The Brazen Amazon Read online

  The Brazen Amazon

  By Sandy James

  Book three of Alliance of the Amazons

  Zach Hanson is a tech wizard, capable of creating and improving gadgets—including remote nuclear warhead launchers. But he’s always known that he’s destined for something more, something greater, something...supernatural.

  Powerful Air Amazon Gina Himmel is one of four sisters called to protect the world from those who would do it harm. Demigods in league with an Ancient have been taking over the bodies of leaders in the military and technological sectors, and Gina is sent to San Francisco to watch over Zach.

  Under Gina’s protection, Zach is introduced to a world of ancient deities, rogue gods and the bold, brazen Amazons who keep humanity safe. Amidst the whirlwind of battle, Zach and Gina discover a love that could give them the power to save the world...or destroy it.

  Meet Earth and Fire in The Reluctant Amazon and The Impetuous Amazon.

  103,000 words

  Dear Reader,

  The month of May always brings, for me, the promise of new beginnings. I realize that it’s actually nearly the end of spring, but for some reason, I love the idea of May and that it means summer is coming and the fun is really about to begin!

  This month, very fitting for my excitement about new beginnings, we have three debut authors with stories releasing. Brighton Walsh joins Carina Press with her charming contemporary romance Plus One, where lifelong friends find deep-seated feelings growing into something more than friendship. Meanwhile, debut author Shawna Reppert has crafted a unique and captivating fantasy romance world in her male/male romance The Stolen Luck. Joining these two authors with a debut is S.G. Wong with the first Lola Starke novel, Die on Your Feet. Not only is this an unusual mix of mystery, paranormal and noir, but this book also has a striking cover that captured my imagination from the first look.

  Although not a debut author, Tamara Morgan joins Carina Press with the first in a new contemporary romance series. In The Rebound Girl, an outgoing plastic surgeon gets more than she bargained for when she offers to be the rebound girl for a sexy kindergarten teacher getting over his recent breakup.

  Along with new beginnings also come bittersweet goodbyes, and this month we wrap up Jax Garren’s fantastic science-fiction trilogy Tales of the Underlight. This series has kept us all on the edges of our seats with both the sexual tension between Hauk and Jolie and the fight to take out the Order of Ananke. Don’t miss the final installment, How Beauty Loved the Beast.

  Following up on her award-winning erotic novella, The Theory of Attraction, Delphine Dryden brings back sexy geeks and sizzling sexual tension in The Seduction Hypothesis.

  As well, we have exciting offerings from a variety of other veteran Carina Press authors this month. Jeffe Kennedy’s Ruby takes us to a contemporary world of BDSM and a sexy Cajun chef during the sensuality of New Orleans’s Mardi Gras. And last month saw the release of Volume 1 of our Love Letters anthologies. This month, discover four hot stories with a military twist in Love Letters Volume 2: Duty to Please.

  Sandy James, Shawna Thomas, Cathy Pegau and Stacy Gail all return to previously established worlds in their respective books. In Sandy James’s The Brazen Amazon, the Air Amazon is sent to protect computer wizard Zach from a rogue goddess who wants to use him to destroy the world. Journey of Dominion, book two of The Triune Stones series from Shawna Thomas, continues the story of Sara, trained from birth for one purpose: to reunite three ancient stones to restore balance to the lands.

  Female/female romance Deep Deception by Cathy Pegau follows the harrowing story of a beautiful agent and the woman she has no choice but to trust...until the secrets they’re each keeping threaten to get them both killed. And the plan for a demonic apocalypse is at last uncovered by a maimed member of the Nephilim and a scarred young woman who’s been to hell and back in Stacy Gail’s Wounded Angel, book three of The Earth Angels.

  Last but certainly not least, Dee J. Adams brings us the next installment in her high-octane Adrenaline Highs series with romantic suspense Living Dangerously. If you’re new to Dee’s books, you can easily start here, or go back to the beginning with Dangerous Race.

  This month, start a new series, revisit a favorite world or discover a new-to-you author with our May releases. And don’t forget to check out our catalog for backlist from these and other authors in all your preferred genres.

  We love to hear from readers, and you can email us your thoughts, comments and questions to [email protected]. You can also interact with Carina Press staff and authors on our blog, Twitter stream and Facebook fan page.

  Happy reading!

  ~Angela James

  Executive Editor, Carina Press

  www.carinapress.com

  www.twitter.com/carinapress

  www.facebook.com/carinapress

  Dedication

  Since Cheryl Brooks came into my life, my writing has never been the same.

  Thanks, Cheryl, for being such a great friend and critique partner.

  Acknowledgements

  I will never be able to properly express my gratitude to my editor for the Alliance of the Amazons series—Mallory Braus. You, my dear, are everything an author could want in an editor and more. Thank you for all your hard work, your guidance and your friendship.

  As always, I have to thank my critique partners—Cheryl Brooks, Nan Reinhardt, Leanna Kay and Mellanie Szerto—for all their help and support.

