Taking over the world, one book at a time
Happy Release Day to all the authors who have releases today!!!
Author’s website:
Joanne Fluke ~ Gena Showalter ~ Terry Spears ~ Kerrelyn Sparks ~ Donna Grant ~ Eve Langlais ~ Delilah S Dawson ~ Tawna Fenske
Please forgive us if we missed any. If you have an upcoming release you want us to know about please fill out the form below.
TITLE: You Dropped a Blonde on Me
SERIES #: Ex-Trophy Wives Club #1
CHARACTERS: Maxine Cambridge & Campbell Barker
AUTHOR: Dakota Cassidy
PUBLICATION DATE: January 31, 2020
PREORDER LINKS: Amazon
BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Dear readers, PLEASE NOTE, this book and the subsequent series was previously published in 2010 by Berkley Publishing. The series has new covers with some some minimal changes and revisions. Essentially, there have been no significant changes. Please take care before mistakenly purchasing twice.
From pampered to pauper…
Maxine Cambridge, former high school beauty queen turned trophy wife, has officially been traded in for a newer, younger model. From a mini-mansion to her mother’s eight hundred square foot retirement village, Maxine and her teenage son Connor are left with nothing and life is looking pretty bleak for this one-time rich girl.
Maxine hasn’t worked in twenty years at being anything more than her very rich, very-soon-to-be-ex-husband’s eye candy and a stay-at-home-mom. She doesn’t know the first thing about making a livable income, but she’s going to find out as she scoops poop and hosts bingo night at her mother’s village.
In the midst of fighting her mad insecurities, getting her footing while wearing her mother’s hand me downs, and desperately looking for a way to support herself and her son, in walks Campbell Barker–former high school classmate–a one-time geek turned total smoke show.
Campbell gives her glimpses of who she used to be before she became someone’s dress up doll. Before she lived in a world that revolved around someone else’s opinion of her and he refuses to believe she’s no longer the vivacious, smart girl he once had a major crush on.
But the harder she fights the notion that the old Max is gone, the more she finds herself again and now she’s ready to take back what was once hers and fight for her new life!
Watch for our features of Burning Down the Spouse (bk2) and Waltz this Way (bk3) in the Ex-Trophy Wives series.
About Dakota:
Dakota Cassidy lives for a good laugh in life and in her writing. In fact, she almost loves a good giggle as much as she loves hair products and that’s saying something.
Her goals in life are simple, (like really simple): banish the color yellow forever, create world peace via hot rollers and Aqua Net; and finally, nab every tiara in the land by competing in the Miss USA, Miss Universe, and Miss World pageants, then sweeping them in a stunning trifecta of much duct tape and Vaseline usage, all in just under one week. Oh, and write really fun books!
Dakota lives in Oregon with her dogs and has a husband who puts the heroes in her books to shame.
Learn more about Dakota and her books here: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
TITLE: The Starless Sea
CHARACTERS: Zachary Ezra Rawlins
AUTHOR: Erin Morgenstern
NARRATOR: Dominic Hoffman
RUN TIME: 18 Hours & 39 Minutes
PUBLICATION DATE: November 5, 2019
ORDER LINKS: Audible | Amazon | B&N | Penguin Random House
BOOK SYNOPSIS:
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Night Circus, a timeless love story set in a secret underground world–a place of pirates, painters, lovers, liars, and ships that sail upon a starless sea.
Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a mysterious book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues–a bee, a key, and a sword–that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club, and through a doorway to an ancient library, hidden far below the surface of the earth.
What Zachary finds in this curious place is more than just a buried home for books and their guardians–it is a place of lost cities and seas, lovers who pass notes under doors and across time, and of stories whispered by the dead. Zachary learns of those who have sacrificed much to protect this realm, relinquishing their sight and their tongues to preserve this archive, and also those who are intent on its destruction.
Together with Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired protector of the place, and Dorian, a handsome, barefoot man with shifting alliances, Zachary travels the twisting tunnels, darkened stairwells, crowded ballrooms, and sweetly-soaked shores of this magical world, discovering his purpose–in both the mysterious book and in his own life.
TITLE: Archangels War
SERIES #: Guild Hunters #12
CHARACTERS: Elena & Rapheal
AUTHOR: Nalini Signh
NARRATOR: Justine Eyre
PUBLICATION DATE: September 24, 2019
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | Kindle | Barnes and Noble | Nook | Apple Books | Kobo | IndieBound
BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Wings of silver. Wings of blue. Mortal heart. Broken dreams. Shatter. Shatter. Shatter. A sundering. A grave. I see the end. I see. . .
The world is in chaos as the power surge of the Cascade rises to a devastating crescendo. In furiously resisting its attempts to turn Elena into a vessel for Raphael’s power, Elena and her archangel are irrevocably changed. . .far beyond the prophecy of a cursed Ancient.
At the same time, violent and eerie events around the world threaten to wipe out entire populations. And in the Archangel Lijuan’s former territory, an unnatural fog weaves through the land, leaving only a bone-chilling silence in its wake. Soon it becomes clear that even the archangels are not immune to this deadly evil. This time, even the combined power of the Cadre may not be enough. . .
This war could end them all.
Advance Excerpt From Archangel’s War by Nalini Singh
“We watch,” the Primary said. “We protect.”
But things were altering in front of them, a faint glow emanating from where the aeclari had been before the filaments obscured both Raphael’s body and Elena’s chrysalis.
Beyond the balcony doors now partially covered with the snow silk of the filaments, the Bluebell turned. His eyes widened at seeing the ocean of filaments, the glow. But before he could open the closed doors, a familiar voice entered all their minds.
Leave now. It was an order from an archangel. Clear the skies above. Empty the land around. GO.
The Legion were moving even as the last word echoed in their minds. They were Raphael’s Legion, Elena’s Legion, and they had been given an order. The Bluebell wasn’t Legion. He was one of the Seven. Unique. With his own mind.
Torment wrenched his features, but he inclined his head, and the Primary saw him form the word, “Sire.”
All of them moved.
The Bluebell dropped to the grass, then ran inside the house.
The Legion broke into four parts and swept the area. Winged beings were already flying toward the river at high speed, their faces stark and their jaws determined. The Legion dropped down in front of cars moving on the nearest road. The cars were not so close to the aeclari’s home, but the archangel hadn’t said how far to clear.
When the first two cars halted with a screech that caused a burning scent to rise to their nostrils, the Legion wrenched the doors open and hauled the startled vampires out. A group of the Legion rose into the air, two to a vampire. Another group found four humans in a third car, a vampire’s cattle heading home. The scared cattle whimpered at being taken by the Legion but didn’t struggle. Neither did the vampires after they saw the angels racing from the Enclave to the water.
Golden light poured out from the windows of the aeclari’s home.
