Book Extract: Dangerous Descent by Evie Jacobs

Please join me in welcoming Evie Jacobs to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, Dangerous Descent.

The first rule of undercover work—don’t get attached…

Pilot Elise Hughes left the family business in the Florida Keys and now flies the rich and powerful to and from the Rocky Mountains. When she has to execute a by-the-book emergency landing, it’s no big deal. But being stranded in a small town with her handsome new colleague is something else entirely.

Obsessed with getting justice for his murdered father, undercover FBI agent Eric Erickson believes retribution is finally within reach. Until things get complicated. And dangerous. And he’s forced to face a few too many realities—including Elise’s connection to a well-known crime boss.

After Elise is kidnapped by the same man who took Eric’s father, he has a choice to make—find Elise or exact revenge. Meanwhile she has a choice of her own—trust the dangerous family she never knew she had or the man who’s been lying to her from the start.

Evie has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy it. 

*****beginning of extract*****

Set Up: Eric is an FBI agent who has been working undercover as a pilot at a private airline to investigate a mob boss passenger. After being forced to land in a small Nebraska town, his co-pilot is kidnapped by the mobster. Eric set out to save her, but after freeing her from one crime family, they run into another. And this one is Elise’s actual family. Eric and Elise are captured and are being taken to a mafia compound.

Eric fought the impulse to look at Elise. It would only distract him, and he needed to figure out a way to get a message to Grant. He thought of his phone, probably crushed to smithereens on a Nebraska highway. At the present moment, he had zero options. He stared out the window, reminding himself how many men rode in each vehicle and the weapons they wielded. In reality, all he could do was wait and see how things played out.

This whole mess-up of a mission would probably end with him in a shallow grave. No one would ever know what happened to him.

His stomach churned. His death would kill his mom. She’d endured so much already. The thought she might never know what became of him took his breath. Two men she loved. Both gone. Because of the mob.

He scrubbed his hand against the stubble on his chin. She’d been against him going into law enforcement, but he’d insisted. Justice was in his blood, he’d assured her. Now, he might never get to apologize for all the worry and heartache he’d caused.

Outnumbered and outgunned, any attempt to escape would be futile. Truth be told, they’d treated him well, all things considered. And, if you could ignore the weapons—which he couldn’t, you might think the situation wasn’t that bad. Koslov’s men were polite and considered Elise a queen, but it didn’t make this any less of a prison. The SUV idled at a light. He yanked the door handle. Locked. Like he knew it would be.

Twenty minutes or so later, they turned onto a long drive lined with tall evergreens. Behind the trees peeked a stone wall. To his surprise, it sported no defense turrets and not a single head on a spike.

At the gate, they rolled to a stop, and the driver lowered his window. A guard armed with a semiautomatic rifle approached the car. Eric needed to remember every detail on the off chance he made it out of this hellhole.

After a brief exchange in Russian, the guard motioned with his hand and the massive iron gate opened. They followed a curved driveway past manicured hedges and large trees before arriving at an enormous two-story house.

He’d seen drone and satellite images of the Koslov compound, but with all of his energy focused on Vincenzo, he’d not paid much attention to the layout of the stronghold. Big mistake. His short-sightedness became more evident with every minute.

He studied the estate from the car window. Lush, neatly trimmed ivy twined around the doorways and shutters, and crept up the stone facade. He caught sight of Elise out of the corner of his eye. Her gaze swept in all directions, taking in the world beyond the SUV windows. Did she recognize this place? Had she been here before?

More men with guns came forward to surround the car. His heartbeat slowed to a hard thud. To his knowledge, no other FBI agent had ever set foot inside the compound—at least none who lived to tell the tale.

The car door opened. “Let’s go.” A man with an angular face and hard eyes, his weapon slung across his back, motioned for Eric to exit the car.

With slow, deliberate motions, Eric set his feet on the ground and stood. The man grabbed his shoulder, spun him around, then felt up and down Eric’s back and legs. Considering they’d taken his gun and knife earlier, the pat down seemed unnecessary.

“How ‘bout buying me dinner first?”

The man grunted and shoved him forward toward the house. Elise, looking small and tired, waited on the steps next to Sergei, her eyebrows knitted together. As he approached, her lips parted as if she had something to say, but she closed her mouth before any words emerged.

Whatever happened here, however restricted his movements, he’d find a way to protect her. To his last breath if that’s what it took.

*****end of extract*****

About Evie Jacobs –

Evie Jacobs is a word nerd. As a child, she read constantly. And when she wasn’t reading, she was writing. Not much has changed. By day she works in a library surrounded by books, and by night she writes steamy action/adventure romance. 

She lives in Colorado with her husband, two cats, and six bicycles.

Say hello to Evie via her website, Instagram and Facebook. 

Dangerous Descent is part of the Dangerous Skies Adventure series and was released on 2nd September 2024. Click here to buy on Amazon UK, Waterstones and Amazon US. 

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.