Hot steamy romance. Meet Steel and Ady and love their adventure.
After losing his leg when his plane crashed during the war, Steel closed himself off from everyone. He secluded himself in his fortress and was happy being a loner until his captain from the Air Force hires him for a rescue mission of a girl Steel once loved. He left her behind for his love of planes and now she is in trouble. Will Steel risk his way of life to help her and expose his greatest fear?
Adyson was once a sweet innocent girl in love with a man who chose a different way of life. Heartbroken, she seeks out someone that is nothing like Steel. She marries a man that becomes her worst nightmare. Now being hunted in the jungles of Guatemala by drug lords, she needs a way out.
She is stunned when Steel shows up as her rescuer. Their old heat reignites for one another. His insecurities hold him back, but he craves her like no one else. Her secrets may very well kill them both. The question becomes who rescues whom?
Excerpt
CHAPTER ONE
The fumes are burning my nose hairs. I can barely see through all the smoke. I’ve got to get out of here before the gasoline ignites. I push but I can’t budge the wreckage that has me pinned. I plant my hands in the ground in an attempt to sit up, and I sink further in and pain sears through my body. I try again to push myself out, but my right leg is entangled in the debris from the plane. I need something to use for leverage. I reach out into the darkness to see if there is anything within my reach. My hand sinks into the wetness of the ground surrounding me. I must have crashed into a marshy area, probably why the wreckage hasn’t completely burned up.
The last thing I remember was protecting my wingman from a Chinese enemy airplane. I shot him down but I got clipped by his wing when his plane exploded. I lost control of my plane and went into a brutal tailspin and at the last minute, I managed to get it back under control but it was too late. I was too close to the ground. The plane bounced twice and took a header into a tree. Somehow, I managed to survive being thrown out by the impact.
Our mission was to target the Chinese leader headquarters. We have been at war with them for over a year now. The war is all over money of course. In the early 2000’s, the Chinese began buying up our debt. As the United States market continued to struggle and fail, China began to acquire more and more. Their hands are around our throats now and they wanted to cash in and to take the United States over for defaulting on our loans with them.
The American way of life has changed dramatically. There is no more middle class. Only the rich and the poor. Millions of families are homeless and living on the streets. Those of us who are able to, join the military. It’s now one of the highest-paying jobs in the world. Great money and great benefits, as it should’ve been all along.
I’m not sure if I crashed into an enemy or friendly territory. Russia informed us that the Chinese headquarters are located on their border. Russia’s military has been helping us to fight China’s takeover.
This place has the stench of death, and I refuse to die here today. I try to move again, but my leg won’t budge. Between the darkness and the smoke and my eyes now burning, I can’t see anything.
“Lieutenant Steel!”
I can hear my name being called through the link implanted in my ear. “Over here,” I whisper back.
Reaching out, I rack my hand through the muck and finally find a loose piece of metal. I grab it and start beating on the debris that has me trapped so that I can signal Kennedy to help him locate me through all the smoke and darkness.
I hear sloshing footsteps. “Keep coming straight ahead,” I whisper again.
“Lieutenant Steel? Are you okay?” my wingman worries as he gets down on the ground beside me.
I mentally tallying up my injuries.
“Sir, are you okay?” he asks again.
“I’m trapped. Are we in enemy territory?”
“Yes, but only a half a click from the border. I need to get you out of here before the Chinese find us,” he says as he moves to the pile of debris and attempts to lift it. With him, lifting and me pushing, it still won’t move. I can feel it sinking further into me.
Gunfire sounds in the distance.
“I need to go find something to hold it up with so I can pull you out,” Kennedy says as he crawls on his hands and knees searching for anything useful.
While he is doing that, I take my belt off and loop it around my upper right leg, cinching it tight. I don’t know what kind of damage there is to my leg, but I don’t want to bleed out. That makeshift tourniquet is a handy skill that I learned from my mother.
The gunfire is getting closer. Kennedy comes back covered in muck carrying a steel beam. “This will work,” he whispers,” as mud drips from his hands. “Look what I found.” He holds up my gun and hands it to me.
“You’re one lucky son-of-a-bitch.” I chuckle and put it in the waistband of my pants.
“On three I’m going to lift the metal, do you think you can pull yourself out?”
“Just lift it, I will get out!” I snap at him.
When Kennedy moves the wreckage, sharp hot pain blazes through my leg, I sink further into the mud, but I manage to slide myself out from under it.
He reaches down to help lift me up and the pain is excruciating. I fall back into the mud.
“Leave me here. You cross the border and send help. I have my gun, I will hold them off until you are safe.” The pain is making me nauseated.
“I’m not leaving you, you saved my ass up there and I’m not about to leave you here for the enemy to kill you or for you to bleed out. Your leg looks severely mangled, Sir.”
He squats down and wraps his arms under me and hoists me up over his shoulder and starts to run. Every time he takes a step mud splatters in my face. I feel light headed and the jarring motion makes me want to puke from the pain.
Gunfire is whizzing by us. I can barely see, but I can make out movement about twenty feet from us. I manage to reach my gun and shoot before our enemy can get any closer. I hear the bastard hit the ground with a heavy thud.
