The Latina Book Club congratulates author J. L. Lora on the debut of Book
3 – STEEL – of her Trinity Series.
Below
is an excerpt of the book, along with a summary and author bio. Happy reading.
STEEL
by J. L. Lora
Book
Summary:
Only the
Devil you know has the power to really hurt you.
Strong, daring,
and loyal to a fault, Amelia Solis is the soul of The Trinity. Yet, this leader
of New York’s top cartel has become a pawn in the game of revenge. All to hurt
Leandro, the man she wants more than life but cannot be with.
The enemy’s
always watching, biding his time.
Leandro
Masseur, Lieutenant in the McLean crime family, earned his position through
loyalty, shrewd business, and ruthlessness. His enemies never see the bullet
until it’s ready to lodge between their eyes. When a dead woman is found in
Amelia’s bed, his world is flipped off its axis.
Their Devil
knows what buttons to push.
Four women will
die before a killer finishes a macabre target list, with Amelia as his crown
piece. Leandro and Amelia must dodge the barrage of bullets and bombs to keep
her safe. Tragedy has left them scarred and broken. But love won’t be denied,
won’t wait, and Leandro won’t stop fighting for a chance. The only woman he’s
ever loved has been marked for death. Leandro won’t let that happen.
STEEL
EXCERPT
The
pounding on the door wakes me and I look around the room, wondering how the
hell I got here. I'm in our old apartment, sleeping in the room I once shared
with my sister, Nelly, before we all got rich and got our own places. Back
then, all we had to worry about was Calum's tired ass trying to get us.
I'm still
wearing the pink bridesmaid's dress, a color that only Gia could force on me.
Nelly's pillow's in my hand and, as I do every morning, I dwell on the thought
that she's gone. But my chest is not as tight and the tears don’t come today.
Since my
sister died, I have two states of waking up: pissed off and agitated. If I
dream of her, I wake up shaken, scared, sad. She's still dead, because I
overprotected and under-protected her in equal amounts. The guilt is a
reminder, firming up my resolve because when I wake pissed off…I've dreamt of
things I shouldn't.
Better
said, someone I shouldn't. Doing
things I really shouldn't. Not that I haven't done him, which is why I'm really
messed up in the head these days.
Someone
pounds on the door again and I jump off the bed. "Hold on. I'm
coming."
I fling
the door open, ready to skin my bodyguards. Instead, I find my friend Jamie.
The strain on his surfer-cop face makes him look like he's got a sweaty tummy
ache. He throws his arms around me, his hug so tight he squeezes the breath out
of my lungs. It hurts and I pound on his bicep. "Let up."
He pulls
back. His lips are ashen, and his eyes dart over my face like marbles, as if
he's going down a mental checklist of all my features. What the hell is going
on?
"Jesus,
Mel. I'm so happy to see you. You fucking scared me. Carissa is bugging the
hell out." He drags himself to the rack where we keep the alcohol and
grabs a bottle of rum so old I can't remember when we bought it. Jamie removes
the cap and tilts the one eighth of a bottle into his mouth and drains it.
My hands
are trembling, my knees sending me a firm warning. They're about to fold. I
can't wait anymore. "What are you talking about? Why is Carissa flipping
out? I fell asleep here, waiting for Byanca. She made me get on a plane last
night, saying she needed my help, then stood me up for some dude."
Jamie
slams the bottle on the rack and moves closer to me. His lips do the cop
pucker-and-purse. "Who was she meeting? At what time was that? Why didn't
you call her?"
I feel a
slight pull on the back of my neck, like someone's yanking my hair at the root.
"I don't know. I took the red eye after the wedding and when I got here,
she wasn't around. She sent me a text saying she’d met some hot piece and would
be here right after she took care of business…why?"
His
shoulders sag, fall along with his gaze. He doesn't need to say it, I know. I
know, because I've gotten bad news before. A lot. I've seen the footsteps of
death in other people's eyes. #
This book is available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes & Noble,
iTunes, Kobo, etc.
Author
Bio: J. L. Lora is a Dominican-American author. Her
stories explore the dark side of good characters, people living in the gray
areas of life while playing the cards life has dealt them. She loves strong
heroines and their equally powerful Men. She currently lives in Maryland,
pursuing her dream of writing compelling, sexy, can’t-put-down stories about
empowered, badass alpha heroines and take-your-breath-away alpha heroes. Visit J. L. Lora at:
Website: www.JLLora.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJLLora/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jtothelove
Instagram: http://instagram.com/jllora
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/AuthorJLLora/
READ
LATINO LIT