Prison
Break Hostage
Honor
Bound, #5
by
Anna J. Stewart
Genre:
Romantic Suspense
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EXCERPT
A loud bang exploded ahead of her. The headlights coming toward her
swerved into her lane. Instinct had Ashley aiming for the narrow shoulder.
She hit the brakes and skidded to a stop as a dark-colored bus with Sheriff written in bright neon letters above the windshield shot past. She could see the driver struggling with the steering wheel as the bus went completely sideways. Ashley opened her window and leaned out just as the vehicle flipped. Metal pieces flew into the air as the bus rolled. Banging crash after banging crash exploding into the silent night. Glass shattered. Metal crunched. Smoke billowed out of the back of the bus as it slid to rest on its side, tires spinning.
Instinct and training kicked in. Ashley flew out of her car, raced around the back, and yanked out her emergency bag and flashlight. She ran full out, surprised at how far the bus had skidded. It was pure luck the bus had ended up directly under one of the sporadic streetlights. She could see deep black welts in the cement, could hear groans of pain, curses of anger. Cries of fear.
The rear emergency door on the bus burst open. Ashley dived toward it as two men stumbled out, the larger of the two clutching an obviously broken arm against his chest. The thinner, wiry man had blood streaming down the side of his face. Both were wearing bright orange prison jumpsuits. Both were handcuffed and belly chained.
The one with the head wound dropped to the ground. He groaned and
rolled onto his back, stared dazedly up at the stars before his lids drifted shut.
Ashley looked to the other man, who had braced himself against the back of the bus. “I’m a doctor. Can you walk on your own?”
“I’m okay,” he croaked. He gestured to his friend. “Not sure about Clive.”
Neither was she. She dropped down beside the suddenly still man, reached into her bag and snapped on a pair of gloves. She checked his eyes with her penlight, looking for pupil reaction. “He probably has a concussion. And that gash is going to need stitches. How many more are inside?” She didn’t want to move this one until she had to. Darn it, she’d left her phone in the car. She dug around for the spare disposable she carried in her bag. No luck.
“There were six of us, plus two guards and the driver.”
“What’s your name?” She got up to check on him.
“Javier. Javi.”
“Hi, Javi, I’m Ashley. I’m just going to take a quick look at you, okay?”
“I’m fine.” He pushed her hand away. “Busted arm. Had worse.”
With no time to argue, she pointed to Clive. “You go over there with your friend, okay? I’ll check on you both later.”
She grabbed the flashlight, headed for the open door. The second she
crawled inside, she was stopped by two firm hands on her shoulders. “You need to leave.”
Ashley straightened, taken aback by the almost gentle quality of his voice. He was tall, well over six feet, and if he hadn’t been a convicted criminal, he probably could have been an MMA superstar. She could see the outlines of tattoos on his neck, a scar arcing from temple to nose on the right side of his face and eyes the color of a summer sea beneath too-long hair. What the— Ashley attempted to shake off his grip. “I’m a doctor. I can help.”
“Go. Now.” He lowered his voice, leaned over her to the point she couldn’t see, couldn’t feel, anything but him. “Get in your car and drive away. You don’t know what—”
“Lucky, Valeri’s hurt bad, man. We gotta get him out! We gotta call Taras and get him back here! Man, oh, man. This is all going to crap!”
Ashley planted a hand on Lucky’s chest and shoved. She may as well have been trying to move a mountain. “Out of my way.”
“Lucky? You hear me?” A small man tripped and shuffled his way toward them. “Valeri’s hurt.”
“I heard you, Elliot.” The rumble of Lucky’s voice rippled through Ashley.
“Then what—” Beady brown eyes locked onto Ashley. “She a nurse?”
“She’s a doctor.” Ashley used Elliot to wedge herself past Lucky and
clicked on her flashlight. “Who else is hurt?”
“Valeri’s all that matters.” Elliot scrambled around her, pointing at
someone.
“I’m not anyone’s private physician.” She bent down beside the prone
man.
“Look, Doc—” Lucky began.
Ashley shot to her feet so fast the man stepped back. “Tell me to leave one more time, I dare you.”
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USA Today and national bestselling author Anna J Stewart writes sweet to sexy romances for Harlequin and ARC Manor’s Caezik Romance. Her sweet Heartwarming books include the Butterfly Harbor series as well as the ongoing Blackwell saga. She also writes the Honor Bound series for Harlequin Romantic Suspense and contributes to the bestselling Coltons. A former Golden Heart, Daphne, and National Reader’s Choice finalist, Anna loves writing big community stories where family found is always the theme. Since her first published novella with Harlequin in 2014, Anna has released more than forty novels and novellas and hopes to branch out even more thanks to Caezik Romance. Anna lives in Northern California where (at the best times) she loves going to the movies, attending fan conventions, and heading to Disneyland, her favorite place on earth. When she’s not writing, she is usually binge-watching her newest TV addiction, re-watching her all-time favorite show, Supernatural, and wrangling two monstrous cats named Rosie and Sherlock. You can read more about Anna at her website, www.AuthorAnnaStewart.com.
I liked the excerpt, thank you.
ReplyDeleteI like the cover, synopsis and excerpt, this sounds like an awesome story, a must read for me. Thank you for posting about this book
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