Blog Tour w/Giveaway: Across Borders by Lee Ducote

Today is my stop during the blog tour for Across Borders by Lee DuCote. Across Borders is a standalone romance book. This blog tour is organized by Lola's Blog Tours and runs from 28 June till 18 July. You can see the tour schedule here.

Across Borders
by Lee DuCote
Genre: Romance/ Crime
Age category: Adult
Release Date: February 21, 2016

Blurb:
In Across Borders, Lawson Caine, a seasoned Border Patrol agent, is stationed in Presidio Texas with legendary lawman Capt. James Garrett. Lawson, who is from a long linage of lawmen, has gained the respect and reverence from his team, Dale Chanson, Terry Bennet, and the crazy member, Alex Sweeny.

Lawson never expected anything to come between his dedication with the Border Patrol and his brotherhood with Sweeny until he meets local pharmacy owner, Lia Gonzales. Against her father’s wishes Lia continues to see Lawson not realizing the inevitable consequences.

In this story of protecting others on the border and the heartache of relationships you will find yourself in the lives of those who have sworn to uphold the law, no matter the cost.

You can find Across Borders on Goodreads

You can buy Across Borders here:
- Amazon
- Amazon paperback
- Barnes & Noble
- Kobo
- Smashwords

Excerpt:

Chapter 2

Sitting on a boulder, Cap carefully rolled his cigarette from the tobacco that was balancing on his leg in the leather porch handed down from his father. He pulled out a Zippo lighter and lit the freshly rolled cigarette, drawing in a deep breath of smoke. Exhaling toward the sky, he looked back down at his team, who were taking a mid-day break in their favorite swimming hole just south of Presidio. He smirked and made his usual sound, “huh,” with all the young men in their boxer briefs, all with the exception of one.

Alex Sweeny, the craziest one of the team, was baring all as he stood on a taller boulder antagonizing the men below by slapping his butt. “Here’s a full moon cannon ball!” he yelled, taking a running jump into the water.

“You’re such an idiot! Nobody wants to see you naked,” Dale yelled, splashing water toward Sweeny as he emerged. Dale was the youngest of the five team members and only a few months out of the academy, and his expressive, outspoken, chatty nature fit him in perfectly with the rest of the team.

“You’re just jealous because I’m ALL MAN!” Sweeny said, trying to wrap his arms around Dale. Dale did his best to fight him off while the others were laughing.

“Cap, you going to join us?” Lawson yelled up at the grey-haired, thick-leather-skinned man propped up against a boulder.

“Nah, I don’t swim with naked boys,” he yelled back down. Everyone laughed. Cap was set in his ways, but enjoyed the energy of the team that was placed under him. He took another drag and looked up at the sky, the sun beaming down on the red clay rocks as white clouds raced by. With sweat dripping off his forehead, Cap looked down at his watch. “Whatcha say? Give ’em another hour?” he asked a black Rottweiler that was lying in the shade under an overhanging rock. The dog looked up at Cap, panting and showing her teeth as if she understood.

Valentine was not your typical law enforcement dog; not many Rottweilers were made into patrol dogs, but she was special and never missed a command. Sandra, Cap’s wife, had rescued her as a pup and had full intentions of making her a house dog, but Valentine quickly fell in love with Cap and became his partner. It was February 14th when Sandra found her, and the name “Valentine” stuck.

“Come on, girl!” Sweeny yelled from the middle of the creek. Valentine lit out from under the rock and bolted toward the men with her tongue hanging out. Without missing a step, she soared into the water and swam toward Sweeny.

“Damn,” Cap whispered to himself. “She’s riding with you now,” he yelled down at Sweeny.

“Well, Probie, looks like you’re riding with a wet dog,” Sweeny said to Dale.

“I’ll dry her off,” Dale replied.

“Lawson!” Terry, the other agent, yelled from the edge of the creek with a football in hand. Lawson threw up his arms anticipating the pass, and Sweeny quickly swam over to intercept the incoming pass.

