BENEATH THE TRUTH
Series: Beneath #7
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Suspense
Author: Meghan March
Release Date: August 8, 2017
From USA Today bestselling author Meghan March comes the final sexy standalone set in the Beneath world of New Orleans.
I used to believe there were lines in life you don’t cross.
Don’t lie. Don’t cheat. Don’t steal.
Until I learned people don’t always practice what they preach.
I turned in my badge and gun and walked away from everything.
Then I got the call no one wants, and I’m back in New Orleans.
What I don’t expect is for her to be here too.
Another line you don’t cross?
Don’t touch your best friend’s little sister.
She’s always been off-limits.
Too bad I don’t follow the rules anymore.
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Wham. My heart slammed against my ribs as it sped up about twenty beats per minute.The heat and delicious woodsy citrus scent radiating from his body did good things to me. Things that made me want to do very bad things to him. I wasn’t a seventeen-year-old virgin anymore. I knew my way around a man, but I had to admit, the hipsters in Cali had nothing on a homegrown Louisiana man like Rhett.
When he spoke, he leaned in so close that I could feel his breath on my ear. “You missed that shot on purpose.”
My gaze jumped from the sexy five o’clock shadow shading his jaw to his piercing green eyes.
“Wha-what are you talking about?” I smacked myself mentally when my old stammer kicked in. Of course he would cause it.
“That shot. You missed on purpose. I saw you adjust at the last minute. Why?”
I swallowed the saliva pooling in my mouth and decided to take the safest exit from this situation. Lying.
“Cue slipped.”
His eyes narrowed on me. “You’re lying and you’re terrible at it, just like you’ve always been.” He reached up and pressed his thumb to my left eyebrow. “You get a twitch right here.”
Oh my God. Rhett Hennessy is touching me. And what’s more . . . he knows my tell. He noticed me!
The fifteen-year-old inside me did a terrible cartwheel at the realization. Okay, more of a round-off. With a tumble in the grass to finish. Whatever.
But outwardly, I was trapped in that green gaze until he decided to let me go—or until I came to my senses.
I cleared my throat and sidestepped him. “Whatever you say, hotshot. I need another drink.”
Focusing on putting one four-inch heel in front of the other without biting it, I escaped to the table and reached for the whiskey glass I’d left behind, interrupting my brother and the waitress. They both stared at me as I chugged the contents.
I’d always wondered what it would feel like to have Rhett’s attention, and now I knew. In a word, it was . . . unnerving.
“How’s the game going?” my brother asked.
“Fine.” Keeping my answer short meant he couldn’t tell that I was lying. Heath wasn’t nearly as observant as Rhett.
“You winning?”
Thanking the Lord that Heath obviously hadn’t been watching, I shrugged. “I guess.”
He glanced toward Rhett and then back to me. “The sister I know and love doesn’t lose at pool. Ever. Even to Rhett Hennessy.”
I lowered the glass to the table and straightened my shoulders. “Like they say, things change.”
He nodded slowly. “That may be true about most things, Flounder. But you’re a pool shark and we both know it.”
Before I could respond, Heath’s attention jumped back to the waitress. I took another ten seconds to gather myself, also known as drinking offensively in my mind, before I crossed the floor to face off against my former obsession.
“You all right, Red?” Rhett asked.
“Don’t call me that. And I’ve never been better.”
His gaze dipped to my feet and dragged up my body. “I can agree with that statement.”
Whoa. Who is this guy with the innuendo? A glance at his empty whiskey glass told me he was drinking heavily as well. Was this the booze talking? Or was Rhett Hennessy not just noticing me, but noticing me?
Either way, I had to play it cool. Or at least pretend to play it cool, since it seemed I might fall short.
“Your turn, hotshot. Better not miss, because I’ll clear the table next time,” I said, but my cocky attitude backfired.
Rhett didn’t miss. He sank his balls and then the eight, ending the game almost as quickly as it started. He returned his cue to the rack and turned to face me, all traces of the earlier heat banked, his expression shuttered.
“Game over.”
What the hell just happened?
There were lines you didn’t cross in life, and your best friend’s little sister was one of them.
Sweet mother of grit but Meghan March know how to end a series with a bang. She not only lit the match and set things on fire, but threw gasoline on top for good measure to ensure the burn was even more sizzling.
This is the series that first introduced me to March and started my obsession, so this book was extra bittersweet for me. While I’ve been dying for Hennesy’s book since Beneath These Lies, I also never wanted it to end. Alas, all good things come to an end and there’s no better way to end this series than with ex-detective Hennessy. Now while you can absolutely enjoy this as a standalone, you’d also appreciate it a whole lot more if you at least read Beneath These Lies first. There’s a lot that happens in these books and while the author gives plenty of background to ensure new readers won’t be lost, you have a different appreciation for the characters having read the previous books.
Hennesy is back in New Orleans looking for answers after the suspicious death of his father who was under investigation for being dirty. Determined to clear his dead brother’s name and to finally unearth the truth, Hennesy is forced into the underbelly of a brutal cartel. His best friend’s little sister is a complication he doesn’t see coming.
Ariel has had a crush on her brother’s best friend since she was a little girl. But she’s not the little girl she used to be. These days she’s a genius CEO of a successful IT company and she’s over her school girl crush, or at least she thinks she is until she lays eyes on Hennesy. While there was always an undercurrent of heat, she doesn’t expect for the incendiary connection she feels with the man he is today. March is the queen of alpha males, and if there’s one thing that they all do well is go after their woman. Once Hennesy decides that ignoring the connection between Ariel and him is no longer an option, he goes after her with guns blazing. Ariel is no wilting wallflower and I loved her sass and inner monologue. She was a bit of a badass in her own right that was the perfect match for Hennesy.
This book had a much different vibe than the rest of the series for me. While I enjoyed the romance, I felt like it came secondary to the incredibly addicting and suspenseful story. This was quite possibly the grittiest book that Meghan has written to day, and I devoured each page with bated breath and on the edge of my seat. This was a powerhouse of a conclusion.
While I’m sad to see this series come to an end, Meghan introduced a secondary character here that I’m already salivating over. This man is the alpha to beat all alphas. We merely get a peek and the man sizzles with his presence. I cannot freaking wait for Ruthless King. Cannot wait, I tells ya.
Meghan March has been known to wear camo face paint and tromp around in woods wearing mud-covered boots, all while sporting a perfect manicure. She’s also impulsive, easily entertained, and absolutely unapologetic about the fact that she loves to read and write smut. Her past lives include slinging auto parts, selling lingerie, making custom jewelry, and practicing corporate law. Writing books about dirty talking alpha males and the strong, sassy women who bring them to their knees is by far the most fabulous job she’s ever had. She loves hearing from her readers at meghanmarchbooks@gmail.com.
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This book may be titled Bad Judgment, but reading certainly was no error on my part. No sir. Meghan March never fails to disappoint with introducing readers to yet another hero that’s sure to melt panties within a 50 mile radius. Guaranteed. Ryker Grant was dirty talking, possessive deliciousness and I couldn’t get enough of him. Nothing beats a man on a mission and a woman that’s determined to resist him at every turn.
