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Stolen Obsession
(Annalisse Series #1)
By Marlene M. Bell
By Marlene M. Bell
Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Paperback & ebook, 294 Pages
June 30th 2018 by Ewephoric PublishingPeople die, but legends live on.
New York antiquities appraiser Annalisse Drury recently lost her best friend to murder. The killer’s identity may be linked to her friend’s expensive missing bracelet—a 500-year-old artifact that carries an ancient curse, one that unleashes evil upon any who dare wear the jewelry created for the Persian royal family.
Weeks later, Annalisse sees a matching necklace at a Manhattan gallery opening. She begs the owner to destroy the cursed piece, but her pleas fall on deaf ears—despite the unnatural death that occurs during the opening. With two victims linked to the jewelry, Annalisse is certain she must act.
Desperate, Annalisse enlists the gallery owner’s son to help—even though she’s afraid he’ll break her heart. Wealthy and devastatingly handsome, with a string of bereft women in his wake, Greek playboy Alec Zavos dismisses Annalisse’s concerns—until his parents are ripped from the Zavos family yacht during their ocean voyage near Crete.
Annalisse and Alec race across two oceans to save his mother, feared dead or kidnapped. When the killer changes tactics and goes after Alec behind Annalisse’s back, can her plan to rescue Alec’s mother save them all?
Hold on for a heart-thumping, thrilling adventure through exotic lands in this fast-moving romantic suspense mystery by Marlene M. Bell.
Praise for the Book
"Debut author Bell delivers a great, slow-building romance, gently examining her characters' painful pasts." — Kirkus Reviews
"An irresistible page turner and a successful melding of thriller and romance. With a splash of international adventure and plenty of surprises, Stolen Obsession is an entertaining read and a great beginning to the Annalisse Series." — Self-Publishing Review, ★★★★½
About the Author
Marlene M. Bell is an acclaimed artist and photographer as well as a writer. Her sheep landscapes grace the covers of publications such as, Sheep!, The Shepherd, Ranch & Rural Living and Sheep Industry News. Ewephoric, her mail order venture, began in 1985 out of a desire for realistic sheep stationery. A color catalog of non-fiction books and sheep-related gifts may be requested at www.marlenembell.com or www.texassheep.com. Marlene and her husband, Gregg reside on a wooded ranch in East Texas with their 50 head of Horned Dorset sheep, a lovable Maremma guard dog named, Tia, and 3 spoiled cats who rule the household.
- 1 Grand Prize winner will receive: One signed copy of STOLEN OBSESSION, One lined Journal with handcrafted pen, One set of Wool Dryer Balls, a Pair of Stolen Obsession style earrings and a $50 gift card from Amazon
- 4 winners will each receive: One signed copy of Stolen Obsession, One sheep bookmark, One lined journal and a pair of Stolen Obsession-style earrings-Gold-various styles
- US only
- Ends July 25th
- Ends July 25th
WAVES SPANKED THE thirty-nine-foot hull of the Gen Amore, rocking the Zavos vessel anchored in the Sea of Crete. The afternoon sun blazed overhead as Annalisse inhaled salty brine and studied the picture-perfect yacht Generosa had described dozens of times. Small enough for them to sail without a crew and large enough for she and Pearce to be intimately comfortable. The teak marine deck gleamed between twin masts, and navy-trimmed sails crackled from above. Wooden chairs were placed alongside lounges covered in striped cushions and square azure pillows. A fashion statement by the same designer who had decorated the yacht to match the island villa.
Sitting next to Generosa, Annalisse watched the rainbow windsock twist and swirl its streamers above their heads. She hadn’t counted on such a cool breeze and shivered in her one-piece swimsuit that exposed too much skin. She set her Mimosa on the side table and wiped her freezing fingers along the chair slats, dissipating some of the moisture.
On a diagonal from them, the men chatted, with Alec gesturing with his arms as he spoke about mundane things. It wasn’t a stretch to figure out how Generosa had fallen for a man like Pearce Zavos, currently barefoot in Bermuda shorts, richly tanned from face to toes. If Annalisse were several years older, a single man with Pearce’s attributes would’ve been irresistible to her, too. Pearce was the mature version of Alec with the same muscular physique, light eyes, and wavy hair graying at the temples. Where both of Alec’s cheeks were dimpled, Pearce had a single dent near the corner of his mouth and a super-cool cleft chin. Annalisse was a sucker for cleft chins. Aphrodisiac city.
Without a doubt, Pearce knew the answer to how he’d ended up with a relic from the 1500s, and why two identical necklaces existed. Brushing off the notion a viable evilness had chased them to Greece, Annalisse planned to get Pearce alone and ask a few generic questions any antiquities appraiser would ask the buyer of an important artifact.
“We’re a long way out. Shouldn’t I know how to use the ship’s radio?” Annalisse asked.
“Gen knows, but I’ll show you, if you want.” Pearce smiled. “Finish your drink. Plenty of time for the radio and flags later.”
“Mr. Zavos, how did you and Gen settle on Sitia when the entire island is so lovely?”
“Call me Pearce, please.” He paused a few beats before answering. “I met Gen in Italy at the wedding of a mutual friend. Since her family fished the Adriatic, Gen wanted a home on the ocean. She’s an excellent swimmer, you know— loves the water.” He winked at his wife. “My family vacationed in Sitia when I was a kid, and I promised myself one day I’d buy a home that faced this sea. It wasn’t hard to convince Gen.”
“After Dad retired as a stock car driver. We lived in North Carolina back then.”
Pearce rolled his head back and watched the sail’s flap cutting the air. “Life was good at the races, but I had to think about Alec. I had a close call on the track and we decided it was time for me to get out.”
Alec shifted in his seat and looked at his mom. “Will Luciana be gone long?”