Many of the angels streaming over the water held vampires or humans in their arms, getting their households out of danger. The Bluebell was one of the last to fly out of the Enclave, and though the Legion did not speak to many outside of the aeclari, they spoke to him: Are the aeclari’s people safe? This was important. The Legion knew. The aeclari had bonds to those who lived in the house.
Yes, I got them out. The Bluebell, who could fly faster than the Primary and sometimes raced with the cars of the Blade and the Viper, fell off the cliff with his wings licked by a golden light so bright that it was difficult to face. In one hand, he held a large rectangular thing, in his other items they recognized.
Several of the Legion flew to him, and took the things. They did not understand things, but these were linked to the aeclari in their mind. We will fly them to the Tower.
Most of the angels kept on flying toward Manhattan, and those of the Legion that carried vampires or mortals kept on going, too. But the Primary turned once he was over the center of the river, as did those of his brethren who flew only their own bodies.
The Bluebell halted in front of them, the silvery blue of his wings spread and his face awash in the burning golden light that had turned the river to gold.
And the light, it grew, and grew, and grew.
Until at last, the light was so bright that it became fire and even the Primary couldn’t bear it and threw up his arm in front of his eyes. The last thing he saw was an intense white brightness.
© Copyright 2019 by Nalini Singh
Viviana, Enchantress of Books and I are pleased to welcome narrator Amanda Ronconi
***
Event Long Giveaway
Make sure to check out Viviana’s post on her blog
Viviana, Enchantress of Books and I are pleased to welcome Kai Kennicott to the blog today.
Kai Kennicott is a
Narrator
Book Enthusiast
Lover of Candles and Fancy Cheese
Kai Kennicott believes that everything should be done in moderation, even moderation in moderation. She, however, has not taken this to heart in her voice over career. With over 130 audiobooks available for sale, being moderate has taken a back seat to her insatiable appetite for consuming, telling, and enjoying ebooks. Kai started her narration career as a three year old diva who tried stealing every bit of limelight she could as her dad helplessly tried to steer the VHS camcorder away to record what they were having for dinner that night. Since then, Kai has been enamored with performing and storytelling. From the days of first picking up Julie Garwood, Kai Kennicott has been a huge romance fan and an even bigger book nerd. She is so ecstatic that her passion has become her life’s work. She takes pride in the opportunity of becoming a narrator and is unbelievably humbled that people listen to her voice overs.
Find out more about Kai here: Website | Facebook | Twitter
The Truth About LennonBy K.L. Grayson
Lennon Barrick-St. James is making headlines as New York City’s hottest new socialite. Only she isn’t new at all. One well-intentioned night gone horribly wrong has landed the daughter of vice presidential candidate Christopher St. James on the front page of every newspaper and magazine in the country.
Forced by her father to stay out of the limelight, Lennon flees to the quiet town of Heaven, Texas, where she vows to lie low and avoid men. Well, except for the sexy biker she just ran off the road—she definitely won’t be avoiding him.
Noah Cunningham already has one girl in his life, and he sure as hell doesn’t need another. Especially the beautiful and sinfully sweet angel that just descended upon the quiet little town he calls home.
The only problem is that the more time he spends with Lennon, the more he wants to be with her. And that’s just not going to work for Noah. He’s already been burned once, and he’s not so sure he’s ready to go down that road again.
Noah has spent the last five years putting his life back together after secrets and lies ripped it apart. So what will happen when he learns the truth about Lennon?
Nico
My dreams haunt me. I feel as if I am falling into a pit of impending doom, but even that has not prepared me for the rollercoaster of emotions that flood over me when I’m near Phoenix. I have to keep my distance from her. I need to. It’s the only thing I can do to keep from getting hurt again. Staying away from her proves to be a much harder task than I could have ever imagined. She’s not only my assistant, but she’s half my age. She gets under my skin and irritates the shit out of me, yet, one smile, one laugh, and I’m melting into a puddle at her feet. Falling in love with her is a bad idea, a very bad idea, because she just may be the one person who breaks my heart for good this time.
Phoenix
Nico is my boss. He’s demanding, bitter, brooding, and a downright bully at times. But, all that doesn’t deter me from him at all because I can see kindness and compassion in his eyes. I know the secret he’s keeping from everyone and why he’s so guarded with his heart. I don’t care about his secret, nor do I care that he’s twice my age. What matters is the undeniable attraction we feel for each other. If only he can just let go of the past and see what’s right in front of him.
Make sure to check out Viviana’s post on her blog
Viviana, Enchantress of Books and I are pleased to welcome Lili Valente to the blog today!!
The V Cardby Lauren Blakely & Lili Valente
Narrated by:
Published: December 13, 2017
A brand new sinfully sexy standalone romantic comedy from bestselling authors Lauren Blakely and Lili Valente!
When you think about how easy it is to lose keys, phones, sunglasses and your dignity on social media, you might figure it’d be a cinch for me to ditch my V Card.
You’d be wrong.
At 25, I run a successful business, live in a fantastic apartment, and have fabulous friends to go out with any night of the week. And yet I’m still a card-carrying member of a club I don’t want to belong to anymore. Good thing I know just the man for the deflowering job—my brother’s business partner and best friend.
Graham Campbell is charming, smart, and, I’m told, oh-so-skilled in the sack. As long as I keep my eyes on the prize, there’s no way this pluck-the-flower project could possibly complicate matters.
***
Work and pleasure. As the CEO of a fast-growing company, I’ve been enjoying both to the fullest. What do I do when the board throws me for an unexpected loop so I can keep my business in my hands? I enlist the help of my best friend’s little sister since she holds a big stake in the company. But then I learn there’s another big stake she wants.
The one between my legs.
I can do this. Seven nights to teach her everything I know in the bedroom. There’s no way I’ll fall for her, even though she’s earning top grades in every single sinfully sexy lesson. And turns out I’m learning something too. The trouble is I don’t have the answer key to what to do when I fall hard for her.
And that throws a whole new hitch in my plans.
Make sure to check out Viviana’s post on her blog
Book #11 in the Black Knights Inc. series
Release Date: October 3, 2017
GET READY FOR THE RIDE OF YOUR LIFE!
From bestselling author Julie Ann Walker comes the next installment in her hit Black Knights Inc. series!
He puts the hot…
Christian Watson, a former SAS officer and current BKI operator, never thought he would return to England after a terrible turn of events forced him to abandon his homeland. But now he’s back on British soil where old enemies are determined to do him in. Fighting for his life is pretty much SOP for Christian. Doing it with the beautiful, bossy Emily Scott in tow is another matter entirely.
In hot pursuit.
