Book Previews

Shadowed Horizons

         "My sixth sense says trouble’s GPS has already locked on. Stay close.”

     The gentle slide of Adam’s gun from its shoulder rig compelled Carlin to suck in the cool night air, searing his lungs.

     “Sir, instincts are the best survival tool we have. They’re rarely wrong. Better safe than sorry.”

     Sharp chirps split the silence, Carlin’s cell threw his heart rate into overdrive. Hair on his nape prickled as he fumbled in his pocket. With an all-thumbs equivalent, he extracted the nuisance and hit ignore.

     Massive pillars supported the five-story concrete structure. Rounding one to his left, his foot stalled mid-step when Adam snatched him sideways. The colossal thug he almost plowed into blended into the shadows.

     “Jesus!" The man personified hulkish features with abject malice in his gaze. The split-second observation brought Carlin a rush of adrenaline. "You're huge!" Brown hair pulled back in a ponytail swept his shoulder giving the look of a mob enforcer. A bulge of pitted, tanned skin separated a straight line of bushy eyebrows. Dark eyes appeared to hold a terrible knowledge and gave his hard stare a cold calculating look.

     The brute’s gaze raked Carlin's body head to toe. Chipped yellow teeth appeared as his thin lips pulled back in a wide grin. "Time to meet your maker, prodigy." He mimicked Carlin's sidestep in a lightning-fast move and knocked Adam's gun from his right hand. Its ricocheting underneath a nearby Toyota produced multiple tin-like clinks.

     Time seemed to fracture. Adam's left arm shoved Carlin to the side. His assailant took wily advantage in that flash of time. He watched his bodyguard go down hard from his attacker's leg sweep.

     One blink and a dagger appeared in the thug's hand. Its arc and swift speed toward his belly made it little more than a glimmer in the weak light. His neurons couldn't fire fast enough to follow its passage. Two feet stood between Carlin and a trip to his maker, complements of this walking nightmare.
Buy

Shadowed Origins

     Kiera woke to the tune of growling dogs. After bridging a brief connections with their minds, panic knotted in her chest.
     "Kyley! We've got intruders. Lots of em. Up and out. Let's go." Never had her home turf been invaded. Her first though-Roth. Trouble arrived en mass. A glance at Kyley proved she'd made the same connection with the dogs.
     Her sister bolted upright and then sat frozen on the cot.
     Crap. Not now... "Kyley, I know you're afraid. But we're gonna be okay."
     She whimpered in response.
     "Come on, sis, I'll keep you safe, but we have to move-now."
     That speared her twin into action. With little wasted movement, Kyley slipped into her clothes while she pulled on her leathers and slid weapons in her waistband. Experience and self-assurance guided her. It took little effort to engage the dogs' minds and signal them to stay behind her.
     A slice of moonlight peaked through their window. Kyley's fearful expression as she moved toward the door made Kiera's breath hitch.
     "Kiera, I don't know how to fight. It's probably Roth. He's found me. Oh God."
     Kiera glanced again at the window before whispering to her twin. "It's okay, Kyley. Stay behind me. Come on, we have to warn the others." The house maintained redundant alarms that she hoped remained active. A book from the nearby shelf served her purpose. After snatching it up, she tossed it at the window.
     The silence shattered.
     When it bounced back from the screen, the thick tomb thudded to the floor among shards of glass. Nice welcome mat for any intruder.
     The screeching alarm, which echoed through the house suddenly shut off. Shit. Still...message delivered. Within seconds, footsteps pounded down the hall amid various shouts.
     Nicholai reached for her door as she pulled it open. "Keep Kyley behind you. She's not ready to fight. I'll be with Lorne and Kenner's men on the east wing." His face typified his mask of concentration as he pivoted to leave.
     "Take Leyna and Raptor with you. They'll protect Carlin." A silent command sent her white shepherds with Nicholai.
     With one step in the hall, the dim emergency lights exposed Kiera's worst horror.
     Two intruders crested the stairs ten feet away. Each bore a double-edged knife. One also held a semi-automatic Sig Sauer. The other raised his other hand, palm up. The ball of flame that danced there reflected light back to his face. He turned an eerie smile her way. Behind him, more soldiers advanced up the curved stairway.
     As she stepped forward to throw her knives, the first intruder raised his muzzle to shoot. She jumped as Taylor stepped beside her and growled a curse. With a flick of his hand, he swept both over the banister. Their bellows of surprise died under the din of approaching chaos. They crashed into the marble entry table below. Her gaze flicked over the railing to see the flame gone, as lifeless as its wielder. Both their necks were cocked at an odd angle.
     "Guess Kenner's men don't need much orienting. Figured you'd be here shortly." Kiera snorted as her gaze flicke to Taylor.
     "Telekinesis definitely comes in handy." Taylor focused on two more men approaching htem. "Where else would I be?"
     "How many times can you do that without exhausting your strength?"
     "Not enough. I'll save it as a last resort." Angry shouts drifted up from the first floor.                 
Buy
Shadowed Passage

   “The choice is yours, boy, but understand—not deciding is making a decision. Do it before I make the decision for you. Only difference is, I won’t kill one, I’ll kill them both. Father or sister. You have all the power.”

     Roth kept his tone calm and gentle. The evil coiled tightly within warmed his soul. He fancied the boy killing his father, silently rooting for the infant to survive. He could have lots of fun with her over the coming years.

     The boy’s father would die either way. He’d bound and beaten him just for fun.

     “Daddy? What do I do?” Tears streamed down Dylan’s face, sobs racked his entire nine-year-old battered frame. His gaze slid from his father to his baby sister, now held by Roth. When he looked back at his dad’s bruised and bloodied face, he cried harder. His dad’s eyes were swollen almost shut.

     The gun shook uncontrollably in the boy’s small hand. “Daddy?”

     Boredom shadowed his mind as the excitement of the climax dimmed with the child’s indecisiveness. His gaze wandered out the window above the kitchen sink.

     In the back yard, a massive, wooden play structure stood, complete with swings, tunnels, overhead ladder, and a slide. How extravagant for just two children, one still an infant. His sister always belabored the little things. Shame she’s not present to witness this. He would’ve found this even more amusing.

     The blond haired infant cradled roughly in his left arm actually cooed at him. Disgusting. If he kept this thing, he'd have to hire a nanny. Still, the thought of it growing up with half the powers his sister enjoyed years ago made the brat worth the trouble...If she survived today. He sighed.

Buy