The Hidden Legacy series continues as Nevada and Rogan
navigate
a world where magic is the norm . . . and their relationship burns
hot.
WHITE HOT
Hidden Legacy #2
Ilona Andrews
Releasing May 30, 2017
Avon Books
The Hidden Legacy series by #1 New
York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews continues as Nevada and Rogan
navigate a world where magic is the norm . . . and their relationship burns
hot.
Nevada
Baylor has a unique and secret skill—she knows when people are lying—and she's
used that magic (along with plain, hard work) to keep her colorful and
close-knit family's detective agency afloat. But her new case pits her against
the shadowy forces that almost destroyed the city of Houston once before,
bringing Nevada back into contact with Connor "Mad" Rogan.
Rogan is a
billionaire Prime—the highest rank of magic user—and as unreadable as ever,
despite Nevada's "talent." But there's no hiding the sparks between
them. Now that the stakes are even higher, both professionally and personally,
and their foes are unimaginably powerful, Rogan and Nevada will find that
nothing burns like ice.
“My wife is dead.” His voice shook with barely controlled emotion. His eyes glistened. “She’s my light. She found me in the darkest time of my life and she saw something in me . . . She believed I could be a better man. I didn’t deserve her or the happiness we had. She loved me, Nevada. She loved me so much, in spite of my faults, and I was the luckiest man alive because when I opened my eyes in the morning, I saw her next to me. She had integrity. She was kind and intelligent, and she tried her hardest to do the right thing so this world would be a better place for our child to grow up in. She didn’t deserve this. She deserved to be happy. She deserved a full and long life. Nobody had the right to rob her of it.”
His face contorted with raw pain and grief. I was trying so hard not to cry. “I love her determination. I love her spirit. I’m proud to have been her husband. And now she’s dead. Someone took this wonderful—this truly beautiful—human being and turned her into a corpse. I saw her on the morgue table. She’s just . . . cold and lifeless as if she never was. Everything is gone except for our daughter and my memories. I have to strive to be the man she thought I was. When my daughter grows up, she’ll ask me why her mother was murdered and I’ll have to answer her. I have to account for my actions. I want to tell her that I found those responsible and I made sure they wouldn’t hurt anyone else.”
He brushed moisture from his eyes with a furious swipe of his hand. “Nobody else will do this. Her family doesn’t have the means, my family doesn’t care, and her employer might have murdered her. There is only me. Will you help me? Please.”
He fell silent. He was sitting here asking for my help and I couldn’t throw him out of my office. I just couldn’t. I remembered when Mom sold our house to pay for Dad’s bills. I remembered when we mortgaged the business and kept it from him, because it would’ve killed him faster than any disease. If someone I loved was murdered, I would do the same thing Cornelius did. He had nowhere to turn. If I slammed the door in his face now, I wouldn’t be able to look my reflection in the eye.
I reached into the top drawer of my desk and took out the blue new-client folder. I opened it so it faced him, placed it on the table, and wrote $50,000 in the margins on the front. “This is my retainer. This stays with the agency no matter what happens. It’s nonnegotiable.”
I used my pen to circle the bottom number on the right side. “These are our rates. This job is likely to be high-risk, so the top rate right here will apply. As you can see, it’s a daily and not hourly rate. Depending on the situation, I may have to charge you hazard pay or additional expenses. The retainer acts like a deductible. Once the amount billed to you exceeds it, you will make additional payments in installments of $10,000. After we’re done here, you may want to go to the bank and withdraw at least $20,000 in cash. We may have to bribe people . . .”
“Thank you.”
“This is a bad idea. Please reconsider.”
He shook his head. “No.”
I walked him through the privacy policy and had him sign all of the waivers. “What happens once we find whoever is responsible?”
“I’ll take care of things from there.”
“Meaning you’ll kill your wife’s murderer.”
“It’s the way Houses handle things,” Cornelius said.