Emily lost her coveted job at the CIA because of a bad romance with a coworker, and now she has just one rule when it comes to men: they’re for recreational purposes only. But when she and Christian are thrust into very close quarters while evading two mysterious men who want Christian dead, she can’t help but question all her ideas about love and life lived on the edge. Battling the bad guys is hard enough, battling her feelings for Christian just might prove impossible.
“This razor-sharp, sensual, and intriguing tale will get hearts pounding.” — Publishers Weekly STARRED review for Wild Ride
“Julie Ann Walker is one of those authors to be put on a keeper shelf along with Nora Roberts, Suzanne Brockmann and Allison Brennan.” – KirkusReviews
Add to your Goodreads list HERE
About the Author:
Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Julie grew up in a house full of women – she has three older sisters. As you can imagine, there was no lack of drama… or romance. Her mother enrolled her in a book club as soon as she began to read and it was the small spark that ignited her voracious appetite for the written word. Because of Julie’s early immersion in literature, she found writing came quite naturally. In high school, she won multiple writing contests and was the proud senior editor of The Tiger’s Tale – her school newspaper. During her college years, however, she longed for a challenge. “Reading and writing felt like second nature to me, so I looked for a way to flex my mental muscles,” she recalls. After receiving a Bachelor of Science degree, Julie began teaching advanced high school mathematics. “I loved working with the students and facing the challenges of the classroom, but I longed for the occasional snow day when I could race to the local book store, buy two or three new novels, and curl up in front of the fire to read.” It wasn’t until a fortuitous move to Chicago that Julie once more returned to her first passion. “Thankfully, my husband – my own personal hero – encouraged my decision to write full time.” Now Julie lives on beautiful Lake Shore Drive with a view that sometimes competes with her deadlines. When she’s not writing, she enjoys camping, hiking, cycling, cooking, travel, and…reading, of course!
Learn more about Julie Ann and her books here Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Giveaway details:
Want a chance to win signed copies of the first eight titles in Julie Ann Walker’s Black Knights Inc. series? Click on the rafflecopter below!
Billionaire Wolf, #1
Buy Links: Amazon | Apple | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble | Chapters | Indiebound
First in a BRAND NEW SERIES from USA Today bestselling author Terry Spear, queen of shapeshifter romance.
Real estate mogul werewolf Rafe Denali didn’t get where he is in life by being a pushover. When sexy she-wolf Jade Ashton nearly drowns in the surf outside his beach house, he knows better than to bring her into his home and his heart. But there’s something about her that brings out his strongest instincts…
Rafe has good reason to be suspicious. Jade Ashton and her baby son are pawns in an evil wolf’s fatal plan. How can Jade betray the gorgeous man who rescued her? But if she doesn’t, her baby will die, and her own life hangs in the balance…
To get to the truth, Rafe is going to have to gain Jade’s trust. If he can do that, he just might be her last—and best—hope…
A little about Terry:
USA Today bestselling author Terry Spear has written over fifty paranormal and medieval Highland historical romances. In 2008 Heart of the Wolf was named a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year. A retired officer of the U.S. Army Reserves, Terry also creates award-winning teddy bears that have found homes all over the world and is raising two Havanese puppies. She lives in Crawford, Texas.
For more information, please visit www.terryspear.com, or follow her on Twitter, @TerrySpear. She is also on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/terry.spear . And her fan page: https://www.facebook.com/TerrySpearParanormalRomantics Her blog is:http://terryspear.wordpress.com/
Jade Ashton had made a lot of mistakes in her life, but returning to her brother’s pack topped the list. She should have known the pack members wouldn’t accept her son, the product of a love affair with a human, despite pretending they were fine with it. She glanced at her three-year-old son, napping on the daybed in her office in her brother’s home where she alternated between sketching new designs for intimate apparel and for a new baby and toddler wear line she had developed when her son was born.
Toby had just fallen asleep, looking angelic with his blond curls resting on his cheek, his dark brown eyes closed as he licked his lips. No way would she ever give him up, despite how everyone in her pack viewed him as a grievous error in judgment.
She felt a little dizzy, probably because she’d been so busy that she hadn’t had anything to drink in hours. She got up from her chair and headed out the door, practically running into her twin brother moving silently down the hall like a wolf. She fell back and gasped softly when he grabbed her arm to steady her.
“We need to talk.” Kenneth started to guide her to the den, his blond hair much darker than hers, his amber eyes focused on her in a way that said he had serious business to discuss.
Did he know she intended to leave the pack, again? Or did he want to tell her he didn’t think her being here was working out? “I need to get some water. And we can’t talk long because Toby will be waking in a half hour or so.”
“This will just take a minute.”
It had better, because she wasn’t going to be drawn into any long-winded discussions with her brother. She hadn’t told him she was leaving first thing in the morning. She wasn’t sure how he’d take it. She had to admit she was afraid he’d try to talk her out of it. But she was determined.
Every time he and the others had looked at her son in judgment, she’d been annoyed. Not only that, but she’d caught Kenneth and the others having secret conversations and then abruptly stopping whenever they saw her approaching. The pack members pretended to tolerate her son, but she saw through the facade. They didn’t like her having a human son who couldn’t shift. They believed he could be a danger to the pack.
Which was one of the reasons she had left just after her son was born. She had also wanted to save his human father from her brother’s wrath. But raising Toby on her own had been tough. When her brother had promised that the pack members wanted her to live with them and have the backup they could provide, she had agreed. She and her son had left southern Texas far behind, so she figured she’d never run into Toby’s father again. And Kenneth had sounded sincere in wanting to ensure her protection—just like a pack leader should. She wanted to be part of a family again. She didn’t have a lone wolf personality.
She didn’t believe Toby would be welcome in any other pack either.
Clearly, the members had changed their minds about having her and her son there. Unless they had never wanted her back and it was all her brother’s idea. He was the pack leader, so ultimately, it was his decision—one he was apparently coming to regret. He was just being stubborn, didn’t want to admit he’d made a mistake, and didn’t want to have to tell her to leave.
Then again, maybe he realized she was planning to leave. Being twins, they sometimes sensed things like that before they really shared with each other. She hadn’t packed anything yet. She planned to tell him in the morning, before he left for work at his auto body shop. She thought it would be easier on all of them that way. She’d call him when she got settled and let him know where she was staying. It was for the best—for her son, for her, and for Kenneth and the pack.
Having detoured from the direction of the den to go to the kitchen so she could get something to drink, Kenneth leaned against the granite counter, his focus on her, his expression still ultra-serious. “I have a job for you.”
She raised her brows, then grabbed a glass from the kitchen cabinet. Between raising Toby and running her own businesses, she didn’t have time for a whole lot else. But if this was something quick that she could do this afternoon, she would, to thank Kenneth for taking her in—and then she was through with the pack.
“It’s simple. And hell, you might get real lucky.”
She snorted, pouring water into the glass and adding crushed ice. “Lucky?” She drank several sips of the water.
