EXCERPT FROM NUWORLD: TARA’S REVENGE, BOOK 2 The Blood Circle Clan buzzed with activity, and Tara used caution as she steered her bike through the densely packed parked trailers and motorcycles. She looked for Tasha, which wasn’t an easy task since she had no idea what kind of trailer her half-sister might have or what kind of bike she rode.
Tara moved through the camp, greeting people the way she’d originally planned. Her comm beeped.
“Tara?” Darius’ baritone almost growled.
“Yes?”
“What are you doing?”
“I’m greeting my clan members.”
“Your papa told you to do that tonight.”
“Darius, I’ve got to do this.” She cut communication at that point, not wishing to hear any lectures on obedience. Spotting Balbo walking alongside several trailers, Tara pulled up next to him.
“Tara, now this is a welcome sight.” Balbo opened his arms.
Tara jumped off her bike to run into them. Her older step-brother had always been there for her as she grew up. She longed to unload on him the insults Tasha had spoken. As a child, he’d often comforted her after she and her sister fought. Tara understood why Tasha was jealous. After all, Tasha’s mama had taken Tara in as her own and helped raise her. Tara had shown the qualities of a leader, not Tasha. But Tara wasn’t a child anymore, and her half- brother didn’t need the burden of her problems, so Tara held her tongue.
Balbo was a jovial man, in spite of having a daughter he was raising alone, and who was already starting to run wild. Tara never wanted to change that trait in him. She would set Tasha straight once she found her.
“It’s so good to see you.” Tara smiled and let go of Balbo. “I think someone else might be anxious to see you as well, not that she’d admit it.”
“Has she behaved herself?” Balbo seemed prepared to hear the worse.
“She’s been a great help.” Tara avoided the answer she knew Balbo dreaded hearing.
Over Balbo’s shoulder, a familiar figure approached. Tara stiffened. Her heart started thumping as adrenaline pumped into her system. Balbo turned to see what had caught her attention. The figure disappeared between two trailers, and Tara looked back at Balbo.
“What was it?”
“Nothing. I’ll talk with you soon.” She gave him a quick hug and hurried to where she’d just seen her sister.
As Tara walked between the two trailers, the sun disappeared behind one of them. Goose bumps travelled over her flesh. Children played at the other end of the trailers. A sight pleasant enough, but for some reason an ominous sensation trickled through her.
Tara remembered the excitement of settling in and having an area to call her own for a while. She reached down to help steady a toddler that had taken off too fast and started between the trailers. Several feet away, an infant sat on the ground holding steadfast to the long hair of an older child who wailed profusely in protest.
When she reached the end of the two trailers, the sun that hit her didn’t warm her. Instead it seemed oddly cold for such a bright day. Tara gently released the child’s hair from the infant’s grasp. The child cried miserably and ran in the apparent direction of her mama.
“Well now, is this fun?” Tara smiled and reached down to scoop up the infant. The child reached for Tara’s necklace, a teardrop-shaped ruby with a silver circle around it. The symbol of the Blood Circle Clan. A gift from Darius. “No, no,” she said gently and held the child’s hand.
The baby boy looked up into her face, and Tara froze. He had blond curls and the darkest gray eyes. She stared at the child in disbelief. He looked like Andru had at that age.
Two hands roughly ripped away the infant from her. “What are you doing?”
“I was…” Tara started, surprised, realizing the child had distracted her to the point of not recognizing the voice. She stood up straight and the amiability left her as she stared at her sister.
Tasha held the child close to her chest and cuddled him, smiling wickedly.
Tara was dumbfounded.
The little boy looked at Tasha, then at Tara. His chubby hand reached for Tara.
Tasha pulled it back, snuggling it with her own hand. “This is your Aunt Tara,” she whispered to the baby although loud enough for Tara to hear. “You two have a lot in common.” Again the wicked smile.
Nuworld: Claiming Tara Page 44