Hi Everyone –
Sedona Suspect is out in the world!
This book was a thrill-ride to write and emotion-packed! I can’t wait for you to read it… 🙂
BLURB:
Freeing her might be the only thing that can save him…
Natasha Sokolov is a survivor, but this new cage she finds herself in could be the end of her colorful career as a jaguar shifting assassin. After she starts tailing a state Supreme Court justice, she finds herself locked up on bogus charges, and with the new moon approaching, her choices are grim. End her life now, or expose shifters as a reality to the entire world.
Dex Stewart is a sought after contractor in Sedona with a reputation for his craftsmanship, but it’s his demolitions abilities that his Alpha is depending on now. When the pack gets word that a shifter is being held in the Arizona lock up, Dex discovers the prisoner he’s risking everything to free, is also an enemy of the pack.
Helping her escape is only the beginning of his problems. The moment Dex touches her his loyalties are torn. This suspect is also his mate, but love might come at too high a price for him to bear…
Preorder Now:
Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08XY6J38H/
B&N – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sedona-suspect-lisa-kessler/1138929284?ean=2940162162100
KOBO – https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/sedona-suspect
Google Play – https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=wbczEAAAQBAJ
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57948144-sedona-suspect
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/ldydisney/scenes-from-sedona-suspect/
EXCERPT –
Judge Mitch Jones might pretend to embody blind justice from the bench, but under that robe, he was sweating. The scent of his anxiety permeated my nostrils as I studied his aura. I’d been able to see them since I was a small child. All living beings were made of energy, and auras reflected the energy in colors, constantly changing depending on emotions and sometimes even the being’s physical state.
Right now, Judge Jones was surrounded by a combination of angry red rage, sparks of yellow fear, and a streak of flickering violet that whispered power. At least perceived power. His eyes kept searching the audience, looking for someone. Probably me.
But there was no way he could know a jaguar shifter was in the audience unless…the bastard had taken the super soldier serum.
Evolution Defense, a top secret government contractor had found a way to mutate shifter DNA and give humans the heightened senses and strength of a werewolf without the actual shift into a wolf. If Judge Jones recognized there was a jaguar shifter in this room, it had to be his newly enhanced sense of smell.
My lips quirked as I bit back a smile. In the crowd of humans, he’d never discover which one of us was a shifter, but he knew he was being watched.
I filed out of the courthouse with the rest of the audience. I’d seen all I needed to see. Time to put together a plan. As the crowd thinned out in the parking lot, I walked toward my car, enjoying the sharp click of my black pumps against the pavement. As a jaguar shifter, I usually moved without making a sound. The clack of my shoes was a choice. I wasn’t trying to hide. In this case, I wanted my prey to hear me coming.
When my car came into view, I also caught a familiar scent. I narrowed my eyes behind my sunglasses, scanning the lot until I found him. Gil. I cursed under my breath as he headed my way. 
“Natasha, wait.” He jogged over to my black Lexus.
“I’ve got nothing to say to you.” I pressed my key fob to pop the locks.
“We need to talk.” He wiped the sweat off his face. “Just a few minutes.”
I glanced up at the fireball in the sky and back to him. “It’s a hundred and fifteen degrees. I’m not giving you a minute.” I opened the door and waited for the gust of even hotter air to dissipate before I got in.
He got in the passenger door before I could hit the lock button. “It’s important. You can drive me to my car.”
I rolled my eyes and checked my mirror. “You’re lucky I don’t just shoot you.” I started the engine and the A/C roared to life, blowing more hot air against my face. This was my third summer in Arizona, and I still wasn’t used to the damned heat. Maybe you never really adjusted to it. I glared over at my unwanted passenger. “Does your boss in the robe know you’re talking to me?”
“No.” He scanned the parking lot before glancing my way. “I can’t stay long.”
I frowned. “What’s so important?”
He looked over at the courthouse building. “The judge took the serum.”
“Tell me something I don’t already know.”
That got his attention. Gil met my eyes. “How did you know?”
“Because I just sat in that courtroom and watched him almost lost his shit trying to figure out which person was a jaguar shifter. He probably thought I was there to kill him.”
“Were you?”
Fair question. I was a damned better assassin than Gil would ever be. “He wouldn’t still be breathing if I were.” I waited for him to meet my eyes. “The human trials on the serum that Evolution Defense conducted were far from promising. The judge is probably already paranoid, maybe having headaches?”
