Shadows of His Mind by Loree Lough 💕 Book Tour and $20 Gift Card Giveaway 💕 (Romantic Suspense)

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Jase realizes Sam is more, so much more than a friend.

Jase Brooks had been a 26-year-old Marine, stationed in Afghanistan when his parents were killed in a head-on collision. His anguish was compounded when, at the reading of the will, he learned they'd made him sole guardian of his 11-year-old brother. Jase gladly walked away from a promising military career to step into their shoes, a tough job made tougher by the boy's risky behavior: Petty theft to fund the addictions that led to the birth of his son, Luke... who also became Jase's responsibility.

Through it all, best friend Samantha (Sam) Finnigan set aside her own heartaches to stand beside him--even when he made the dangerous decision to become a professional recovery agent. It isn't until one of the criminals he'd rounded-up escapes prison--and kidnaps Sam and Luke as part of a twisted scheme to even the score--that Jase realizes Sam is more, so much more than a friend.

Now, he faces the greatest challenge of his life: Staying alive long enough to save them, so that he can finally admit just how much she has always meant to him...

Loree Lough, a USA Today bestselling author, has published over 140 novels. This is the second novel in The Shadow Series.

Scene that introduces Sam (Samantha) and establishes her years-long friendship with Jase:

The security mirror did a great job, showing the big picture of the store’s interior. Not so great, however, for details … like how haggard he looked.

“Sam,” he said, “good to see you.”

Even his voice is tired! He’d hate seeing pity on her face, so Sam put her attention on the baby. “Well lookit you! Four teeth already!”

Jase unpocketed a white handkerchief, wiped drool from the baby’s lips. “And more coming in.”

“Aw, you’re getting to be such a big boy!”

Grinning, Luke raised both arms and yelled, “Duke big!”

That, at least, put a smile on Jase’s face. Not the kind that lit up his eyes, but she preferred it to the sad, lost expression it replaced.

“It’s almost a shame that one day soon, he’ll learn to pronounce his L’s, and we won’t get to hear him say ‘Duke’ any more.”

“I was thinking that myself, just this morning.”

Sam pointed at the groceries in his cart. “You know you can get it all at Walmart for half the price. Especially the baby’s stuff.”

“Yeah, but that’d take time, something that’s in short supply these days.”

“Oh?”

Jase’s lips formed a taut line, the way it always had when he disagreed with something … or didn’t feel like talking.

Luke reached for her nametag. “Sorry, sweet boy. But that pin’ll stick you.”

The baby, looking almost as sad as his uncle, began chewing on a dimpled fist. Sam plucked a teething ring from the shelf, tore off the plastic wrapper, and handed it to Luke. Feet kicking and grinning again, he put it straight into his mouth.

“My treat,” she told Jase. And before he had a chance to decline the offer, she added, “You remember how long we’ve known one another, right?”

“Yeah …”

“So you know you can talk to me about anything, right?”

Jase hesitated, hung his head and said, “Jesse’s missing.”

She heard the unspoken again in his heartbroken voice.

“Dah-dee?” Luke said.

Jase finger-combed blond hair from the baby’s forehead. Life hadn’t been gentle with this man. He’d dealt with some grisly things as a Marine, stationed in Afghanistan. And after losing his parents, it hadn’t been easy, trying to be father and mother and big brother to Jesse.

She searched her mind for something, anything that might offer a thread of comfort. But he needed more than weak platitudes like “He’ll turn up, he always does” or ”Jesse’s like a cat … nine lives, and always lands on his feet.”

“How long has he been gone this time?”

“Almost two days.”

Days that probably felt like weeks, because this time, Jesse had left his ten month old son behind.

“Sorry to hear it. He was doing so well.”

“Tell me about it.” Jase faced the shelves, tossed another package of diapers into the cart. “Last week, I baked my first cake to celebrate his two year chip.”

“You? Baked a cake?” Sam laughed, mostly to take the edge off the seriousness of the situation. “I would’ve paid good money to see that.”

He managed a smile.

“So who’s taking care of this little guy while you’re at work?”

“I took a couple days off.” He shrugged a big shoulder. “I’m hoping Jesse comes home soon.”

Admitting it opened the tight lid he’d been keeping on the story:

“Doesn’t make sense, no sense at all. Like you said, Jesse was doing great. Even started talking about going back to school, to get his Associates in automotive technology.”

Sam remembered how proud Jesse had looked last time he’d come into the store, showing her the community college brochure as he explained his plans.

“And then Connie came back, like an awful virus.”

Jase sounded disgusted, and she couldn’t blame him. Jesse had met Connie at an AA meeting, and for a while there, Sam thought they’d be good for each other. But the lure of drugs was more powerful than the call to motherhood, and within weeks of Luke’s birth, Connie slipped back into old habits, reconnected with wayward friends, and disappeared.

“He took it hard,” Jase was saying. “Being laid off from a job he loved so soon after Connie ran off …” He exhaled a shaky breath. “It’d be easy to blame her for everything, but the truth is, Jesse’s weak. Always has been, and I’m partly to blame for that. I was always too easy on him.”

“You aren’t to blame for anything!” Sam insisted. “Jesse is twenty-five, not fifteen. He’s one hundred percent responsible for the choices he’s made.” For the choices he’s making now … “You sacrificed so much for him. Your freedom. Your career in the Marines.”

She couldn’t bring herself to add your marriage to the list, because in Sam’s opinion, that union had been all wrong from the get-go, and would have ended even if Jesse and Luke weren’t such a big part of Jase’s life.

“I was there for all of it, remember. I saw how difficult Jesse made things for you. Too often, it looked to me like he didn’t realize that you lost your folks, too. You were younger than he is now when the accident took them from you, and yet you stepped up, did your best to be a mother and a father to him. You’ve been a great parent, Jase, and don’t you ever forget it!”

“Case!” Luke echoed, waving the teething ring in the air.

That’s when an idea dawned in her mind …

Elice Glasser is a widow with three young children to raise. Cabot Murray is an ex-cop who returns home to Freeland, Maryland, to deal with the pain of his own tragic loss: the death of his wife and daughter in a fiery explosion intended for him.

Grieving, their sorrow brings them together, and a friendship develops that leads then to explore the possibility of finding love again. But vengeful enemies and jealous rivals are determined to destroy the peace and happiness that Elice and Cabot have found in each other’s arms. Why are their rivals so intent on keeping Elice and Cabot apart? Loree Lough's latest suspenseful romance is a page-turner!

With more than 14M copies of her books in circulation, USA Today bestselling/award-winning author Loree Lough has 125 books in print (contracts for 6 more), 7 book-to-movie options, 68 short stories and 2,500+ published articles. She and her real-life hero split their time between a home in Baltimore's suburbs and a cabin in the Alleghenies. She loves interacting with readers and answers every letter personally.