Elect 

Eagle Elite Series – Book 2

By Rachel Van Dyken

Synopsis

Would you die for the one you love?
Nixon Abandonato made his choice. And now he has to pay the price. Tracey is the love of his life, but being with him has made her a target of his family’s enemies. The only way to keep Trace alive is convince the world she means nothing to him.

Trace Rooks has fallen irrevocably in love with the son of her family’s sworn rival, and she knows in her bones nothing can tear them apart. Until Nix suddenly pushes her away and into the arms of his best friend… But Trace isn’t ready to give up on a future with Nix–and if he won’t fight for them, she will.
In the end, a sacrifice must be made. A life for a life. For what better way to cover a multitude of sins than with the blood of a sinner . . .

Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

Excerpt

“Let’s make a pact.” Chase put his hand on my shoulder.

“A pact?” I sniffled and turned to him. “What kind of pact?”

“One that’s forever. One that protects people rather than hurts them.”

“How do we do that?” I was suddenly interested. What if I could make all the hurt go away? What if I could save everyone!

“We do this.” Chase pulled out his pocketknife and cut open his hand, then nodded to me to do the same thing. Without pausing I cut open my hand and handed back the knife. “Blood brothers. We’re never gonna hurt each other and we’re gonna save those like your ma, Nixon. Ones who can’t save themselves. We’re going to protect them.”

“How?” I watched as the blood dripped from my open palm.

“Rules.” Chase shrugged. “They keep people safe, right? At least that’s what my mom says.” He smiled. “We make rules and we start our own club. That way, we don’t have to listen to anyone but us.”

I liked it. I chewed on my lower lip. “What do we call ourselves?”

“The chosen?” Chase offered.

“No, that sounds lame. We have to sound… more powerful than that.”

My eyes flickered to the road, and a sign poked into the ground. It said election. “Elect.” I pointed. “Let’s call ourselves The Elect.” It made sense; after all, the president was elected, wasn’t he? We weren’t exactly chosen, but we were making the choice, we were electing ourselves protectors. That’s what we were.

“Who else can join?” Chase asked.

“Tex and Phoenix. They’ll want to.” A weight suddenly felt like it was being lifted off my twelve-year-old shoulders. “Should we shake on it?”

“Yeah.” Chase smashed his hand against mine as our blood mixed. “No going back, Nixon.”

“No.” I shook my head. “No going back.”

 

I pressed my fingers to my temples and watched, replaying that moment over and over again in my head as the outline of Chase and Tracey flickered in the moonlight. Would he really do this to me? After all the shit we’d been through?

I gauged her reaction, hoping that I would be wrong. Praying to God that Trace would just this once listen to me. Her eyes flickered with interest for a few brief seconds before she looked down at the ground.

“Shit.” I waited in the shadows. A part of me knew this would happen. The part that told me to damn my feelings to hell and ignore all the warning signs that I’d been seeing. But now it seemed like it was too late. I stayed, planted where I was, watching, waiting.

“Chase, you can’t…” Trace shook her head. “You can’t be like this. We can’t do this!”

“We aren’t doing anything,” Chase said in low tones, reaching for Trace’s hand. “Don’t you?” He looked directly at me, although all he saw was a shadow. I knew I was well hidden. “Don’t you feel the same way?”

Trace jerked her hand away from Chase’s. “It doesn’t matter what I feel. It’s not about me, Chase.”

“But it is.” Chase reached for her again. This time her hand grasped his in such an intimate embrace I thought I was going to vomit all over the ground. The outside air was cold as hell as little pieces of ice tried to find their way into my wool coat.

“It isn’t.” Trace sighed. “It never was.”

Chase jerked her toward him. She fell against his chest and looked up into his eyes. “What are you doing?”

Chase sighed. “What I should have done a long time ago.” He grabbed the back of her head and pulled her in for a kiss. Their lips touched.

I had to look away.

The only sound in the night was that of my soft footsteps as I walked away… leaving my heart in broken pieces where I’d last stood. She was lost to me; it wasn’t even the Sicilians that had taken her, but my best friend.

A gunshot rang out loud and clear in the night air. I turned back around just in time to see Trace collapse into Chase’s arms.

Michel’s Review

The Eagle Elite series by Rachel Van Dyken is one of the most intense and riveting series I have read.  This series portrays the life in the Mafia hierarchy.  The new generation is taking over.  They are determined to carry on the family legacy but also change the way things are done.  It is their time to rule.  Their legacy is about Family.  Family always comes first no matter what.  This new generation will pay the costs, sacrifice their own happiness, and turn their backs on the possibility of that once in a lifetime love.  Family comes first.

Elect is the sequel to Elite.  It is not a stand alone novel.  I can guarantee once you have read Elite you will be opening Elect to find out what happens next.  This intense story of Nixon Abandonato’s rise to power.  He has taken over the Abandonato’s leadership over the five families.  He has inherited his father’s enemies.  He has made enemies of his own. He has fallen in love with his family’s number one rival.  The granddaughter on one of the most powerful families.

Nixon inherited an old family rivalry that somehow does not add up.  He has fallen in love with the enemy’s golden princess, Tracey Rooks.  The corruption and struggle for power among the families has made Tracey a target.  He will have to sacrifice their relationship to appease his enemies and keep her safe.  He willingly hands her over to his most trusted confidant, his best friend and cousin.  He trusts Chase Winters to keep Tracey safe and take care of her as he would.  He wants him to pretend to be in a romantic relationship with her.  He purposely pushes Tracey into Chase’s arms.

Chase Winters has been secretly in love with Tracey since the moment he met her.  When Nixon hands her over on a silver platter he tries to honor Nixon’s feelings.  Chase has always made sacrifices for his family.  He has always been second in the family.  Now that he has Tracey in his care, he may take this opportunity to finally be the one who comes first.  He may betray the man he loves like a brother for the woman that makes him feel alive.

Nixon plans to get to the bottom of this treachery and punish his enemies.  It may cost him his life.  It has already cost him the woman he loves.  It’s the price he will have to pay because family comes first.  He will destroy his enemies but he may make some new ones in the process.  He may lose his most trusted friend.  He may lose the woman he loves.  He may have to kill them both.

Elect is steamy, heart wrenching, and intense.  It keeps the reader’s on the edge of their seats.  The Eagle Elite series is one of my all time favorite series.  How can one not like men who have guns with their Wheaties, women that can throw a knife as fast as they can find a sale in Nordstroms, and love with an intensity that is just as gentle as it is fierce ?  This series is hot and I highly recommend these books.

EAGLE ELITE SERIES

Elite

Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

Elect

Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

Entice

Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

Elicit

Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

Bang Bang

Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

About Rachel Van Dyken:

Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she’s not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.

She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband and their snoring Boxer, Sir Winston Churchill. She loves to hear from readers! You can follow her writing journey at www.rachelvandykenauthor.com

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads