Watch Out! This Means War! The Crimelords' War by Liza O'Connor

Meet the Pups

In Xavier & Vic’s home there are three living creatures who are referred to as ‘the pups’. While Xavier often calls Vic a ‘pup’ it’s always singular. The ‘pups’ are a pack albeit they do tend to bite the largest, but sweetest of the pack, so Sara has been keeping Ham away from the other two since they’ve gone feral.
And why have they gone feral? Well, first the Wolf man left and went to live with Royalty. They were most fond of the furry fellow. Then Tubs got shot and Sara stopped taking care of them. Instead, she now spends all her time trying and failing to make Tubs well. Last week Dr. Connors warned Sara he didn’t believe Tubs would make it, but she refuses to accept that her fabulous Tubs will die. He is the strongest man in the world, he cannot die. He can’t!
While Sara struggles to keep Tubs alive, Delia, who doesn’t like the pups, is given the task of carrying for them: Cannon, Xavier’s & Vic’s child, who is nearly two-years-old and should be trying to walk by now, only he stubbornly refuses to even try and Arroo, who has been fighting with Cannon for top pack dog since he was brought home. He evidently believes because he is actually a dog, he should lead the pack, but Cannon adamantly disagrees. While they love each other, neither is ready to cede control to the other.

​And where is Vic? Well, she’s been avoiding Tubs over the guilt she feels when he took three bullets meant for her. But her butler parent puts his foot down in the excerpt below, forcing Vic to face her responsibilities…

Chaos abounds in Late Victorian England. Xavier goes off on a mission without Vic because her protector, Tubs, is not well enough to keep Vic from harm right now. In fact, Tubs is dying and the doctor doesn’t expect him to live for more than a week. Upon discovering Tubs’ dire situation, Vic sets about rescuing him instead.
Good thing too. To all appearances the two strongest crime lords of London have declared war on each other. Only the two attempts on Vic’s life tells her this is all a clever plot by a third party—worse yet, a female villainess.
To stop the crime lords from destroying one another, leaving their territories open to the Russian spy, she must bring Seth and Samson together, share what is really going on, and get them to agree to work against this third party. Not an easy task since Seth Sojourn thinks Vic is nothing but a foolish sop. Unfortunately, Xavier has gone missing, so it’s up to her to convince the angry crime lord that her plan is best. Otherwise, this villainess will kill everyone who gets in her way and bring England to its knees.

“You agree with what Xavier did?” Vic yelled.
“No,” Gregory stated firmly. “But I understand why he did it.” He sighed heavily then sat down in a chair. “I wish he would have spoken to me first, for I fear his plan is doomed to fail.”
She nodded in agreement, but then worried Gregory’s reason for failure was not hers. “Why?” she asked.
“Because I do not believe Tubs will ever recover sufficiently to resume his duties.”
Vic felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. “No…he has to get better. Sara and Ham need him. I need him.”
Gregory’s brow furrowed. “Then let us hope I am wrong.”
“Why do you think he won’t recover?” she asked softly, hoping she could find fault in his reasoning.
“Since he came home, he has made no improvement. He simply lies in bed playing with his son. Sara has tried to get him to rise and walk to the bathroom, but instead he continues to use a bedpan, which given his size is not optimal. Nursing him as become a full time job for Sara and a part time job for Casey and Fagan. They have to lift him from his bed so Sara can clean the linens.”
Now she knew why Cannon and Arroo were being so difficult these days. “Sara is no longer caring for the pups?”
“No, she hasn’t the time. Caring for Tubs is a full time job.  I have given Delia full responsibilities of the pups…”
Vic opened her mouth to complain, but Gregory never gave her a chance to voice it
“But that is not working to my satisfaction. The pup and Cannon require a firmer hand.” He sighed. “Yours.”
Her temper rose. Was she to be nothing more than a trainer to pups now? Had her value fallen with the loss of Tubs to nothing but an ordinary mother?
“At least until I can find someone capable of being a firm trainer for the dog and a proper nanny for Cannon.” He sighed heavily. “Unfortunately, Cannon’s propensity to bark and growl is making this a difficult hire.”
“I thought we had broken him of both habits?”
Gregory raised his right eyebrow. “He’s regressed, which you should know. Why haven’t you noticed?”
She grimaced. She had thought on several occasions that there seemed to be an echo to her own growling. She stood up from the bed. “This is all my fault. My guilt for Tubs taking my bullets is the source of both my pups’ bad behavior and Tubs’ lack of improvement. I will see both corrected at once.”
The relief in Gregory’s eyes shamed her. He rose and kissed her forehead. “Thank you. Fixing those you love is far more important than chasing after Xavier in the middle of the night.”
“His mission was vital to the safety of the country,” she chided.
“And your mission is vital to the wellbeing of your family. In my opinion, that is far more important. There are probably a hundred men who could do whatever Xavier is doing, but there is no one but you who can motivate Tubs to get out of his bed. Nor can anyone else teach your son to grow up into an admirable young man. Without you, Tubs will succumb to pneumonia and die within the year. Meanwhile Cannon will turn into a feral dog and suffer a fate worse than Richard the werewolf.”
She almost objected that Richard was not a werewolf, merely a man with unruly hair follicles, but silenced her tongue. His point remained valid. If Cannon persisted in behaving like a dog, he would suffer ill-treatment much like Richard had.

