Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway:
Red Flagged
By Elle Keaton
Reclaimed Hearts, Book 3
Ex-US Marshal turned Cooper Springs Chief of Police, Andre Dear isn’t looking for love. He’s too busy hunting a killer.
The last person Andre expected to see in Cooper Springs was Dante Castone. He left Dante and the rest of his old life behind him when he moved to Washington State and what he thought would be a quiet job in a small town by the ocean.
Dante Brown went into WITSEC for his sister’s kid–sort of.
In reality, Dante’s DIYing it; he isn’t the trusting sort. Daniella was the only witness to her mom’s brutal murder and needs both protection and anonymity–plus as normal a life as possible. It’s just a bonus that Cooper Springs has Andre Dear too.
He and Andre have a history, and Dante wants to see if they might have a future. Someone is gunning for Andre and, like it or not, Dante is going to protect him. And yeah, feed him too. Does the man never eat?
Andre needs Dante’s help even if he doesn’t want to accept it. Dante’s ready to settle down but he’s going to have to prove himself before Andre lets him in again.
Together, they need to catch a killer and maybe find each other in the process.
Red Flagged is book three in the Reclaimed Hearts series. A second-chance, older-lovers redemption story and thrilling romantic suspense set in the wilds of the Olympic Peninsula.
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Exclusive Excerpt:
Last year, knocking on André’s door and having it answered by a thirty-something woman with a kid peeking out from behind her had been a shock. An unpleasant one. The man had moved away with no notice, and Dante had at first been worried and then hurt. His own reaction had been a surprise to him, forcing him to admit to himself that—against his better judgment—he harbored complicated, unexpected, and unacknowledged feelings for André Dear.
Sure, their relationship had had prescribed limits because of Dante’s undercover work, but these emotions had snuck up on him anyway. And maybe his last visit to Dear’s apartment had been fueled by the idea that there could be something more between them, something maybe worth giving up undercover ops for. That maybe his vague plan, one that involved Dante coming out into the open, possibly switching to the Marshals Service like André, had been less about walking away from the grime of UC work and more about walking to whatever the two of them could maybe have together.
That was a lot of maybes.
But he’d needed to finish that assignment. And when he’d surfaced again and shown up on that doorstep, André had been long gone. So he’d taken another UC assignment in eastern Oregon.
“I’ll just knock on the door,” Dante said out loud, shutting off the engine. “If he wants me to leave, I’ll leave.”
Second-guessing his decision, but not enough to stop himself, Dante opened the car door and climbed out. The shades were drawn, so Dante couldn’t see inside, but behind them, a shadowy figure crossed the room and lowered itself down.
The wind gusted again, plastering his jacket against his back as he stared at the house. Down the street, a gate rattled. Dante shivered and hunched his shoulders against the chill.
It was easy to imagine André tucked into his couch, his reading glasses perched on his nose, a book in one hand and a cup of tea sitting on the end table. There was only one way to find out if he was right. Dante climbed the three steps to the porch, lifted his fist, and knocked.
When the door opened just moments later, Dante found himself as close to André Dear as he had been in months. He must have recently taken a shower; his hair was still slightly damp. Instinctively, Dante breathed in, filling his lungs with the scent of him, a combination of spicy aftershave and the last traces of lavender body soap that was uniquely André.
“Dante,” André said, almost as if he’d been expecting him.
“André.” Dante was at a loss for words. He should have planned this better.
“What do you want?”
André’s glasses were perched on the top of his head. His uniform had been replaced with jeans and a white t-shirt. His feet were bare, even though it was October. Dante’s cock twitched.
He’d promised himself he wouldn’t go all caveman when he got the chance to talk to André again. Resolve crumbled into dust. Dante wanted André Dear naked. He wanted to make the man beg and make him promise that he’d be there the next time Dante came over. That never again would Dante knock on a door and have it answered by the wrong person.
Enter the Giveaway:
About the Author:
Do you love inclusive, swoony, and often suspenseful small-town romances featuring complex characters and a unique sense of place? I do too! My characters start out broken and, maybe, they’re still a tad banged up by the end, but they find the other half of their hearts and ALWAYS get their happily ever after.
In 2017 I pressed the Publish button for the first time and have never looked back—making this the longest period of time I’ve stuck with a job in my entire life.
Currently, there are over thirty Elle Keaton books available for you to read or listen to. I love cats and dogs. Star Wars and Star Trek. Pineapple on pizza, and have a cribbage habit my husband encourages.
Connecting with readers is very important to me. If you are so inclined, join The Highway to Elle newsletter, and keep up to date with everything Elle-related (or join my Ream page and get in on the novels early plus swag and extras). Random topics Include, but not limited to, ‘where are Elle’s glasses?’ and, ‘why are there cats?’. I can also be found on Facebook, Instagram, and occasionally TikTok.
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