So many things are in the works and I can't wait to share them all with you! Ill Fated is out for the last round of edits and the cover is done! I'm revamping all my covers with a more cohesive look for a series and I really can't wait to share those with you! Ill fated will be the kick off for the new look!
In the mean time, so as not to be a total tease.... here's a little excerpt to wet your whistle!
"You're awake?" He
sounded more than a little surprised.
"I'm not really sure the
state I'm in qualifies as awake."
"Here I was, terrified to
poke the dragon, and you're already drinking coffee and talking in complete
sentences."
I snorted and took a sip of the
aforementioned liquid gold. "Are you always like this in the
morning?"
"If you'd let me sleep
over you'd already know the answer to that question. Why aren't you
asleep?"
In general or just tonight, I
silently wondered. "Bad dream. I've been tossing and turning all night. I
finally gave in and got out of bed."
Papers rustled in the
background and when he spoke again, his voice was lower, intimate."You
want to talk about it?"
"Something tells me my
nightmares are the least of our problems."
"You have no idea. I need
you to come down to my office."
I sighed. "Can it at least
wait until after sunrise?"
"Would I be breaking the no phone calls before noon policy if it
could wait?"
“There really is no rest for
the wicked, is there?”
He laughed and the sound warmed
me more than a hundred cups of coffee. "Apparently not, in your case. Now,
there's a dirty chai latte and a croissant for you if you're here before
Amalie. I can't promise real coffee and pastries will survive beyond five
minutes of her arrival."
"It's four-thirty in the
morning, Mas. If you know what's good for you, you'll make sure at least one dirty chai and croissant remain
unmolested."
"I'll see you soon."
He was laughing as he hung up the phone.
Three hours ago I’d practically
crawled through the doorway, exhausted from cleaning up after a newbie vamp
who’d broken the Jus Sanguinis Intergentes when she killed her donor. The blood
pact between people and vampires had a clear no killing, no exceptions clause.
It was up to the maker to
ensure their child was ready to feed unsupervised. If something went wrong and
the Council found out about it, we cleaned up the mess and the sire was subject
to heavy fines and possible revocation of their rights to expand their blood
lines. She’d been quite literally a bitch to track and take down.
It had been a long night and it
was shaping up to be an even longer day.
I wasted little time getting
dressed, opting for a slip on black jersey dress, eighteen hole Docs and a
leather jacket. Jewelry was a hindrance in my line of work. My meeting with
Mason could easily turn into a run. Choked with my own chain? No, thank you.
Unclasping the necklace, I set it in a glass dish on my bathroom counter. I ran
a brush through my hair, a toothbrush over my teeth and slipped into the
between. I stepped out of the alley two buildings down from the station and
walked the last block and a half.
Amalie was swarmed by
detectives trying to get at the goodies she brought over from the Daily Grind.
She greeted me with a warm smile, shaking her head when I offered to pull her
out of the fray. She had managed to endear herself to the entire department in
record time. All it took was real coffee and fresh pastries. I pointed to
Mason's office. She'd make her way over once the starving masses had their
fill.
Mason was so engrossed in the
file on his desk he didn't hear me come in. He looked as tired as I felt - too
many double shifts. Despite an uptick in activity, SPTF was short staffed due
to budget cuts. Without enough man power to staff the shifts properly overtime
was mandatory.
"Is that for me?" I
pointed at the to-go cup and white paper bag on his desk.
He finally looked up and gave
me a smile which lit up his whole face. "As promised."
I stole a quick kiss, grabbed
the coffee and croissant, and settled in the chair across from him. I took a
long sip of my latte, savoring the delicious mix of tea and espresso.
"Man, I needed this. Is that the case you're working on?"
"Yeah, we've got a real
problem on our hands."
"Don't we always." I
tried to peak at the file.
Mason closed the manila folder.
"I'd rather wait until everyone is here."
"Who else is coming
besides Amalie?" My curiosity was definitely peaked now. I reached across
his desk, hoping to grab the file.
"You look exhausted. Tell
me about your dream while we wait."
I narrowed my eyes and glared
at him. "I see this for the obvious distraction it is but you're right.”
Sighing, I rubbed my temple.“However, I'm exhausted, too exhausted to argue. So
I'll tell you. Prepare to be confounded."
He listened intently as I
filled him in on the nightly visits from the weathered old woman who washed my
clothes and hauntingly called my name. I expected him to laugh and tell me it
was just a dream, that I had nothing to worry about.
I didn't expect him to look so
stricken.
"Bean Nighe." He all
but whispered the name.
"You've heard of
her?"
"Of course I've heard of
her. How long has she been coming to you?"
I stared at him curiously. "A
few weeks. Why?"
"A few weeks and this is
the first I'm hearing of it?” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath,
obviously struggling to control his temper.“We talked about this. No holding
things back, remember?"
"I thought it was just a
dream.” I shrugged.“Honestly, I didn't think it was a big deal."
"It was a big enough deal
for you to research it." Agitation rolled off him in waves.
When I agreed to give this
thing with Mason a chance I also agreed to some conditions. No more flying
solo, no more rash decisions or rushing off to play the hero. We were a team,
in everything. This was just one of many set-backs.
"I got curious, did a
little digging. Until tonight, everything I found pointed to deep seated family
issues, particularly with a mother figure. I've told you about my childhood,
does that dream analysis surprise you?"
His growl told me he wasn’t in
the mood for reasonable—at least to me—explanations. "When did you
discover the true meaning of the dream? How long have you known about the Bean
Nighe?"
"Tonight. This morning.
Before you called me." I held up a hand to stop the tongue lashing I knew
he wanted to give me. "I would have told you. I got the impression on the
phone there were more pressing matters than my insomnia."
"Is this why you won't let
me stay at your place?” His gaze roamed over my face, searching.“Why you never
stay at mine?"
"Is that the real reason
why you're so upset?" I arched my brows. “Because we’re not having
sleepovers?”
"I stayed at your lovely
apartment the first night we met."
I turned to watch Aidan glide into the room, stopping behind
my chair. Rolling my eyes, I snorted and muttered, “In the closet.”
Mason's jaw twitched but he
didn't take the bait. "Aidan."
"It's almost sunrise.
Shouldn't you be hunkered down for the day?" I sighed, wondering what he
was doing here. I was too tired to deal with Aidan and Mason and their combined
testoserone.
Putting the three of us in a room together was
like throwing lit matches at sticks of dynamite - eventually one of them will
explode.
