Blog Tour Excerpt with Giveaway: Under Her Wings (Sistas #1) by Anne Marie Citro

Posted July 15, 2019 by Lisa Mandina in giveaway / 14 Comments

Book info:

Title: UNDER
HER WINGS

Author: Anne Marie Citro

Series: Sistas #1

Pub. Date: August 1, 2016

Publisher: Anne Marie Citro

Formats: Paperback,
eBook

Pages: 440

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Kobo, TBD

Under Her Wings

Wishing for death while living through hell,
Gabriella is rescued off the rocks of a Scottish loch at the lowest moment of
her life by the hot, humorous Edward and the sexy, staid Liam. The two men
nurse the despondent woman back to health while teaching her how to pick up the
pieces of her life. Both are captivated by her and vie for her attention.

Friendships are formed and secrets revealed. One
man will become her lover, while the other becomes her best friend. Together,
they have a past they cannot change, a present they must live through, and a
future yet to be discovered. However, every time things appear to settle down
for the trio, fate deals another blow, testing their trust and faith in each
other and the love they have created.

Gabriella discovers the beauty of Scotland and
life anew as she learns that trust is a two-way street that can either
strengthen bonds or destroy relationships. Will she accept all that she learns
or continue to believe she is betraying the memories she ran from?

Excerpt:

Edward awoke to the sound of haunting sobs. A chill went up
his spine. He couldn’t help thinking if there were such things as ghosts, that
would definitely be the sound they would make. The sound triggered déjà vu in
the recesses of his mind, and he searched his memory for something he couldn’t
put his finger on.

The curiosity of the lost memory and the wailing sound drove
him up and outside, to either help whatever was making that noise or put the
thing out of its misery. His mind was so busy trying to place the sounds that
were haunting him that he inadvertently forgot to give Liam, his guard and best
friend, a heads-up that he was leaving.

Night had descended hours ago, and even with a shirt and
heavy sweater on, the chill still seeped into his bones. Combine that with the
relentless sound, he was uneasy.

He cautiously walked through the gardens connected to the
side door of his suite, which were stunning in the summer, yet now looked
lifeless and sad. He was on alert because of who he was. People were forever
trying to catch him in compromising situations, and always tried to take a
piece of him, befriend him, and not with a desire for real friendship, but for
their own gain. However, late April wasn’t a popular time to visit; the
temperature could be downright nasty, and the sun rarely shone in the summer,
let alone spring.

The inn they had chosen for its solitude was named McIntyre
Country House, a beautiful, old estate that looked lonely with its regal, black
roof and white exterior walls. Phone reception and Wi-Fi were on again, off
again, tending to be more off.

The inn only had one other guest, and the innkeeper had
tried to cancel that reservation to accommodate Edward’s privacy, but he had
been unable to reach the guest in time. Instead, the owner had asked Edward if
it was okay to put them on the other side of the building with the assurance
they wouldn’t disturb the men. Edward had hesitantly conceded.

Just as the moon moved out from behind the clouds, the light
allowed him to see.

“Good God,” he gasped.

There was a wee woman crying—no, howling—on the boulders by
the loch. She must have been hurt, maybe had gotten her leg caught between the
rocks, and was now crying out for help.

Edward ran at top speed, then stopped just a few feet from
the boulders so as not to alarm the woman curled up and cradling herself.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “Miss, are you all right?”

No answer, but her sobbing turned softer.

“I don’t want to frighten you, but I am going to join you on
the boulders. Miss, can you hear me?”

Still no answer.

He approached her with caution, thinking she might have been
attacked, that a man or an animal had hurt her. However, something about the
sound of her agony led him to believe it wasn’t a physical pain, but something
much deeper.

When Edward got closer, all sounds stopped from the woman.
That frightened him more than the thought of ghosts.

Did he dare touch her? What if this was another setup to
make him look bad in the eyes of the world?

Edward pushed all negative thoughts aside. He had to help
her.

He touched the woman’s cheek. Holy Mother of Mary, she was
either frozen, or she had died before his eyes.

“Miss . . . ? Please, are you okay?”

Bloody hell, I have to get her warm, he thought.

Edward bent down and checked for a pulse, breathing with a
sense of relief when he realized she had one. Next, he checked her body for
wounds, running his hand around her skull and down her neck, then checking his
hands continuously for blood. Nothing. Next, he ran his hands down each arm,
her torso, and finally down each of her legs. She didn’t appear to be bleeding
nor, by quick assessment, to have any broken bones. His military training had
its rewards, one being he was efficient in field combat first-aid.

He gently lifted the woman into his arms, which wasn’t an
easy task since she was soaked to the bone. He had a dilemma. His arms were
full, and if he made any sound or someone spotted him carrying a hurt woman,
the press would explode and crucify him in the tabloids.

Shaking off those thoughts, he progressed carefully across
the boulders. He carried her quickly through the gardens and, in mere moments,
was back at the inn.

He gently laid her down on the ground and searched for his
key.

Damn it to hell! He had forgotten to grab it.

