by Patti O'Shea
“They had a popper,” she said.
“Yep. Told you it wasn’t anything fun like a night out partying.”
She tightened her hold on him, using his body as leverage to sit up with a groan. “Why aren’t you hurting?”
“I was—I am—but I’m getting past it now. You gotta remember, I was awake before you and I outweigh you by at least seventy pounds. Not only is the drug going to hit you harder, but it’ll take you longer to recover too.”
Wrapping her other arm around him, she rested her forehead against his shoulder. “We need to get out of here,” she said, voice muffled against him. “Warn them.”
“Warn who, Bug?”
“Major Brody and his wife. They’re going after the obelisks in their rooms and those thieves don’t care if they have to hurt them or their son to get the stones. I heard them talking before they knew I was there.”
Wyatt digested that. Though she hadn’t filled him in on anything yet, he’d seen enough to make an informed guess about what kind of mess she’d run across. Leave it to Kendall to find a smuggling ring. But from what she’d just told him, it sounded like the bastards were upping the ante, and he knew exactly which obelisks they were targeting.
He and Brody were on friendly enough terms that he’d received an invitation into his home. He’d been waiting for the major in the sitting room when an odd glow had drawn him forward. Even knowing how rude it was, he hadn’t been able to resist pushing open the door. He’d been so fascinated by what he’d seen that he hadn’t realized he’d barged into the man’s bedroom until Ravyn Brody had called him on it. Luckily, the woman had a sense of humor.
“The light pyramid,” he said, half statement, half question.
“You know about that?” Kendall straightened and he missed the feel of her against him.
“Uh, yeah,” he said cautiously, unsure what had put the edge in her voice.
“And you never told me about it?”
His lips twitched again. “Sorry, it slipped my mind.”
“It slipped your mind?” She surged to her feet, froze for a moment as if steadying herself, and then rounded on him. “You know how interested I am in this kind of thing.”
He stood up himself, felt his head start to throb harder, and guessed Kendall had gotten the pain worse than he had. “Sorry,” he repeated. “It won’t happen again, I swear.”
“It better not,” she grumbled, but he knew she wasn’t mad anymore. Moving carefully, she retrieved her bag and hitched it on her shoulder. “How do we get out of here?”
Wyatt looked around, but didn’t know for sure. The room was perfectly square, each wall identical. The boxes of alien goods were gone and the place was barren. “I think the entrance is to my left.” At least the opening had been on his left when he’d taken the hit. If they’d moved him after he’d gone down, then all bets were off.
Hours later, after feeling around the wall, trying to find some gizmo to open the damn thing, Wyatt conceded he could be wrong. Maybe it wasn’t this wall. Or maybe the only trigger was on the outside. He slammed the heel of his hand against the stone in lieu of cursing.
Kendall was on her knees to his right, patting around near the floor, and she stood when she heard the slap of skin against rock. She smiled at him and he felt his frustration melt away.
“Maybe we’ll be stuck in here for a while,” she said, sounding like the bubbly cheerleader she’d been accused of being, “but we’ll get out in time to sound the alert, and at least we won’t have to worry about hunger or thirst. Not right away. I still have my lunch and some water in my bag.”
“Food and water aren’t the top two items on my list of concerns.” He’d tried to keep the grimness out of his voice, but when he saw her smile fade, he knew he hadn’t succeeded.
“What are the top two worries?”
For an instant, he thought about lying. But Bug was tough enough to handle the truth. “My number one concern is they’ll realize how stupid it was not to kill us and come back to finish the job.”
“And your number two worry?”
“That they won’t.” She looked confused and he moved to pull her into his arms. “I’m beginning to wonder if the room is airtight. If it is, they don’t have to return. The lack of oxygen will kill us without leaving any evidence of foul play.”
Paranormal Romance by Patti O'Shea
The Light Warriors Series
In the Midnight Hour — When a troubleshooter for a society of magic users rescues a private detective from a dark spell, she finds more than an ally as she faces down her former mentor. (2008 Booksellers Best Award Winner - Best Paranormal)
In Twilight's Shadow — Troubleshooter Creed Blackwood is trying to capture a demon hunting Maia Frasier’s sister. But if Maia’s suspicions about Creed's falling to dark magic are true, he might be a bigger danger than any demon could be. (2009 Write Touch Readers Choice Awards Finalist – Best Paranormal)
Edge of Dawn — Troubleshooter Logan Andrews has his loyalties torn between his people and the woman he’s been assigned to protect. (2010 Aspen Gold Award Winner – Best Paranormal)
In the Darkest Night — Kel Andrews has spent the last year living with nightmares and flashbacks. He's withdrawn from his family and been removed him from his position as a troubleshooter. But when a woman asks him for protection from a demon, Kel reluctantly agrees to help—and finds himself facing an unexpected adversary, one he doesn't know how to fight. (2011 Beacon Award Winner – Best Paranormal)
Blood Feud World Stories
Blood Feud — When a demon starts murdering vampires, a vampire enforcer and a demon prince are assigned to find the killer before war erupts. But Isobel and Seere have a past and that complicates their mission. (Short story)
Demon Kissed — Demon slayer Bree Molina has been tried for murder by the demons and sentenced to death. Andras has a plan to get her out of trouble, but he has secrets that will rock Bree’s world. (Nocturne Bites)
Shadow’s Caress — Former vampire hunter Cass Lanier didn’t believe vampires could become ghosts, until the shade of the last one she killed shows up. Malachi James needs Cass to return him to his life, but other hunters have learned she can resurrect the vampires she killed and they plan to kill her first. (Nocturne Bites)
Enemy Embrace — When vampire hunter Nicole Ruiz nearly loses her life to a powerful vampire, she offers an alliance to her rescuer, a demon named Daktan. Demons might be an enemy, but she'd make a deal with the devil himself if that's what it took to avenge her family.
Crimson City Stories by Patti O’Shea
Through a Crimson Veil — A Crimson City Novel
When a sexy half demon asks Conor McCabe for protection, he can’t say no and he doesn’t understand why. He hates demons. He doesn’t want to help her. He doesn’t want to want her, but every minute he spends with her strengthens his need to keep her safe—and intensifies the desire burning between them.
Mika Noguchi sought out Conor to steal the key that can free all demons imprisoned in Orcus. She quickly regrets her mission—Conor is her destined mate and he’ll view her theft as betrayal—but she gave her word to the council and the penalty for breaking it is severe.
Other demons are loose in Crimson City, however, and they have their own plans. They’re not about to let anyone stand in the way. Not Conor. Not Mika. They’ll do anything it takes to advance their agendas—even kill. (2006 Booksellers Best Award Winner — Best Paranormal)
Dark Awakening—A Crimson City Novella
(Originally published in Shards of Crimson 2007)
Kimi Noguchi is working as an advertising agency intern and being trained in her magical powers. To her surprise, she’s learned she’s a kijo, a witch. Having talent is cool, but her magic attracts the attention of a power hungry Bak-Faru demon and she's forced to call on another demon, Nicodemus, for help.
Nic made a promise to stay away from Kimi for her own good, but now that she’s summoned him, all bets are o
ff. She’s his vishtau mate, a bond held in reverence by all demons, and he’s not about to let this opportunity pass him by. Nic plans to protect, woo, and win his woman. (2008 More Than Magic Finalist—Best Novella)
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Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
EPILOGUE
About the Author
Dedication and Acknowledgements
More Futuristic Romance From Patti O’Shea
Excerpt from Eternal Nights
Paranormal Romance by Patti O'Shea