Excerpt – Risky Assets by Rachael Eckles
Synopsis
Risky Assets, the sequel to Trading Secrets in Eckles’s series featuring financier Celeste Donovan, is brimming with mystery and failed alliances. Celeste appears to have everything a modern woman dreams of—a doting fiancé, a penthouse apartment, and a supermodel’s physique with a mathematician’s mind. But all that glitters is not gold.
A high-powered finance executive with a dark past, she has experienced unspeakable loss at the hand of her abusive ex, Omar. She has healed from the trauma now and is ready to move on as one of the world’s richest women and settle back into her glamorous jet-setting lifestyle.
As Celeste sets out to plan her future, she realizes she cannot live the rest of her life in fear that Omar will strike again. She vows to get rid of him and anyone else who stands in the way of the happy ending she’s fighting for. Her plans become complicated after discovering that Omar has become an agent of the US government. When her friends approach her to finally join forces with them and rogue federal agents, she’s boxed into a corner.
Now Celeste is living with secrets so tortured that if discovered, they could destroy what she’s so carefully built. Will she be successful in making the world a safer place? Or will her appetite for vengeance jeopardize it all?
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Excerpt
Excerpt from Chapter 2 – A Loose F*ing Cannon
Celeste tried to cool herself down with a silk fan she’d picked up in Chinatown, willing the sweat dripping from every pore of her body to disappear. Apparently, the subway wasn’t gross enough before, so they decided to do away with air-conditioning and cleanings in the hottest August on record. F*ing climate change. When the train entered the South Street Ferry stop, she exited, walked up the stairs to the street level, and headed to the meeting spot, a bench by the ferry entrance.
Michel was waiting for her; to an observer, he looked preoccupied with his smartphone. He was as handsome as ever. She still didn’t regret breaking off their tryst all those years ago when she learned he was married with children—she wasn’t the mistress type—but she owed him for saving her life in Frankfurt. And now he’d become her partner in her attempt to finally bring Omar to justice. She left space between the two of them as she sat.
“You’re late,” he said without looking up.
“I also have sweat pooled in every crevice of my body. The subway isn’t exactly a Gulfstream. Anything else you’d like to give me shit about?”
Michel raised his eyebrows slightly without looking up. Celeste interpreted this to mean he wasn’t used to seeing her on the edge. Well, this is new to me. No more Ice Queen of New York. The pain of losing Theodore, believing him to be gone forever, had liberated the Celeste who had been so tightly wound, so composed. Now she was the woman who threw things at her fiancé and made him sleep on the couch. Now people walked on eggshells around her. Now I’m a loose f*ing cannon.
“Your instincts were right—about everything. We need to pivot a little and move up the timeline.”
About the Author
Rachael Eckles is the author of the award-winning Celeste Donovan series, a genre-defying blend of high-stakes thriller and romantic suspense. An Indiana-native, Rachael lives in New York City, writing about powerful female protagonists and running her publishing company, Aphrodite Books, which is dedicated to amplifying the voices of women authors and supporting non-profits that are empowering women and girls globally.
