Last One Standing: Dark Paranormal Tattoo Taboo Romance (The Chronicles of Kerrigan Book 11)

by W. J. May

  “I could have gotten away,” he boasted again through a mouthful of ribs.

  The second they were back in the city he’d insisted upon eating a ‘proper meal’ instead of ‘that bloody awful prison shit.’ To Kraigan, a proper meal apparently consisted of an entire side of beef. An idea Devon wasn’t entirely opposed to, but the savage way Kraigan was tearing through the bones was bound to give Rae nightmares.

  “Even with Devon’s lame tatù, I still could have gotten away.” He poured an extra helping of barbeque sauce on his plate. “Except they threw this kid at me.”

  “I’m sorry…” Rae raised her eyebrows, “they threw a kid at you?” Interesting tactic. Although she wouldn’t have counted on Kraigan to flinch.

  Kraigan rolled his eyes. “Some rookie—fresh out of the academy.”

  “A rookie,” Devon repeated with obvious delight, taking a swig of beer. “You got taken down by a rookie?”

  Kraigan practically bared his teeth. “It wasn’t how it sounds. It’s not like he fought me or anything. I just…I accidently took his power.”

  With a look of disgust, Rae leaned forward with a napkin and tried to wipe a drip of sauce off of his chin. “And what was his power?”

  He slapped away her hand and swiped Devon’s beer at the same time. “He’s a healer.”

  The irony was almost too much.

  “A what?!” Rae demanded, grinning from ear to ear.

  Kraigan shot her a sour look. “I know. It wasn’t lost on me. I’m guessing that’s why they picked him. They knew I’d steal it.”

  “Well, let that be a lesson to you,” Devon declared smugly. He still hadn’t gotten over the fact that it had been his tatù Kraigan had made off with. “You shouldn’t take things without asking first.”

  Kraigan glared at him and angrily bit into another rib.

  Molly, still giving him a hard time about tripping so many times up the stairs, added, “Maybe a little time in isolation was exactly what you needed.”

  Kraigan set down his ribs with a rather frightening smile. “Hey, Dev.” He leaned forward across the table, reaching for Devon’s head. “You’ve got something on your face, let me just—”

  “Oh, fuck that!” Devon leapt back so fast he almost knocked their drinks clean off the table. “There’s no way in hell you’re touching me again. Ever. You can keep your awesome healing ink.”

  “Actually, I’ll take it!” Rae said suddenly. Imagine all the times she could have used something like that if it had been in her arsenal. This afternoon being a prime example. At the rate they were going, it was bound to become one of her favorites. “I’ll trade you something for it.”

  “Really?” Kraigan lit up for the first time. “Whatcha got?”

  “How about Devon’s?” Rae grinned slyly. “Since you liked it so much before.”

  Brother and sister shared a rare smile as Devon fumed in the corner.

  “Absolutely not!” he exclaimed.

  “Why not?” Rae asked innocently. “It’s not like you’ll be losing it—just me. And I can pick it back up from you again the second it’s gone.”

  “It’s just…” he spluttered as he looked between them, outraged that they were on the same side, “…it’s the principle of the thing. I don’t want him to have it.”

  “Dev,” Rae said chidingly, offering Kraigan her hand, “let’s show a little maturity, shall we? I think it’s great progress that Kraigan didn’t just take it himself—he was waiting for permission.”

  Kraigan’s face blanked. “Actually, I was just waiting until after I ate…”

  Rae ignored this, wrapping her fingers around his wrist.

  The effect was instantaneous, sweeping through both of them at once. In a flash, she was able to pick up his healing tatù, while at the same time he extracted the fox from her. They pulled away a second later, each a little smug—like two kids who both thought they’d made the better trade on the playground.

  With an apologetic smile, Rae turned to Devon next. “Sorry, babe. Do you think I could…?”

  She reached out to stroke his face, but he leaned petulantly away, glaring out the window instead while Kraigan gleefully finished his beer. “No. You may not,” Devon sputtered.

  She hesitated. “You know I don’t like to do these things without consent.”

  On the other side of the table, Kraigan rolled his eyes before launching into another set of ribs. “Just get on with it already—this is like a bad PSA.”

  “Devon…” she leaned forward with a seductive smile, tilting her face up to his, “if I promise not to mimic your tatù, will you give me a kiss?”

  The corners of his lips turned up, but he tried to hold his ground. “Just a kiss?”

  “That’s all, I promise.”

  Kraigan scowled darkly. “Do not do that in front of me. I just got out of prison. Do you think I need that image burned into my—oh, come on!”

  But it was too late. With a gigantic smile, Devon pulled Rae the rest of the way in, sweeping his hand behind her hair as their lips came together.

  The second they were touching, she stole his tatù as they both knew she would—promises be damned. He chuckled softly as he felt it lift lightly from his body, but pulled her in with a new strength, knowing she could match it now as the ink flowed fresh through her skin.

