Expedition Indigo by Stacy Allen
Riley Cooper
Series (Book 1)
Romantic Suspense
Cover Artist:
Jess Small
Publisher: Fiery
Seas Publishing, LLC
August
18, 2014
Blurb:
Archaeologist Riley Cooper is offered
the chance of a lifetime: a chance to find the Crux Fidelis, the coronation
cross of Charlemagne. Under Water Sea Adventures members believe they have
found the remains of the Indigo, a heavily laden cargo ship commissioned
by Charlemagne and presumed lost on its maiden voyage off the coast of southern
Italy in the early 800s. If Riley can find the cross, it will prove
Charlemagne’s coronation as the First Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III on
Christmas Day had not been a spontaneous act, but rather a desperate political
maneuver by a Pope in need of protection.
When Riley joins UWSA off the coast of
Sorrento, Italy, tensions and tempers fly as a competing team arrives in search
of the treasure and an approaching hurricane gains strength and heads straight
toward the dive site. And when one of the crew is murdered, Riley must find the
strength to fight back and keep the treasure out of the other team’s hands.
About the Author
Stacy’s
passion for adventure has taken her to five continents to explore over fifty
countries. Stacy also plays guitar and sings, when she isn’t traveling around
the world in search of new locales and new stories.
Stacy
served on the Board of Trustees of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association,
the Pacific Northwest Mystery Writers of America chapter, and currently serves
as Vice President of the Southeast Mystery Writers of America (SEMWA) chapter.
She is represented by Jill Marr of Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency. She lives
in Georgia with her husband and a very large house cat named Valentino.
Links
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Excerpt
The truck blocking the road
finally moved. The driver behind swerved out and around them. Niccolo threw his
hands up in annoyance and shoved the van into gear. He drove on, honking when
necessary and waving to people he knew.
“How are things going out there
on the Pandora? What’s your job? I’m sure it’s something important.”
“I’m a diver. I work, I lift, I repair. I do what I’m told to do,” he said, an edge of boredom to his response. “I’ve been working for Stefano for seven years. Someday he’ll learn I have more to offer.”
The bitter tone in his voice
tugged at Riley’s heart. “It must be difficult being the youngest.
That’s how I felt at the Vatican. I was just an intern,
and I was working for people who had spent years working there. The curators
made me feel like I didn’t have enough experience to be of much use. A
counselor told me it would teach me humility, and it was all part of being an
apprentice. There will always be someone who knows more and who does the job
better. Someone to answer to. Someone, regardless of their abilities, will get
more respect because they have more experience. Someday your brothers will
realize you are not just their baby brother. Someday they’ll see you as a man. Between now and then, have faith in
yourself and do the best job you can. Respect yourself, be true to yourself.
Decide to excel whether anyone is looking at you or grading you. You’ll know that you’ve done your best. You’re the only one you have
to impress. Only you know what you’re truly capable of, Niccolo.”
Niccolo
looked at Riley. “Please call me Nikki,”
he said, nodding and turning his eyes back to the road. He said nothing more as
they continued to Sorrento. He parked, and they removed luggage from the van,
two men with dark leathery skin coming to their aid. Riley followed Niccolo and
the men, carrying only her tote bag. The two men were telling Niccolo about a
fisherman who lost a net full of fish while trying to balance it across the bow
of his boat.
The speed boat Stefano promised
was waiting at the dock. Riley introduced herself to Roberto as he and Niccolo
loaded her luggage. They waved goodbye to the men, and Roberto started the
engine, which roared to life. Riley clutched the sides of the boat tightly.
Niccolo took over as captain, and if he piloted boats like he drove cars, she
expected a vigorous ride across the Bay of Naples.
They whipped across the dark
blue water, the cool foam flying up on both sides of the boat and misting Riley’s face. She could see Mt. Vesuvius majestically presiding over
Napoli, and in the distance, the island of Capri was nestled in the Azure
waters of the Mediterranean.
Her excitement rose as they
neared a large blue and white ship twenty minutes later. The boat bounced
through the choppy water, and she squinted to read the name in large blue
capital letters across the bow. So, this was the Pandora. She had arrived. Her breath caught in her throat
as she blinked, but the ship remained, blocking the sun and enveloping them in
shade as they came alongside a metal landing at the end of metal stairs that
led up to the deck. It became quiet except for the lapping water when Niccolo
turned off the small boat’s tiny, raging engine.
“Ciao, ciao. Siamo qui!” Niccolo yelled in a booming voice upward toward
the deck of the Pandora.
As the smaller vessel bobbed on
the swells, Riley took it all in, breathing in the fresh salt air and feeling
anxious. She glanced upward and saw men moving above them on the deck,
twenty-five feet off the water.
Niccolo reached out a hand to
her, his legs spread wide to maintain his balance in the bobbing boat. He
helped her to her feet, pointing with his free hand to step out on the platform
and head up the stairs. “I’ll get your bags. All of them.”
Riley hadn’t realized it was going to take such an enormous effort to get
her large bags on board, and it embarrassed her.
Niccolo waved her ahead with a
warm smile.
“Mille grazie,” she said to him before concentrating on the
bottom of the rocking boat and stepping over and around her luggage, gas cans,
tools, and coils of ropes. The gas fumes were making her lightheaded. She stood
for a moment to judge the distance from the edge of the boat to the landing,
then took a brave leap across the abyss and landed firmly on the metal plate.
She grabbed the handrail leading up the steep metal stairs and glanced backward
at the undulating swells she had jumped across.
How deep is this? she thought as she gazed at the seemingly endless
water. Deeper than the SCUBA pool, that was certain. Would she have the nerve
to step off into it and sink below?
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