“It’s all you,” Lawson said, moving out of Sweeny’s way.

“Y’all are a bunch of little girls. I don’t have cooties,” Sweeny replied.

“Are you sure?” Dale asked.

“Shut-up, Probie,” Sweeny said, catching the ball.

“Cap! Heads up!” Sweeny yelled, then threw the ball in his direction. The pass came up short and hit the rocks below Cap and fell back into the creek. Everyone started laughing at his failed pass. “Oh, all you shut-up. The ball is wet.”

“Give it to me,” Lawson demanded. “Cap!” he yelled. Cap put his cigarette in his lips, knowing that Lawson wouldn’t miss his mark. The ball left Lawson’s hands with a tight spiral, shedding water and missiling toward Cap. Cap’s firm hands clinched the ball as it nailed him without moving. “Show off,” Sweeny said.

“It’s all in the arm.” Lawson curled his arm, making his bicep muscle flex.

Cap threw the ball back, and Lawson and Terry threw it back and forth half a dozen times. Terry was the quiet one of the bunch; he had been with the Border Patrol four years and lived with his wife, who was from Atlanta, Georgia. She had followed him to West Texas for his dream job, but lately had complained that she was melting in the heat and wanted to move back home.

“It’s a warm spot,” Sweeny exclaimed to the guys looking down at the water.

“It could be because Valentine is upstream from you,” Dale replied.

“Is my little girl peeing in the water?” Sweeny said in a baby voice, swimming toward the Rottweiler, who seemed to be relaxed in the water.

“Are we still grilling at your house tonight?” Dale asked Lawson while swimming toward the shore.

“Yep, you know what to bring?” he asked.

“The beer,” Dale replied in a lower tone.

“Aw, don’t worry, Probie, there’ll be another probie coming soon,” Sweeny said.

“They need to hurry; you guys are breaking me,” Dale answered.

“If you need me to buy, I will,” Terry said as Dale reached for his towel.

“No, I got it.”

A call came over the radio for the local BORSTAR team to help with the possibility of a stranded Mexican family found north of Presidio in a remote area. BORSTAR, the Border Patrol Search Trauma and Rescue team, was created in the mid-1990s to help with the growing number of migrant deaths along the border of Mexico and the US. Within the last few years, a large number of families were being led across the border, robbed, and left to die by their own countrymen. These evil individuals were given the nickname coyotes by the Border Patrol, and neither side had any mercy on each other.

Cap and his team were often called to aid the BORSTAR team and saw firsthand the cruelty and deceitfulness these coyotes had on innocent families. They had found men with their throats cut as their children witnessed and women raped and left to die with their children. The horror and evil left a hardened heart in the team members toward the coyotes and the smuggling lord who controlled them.

In the last few years, there had been an individual in Mexico that hired these low life’s to do his dirty work for him while he sat back and got rich. All the branches of law enforcement and military had been working hard to capture this smuggling lord, but had come up short in all extremes; only his name was known as Jose Emmanuel.

Dale and Terry made their way over to Sweeny’s truck with the door open and listened to the action unfold on the radio as BORSTAR made their way to the location.

“I hope when we catch Jose, they hang him like in the old days,” Dale commented.

“He’ll probably never make it to jail,” Terry said.

About the Author:
Well, I am a husband and father. We always have a house full of teens and college students, mostly Young Life kids. I love the outdoors, hiking, kayaking, stand up paddling, fishing, you know "man stuff" but I'm a sucker for chick flicks. I wrote Fields of Alicia, Waterproof, Across Borders, and the series Micah and have several other novels finished and in the making. And yes I am a raccoon lover, check out Tucker on my social media.

You can find and contact Lee here:
- Website
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Goodreads
- Amazon
- Instagram
- Grave Distractions Page

Giveaway
There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of Across Borders. One winner will win a 25$ amazon gift card.

For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:
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