The front door shut, and she figured Kenneth’s girlfriend, Lizzie, was running out for something. She was a wolf too, which meant they were sleeping together, but he hadn’t decided to mate her yet so they hadn’t gone all the way. If they did, he’d be stuck with her as his mate for life. Jade didn’t know why the she-wolf put up with her brother. If Jade was in a situation like Lizzie’s, she’d tell the wolf that either they mated or she’d look elsewhere. But Jade supposed Lizzie wanted to be a pack leader’s mate and was sticking around in case Kenneth decided she was it. Total beta wolf.
“You’re living off me so you can put more money into your apparel business that isn’t making enough to really sustain you and your son. So, I need you to do this job and—”
“Like hell my business isn’t making enough money.” She was extremely tight with her money. No fancy food for either of them. No special entertainment. No expensive clothes. Since lupus garous lived so long, she had worked other jobs to help pad her bank account before Toby was born. She wasn’t wealthy, but she got by just fine. As long as she was frugal. “That’s okay. Being here with the pack isn’t working out for Toby and me anyway.”
Kenneth’s eyes widened. “You’re not leaving.”
“Listen, Kenneth, you know no one wants my son here. And they barely tolerate me. You make Lizzie babysit Toby sometimes when I really need someone to watch him so I can work, but it’s not fair to her. The rest of the pack worries about him. I appreciate all you’ve done for me. I really do.”
She shrugged. “But…I know this is the right thing for me to do. And for you and the pack too. I’m leaving tomorrow, and we can get together from time to time…later.” She really didn’t believe that would happen, but she’d make the gesture anyway.
“Like I said, I have a job for you.”
What part of she was leaving did her brother not get? He was so stubborn! Or did he feel it was his place as pack leader to decide if she was leaving? He hadn’t decided things for her since before she left the pack nearly four years earlier, and she wasn’t going to allow him to start now.
Even so, she’d humor him because she was leaving tomorrow, with or without his consent. “What’s the job?”
“Do you remember when that doctor was taking blood samples from us last week?”
“Yeah, Dr. Aidan Denali. He wanted to take some of Toby’s, and I said no. What of it? He’s not asking to take blood samples from Toby again, is he?”
“No, but here’s the thing. I looked into his background, and his brother is Rafe Denali.”
“So?” She’d never heard of the guy. Not that she’d heard of Aidan Denali either before she’d met him at Kenneth’s house. Since Toby wasn’t a shifter, there was no reason for Aidan to take blood from him. Though she hadn’t given the doctor that reason since he hadn’t needed to know.
“Rafe Denali’s a billionaire. Real estate mogul.”
“So?” Her brother was usually much better at getting to the point.
“The good doctor told me he’s close to finding a cure for our longevity issues.”
“Okay. What has this got to do with me? Or you, for that matter?”
“I need you to find out where he’s living. Where he does his research.”
“What?” She narrowed her eyes. “Why?” She was getting really bad vibes about this.
“His brother is ruthless. Hell, he’s the reason our grandparents lost their manufacturing business.”
She closed her gaping mouth. She had never known anything about her grandparents. Since her brother had taken over the pack when their parents died, he’d been the one interested in all things family. She’d been rather a wild card growing up. She’d always known she would never run the pack, so she’d done her own thing. After her son was born, she’d thrown herself into her work and raising him. No room for getting into any further trouble. She was faced with enough already.
“Okay, so I don’t get the connection between what happened with our grandparents and what you want me to do. Or why you want to know where the doctor lives.”
“Rafe is well-known—”
She opened her mouth again to tell Kenneth she had never heard of Rafe, so he couldn’t be that well-known.
“—in financial circles. The kind that you don’t belong to. I know where he lives. He and his brother are close, but Aidan lives somewhere else. I want you to befriend Rafe and learn where Aidan lives.”
“Why would you want to know that? Besides, I don’t run in billionaires’ circles. You already said so yourself.”
“He’s a bachelor wolf. He’s not dating any she-wolves. I’ve checked. If he sees you, and you intrigue him, you can cozy up to him and learn where his brother lives.”
“I’m not interested. Besides, didn’t the doctor give you his business card and tell you to contact him if you have any concerns?”
“It has his phone number. That’s it.”
“Why do you want to know this anyway?”
“I told you. Rafe is ruthless. When he gets hold of a cure for our condition, he’ll sell it to only those who can afford it. What if lupus garous begin to age even more rapidly than we are now? What if we don’t just end up with a human’s life span, but our bodies begin to age rapidly to match all the years we’ve already lived? Hell, your boy would lose you, and he’d have no one to raise him. Think about it.”
She had thought about it. But she wasn’t one to live with a fatalist viewpoint on life. She hadn’t thought her brother was either. Until now.
“If you really want this information, ask Rafe yourself. Or call his brother. You have his phone number.”
“As if either would tell me.”
“Send Lizzie.” Jade turned to leave, and her brother seized her arm. She rounded on him, yanking her arm away from him, and said, “We’re family, Kenneth, but that doesn’t give you the right to make me do things that go against what I believe in. If the worst-case scenario ever comes to pass, I’m sure wolves can unite and make the brothers see the right in this.”
Kenneth folded his arms. “Lizzie isn’t right for the part. She’s not as classy as you.”
“Oh, wow, give me a break. I hope you didn’t tell her that.” Jade started heading back to her office, but she hadn’t taken more than a few steps when her brother cleared his throat.
“I need you to do this. Whatever it takes. After that, you and your son can be on your way. You really don’t have a choice.”
“Nothing would make lying to the Denalis worthwhile, no matter why you want this information. Toby and I will be leaving tonight.” Sooner—once she could get her car packed and Toby ready for the journey. She’d have to plot a course too. Had her brother known about the wolf geneticist before he’d asked her to return to the pack? She whipped around.
“How long have you known about Aidan? Is this why you asked me to return to the pack? So I could be your spy?”
When Kenneth didn’t deny it, she swore under her breath. “I thought you were concerned about me and my son. Or at least me. Thanks for letting me in on the truth.” Furious with her brother, she stalked off toward the office and had nearly reached the doorway when Kenneth let his breath out in a huff.
“You will do this for me, and then you can have your son back.”
His words made her stomach fall and her head spin as she rushed into the room.
Toby and his soft leopard blanket were gone. All that was left on the daybed was his blue rainbow-colored teddy bear.
Lizzie! She must have taken him when Jade heard the front door open. Lizzie was the only one who was close enough to Toby that if she woke him while taking him from his bed, he wouldn’t cry out. He’d settle in her arms and go back to sleep. Kenneth had stalled Jade long enough for Lizzie to gather up Toby and leave.
