A Good Run Of Bad Luck is a spinoff series of The Cortell Brothers and should be read in order.
My eyes flashed up to a man running down the mountain, slipping along the way as he tried to reach me.
βHelp!β I shouted. βIβm stuck. I canβt get out!β
βDonβt move,β he commanded, his voice low and threatening. For just a moment, I wondered if he was here to kill me instead of save me. As he approached and looked around the car, I noticed his face was ruthless, evil. I swallowed hard around the lump in my throat. It didnβt matter who he was, as long as he got me out of here.
βDo you have anything to break the window?β he shouted.
Break the window? I searched around the car frantically, but everything was laying haphazardly after the tumble down the mountain. I had no clue if there was anything to help me.
βDo you have a window punch?β he asked, his eyes boring into mine.
βIβ¦Iβ¦β
βIt would be under the driverβs seat,β he said calmly. βI need you to check.β
Nodding, I brushed my hair out of my face, only to come away with a sticky hand. I stared down at the red that coated my hand, watching my fingers shake in terror.
βLady, you need to get moving!β
I nodded, but before I could move, the car shifted backward, dropping down the mountain a good ten feet before hitting another tree. I screamed, grasping onto anything I could. When the car stopped moving again, I closed my eyes and fought the nausea swirling in my stomach.
The man was outside the car again, this time with a gun in his hand. My breath seized in my chest as I stared down the gun. Oh God, he really was going to kill me.
βCalm down,β he said, lowering his gun slightly. He looked through the window, and then back at the car. βIβm going to shoot out the window, but this car isnβt going to hold. Once the windowβs broken, I need you to climb out right away. Okay?β
I nodded, but it all felt robotic. All I could focus on was that damn gun.
βDuck down, okay?β
I did as he asked, but inside, I was shaking. I heard the crack of the gun and my head jerked up as I heard more glass breaking. He was using the gun to break out the rest of the glass.
βMove!β he shouted, kicking me into high gear. I scrambled to the other side, but as I climbed across the seat, the car shifted again. I reached out my hand, barely grasping his as the car slid even further. βGive me your other hand,β he shouted. I thrust out my hand, but my body went airborne just as the car broke free from where the tree was holding it. My eyes connected with his just as I lost my grip on his hand.
MY REVIEW:
An exciting start to a new series with mafia baddies. The grumbly mountain man Antonio and the amnesiac beauty Ciara make an interesting couple as they fight and bicker until things turn steamy. I loved the beginning with tons of mystery not only Ciaraβs background but also Antonioβs. Who are these people really? Heβs a former mafia boss hiding out and always looking for assassins and fighting his demons. Is Ciara there to get him? The beginning with them living together and learning each other was terrific. Ciara is a firecracker with lots of spunk. Antonio is gruff, fierce and ready to take down anybody in his way. The romance that develops between the two is hot. The middle kind of lost me and I didnβt care for some of the dog shenanigans. When the action and danger ramps up with bodies dropping and lives in peril, the story hit high gear. There were a few plot holes but for the most part it kept me flipping the pages and in the story with these fabulous characters. Friend Jo was so much fun and I hope she gets a story. Some old friends pop up from Reed Security and the Cortell Brothers series. Antonio had a tie to a couple of the characters. Fantastic ending with our couple in a new place, enemies dealt with, and family close. I look forward to the next installment.
ginreads 