Samhain Publishing

Okay, so now I’m going to spill some secrets about the writing of JACK that I hope don’t get me whacked… here it goes…

The gangsters from Brooklyn in this story are real. Paulie the Pudge came to my wedding, along with Anthony (aka “Tony”). Vinny Don’ Kno’ is real as well. Though he didn’t attend my nuptials, I have vivid memories of meeting him on his motorcycle 20 years ago outside a Brooklyn bar (across the street from a Nathan’s Hotdogs) that my husband took me to when we were dating. Picture a naive suburban girl thrown into that tough environment. I’ve been to bars where the coatcheck room was not used for coats, but for the radios that everyone removed from their cars and stored in there so they wouldn’t be stolen. Seriously. I’ve been through all out bar brawls—broken bottles, baseball bats and all (during which I hid outside on the sidewalk). I’ve seen the inside of a Brooklyn hospital after said bar fight while we waited for one of the guys to get stitched up at 4 in the morning. So yeah, the characters’ names though colorful are real, and the characters are loosely based on real people. You have to believe me because honestly, could I really make this stuff up? Even Johnny Bag o’ Donuts (who is discussed later on in this scene), though my husband corrected me and said it was actually ‘Bag Full o’ Donuts’ and I got it wrong, is real.

Truth is stranger than fiction.

Enjoy this excerpt with my SpecOp hotties as they confront the surreal world of the Brooklyn mob.
Cat

The best way to heal a broken heart is to jump right back on the horse. So to speak…
After watching the girl he’s crushed on for years fall for his best friend, the last thing special operative Jack Gordon wants is a vacation. If cooling his heels doesn’t drive him crazy, doing it under his family’s scrutiny will.
But once he’s back home things get more than a little interesting. The new farm hand is cute, sexy—and his instincts tell him she’s got something to hide. Luckily, he’s got the skills and the backup to find out what.
Gordon Equine is the perfect place for Niccolina Campolini. The Gordons pay in room, board and cash. And they don’t ask questions. Perfect for a girl on the run…until Jack shows up. Sexy as hell and far too inquisitive, Jack strikes sparks and suspicions that put both her body and her heart in danger.
Jack knows better than to trust a woman with as many shadows as Nicki, but the heat waves of their attraction are messing with his focus. And when her secrets catch up with her, he’s not sure if he’s protecting her from something, or protecting his family from her…
This book has been previously published and has been revised from its original release.
Warning: This book contains extremely stupid gangsters bearing guns, a bored team of special operatives looking for some action, and one Southern gentleman guaranteed to charm your panties off.

An excerpt from
Jack
Copyright © 2010 Cat Johnson
All rights reserved — a Samhain Publishing, Ltd. Publication

“So let me get this straight. The one guy’s name is Paulie the Pudge and the other guy’s name is Vinny Don’t Know?” Trey’s gaze moved from Jack to Matt.

Jack looked up from checking his cell phone for an update from Jimmy and nodded. “That’s what
Nicki said.”

Another call to Jimmy had provided Jack with enough of a physical description of the two men for Nicki to identify them. Now Jack’s quickly assembled team had names to go with the bad guys chasing Nicki, but he still didn’t know how they’d finally located her at his family’s farm.

“Yeah, but you got to say it like you’re from Brooklyn. Vinny Don’ Kno’,” Matt, being from New York himself, explained. He’d arrived at the cabin toting his laptop plus a bunch of other electronics and was currently tapping away on the keyboard.

Trey let out a long breath. “This is like a really bad movie.”

Jack glanced over to make sure Nicki was still asleep on the cot in the corner of the cabin. Poor thing was exhausted. He didn’t blame her. She was sleeping so soundly she was snoring lightly. “Matt, what have you got on Vinny and Paulie’s boss? This Tony guy.”

“It looks like he recently dropped out of sight. After what you told me Nicki did to him, I’m sure he crawled away to lick his wounds in private. No mobster would want that story to leak out.”

Jack cringed at the thought of the wounds Nicki had inflicted on Tony. Not that the bastard didn’t deserve that plus more.

Matt continued. “But she definitely didn’t kill him. Word would have got out if he’d died. He’s too big for it not to.”

Too big. Great. Why couldn’t Nicki’s father have pissed off a small-time gangster instead? “So we can’t just make him disappear is what you’re saying.”

“As much as we’d all like to, no. He’d be missed. But I have an idea on that front. If you agree, Jack.
This is your deal.” Matt waited a beat.

Jack accepted his role as leader of this operation by nodding once. “What’ve you got?”

“I’ve hacked into this guy’s accounts. Ridiculously easy. I thought mobsters would have better tech guys, but apparently not.” Matt shook his head.

“They hire guys like Paulie the Pudge and Vinny Don’ Kno’ and you think they’re going to have state-of-the-art internet security?” Trey raised a brow.

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