By
USA Today Bestselling Author
Dale Mayer

There’s no best-by date for revenge.

Wealthy and beautiful Shay Lassiter runs the prestigious Lassiter Foundation, but her connections and resources prove worthless when her fiancé tries to murder her. Now, she’s guarding her heart and using her knack for reading people’s intentions – both good and evil – to guide her. But when the Foundation’s clients start dying, she must turn to the new man in her life…one who’s giving her mixed signals.

Computer specialist and ex-cop, Roman Chandler, has a secret. It involves Shay and could ruin the fragile relationship he’s building with her. Though he can’t tell her the truth, he needs to convince her to trust him. He fears that whoever is behind this is about to turn his vengeance on Shay…

And vengeance can be deadly.

We meet Shay at the start of this book, she’s woken with a sense of dread. Her ghost cat Morris a blue ball of energy at her shoulder. What ensues is a psychic battle with her fiancé. One she almost doesn’t survive but with the help of Stefan and then Morris she does. She sees something as the end is near but it was too late to stop the process. Darren and who or what was inside him died. A bittersweet moment as well since Morris was gone too.

A year later, Shay is looking forward to meeting Roman Chandler, they connected through their grandfathers who are close friends. She already knows his twin brother Ronin, a detective in Portland. However, hadn’t lived here until recently. She didn’t know what their relationship could be but she does want to find out.

Shay runs a foundation and uses her ability to read energy to be sure what is on paper matches the intent of the person requesting the grants. Beatrice Folgrent, her godmother, also runs a similar foundation and they often compared applicants to see which foundation they would be better suited to. It’s a grand fundraising event put on by Beatrice that Shay finally gets to meet Roman in person. Aside from the immediate attraction something else happens at the same time.

This is a favorite scene.

Shay was part of the same world. Dealt with the same driven – and sometimes desperate – people. She had her own methodology for finding the shysters and removing them from the honest applicants for her own foundation. And because they shared similar challenges and experiences, Bernice and Shay often compared notes and worked closely on joint projects. Their assistants also stepped in to help resolve problems on each other’s projects. It helped to have that type of close working relationship. They watched each other’s backs.

“Roman, darling. Here is the young woman I adore as if she were my own.” Bernice reached out, latching onto the arm of a tall, suited gentlemen. She tugged him around and pointed to Shay. “Isn’t she gorgeous? Just like I promised.”

Oh lord. Shay groaned inside. Bernice really hadn’t needed to make a public spectacle of this meeting. But why was she surprised? This was typical Bernice.

“Shay, this is Roman Chandler, the grandson of my dearest friend, Gerard Chandler.”

Heads had turned at Bernice’s loud introduction and color stroked up Shay’s neck as she fought back her embarrassment. She should be used to it. But wasn’t.

Still, she faced Roman, kept her plastered-on smile in place and lifted her gaze to his.

And sucked in her breath.

The look in his eyes. It was so…intimate. So knowing…as if he knew her…all of her, inside and out. And as if he liked what he knew.

They’d emailed. Chatted. Though they’d corresponded for a few years, over the last year they had built a friendly almost… intimate… relationship over the Internet and phone. And they had talked – like really talked. Theirs was a relationship she hoped would grow. But she’d never met him before. Hadn’t shared everything with him. She didn’t know him – not in the way he seemed to know her.

The heated look in his eyes unnerved her…and yes…intrigued her.

And she had to admit…sparked an answering awareness.

Shay had no illusions about her looks, regardless of Bernice’s constant matchmaking attempts. She was too tall for many men, was slim, with milk chocolate brown shoulder-length hair and a largish mouth, and instead of symmetry, her nose was slightly crooked and one eyebrow was slightly off line. All minor in the scheme of things but those same flaws had given her terrible, angst-ridden moments through her teenage years. Now she could brush off the negative thoughts as they came and even though she could get her nose fixed, it no longer mattered to her.

According to the look in Roman’s eyes, her flaws didn’t matter to him now either. Of course he’d seen pictures of her. But that wasn’t the same thing as this. She secretly had high hopes about Roman, but she’d never expected this level of appreciation from him right off.

