painting

Do you Play by the Rules? #RomanticSuspense #CrimeFiction #Danger

November 18, 2022 by Adriana Kraft

Looking for a steamy read full of danger and suspense? Check out my romantic suspense, The Heist.

BLURB

A heist? A murder? It’s villain’s choice.

A special-order art theft? Tedious, but seamless – until small town museum director Kara Daniels calls in the experts. Furious her favorite trio of priceless impressionist paintings has been stolen from its traveling exhibit on her watch, Kara is determined to save not only the paintings, but her future in the art world. She’ll stop at nothing to entrap the thief.

Ted Springs knows the underbelly of the criminal world a little closer than he might like—but he’s turned it to good advantage, first as a police officer, and now as detective for the Upper Midwest Arts Council. His job? To guarantee the security of the valuable paintings in the Council’s traveling exhibits.

Heat sizzles when Ted and Kara collide—can they work together, before it’s too late?

EXCERPT

Set Up: Embarrassed from an earlier encounter where she literally bumped into detective Ted Springs, Kara is cautiously bantering with him as she drives him from the airport to Elk Grove.

“If you ever get to know me, you’ll find there’s nothing unreal about me.”

He exhaled slowly. “And do you think I’ll ever get to know you?”

She giggled softly. “Not in the way you’re thinking.” She thrust out her chin. “At least not while you’re working this case.”

He took his time to chew on that information. “Fair enough,” he said. He wished he knew what he’d done or said to disarm her. Maybe it had been the memory of their brief encounter. “Not that I need more incentive to wrap this museum situation up quickly.” He paused. “Do you suppose we’ll be able to hug now and then like friends, now that we’ve cleared the air? Shaking hands seems so stodgy.”

Kara laughed quickly and then peeked over at him with a devastating smile. “As long as you don’t paw my boobs.”

Smiling, he didn’t miss a beat. “How about your rear?”

She arched an eyebrow at him. “That is a different matter. Your large hands did leave a pleasant impression on my ass.”

So she didn’t mind a little flirting even while he worked the case. “Good. I believe in first impressions, and I always like to be clear about the rules of the game. Now maybe you should tell me how you think one or more people entered the museum supposedly without a key.”

She scrunched her mouth. “So do you play by the rules?”

“I didn’t say that. I just like to know what they are.”

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If he looked at her with bedroom eyes… The Heist #Excerpt #KU #steamy #RomanticSuspense

November 11, 2022 by Adriana Kraft

Looking for a steamy romantic suspense?

The Heist, by Adriana Kraft

BLURB

A heist? A murder? It’s villain’s choice.

Heat sizzles when Ted and Kara collide—can they work together, before it’s too late?

EXCERPT

Set up ~ the museum has just been broken into for the first time, but nothing’s been stolen. Even so, the Arts Council is sending out a detective to improve their security.

The entire day had cast a pall of suspicion over Kara and her staff. Even the police had discounted the entire unforced entry as a likely prank by an insider.

Would Ted Springs want to talk with everyone? Talk. She remembered Sasha’s expression when she’d used that term. They both knew Springs would be more into interrogating than talking, even if this was supposed to be a consulting trip. He’d have to gather information in order to give them the best advice he and the Council could offer.

Clearing her desk, Kara smiled at Sasha’s chauffeur-babysitter reference. Springs might need someone to drive him about, and she’d probably get Irving involved in that, but it was definitely her job to meet him at the airport and to see that he was dealt with professionally. He wouldn’t want or need a babysitter.

She allowed her mind to wander to their first meeting in the Council’s Chicago offices. It had been a random event, an embarrassing experience. She’d barreled into him while exiting Alice Erikson’s office. Coming along behind her, Alice had made the introductions, saving an awkward moment as Kara disentangled herself from Ted’s arms. She’d never given their meeting much thought, other than to be aware he’d taken more time than needed to free her. She’d never expected to see him again.

Did he remember their brief encounter? Given his reluctance to let go of her quickly, she surmised he was a boob man. She had no difficulty recalling his firm chest as she’d crushed into him, or his strong arms keeping her from falling or retreating.

It was his booming laugh that stuck with her most. “We ought to try that again sometime,” he’d chortled, settling her back on her own feet.

He’d acknowledged the introduction by shaking her hand and jesting, “Too bad I have to rush off.”

Kara rapped her fingers on the desktop, not pleased with the burning embarrassment she still harbored from that initial meeting. That was one of the reasons she had to drive to Lincoln to pick up Ted Springs at the airport. If he looked at her with bedroom eyes, she’d straighten him out immediately.

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Thoughts of a full-bodied heroine… The Heist, by Adriana Kraft #RomanticSuspense #KU #ArtTheft #IndieAuthor

November 10, 2022 by Adriana Kraft

Looking for a sizzling romantic suspense?

The Heist, by Adriana Kraft

BLURB

A heist? A murder? It’s villain’s choice.

Heat sizzles when Ted and Kara collide—can they work together, before it’s too late?

EXCERPT

Set up ~ the museum has just been broken into for the first time, but nothing’s been stolen. Kara is meeting with her curator, Sasha, as they prepare for the detective being sent by the Arts Council.

Kara turned back to Sasha. “You’ve triple and quadruple checked the exhibit areas? Nothing is missing or damaged?”