Shocked at what he had done and angrier than she ever thought she could be, Jade hurried out of the room, ready to kill her brother—but only after he told her where her son was. “Where is he, Kenneth? I swear I’ll—”
“You’ll do this one thing for me, and he’s yours. And then you can damn well leave the pack. But if you ever cause any trouble for our kind, I’ll kill both of you.”
So furious she couldn’t think straight, she beat on her brother’s chest with her fists, cursing at him until he grabbed her wrists and slammed her against the wall. “I’m serious about this, Jade. Do what I say, and your son won’t meet his father’s fate.”
“What?” Tears filled her eyes, but she tried to get a grip on her emotions so he wouldn’t see her as weak. Kenneth had promised he would leave Stewart alone if she left the area before he even knew she was pregnant, and she never had anything more to do with him.
She felt sucker punched. “Why? You said…” It didn’t matter now. All that mattered was Toby’s safety. “Damn you, Kenneth.”
She kneed her brother in the crotch with one good shove as a final comment on how she felt about him taking her son hostage. Kenneth collapsed to his knees, swearing that he’d make her pay if she didn’t do what he said.
Maynard Myer—one of the men who worked in Kenneth’s body shop—interrupted them, red-faced. He was a redheaded bulldog of a man who had brazenly shown his contempt for her and Toby when he dropped by the house. She suspected Maynard didn’t want to intrude on this scene, but the news had to be serious enough for him to do so.
“What?” Kenneth growled at him, still on his knees on the floor and holding his crotch.
“Grayton wants his money now. You’ve got two weeks to pay up or…” Maynard glanced in Jade’s direction.
She didn’t know who Grayton was, although the name sounded like he might be a wolf. If he had loaned Kenneth money, and now her brother was in arrears…
“What are you involved in, Kenneth?” she asked. “Gambling? The horse races? I’ve got money”
“Get out of here, Jade. You want to see your son in one piece, leave and do what I told you to do.”
No matter how angry she was, she knew she didn’t have a choice. She had to get her son back before her brother killed him. She grabbed Toby’s rainbow bear and hurried into her room to pack, praying she could pull this off without getting her son killed. If Grayton was threatening her brother, what if he took out Kenneth’s debt on his closest relations? Her and her son?
What would the Denalis do if they learned what she was up to?
***
Jade had driven by Rafe Denali’s house numerous times, watching for Rafe to leave so she could run into him wherever he ended up going. Accidentally. The palatial mansion was set back off the road, a long circular drive visible beyond the gates and providing a glimpse of the white stucco house with its ocean view, but not much more.
This was the first time she’d seen him leaving the estate. He was alone, driving a bright blue Maserati with the top down, and she followed him to a farmers market and parked several cars away.
Wearing a pair of blue shorts, sandals, a pale blue T-shirt, and mirrored sunglasses, he climbed out of his car. He didn’t look like he was a billionaire, except he had a hot car, but otherwise, he just blended in with the rest of the shoppers.
She hurried to catch up to him. She couldn’t imagine what he’d be buying. Wouldn’t he have someone else buy his groceries? If she were shopping, she’d get fresh corn and tomatoes.
He stopped at a colorful booth filled with flowers, a bright-red canopy shielding the bouquets and shoppers from the afternoon sun.
In all of the research she had done on Rafe, she hadn’t seen one thing that indicated he had a girlfriend. She let out her breath. Just her luck.
She hesitated, feeling jittery and uptight, but she had to run into him, making it look real and not faked, and then apologize. He’d smell she was a wolf and maybe get interested. God, how she hated this. But she had to do it for her son.
She drew closer, the crowd of shoppers helping to conceal her as she focused on the flowers as if they were her goal and not the hot wolf.
Just as she was getting closer to him, a fair-haired man wearing jeans, sandals, and a black muscle shirt approached Rafe. “Hey, getting something for Consuela?”
“Yeah, Derek. Not sure what else to get her. But I thought she’d like these.” He paid for the bouquet of red and pink roses, and the two men walked off.
Damn. If the breeze had been blowing in her favor, he would have smelled her, turned, and checked her out, at the very least.
She wasn’t going to get anywhere with this while he was with a friend—or whoever Derek was. But since it was the first time she’d seen Rafe leave his place, she decided to wait in her car for him to leave and see where he went next. Or maybe try running into him when Derek left.
She climbed into her car and rolled down the windows, then Googled Rafe on her cell phone. The site that mentioned him the most was written by a photojournalist named LK Marks. He seemed to be obsessed with Rafe’s lifestyle—how Rafe hosted charity events but seemed reclusive otherwise. A number of times, LK Marks mentioned that Rafe was one of California’s most eligible bachelors.
The last posting anyone had made concerning the billionaire was a week ago. So maybe the paparazzi were off chasing someone else for a change and Rafe was old news. Which was good news for her.
An hour passed. The breeze helped keep her cool, but she was annoyed that Rafe was taking so long to return to his car.
Then two hours passed. She left her vehicle and was searching for him when she spied him sitting on the veranda of a Mexican café, burritos on his plate and a glass of iced tea beside it. He was talking with Derek, a couple of packages on the table next to the bouquet of roses. So they must have gone shopping. She let her breath out in an irritated huff. She wasn’t cut out for spy work.
Now what? She needed to get Rafe alone. Unless she could take a seat near him and he caught her wolf scent and piqued his interest, but all the tables out on the veranda were full. She asked the hostess how long it would take to get a veranda seat. Approximately an hour. Across the street, there was a sandwich shop. She headed to it, figuring she could get a view of the Mexican café from there and watch until he left.
Twenty-minute wait there. Trying not to look obvious that she was watching Rafe, she quickly glanced over the menu and decided on a chicken and provolone sandwich. She was called to her table, and when she walked with the hostess through the restaurant to the outdoor seating, she saw where the woman was leading her. Perfect. Flowers obscured the men’s view of her, but she could peek through to watch them. She took her seat and thanked the hostess, then looked over at the men—but they were gone.
***
Early in the morning, Rafe Denali perched above the rest of the world, reclining on his poolside lounger and eyeing the aqua-colored Pacific Ocean, the foamy, white waves crashing against the beach with their usual unpredictable rhythm. A rainbow-colored hot-air balloon and a bank of puffy clouds drifted across the bright blue sky, pushed by the ever-present salty sea breeze. Seagulls called out as they soared high above, and long-legged sandpipers ran across the wet beach as the water began to recede, looking for a meal. A few beachgoers had erected colorful umbrellas in blues and yellows and pinks, along with chaise longues or chairs, and were sunbathing or reading. A few were walking the beach. Life couldn’t be better. Rafe had needed a break after making another thirty-million-dollar sale, and what better way to do that than by sipping a mixed-fruit smoothie while visiting with his best friend, Derek Spencer—also one of the filthy rich and, like him, a wolf.
