By Laura Kaye
Hey everyone! I'd like to introduce you to Marco Vieri, the hero of my contemporary romance, Her Forbidden Hero, the first book in my Heroes series. Marco is one of my favorite characters I've written, maybe because there's a lot of me in him. Like Marco, I've also suffered from a traumatic brain injury (TBI) that left me with a long period of recovery, so I truly felt for his struggles in this book. Here's Marco at one of his more tortured moments, reflecting on the unexpected arrival to his small hometown of Alyssa Scott, his best friend's little sister and someone he helped protect when they were kids from her abusive father.
The
Scotts’ experience, wanting to stand up for other people who couldn’t stand up
for themselves—that’s what made him want to join the military. Now who did he
stand up for?
“Aw,
hell.” A headache flared up under his left ear. He sank to his knees and closed
his eyes, concentrating on the breathing exercises he’d been taught. In for
two. Out for two. Over and over until his head stopped swimming.
Opening
his eyes, he found himself kneading at his left arm, the one that had been torn
apart from bicep to wrist by a booby-trapped explosive he barely remembered. Surgeons
had rebuilt his arm as good as could be expected, especially since the nerve
damage was so extensive they’d initially doubted he’d have coordinated use of
his hand, but the tendon transplant never healed right. His fingers remained
weak, and his elbow was stiff as hell.
But
the shit with his brain was worse. It blanked out a big spot in his memory and
tormented him with haunting nightmares and frustrating apraxia, the occasional inability
to say a word and communicate his thoughts. And surgeons didn’t have a fix for
those.
All
of which gave him a one-way ticket to separation and retirement.
Do
not pass go.
Do
not collect two hundred dollars.
Marco
ripped the box open and removed the bottles, lining them up next to him. Seeing
Alyssa again made him feel trapped between two worlds but not fully a part of either.
In those few short moments they’d spoken, her very presence had pulled him back
in time to when he knew who he was and what he wanted. When he believed he
could do or be anything.
And
then she’d said how glad she was that he was home, and it was like a sucker
punch to the gut—because all he’d wanted for ten long months was to be back out
there, doing what he’d trained to do. Which was never going to happen.
Letting
go of that man and those dreams… He’d never find his way to being
okay with that.
On
a curse, Marco tossed the empty box behind him.
This
right here was the problem. Twenty minutes of Alyssa’s presence had him all up
in his head, thinking about things he really didn’t want to be thinking about. Stack.
Count. Beer. Wine. On tap. By the bottle. Red. White. These were the thoughts
he could handle. These were the thoughts he wanted to handle.
Not
how he could barely stand the sight of his own reflection.
Not
how he’d succumbed to the pain and weakness.
Not
how every fucking thing had changed.
And
sure as hell not how three deaths lay at his feet.
About Her Forbidden Hero:
You always want what you can't have...
She's always been off-limits...
Former Army Special Forces Sgt. Marco Vieri has never thought of Alyssa Scott
as more than his best friend's little sister, but her return home changes that...and
challenges him to keep his war-borne demons at bay. Marco's not the same person
he was back when he protected Alyssa from her abusive father, and he's not
about to let her see the mess he's become.
...but now she's all grown up.
When Alyssa takes a job at the bar where Marco works, her carefree smiles wreak
havoc on his resolve to bury his feelings. How can he protect her when he can't
stop thinking about her in his bed? But Alyssa's not looking for
protection--not anymore. Now that she's back in his life, she's determined to
heal her forbidden hero, one touch at a time...
There will ultimately be four books in the Heroes series, so stay tuned for more! Did you have a favorite line from the excerpt?
Thanks for reading!
Laura
