Sunday. July 9, 2026 - See Previous Newsletters

I found another set of deleted scenes from Lust, Money & Murder 1, 2 & 3 which are similar to the Lie Detector Test scenes found last week and definitely worth publishing.

These are from Elaine and Nick's mission to Minsk, Belarus, where they are disguised as husand and wife and are there to track down counterfeiters.  At this point in the saga, Elaine has fallen head over heels for Nick, but he's shown no romantic interest in her.

This set of scenes is twice as long as the last - about a 30 minute read - so it's advisable to download them to your ereader or app from my store (free) here.

I will paste in the beginning here so you'll have a taste:

“How would you like to go on an undercover assignment with me to Minsk?” Nick asked.

“Sure,” Elaine said, trying to hide her excitement. “What’s the assignment?”

Nick explained it to her. He suspected that there was a small counterfeiting operation there and couldn’t get any cooperation from the Belarusian authorities, so he wanted to go investigate himself. “It would only be for a couple of days,” he added casually.

“That’s fine,” she said, struggling to hide her exhilaration. She wondered if he would want them to pose as a couple again. She actually felt herself becoming sexually aroused at the thought of holing up with him for a few days in a hotel in Belarus. Who knew what might happen?

“You’ll need a fake passport, of course,” he said. “What country do you want to be from? Are you any good at any particular accent?”

“Might yeh be gettin’ me a passport from Ayerland, so? Some say I do an Ayerish brogue that ain’t half bad.”

Nick burst out laughing. “That’s awesome! Are you Irish, or part Irish?”

“My great-great-great-great grandmother was an Irish Princess. She lived in a beautiful castle.”

Actually, what Elaine said was, “My father used to wander around muttering in an Irish brogue for fun. Brogan is an Irish name, but I don’t think he ever actually knew any real Irish people.”

“Oh. Well, I know some people who can make an Irish passport. These ex-Soviet bloc countries love the IRA.”

“Can’t you ask Washington to make one?”

“Takes too long. The black market is fast and we have a slush money account to use for things like that.”

* * *

When they flew to Minsk, the Belarusian capital, Nick traveled on a fake American passport in the name of David Crane. It listed his occupation on the landing form as “Engineer.” He told Elaine to write “Accountant” on her form. Her Irish passport was in the name of Fiona Connelly.

“We’ve been married five years, we live in London, and I work for British Petroleum. We have no kids. We’re here on vacation. Got it, Fiona?”

“Aye, David,” she said, smiling.

Elaine was so excited she could hardly contain herself. When they stepped out of the taxi and approached the hotel lobby, she mustered up the courage to take Nick’s hand.

He quickly let go, frowning at her.

“I thought we were supposed to be married,” she said, a little hurt.

“We are. Five years, Elaine. No married couple holds hands after five years.”

(Again, these scenes are too long to paste into an email, so please download the full set from my store so you can read on your ereader or app).

I hope you enjoy it. There are a few more nuggets of gold like this cut from the first draft and I'll post them soon.

Bye for now,

Mike

New! Lust, Money & Murder

Collector's LIMITED Edition

Specially Priced Digital Boxed Set

Whole Series in One File (Kindle or EPUB)

Have you read all my books?  

Lust, Money & Murder

Affordable Trilogy Boxed Sets

Lust, Money & Murder

Stand-Alone Novels

Outback Diamonds (LM&M #16)

Marilyn's Secret Liptstick (LM&M #17)

Mortal Silence (LM&M #18)

More 'Unputdownable' Books by Mike Wells
(Click on the photos for full synopses)

International Crime Thriller - Lust, Money & Murder (Series)
The deeper she goes, the more she risks becoming a criminal herself.

Crime/Psychological Thriller
If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Crime Thriller - The Drive-By Wife
Takes "home invasion" to an entirely new level.

Crime Thriller - The List
She doesn't forget. She doesn't forgive.

Crime Thriller/Serial Murders - With Mother's Approval
A mother's love is eternal. For some, it's lethal.

Romantic Suspense - Forbidden (Series)
Temptation has its price.

New Adult Sci-Fi Adventure - Wild Child (Series)
You don't choose the green water...the green water chooses you.

Horror/Black Comedy
Babies always know...and they don't forget.

Technothriller - The Tesla Secret
Unlocking Tesla’s free energy secret could power the world...or end their lives.

Technothriller - Blind Scorpion
He could walk away a hero...but for which country?

YA Sci-Fi Romance - The Mysterious Disappearance of Kurt Kramer 
Lost in between worlds, will his heart lead him home?

Romantic Comedy - Secrets of the Elusive Lover
He plays the field, but she changes the game.

Coming of Age Suspense - The Wrong Side of the Tracks
First love in the teenage hell known as high school.

. .