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    Wife For Hire
    Wife For Hire
    Wife For Hire
    Ebook199 pages4 hours

    Wife For Hire

    By Cristina Grenier

    5/5

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    About this ebook

    Cole O'Donnell always wanted to be a hero. 

    Unfortunately for Cole, he never got the hang of bravery and he was born with two left feet. So, instead of becoming a hero, Cole became an actor. He was good at it too until someone murdered his stunt double and sent his life spiraling out of control. Haunted by a sinister presence, the former child-star and present-day America's sweetheart is desperate to uncover the threat to his life before it's too late. But with no proof and the production of his latest film on the line, Cole will have to go to extremes to protect himself while remaining in the spotlight. 

    Violet Monroe wouldn't exactly call herself a killing machine. She's more of an entrepreneur who knows martial arts and carries a gun. As the owner and sole employee of Elite Security, Violet is desperate to get her company off the ground. What she needs is a high-profile client and no one is more high profile than Cole O'Donnell. Pretending to be the action star's wife might be extreme, but the move could be just what she needs to put Elite on the map. 

    Highly trained, sensual, and deadly, Violet is the perfect bodyguard and all too soon Cole finds himself falling for the mysterious femme fatale. But to protect Violet he'll have to step into the line of fire and give being a hero just one more shot. Luckily for Cole and his two left feet, Violet hasn't lost a client yet and she sure as hell isn't about to start with the man who stole her heart. 

    With a target on them both and neither willing to back down, will Cole and Violet be cast for a romantic comedy or will tragedy strike and leave them scrambling to pick up the pieces? 

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMonster Media LLC
    Release dateMar 8, 2019
    ISBN9781386250401
    Wife For Hire

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      Book preview

      Wife For Hire - Cristina Grenier

      Chapter 1: Fighting Dragons

      The dragon reared its head and roared, shooting a jet of bright blue flame towards the heavens. The knight paused, considering the massive beast critically. The princess was in her tower, screaming at the wall of flame that was slowly encasing its ivory base. If he didn’t get to her soon the tower would go up in smoke and the princess along with it.

      The knight’s jaw clenched. The oracle had prophesied this very moment months ago when he’d saved her from that horde of barbarian warriors. As thanks she’d offered the knight the services of her personal battle mage to help him in the days to come. Having a magic wielder on your side was beneficial for the most part but there was never a shortage of doom and gloom. According to the oracle, if he saved the princess he would rescue the kingdom from the clutches of the evil queen that currently plagued their land. But the salvation of Irrigardh came at a price; his life.

      The knight wasn’t quite ready to die. He’d spent his childhood as an orphan and running away from Irrigardh after being betrayed by his own king had opened his eyes to just how much more there was to life than dedicating your honor to a lie. Even the mage, for all their initial spats, had grown dear to him over the course of their journey.

      But there was nothing to be done.

      When it came down to a kingdom he’d sworn to defend and his own life, the choice was obvious. The knight slipped from his white steed and strode forward. He was trembling but resolute. The flames danced higher and higher, casting the rugged planes of his face into shadow. The knight raised his great broadsword, roared his defiance, and ran towards the rearing foe just as its massive jaws opened and spit hellfire across the earth.

      Cardi B’s ‘Bodak Yellow’ began playing and Cole O’Donnell paused in the midst of his clash with certain death to pull his cell from the pocket of his leather jerkin.

      Hel-lo. He crooned, abandoning his LA drawl for something decidedly more exotic. The caller ID told him that it was Karen, and last Cole checked she believed him to be Scottish. What can I do ye for lass?

      Cut! Cole rolled his eyes at Jonathan’s enraged cry. The director of The Price of Honor was prone to dramatics. Cole had only been playing lead for the past two months and the guy lost his shit over every little thing. He couldn’t even have a drink or two on set without someone accusing him of being an ‘alcoholic’. Which would have been true if not for the fact that Cole didn’t like committing to anything, not even an addiction.

      Speaking of commitment phobes.

      Last night was fun, huh? Karen purred. Karen Griffin was the heiress to the massive Griffin fortune. An inheritance that would include a chain of hotels that reached around the globe and a designer clothing line stationed in New York. Not that daddy’s old money dissuaded her from being a raging slut muffin. It’s what I loved best about her; she had a free spirit and an even free-er pussy.

      Memory of our indiscretions brought a smile to my face and with a groan of disgust, Madeline Rhodes, tugged off her blond, lace-front, wig and scrambled from her tower.

      Maddy, for god’s sake! Jonathan yelled. John was always yelling. Stop making more work for make-up!