But he couldn’t relax completely. Rafe was certain that different men had been following him for the past week or so, watching his every move. He’d had one of his private investigators trying to learn what was up, but without success.
He knew those following him hadn’t been paparazzi looking to capture shots of him to show to the world, or sexy women looking to catch his attention—he was used to that. After all, he was an extremely eligible bachelor, at least as far as the unknowing public thought. He was certain that if human women knew he was also a wolf, his single, male billionaire status wouldn’t have as much appeal.
The problem was that the men following him were wolves—just as wary and capable of concealment and evasion in their human form as in their wolf coats. What had tipped him off was that the men hadn’t been carrying cameras when following him as humans. And when he’d caught them watching him at various restaurants or stores, they’d quickly looked away. But when he’d tried to track them, they’d always given him the slip. Sometimes, they left a bit of a telltale wolf scent behind, as if they’d used hunter’s spray for concealment but hadn’t quite masked their own unique scent.
Rafe took another sip of his smoothie. This was so different from when he’d lived with the pack of his birth. He had moved on, left that life behind, wanting something more. The power to make things happen in the human world, not just with a pack.
“Has your brother learned anything from the research he’s been conducting?” Derek asked.
“When he’s running his experiments, he doesn’t like to discuss the results—or, I should say, details—with anyone. Certainly not with me, since that’s not my field of expertise. Just like I don’t discuss the details of my real estate ventures with him.”
“I heard he was off to check some other leads besides testing lupus garou blood samples.”
“Yeah. He’s let me in on his other research so I’ll know where he is at all times. He’s studied children with progeria, a premature aging syndrome. He also investigated an eight-year-old girl who still had the physical maturity of an infant, having barely aged in all that time. Another case was that of a forty-year-old man who looked like a ten-year-old boy. A couple others: a twenty-nine-year-old man who appeared to be ten, and a woman who was thirty-four but looked like she was two years old. So the rate of aging was significantly different for each of them.
“Aidan had wondered if any of them were wolves, which was one of the primary reasons he checked into their cases, but he learned none were. Since lupus garous age at the same rate humans do until they are young adults, he really hadn’t believed they were our kind, but he still wanted to determine if any of their conditions were similar to ours.”
Derek finished his smoothie and set the glass on the table. “With all the research he’s doing, I think he needs a bodyguard. Knowing how to return us to our original wolf life spans could be dangerous in the wrong hands.”
“Agreed. I have a man watching his back, even though Aidan wouldn’t approve if he knew. So I haven’t mentioned it to anyone. Aidan doesn’t believe he’s close to learning anything.” Rafe studied a couple of bikini-clad babes running along the beach below his estate. He swore the women were plants, seeking to catch his attention. Most of the wealthy landowners up here were older. Truth be told, he was much older than them. But in human years, he appeared to be thirty. He was also looking for anyone who seemed to be watching him, but he didn’t see anyone like that here today.
What really caught his eye was a woman wearing a pair of white short shorts with what looked like a one-piece bathing suit underneath, though the back plunged so low that all he could see were the royal blue straps. What piqued his curiosity even more was how low the front of the swimsuit was cut. It was funny how sometimes a one-piece and a pair of shorts could be more enticing than a tiny bikini.
When she began wading up to her thighs in the surf, watching the sea, her golden hair whipping about her shoulders in the warm summer breeze, he sighed, reminding himself he couldn’t be interested in a human woman for any kind of permanent relationship.
“Enticed yet?” Derek asked, smiling, his attention focused on the scantily clad bathing beauties jogging along the beach.
Rafe finished his smoothie. “Are they different ones, or the same two who were out here yesterday?”
“Hard to tell. They have all the right curves, the tanned bodies, the skimpy bikinis. I think one was a redhead yesterday though. So you think it’s a ploy to see if one of them would appeal more to you?” Before Rafe could reply, Derek tacked on, “Given a choice, which would?”
“None of them.”
“Not even if she was a wolf?”
Rafe glanced at his lifelong friend. Tall, tanned, and muscular like him, Derek was much fairer, his hair blonder and his eyes amber. They didn’t exactly appear like the billionaire type. Not to mention they had a wolfish wild side to them. Both were wearing board shorts—his green with a blue ocean wave, Derek’s an orange-and-white floral—and they looked more like surfer dudes, except neither of them surfed. As a wolf, Rafe preferred swimming, hiking, running, boating, or climbing—freestyle.
In a gesture of feigned exasperation, Derek threw up his hands. “Okay, so most are interested in our money more than anything. Sometimes it’s important to just have fun.”
Rafe checked out the woman walking deeper into the water. He grew worried when he saw the telltale signs of danger. The surf was flatter there, looking like a road heading out to sea. The color was lighter than the surrounding water, the foam on the surface moving out to sea, instead of being drawn into the shore like the regular breakers. A rip current. Which could imperil the woman.
Instantly, Rafe bolted from his lounger and raced to his private stairs to the beach, wishing like hell he’d noticed the water before. His attention had been solely on the woman the last time he looked.
“Hey, where you going?” Derek asked, jumping up from his lounger and hurrying to catch up as Rafe ran down the stairs.
“To rescue the third woman this month who’s headed for trouble in the surf.” Rafe reached the electronically locked gate, threw it open, then sprinted across the sun-warmed sand.
A summer of storms and hurricanes had altered the landscape of the ocean floor along the Pacific coast, creating more rip currents, which had resulted in more lifeguard rescues in the area. Except they didn’t have any lifeguards here. That meant whenever Rafe took a breather from work and relaxed poolside, he watched the situation in front of his estate as if he were the local lifeguard. He couldn’t help it. If he saw someone in danger, he was compelled to lend a hand.
Rip currents typically flowed faster than any human could swim. If the woman he saw walking into the rip current was caught up in it, she could be pulled out to sea as much as half a mile or more before it ended. It wouldn’t pull its victim under; usually, those who drowned had attempted to swim against the flow, panicking in an effort to return to the shore through the path of the rip current, tiring them to the point of exhaustion. If she was a good swimmer and knew how to navigate horizontally to the beach, or remained calm and treaded water until the rip lost its drive, she should make it just fine.
But he didn’t want to risk her safety.
He raced around the beachgoers soaking up the sun. No one seemed to notice the possible danger.
Rafe reached the incoming waves, bolted through the water, and heard his friend splashing behind him. The woman was up to her shoulders in the surf, and Rafe dove for her just as the current swept her off her feet and pulled them both out to sea.
*****
Archangel’s Heart releases November 1st!
Now Available for Pre-order HERE
Add it to your Goodreads TBR
Blurb
One of the most vicious archangels in the world has disappeared. No one knows if Lijuan is dead or has chosen to Sleep the long sleep of an immortal. But with her lands falling into chaos under a rising tide of vampiric bloodlust, a mysterious and ancient order of angels known as the Luminata calls the entire Cadre together to discuss the fate of her territory.
