Series: Secrets and the City #1
Publication date: December 10th, 2021
Synopsis:
A sexy fighter saw her bruises. Now he'll die to protect her. Maybe even kill...
Jenna was determined to leave her dark past behind her and build the life she'd always wanted, but just when she thought all her dreams were finally coming true, a shocking incident shattered her fairy-tale life, and now she's hiding a terrible secret--a secret that could cost her everything.
Damian is as gorgeous as he is mysterious, keeping his own dark secrets from everyone he meets. He never thought he'd care about anything again... until he meets Jenna. He knows letting her get close to him will put her in danger, but when he suspects Jenna's in trouble, there's only one thing that matters: protecting her at all costs.
Thrust into a terrifying nightmare where a threat looms in every shadow, Jenna and Damian find themselves in a race for survival. Soon, everyone Jenna loves is in peril, and only the ultimate sacrifice can save them...
An emotional, tension-filled forbidden romance that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page...
Deadly Illusion is a full-length standalone with no cliffhanger in The Secrets and the City series: A collection of forbidden romances with page-turning suspense and gripping plot twists. This is an emotional novel that contains sensitive subject matters.
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I pointed my stick at his chest, noticing it no longer had blood splatter on it.
"For God's sake, Jenna! Is that really necessary?"
I clutched my weapon tighter.
Damian let out a frustrated sigh. "After what you saw, you really think a stick would stop me?"
"Yeah," I lied.
"If I wanted to hurt you, I'd have done it by now."
"Comforting."
"You know I'd never hurt you."
"No, I don't. I don't know anything about you." And I didn't trust my judgment. It'd been wrong before...
Damian rubbed his ribs. Evidently, I'd gotten in some good swings. I shouldn't have felt a rush of triumph.
"Leave," I insisted.
He looked at me sharply. "You can't be serious."
"I'm deadly serious."
Damian pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm trying to be patient here, Jenna, but it's been a long night. You're wet and cold, and you need to come back to the truck before you get hypothermia."
"I'm not going anywhere with you."
"Yes, you are."
"No, I'm not," I said, raising the stick when he reached for me.
"I'm not leaving you alone out here, Jenna, so cut it out!" He reached for me again, so I swung, but he dodged it and glowered at me.
How frustrating it must be to be so strong and yet powerless to move one small girl.
Damian looked up at the sky, then back at me. "Come back to the building, out of the rain."
"No."
"My truck, then. Lock me out if you want, but come out of the woods. It's not safe."
"No."
He scanned my body with a tightened jaw, clearly contemplating just throwing me over his shoulder and carrying me out.
"Don't even think about it," I warned. "I'm not going anywhere with you."
"I'm not leaving you alone out here," Damian said, irritated. The massive chunk of muscles took another step toward me.
I raised my bat.
"You go," Damian pointed behind him. "I'll stay, for God's sake."
"You might follow me."
"For the love of..." Damian's chest swelled as he ran a hand through his hair. "Why do you have to make this so difficult?"
"Because I don't know who you are!"
He held the back of his neck. "What do I have to do to get you to leave?"
Nothing. There was nothing Damian could do to convince me to leave with him. Not tonight, not ever.
This whole time he'd been hiding who he really was.
Kathy Lockheart is an author of Romantic Suspense novels. Her books--which had a unique blend of emotional elements typically found in women's fiction and the romance and danger elements found in romantic suspense--contain themes of dark romance, antiheroes, and forbidden romance. Her debut novel, Deadly Illusion, releases 12/10/2021, and her second and third novels release in 2022. When she's not writing, you can find her silently cursing the person who put fluorescent lights in dressing rooms.
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