When he spoke, his voice held both promise and familiarity. “Hello, Shay. I’m delighted to finally meet you.” He glanced at Bernice, standing beside them both with a smug, knowing look on her face.

“Hello, Roman.” Did he look at all women as if they shared special memories? She so badly wanted to ask. Instead, she said, “How nice to meet you.” She paused then added, “Finally.”

His gaze deepened to midnight blue, and he smiled. That wide movement of his lips released her from the intensity of his gaze. She could breathe easy again.

“This is so much better than email,” he murmured, “and you are so much better looking in person than in photos.”

Under Roman’s midnight blue gaze, Shay’s stomach churned with unanswered questions and delight. She wanted to take a more in-depth look at his energy, but thought she’d better save her strength for when a deeper reading might be needed.

A strange sound had her turning to face Bernice, her hostess and mentor.

Bernice opened her mouth to speak when she suddenly stopped, an odd look on her face. Her breath sucked in so loudly, Shay leaned closer in concern. “Bernice? Are you all right? What’s the matter?”

Silence.

Shay studied her old friend, but Bernice’s face had turned ashen, her eyes locked on something behind Shay’s back. Shay twisted around to look, but the only thing behind her was a wall. A blank wall.

Turning back around, and seeing no change in her friend, she said, “Bernice, talk to me. You’re scaring me.”

Bernice’s breathing turned ragged, stuttered then almost appeared to stop. Her features locked in place yet her chest rose and fell in a natural movement.

The hairs on the back of Shay’s neck rose.

Jesus, she must be having an attack of some kind.

“We’ll get you some help. Can you talk to me? Can you tell me what’s wrong?”

Roman bent to study Bernice’s face. “I’ll get a doctor.” He took off.

Bernice’s mouth worked. Still, no sound came out.

Silently, Shay willed Roman to hurry. But from the looks of it, he wasn’t going to be fast enough. She raised her hand to call for help when her arm was grabbed. She stared, surprised to see Bernice’s bronzed nails cutting into her soft skin.

“Bernice?” Shay rubbed the papery skin on the back of Bernice’s fingers with gentle soothing strokes. “Hang on. Help is coming.”

From a distance, she could hear rapidly approaching footsteps. Thank God. Please let her friend be all right.

Worried, Shay stared into Bernice’s eyes, and Bernice stared back. Her gaze dark. Bottomless. Blind. Shay’s heart squeezed in fear. “Bernice. Damn it, stay with me. Please talk to me if you can.”

Shay willed Bernice’s eyes to return to normal. Willed them to blink. To move. To do something.

Then something else happened. Inside, deep inside, Bernice blinked. A clear movement that Shay could see and understand.

Except for one thing.

On the surface, Bernice’s eyelids never moved.
Mayer, Dale. Psychic Visions: Books 4-6 Kindle Locations (5231-5272). Valley Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Things start to go a bit crazy after this. It appears someone is targeting people who run places funded by Shay’s foundation. Even with all that going on, the attraction between her and Roman is growing. He’s hiding something and that scares her. She’s afraid he’s hiding things like her now dead fiancé.

Roman wants to share his secret, but he’s afraid of her reaction. He’s beginning to get a reputation as an artist and it’s his ‘model’ that might get him in trouble with Shay. He’s been painting her for years with no face showing. She’s his muse, he’s tried other media but they never work for him.

Once again it’s Stefan who helps get that ball rolling in the right direction. All that and tracking down the person responsible for the attacks. Ronin is also helping with Roman handling her security and computer work.

Plenty of intrigue, some laughs, some sizzle and yes, I even cried in this one.

5 Contented Purrs for Dale!

Dale Mayer

Dale Mayer is a USA Today bestselling author best known for her Psychic Visions and Family Blood Ties series. Her contemporary romances are raw and full of passion and emotion (Second Chances, SKIN), her thrillers will keep you guessing (By Death series), and her romantic comedies will keep you giggling (It’s a Dog’s Life and Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy series).

She honors the stories that come to her – and some of them are crazy and break all the rules and cross multiple genres!

To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, companion gardening and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series. All her books are available in print and ebook format.