Scarred
and cynical, Carmen Marshall and her security team are hired to protect master
Illusionist The Rogue, and his white tiger. What should be a simple case of
protecting a client is made even harder by the mysteries surrounding him, and
the very real danger of someone wanting him dead.
With
both The Rogue and his tiger proving to be more then they seem, an unknown
enemy, and a powerful desire haunting her, Carmen's job is proving more of a
challenge than she'd ever imagined. Will the flames of passion burn to ashes,
or will they consume all involved.
Excerpt:
Carmen grunted. "Divvy up the bonus equally between the four and
put my usual fee in the bank. I don't need the bonus and these guys do. Now,
what else have you got on your list of clients that you're planning to foist on
me, in my innocence?"
"Innocent, my ass. Miss Marshall you're the least
innocent woman I know." Daria shuffled her papers on the desk, then looked
up at the video camera. "What do you know of The Rogue?"
Carmen shrugged. "He's a master of illusion. No one
knows what he looks like underneath his mask,
which makes him somewhat of a forbidden fruit to the female persuasion. Those
who have tried to come on to him have gone away either pissed off or in
tears. Those who have claimed to have slept with him aren't believed. The
ones which are rebuffed proceed to slander and smear his name, which is really
useless because he never responds to bullshit like that unless it really gets
messy, then the person responsible gets a talking
to." She made quotation marks in the air with her fingers.
"Rumors run thick and fast about what's underneath the mask. They run the
entire range of being horribly disfigured to just an affectation so he can go
out into public with it off and not be recognized." She smiled slightly at
Daria, "The rest of the rumors are just too outrageous to think
about."
"Anything else, Oh Great Abundance of Wisdom?" Her boss grinned.
She smiled and took another drink of her coffee before
responding. "Flattery will get you everywhere, Daria Randall. As a matter
of fact, the tabloids and the internet have commented that his crew and stage
hands are very tight lipped. Even his manager won't spill the beans about the
props or how his illusions are done, no matter how much money is offered. More
than a few people have attempted some of his more dangerous stunts, trying to
duplicate and or improve on them."
Carmen arched an eyebrow and looked meaningfully at her
boss. "With very fatal results. At the beginning of each performance,
everyone is warned not to try these stunts. They make the statement which
basically says anyone attempting them is doing so under the full knowledge they
were warned ahead of time."
Daria nodded, "Well, according to his manager,
someone's trying to sabotage his performances and
possibly turn him into an illusion, permanently. From what I've read in the
report I have on my desk, all the mistakes have been caught before the actual
stunt was performed. But the manager wants to find out what in hell is going on
and put a stop to these incidents before something really does go wrong. He's
paid double the usual fee, wanting to ensure you and your team will personally
handle the assignment. He said The Rogue has
specifically asked for you, saying he wishes a face to face meeting before he
signs any agreement."
Carmen's eyes widened. "You know my rule on that,
Daria. It's held true and every client has agreed to it. If he wants a video
conference, we can arrange a time and place. But I do not meet face to
face."
"Oh come on, you can do it just this once."
Daria's eyes widened and became pleading on the video screen. "If he
doesn't meet you in person, he won't sign the contract. When I mentioned your
rule, he said, and I quote, 'If this
woman is afraid of me, then perhaps you should fire her and hire more men. At least they aren't afraid to meet face to face.'"
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