Release Day Blitz: Hell’s Kitchen (book #1)
By Hart Saint Germain
The Blurb
Hell’s Kitchen (Hell’s Kitchen #1)
*From International Bestselling authors Callie Hart and Lili
St. Germain comes a tale of two families co-existing in a melting pot of
violence, murder and drugs in the seedy underbelly of New York City*
Hell’s Kitchen
Theo and Sal Barbieri are brothers, tasked by their Mafioso
father Roberto with a very clear purpose: kidnap Kaitlin McLaughlin. The
beautiful daughter of Roberto’s Irish enemy. It’s high time Kaitlin was
punished for her father’s sins—not to mention, her own.
And Operation: Kidnap Kaitlin is a roaring success… until it
isn’t. When Kaitlin escapes into the busy streets of New York City, it’s a race
against the clock to find her before Sal and Theo become the hunted.
Zeth Mayfair has traded his life as a hitman for a quieter
existence, but it isn’t long before the past catches up with him in the form of
Roberto Barbieri. Will he succumb to the lure of power that Roberto is
offering? Or will he retaliate by killing every last Barbieri in New York to
get them off his back?
Jason Ross is running. Woken in the night by a tip that the
Gypsy Brothers are coming for him, he packs a bag and gets his girlfriend the
hell out of dodge. Arriving in New York City in the midst of a heatwave is one
thing, but being tailed by an entire drug cartel is another.
Worlds collide in Hell’s Kitchen as secrets come to light
and sins are punished. Because we might be different in the light of day, but
in the darkness, we’re all connected somehow.
Hell’s Kitchen is a serial comprising three volumes: Hell’s
Kitchen, Tribeca and Bleecker Street. Volume One releases on March 3rd with a
limited-time sale price of 99 cents
iBooks Preorder (will be live very
soon!!)
What happens when two awesome authors collaborate? You get something that is freaking
great! Characters I love, make
appearances in this book. Juliette and
Jase from Lili's Gypsy Brothers series, and Zeth and Sloan from Blood &
Roses series by Callie.
We also meet a few new characters as well.
First we have Theo and Salvatore Barbieri. The sons of Roberto "The Barber of
Brooklyn" Barbieri. Let me tell
you, these two can turn a simple kidnapping into a giant clusterfuck. Don't get me wrong, it was funny. They lost Kaitlyn McLaughlin, the daughter of
Paddy, the Irish rival. But they each
did end up with a captive. Grace is
Kaitlyn's guard. Scarlett helped Kaitlyn
escape. She is a broke,
ex-actress...There's more to her story.
Kaitlyn is a bitch, that's for sure. Yes, I felt bad that she was kidnapped and
was stupid to go to the wrong apartment.
But, yea, she's a bitch. A very spoiled
one.
Zeth gets called by the Barbieri's to help out and to be in
charge. He doesn't want to have to answer
to anyone though. But now he's in the
story also.
Juliette and Jace are just passing through and Scarlett's
cousin sends them to her place. Man, did
they heat up her apartment too!
I really can't wait to see what happens in the next book!
Teasers- Meet some of the players...
Excerpt #1
“What time they due to land?” Sal asks. He loops a tie,
pre-knotted and ready to go, over his head.
“Twenty minutes.” With traffic the way it is, we’ll be there
in ten.
Sal tightens the tie around his neck, placing the ridiculous
fucking chauffeur’s hat on his head. He tucks his hair back behind his ears. He
needs to cut it, but will the bastard listen? Hell, no. He never listens to a
word I say. “Are you ready?” he asks.
I take my eyes off the road, arching an eyebrow at him. Who
the hell does he think he’s talking to? I’ve been doing this job longer than
him, after all. I’ve never blinked. Never not been ready. He gets the point
pretty damn quickly.
“All right, man, I’m sorry.”
When we arrive at the airfield, we’re directed to hangar
twelve, no questions asked. Paddy McLaughlin’s own men would have arrived
around now—if we hadn’t already beaten the shit out of them and handcuffed them
to a pillar inside an old cardboard factory down on the wharf—so we’re
expected. Kaitlin McLaughlin’s plane is delayed. I’m already bored and itching
to go by the time the private jet touches down. Sal climbs out of the car and
leans against the front passenger door, waiting for the prissy Irish princess
and her entourage to exit the plane. When she does, we’re in luck.