  They didn’t stop until Kraigan cut short their bliss with a perfectly timed: “So where exactly is the bastard Cromfield?”

  Way to ruin the moment…

  They pulled apart with identical scowls, which they directed full-force at Kraigan. The guy couldn’t have cared less. He simply stared between them expectantly, a pile of bones on his plate.

  While Devon ordered another round of drinks, Rae leaned forward with a sigh. “We don’t know exactly where he is now, but we have a tracker on our team, just waiting to be prepped. We know he’s close.” She swallowed. “I talked with him yesterday in London.”

  “What does he want?” Kraigan asked curiously, licking the sauce from his fingers. Only he wouldn’t bother to ask why she had talked and not fought.

  Rae hesitated. These were exactly the sorts of details they had bent over backwards to keep out of Kraigan’s hands. Whatever progress he had made, the boy was still a walking, talking sociopath, and there was really no predicting what he would do in an explosive situation such as this.

  If we are to weather this storm, we must unite.

  Carter’s words echoed in her head, and she leaned back with a little sigh. Whether Kraigan was ready to hear it or not…it was time.

  * * *

  “Well, he sure hopped on board fast.”

  Rae walked up to Devon through the tall grass, her long dress swishing back and forth in the gentle Scottish breeze. They had arrived at her mother’s farmhouse earlier that afternoon, and they most certainly had not been alone. If her mother was surprised to see twenty or more members of the Knights and Privy Council arrive at her doorstep, she certainly didn’t say so. She just kissed Rae on the cheek and opened the door wider with a cursory, “There’s lunch on the stove.”

  The Abbey was safe house number one. Guilder was safe house number two. And upon Rae’s urging, it had been decided that the farmhouse would be safe house number three.

  For one thing—Cromfield didn’t know where it was. They couldn’t say as much for the other two. And while Guilder and the Abbey were great centers for operation, they didn’t exactly feel like home. Not like Scotland did.

  No, the farmhouse was the place to be. They had already used it as a training center once. They could do it again. It could be a more intimate center for operations. A launching point as people from every agency and rank set out across the globe to gather together all the tatùs that they could find. Men and women alike. Children and parents. Hybrids.

  Thanks to the looming threat of Cromfield, Rae and her friends were preparing for the greatest coming together of tatùs the world had ever seen. Never before in history would there be g
athered together so many people with ink. It would be a revolutionary affair. A new world precedent. One that was likely to shape the history of their people for generations to come.

  “Yeah, well, we both guessed that was going to happen. The kid’s insane.”

  Devon laced his fingers with hers as she came to stand beside him on the cliff. At his request, they had driven away from the commotion at the house for a few hours, to watch the sunset over the high ocean cliffs. The salt air misted up around them as a glorious swirl of vibrant gold and fiery crimson painted the sky. It reminded Rae of the cliffs over at Dunnett Head, the ones where she’d found her father’s note. She remembered standing there all by herself, thinking it was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.

  This moment might top that.

  And that might have a lot to do with the man standing beside her. Or everything.

  She smiled to herself as she rested her head lightly on his shoulder.

  What a year it had been. And what was yet to come. Her world was spinning at such a pace that she couldn’t even begin to wrap her mind around it. It was all she could do to hang on for dear life, and pray she was still standing when it was all over.

  And yet, she had this nagging suspicion that someone here was going to make sure she was.

  “What’re you thinking about?” she asked softly, peering up at Devon’s face.

  He smiled down at her for a second before answering simply, “You.”

  She smiled to herself and stared out over the waves, squeezing his hand tighter in hers. “It’s so beautiful,” she murmured. “I can hardly catch my breath.”

  “Me neither,” he replied thoughtfully. “It’s one of the reasons I wanted to bring you out here, to show you…”

  She peered down over the edge of the bluff to the crashing waves below. “Perhaps you forgot,” she teased, “I specifically asked you not to jump off any more cliffs.”

  He laughed softly and lifted his eyes to the horizon. “Actually…I was thinking about jumping off the biggest one of all.”

  She looked up curiously. “I’m not sure I know what you mean.”

  A flash of fear passed across his face, replaced with a look Rae had never seen before. “Rae, I didn’t forget your birthday. And Carter didn’t ask me to go away with him. I needed some time…to get you a present.”

  The wind stirred her hair around her as she searched his eyes, wondering what was going on in that beautiful head of his. “Okay…well, do you have it here? Or should we go back to the…”

  He sank down onto one knee.

  Wait! What? What…is happening?

  Time seemed to stop as she looked down at him through a windswept tangle of raven-colored curls, frozen in surprise and haloed in sunlight.

  His eyes twinkled as he reached down into his pocket. “Rae Kerrigan,” he took a second to catch his breath, “from the moment I tackled you on the first day of school, I haven’t been able to get you out of my head. From that day on, I’ve carried you with me wherever I go. You’ve changed my world, Rae. Brightened it in a way I didn’t know was possible. Turned it upside-down and inside out, and made it something worth living.”