The border flood lights shine in our direction and more gunfire is exchanged. Kennedy gets us safely across the border where there is already a military team waiting for us. He places me on the ground and a medic immediately starts examining my leg. He pulls the belt tighter and I yell out.
“I’m sorry, Lieutenant Steel! But we need to get you to the hospital, your leg is in bad shape. You are going to need surgery in order to save your leg, Sir.” Without any other conversation, two soldiers hoist me up into a jeep. The medic holds my arm and starts an IV. I’m given a shot of morphine for the pain. I feel it burn as it enters the vein and the pain slowly subsides and sleep takes over.
¤
I wake up in a hospital bed in Moscow. I must have been out for days because my mom and dad are at my bedside. My dad, Kyren is in the doorway talking to Captain Maynard. My mom, Brogan, has her head laying on my forearm. When I move my hand, her head pops up.
“Thank God, you are finally awake,” my mom chokes out.
All conversation stops and I am surrounded by all three of them.
“How long have I been out?” My head feels like it is in a fog.
“Three days,” my mother says through days of unshed tears.
Dad stands next to her caressing her shoulder. He reaches down and touches my hand.
“How are you feeling, Son?” He has a deep scowl on his brow.
I’m not sure, I mentally make a note starting from head to toe. My head aches a little. I move my arms. They’re functioning with no pain but I can see quite a few scratches and bruises on both of them. I move my left leg, it feels fine. Then I attempt to move my right leg, and nothing. I don’t feel any pain. The plane crash comes flooding back. I remember being trapped and Kennedy helping me.
“Kennedy, is he okay?” I prop myself up on my elbows.
Captain Maynard steps forward. “You saved his life in the air and on the ground according to him.”
“I remember him saving me, Sir.”
I attempt to sit up again so that I can check out my leg and pain sears through me.
“Lay back down, Son. You’re not ready or strong enough to get out of bed yet.”
I see my mom cover her face with her hands. Something must be really wrong. My mother is one of the strongest people I know.
I reach out and touch her hand. “What is it, Mom? What are you guys not telling me?”
Dad sits down on the side of the bed. “Son, the Surgeons were not able to save your leg.” His words come out with such anguish.
I’m panic-stricken on the inside over his words. My leg, I remember tying my belt around it after the crash. I reach down and touch my leg, but it is gone right above the knee. I let out a blood-curdling scream and try to sit up. Dad tries to hold me down and Mom tries to comfort me. I hear Captain Maynard calling down the hallway for help. I am out of my mind with rage. Several people in white coats rush in to help contain me and I feel the jab of a needle into my arm.
Professional Reviews
Another fantastic book in the Broken Pieces Series.
What I loved about “Piece by Piece” is that it doesn’t fit into a specific genre. This novel encompasses romance, family, military fiction, crime, and suspense, creating a page-turner that you won’t be able to put down. I fell in love with the characters in the first two books in the series, and also fell in love with Steel, Syn, and Gray now that they are adults. Despite Steel’s distance since his accident, you could immediately feel the bond and spark between the three of them as soon as they are reunited. If you haven’t read the first two novels, Moore provides plenty of flashbacks to give you an idea of their wonderful upbringing in Maine with their parents and reminds the reader of the incredible love between Kyren and Brogan, as well as, between Zack and Cady. Once Steel and Ady are reunited, there is a constant back and forth of anger and resistance, mixed with passion and lingering feelings for their first love. Although Steel tries to fight his feelings, you find yourself cheering for this couple to have their happily ever after. Moore’s writing is once again so realistic and descriptive that you feel as if you are a part of this story and hate to see it come to an end. I continue to gain respect and admiration for Kelly Moore and her style of fiction. I anxiously await the next installment in the Broken Pieces Series and look forward to much more from this fantastic author.
Lots of captivating elements in one solid read.
A very captivating read with romance, family, tragedy, action, hope, suspense and adventure all wrapped up into one. Moore successfully hooked me from the very beginning. I have never read the last two of the series, but there was absolutely no need, this can be a stand alone. But you may would like to go back and read them after this one. Having an aviation background, I loved that aspect to the novel. The characters were very down to earth, real, raw, believable, complex, and lovable. The central theme, I believe would be family love/connection. Moore has a beautiful way with words, that is almost like an addiction, making you crave more. She adds the perfect amount of description, smooth transitions between times, and the story has a beautiful flow. If you are a fan of fiction, based around real life drama/action, this is definitely a must read.
Fantastic!
WOW - Can this series get any better? I love this book. Now I want Broken Pieces #4 ASAP. Kyren and Brogan's two boys are all grown. They are both in the military along with their cousin Gray. This is Steel's, the oldest son's story of losing his leg in a crash while a pilot in the Air Force. Steel struggles with himself daily and has shut himself off from life. It isn't until his old captain sends him on a rescue mission that his second chances begin. "Piece by Piece" takes you on Steel's journey of healing, reconnecting with family and finding love again. It has action, mystery, and lots of steamy love. Steel's story is a standalone, but at the end Kelly gaves us a little something of what's next and now I can't wait.