Accompanying her archangelic lover Raphael to the Luminata compound, guild hunter-turned-angel Elena senses that all is not as it seems. Secrets echo from within the stone walls of the compound, and the deeper Elena goes, the uglier the darkness. But neither Raphael nor Elena is ready for the brutal truths hidden within—truths that will change everything Elena thinks she knows about who she is…
Nothing will ever be the same again.
A little bit about Nalini:
NEW YORK TIMES AND USA Today bestselling author of the Psy-Changeling and Guild Hunter series Nalini Singh usually writes about hot shapeshifters and dangerous angels. This time around, she decided to write about hot and wickedly tempting rock stars (and one gorgeous ex-rugby player). If you’re seeing a theme here, you’re not wrong.
Nalini lives and works in beautiful New Zealand, and is passionate about writing. If you’d like to explore her other books, you can find lots of excerpts on her website. Slave to Sensation is the first book in the Psy-Changeling series, while Angels’ Blood is the first book in the Guild Hunter series. Also, don’t forget to swing by the site to check out the special behind-the-scenes page for the Rock Kiss series, complete with photos of many of the locations used in the books.
Find out more about Nalini here: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Series: Big Sky Cowboys, #2
Pubdate: May 3rd, 2016
ISBN: 9781492621270
Amazon | Apple | BAM | B&N | Chapters | Indiebound | Kobo
BIG SKY TROUBLE
Ever since his father’s accident, Caleb Shaw vowed he’d mend his wild ways, and he means to keep his word. He’s a changed man. A better man. And he knows he should want absolutely nothing to do with his crazy old life…or the maddening temptation that is Delia Rogers.
Because Delia? Is nothing but trouble.
Delia’s been stealing her sisters away from their violent father ever since she was old enough to fight back. But now with the police on her trail and all her bridges burned, there’s nowhere left to run but back into the arms of the one cowboy she knows she shouldn’t need. Caleb has always been too good for her, no matter how bad he claimed to be. Yet when close quarters turn into something more, Delia and Caleb are forced to decide what really matters: mending their reputations or healing their wary hearts…
An Excerpt:
“I know. I’m not comparing, Delia. I can’t.” He shook his head as his gaze returned to hers.
If she looked closely enough, she could probably see her own reflection, but getting any closer than this already too-close cab of his truck held zero appeal.
“But if you had something that was yours, that made you who you are, that gave you a reason to get up in the morning, wouldn’t you do everything to keep it? Wouldn’t you fight to keep the thing that made you feel like you weren’t a complete waste of space?”
She should look away. She should get out of the truck or demand he drive her to her family home. She should do anything but keep his gaze and let his words wrap around her heart and squeeze.
She didn’t have a thing that made her who she was, or a reason to get up in the morning—at least not once Steph was out. Yet she’d always kept plowing ahead, because no matter how bleak things were, she knew who she was. Strong. Resilient. And she knew, deep in her heart most of the time, that once she did her duty to her sisters, there would be something waiting for her on the other side.
She hadn’t planned on it being jail, but even in her darkest moments she knew even that would be a temporary thing, as long as she could get Steph safe first.
All the crap Caleb was complaining about was easier, but somehow sadder, because he didn’t know how to go on without this beautiful, amazing piece of land that made her feel an aching kind of hope.
Hope. Somehow, it kept her going. It kept people like them going. And all of Caleb’s was tied up in something that could be taken from him.
“I’m not expecting sympathy,” he said, his voice hushed and his eyes on hers.
She felt herself lean forward, as if there was some force pushing her there. Him or the sun disappearing in his eyes.
“I just want you to understand why I did what I did. Helping you isn’t an easy choice for me. It threatens my only chance at this. But I want to do it anyway.”
She couldn’t swallow the lump in her throat, and her eyes burned. It shouldn’t make it better and it shouldn’t make it understandable. It certainly shouldn’t make her forgive him for trying to kick her off Shaw.
But she saw his battle, and that thing inside of him so lost he couldn’t find a center without the beauty that surrounded them, and that seemed more depressing than getting up every morning ready to fight. Thinking the only thing that made you worthwhile could be so easily taken away seemed worse than working to save people you loved. At least, at the end of the day, she knew she’d have her determination.
He cleared his throat. “Christ, Delia. Why are you crying?”
“I’m not crying.”
He reached out and touched his thumb to an unruly tear trailing down her cheek. She had a handle on the rest, but that one escaped and now he was touching it. Her.
Why were they so close? Why was she letting him be this close? Letting him touch her? She should push him away. Knock that stupid hat off his head while she was at it. She should do everything but lean into that gentle touch. It was a lie, a distraction, anything but something she could believe in or allow.
But somehow their mouths were close, and her heart was beating frantically against her chest, pushing her even closer to him. With his mouth a whisper from hers, her body completely warm for the first time since she’d woken up in the Shaw house this morning, he didn’t press his mouth to hers. He shook his head.
“I can’t do this with you.” But he didn’t back away, and when his eyes searched her face, they didn’t seem to mean that at all.
“But here you are,” she managed to croak out, sounding not at all like the cool, unaffected, kick-ass woman she’d like to be. Here she was, letting him swoop in, letting him touch her and affect her. “I don’t trust you,” she whispered, because she had to put that between them. She had to remind herself.
“Good. I don’t trust myself.”
Why? Why did she feel sorry for him? He had everything, including all the power. But sympathy softened her heart against her will, because the jackass didn’t know himself at all, and that was damn sad.
She’d rather be stupid than sad. She’d rather feel than run away from it. So she did the stupid, feeling thing to do.
She leaned in and pressed her mouth to his.
Would you rather go without a car or electricity for a month?
Car! I could not leave my house for weeks and, as long as I had someone bringing me groceries, be quite content.
Nicole Helm writes down-to-earth contemporary romance specializing in people who don’t live close enough to neighbors for them to be a problem. When she’s not writing, she spends her time dreaming about someday owning a barn. She lives with her husband and two young sons in O’Fallon, Missouri.
Visit Nicole’s website for more down-to-earth contemporary romance!
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In the remote Rocky Mountains, lives depend on the Search & Rescue brotherhood. But in a place this far off the map, trust is hard to come by and secrets can be murder…
As the captain of Field County’s ice rescue dive team, Callum Cook is driven to perfection. But when he meets new diver Louise “Lou” Sparks, all that hard-won order is obliterated in an instant. Lou is a hurricane. A walking disaster. And with her, he’s never felt more alive…even if keeping her safe may just kill him.
Lou’s new to the Rockies, intent on escaping her controlling ex, and she’s determined to make it on her own terms…no matter how tempting Callum may be. But when a routine training exercise unearths a body, Lou and Callum find themselves thrust into a deadly game of cat and mouse with a killer who will stop at nothing to silence Lou—and prove that not even her new Search and Rescue family can keep her safe forever.