He felt it before he heard the words, a gun pressed against
the back of his skull. Bloody hell, could this night get any worse?

“Take your hand off the door and back away from the woman.”

Edward released a thankful breath.

“Liam, man, it’s me, Edward,” he whispered.

“Jesus Christ,” Liam cursed. “I could have blown your head
off. What in God’s green earth are you doing out here? And where the bloody
hell did that woman come from?”

“There is something wrong, very wrong, with her,” Edward
answered. “I think she’s hurt.”

Liam secured his weapon in his chest holster, gave Edward
the key to both suites, and then gently lifted the woman into his arms. He had
to wonder if Edward had dragged her body up from Loch Snizort. Had she almost
drowned, or had she been trying to commit suicide?

Whatever had happened to this woman, Liam couldn’t even
fathom. She was soaked and frozen. They needed to get her inside, and Edward
out of sight.

Liam walked through Edward’s suite and told him to unlock
the connecting door into his own. Once there, Liam laid the woman on the
chesterfield. Even in an emergency, he had enough sense to do his job and
protect Edward first. He also had to consider any gossip that could surround
Edward, especially if anyone knew there was an unconscious woman in their
lodgings.

After re-establishing she had a pulse, first-aid 101 stated
she needed to be warmed up as quickly as possible. Therefore, Liam instructed
Edward to go into his closet and grab his workout clothes, consisting of sweat
pants, a T-shirt, and a hooded sweatshirt. Liam also wanted towels.

Liam looked down at the girl and assessed her age to be mid
to late twenties. She looked like a drowned rat with her long, dark hair
hanging in wet clumps around her delicate, tiny face. Her bone structure was
fine and reminded him of a bird. Her skin was a grey colour, wrinkled, wet, and
goose bumps covered every inch. Her lips were purple, and she had dark circles
under her eyes that made her look even younger. Liam noticed all this as he
started to remove her clothing.

He tried to give her as much dignity as he could, which
wasn’t an easy task when the jeans were so wet they clung to her like a second
skin. Regardless, he finally managed to peel the pants off, along with a
turquoise lace thong. The woman’s lady bits were hairless, much like the slags
from porn movies.

Liam, feeling a little guilt and shame for noticing, quickly
averted his eyes, moving on to pull her coat and sweater off. As he did, he
couldn’t help noticing she had on a matching turquoise bra that he removed to
reveal her shapely breasts. What really knocked the breath out of his lungs
were the stretch marks and scars that lay all over her lower belly. This young
woman was someone’s mum, and it was his responsibility now to make sure she was
reunited with her loved ones.

Why was she alone, wet, and nearly frozen to death? Where
was her family?

Edward approached with the items Liam had requested, but
before he reached the girl, Liam stopped him.

“Throw the clothes and wait until I cover her.”

“Really, Liam? Sod the fuck off. She isn’t the first female
I have seen naked.”

“But she is someone’s mum, and if it were Raven, she would
have been devastated by one strange man seeing her naked, let alone two.”

At the mention of Raven, Edward stopped dead in his tracks,
tossed the clothing, and turned his back. Liam very rarely mentioned Raven, so
this meant something to him.

Liam worked quickly and efficiently to warm and dress the
mysterious woman. Now all tucked in the chesterfield with his clothing swimming
on her tiny frame and blankets wrapped around her, she appeared to be resting
peacefully.

Liam turned to Edward. “Where did the lass come from? Who is
she? And why did you not call me to give assistance?”

Edward painstakingly retold the tale of the last forty-five
minutes, wondering why things always happened to him.

Liam wouldn’t call the authorities or Scotland Yard yet, not
until they were certain the young woman wanted or needed police help. He wanted
Edward far away from whatever was going on. Nevertheless, they would have to
wait to get answers when she awoke.

About Anne:

I was born and raised
in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada. I grew up surrounded by a
large, loving family, and I am married to a wonderfully patient man.

He is the love of my
life.

We have four very cool
sons that I love and adore! The girls they have brought into our family that
have become daughters of my heart. I have also been blessed with a beautiful
granddaughter, of course, after raising four boys…

I have my own personal
gaggle of girlfriends, who enrich my life on a daily basis and make me laugh
until I cry. Caesar Friday is my favorite day of the week; that’s Caesars with
the girls and date night with the hubby.

I love the arts and
have tried my hand at painting, wood sculpting, chainsaw carving, wood burning,
metal and wire sculptures. Yes, my husband is a very patient man! I am an avid
reader, burning through about three books per week.

But nothing makes me
happier than riding on the back of my husband’s Harley and throwing my arms out
and feeling the wind race by. We work very hard, so we can take a few weeks
every year to travel to spectacular destinations around the world.

I worked with the most
incredible group of special-needs teenagers, and they taught me how to
appreciate life and see it through gentler eyes. My husband has encouraged me
to follow my lifelong dream of being a writer. I’ve really fallen in love with
the characters that take over my imagination and haunt my dreams.

I am so excited for
this new journey and can’t wait to see what the next chapter holds for me in
life.