Forget Me Not by Krys Rayne released in October in the romantic suspense genre.
Forget. Me. Not.
Finding those words highlighted in old newspaper articles at two grisly murder scenes sent shivers of unease prickling down criminal analyst Autumn Taylor’s spine. That seemingly simple sentiment allowed allowed memories buried in the past to claw their way to the surface, reminding her of when a vile individual held her life in his hands. Now, a fire is awakened within her to find the killer before the body count rises.
“Promise you’ll never join the life, Nico.”
The past has reared its ugly head for for defense attorney Nico Scala as his uncle, the head of an Italian syndicate, turns to Nico to find answers about his daughter’s brutal murder. Forced to straddle the moral line between law enforcement and the mob, Nico delves into the high-profile investigation. Hunting for the killer with Autumn, an unexpected attraction begins to develop between them.
As the past and present meld into a deadly threat, Autumn finds herself the target of a deranged sociopath once more. With danger closing in, her only choice is to rely on Nico for help. Still, she cant help but be suspicious of his true intentions. Can Autumn allow herself to trust Nico long enough to capture the Forget Me Not Killer? Or will the passion between them cause them to play into the murderer’s twisted plans?
Author’s Note: Please be advised this book is not appropriate for those under the age of 18. It is not for the faint of heart due to the nature of bloody crime scenes. There are also steamy sexy times, especially a hot Italian lesson. Read at your own discretion.
Nico leaned against the desk and crossed one heel over the other. He watched as officers brought handcuffed people through the bullpen. A couple of prostitutes sat petulantly in chairs as officers wrote their reports. Some hulking men were in the back Nico recognized.
And then, a woman dressed all in black with strawberry blonde hair walked with a tall, muscled African American man into an office on the other side of the bullpen.
It was as if he had tunnel vision as he stared at her. It was the first time he’d seen her in this police station. Was she a recruit? She couldn’t be. She’d had a special badge hooked onto the bottom of her shirt.
FBI?
“Here we go.” Bernadette set a thin file folder before Nico. “Not much yet. It’s only the beginning of the case. Mr. Casale should realize that being a criminal and all himself.”
Nico blinked back at Bernadette. He looked down at the file and opened it. He skimmed all the technical bullshit and frowned. “Is this accurate?”
The media had not given details of his younger cousin’s death, and now he knew why. A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Is this accurate?”
The officer let go of her stern expression. She leaned over the desk and spoke in a hushed tone. “It’s supposed to be on the down low. I heard it was terrible. There’s a rumor one of the criminal analysts had a freak out. Poor thing.”
He scanned the report more thoroughly. He stopped at the end. “It’s an ongoing investigation.” He slapped the cover. “I don’t know how good these criminal analysts can be when they can’t even find their suspect.”
“It’s a little more complicated than apprehending a known suspect.”
Nico glanced to the right, noticing the woman in black was now standing next to him. Her chin lifted, and he saw a scar down the side of her nose.
“Do you mind telling me how hard it is?” Nico’s smile was all teeth.
“There’s paperwork involved. Searching through similar cases and finding similarities. It’s not an open textbook kind of case.” If possible, the woman tried looking down her nose at Nico when he was a good head taller than she was.
“I’m assuming you’re one of these criminal analysts?”
“As a matter of fact, I am.” She eyed him up and down, then moved back to his face. “Who are you to question my expertise?”
“I’m Nico Scala.” His eyes moved to her mouth. As if he was watching her lips move, the woman licked her lips. Nico’s eyes moved to hers. Bright color stained her cheeks. “And your name would be…?”
“Check the report, I’m sure you know how to read, correct?”
One of Nico’s lips hitched up. Damn, this woman had a sharp tongue. He opened the file, his eyes still on her. He looked at the page where it gave the names of everyone involved in the case. “You must be Autumn Taylor.”
Autumn’s eyebrow rose, “So, the Lady Killer can read. Impressive.”
Nico gave her a full-fledged smile, “Among other things,” he murmured back to her.
Autumn’s eyes widened, then her eyelashes fluttered. Color pinched her cheeks again, and she looked away as she cleared her throat. “I’ll be back in a while, Bernie. Hererra has my number if he needs something.”
Nico had been so in tune with the woman in black- Autumn Taylor- that he forgot where he was.
“I’ll let him know, honey.”
Autumn didn’t give a backward glance.
Author Bio and Linktree
Krys Rayne lives in New England with her two cats, Chassity and Peanut. She has a degree in Anthropology and a degree in Paralegal Studies. Krys is an avid movie fanatic in addition to writing romance and is also an animal rights activist. She enjoys hearing from other writers and readers, you can reach out to her on Facebook, Goodreads, TikTok and her website, www.krysrayne.com.
The Story behind Forget Me Not
Do you really want to know how Forget Me Not came into being? Okay, I’ll tell you. 😉
I believe it was a little over fifteen years ago, I created my own characters for a written RPG group on Facebook. Yes, creating fake profiles on FB was a big no-no. I was one of the lucky ones who didn’t get my accounts taken down (I had around 30 when it was all said and done). There were two characters I totally adored, they were Jessica Thomas and Max Acer.
Jessica was a detective who had terrible childhood trauma and someone was stalking her in the RP. She was also afraid of men. Along comes Max Acer, a very hunky lawyer who was one of the nicest guys around (a little too nice, in my opinion). He liked Jessica and he helped her along with a particular investigation and by the end of the storyline, they got their HEA.
However, with all things, my RPG came to an end on FB. I was dealing with burnout since a lot of the people I was writing with got busy, had other things to do. I myself was going to school and I couldn’t dedicate myself to the writing anymore. So, I stopped and went back to dealing with ‘real life’.
Anyhow, I had some friends who told me, you should write these characters’ stories in a book! So it got me thinking a lot and then I found RomCritters, a critique group on Yahoo groups. Let me tell you, these authors were so amazing. They gave me ideas that I could work with and suggestions that were one hundred percent doable.
I think about ten years ago, is when the story was really bland. I was almost copying the RP storyline word for word and it just wasn’t cutting it. So the story evolved and I still wasn’t making waves. And then I changed it again. And again.
And again.
And the last draft was it.
The names changed to Autumn Taylor and Nico Scala. The professions didn’t alter too much. Autumn was still in the law enforcement field but instead of a detective, she turned into an FBI agent. However, after being able to get advice from a real life retired FBI agent, she turned into a crime scene analyst. On the flip side, Nico still remained a lawyer but a player or ladies man if you prefer.
So how did it turn into a mafia romance, you ask?
My mom’s family is Italian. My grandfather came from a small town called Lenola outside of Rome and my grandmother’s family came from Sicily. I wanted to incorporate some of my culture into the story and I think also because I was reading a lot of mafia romances and watching mafia movies.
So the Big Three, an Italian syndicate, in Forget Me Not, was born.
I could go on and explain a little more about all of the particulars came into being, but that is a post for another time. *wink*
I hope you enjoy Forget Me Not and if you do, don’t hesitate to write me a review!
MacKade 