Excerpt:
She’d been kidding—well, kind of kidding—when she’d hollered at him to cook, but there was a definite smell of bacon in the cabin when she emerged from the bathroom twelve minutes later, smug about her speediness. After she threw on some warm and not-too-smelly clothes, she followed her nose to the kitchen, where Callum was indeed slaving over a hot stove. Leaning against the wall, she enjoyed the view of him standing at the stove, his sleeves pushed up to reveal his muscled forearms, lining up the strips of bacon into perfect formation.
“You know,” she teased, “you could have your own calendar. You’d only be wearing an apron in this shot. Although that’s kind of asking for spitting bacon-grease burns, isn’t it?”
He flushed, and she realized she was getting pretty proficient at making him turn red. “Did you want breakfast or not?” he grumbled, forking the bacon onto a paper-towel-lined plate.
“Yes.” She reached over to steal a piece, but he smacked her hand before she could reach her prize. “Ow. Did you happen to notice my twelve-minute prep time?”
“Wait for the eggs. And yes, very impressive.”
“You’re making eggs, too? I might just keep you.”
Although he was trying to hide it, a smile was fighting to break free. “You’re on toast duty.”
Lou glanced at the digital display showing the charge left in her batteries. “If you want me to use the toaster, I’m going to have to turn on the generator. The sun’s not high enough yet to produce much power. That’s what happens when you get up at the crack of dawn.”
He just gave her a look. “We don’t have to have toast.”
“No, it’s okay.” Heading for the front door, she said over her shoulder, “If you made bacon and eggs, the least I can do is make toast.”
Throwing on her boots but skipping the coat, she ran outside to the small shed that housed her generator. She opened the valve that allowed propane to the generator and reached for the start switch. A strange hissing sound and the strong smell of propane made her hesitate. Instead of turning on the generator, she pulled her hand back and closed the valve.
Trotting back to the cabin, she made a face. There always had to be something going wrong. Why couldn’t she just eat bacon with Callum in peace?
Inside, she nudged her temporary chef aside to grab a spray bottle from under the sink.
“What’s up?” he asked, turning off the burner, immediately slipping into calm and competent mode. It was like he could smell the start of a potential crisis.
“Propane leak,” she said, squirting some dish soap into the bottle and filling it the rest of the way with water. She grabbed her coat on the way out this time. Callum followed her silently. As they crossed the yard, the only sound was the crunch of snow beneath their boots. Although she had on her brave face, Lou couldn’t help glancing around at the surrounding trees. Everything was still and quiet, without even a breeze or the chatter of a squirrel. It felt like the forest was holding its breath, watching.
“Leave the door open, would you?” she asked as they both entered the shed. “There’s no other light in here.”
After she opened the valve again, she sprayed the soapy water in a stream where the propane line connected to the generator. When no bubbles formed, she frowned.
“Am I crazy, or do I hear and smell a leak?”
“You’re not crazy.” Taking the bottle from her, Callum began spraying the length of the propane line. At about the midpoint, large bubbles formed, and Lou closed the valve.
“This was cut.” Callum’s voice was grim as he examined the slice in the line.
Leaning her chin on his shoulder so she could see the hole as well, she growled, “That’s it. My tires and front door are one thing, but you don’t mess with someone’s toast!”
“This isn’t funny, Lou.”
“I know.” She sighed, standing. “It’s scary and dangerous and becoming really expensive. Joking in the face of adversity is just what I do.”
There was a loud bang, and everything went dark. With a yelp, Lou grabbed Callum’s arm, needing something to hang on to in the sudden blackness. There was no one in here with them—she knew that. And yet, she couldn’t help but feel a hot breath against the back of her neck…couldn’t help but imagine hands reaching for her in the dark.
“It’s okay,” she reassured herself more than Callum. “The door just blew shut.”
“There’s no wind.”
“It had to be the wind.” Lou released her death grip on his arm and shuffled in the direction of the door, holding her hands in front of her. “The alternative is too freaking scary.”
“I’ll get it.” Catching her, Callum gently tugged her behind him. She grabbed a fistful of the back of his coat and followed him the few steps to the door. He opened it slowly, peering around outside before stepping forward to allow Lou out of the shed.
Although it was a relief to escape the darkness, standing outside felt almost as nerve-racking. Her gaze darted around the snow-covered ground, looking for tracks of some kind or any kind of evidence to prove or disprove that someone had been here…though she wasn’t sure yet which she preferred.
“Do you think he was here last night?” She examined the packed snow around the shed entrance, looking for a boot track matching the ones under her window.
“Could be.” Callum closed the door behind him. “Or he could’ve done this two nights ago, and we just didn’t notice. When was the last time you ran your generator?”
“Three days ago?” She squinted in thought. “Maybe four? I know I didn’t turn it on yesterday, so the propane line could’ve been cut at the same time as the honey thing.”
Cocking his head, he looked at her. “But you don’t think it was.”
With a shrug, she moved around to the other side of the shed, still looking for tracks. “I’m probably being paranoid—”
He interrupted with a snort. “Are you paranoid if someone’s really after you?”
Her smile was more pained than amused. “Something woke me last night—or this morning, I guess. It’s just a feeling, but I think he was out there.”
Callum waved her toward the front door. “Let’s eat and then go to the clinic. You can call the sheriff on the way to Connor Springs.”
Climbing the porch steps, she asked, “Shouldn’t we wait for Rob to get here?”
“He knows the way, and you don’t lock your generator shed.” With a disapproving look, he added, “You probably should.”
“It has a lock,” she protested. “I’m just not exactly sure where the key is.”
He grunted, and she resisted the urge to make a face. Callum was the only person she knew who could fit a reprimand into a single wordless noise.
“Eggs,” he said, “and bacon. Can’t waste bacon.”
“Definitely not!” she agreed with appropriately theatrical dismay, and then laughed when he gave her a look. But her laughter died as Callum headed into the house, leaving her alone on the porch. Lou paused, skin prickling, and twisted her head to scan the trees. She couldn’t help but wonder if someone was there even now, watching. Waiting.
Wanting to hurt her.
About Katie Ruggle:
When she’s not writing, Katie Ruggle rides horses, shoots guns, and travels to warm places where she can SCUBA dive. Graduating from the Police Academy, Katie received her ice-rescue certification and can attest that the reservoirs in the Colorado mountains really are that cold. While she still misses her off-grid, solar- and wind-powered house in the Rocky Mountains, she now lives in Rochester, Minnesota near her family. Learn more about Katie and her books on her blog or find our on Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
To enter tell me which celebrity would be your dream rescuer.
Today only. Winner will be announce tomorrow (4/21/16)
Good luck.
