Virtual Book Tour ~ Kill Game (Seven of Spades #1) by Cordelia Kingsbridge (Excerpt+Giveaway)

Virtual Book Tour ~ Kill Game (Seven of Spades #1) by Cordelia Kingsbridge

Thanks for checking out the blog tour for Kill Game, the first book in the Seven of Spades series!

In poker, a “kill game” is a fixed-limit game in which the stakes are suddenly doubled when a player triggers certain conditions. As our heroes Levi and Dominic hunt for the vigilante serial killer Seven of Spades, the stakes have never been higher.

About Kill Game

Homicide detective Levi Abrams is barely holding his life together. He’s reeling from the fallout of a fatal shooting, and his relationship with his boyfriend is crumbling. The last thing he’s prepared for is a serial killer stalking the streets of Las Vegas. Or how he keeps getting thrown into the path of annoyingly charming bounty hunter Dominic Russo.

Dominic likes his life free of complications. That means no tangling with cops—especially prickly, uptight detectives. But when he stumbles across one of the Seven of Spades’s horrifying crime scenes, he can’t let go, despite Levi’s warnings to stay away.

The Seven of Spades is ruthless and always two moves ahead. Worst of all, they’ve taken a dangerously personal interest in Levi and Dominic. Forced to trust each other, the two men race to discover the killer’s identity, revealing hidden truths along the way and sparking a bond neither man expected. But that may not be enough to protect them.

This killer likes to play games, and the deck is not stacked in Levi and Dominic’s favor.


Excerpt

Dominic tossed a small Ziploc bag onto the shared space between their desks. It contained a single playing card, face-up to reveal the seven of spades.

“What the hell is this?” Levi said.

“You tell me. I found this on the windshield of my car last night. And that’s not the worst part.” Dominic flipped the bag over to show them the back of the card—and the smiley face that was drawn on it in black marker.

Levi’s chair screeched against the linoleum as he jerked backward. “Whoa,” Martine said, her eyes wide.

“Is this from the killer?” Dominic folded his arms across his chest. “Did they leave this for me? Are they watching me?”

His voice was strained with tension, as if he was just barely holding his shit together. Levi and Martine held a brief, silent exchange that was all significant glances and microexpressions, in which he pleaded for her to take over and she emphatically refused. Levi knew why—Dominic was addressing them both, but only because he was too polite to ignore Martine when she was sitting right there. His body language made it clear he’d come here seeking Levi.

Yielding to the inevitable, Levi stood and picked up the plastic bag. “Let’s go somewhere more private.”

He took Dominic to a comfortably furnished interview room, one of the spaces where victims and bereaved relatives were questioned. While Levi took a seat at the table in the middle, Dominic stayed on his feet, pacing up and down the length of the room. Levi didn’t dissuade him; better he worked off his nervous energy this way than find a more destructive outlet.

“I saw the Review-Journal this morning,” Dominic said, before Levi could get out any questions. “You’re giving this freakshow a name now?”

“That wasn’t my decision.”

Dominic made a frustrated noise and jammed his hands into his jacket pockets. Levi found his body shifting into a fighting stance in his chair, ready to spring up at a moment’s notice. Being confined in a small space with an obviously agitated man of Dominic’s considerable size and strength was kicking his training into gear, even though he was confident that Dominic would never threaten him physically.

“You found the card last night,” Levi said. “That’s before the news broke, so it wasn’t a copycat.”

“No. It had to be either the killer themselves or someone in the police department.”

“A practical joke, maybe?” Levi had to raise the possibility even if he didn’t believe it himself. “Someone who knew you were the one who found Goodwin and wanted to freak you out?”

Dominic scowled at him. “I was driving a friend’s car, not my own truck, and it happened at a gas station I’ve never been to before, after I’d been out driving for hours nowhere near where I live or work. Whoever did it had to have been following me to find me there.”

“Not necessarily. Did you check the car for a GPS tracker?”

Dominic stopped short in his pacing, closing his eyes as he rubbed a hand down his face. “No. It didn’t even occur to me that . . . shit. I have to warn Carlos—”

“Dominic,” Levi said, and waited for Dominic to open his eyes before continuing. “What were you doing last night when this happened?”

The guilty expression that flashed across Dominic’s face told Levi he was on the right track. Whether Dominic had been followed in person or tracked via GPS, that was too much effort for someone to go to for a practical joke, especially since he hadn’t been driving his own car. It had to have been the killer, and they wouldn’t waste their time unless Dominic was some kind of threat.

After a small moment of hesitation, Dominic pulled a larger Ziploc bag out of his jacket pocket and placed it on the table. This one was crammed full of baggies of white powder and vials of clear liquid.

Levi pressed his hands to either side of his face, staring at the bag while he struggled to retain his composure. “Are you fucking insane, bringing this much ketamine into a police station? What were you thinking?”

“I’ve been trying to trace the flow of ketamine in the city. It required a few purchases.”

“You realize I could arrest you for this.”

“Do it if you’re going to,” Dominic said impatiently.

Levi propped his elbows on the table and buried his face in his hands for a few seconds. Then he raked his hands through his hair and looked up. “Just put them away, and give me your word that you’ll destroy them as soon as you leave.”

“Consider it done.”

Now available from Riptide Publishing. http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/kill-game

About the Seven of Spades Series

Las Vegas has never seen a serial killer like the Seven of Spades.

The self-styled vigilante is on a mission to cut down the wicked and treacherous, and Sin City has no shortage of targets for their bloody wrath. What happens in Vegas . . . ends with the Seven of Spades’s calling card on a grisly corpse.

Standing against the killer are Levi Abrams, a dedicated homicide detective locked in a constant struggle to restrain his own dark side, and bounty hunter Dominic Russo, a charming rogue with a heavy secret weighing on his shoulders.

The hunt for the Seven of Spades sends Levi and Dominic on a collision course, igniting a passionate relationship forged in conflict and sealed with blood. Together they’re stronger than the sum of their parts, but a wily, elusive serial killer isn’t the only threat that will strain their bond to the breaking point.

Ante up, because the Seven of Spades is all in. Are you?

Check out the Seven of Spades series! http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/series/seven-spades

About Cordelia Kingsbridge

Cordelia Kingsbridge has a master’s degree in social work from the University of Pittsburgh, but quickly discovered that direct practice in the field was not for her. Having written novels as a hobby throughout graduate school, she decided to turn her focus to writing as a full-time career. Now she explores her fascination with human behavior, motivation, and psychopathology through fiction. Her weaknesses include opposites-attract pairings and snarky banter.

Away from her desk, Cordelia is a fitness fanatic, and can be found strength training, cycling, and practicing Krav Maga. She lives in South Florida but spends most of her time indoors with the air conditioning on full blast!

Connect with Cordelia:

• Email:  cordeliakingsbridge@gmail.com
• Tumblr: http://ckingsbridge.tumblr.com
• Twitter:  @c_kingsbridge
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Cordelia.Kingsbridge/

Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Kill Game, one lucky winner will receive a $15 Riptide credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on October 28, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!