Stronger Than Sin (32 page)

It had taken some discussion to go ahead with having a child, but both of them had known it was the right decision. Samples
of Jesse’s sperm had not shown contamination by the Wardwell DNA strains, but with the prospect of radiation therapy, sterility
was a risk.

Becoming pregnant hadn’t taken long, much to Jesse’s regret. She imagined that he wouldn’t have minded keeping her in bed
for far longer, not that she would have complained. Being with Jesse was… well, just amazing. Emotionally and physically.

And because they wanted to possibly have more children, they had stored away more of Jesse’s sperm for the future.

The future.

She had hopes it would be a long and happy one.

Bending, she kissed Jesse and whispered, “We will grow old together,
mi amor.
”

Beneath her lips she could feel his smile as he said, “Just as long as you never stop loving me.”

“Never,” she said and, with another kiss, left him alone in the treatment room.

In the viewing area, Carmen came over with a heavy lead apron and handed it to her. “No sense taking any chances,” she said,
and, together with Jackie, they stood at the window to watch as the tech began the series of irradiations to kill off the
hybrid bone marrow.

The apron dragged on her shoulders, much like the fear that despite all the favorable prognoses, Jesse’s condition would get
worse.

Sucking in a breath, she bit her lower lip as the
kathunk-kathunk
of the radiation unit signaled that it was working.

A moment later, Jackie and Carmen bracketed her and slipped their arms through hers, offering their support.

“It’s going to be okay,” Carmen said, and Jackie echoed the sentiment.

Their faith bolstered her sagging optimism, reminding her that she wasn’t alone. Outside in the hallway, the rest of her family
waited, along with Jesse’s mother.

Their family, she thought and reached beneath the heavy lead apron. She placed her hand over their baby. A child conceived
by their love, and inside of her hope chased away her fears.

They would grow old together, she repeated, certain in their love.

Certain that it was stronger than anything that would come their way.

M
en like Morales and Edwards possessed incredible vision, Bruno thought as he stared at the reports sitting on his desk.

But it took more than mere vision to change the world.

It took genius.

Many had possessed such genius in the past, he thought and flipped open the first report. Men like the Roman Caesars, Alexander
the Great, and Napoleon. Even those society looked upon as murderers—Hitler, Stalin, and Mao—had defied their own limits to
envision a different world created by their hand.

Bruno considered himself such a man, and so did the CIA.

It was why he was involved in the most delicate and complex of matters. The ones where either failure or success meant a possible
change in the way most people lived their lives.

Bruno grabbed the second and third reports and laid them out next to the first.

Each report contained information on a case solved and information acquired by the Firm. Separately they were interesting
in and of themselves, but put them together…

World-changing.

Edwards and Morales’s magnificent genetic engineering and mind control had been revolutionary.

Hiroto’s nanotechnology was cunning.

And then there was the adopted son he had called Adam. Nearly twenty years had gone by since he discovered Adam and his people.
Learned about all they could do. Coveted their abilities.

Bruno faced his computer and began melding the information from all three reports, preparing the documents necessary to create
the special project that would incorporate the most viable elements from all three into something amazing.

He worked through the night and into the morning, so caught up in his zeal that neither hunger nor fatigue registered.

And when Bruno was done, he gave it a name.

Genesis.

He already had Adam. He needed to find an Eve.

Once he did, a new race would arise and change the course of mankind.

Where authors give you the inside scoop!

From the desk of Roxanne St. Claire

Dear Reader,

I’m the youngest of five, a position of little power but great benefits. Yes, it meant I got the car floor on road trips (seriously,
the floor!) but that position also allowed me to reap the rewards of parental guilt for sometimes treating #5 as an afterthought.
On my tenth birthday, that meant the ultimate gift for a budding writer: a typewriter. I think I’ve had my fingers on a keyboard
ever since.

So when I decided to launch a new romantic suspense series, I knew I wanted to anchor the stories around a big family. I hoped
to translate the always-fascinating sibling dynamics into complex relationships and unforgettable characters. Since I married
into an Italian family, I’d been given a window into one of the most colorful of all cultures, and choosing that background
for my characters was a natural move. But this couldn’t be an ordinary Italian family, since I like extraordinary characters.
To work in my stories, they’d have to be fearless, protective, risk-taking, rule-breaking, wave-making heroes and heroines,
willing to take chances to save lives. Oh, and the guys must be blistering hot, and the ladies? Well, we like them a little
on the feisty side.

Thus, the Guardian Angelinos were born. They are the five siblings of the Boston-based Rossi family and their two Italian-born
cousins, Vivi and Zach Angelino. The security and investigation firm these two blended families form is
created in the first book, EDGE OF SIGHT. When soon-to-be law student Samantha Fairchild witnesses a murder in the wine cellar
of the restaurant where she works and the professional hit man has her face on tape, she seeks help from her friend, investigative
reporter Vivi Angelino. Sam gets the protection she needs, only it comes in the form of big, bad, sexy Army Ranger Zach Angelino…
who stole her heart during a lusty interlude three years earlier, then went off to war and never contacted her again.

I had fun with Zach and Sam, and just as much fun with the extended family of renegade crime-fighters. One of my favorite
characters is eighty-year-old Uncle Nino, who is grandfather to the Rossi kids and great-uncle to the Angelinos. He joins
the Guardian Angelinos with typical Italian passion and gusto, carrying a spatula instead of a Glock, and keeping them all
in ziti and good spirits. Oh, and Uncle Nino is a mean puzzle solver, a trait that comes in handy on some special investigations.
But what he does best is Sunday Gravy, a delicious, hearty meat dinner in mouthwatering red sauce that the family gathers
to enjoy at the end of a hard week of saving lives and solving crimes. He’s agreed to share his secret recipe, just for my
readers…

(Note: with one pound of pasta, this recipe serves six. Hungry heroes may want more to keep up their stamina, so feel free
to add homemade meatballs. Sorry, but Nino’s recipe for meatballs remains a family secret. Stay tuned for future books to
unlock that and many more mysteries.)

Dear Friends,

I want to thank you for the marvelous reception you gave to SINS OF THE FLESH! Your many letters and reviews were truly appreciated
and I hope you will enjoy this next book in the Sins series—STRONGER THAN SIN—even more.

From the moment that Mick’s sister, Dr. Liliana Carrera, walked onto the scene in the first book, I knew she had to get her
own story. I fell in love with her caring nature, her loyalty to her brother and her inner strength. There was no doubt in
my mind that any story where she was the heroine would be emotionally compelling and filled with passion.

Of course, such an intense and determined heroine demanded not only a sexy hero, but a strong one. A man
capable of great love, but who needs to rediscover the hero within himself.

Jesse Bradford immediately came to mind. Inspired by the many sexy surfer types I encounter on my walks along the beach, Jesse
was born and bred on the Jersey Shore. A former football player who had to leave the game he loves due to a crippling bone
disease, he is a man who has lost his way, but is honorable, caring and loyal. Jesse just needs to meet the right woman to
guide him back to the right path in his life.

Together Jesse and Liliana will face great danger from a group of scientists who have genetically engineered Jesse, as well
as the FBI Agents entrusted with his care. The action is fast-paced and will keep you turning the pages as you root for these
two to find a way to be together!

If you want to find out more about the real life Jersey Shore locations in STRONGER THAN SIN, please visit my website at
www.caridad.com
where you can check out my photo gallery or my Facebook page at
www.facebook.com/caridad.pineiro.author@Caridad
Pineiro!