Hey, lovelies, it’s WIP Wednesday again and we’re back with more from my upcoming release ‘Early Sins’ the prequel for ‘Lethal Sin‘. I just premiered the title of this book to my mailing list this past weekend, and I can’t wait to show you guys the amazing cover (once we’re done tweaking it). If you’ve already read ‘Lethal Sin’ you may have been a little curious about Camille’s sordid past, about how she got involved in the assassin game, which ultimately puts her on the path to collide with Mateo in the first book. I was so caught up in Camille’s story myself that this prequel started flowing out. I’m not sure when I’ll have it finished (hopefully out before the end of August), but in this scene Camille is recovering from a bullet wound she received going after a target of her own, and Smith saved her and he is pissed for several reasons. The largest of which is the fact that he’s realizing a group of men brutalized her when she was younger. Let’s see what happens…

—

“Smith -”

He turned and faced her, the controlled exterior cracking while she watched. “You tell me right now, right now, where the last three men are.”

“I don’t know.”

“This is not a game, C!” He shouted and came to the end of the bed, his hands gripping the footboard. “What they did…” his voice was a growl as he shook his head, “I don’t even know what they did, I don’t want to know because I’ll lose it, but I will make them suffer before they die. I swear it, but you need to tell me where they are.”

“I don’t know, Smith.”

“Do not lie to me about this. This is not the time for you to be territorial, this is the time where you tell me where they are so I can teach them exactly how much pain they can endure before they die.” His words made her eyes go wide. A vicious, uncontrolled side of him showing itself that made her wonder exactly who Smith had been before he’d become the man she knew. It made her imagine the kind of man he was when he was on a job.

“Holy shit, Smith, I really don’t know.” An exasperated sigh came from him as he interrupted her, throwing his hands up. “I’m not lying! I only knew how to find Joe because he talked all the fucking time. Bitched about that damn auto shop to Steve constantly. Even if I wasn’t in the room I could hear him complaining.” Slamming the glass of water down on the side table she pushed herself into a sitting position, ignoring the twinge of pain in her thigh as her own anger returned. “And even if I did know, you’re not killing them for me. I’m not helpless.”

“You couldn’t pull the trigger when it came down to it, C.” The accusation felt like a second gun shot, burrowing into her chest with a burning, vicious ache. Tears pricked at the edges of her eyes as she glared at him.

“I didn’t get the chance to, he fucking shot me.”

“And why didn’t you shoot first? Why the hell didn’t you ask me for help? To go with you?”

“BECAUSE I DIDN’T THINK YOU’D LET ME!”

—

There’s a lot for these two to work through as Camille moves towards becoming the assassin both she and Smith want her to be, but her first attempt didn’t exactly go smoothly. Can Smith get her to control her anger so she can think clearly, and can Smith admit to himself his feelings for her? Those are details only the book will reveal. Stay tuned! In the mean time, enjoy these snippets from some other authors…