July 6, 2015 - Reviews by Tammy and Kim July 7, 2015 - Grown Up Fangirl July 8, 2015 - Red Cheeks Reads July 9, 2015 - InkSlinger PR July 10, 2015 - Obsessed with Myshelf

She pushed out a breath, not wanting to deal with reality. Matt thought she had a security clearance, that she worked a freelance techy “geek” job—God forbid the guy rub two brain cells together—and she had to travel to clients. It was one of the few things he let her do without him anymore, but that was primarily because they needed the steady income from her work. 

She’d lied to him from the get-go about exactly what she did to earn a living. Maybe that made her a bad person. Maybe she’d known without realizing it that she was headed down a road that looked perfect but was rocky and dangerous. When he’d dangled a permanent, protective connection in front of her, she jumped at it. Too hard. 

Well, this was her work, and the deep, dark hacker underground wasn’t a security-clearance type of job. Without even asking, she knew there was no way Matt would allow her in this world. Her world. Where she was literally the best of the best. 

But seriously, when did she have to ask to have a job? To do what she’d done for years? Simple answer—the second he’d slipped a rock on her ring finger. 

Phiber tried again with his dance moves and a smile that highlighted a scar above his lip. “If not a drink, then just want to party?” 

She held up her left hand and wiggled her fingers to highlight the engagement ring. “Thanks, but I’m good, Phiber.” The guy smiled, probably because she knew his handle. 

“Tonight’s really a rager.”

Apparently her subtle “no thanks” hadn’t indicated that she wasn’t in the mood for conversation. Though truth was, she could use a chat. Not that she was lonely. She had friends. Maybe. Just online now, it seemed. She was falling further away from the girls she’d once been close to. All except for her foster sister, but even Meredith hadn’t seen Lexi in weeks. 

“Yeah.” She bit her lip and nodded at Phiber instead of focusing on her troubles. “It’s crazy tonight.” 

“You hear SilverChaos did all this?” Phiber slugged back his drink. “Mad props to that guy.” 

She stepped back. “Yeah.” 

“Think he’s here?” He laughed. “Could be me. Could be you.” 

“Except you’re Phiber.”

He shrugged. “But who are you?”

She needed an exit now. There was no way the guy would pin the elite handle on her, but why risk it? She clapped her hand on his back, patting him like a dude. “See ya, buddy.” 

Lexi tugged on her leather string bracelet, fidgeting, and moved away. She felt Phiber’s eyes still on her, and even though he couldn’t know she was Silver, she had the heebie-jeebies. She melted through the crowd, chatting with others who didn’t creep her out. One weird guy wouldn’t ruin her fun as she hid from home, avoiding her jerk of a fiancé. Though he was so much more than that lately. Her fingers brushed her tender eye. 

Stop thinking about him. Shaking her head clear, she tried to focus on the music, dancing to the beat from the sidelines of the makeshift floor, but her heart wasn’t in it. Why did she lie to herself? It wasn’t Matt’s attitude anymore, nor was his drinking just a random occurrence since losing another job. Matt had crossed the line. More than once. A push. A slap. All came with an apology and excuse. He shouldn’t have been drinking. He’d never do it again. She made it happen, and God, she knew better. 

But it happened more and more often. Not every day. Not even every week. That would be, like, abuse. This was more like... abuse. Shit. She couldn’t even admit it out loud, couldn’t even tell Meredith. Nope, like a little wimp—like nothing who she was—Lexi could only hmm and hum when anyone asked questions. All she did was bury her face in her computer. Well, that wasn’t entirely true—she’d also rescued Bacon Byte, her cute, slightly morbidly obese pug. But even Bacon’s sweet sneezes and snores didn’t turn Matt into a civilized human being. 

Who threatened to hurt a dog? Whether it was off-handed jokes about letting the poor thing gorge herself or jumping at Bacon to scare her, Matt made Lexi’s heart race. Awful people were mean to puppies. Now when she went out of town for her “web security” meetings, she asked Meredith to puppy-sit. So much for Operation Melt-Matt’s-Blackened-Heart. 

How did she have a man’s ring on her finger when she didn’t trust him alone with her dog? 

“Easy,” she murmured to herself. 

She was the queen of abandonment issues. Bouncing from one foster home to the next had really done her in, which was why she showed up to these absurd competitions and kept next to no winnings, donating as much as she could afford. If she could make one little girl’s world happy with stupid money, then yeah, she didn’t need to bring home major dough. But all of that charity still didn’t make her comfortable with the idea of walking away from the only man who claimed he’d never leave her or let her go. Ever. 

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July 6, 2015 - Reviews by Tammy and Kim July 7, 2015 - Grown Up Fangirl July 8, 2015 - Red Cheeks Reads July 9, 2015 - InkSlinger PR July 10, 2015 - Obsessed with Myshelf

  ABOUT BLACK DAWN What happens when nothing is as it seems? 

Lexi Dare is on a one-woman mission to stay alive. Both at home and at work. Because how did she end up with a ring on her finger and an abuser in bed as she readies to hit the high point in her career? Everything should be perfect. Amazing job. Handsome fiancé. It's all a disaster. 

Parker Black is the brains behind Titan Group, an elite security firm. In his world, everything is ordered and controlled, except what he feels for his buddy’s girl. Something in her eye screams for help, but he has no idea what. 

When Lexi disappears, Parker realizes what he should have known. The lines blur between friendships and work, and they must find each other to survive a terror attack that only Lexi can stop. 

Black Dawn can be read as a standalone and does not have a cliffhanger.

BLACK DAWN releases July 14th - add it to your Goodreads list here! 

Preorder it now: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | Kobo

Want to celebrate the release of BLACK DAWN by Cristin Harber? There's a release party on facebook on July 16th! Join the event here for more details!

ABOUT CRISTIN HARBER

Cristin Harber is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling romance author. She writes sexy, steamy romantic suspense and military romance. Readers voted her onto Amazon’s Top Picks for Debut Romance Authors in 2013, and her debut Titan series was both a #1 romantic suspense and #1 military romance bestseller.

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