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Dance or Die
by
Liza O'Connor
Suspense/Romance
Blurb
Tess Campbell, mafia princess, has fallen in love with a British prince during his stay in Iowa. He appears equally besotted, having given her his family ring that’s been passed down through the generations. Still, he asked that she keep his proposal and ring a secret for the time being.
Two weeks into their budding romance, Tess’s father, a psycho mafia don, kidnaps and nearly kills the prince and his Secret Service agent, believing she has taken both as her lovers. The brutal assault reveals the true character of each man and Tess must face some hard truths, even as she takes control of her destiny to build the finest state park in the country.
Excerpt
“She said Dan was Secret Service,” Frank added.
That caused Benito to grab Frank by his collar and slam him against a wall. “When?” he roared.
“When what?” Frank asked, clearly astounded how quickly he’d fallen into trouble.
Tess couldn’t care less.
“When did she tell you?”
“On the drive here.”
Benito turned to Tess. “Is that true?”
“He’s our security guy, working on the park. However, when Frank kept yelling at me to slow down or the cops would stop me, I told him the vehicle was Dan’s and he’s Secret Service.”
“And what part of that was untrue,” Benito asked softly.
“The Secret Service part and the car’s a rental.” She glanced over at Frank, looking ready to kill her. “I’m sorry for lying, but I needed to get here as fast as possible and set things right with my father.”
She refocused on the monster. “I had planned to call you today, even before you took Dan and Steel. The four workers you tortured were enough. I can’t be the cause of other people being hurt. So here I am, your obedient daughter. I’ll marry whoever you choose and I won’t cause any more trouble. Just let them go. That’s all I ask.”
Benito smiled. “All right. Assuming you haven’t lied to me about still being a virgin—”
“I haven’t.”
“Then, let’s see how obedient you intend to be.” He walked to the corner and located his briefcase. From it, he pulled several documents. “Sign these.”
Without asking what they were, she signed page after page.
When she finished and passed the documents to her father, he smiled and stroked her cheek. “You just made me executor of Helen’s will, quit your job at the state park, and married Danny Spadoni.”
“What?” Frank yelled.
Benito stared at Frank in shock. “Did you actually think you were worthy of my daughter?”
Meet my Characters
Tess Cambell
Tess is a charming, kind, thoughtful, bright young woman who has a great many challenges to deal with since her Grams died. For the last six years, Grams has been her protector, her instructor of how to care for the woods, her best friend, and her compass.
Recently, Grams died and Tess' life changed dramatically. The kind woman who had bought Gram's 200,000 acres of White Oaks ensured the forest would become a state park forever and Tess, once she acquired her Master's degree in Forestry would be in charge of it for as long as she wished.
Only problem is that she has yet to earn a Masters Degree, so the head of parks hired an archeologist who also had a Master's in forestry until Tess gets her degree.
Honestly, she didn't like Steel at all when she picked him up at the airport, but once he realized she wasn't just an airport driver, but the one woman who could nix him getting the job, he became much nicer and within two weeks of his charm, she had fallen in love.
Her father, a powerful mafia don, began tearing apart her world the moment her grams dies. There appeared to be nothing he wouldn't do, and she feared for Steel's life. Fortunately, Steel was a British Prince and thus the Secret Service ensures he is protected while he remains in the U.S.
His main security is a determined fellow named Dan Brown. Dan repeatedly tried to convince Steel to leave Iowa. He spoke in length about the dangers of Benito Campinelli, and what the man might do to him. Steel evidently didn't believe anyone would dare harm him and not only wouldn't he return to Britain, he also continued to flirt with Tess.
Since Steel constantly flirted with Tess, Dan had no choice but to do the same so Steel's attention to the Don's daughter wouldn't stand out as anything special.
Flirting with Tess was not a problem for Dan. He thought her the most amazing woman he'd ever met.
He also continued to push Steel to return to Britain, but the man stubbornly refused. Steel's archeological career was in ruins and he needed the paleo-Indian mounds and village site in the forest to regain his reputation.
The Don's last warning that he could and WOULD tear her life apart was this:
And when she returns up the mountain she discovers how true that was. Both Steel and Dan are missing.
Tess resigns herself to do whatever is necessary to save them both from her deadly father.
Check out the Blog Tours surrounding The White Oaks-Mafia Series:
Sept 1-7: 99 cent promotional event for Book 1: A Fortune to Die For
Sept 8-14 Magic of Books New Release Tour: Dance or Die.
Plus 5 blogs sharing details of Book 3 throughout the month.