Sasha nodded. “That’s right. Irving and David have checked everything over and over, too. You walked through the entire building yourself. Nothing is missing. Nothing is damaged. That’s what’s crazy about this. Why would anyone go to the bother of disabling our computers and alarm system and steal nothing?” She paused. “And the creepy thing is we know they were in the building. The two soda cans on the floor in the vanPatten room didn’t just walk in on their own.”

Chuckling, Kara agreed, “No, I do believe they were carried in. Maybe someone wanted us to know just how vulnerable this place is.” She scowled. “But who, and why? I thought we were supposed to have a fairly sophisticated computer system.”

“Not sophisticated enough,” Sasha huffed. “Maybe it was some computer geeks at the college trying to show off.”

“Maybe. I hope Ted Springs will be able to shed some light on those questions. Doesn’t look like the cops are going to do much. No theft, no damage. They have more significant crimes to deal with.” Kara checked her watch. “It’s been a long day. Why don’t you head out when you’re ready? I’ll walk around through the place with David while we close up. Thank god it’s a Monday and we didn’t have to be open to the public. I’ll check with you in the morning after I get back from the airport with Springs.”

Sasha smirked. “At least I don’t have to be his chauffeur-slash-babysitter. See you.”

Kara smiled watching her curator saunter out of the office. Monday was their dress-down day, and Sasha was clad in overly tight work jeans and a tank top. For someone who wanted to maintain her privacy, Sasha seldom hesitated to dress provocatively.

Sasha could get by with tight jeans, or slinky outfits, or minis, with her petite frame. Heaving a sigh, Kara tried to keep her envy in check. Petite was hardly a word anyone would use to describe her. Full bodied, perhaps. Voluptuous, if one was trying to be kind. At least she had the strength to help David and Irving unload shipping crates. Some of those weighed three hundred pounds or more, depending on the size of the painting and its frame, requiring dollies and the greatest of care. Sasha usually stood by recording and documenting crate numbers and contents.

Maybe it was their age difference. At twenty-six, Sasha could get by with most any fashion. Seven years older, Kara had fewer options. She shook her head, trying to refocus. It wasn’t age that made the difference—it was the difference in skirt and sweater size. Kara exhaled, letting go of fruitless comparisons.

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We’ve got nothing to hide… The Heist by Adriana Kraft #KU #RomanticSuspense #Crime #Danger #Detective

November 7, 2022 by Adriana Kraft

Looking for a sizzling romantic suspense?

The Heist, by Adriana Kraft

BLURB

A heist? A murder? It’s villain’s choice.

Heat sizzles when Ted and Kara collide—can they work together, before it’s too late?

EXCERPT

“It’s hard to imagine a guy from Chicago doing anything in Elk Grove, Nebraska—other than holding his nose while he decides which one of us is a likely thief.” Sasha shifted nervously from foot to foot in front of Kara’s mahogany desk.

“I doubt he’ll get very involved with any of us,” Kara responded. “Besides, he’s not coming to investigate the break-in, since nothing was taken. He’s coming to help us improve our security system. That’s a good thing. Right?”

“I guess.” Sasha crossed her arms, underscoring her obvious skepticism.

“He won’t arrive until tomorrow. In the meantime we’ll need to set up a meeting with the Board for him, and I’m sure he’ll want to spend time with our Security Committee. We’ll want to make sure all our procedure manuals are available. And all staff should be on call in case he wants to talk with them.”

Kara leaned back in her chair. “We’ve got nothing to hide, Sasha. The Upper Midwest Arts Council has the same goal we have—bringing a diverse array of quality art to this community, and doing so with the best level of security we can afford. Given what happened last night, what we currently have is not good enough. The Council won’t send the traveling exhibits you request if we can’t improve our security.”

“I know. It’s just I’ve never liked outsiders prying into my business.”

“I understand.” Kara considered her curator afresh. She’d hired Sasha herself three years earlier, after she’d been promoted from that job to director. Sasha was already highly regarded across the Midwest region for her artistic judgment and presentation skills. That she preferred women to men in her private life had no bearing on her value to the museum. Yet Kara had seen this skittishness from Sasha before. She desperately wanted to keep her private life private. They both knew if an investigator considered either one of them as a potential suspect, their private lives would be open to severe scrutiny.

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He’s Supposed to be Very Good… The Heist by Adriana Kraft #KU #RomanticSuspense #Crime #Danger #Detective

November 4, 2022 by Adriana Kraft

Showing a little love for a backlist book, one of our favorite suspense stories.

BLURB

A heist? A murder? It’s villain’s choice.

Heat sizzles when Ted and Kara collide—can they work together, before it’s too late?

EXCERPT

Here are the opening lines of the book…

Kara Daniels swiveled in her desk chair to get a better look at her curator, Sasha Ivory.

“You’ve met this Ted Springs who’s supposed to be dashing to our rescue?” Sasha spat out the question and pushed a strand of blond hair back into her fashionable pixie cut.

“Briefly,” Kara responded, trying not to get caught up in Sasha’s frustration. As director of the Nelson museum, Kara had overall responsibility for the mid-sized institution, including security. She hugged her aching shoulders. The stress had been building ever since she’d arrived early that morning to open the building, only to discover it was already unlocked. “He’s supposed to be very good at what he does.”