The Veiled Series, Book Two
Romantic Suspense
Date Published: August 18, 2023
Zoey Sheffield never understood the appeal of the unknown. She’s a woman who knows what she likes. A blunt woman. A woman who craves control. She doesn’t need love—the mere idea of romance is detestable and, no, she does not need a man to stand by her side. She would much rather have their company in bed—or in a car—or in an alleyway—the location isn’t relevant, really. What’s important is that she could happily and promptly bid them adieu after they served their purpose and then, she could move on to the next one. The world that she’s been thrust into, however, is one where that thought seems utterly impossible.
It’s all because of the men. The stupid men.
There’s James Turner, the tall, muscular, tattooed one. Charming and charismatic with a sarcastic flair that knows no bounds, he’s worked for months to chip away at Zoey’s stone clad will to avoid romance with expertly placed sledgehammer strikes.
And, then, there’s Liam Cohen. Blonde and freckled, burly with golden retriever energy, a playboy mindset and a disguised damaged past, he and Zoey have long fallen into a friendship that both of them wish to remain a constant in their lives.
The men have made Zoey’s life more complicated than she wished it to be, and she struggles to hold onto the reins to her own reality. The universe that she’s a part of has different plans, however, for there is more for Zoey that lurks in the shadows. The threat crouches in the distance, hides around corners, and awaits the most imperfect opportunity to present itself. It’s ready to snatch the reins from Zoey’s hands altogether—and the uncomfortable unknown that she’s forever attempted to avoid is now a darkness that threatens to drown her completely.
Other books in The Veiled Series
Thinly Veiled
The Veiled Series, Book One
The past haunts her, the present beguiles her…and the future is ready to bring her full circle.
Freshly escaped from her unfulfilling and unnecessarily stressful criminal past of drug dealing and theft (and the manipulative ex-boyfriend associated with it), the beautiful, foul-mouthed romantic Claire Branson needs a fresh start. Routine. Monotony. An authentic happiness that could feel…simple. She needs her chaotic life to go right for once – please, and thank you.
Claire never expected her run of bad luck to turn so quickly. After moving to the Appalachian small town of Salem, Virginia, a spur-of-the-moment visit to a nearby tavern leads to new, unforeseen possibilities when she opens the front door and locks eyes with Luke Turner, the steel-grey eyed bartender at the run-down watering hole.
Luke could be the simplicity that Claire longs for – he’s undeniably sexy, sarcastically sweet, and, above all, radiating innocence. But with Claire’s dark past festering under the gauze of her quick getaway, will Luke be able to keep his innocence? And, more importantly, will they get out of everything alive?
Thinly Veiled is a steamy medium burn romance novel with a dark, adventurous edge that keeps fans of suspenseful romance novels turning pages, wondering if that ‘happily ever after’ ending will ever really come for Claire and Luke…while their passionate soirees will leave us all begging for more of their steamy love scenes.
“OMG, I just finished. This book was amazing. I cried, was on the edge of my seat; man, those sex scenes… damn. Eliza’s writing is impressive; I could see it all in my head so easily, and I didn’t see how it would end. I loved the ending, though. Yes, I totally cried!” – Amazon Review
“The writer expertly weaves together multiple plotlines, leaving readers on the edge of their seats until the very last page. “Thinly Veiled” is a must-read for anyone who loves a good suspense novel with a healthy dose of snark and irony.” – Amazon Review
If you’re looking for a witty romantic comedy combined with suspense and a bit of sexiness, scroll up and order now!
Excerpt
A bottle floats in the ocean, the letter haphazardly rolled and stuffed inside of it hiding a message for a select few deemed worthy to read. It pitches and yaws through the waves, safely holding the contents as it aimlessly wanders. Storms pass. Lightning strikes. And yet the bottle remains the same, protecting the fragile sheet of paper from the elements. The bottle is impenetrable. The waves crash and the rain pours, but it remains the same—unyielding. Bobbing along as if the glass is unbreakable.
Until someone comes along, grabs the bottle by the neck, and throws it to the ground.
The seemingly everlasting protection that was once in place is shattered to pieces, and the letter is stolen. There’s no telling if it’s in good hands. It could be ripped to bits in the blink of an eye—soaked in acetone rendering the ink unreadable—burned until it’s reduced to ash. Of course, not all things are what they seem…but the possibility of the letter being destroyed sounds more likely than any other outcome.
I’m biased, though, because it’s me. I’m the bottle. And I just wanted to be left the fuck at sea.
Ugh. I’m being dramatic—I should rewind to the point where I stopped recognizing my life. I could go as far back as when I was packing up my belongings to follow my best friend, Claire Branson, to Salem, Virginia. The venture across state lines from North Carolina wasn’t what caused my head to spin, though, for our lives were both as normal as they could possibly have been.
Normal. We got an apartment. We had jobs. She fell in love with her bartender coworker, Luke Turner. Her ex-boyfriend and old accomplice Colton Langdon blackmailed her for a heaping pile of money that she didn’t have, leading our newfound group to set up a sting operation for the drug dealer to whom Colton was indebted. We watched a man die.
You know. Typical girl things.
Traumatic as those events were and as often as I unintentionally revisited the horror in my mind, they weren’t what caused my world to feel like it turned upside down. It was the goddamn men—and I was currently sandwiched between the two that most often sent my mind reeling.
“I found a nice place to get dinner—”
“This shit again?”
The voices came forth from either side of me, and I slowly returned my empty bottle of cider to the counter. I took my time, rotating it atop the coaster as if I wanted to view the label. I swallowed the last sip that I held in my mouth and looked toward the second voice, Liam Cohen.
My dear friend and across-the-hall neighbor’s mouth was twisted in an amused grin that stretched the scar above his upper lip. The expression softened my annoyance, but only just. I shoved his brawny shoulder, and I was certain that the resulting sway of his body was one that was put on for show.
“Will you be nice?” I admonished him, and his dark eyes damn near sparkled.
“What is it,” Liam leaned forward to speak past me, “the fiftieth time that you’ve asked her out?”
I sighed, clamping my teeth together to prevent myself from responding sarcastically, ‘This week.’
“She said no, Jay,” Liam added. “She doesn’t do—”
“Dates,” I finished Liam’s sentence for him as I twisted myself to look at James Turner. “I don’t do dates.”
The grimace on James’ face that was clearly directed at Liam vanished as I looked into his grey eyes. He smiled, his crooked nose scrunching up, and he tucked his hair behind his ears.
“I know,” he replied, confidence unwavering. “You’ve said so before.”
About the Author
Eliza Modiste lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband, daughter, and an abundance of animals. Graduating in 2017 with a degree in accounting, she became immersed in the ever-riveting world of numbers and reconciliation. Shortly thereafter, as a hobby – or, perhaps, a method of escape – she began to write in her spare time.
Her first novel THINLY VEILED started as creating characters that mimicked the brash, humorous, never-ending monologue in her mind. Combining this and a heavy splash of romance similar to the books that she would often get lost in made for an entertaining way to pass the time. This hobby, however, eventually blossomed into a full-blown passion. THINLY VEILED has since morphed into a mix of both romantic comedy and suspense, and Eliza has plans for several more novels to follow THINLY VEILED
When not writing, Eliza can be found baking, binging a television series,
or spending time with friends and family.
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