Title: Dantès Unglued
Series: Ward Security Series #2
Author: Jocelynn Drake and Rinda Elliott
Publisher: Drake and Elliott Publishing LLC
Release Date: January 26th
Heat Level: 4 - Lots of Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 72k
Genre: Romance, Thriller/Suspense,
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Synopsis
When private investigator, Shane
Stephens, is hired by the mayor of Cincinnati to track down the hacker who has
been threatening him, Shane is sure this is the opportunity to launch the
Merleau Detection Agency into the big time. He even convinces Rowe Ward of Ward
Security to loan him one of his best IT specialists, Quinn Lake.
Shane, a man who prefers casual
intimacy, is surprised by his attraction to the moody computer geek, but when
Quinn suggests they have fun for the month he’s on loan, Shane happily agrees.
Both men are expecting nothing more than a good time.
But the investigation takes an
unexpected turn and they quickly discover they are facing more than a hacker
out to ruin the mayor’s re-election chances. And as they spend more time
together, they realize their relationship may be a lot more than just a good
time.
With only weeks until the election,
Shane and Quinn race to gather the proof they need while dodging bullets and
possibly…falling in love.
Excerpt
After one quick knock on Rowe’s door, he
stepped inside without waiting for him to call since he was already expected.
But he stopped short when he saw the tall man standing next to Rowe’s desk, his
hands on his slender hips as he grinned down at Rowe. Quinn couldn’t stop his
eyes from quickly sweeping over his broad shoulders and chest that tapered into
a narrow waist. His eyes snapped back up to find a pair of brown eyes that
twinkled as they finished checking him out as well.
“Sorry,” Quinn mumbled, instantly taking
a step backward. “I can come back.” Rowe rarely saw clients. He had customer
representatives that handled talking to the clients. Of course, with Rowe’s
lack of a filter, it was better if he didn’t talk to the new clients directly.
“No, come in, Quinn,” Rowe said sharply.
He stood behind his desk, drawing Quinn’s gaze to his shorter but broader
frame. His dark red hair stood up slightly as if he’d been running his fingers
through it. Quinn never took that as a particularly good sign.
With a quick jerk of his head, Quinn
stepped in and shut the door behind him. The other man was smiling at him, that
assessing look still in his eyes, and Quinn didn’t want to think about the fact
that he was dying to take another longer look at him, but not with the freaking
boss in the room.
“Quinn Lake, this is Shane Stephens.
He’s a private investigator with The Merleau Detection Agency,” Rowe
introduced.
Shane extended his hand to Quinn and
Quinn clenched his teeth, trying to hide his discomfort at taking Shane’s hand.
His own palms were sweaty, making the momentary contact awkward. Why the fuck
was he always so damn awkward around hot guys?
“Rowe tells me you’re the best,” Shane
said, releasing his hand.
Quinn couldn’t help the skeptical look
he shot at Rowe, who only shrugged as he sat down again. “Well, I said you
<em>and</em> Gidget are the best.”
“Is this about a job?”
“Sit, Quinn.” Rowe absently waved toward
the two chairs in front of his desk. He shuffled some papers around without
seeming to actually look at them, placing them in piles at the edge of his
desk.
Shooting one last uncertain look at
Shane, Quinn moved to the farthest chair and sat, his tablet clenched in both
hands. His mind raced as he tried to figure out why he’d been called into this
meeting. Clients didn’t meet with Rowe, and Quinn didn’t meet with clients
unless they’d already been assigned a bodyguard. And while they’d worked with
some private investigators in the past, Rowe wasn’t usually involved. He had a
company to run.
“Shane recently acquired a client who is
the victim of a hacker,” Rowe started.
Quinn looked up at Shane, who was still
standing beside Rowe’s desk, his mind finally turning away from too many
questions to a problem he could understand. “Identity theft? Bank accounts
drained?”
“No, not yet.” Shane shook his head,
some of his dark curly hair falling forward against his temple. “At least, not
that we’ve uncovered.”
“Then how do you know this client was
hacked?”
“There are other signs…but I can’t go
into it.”
Quinn frowned for a second. That
certainly wasn’t going to make his job easier. “Well, do you just need improved
protection? Alerts on accounts? We’ve got a comprehensive list of things we can
do to help shore up the client’s account protection and privacy.”
“Shane isn’t looking for protection from
the hacker for the client.” Rowe paused until Quinn looked back at him. “His
client has hired him to track down the identity of the hacker.”
“Whoa…” Quinn said on an exhale, sitting
back in his chair. That…that was not an easy task. Most hackers were pretty
damn good at not being found. You had to be if you wanted to survive as one. If
you sucked, you were usually snagged by the FBI pretty damn fast. Quinn would
know. He’d started hacking at a young age—not stealing other people’s money but
just breaking through security systems because he could. It took the feds a
solid five years to catch him. But his boss knew all this. Rowe knew everything
about the people working for him.
“We’re not equipped to handle this level
of…” Shane frowned at Rowe’s computer as if he blamed it for his problems.
“Well, we’re not staffed yet to handle computer things like this. I can do some
of the forensic research in accounting matters, but I need a computer genius
like you.”
“That’s why I agreed to loan you to
Shane and his business partner, Ethan, for one month,” Rowe announced.
Quinn was out of his seat in a shot,
hovering over the edge of the desk as he looked down at his boss. Pain shot
through his chest, and he was suddenly having trouble catching his breath.
Panic clouded all of his thoughts. He loved working for Ward Security. He’d
been there for just less than two years, and he’d never found another place where
he’d felt like he fit so damn perfectly. This was home. These people he worked
with, they were his friends. He didn’t have to hide or pretend or feel
uncomfortable.
And Rowe…Rowe had always been amazing.
Sure, he could be cranky and a little crazy. He was always loud and tended to
speak before thinking. But Quinn always knew exactly where he stood with Rowe.
He always felt like Rowe had his back.
But this…
“Are you getting rid of me?”
“What?” Rowe snapped. “Where the fuck
did you get that idea?”
“You’re hiring another IT person. I saw
the listing. And this? Putting me ‘on loan’?”
Rowe groaned and scrubbed a hand over
his face. With a heavy sigh, he pointed back at the chair Quinn had just
vacated. “Sit.” Grudgingly, Quinn followed direction while Rowe looked over at
Shane. “Can you give us a minute?”
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Meet the Author
Who are Drake & Elliott?
Jocelynn Drake and Rinda Elliott have teamed up to combine their evil genius to create intense gay romantic suspense stories that have car chases, shoot outs, explosions, scorching hot love scenes, and tender, tear-jerking moments. Their first joint books are in the Unbreakable Bonds series.
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