  With trembling fingers, he opened the little box. “I love you more than life itself. I always have, and I always will.”

  An exquisite diamond sparkled in the air between them.

  “Will you marry me?”

  THE END

  Coming June 2016

  Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F5MXY7S

  DESCRIPTION

  Rae of Light is the 12th Book of W.J. May's bestselling series, The Chronicles of Kerrigan.

  It’s time to face the music—except there is no music, just a low warning of a war that is to come. There are no other options but to confront Cromfield. No more running, no more hiding. Rae Kerrigan will be forced into an eternal life sentence if they do not stop him.

  Except, how do you stop a madman that cannot die? How do you risk the lives of everyone you love, your family, friends and the lives of innocent people? Rae is running out of time and possibilities.

  Will the sins of the father be the sins of the daughter?

  It’s up to Rae to find a way to undo the dark evil in her family’s past to have a ray of hope for everyone’s future.

  Note from Author

  I stare at these pages and wonder where the years have gone. It’s not that many, lol, but it seems the idea of Rae and her tatù started forming in my head just a little bit ago. Now, here we are, 11 books later and on the eve of the final book for Rae…

  However, I have to admit that I don’t feel this story is over. I’m excited to start the prequel and let readers know what I’ve know all along about Simon and Beth. And then… will there be more for Rae? That’s for the readers to decide! You tell me if you want more Rae, Devon & the gang adventures!

  All the best, W.J. May

  Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/97aYf

  Website: http://www.wanitamay.yolasite.com

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  The Chronicles of Kerrigan

  Book I - Rae of Hope is FREE!

  Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B1NNFR0

  Book Trailer:

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gILAwXxx8MU

  Book II - Dark Nebula

  Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B46UWNO

  Book Trailer:

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca24STi_bFM

  Book III - House of Cards

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  Book IV - Royal Tea

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  Book V - Under Fire

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  Book VI - End in Sight

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  Book VII – Hidden Darkness

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  Book VIII – Twisted Together

  Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BPSQZFY

  Book IX – Mark of Fate

  Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C4TYUZU

  Book X – Strength & Power

  Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CK8MBRE

  Book XI – Last One Standing

  Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DYFPVAG

  BOOK XII – Rae of Light

  Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F5MXY7S

  PREQUEL – Christmas Before the Magic

  Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0195ZSB3I

  CoK Prequel!

  A Novella of the Chronicles of Kerrigan.

  A prequel on how Simon Kerrigan met Beth!!

  AVAILABLE:

  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0195ZSB3I

  More books by W.J. May

  Hidden Secrets Saga:

  Download Seventh Mark part 1 For FREE

  http://www.amazon.com/Seventh-Mark-Part-Hidden-Secrets-ebook/dp/B00H17FQCC

  Book Trailer:

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-_vVYC1gvo

  Like most teenagers, Rouge is trying to figure out who she is and what she wants to be. With little knowledge about her past, she has questions but has never tried to find the answers. Everything changes when she befriends a strangely intoxicating family. Siblings Grace and Michael, appear to have secrets which seem connected to Rouge. Her hunch is confirmed when a horrible incident occurs at an outdoor party. Rouge may be the only one who can find the answer.

  An ancient journal, a Sioghra necklace and a special mark force life-altering decisions for a girl who grew up unprepared to fight for her life or others.

  All secrets have a cost and Rouge's determination to find the truth can only lead to trouble…or something even more sinister.

  RADIUM HALOS - THE SENSELESS SERIES

  Book 1 is FREE: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IFSS4ES

  Book Blurb:

  Everyone needs to be a hero at one point in their life.

  Th
e small town of Elliot Lake will never be the same again.

  Caught in a sudden thunderstorm, Zoe, a high school senior from Elliot Lake, and five of her friends take shelter in an abandoned uranium mine. Over the next few days, Zoe's hearing sharpens drastically, beyond what any normal human being can detect. She tells her friends, only to learn that four others have an increased sense as well. Only Kieran, the new boy from Scotland, isn't affected.

  Fashioning themselves into superheroes, the group tries to stop the strange occurrences happening in their little town. Muggings, break-ins, disappearances, and murder begin to hit too close to home. It leads the team to think someone knows about their secret - someone who wants them all dead.

  An incredulous group of heroes. A traitor in the midst. Some dreams are written in blood.

  Courage Runs Red

  The Blood Red Series

  Book 1 is FREE

  Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VC8HSFE

  What if courage was your only option?

  When Kallie lands a college interview with the city's new hot-shot police officer, she has no idea everything in her life is about to change. The detective is young, handsome and seems to have an unnatural ability to stop the increasing local crime rate. Detective Liam's particular interest in Kallie sends her heart and head stumbling over each other.

  When a raging blood feud between vampires spills into her home, Kallie gets caught in the middle. Torn between love and family loyalty she must find the courage to fight what she fears the most and possibly risk everything, even if it means dying for those she loves.