A muscle clenched in his jaw as he broke eye contact, his aura slashed with black. Fear. Interesting. The courthouse had his full attention again. I must’ve been pretty close in my assessment of his boss. Was he regretting taking the judge’s money?
“He’s sure that general is after him, and it’s clouding his judgement.” Gil faced me again. “The wolf pack is coming for the four emperors of the collective. They already got Duane and Dr. Harlow at Evolution Defense. Judge Jones knows he’s next. It’s making him…aggressive.”
I shook my head, staring into the distance and wishing I could just go away. I wasn’t beholden to anyone or anything. Why was I still sticking around this desert? Loaded question. “Why are you still taking his money? The Transparency Collective doesn’t give a shit about jaguar shifters. We’re just the lesser of the two evils to them. They think they can use to defend them from the werewolves. How’s that going so far? Duane’s dead are you willing to be next?”
“The wolf pack killed Duane, not the collective.” His aura darkened. “You still kill for money. You’re no better than me, so spare me your judgement.”
“I’m not judging you.” I adjusted my rearview mirror. “I’m warning you he’s going to expose us all. He’s not going to protect jaguars. If he succeeds and the world finds out people can shift into wolves, we’re next. Don’t you see that?” I looked over at him. “Tomorrow is the new moon. We’ll be jaguars. You can take him out of the equation, and it’ll look like an animal attack. No one will be the wiser.”
“It’s not so simple.” He rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact and the color drained from the energy around him. Something bad was going down and he was conflicted about it. Regretful.
“I don’t have time to play word games with you.” I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. “Either tell me what you wanted to say or get the hell out of my car.”
“I overheard him on the phone with the other emperor of the Collective, the one in the Senate. They were talking about General Sloan and moving up the timetable. They’re planning to expose shifters to the world. Soon.”
“How?” I pulled out of the parking space while he pointed to his car across the lot.
“I’m not sure, but you should watch your back.” He cleared his throat and added, “Maybe warn the wolf pack to do the same.”
“Since when do you care about the werewolves?” I raised a brow.
“I don’t,” he grunted.
I stopped next to his car and he got out.
He bent down, meeting my eyes. “The last two emperors of the Transparency Collective are the most powerful, and they’re getting desperate. If they can’t expose a werewolf to the world, they’ll use the next best thing.” He wet his chapped lips. “I think the agreement we had with them is off the table.”
Our previous leader of the jaguar shifters, Duane, had made a bargain with the Collective. In trade for helping them prove to the world that werewolves were real, they would shield our kind. I’d fought him on it. There was too much at stake if the Collective turned on us, but Duane overruled me.
Now he was dead.
I frowned. “If that’s true, you and Ray aren’t going to be safe shifting at his place tomorrow night.”
“We’re taking precautions.” The colors around him swirled faster, agitated. He was lying about something. He met my eyes. “Be careful.”
He slammed the door and turned to get into his car.
It was a hundred fifteen degrees outside, but a shiver shot down my spine. Our secret existence in this world was on the brink of ending.
My tires squealed against the hot pavement as I spun around to leave the lot. The wolf pack had a ranch on the outskirts of Sedona. I could be there in two hours.
Was I really going to warn the wolves? They wouldn’t be happy to see me. In fact, they might try to kill me.
Deadlier people had tried.
The was something Gil wasn’t telling me. His aura had been off. It was miles out of character for him to suggest warning the wolf pack about anything.
Unless he thought I might need them.
I drummed my nails on the steering wheel. I’d suggested Gil eliminate the judge tomorrow night. It would look like he’d been mauled by a mountain lion. But he’d refused. Why?
And why send me to the wolf pack?
Too many questions and not enough answers. Maybe I’d find some in Sedona.
Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08XY6J38H/
B&N – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sedona-suspect-lisa-kessler/1138929284?ean=2940162162100
KOBO – https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/sedona-suspect
Google Play – https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=wbczEAAAQBAJ
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57948144-sedona-suspect
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/ldydisney/scenes-from-sedona-suspect/
I can’t wait for you to read this one!
Next up, Sedona Sanctuary will be out in October, and the final showdown will be Sedona Salvation in February 2022.
Thanks for all your support for the Wolf Pack!
Lisa