  The staff at Carina Press amazes me. Anytime I need them, they’re always there. Thank you all!

  And last, but definitely not least—hugs and kisses to my husband, Jeff, and my children—Laura and Kevin—for their support, encouragement and love.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  This prey was tricky.

  Gina Himmel waited, watching him from a distance and trying to find the perfect moment to attack. She wasn’t on the usual search and destroy mission, so she’d had to change some of her tactics. She couldn’t throw herself at this one, dropping down like some avenging angel. An everyday demon she could easily tackle and the damn thing would be dead in no time flat.

  But not this prey. No, he required a different approach.

  She was disappointed that she didn’t need her sword with its beautiful rainbow of jewels decorating the hilt. A beloved gift from her goddess, Ix Chel. Lately, Gina left it at home. If the target needed to be killed, she could usually accomplish that just fine with her bare hands. Her Sentinel—the man who trained her to be an Amazon—had taught her well. Johann Herrmann was a master at martial arts. A quick twist of the neck would silently and swiftly kill most demons.

  Oh, but she enjoyed it so much more when they gave her a good, sweaty fight.

  If she was hunting a demigod, she’d use her crossbow and some g
oddess-blessed arrows. She couldn’t employ that method this time, so the bow had remained behind with her sword. She felt naked without having at least one weapon.

  Just this once, the prey had to survive.

  Height gave her an edge. Not her six-foot stature, although that was often an advantage as well. The place she’d chosen to nest until the target came into view gave her a great vantage. At least it had been high enough to make the jump a challenge. She smiled. The next time she saw her Amazon sisters, she could tell them that she’d not only been able to hit the second floor fire escape without a running start, but she’d also landed so cleanly and quietly, the metal hadn’t made a sound in protest.

  Staring down at the alley, Gina waited for her prey to appear. She’d followed him for days, trying to determine whether he’d been compromised yet and learning his habits. The guy was like clockwork—a bit on the obsessive-compulsive side, although in this case that was a good thing. Richard had been right—this prey was still himself. And Richard would know. He’d seen other people changed into someone they weren’t.

  Zach Hanson arrived at work the same time every day. Six in the morning—even on Saturday. At ten, he took a two-block walk to Starbucks. After an Espresso Con Panna, which he drank while playing with his phone, he went directly back to the HanTel home base. Not to his top floor office this time but to the gym the employees used. A forty-minute workout—sometimes weight lifting, sometimes tae kwon do—was followed by a shower, then he went right back at work. His secretary fetched his dinner before she left at five, and he stayed in his office until ten.

  The first time she’d followed him, Gina had been hypnotized by his handsome face to the point of neglecting her duty—to see if a lookalike had assumed his identity. Not a classic romance novel hero’s chiseled profile. His features held a softer allure. Light brown hair badly in need of a cut. Eyes of amber that some women probably thought were plain. His clothes seemed basic as well. Khaki pants. Polo shirts. The guy clearly didn’t spend much on his wardrobe.

  For a short time, she’d been convinced that the prey had already been compromised, his body taken over by one of the enemy. Not because of anything that seemed to have changed but because of what was lacking. Where was the limousine? Or a chauffeured town car? Or some Jaguar with a vanity plate? Zachary Hanson didn’t have any of those things.

  He walked.

  Of course, it wasn’t like he lived too far away. Ten city blocks between the HanTel office and his apartment. The whole way home he wasn’t aware of his surroundings at all. She could have gotten close enough to touch him and he probably wouldn’t have flinched. He always pulled out his phone and started tapping away at the screen, losing himself in his work. Those actions had finally helped her decide to go ahead and nab him. If he’d been compromised, he wouldn’t have been so hard at work, at least not to advance HanTel. He wouldn’t have focused on new cell phones or tablets. An enemy who’d assumed Zach’s identity and had access to advanced technology would’ve had other more sinister missions to accomplish. He’d be ducking into clandestine meetings or constantly checking over his shoulder to see if he’d been followed.

  The man she’d been tailing for so long was definitely Zachary Hanson.

  For a supposed genius, he was a real idiot. Didn’t he realize how vulnerable he left himself? Didn’t he know how important his work was or how easily someone could get to him? No, he was apparently one of those guys who got a heaping order of smarts and only a teaspoon of common sense. She knew that type well, having been around plenty of them before she became the Air Amazon.

  Thankfully, she saw no Sons of Gaia lurking nearby, intent on using Zach to their purpose. Had Richard not left the group to find the Amazons and spill his guts about how Sekhmet—the Egyptian goddess of destruction—was working with the Sons of Gaia, the women would have been in the dark. Now, they had a fighting chance to protect their targets—the influential men the bastard SOGs wanted to replace with one of their own—and foil their conspiracy.

  The door to the alley opened, and Zach walked out. She didn’t have to check her Cinderella watch to know he was right on time. That nasty habit would have to change if she was going to protect him. As regimented as the man was, she’d have her work cut out just trying to teach him how to reduce his vulnerability.

