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I can t even tease her since I m guilty of the same thing. Living in a house has been quite an
adjustment, especially one that s this big. Originally, we wanted to just buy something already
constructed but due to our new security requirements, we ended up building something new.
It s so big I feel like an idiot getting lost in my own house sometimes but it has tons of land for
the two labrador retriever pups Emma convinced us to adopt and a crazy high security fence. The
mailbox is all the way at the end of our long driveway.
 Sure thing. I ll be back.
Mounds of presents explode off the table in the hallway and just in case anyone missed it,
there s a massive Housewarming Party banner hanging over it. I shake my head. It s easy to see my
sister-in-law s influence. Emma loves a grand statement.
I pass the living room and raise my hand in greeting when Gabe and Zack look up. They re
helping one of my young cousins put together a model car. Through the back window I can see Finn
and Rissa relaxing on our wraparound porch. My mom sits on the couch looking out the window, the
widower she s been dating recently sitting next to her looking uncomfortable.
I grin. He s probably uncomfortable because he was greeted by my security team when he
arrived. My very big and scary security team. Tank recommended his old employer, Alexander
Security, and they ve been great. Professional but completely unobtrusive. I only notice them when I
need them which luckily isn t often.
Our circular drive is filled with cars so I walk directly across the grass to the end of the lawn.
Our mailbox is double-sided and mounted into the security gate. I pull it open and then pick up the
stack of letters inside. Something flutters out and lands at my feet. It s a feather.
I stoop and pick it up. It s a deep red color and large in size. It looks much too large to belong
to any of the birds I ve seen in the area.
A chill runs up my spine.
 You re a crazy old bird, you know that?
 I ll take that as a compliment. I always thought of myself as a phoenix. A fighter that rises
from the ashes of its own demise.
I glance behind me at the mailbox and then around the expansive yard. Our drive is bordered
by trees and the summer sun overhead beats down mercilessly, making me grateful for the shade.
Maybe I should feel worried being out in the open but I m not. Instead I m comforted. I rub the feather
between my fingers.
 Rise, Max. Rise. And be at peace.
I must have been standing here longer than I thought because when I look up next I see Seven
walking down the drive toward me, her long black hair whipping behind her in the breeze. She waves
her hand at me.
 Babe, I thought you got kidnapped out here. I was about to send out the hounds to protect
you.
She looks down affectionately at the two puppies gamboling around her feet. Loki falls over a
stick and then whips around to attack it. Uninterested in his brother s drama, Anakin races over to me
and then flops his bottom directly on top of my shoe. His large tongue lolls out of the side of his
mouth, a look of complete doggy happiness on his face.
 Yeah, they re really scary.
She bends down and scratches Loki under his chin.  Don t listen to Daddy. You re a big, scary
hound.
I pick up Anakin and we walk back up the driveway, my mind still reeling from my discovery.
 You re so quiet. Everything okay? She looks over at me and she s so damn beautiful it
almost breaks my heart. Beautiful and all mine.
 Yeah. Everything is perfect now.
That s when she spies the red feather in my hand. She stretches out her hand to touch it, trailing
a finger over the length.  Pretty. Where d you find that?
I gesture over my shoulder.
 In the mailbox? she asks in disbelief.  Like a bird crawled in there just to leave this for us?
That s so strange.
I tuck the feather into my back pocket for safekeeping.  Crazy old birds do strange things
sometimes.
Then I follow the love of my life back inside the home we ve made together and toward a
future that suddenly seems brighter than ever.
You just finished reading the fifth book in the USA TODAY bestselling Blue-Collar Billionaires
series. If you missed TANK s story, stay tuned for an excerpt after this.
Author s Note
Sign up for my pre-order list to get the best price on my new books: Just click HERE.
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Years ago, Tank Marshall swore off fighting. He exercises iron control to keep his anger in
check. But his mother was just diagnosed with cancer and the deadbeat dad he hasn t seen in years is
back demanding airtime. Worst of all, a billion dollar inheritance hangs in the balance if he doesn t
do what his father wants.
There s only one person that keeps him anchored in the midst of the chaos. One person
untouched by violence and money and lies. Emma Shaw. But the one thing that Tank hasn t learned yet
is that when billions are at stake, there s no such thing as innocent.
Money. Changes. Everything.
Buy TANK now
EXCERPT of TANK
© MAY 2014 M. Malone
TANK
Darkness hasn t always been my friend. There was a time when I would have been at home
asleep in my bed in the middle of the night. Instead I m prowling the streets, restless and edgy,
looking for an outlet for the anger roiling inside.
I glance to my left and right. I m standing in an alcove that s slightly hidden off the street. It s
easier this way. People tend to get nervous if I just hang out. No one stares outright. But there's
always a tell. A glance. A step to the side when we pass so our bodies don't touch. Everyone has a [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]