      Screw you Jonathan. Maddy snapped, finally maneuvering back to solid ground. Her dress had been exquisitely crafted by the design team over the last several months but Maddy gave no heed to their work as she barreled past the startled team of techs manning the mechanical dragon. I’ll be damned if I sweat my ass off while our ‘star’ talks to his latest booty call.

      Cole and Maddy exchanged automatic middle finger salutes as they passed one another. It came so naturally to them both that it was done more out of habit than spite. He wondered if her animosity might turn into attraction one day but the disgust with which she eyed him had a level of animosity to it that he didn’t want anywhere near his dick.

      He ignored the rest of the cast and sauntered off set to give Karen his full attention. Production could wait a few minutes. It was time he had a break anyway. Though by the muttered curses that followed in his wake, Cole doubted anyone else shared his opinion.

      How about an encore later tonight at my place? He suggested, finally tuning back in to the conversation now that all of the distractions were out of the way.

      I was just about to suggest the same thing. Karen laughed. I swear sometimes it’s like you’re in my head.

      Just in your head? He teased, and she purred.

      I have a few more places you could pay a visit to tonight.

      Memories of her lithe body filled his thoughts and Cole waited for hunger to rear its head, only marginally surprised when it didn’t. He and Karen had been seeing one another every day for the past week and he was beginning to lose interest. At first it had been exciting to wonder about the secrets her body held, but she was a lukewarm lover at best and he realized with a start that he couldn’t even remember what she felt like. Like all of his other lovers, Karen sort of blended in with the women before her and it made him wonder what the point of fucking her was if she were so interchangeable as to be forgettable. It was a fucking shame too. Usually it took at least two weeks before his latest conquest began boring him and he stifled a sigh of disappointment. He’d been looking forward to having company tonight but knew from experience that there was no point in dragging things out once the spark was gone.

      ‘Maybe I should cancel?’ As soon as the thought occurred to him he dismissed it. He’d give it another shot. Maybe he was just tired from a long day on set. If he didn’t feel anything tonight when they were face to face with one another then he’d say his Nana died and ship Karen home. Mentally Cole sent yet another apology to his long-deceased grandmother. She’d died when he was sixteen and over the past decade or so he’d used her as an excuse to get out of many a social obligation. Not that Nana would have minded. She’d always been a practical joker and growing up, Paw Paw died several times whenever she found the need to get out of doing something she didn’t want to do.

      Listen lass, I’m in the middle of filming. I’ll talk to you tonight.

      Karen hesitated, and I could hear her surprise in the ensuing silence. Cole usually liked staying on the phone with her so to cut the conversation short so prematurely drew her up short. Fortunately, Karen had her pride and didn’t try and made a big deal out of it.

      Awesome. I’ll see you then.

      Cole hung up without a word or a second thought. Rather than turn back towards set. He wandered towards his trailer.

      Get your ass back here O’Donnell! John yelled. If we don’t wrap up this scene today we won’t be able to fly to New Zealand next week for the location shots.

      Shit.

      And he’d really had his heart set on a nap too. With a sigh, Cole tucked his phone away and adjusted his jerkin.

      Fine. He snapped. But you owe me lunch otherwise I’m reporting you to PETA.

      John shook his head already flushing red with rage.

      Cause I’m a hound dog. Cole glanced around at the blank faces of the production crew. Get it?

      No one laughed and feeling put out and unappreciated, Cole strode back on set to defeat a dragon.

      Chapter 2: The Battle at Chuck’s

      Violet Gibson’s forearms tightened, and she gritted her teeth. The man in her arms struggled for breath but she knew that if she let up he would bulldoze her. That was the danger with fighting a larger opponent. If you couldn’t tire them out you had to take them down hard and fast.

      She didn’t have time to wait for her opponent to grow tired. She was quick, and her endurance was nothing to sneeze at but the guy was so strung out on coke that he’d be tweaking for at least the next couple of hours. Violet was having a hard-enough time choking him out and she grunted, letting her weight drag him to his knees. From her perch behind him she wrapped her legs around his waist and used the heels of her feet to help drive some of the air from him. Violet squeezed as hard as she could and with a growl of discontent and a wheeze like a deflated balloon, he fell face first onto the floor of the Chuck E. Cheese.

      Timothy Greary was five years old today. He’d seen violence in cartoons but being up and close was a different monster all together. Something about watching his birthday clown drift into unconsciousness set him off and he started screaming. The rest of the kids followed suit until chaos reigned all around.

