It’s almost time for the release of COLD CASE K-9, #3 in the Crooked Pass Security romantic suspense series! This is an action-packed read about a Colorado Bureau of Investigation Gabriella Ruiz, who is determined to find out what happened to her younger sister a decade earlier, and more importantly, save the life of a missing hiker! The K-9 handler who will help her is Diego Rodriguez, a former Marine who has just joined Crooked Pass Security’s new K-9 Division. Diego and Poppy, his German Shepherd, will help Gabriella track down the killer and find out the truth about Gabriella’s sister’s disappearance. Here’s a little teaser for the book and please help a girl out by pre-ordering the book at https://amzn.to/41V8fCA.

Teaser

Only a competent K9 and her handler
Could find her sister’s killer.

CBI Agent Gabriella Ruiz is convinced a missing hiker is a reemerging serial killer’s next victim. Believing she’s too close to the case, the Bureau refuses to follow her hunch. Luckily, Gabriella finds unexpected help in Crooked Pass Security’s unique investigative team. Expert tracker Diego Rodriguez and his faithful K-9, Poppy, go searching for clues from the ground up. But when the killer focuses on Gabriella, Diego—and Poppy—must keep her safe from the killer’s dangerous grasp.

Happy Book Birthday to my amazing Harlequin Intrigue family with December releases! Wishing you endless sales, glowing reviews, and readers who can’t put your books down. Support your favorite authors—grab these gripping stories today at https://amzn.to/49A66BL!

This Teaser Tuesday, I’m sharing an excerpt from COLD CASE K-9, my December 30th release for Harlequin Intrigue. In this story, Colorado Bureau of Investigation agent Gabriella Ruiz believes that the recent kidnapping of a hiker is tied to her sister’s disappearance a decade earlier. She also believes it’s the work of a serial killer and so the race is on to save the hiker before she becomes the next victim. We loved the premise for this story so much that we’re doing a spinoff series in late 2026 where Gabriella and Crooked Pass Security help solve cold cases with the help of their new K-9 unit. Pre-order your copy today so you’ll have some run reading during the holidays and New Year! You can grab your copy at https://amzn.to/4oVqku8.

Excerpt

The early spring sun bathed her face as she stood on the mountain trail. She walked to the lip and peered down a nearby ravine to the creek at its base. Along the edges of the crystal-clear water, spring was coming alive with the first hints of green and purple. Before long, those little slips of color would unfurl into mountain bluebells and the tall, hairy leaves of cow parsnip.

In the trees nearby, bright green buds were bursting open as life returned to the Colorado mountains.

She loved this time of year that held so much promise.

Shielding her eyes against the sun, she glanced up the trail, reviewing how much farther she had to go before reaching the summit.

Not far, she thought, but the day was still early, and she didn’t want to rush her hike. She wanted to savor the day. Tomorrow she’d be trapped behind walls of glass and cement while at work.

Walking to the other side of the trail, a challenging one for more experienced hikers, she sat on a boulder warmed by the sun and laid her knapsack at her feet. Rummaging through it, she hauled out a baggie with trail mix to satisfy the hunger in her belly.

The snap of a branch behind her snared her attention.

Something dark and menacing charged at her before she could react.

Peanuts, chocolate and raisins went flying as she was slammed onto the ground.

The force of the impact drove her breath from her. Before she could take another breath, a gloved hand covered her mouth.

She fought for breath and freedom, but he was just too heavy. Too big. Too strong.

Circles of black whirled before her eyes. In her mind, a silent scream rang out.

I don’t want to die.

As the blackness thickened, taking her away, that small desperate voice pleaded.

Please, I don’t want to die.

Big cheers to my amazing friends and fellow Harlequin Intrigue authors on their brand-new releases! These pulse-pounding reads are out in the world, and I couldn’t be prouder. Wishing you all sky-high sales and rave reviews! Ready to dive into your next thrilling adventure? Grab your copies here: https://amzn.to/431eFkY.

OMG, it’s time to share who is celebrating in October! Whether it’s a birthday, anniversary, or some other special event, please take a moment to share! P.S. I’m celebrating the 26th anniversary of my first book’s publication. OMG, it’s so hard to believe that so much time has gone by! You can grab it and three other novels in the SOUTH BEACH SIZZLES box set for less than 99 cents a book at https://amzn.to/3WdzmXb. You’ll love these spicy stories set in Miami with wonderful sisters and women who are like sisters finding their way to happily ever after.