The CrimeLords’ War
Book 7
Free with Amazon Kindle Unlimited
 
Need to catch up?
Book 1
The Troublesome Apprentice
Book 2
The Missing Partner
Book 2.5
A Right to Love
Book 3
The Mesmerist
Book 4
Well Kept Secrets
Book 5
Pack of Trouble
Book 6
The Darkest Days
All Xavier & Vic books are Free with Amazon Unlimited
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Liza O’Connor was raised badly by feral cats, left the South/Midwest and wandered off to find nicer people on the east coast. There she worked for the meanest man on Wall Street, while her psychotic husband tried to kill her three times. (So much for finding nicer people.) Then one day she declared enough, got a better job, divorced her husband, and fell in love with her new life where people behaved nicely. But all those bad behaviors has given her lots of fodder for her humorous books. Please buy these books, because otherwise, she’ll become grumpy and write troubled novels instead. They will likely traumatize you.
You have been warned.
Mostly humorous books by Liza:
Ghost Lover--Two British brothers fall in love with the same young woman. Ancestral ghost is called in to fix the situation. And there’s a ghost cat that roams about the book as well. (Humorous Contemporary Romance)
Saving Casey— Cass wakes up in the body of a troubled teen who has burned every bridge imaginable. Her only choice is to turn this life around, but that’s much harder than she ever imagined.
Untamed & Unabashed--The youngest of the Bennet sisters, Lydia, tells her story. A faithful spinoff from Pride & Prejudice.
A Long Road to Love Series: (Humorous Contemporary odd Romance)
Worst Week Ever — Laugh out loud week of disasters of Epic proportions.
Oh Stupid Heart — The heart wants what it wants, even if it’s impossible.
Coming to Reason — There is a breaking point when even a saint comes to reason.
Climbing out of Hell — The reconstruction of a terrible man into a great one.
The Hardest Love — Is to love oneself. Sam’s story.
The Adventures of Xavier & Vic Sleuth series: (Late Victorian/Mystery/Romance)
The Troublesome Apprentice — The greatest sleuth in Victorian England hires a young man who turns out to be a young woman.
The Missing Partner — Opps! The greatest sleuth in Victorian England goes missing, leaving Vic to rescue him, a suffragette, and about 100 servants. Not to mention an eviscerating cat. Yes, let’s not mention the cat.
A Right to Love — A romantic detour for Jacko. Want to see how amply rewarded Jacko was when he & Vic save an old woman from Bedlam?
The Mesmerist — The Mesmerist can control people from afar and make them murder for her. Worse yet, Xavier Thorn has fallen under her spell.
Well Kept Secrets — The problems with secrets is that they always come to light, no matter how you wish to silence them.
Pack of Trouble — Changes are a part of life, but these changes almost kill Vic.
The Darkest Days — Muddled cases make Vic very grumpy.
The CrimeLords’ War — Vic is almost killed twice as she tries to prevent a CrimeLords’ War and stop a female Russian spy from killing Xavier. ​

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT
LIZA O'CONNOR
Investigate these sites:
Liza's Blog and Website   Facebook   Twitter
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Guilt.. it will eat you up inside. It will send your life down the toilet. Luckily, Vic realizes where her family is going before they end up in the commode. She was letting the world fly by her, not seeing the pain everyone was in. But when she wises up... she sets out to save Tubs, reform the Pups and find Xavier who is missing once again. 

Ms. O'Connor once again returns to England where crime is rampant. Vic has more freedom as a man but sometimes uses her feminine skills to nab crooks or in the case, the heart of a Crimelord. I enjoyed how Vic stands up for herself and the family dynamics she's created. 

Unfortunately for me, I couldn't put the book down which left me reading into the early morning hours in an effort to find out what happens next. And I'm not going to spoil it... but the ending packs a punch! Grab your copy and block out some time for yourself! (even if you haven't read all the books in the series, like me, you will still love this book!)