After my muse and I finished The Secretary's Bodyguard—followed by the editing process and the book's release—we both felt an undeniable urge to write another story with the same protagonists. We had fallen in love with Jazmin and Ethan, as well as the other bodyguards of his team. However, we didn't want to repeat the story (though that's always tempting, right?). So, I came up with the idea that Jazmin had been a police officer in Bogota and that her testimony had put a cartel boss behind bars. Unfortunately, the boss’s son, Raoul, finds out that Jazmin is still alive. Instead of going after Jazmin, he kidnaps her husband and brings him to Colombia to force her to follow.
This story has a much darker mood, filled with despair, but also with the love these two people have for each other. They would do everything in their power to escape together. My muse and I spent many afternoons over coffee and cake plotting and thinking about Raoul and his minions. It’s easy to make the bad guys seem evil, but it’s much harder to explain their backgrounds and motivations. Raoul is a criminal, yes, but he’s also still in love with Jazmin, who was by his side back in the day. He yearns for her like a teenager and wishes for nothing more than for her to love him again. So, while he treats Ethan like a hardcore criminal, he schmoozes Jazmin with clothes, food, and many other amenities.
Readers told me that they like how the book centers on Jazmine as the strong female lead who never wavers, no matter how bad the situation gets. From day one, she plans how to free her husband while trying to appease Raoul, no matter the cost of being friendly with the man who tortures her loved one.
Here’s an excerpt from the moment Jazmin meets her captured husband while Raoul watches her closely.
Raoul opened a thick door with a security key and held it for her. “Don’t dare go near the cell, Isabel. You can have a look, but don’t touch.”
Jazmin heard him come down the steps behind her and a guard stopped her three yards off the cell. “Ethan! Oh, my god!” Her first impulse when she saw Ethan in the cell was to turn and kill Raoul in cold blood. She wouldn’t be fickle when it came to the choice of weapons, but she had none handy, and the guard had made sure she carried nothing in her purse that suited as a weapon. Jazmin swallowed the urge and closed her eyes for a moment, trying, hoping to cope with the situation somehow. Ethan had been blindfolded and gagged and his hands were shackled to a ring above his head at the wall. He was wearing running pants with buttons at the sides, but neither shirt nor shoes. His chest was covered with welts, and when he heard her voice he began pulling the shackles, making sounds deep in his throat.
Raoul came up beside her, staring at her face. “Ah, yes, I want a picture of that expression, of your loss of equanimity. That was exactly how I felt when you took away my father and condemned him to rot in prison.”
“Is that so?” Tears trickled down her cheeks. She trembled, seeing her husband fight uselessly. “Let me get to him, please.”
“No.” Raoul went past her and stood to glare at her. “He’s still alive and, as you can see, he’s unharmed.” He turned his gaze heavenward. “In a way.”
“Unharmed?” She was furious. “And the bullet wound?”
Raoul blinked. “Bullet wound?”
“On the second video I heard a shot and Ethan screamed.”
“Yes, that’s what you heard.” He opened his hands, palms up. “I didn’t do it. A bullet wound is hard to treat. And it’s messy.” He made a face of disgust. “So one of my men shot, the other hit your husband’s balls. That made him scream for his mommy.”
“I don’t believe you.” She tried to pass the guard, but he held her arm, squeezing hard.
“You want the full show before dinner?”
Jazmin looked at him, unrelenting. She freed her arm, but didn’t dare go further.
“Ah, that beautiful hard look. I remember! Oh, my lady, you’re such a marvel. But, yes, if you want the show...” He gestured a guard who stood watch close by. He unlocked the door, entered the cell and ripped open the buttons so that the pants fell off. Ethan’s legs, too, carried the marks of whip and cane. He struggled again to no avail, clenching and unclenching his fists in the restraints.
“See? No bullet wound.” Raoul’s voice was a warm baritone, trying to soothe her. “I told you. I wouldn’t do that.”
Jazmin swallowed, trying to compose herself. Her words were a shallow whisper. “You messed with my mind.”
“Guilty.” His look tried for sincerity. “But I’m not a monster, Isabel. Not at all.”
Jazmin felt strangely grateful that he had spared Ethan the pain of a bullet wound. He was hurt and in pain, but the welts didn’t threaten his life. She was close to retching, though, when she realized Raoul had done this because he knew about her feelings and used them against her. Her gaze searched Ethan’s bound body. His breathing had accelerated, but the gag inhibited any word.
Raoul nodded toward the guard. “Dress him again.”
The guard did as ordered. Once more her stomach turned. She had just wanted to ask him and he had anticipated her wish to have him clothed again. She saw his friendly expression. He expected her to thank him for his benevolence. Jazmin swallowed, thinking that this was just the beginning. She wanted to scream and scratch his eyes out. She was furious beyond feeling they were both in the palm of his hand. It left her drained and aimless. She had no threat handy that would change Raoul’s mind.
Raoul came back and gently took her arm. “Come, my lady, it’s time to properly welcome you. You’ve had a long journey and I’m here to regale you with everything your heart desires.”
“Then let Ethan and me go.”
Raoul thrust his head back and laughed heartily. “Oh, come on, you know I won’t do that. You both just arrived.”
“Well, you obviously had enough time at your hands to have him beaten up more than once.”
“That, my lady, was his decision.” He nudged her through the door, closed it again and directed her back to the living room. “He longs to fight, obviously, and if he does, he’ll receive a proper answer.”
***
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