EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT: Burning Justice by Tee O’Fallon

Are you itching for chemistry? Suspense? Action? Romance? Dogs? Then we have the perfect next read for you. Burning Justice by Tee O’Fallon is set to release August 22, 2023 and we have a sneak peak for you! Want to ensure your copy? Be sure to pre-order today.

Brett stared at the cans. Gasoline was the universal accelerant of choice for an arsonist, so why use MEK? Because it was readily available on the warehouse shelves? Maybe. Or because the arsonist was familiar with it, knew exactly what kind of damage it would do? Most arsonists found a method they liked, then stuck with it.

MEK had also been the culprit at the Torrance Lane fire. For various reasons Brett disagreed with, arson had been dismissed as the cause. Despite that determination, to this day, he still suspected arson. Since then, he’d followed up on every single fire in Colorado Springs, to the detriment of his personal life and his sanity. Somewhere out there was the missing piece of evidence he was convinced existed to prove that fire was arson. Until he found it, he’d never give up, never stop searching, and never find peace.

“What’s with the rope?” Gemma pointed to pieces of singed rope dangling from stacks of burned, blackened lumber. “Trailers?”

“Yeah.” Brett nodded. “Fire always tells you where it came from. Before they burned, those pieces of rope probably ran all the way to the sofa. That way, he could be sure the fire would hit whatever was on the shelves.”

Telling them whoever set this fire wanted to make sure it destroyed as much of the contents as possible. Maximum destruction. Brett looked around at what little remained of the shelving and warehouse stock. The arsonist had pretty much accomplished his goal.

“This way.” Downing went ahead, sidestepping a pile of debris and a row of collapsed metal shelving.

Gemma followed, skirting the same debris, but her shirt caught on a piece of jagged metal sticking out from the damaged shelf. She uttered a soft cry, then started falling. Headfirst.

Brett lunged, wrapping one arm around her waist, then scooping her up against his chest the same way a groom would carry his bride over the threshold. “I’ve got you.”

Her chest heaved against his. She was small and curvy, fitting perfectly in his arms. Somehow, in the midst of all the residual smoke and chemical smells in the air, Brett breathed in something pretty and sweet.

For an infinitely long moment, their gazes met and held. Something seemed to sizzle between them. A spark of electricity.

She pushed at his chest, her hand searing an imprint straight through his shirt to his skin. “Thanks, but um. You can put me down now.”

“Uh, right.” He released her legs, letting her body slide down his to a standing position.

“Hey, back here.” Downing waved them over to a corner of the warehouse, where he pointed to the floor.

Before Brett could identify what the firefighter was pointing to, he smelled it. The sickly scent of burned hair and flesh. The body was charred beyond recognition. No remaining hair or identifiable facial features.

He blew out a breath. This wasn’t what he’d been expecting. The charges had just changed. Drastically.

For this fire, Gavin Aldrich would be charged with arson and now…

Felony murder.

Some cases are hot enough to kill.

After narrowly surviving a childhood fire that killed two of his friends, ATF Special Agent Brett Tanner knows what it’s like to get too close to the flame. The trauma only spurs him and his K-9 partner to track down the arsonists targeting a Colorado town. This latest warehouse blaze looks suspicious as hell…and there’s a body. Now it’s murder.

Fiercely independent insurance investigator Gemma Scott has been burned enough times to know she doesn’t need anyone—especially a handsome agent with an agenda. Teaming up with the hardened and determined ATF agent means not just trusting her instincts…it also means trusting him.

Now they’re racing against an arsonist with a lethal agenda—one who’s willing to burn and kill to hide the evidence. But the killer is only part of a larger mystery. And the searing attraction between Gemma and Brett adds fuel to an already dangerously lethal fire. One that will smoke out a killer…along with Brett’s darkest secret.

Ready to dive in to K-9 Special Ops? Find out where to get book one here, and pre-order book two today.

Tee O’Fallon is the author of the Federal K-9 Series and the NYPD Blue & Gold Series. Tee has been a federal agent for twenty-three years and is now a police investigator, giving her hands-on experience in the field of law enforcement that she combines with her love of romantic suspense. When not writing, Tee enjoys cooking, gardening, chocolate, lychee martinis, and spending time with her Belgian Sheepdogs Loki and Kyrie. Tee loves hearing from readers and can be contacted via her website https://teeofallon.com where you can also sign up for Tee’s newsletters.