Now she’s everyone’s target – #UrbanNoir #EroticSuspense #MFRWHooks

Welcome to this week’s edition of the MFRW Book Hooks blog hop. Today I’m going way back in time, to one of my earliest novels, Exposure. Although the book has romantic elements, I’d categorize it more as erotic suspense.

Exposure features one of my more unusual heroines. Stella Xanathakeos is an exotic dancer with working class roots who has brains and guts as well as beauty. The novel’s set in Pittsburgh, a distinctive, multi-ethnic city where I spent some of the happiest years of my life.

If you’re looking for something a bit different – give this one a try!

Blurb

Sex, blood and betrayal: it's all in a day's work.

I strip for the fun of it. Don’t let anyone tell you different. It’s not the money. I could make nearly as much working at the mill and keep my clothes on, but then I’d have to suck up to the bosses. Up on stage, I’m the one in charge, and I like it that way.

Tony Pinelli hired me for a private dance. I was determined to give him his money’s worth. I didn’t expect to be caught in the cross-fire of a double murder. When his widow shows up at my door, I know I’m in way over my head. Now I’m everyone’s target. I can’t trust anyone – not even the police detective who was sweet on me in high school. My only chance at survival is to shift through the lies and expose the truth.

The Hook

My next stop is the Fourth Precinct police station. It’s not in my neighborhood, and it’s not near the Hyatt, but I know someone there. I limp in, trying to look dignified, and ask for Detective James Ostermann. The huge grin that lights up his face when he sees me makes me feel better than I have all day.

“Stella! What a treat!” He pumps my hand with boyish enthusiasm. “What have I done to deserve this honor?”

Jimmy and I went to school together. There’s always been some kind of sexual tension between us, though we never did anything about it. He was one of the few guys who respected me, who didn’t try to get into my pants. Last time I saw him, at our fifth reunion, he had just been promoted from beat cop to detective. Then just six months ago I read an article in the paper about him heading up a new task force against organized crime. That’s how I knew where to find him.

“Hello, Jimmy.” I return his smile. “I wish I could tell you that this was just a social call, but in fact I’ve got something pretty serious to discuss with you. Can we talk in private?”

“Always a pleasure,” he teases, but his face takes on a professional expression as he leads me into his office. “Bill, would you mind taking a walk?” he asks his partner, a hefty black man that I haven’t met before.

“Sure, Jim, no problem. Give a yell if you need me.”

Jimmy closes the door and seats himself behind his desk. I sit across from my old friend. There’s a newspaper on the surface between us, the headlines screaming about the double gangland murder that claimed the mayoral candidate and his aide. Jimmy notices my glance.

“Hear about what happened to Tony Pinelli?”

I nod and swallow my nervousness. “Yeah. I was there.”

“What?”

“That’s right. There at the Hyatt, Room 422, last night around eight forty-five.”

He looks grim as I relate my tale. Shakes his head when I describe Mr. Clean’s attack and Tony’s reaction. I don’t tell him my theory, though, about me being the target. I’ve got no evidence, and anyway, this morning it seems kind of crazy.

“So you didn’t see anyone else, other than Pinelli and Henderson?”

“No—though I guess there might have been somebody else in the bedroom of the suite. It had a separate door out to the hall.”

“How long after the shooting was it that you checked the bedroom?”

“I’m not sure. I was kind of in shock. Five minutes. Maybe ten.”

“Was the dead bolt on that bedroom door thrown?”

“I didn’t notice. I don’t know. I could hardly think straight.”

“And the corridor was empty when you left?”

“I think so. I was in a hurry to get out.”

My voice stays calm through my original story, but now, being grilled, I’m trembling. His questions bring it all back, all the fear and the blood.

“Did you go out the front door of the hotel?”

“Yeah.”

“And how’d you get home?”

“I took a cab...” My voice is shaking. “Look, this is really hard for me. I’ve told you what I know. If I think of any other details, I’ll call you.”

Jimmy looks up from his notepad. He suddenly sees how upset I am.

“Jeez, I’m sorry, Stella. Just doing my job. I get carried away.”

“That’s okay. It’s just—I really don’t like to think about it.”

Jimmy comes around to my side of the desk. “I’m so sorry. God, Stella, it must have been horrible.” He gives me a brotherly hug.

His strength feels wonderful. I relax a little and let him soothe me.

He strokes my hair back from my face, murmuring nonsense into my ear. “Poor girl, I’m so glad that you came to me. I’m sorry to be such a dolt. If there’s anything I can do...” Nothing has changed, but for a moment it seems as though the weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders.

 

Find the buy links and another excerpt at https://www.lisabetsarai.com/exposurebook.html

Be sure to visit the other authors participating in today’s Book Hooks!

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