Sara Winters never had reason to
acknowledge the existence of Angels or Demons. Not until a rare
being, half angel and half demon, rescues her from a demon
attack. As an antique book dealer she has spent her adult life
looking for one particular, mysterious Book, and her search has
led her straight into Drake Domitaine’s arms.Drake doesn’t have time to deal with a frail human woman but he has to protect her from the very same demons that are now planning a war on the human race.
Sara and Drake’s fated love is doomed from the start. Or is it? Can a human woman and Angel-Demon be together? It’s now a race against time to find the Book which has become an important part of pending war to save humankind. And in the end, will Sara and Drake overcome the insurmountable odds of their love continuing?
Excerpt one
Sara knocked softly on the door to room twenty-eight of the
Amenity Suite Hotel. As she waited, she glanced down the hallway in both
directions. At a little past midnight, the emptiness of the halls wasn't
unusual but she still felt a twinge of unease. Something was out of place.
Wrong. But, what? What is making me this scared?
Knocking again, she grimaced at the loud echo. No answer. Chewing
on her bottom lip for a moment, she reached out and slowly turned the doorknob.
To her surprise, the door was unlocked. The dire, mental warning that something
was definitely wrong started screaming louder in her head, but she resolutely
ignored it. That fear had passed after the last two events involving the list
of names. Still, she was more than a little cautious as she stepped into the
dark room. Stretching her hand out, she located the wall light switch and
flipped it. The room flooded with light.
“Mr. Franklin?” She perused the unmade bed in the center of
the room, and an opened suitcase on the table next to the bed. Nothing seemed
out of place, or disturbed. Something
isn’t right. I can feel it. Hesitant, but determined, she advanced into the
room. “Hello? Mr. Franklin? It’s Sara Winters.”
Her gaze went to the bathroom. The door was ajar and the
light off so she was almost sure he wasn’t in there. Where is he? I told him I’d meet him after midnight and he promised
he’d be waiting. Advancing into the middle of the room, she abruptly stopped.
Suddenly, she became acutely aware of the obvious sense of utter stillness, an
eerie feeling of frozen time as though the entire room was enclosed in a
blanket of cold nothingness. Goosebumps rose across her bare arms, and she half
expected to see her breath come out in cold puffs of air.
Her mind shouted one stark word: Death.
Death was here, just like the other two times. It had been
too late to talk to either men, both dead of what had been termed as natural
deaths, one with a heart attack, the other with a stroke.
David Franklin was third on the list of six men. And she had
the sickening feeling he was dead too.
Someone wanted to make sure that none of the men talked. But
who? And why?
She didn’t want to take the time to dwell further on it. It
wasn’t safe hanging around here any longer. When she turned to leave, her gaze
immediately zeroed in on the bare foot partially hidden beneath the floor
length bed coverlet. She bit back a gasp as a cold shiver of dread overtook her.
The rest of the body lay hidden under the bed, but she didn’t have the courage to
go over there and prove it was David Franklin.
The killer might still be near. Sickening fear rushed
through her in forceful waves. Without hesitation, she rushed out the door,
slamming it closed behind her. Cringing, she leaned back against it and attempted
to calm her racing heart.
The third time she’d faced death, didn’t make it any less
frightening or sickening. Her stomach rolled with the threat of vomiting. Taking
several calming breaths she then exhaled slowly. It didn’t work. She was
dealing with something far more sinister than she’d anticipated, leaving her
feeling hopelessly clueless and she hated feeling so vulnerable. Her special
vision of sight wasn’t even working. It was hard to get a grasp on anything. I can’t give up. It wasn’t in her
nature. Maybe the visions would come when she most needed them. In the past,
her visions of the Book had led her
to clues just at the opportune time. If she was going to solve this, she had to
be strong. And patient, she added.
I need answers, but I
don’t think I will find them here, now. The previous two events the killer,
he or she, left no clues behind. She wasn’t a detective, but she’d spent her
adult life following clues to help her obtain rare books, so she recognized the
signs of a clean-up when she encountered the last two murders.
I have to get away
from here. For some strange reason, the fear was stronger here than at the
other two deaths. Hurrying from the room and out into the night she saw
movements in every shadow. The hair on her arms rose. The uncanny feeling
someone was watching her made her hurry her steps. Stopping in the parking lot
of the hotel she took one last thorough look around, but saw nothing out of the
ordinary, then took off running toward her car.
Oddly weak and suddenly, violently nauseated, she leaned against
her car door to catch her breath. A few long minutes later her body relaxed.
The after-midnight air was warm and muggy, with the threat of a summer storm
hovering above the city. Sweat trickled down her neck into the ‘V’ of her silk
bra. Anticipating the cold blast of air conditioning, she reached into her
jeans back pocket and fished out her car key.
The only warning was the soft swish of wind overhead, and
the darker-than-the-night shadow that covered her and her car. Startled, she
looked up.
And screamed.
Amazon
Excerpt Two
Drake lunged to his feet and then reached down to grasp her
hands in his. He pulled her up and straight into his arms. Sara threw up her
hands to brace against his wide chest and leaned back defensively. For one
brief moment, the touch of his hard body felt like the icy cold hand of death. Although
as soon as she touched him, warmth flooded from his body to hers and she pushed
the strange thought away. Her imagination had to be on overload. There was no
other explanation.
“Are you okay?” His deep voice sounded rough, harsh. In
answer, she sharply raised her brows at him. He grimaced, his sensuous lips
tightening into a thin slash. “I didn’t mean to be so rough. You’re a little
thing despite being such a strong venetrix in other ways.”