“Well, I’m not a House. I’m a person with a family, and I respect and try to obey the laws of this country. I won’t hesitate to defend you or myself, but I won’t condone murder.”
“Understood,” Cornelius said. “How do we start?”
“I need to be able to speak to Matthias Forsberg. I need face-to-face time so I can ask him some questions. I can make the necessary calls tomorrow, but he’ll refuse to see me.”
“You don’t have the social status and you work for his competitor.” Cornelius nodded. “Matthias is an active participant in the Assembly. He never misses a session. Tomorrow happens to be December 15th. The session starts at 9:00 a.m.”
“I don’t have admission to the Assembly.” The Assembly was an unofficial executive body that governed the magic users at state and national levels. The Texas State Assembly met in Houston. A family had to have at least two Prime-caliber magic users in three generations to be considered a House and each House had a single seat. Technically the Assembly had no power within the US government, but, practically, when the Houses spoke in one collective voice, both Congress and the White House listened.
“A family name has to be good for something, right?”
Cornelius smiled. It never reached his eyes. They stayed bitter and haunted. “As a Significant and a scion of a House, I’m free to attend the Assembly and bring a companion of my choice. I intend to be an active participant in this investigation, Ms. Baylor.”
“Call me Nevada,” I told him. “Good. Then we’ll meet here tomorrow at seven.”
White Hot is the first Ilona Andrews book I've read and yes, I realize that it's actually the second book in the Hidden Legacy series, but I thought it was the first. Ilona Andrews has been on my radar for awhile now and sometimes when I decide to read an author, I don't do things like read a synopsis before I just dive into one of their books. That's what happened with White Hot and although I should be better and make sure I do go in order and check out the blurbs, in this case it worked out truly spectacularly. White Hot completely blew me away and I wholeheartedly loved it!
Even though we don't get Rogan's point of view, I did love him. He's sexy and sly and can be quite the charmer when he wants to be. Rogan can be cold and hard at times, but it's not hard to see that he has a soft, caring side too. He's protective of his people and especially Nevada. I have to say that Nevada is my favorite, but I'm very fond of Rogan and I can't wait to see more of him again!
The heroes usually end up being the character I love the most, but Nevada was no question the star of the show. She's one strong, tough woman who can kick butt and take names, can take care of herself and her family, and she has an iron will. If I'm being honest, a lot of the females in this book are just as strong and admirable as Nevada and it is one of the things I love most about White Hot. I was talking about Nevada though and while there are many things I could tell you about her, I will end it with the fact she is loyal, honorable, incredible, and I just loved her!
From the moment I started reading White Hot, it drew me in and captured my attention. It was utterly fascinating, intriguing, and complex. It was full of action and there was so much meat and bones to this story that there was never a dull moment. It kept me on the edge of seat, flipping the pages as fast as I could. I felt everything from heartache and fury to amusement and happiness. White Hot was truly a book that I never wanted to stop reading while at the same time I was eager to reach the end and have my questions answered. It was an outstanding read and I can't wait to go back and read the first book and then read the next one!
White Hot is the second book in the Hidden Legacy series and you should read the books in order. It's told from Nevada's POV and while Nevada and Rogan are together, you will definitely be excited to see where Ilona Andrews takes us next on this journey!
~ Sonja, 5 Stars
Start the Trilogy at the beginning
“Ilona
Andrews" is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing
team. Ilona is a native-born Russian and Gordon is a former communications
sergeant in the U.S. Army. Contrary to popular belief, Gordon was never an
intelligence officer with a license to kill, and Ilona was never the mysterious
Russian spy who seduced him. They met in college, in English Composition 101,
where Ilona got a better grade. (Gordon is still sore about that.) They have
co-authored two New York Times and USA Today bestselling series—the urban
fantasy of Kate Daniels and the romantic urban fantasy of The Edge—and are
working on the next volumes for both. They live in Texas with their two
children and many dogs and cats.
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