Live to Love on the Edge Blog

There are only 7 (yes SEVEN!) more days until the release of Brickell Avenue Ambush, the second book in the South Beach Security series! In Brickell Avenue Ambush the heroine, Mariela, discovers that her abusive ex-husband is involved in shady dealings. Now he’s out to make sure she doesn’t share any of what she’s overheard. After a chance encounter with Ricky Gonzalez, the SBS arrives to help protect her. In this scene, a goon sent by Mariela’s ex comes to silence her but Ricky is there to intervene.

Teaser

He’ll keep her safe
Even as their attraction intensifies with every hot Miami night…

Mariela Hernandez has a target on her back, thanks to her abusive ex-husband’s latest plot. Teaming up with Ricky Gonzalez and his family’s respected private security firm is her only chance at survival. Keeping the vulnerable woman safe isn’t easy. Neither is denying their growing attraction. But with bullets flying, Ricky will risk it all to be the hero Mariela needs….

Excerpt

Mariela struggled against the masked man who had assaulted her as soon as she had closed the door.

He had an arm wrapped around her waist and his gloved hand covered her mouth, muffling her screams and cutting off her air until black circles danced in her vision.

At the crash of someone breaking down the front door, the man reacted, loosening his grip slightly, and she bit down hard on his hand. The leather kept her from breaking skin, but her vicious bite made the man yelp and loosen his hold enough that she could elbow him in the stomach.

He let out a rough “Oomph” at the blow and released her. She rushed toward the front door and hopefully safety, but the man was on her again, tackling her to the ground. The weight of his body drove the air from her lungs, but a second later that weight lifted off her.

Rolling onto her side, she saw Ricky Gonzalez tossing the masked man away from her. The man stumbled back, but then regained his footing and whirled to attack again.

Ricky faced him, standing between her and her attacker. Protecting her with his body.

The man rushed at Ricky, throwing punch after punch as he tried to reach Mariela. The blows landed with sickening thuds against Ricky’s face, arms and occasionally his midsection.

Ricky took the brunt of the violence, defending against the wild, almost haymaker punches of her attacker. But when their assailant paused, Ricky fought back with almost surgical precision, landing a sharp blow to the man’s face that snapped the man’s head back. The man reeled from the jab, but then struck out again.

Mariela screamed, “I’m calling the police.”

She dialed 911 but the attack didn’t stop. Ricky blocked blow after blow until the assailant gave him an opening and Ricky once again struck out, punching the other man and driving him back. That gave Ricky the space to execute a roundhouse kick that sent the man reeling across the room. The man stood unsteadily and raised his fists to fight again until the sound of sirens coming closer made her attacker stop short.

Before either Ricky or she could react, the man raced toward the back of the home and disappeared through the open sliding glass doors into her backyard.

Ricky came to her side, his face bloodied. His one eye swelling shut from the masked man’s blows.

“Are you okay?” he asked, apparently unconcerned about his own injuries.

“I am,” she said, but suddenly her knees felt weak. She swayed, struggling to stay upright.

Ricky slipped an arm around her waist and helped her to a sofa. A second later two armed police officers rushed through the door, guns pointed and yelling, “Police.” But as they saw Ricky and her sitting on the sofa, they lowered their weapons.

Ricky motioned toward the sliders and said, “He ran out the back.”

One officer raced in that direction while the other holstered his gun and walked over to them. “Are you hurt?”

Mariela shook her head and glanced at Ricky, who said, “I’m fine. I need to make a call.”

As Ricky walked off, the officer pulled out a pad and started asking Mariela questions about what had happened.

She answered as best she could, trying to remember everything from the moment the man had grabbed her when she’d walked in, to when Ricky had burst in to protect her.

It seemed like long minutes passed as she talked to the officer and the second policeman returned with Ricky and another man who looked so much like Ricky they had to be brothers. They had the same dark wavy hair, light eyes, straight noses and dimpled chins. But this man’s body had heavier muscle, unlike Ricky’s lean, almost elegant, build.

The man walked over and the police officer, who had been sitting in a nearby chair, popped to his feet. “Detective Gonzalez,” he said, admiration obvious in his voice.

Ricky’s brother smiled and clapped the officer on the back. “Just Trey Gonzalez now, Officer Walsh. I retired from the force last month.”

Trey walked over to her, smiled and offered his hand in greeting. “I’m Ricky’s older brother, Trey.”

She hesitantly shook his hand. “Mariela Hernandez.”

“Nice to meet you, Mariela. I’m not sure Officer Walsh has explained yet—”

“I haven’t had a chance,” the officer jumped in to confirm.

Trey nodded and continued. “This is a crime scene now, which means you won’t be able to stay here for a few days. If you can pack up some things—”

“But where will I go?” she said, worried about not only the money if she had to stay in a hotel, but whether Jorge would come after her again. She had no doubt that Jorge had sent the man who had attacked her. And she had no doubt that if it hadn’t been for Ricky, she’d be dead.

Ricky came over then, his one eye even more swollen than before. He sat on the coffee table in front of the sofa and said, “You’re coming with us. We’ll make sure you’re safe.”