The Bloodstone Brooch

Former Navy SEAL meets childhood crush in 1896 New York CityWhere danger lurks, romance blooms, and old wounds surface...Former Navy SEAL Tavis Stuart knows he has a lot to be thankful for. His son, Joseph, is bright and healthy, and they’re living an extraordinary life with a community of friends who have shared many of the adventures Tavis can never discuss with regular people like his brother Mark. But Tavis still grieves for his sweet wife, who died in childbirth, and his frustration and sadness are like an itch he can’t reach.So when his estranged mother, Samantha Stewart, calls on Christmas night to ask for his help he says no until she tells him her goddaughter and Tavis’s childhood best friend, archaeologist Aislinn Kennedy, has gone missing. Then when Samantha tells him Aislinn disappeared from the museum in Rome where she was working on a Greek and Roman treasure found in a North Dakota cave, he agrees to help.After consulting with Elliott Fraser, Tavis calls Gabe Moretti, a family member managing MacCorp Wineries in Italy. Gabe breaks into the museum, reviews the security tape, and discovers Aislinn found a Celtic brooch inside an artifact and disappeared in a fog. Now the clan must figure out where she went.Aislinn Kennedy is immersed in a challenging project in Rome. While examining a white marble steatopygous from 4500 BC, she discovers an ancient brooch hidden inside the fertility figure. The brooch has a stunning bloodstone in the center engraved with a Gaelic chant. When she reads the chant aloud, she is immediately surrounded by a peat-smelling fog that takes her on a whirligig trip through space.When she emerges from the fog, she’s in New York City in 1896, where she befriends banker Solomon Loeb, who introduces her to Police Commissioner Teddy Roosevelt. No sooner does she accept a job to work as Roosevelt’s secretary than she is reunited with Tavis, rekindling feelings they had for each in high school.Aislinn is ready to go home, but they can’t leave until they find three mysterious objects, which are also being hunted by an ancient, evil enemy set on destroying the MacKlenna Clan. It is possible the objects can’t be found, even with the expert help of two world-renowned archaeologists. And if they can’t be found, the members of the clan will never be safe again.This story contains violence, sexually explicit scenes, and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers.