TOXIC TRUTHS · BOOK 2
Midnight Masquerade — Paperback
To stop a deadly trafficking ring, they must wear the mask of a couple in love—but the danger is real.
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Seventy-two hours. One auction. No extraction plan.
A romantic suspense where a CIA operative and an HSI analyst infiltrate a trafficking network hidden behind a charity gala.
CIA operative Dante Reyes has strict orders at the Turkish port: gather intelligence on the trafficking ring, do not intervene, and do not blow his six-month cover. Then the shipping container doors screech open. His former SEAL brother’s kidnapped sister stares at him through the darkness, and every order he was given means nothing.
He fails in his attempt to save her and carries the weight of that failure back to Virginia where his handlers ground him, reassign him to a domestic task force, and hand him the one case that puts him face to face with the woman he never stopped thinking about.
HSI analyst Lisa Harper has been following dirty money for weeks. Wire transfers. Shell companies. A charity called Liberation Trust connected to a polished anti-trafficking nonprofit hosting an annual masquerade gala in seven days. Every lead she pulls confirms the same ugly truth: the people profiting from human trafficking are hiding behind the cause of stopping it. And someone inside her investigation is leaking every move her task force makes.
When Lisa goes undercover on the dating apps the network uses to recruit victims, she walks deeper into the trap than anyone planned. Dante is the only backup she trusted enough to call. What they discover beneath the chandeliers of a Philadelphia ballroom will demand everything they have—including the faith neither of them is sure they can afford.
Dante carries his failures in a prayer journal and leans on scripture for strength. Lisa carries hers alone, because the last man she trusted with her faith used it against her family. Between them runs a mission that will cost everything, and a question neither can keep running from.
Midnight Masquerade delivers:
- Globe-spanning action from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean to Philadelphia
- A slow-burn enemies-to-partners romance that earns every heartbeat
- A faith journey grounded in real pain and hard-won grace
- High-stakes human trafficking investigation with ripped-from-headlines tension
- Christian romantic suspense that never preaches and never pulls its punches
Fans of Lynette Eason, DiAnn Mills, Irene Hannon, and Dee Henderson will find a new favorite in Elle E. Kay. Midnight Masquerade is for readers who want their romance dangerous, their faith tested, and their endings hard-won.
Looking for the ebook? Get it on Amazon.
Tropes
Second-chance reunion. Forced proximity. Faith-tested partners. Found family.
Tone
Pulse-pounding suspense with a slow-burn romantic anchor. Hopeful undertow even at its darkest.
Setting
Trabzon, Turkey. A Virginia handler office. A Philadelphia masquerade gala on the cusp of Thanksgiving.
Comparable Titles
For readers who loved Lynette Eason, Lisa Harris, and Susan May Warren.
Main Characters
Dante Reyes
CIA Operative
Six months deep in a Trabzon trafficking ring when his cover finally cracks. Carries the weight of the rescue he could not finish—and the second chance he never asked for.
Lisa Harper
HSI Analyst
Built a financial case the bureau wanted to bury. Tracks dirty money like a confession, and knows the man across the table from her was once the boy she would not stop praying for.
Order Midnight Masquerade — Paperback
Description
Seventy-two hours. One auction. No extraction plan.
A romantic suspense where a CIA operative and an HSI analyst infiltrate a trafficking network hidden behind a charity gala.
CIA operative Dante Reyes has strict orders at the Turkish port: gather intelligence on the trafficking ring, do not intervene, and do not blow his six-month cover. Then the shipping container doors screech open. His former SEAL brother’s kidnapped sister stares at him through the darkness, and every order he was given means nothing.
He fails in his attempt to save her and carries the weight of that failure back to Virginia where his handlers ground him, reassign him to a domestic task force, and hand him the one case that puts him face to face with the woman he never stopped thinking about.
HSI analyst Lisa Harper has been following dirty money for weeks. Wire transfers. Shell companies. A charity called Liberation Trust connected to a polished anti-trafficking nonprofit hosting an annual masquerade gala in seven days. Every lead she pulls confirms the same ugly truth: the people profiting from human trafficking are hiding behind the cause of stopping it. And someone inside her investigation is leaking every move her task force makes.
When Lisa goes undercover on the dating apps the network uses to recruit victims, she walks deeper into the trap than anyone planned. Dante is the only backup she trusted enough to call. What they discover beneath the chandeliers of a Philadelphia ballroom will demand everything they have—including the faith neither of them is sure they can afford.
Dante carries his failures in a prayer journal and leans on scripture for strength. Lisa carries hers alone, because the last man she trusted with her faith used it against her family. Between them runs a mission that will cost everything, and a question neither can keep running from.
Midnight Masquerade delivers:
- Globe-spanning action from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean to Philadelphia
- A slow-burn enemies-to-partners romance that earns every heartbeat
- A faith journey grounded in real pain and hard-won grace
- High-stakes human trafficking investigation with ripped-from-headlines tension
- Christian romantic suspense that never preaches and never pulls its punches
Fans of Lynette Eason, DiAnn Mills, Irene Hannon, and Dee Henderson will find a new favorite in Elle E. Kay. Midnight Masquerade is for readers who want their romance dangerous, their faith tested, and their endings hard-won.
Looking for the ebook? Get it on Amazon.
Additional information
| Weight | 0.374 kg |
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Director’s Commentary —2026 Carol Award Finalist
The masquerade gala scene was the spark for the whole book. I wanted a single night where every choice—who to trust, what to risk, when to break cover—mattered more than the six months Dante had already invested. The mask was never about Dante and Lisa pretending to love each other. It was about whether they could finally drop the masks they had been wearing since Carolina.