Sara didn’t know how to respond to that. One minute his
voice was hard, the next he made the word venetrix sound like an endearment. She
shook her head. Nothing about this enigmatic man had yet to make much sense. Ha. Will it ever?
“I’m fine.” Another push against his chest and he released
her. Carefully, she moved back several steps, ready to try and run again if the
chance came. Something told her that staying near Drake Domitaine wasn’t a
smart idea.
“I want answers,” she said. “Now.” A nervous glance at the
sky confirmed, the predawn morning wasn’t far
away and no hint of any shadows marred the clear expanse above them. “What was
that…shadow? How did you know it was there before it reached us?” There were
too many questions and she had to fight down another wave of fear. Putting her
hands on her hips she demanded, “What is going on, Drake?”
Drake glanced at the sky too. His handsome features clouded
with a dark, brooding look, almost like rage. Sara’s confusion intensified.
“I promise to explain things,” he answered, his voice
sounding distracted. “Later. Right now we need to get to some place safe before
morning arrives in all its blazing glory.”
He took her arm and ushered her back to the car. Sara went
along, grudgingly, unable to hold her tongue. “What’s the matter, allergic to
the sun?”
Drake smiled down at her, but it never reached his eyes. His
bitter expression matched the tone of his voice when he answered, “Something
like that.”
Letting him take the driver’s seat she buckled her seat
belt, and watched him from under lowered lashes. Okay, Drake. I’ll go with you for the time being. It doesn’t look like
I have much choice, but I plan to get answers to all my questions. One way or
the other.
“I want to ask why ‘some place safe,’ as you’ve put it, but
I know you won’t tell me,” she grumbled. “Do you at least have an idea where we
are going? My father’s house is on the north side of Phoenix and we can be
there in about twenty minutes.”
“Too long,” Drake muttered as he increased the speed of the
car once he had maneuvered back onto the highway.
Sara sighed in frustration at his cryptic answer. “Mata Hari
I’m not, Drake. All this mystery is beginning to get on my last nerve. Why was a
twenty minute drive too long?”
His long silence made her think he wasn’t going to answer
her. Finally he replied, his tone tense, “Your father’s house isn’t safe for
the moment. Chances are that we’re being followed even though I can’t detect
them right now. Leading them back to your father’s home isn’t smart. We need a
quick, temporary place to hide for a few hours.”
Why? Why all this mystery? Always good at solving mysteries
she had the distinct feeling this wasn’t going to be one of those times. “Any
idea where that might be, especially if we’re being followed?”
She looked out the back window of the car. Phoenix was
already awake even though it was still predawn and countless drivers were busy
maneuvering the four-lane stretch of highway. If they were being followed, she
had no idea who they were. Was it the
killer? And, who exactly was that? I hate
not having answers.
She returned her attention to Drake. His handsome, brooding
features were drawn, tense. His hands clutched the steering wheel tight. His
entire body language practically shouted danger. He was definitely a mystery
she wasn’t sure she wanted to try and decipher. One secret was all she could
handle at a time. It took her a few minutes of reasoning to realize that she
was almost sure he wasn’t the killer who had been stalking her search from day
one. Although each situation with finding the dead men had shocked her into
deep fear, she still hadn’t felt that strange vibe Drake gave off. Drake scared her to death, yet kept her off
balance feeling as though she knew
him. None of that had been present the other times. Yet, she had a feeling the
strange shadow from earlier had something to do directly with the killer. Someone didn’t want her discovering the
truth about the men’s deaths. Someone—or something—not natural. What Drake had
to do with it all was just as baffling.
And she had the deep-gut feeling that Drake Domitaine was just
as dangerous as the unknown killer. Maybe even more so.
“Damn it all to hell,” Drake muttered under his breath. Sara
felt the car’s speed increase. If he didn’t slow down, they were going to get
caught for speeding. Or worse, they’d end up in an accident. Although, one look
at the harshness of his features and she knew that stating the obvious right
then wasn’t a smart idea. Grinding her teeth together, she kept her mouth shut.
Drake braked and swerved the car off the highway and onto a
narrow road without a street sign. Her father had lived in Phoenix for years. She
had seldom visited and wasn’t as familiar with the area as Drake obviously was.
On either side of the paved road, tall desert scrubs and countless palm trees
littered the scenery. The road itself had only one-lane, and it twisted and
curved sharply every few yards. Despite the harrowing turns, Drake never slowed
the car’s speed. Thank you for seat
belts!
A few minutes later he turned the car around a sharp bend
and a small cottage loomed directly at the end of the road. Sara didn’t notice
anything out of the ordinary about the house, with its whitewashed stucco,
single-level size, no garage, and its bare minimum landscaping of desert
scenery.
In front of the house Drake stomped on the car brakes,
bringing it to a teeth-rattling stop. He yanked the keys from the ignition and
jerked open the car door. With a terse, “Get out,” he jumped from the car and
headed for the front door. She reluctantly followed, not sure what to think
about his unsettling behavior.
By the time she reached the door, he was inside and waiting
for her. As soon as she crossed the threshold, he grabbed her arm, pulled her
further into the entry hall and slammed the door behind her. Waiting for her
eyes to adjust to the inner darkness she heard the unmistakable sound of dead
bolts—several of them—being shoved in place. Turning around to see better, she
gasped.
The locks weren’t just mere deadbolts. They were wide, solid
steel bars that crisscrossed across the width of the door and bolted to both
sides. She counted four. That door was barricaded like Fort Knox now.
And she was trapped inside.
Author contact links:
email | Website |Author Central Page on Amazon | Facebook
Goodreads | Linkedin | Scribd | Website Blog
No comments:
Post a Comment