      Violet sighed and got to her feet. There was something sticky soaking into the knees of her jeans and the back of her shirt felt soggy with overcooked pizza from when her bounty flipped her onto the long table that had been set up to accommodate Timothy and his guests. Looking at it now the only thing that had survived the destruction was the cake. It was almost a relief. At least something would be salvageable. Maybe he could eat a slice or two during his first therapy session.

      ‘Get over yourself Vi.’ She thought nastily. ‘This is the first time you traumatized a group of kids. Remember Mr. I’m Cheating On My Wife With Our Kid’s Third Grade Teacher During Parent Teacher conferences?’

      Unfortunately, Violet remembered the incident all too well. She’d never look at dry erase boards the same way.

      You need to leave. The girl striding up to her was shaking. She clutched a wireless phone to her chest and glared at Violet as if she were the one who robbed a liquor store half an hour before working a kid’s birthday party. Normally Violet didn’t pick up bounties at the last minute. She liked to prepare; Get a game plan together so the actual capture didn’t turn into a shit show. But a high clown was pretty damn distinctive and as soon as she had a viable lead she went with her gut and investigated it.

      Which was how she ended up surrounded by angry Chuck E. Cheese employees and bitching parents.

      Just give me a sec. She ordered the shaken girl. She looked young. Probably no more than eighteen. This was likely her first job. At least she’d have a good story to tell. Reaching for the cuffs on my belt, Violet knelt and wrenched the clown’s wrists behind his back. There was no telling how quickly he’d come to and she wanted his hands out of commission before that happened.

      I’m calling the police. A man had come to back up the frightened girl and Violet could see from his shiny name tag that he was a general manager. Someone had called in the big dogs.

      Violet lifted a brow. Please do. Be sure to ask for Detective Florez please and tell them to hurry.

      That was one of the good things about occasionally consulting with the local police department. While Violet was a bodyguard by trade, she moonlighted as a bounty hunter when business was slow. The myriad of bruises she’d collected over the last few days was testament to just how slow business had been. God damnit. She’d given up bounty hunting years ago in hopes of starting something more lucrative that involved less bullets and drug addicts. The strange thing about being a bodyguard for the top percenters was that you needed a track record of success. I needed a client. A high-profile client. It was either that or continue picking up contracts that didn’t pay nearly what they were worth. Violet was tired of working her ass off and putting her life in danger only to barely afford her car payments and monthly supply of hot pockets.

      Violet figured that if she were going to risk her life the least she could do was afford organic food every once in a while. The clown, also known as Clarence, groaned and stirred. The general manger rushed forward, clearly intent on helping and Violet stepped between the two to block his way.

      I wouldn’t do that if I were you.

      The man glowered, but after seeing what she’d done to Clarence, who outweighed her by at least two hundred pounds, the manager didn’t seem inclined to test his luck.

      Good.

      Once she started knocking out randos she was blurring the line between bounty hunter and psychopath.

      We don’t tolerate violence here. He snapped. This is a family establishment.

      She glanced around at the arcades, games, and plethora of children and quirked an eyebrow.

      You don’t say?

      Before he could snap back the sound of sirens could be heard from outside and the tension in Violet’s shoulders eased. Thank God they were in an affluent white neighborhood. Otherwise it would have been another ten minutes before a patrol car arrived on the scene.

      With a sigh, she bent and gripped Clarence by the crook of his arm. He tried to deadweight her, but she didn’t release her hold and he had to raise to his feet or risk breaking his arm.

      She didn’t recognize the officer who strode through the door. Whoever called the police hadn’t followed instructions. Awesome. Now she was a crazy bitch with handcuffs until she could prove otherwise. The oh so helpful patrons of the Chuck E. Cheese pointed in Violet’s direction and she straightened, girding herself for a long afternoon of explaining.

      So much for being an easy bounty.

      ***

      By the time Violet got back to her office she was exhausted.

      The police had brought her into the precinct and put her into holding before Michael Florez arrived on duty. Violet was still new in town and she and Florez had worked together briefly in Seattle before he’d been transferred to LA. He knew her and her work and having him vouch for her was the only reason she’d been released with nothing but a warning. The cops weren’t fond of bounty hunters. Likely because too many of them had overdosed on testosterone and power. Even the relatively mild-mannered ones were trigger happy as hell. People got hurt when sloppy hunters were out in the field. That’s why Violet was always careful when it came to chasing down a bounty. Even so, her caution didn’t endear her to anyone. Thanks to the day’s incident the cops would be keeping an eye out for her. Which

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