. She also
has her Holly Devine series; A Cruise to Remember, and A Murder to Forget.
Don’t Go is her darker romantic suspense.
Nancy, thank you for hosting me. You have a lovely website.
ReplyDeleteBeverley