Normally, Paddy doesn’t send his little girl anywhere
without two personal bodyguards. Today, she’s only accompanied by one. Sal taps
the hood of the car as he goes out to take her bags. I have the engine purring
in anticipation as he opens the back passenger side door for her and she climbs
inside.
Huge sunglasses cover her eyes. That full mouth of hers is
perfectly visible in the rearview, though. “Where the fuck is Ray?” she asks.
Her father may be first generation Irish, but Kaitlin was born and raised in
the States—she sounds like a spoiled little Yank bitch.
“Mr. McLaughlin needed him for something else. He sent us
instead.”
She slides the sunglasses down the bridge of her nose,
peering at me over the car’s half-raised privacy screen. “And who are you?”
I give her a tight-lipped smile, doing my best to keep my
tongue in my head. We need the bodyguard to get in the car, and then we’re
golden. Until then, I’m Jerry, the friendly town car driver. “Jerry. My buddy
there, that’s Gareth. We’re new.”
“I can see that.” She makes a low, humming sound at the back
of her throat. She sounds like she approves. Sorry, sweetheart. I don’t touch
crazy pussy. But I will introduce you to my old man, all the same. He just
can’t wait to fucking meet you.
The door behind me opens and I feel the car dip as someone
gets in—I didn’t notice before, but the lone bodyguard with Kaitlin is a woman.
Must be the chick Roberto was talking about. I get a good look at her in the
rearview and find myself taking a second one for good measure. She’s
blisteringly hot. Maybe in her mid-twenties? Long dark hair, tied back into a
braid. High cheekbones. A mouth to rival Kaitlin’s. Her tits strain against her
tight black shirt as she twists to put on her seatbelt. You can tell she works
out; her clothes fit her far too well for her not to know she looks good in
them, too.
Just like Kaitlin, she asks, “Where’s Ray?”
“Busy doing something for Daddy,” Kaitlin informs her, which
saves me from spinning the lie again.
“Okay. Straight to the bar, then.” The body guard’s head
doesn’t even lift, but she’s a professional. She assesses me in the mirror just
as I’ve assessed her. I pretend not to notice as Sal folds himself into the
passenger seat.
“Of course.” I press the button for the privacy screen,
raising it the rest of the way, blocking out all sound from the back of the
car. Sal turns and gives me one of his wicked, crazy-ass grins. He’s enjoying
this already. “All right, then, big brother. Let’s do this.” He leans forward
and hits a button on the dash—and every single door on the town car
automatically locks. “No backing out now.”
I burn out of the hangar to the sounds of muffled thuds from
the back of the car. The bodyguard’s not stupid. She’s heard the doors locking
and knows something isn’t right. “Motherfucker! Open this up right now!”
Normally there’s an intercom in these cars, but this one’s
different. Sal and I smashed the shit out of this car’s intercom with two lump
hammers and ripped out the wiring. We also lined the roof with lead. The girls
in the back aren’t striking up a conversation with us any time soon. And they
aren’t making any phone calls to dear old Papa McLaughlin, either.
As I head back toward the city, the shouting from the back
gets louder. It’s accompanied by the dull thudding of feet trying to smash out
the privacy screen. Sal raps his knuckles against the glass, grinning again.
“Bitch sounds crazy back there. I don’t think she likes the modifications we’ve
made.”
I allow myself a small smile as we hit the George Washington
Bridge, heading back toward North Manhattan. So far Operation: Kidnap Kaitlin
has been a roaring success. Sal pulls out his cell and starts tapping into it
with quick fingers. “Telling the old man we’re on our way?”
He nods. “Bastard better give us credit where credit’s due.
He’s probably still organising his own fucking birthday party. Meanwhile, we
have just successfully taken our mark hostage. We’re on the homeward stretch.”
The fucking homeward stretch.
The thing about saying you’re on the homeward stretch is
that often it’s like waving a red flag at a bull. Fate must hear that phrase
and decide to fuck over the poor schmuck who was dumb enough to utter it every
single fucking time. It’s only seconds after Sal’s parted with those words that
the electric window behind me—the bodyguard’s side window—shatters. We knew the
bodyguard would be armed, but we didn’t expect anyone to be shooting out the
damn side windows. An eruption of fragmented diamonds explodes sideways,
spraying a bright yellow smart car with a million shards of glass. The sound of
the firing gun is almost deafening.
