Sacking the Quarterback

Begin Reading

Table of Contents

Newsletters

Copyright Page

Hachette Book Group supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

Foreword

When I first had the idea for BookShots, I knew that I wanted to include romantic stories. The whole point of BookShots is to give people lightning-fast reads that completely capture them for just a couple hours in their day—so publishing romance felt right.

I have a lot of respect for romance authors. I took a stab at the genre when I wrote Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas and Sundays at Tiffany’s. While I was happy with the results, I learned that the process of writing those stories required hard work and dedication.

That’s why I wanted to pair up with the best romance authors for BookShots. I work with writers who know how to draw emotions out of their characters, all while catapulting their plots forward.

This is one of those books that’s guaranteed to draw out your emotions. Sacking the Quarterback is a romance that is charged with sexual tension. Author Samantha Towle does a fantastic job of putting her character, Melissa St. James, in an impossible position—persecuting a famous football player who she not only believes to be innocent, but finds wildly attractive. And if you think that’ll send you on a rollercoaster ride, just wait until Mel gives into her desires.

James Patterson

Chapter 1

Buzzing.

Loud buzzing.

Something is vibrating close to my head. I force open an eye in my dark bedroom, which is now illuminated by the vibrating phone on my nightstand. Reaching out a tired hand, I retrieve my cell, catching a glimpse of the time as I do—3:00 a.m.—and see my boss’s name lighting up the screen.

Benedict Cross, State Attorney. He became state attorney twenty years ago at the age of thirty-five, youngest ever in the history of Miami. He’s a man I respect and admire greatly, and I want to be in the same position he is when I’m thirty-five, which means I have only four years left to make it.

Benedict isn’t going anywhere, so if I want to achieve my goal, I’ll have to move to a different city. And I’m completely fine with that. I have no ties here in Miami. My career is one of the reasons I keep myself attachment-free. And it’s also the reason I’m working myself into an early grave, answering work calls at three in the morning. It’s nothing new. I’ve always had to work hard to get everything. Nothing has ever come easy to me. And I prefer it that way. It makes success taste all the more sweet.