“She’s due back tonight.”
“The time to ourselves gave us a good excuse to run an errand in Heraklion City,” Pearce said.
“Luciana?” Annalisse slid her sunglasses on top of her head.
“Sorry, dear. Luci’s our villa maid. The daughter of a longtime friend. She’s like the daughter we never had. We wanted lots of playmates for Alec. But it wasn’t to be.” Generosa gave a wistful sigh and looked at Pearce. “God has a habit of testing us.”
Her heart wrenched at the truth in Generosa’s words. She understood the pain in Generosa’s voice for the big family she was meant for but couldn’t have. Nothing on earth was worse than losing a child, her aunt had reminded Annalisse years ago.
Generosa was made for mothering, but Annalisse wasn’t hard-wired for kids. Small babies were too dependent, and their shrill cries made her nervous. Short of a miracle, Annalisse doubted having children was in her future, but she admired those who had the patience for kids.
“What’s wrong?” Alec looked at his father who’d jumped up, staring at a section of water.
“Hand me the binoculars. Hurry.” Pearce pointed to the table next to Alec.
Annalisse looked over her shoulder at a tiny black dot speeding toward them. A faint hum broke through the call of gulls overhead.
Pearce spent seconds with the binoculars, for Annalisse the wait was excruciating. She got up to check the ocean for herself.
“Ladies, get below. And take the keys to the yacht with you. Hide them someplace where no one will find them and hide yourselves,” Pearce said.
“Why?” Generosa asked.
“We may be getting unwanted guests.”
“You can forget it. I’m staying here.” Generosa planted hands on her hips.
“Me, too,” Annalisse added.
In less than a minute, a dark boat filled with tanned men closed on the Gen Amore. A red flag with a dark symbol fluttered ominously on the bow of their low-profile craft.
“Damn it, Gen. Go hide that key,” he hissed through closed teeth. “If you won’t stay down there, then come back, but hurry.” Pearce, as if he’d changed his mind, handed the binoculars to Alec. “I’m going below with your mother. Watch, but do not engage. Wait for me.”
As the men steered closer, Annalisse noticed all were shaved bald and without facial hair, except for one person. A blue and white keffiyeh covered his head and most of the face from the bridge of his nose down. Her hands twitched, evoking their masked gunman, whose eyes were the only thing visible beneath the mask.
When Generosa and Pearce returned topside, Annalisse whispered, “Where’d you hide it?”
“In a small vase. They’ll never find it.”
Annalisse slid closer to Alec. “Any guesses who they are?”
“Not sure. Turkish, maybe.”
“Are we accepting more refugees?” Generosa stepped toward Pearce.
“The men have rifles, dammit,” Pearce said.
Annalisse’s stomach roiled with a vengeance. Against multiple weapons they were all screwed, unable to keep the strangers at bay for long—unless Alec’s dad was one heck of a shot.
“Your Glock’s on the island?” she asked in Alec’s ear, even though she already knew his answer by the way he held his mouth. “Why don’t we pull anchor and run?” Annalisse squinted for details of the men.
“Ladies, listen. They’re closing fast. We can’t outrun them. No matter what, don’t lead them to the key. On the black market, this yacht’s worth plenty. Say nothing. Do nothing,” Pearce said.
“Damned pirates.” Alec spat a quiet curse at the deck.
Annalisse and Generosa chimed together, “Pirates?”
“They could be refugees,” Pearce said.
The powerboat, with four men aboard, neared the Gen Amore’s stern. Annalisse tasted her French toast, which was dangerously close to making a deck appearance. Refugees with multiple weapons seemed unlikely. When people left their country, most had only their children and the clothing on their backs.
Pearce slid a small pistol inside his belt at the back of his Bermuda shorts and extra ammo in a pocket.
Alec hadn’t reminded her about the extra risks of sailing in the area. She’d forgotten the thousands fleeing the region.
A world map flashed in her mind. Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Turkey bordered the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Émigrés fleeing the bombs and wars of their homeland would have sharper and darker physical characteristics. The men in the boat had a different bone structure, more smooth and rounded in their features.
As the boat sloshed water to the starboard side of the yacht, a man with two missing fingers hailed them.
“Do any of you speak English?” Pearce asked, three decibels louder than usual.
They laughed. “We speak English good.”
“What do you want?”
The thinnest of the group, with arms and legs marked by ink, brandished a sinister AK47 with a pistol grip at them.
Annalisse straightened and calmed herself, curious about the men’s tattoos. She noted their red shoulders from hours on the water and worsened by the ocean’s glare. They weren’t muscular men, rather a rag-tag group of stringy characters with lifeless eyes and broken teeth.
“We need gas. Pay in gold.”
“There’s no need for that.” Pearce pointed to the man’s rifle. “I’ll give you what you need.” Then he added under his breath, “I have plenty of lead.”
Annalisse’s heart stopped when Alec jerked her behind him and whispered, “Shh.”
“Take the gas and leave,” Pearce said.
“We come on boat. Get gas and food.”
Pearce’s tension terrified Annalisse.
“Put rope down so we board. Now!”
During the back and forth, the two most sunburnt jumped into the water and clung to hooks jutting from their boat, only feet away from the Gen Amore’s hull.
“We don’t want trouble. Stay in your boat. I’ll give you the supplies.” Pearce hugged the brass rail, his voice calm even as he tried to convince the men to stay with their boat.
A hard object jarred her lower spine, and Annalisse saw a shadow cross the deck.
“Alec!” she yelled.
The butt of a rifle struck Alec at the base of his skull.
A metallic clack echoed over the water.
He collapsed in front of her in a heap.
I think the synopsis makes it sound like a very thrilling book! Would love to read it.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the excerpt. Thank you for the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great book.
ReplyDelete