“What the fuck?”
The smart car veers sideways, smashing into us; I press my
foot to the floor, grinding my teeth at the sound of screeching metal and more
hammering from the back as I swerve through the traffic. Sal twists in his
seat, pulling his gun and pressing it to the glass of the privacy screen. His
finger’s on the trigger. “She’s going fucking crazy. I’m gonna shoot the
bitch.”
Excerpt #2
“When he lunges for me, I’m ready. I deflect the hand he was
going to grab me with, slapping it downward, and then I grab onto his wrist,
pulling him off balance. He seesaws forward but then rips his wrist out of my
hand. I don’t expect him to turn his slight fumble to his own advantage, but he
does. Dropping to the floor, he rolls and kicks out, landing a solid strike to
my leg. I have less than a second to brace myself before I’m hitting the
concrete.
Then he’s on top of me. “Oh, this is fun, sweetheart. But I
don’t really have time to be playing games with you right now.”
He’s reaching for my arms, about to pin me to the ground,
but I jab, landing a solid hit with my extended fingertips right in the base of
his throat, in his windpipe. He chokes, his body falling sideways, and then I’m
on top of him. Through watering eyes and a clearly sore throat, the guy grins
up at me, shaking his head. “Well, if you wanna fuck me, I guess I could make
some time.” Thrusting upward, he tries to unseat me, but I know this is what’s
coming and I’m ready again. I compensate, leaning forward, pressing my gun into
the guy’s neck.
“Who are you?”
His body goes still, his hands lifting so they’re palm up in
front of him. “You know who I am, sweetheart. I’m the enemy.”
“My boss has quite a few enemy camps. Which one do you
belong to?”
“The biggest one,” the guy says, smiling. “The Italian one.”
“So you work for Barbieri?”
“I am a Barbieri.” Lightning fast, he snaps his hand out and
clamps it around my throat. The move catches me off guard, has me panicking for
the first time. My gun is gone, then, knocked to the ground, skittering away
across the blacktop. The guy’s hand tightens around the column of my neck,
threatening to squeeze even harder. “What’s wrong?” he asks. “Feeling a little
lightheaded?”
About the Authors
Callie Hart
Despite the subject matter being markedly hot and heavy in
comparison to the stories she wrote in elementary school, there will always be
an element of fairytale to her work.
Lili Saint Germain
Lili writes dark romance, suspense and paranormal stories.
Her serial novel, Seven Sons, was released in early 2014, with the following
books in the series to be released in quick succession. Lili quit corporate
life to focus on writing and so far is loving every minute of it. Her other
loves in life include her gorgeous husband and beautiful daughter, good coffee,
Tarantino movies and spending hours on Pinterest.
She loves to read almost as much as she loves to write.
Leather & Lace - Las Vegas
BUY TICKETS HERE
Callie Hart & Lili St. Germain are coming back to the
US! Just in time for the release of their joint project Hell's Kitchen. Join
Callie and Lili, Saturday March 14th, at the super cool Inspire News Cafe from
5-7 for a special printing and signing of their newest book and a Q& A
session.
Then, come upstairs to the Wayfarer Bar, from 7-9 for
cocktails (cash bar) and laughs. It'll be a fun evening with Hell's Kitchen
chatter, some themed cocktails, light bites and a chance to spend some more
time talking about all things Hart St Germain.
**Books that are printed will be available for purchase for
around $10. Exact price to be confirmed closer to event date. This is pretty
awesome! The machine that prints books while you watch is one of only 30 in the
world! You'll be able to take away your unique, limited edition of Hell's
Kitchen, signed by both authors - There will never be others that look like the
ones printed in Vegas.
**Snack foods will be provided.
**All drinks are your responsibility
The Venues
Inspire News Cafe (downstairs) and Wayfarer Bar (upstairs)
are both gorgeous, hip venues with kick ass atmosphere! The Wayfarer bar is
where we'll finish the night and is a gorgeous, mad-men inspired bar that will
be closed just for attendees!
BUY TICKETS HERE
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