Happy Book Birthday to my fellow Harlequin Intrigue authors! I can’t wait to read these October releases from my friends! It’s such a wonderful mix of disappearances, murders, action, and suspense from these amazing authors. Check them out at https://amzn.to/3Kllkjx. P.S. If you love stories about kidnappings and stopping a stalker, dive into the first two books in the Crooked Pass Security series at https://amzn.to/47cmo2o.

I introduced Sophie and Robbie Whitaker in COLD CASE REOPENED as a way for you to meet some of the members of the South Beach Security family. In that book, Robbie and Sophie help their cousin Jackson solve the disappearance of a woman. I love not only bringing Sophie and Robbie back to Colorado for CLIFFSIDE KIDNAPPING, but to also let you meet their parents! The Whitakers are smart and strong, which explains the amazing children they raised. In this excerpt, you meet the Whitaker parents. You will see a lot of them and their love in CLIFFSIDE KIDNAPPING!

*****

Mercedes Gonzalez Whitaker relaxed in the passenger seat, appreciating the fresh pine scent wafting through the open window and the kaleidoscope of greens in the fields and mountains along the highway. The deep jewellike colors of the evergreens and lighter almost silvery gray of the aspens dotted the Colorado landscape. As dusk descended, the chill of night replaced the warmth of the day. So different from the heat and humidity of a Washington, D.C. June or the weather she’d experienced growing up in Miami.

It was why she loved coming out here for the annual gatherings with the Whitaker clan and why she and her husband, Robert, would sneak out in the fall to watch the changing of the foliage, especially the aspens, as large stands of the poplars painted the hillsides with streaks of gold. Robert had once told her how aspens grew via their roots, creating glades of clones that were all one living organism, sometimes acres in size.

Much like her Cuban Miami family had spread their roots and grown, the patriarchs standing tall in the center while their children and grandchildren became ever stronger and likewise prospered. She missed being around her sprawling and loving Gonzalez family. Robert loved spending time with them as well and maybe it was time to visit them soon.

Robert, she thought with a loving sigh and gazed at her husband as he drove.

The years have been kind to him. There were the barest hints of silver at his temples and the faintest smile lines at the corners of his bright hazel eyes. Handsome and he still stole her breath away.

Smiling, she reached over to brush the back of her hand across his cheek. It was sandpapery rough with the start of an evening beard.

He shot her a quick look from the corner of his eye. “Everything okay?”

“I was just thinking that when this is over, we should visit the family in Miami. Lately, I feel like we don’t spend enough time with them and with your family here in Colorado.”

Peering at her again, he said, “Maybe it’s time to consider retiring. It’ll give us more time with both families. We have enough years put in at the NSA, and those D.C. winters…”

He didn’t need to finish because they both hated the northeast cold and damp. Despite the fact they’d been living in the D.C. area and working for the National Security Agency for nearly thirty years, she often missed the warmth of Miami in wintertime and the palm trees decorated with Christmas lights.

“Maybe,” she said, closing her eyes and smiling as she imagined sitting poolside in December and, more importantly, spending time with her children and the rest of the Gonzalez family.

A hard jolt and the sudden swerve of their sedan jerked her from that pleasant daydream.

“What the—” Robert muttered and fought to keep the car under control as another more powerful blow threatened to drive them off the road.

Mercedes braced her hands on the dashboard and console as another shot against their rear bumper sent the nose of the vehicle toward a small ditch on the side of the highway.

Robert yanked the steering wheel hard, knuckles white with pressure. Miraculously, he kept the car from tumbling off the road.

She whirled in her seat to see a large black pickup behind them increase its speed and ram the back of their sedan again. Metal groaned and crunched as the pickup shoved the car toward the ditch.

“Rob?” she said. Fear gripped her as her husband frantically fought the wheel and accelerated away from the pickup.

The engine roared as he created a fragile distance, but then their assailant raced past them and clipped their front fender.

They said those last moments of your life passed in slow motion and Mercedes understood it now. Images of her children, husband and family slipped across her mind as the sedan flew off the edge of the road, seemingly floating in space for long minutes until the hood of the car smashed into the ditch.

Order

Grab your copy today at:

Amazon Kindle: https://amzn.to/40DMYhB
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/3V2Yyzt
Amazon Audible: https://amzn.to/4hu613U
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/cliffside-kidnapping/id6633434276
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cliffside-kidnapping-caridad-pi-eiro/1146170674
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/cliffside-kidnapping
Additional Retailers: https://books2read.com/CliffsideKidnapping