  God, she hoped he didn’t really have obsessive-compulsive disorder. She would barely have enough time to deal with someone who hated change let alone someone who couldn’t change. And she might have to dump a whole new world on him.

  He strode up the alley, reached to the clip on his belt, and popped off his phone. Without a glance at his surroundings, he went to work.

  Gina rolled her eyes. For fuck’s sake. The moron hadn’t bothered to look around the alley. Hadn’t he ever seen a damn movie? Bad guys lurked in alleys. Kidnappers. Robbers. Murderers. Worse, vampires favored dank, dark places like this. The man made himself a proverbial sitting duck.

  She’d simply have to save him from himself.

  * * *

  Zach Hanson shut the door, ready to leave HanTel behind for the night. He tried to contain his disappointment at a lost opportunity as he pulled out his phone and started for home. The day had been an utter waste. He really didn’t get excited about new technology anymore—not unless he’d invented it—but he’d been excited about Joel Woods’s new gadget.

  Woods had pitched it a few weeks ago as a “smartphone on steroids.” The device was smaller than a normal cell, but it had ten times the memory and speed. It would deftly handle the usual. Emails. Surfing the net. Keeping a calendar. MP3 for music, television shows and movies. Even better, it could receive any digital signal and decode it so the owner could find any satellite by pointing it toward the right direction of the sky.

  Zach had seen all those technological advances in his mind’s eye. Joel Woods had just beaten him to the punch, making iPhones look out of date. Hell, when Zach was done tweaking the thing, a person would be able to point it at his aunt’s enormous ass and still get television stations in Australia.

  All of those bells and whistles were inevitable, but they weren’t what had made him drool to be the first to snatch the device. What had made Woods’s invention more of a coup was that it was entirely solar powered. Damn, how he wanted to get his hands on that technology and improve it. Then he’d market the little miracle and make them both billionaires.

  Not that he needed or cared about the money. It was the challenge that drew him. Doing something bigger and better than anyone else. Winning the game. But when Joel Woods arrived, he’d told Zach that he wanted to work on the gadget himself for a while longer before offering it to HanTel.

  He’d had no choice but to accept Woods’s decision. Fortunately, patience was one of his virtues. At least they’d arranged another meeting and parted with a handshake. Even that was a bit odd. Woods clutched Zach’s hand past the time considered polite until Zach had finally eased away. The last thing he wanted to do was offend Joel. Nerds tended to lack social skills, and Joel probably hadn’t realized he’d made Zach uncomfortable.

  Pulling up the last couple of emails he’d yet to open, he read one as he started walking the familiar route. It could be pitch black outside, and he could still make it home. This path—this place—was in his blood.

  He loved San Francisco. The city suited him, which was why he tended to walk just about anywhere or hop the BART or a bus when he needed to. The ambiance called to him from the first time he’d set foot in the city—

  He ran right into someone.

  Shit, he needed to learn to glance up more often. At least he hadn’t knocked the person over. They’d bumped heads, which made them about the same height. He opened his mouth to apologize, but his words stuck in his throat. He gawked at the person standing in front of him.

  He hadn’t expected a woman to be that tall. He seldom went to any of the HanTel parties or the stupid social gatherings he was constantly invited to, so the only women he saw wer
e the ones who worked for him. They were a short, rather matronly bunch who reminded him of his late mother. Models were supposed to be this tall. Athletes, maybe. But some random woman on the street?

  He found himself staring into the prettiest brown eyes he’d ever seen. Warm. Seductive. And...angry? Probably because he’d plowed right into her. He wasn’t usually so clumsy.

  “Sorry,” he offered. “Wasn’t watching where I was going.”

  “You never do.”

  Huh?

  “Yeah, well... I’m in a hurry.” Funny, but looking into those chocolate eyes, he’d forgotten all about the emails.

  “I noticed.”

  Zach had no idea what to make of the woman. She stood with hands fisted against her slim hips, trying to stare him down. What was she doing in his alley this late? And how could she possibly know he was such a creature of habit? “Do I know you?”

  She shook her head. Her short brown hair, spiked with gel and defying gravity in every direction, gave her an intimidating air. Her skin-tight Miami Heat T-shirt and black jeans hugged every curve. All that was missing from the hodgepodge ensemble was the spiked dog collar and Goth make-up. In fact, her skin was so clear and pale she probably wasn’t wearing makeup at all. The hair highlights of neon pink were oddly appealing.

  Admitting that for the first time in a long time he was infatuated with a woman, Zach gave himself a mental shake. He didn’t have time for romance. Sex, maybe, but not romance. Trying to form some witty come-on, he was thrown off balance when she spoke first.

  “Don’t even think about it, Romeo.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Sex is out of the question.”

  “I never said—”

  She snorted a rude laugh. “Oh, puhleeze. I know when a guy’s eyeballing me.”

  Had he been that obvious? Good God, why did he suddenly feel like he was sixteen? A blush heated his cheeks.

  She returned the favor by letting her gaze blatantly rake him from head to toe. “Not bad. But this is work, not play.”

  “Work? What do you mean work?”