by Brooklyn Ann
Silas paced back and forth behind the desk, his fingers absently twisting the phone cord in his fingers. “What? That’s right between our territories. What in the hell possessed her to try a crazy move like that? She knows we have immunity. Well, keep an eye on your end and we shall do the same. I had better tell Akasha.”
“Tell me what?” Akasha demanded from the doorway the moment he hung up.
Silas raised a brow. He was so shocked with Razvan’s news that he hadn’t heard her come home. He sighed. “Selena has taken Post Falls as her territory.”
“Why the fuck would she do that?” Akasha asked. “I know she’s crazier than a shithouse rat, but I didn’t think she was stupid. She knows we have immunity. We could go hunt her down and kill her right now!”
“Actually, we cannot.” Silas sighed. “Razvan told me Selena and her cult have moved into one of the newer suburban developments. There’s no way we can destroy her without risking injury and the awareness of all the mortals living nearby. And we do not have immunity from revealing ourselves to humans.”
“Damn it!” She slammed her fist down on the mahogany desk. “I hate that fucking bitch!”
Silas winced at the sound of cracking wood. He was fond of that desk.
“I think she came here to taunt us in revenge for making her look bad at the trial as well as to be close to the area,” he said with a calm he didn’t feel. “She knows the prophecy is centered around us. And I’m sure she knows that important events will be happening soon. She cannot resist keeping her dirty fingers out of it.”
Akasha clenched her fists. “If she sticks her nose in too far, I may just have to smash it…and a few other parts she may value.”
“What the hell is going on?” Max demanded, coming into the room.
Akasha and Silas exchanged guilty looks.
She gave her husband a level gaze. “You might as well let me tell him. He knows what you are anyway. And no, I didn’t tell him, he was smart enough to figure it out on his own.”
Silas sighed. “Very well. I suppose that’s where the immunity comes in.” His eyes narrowed on the retired biker. “Although I would like you to tell me how you’ve discovered my secret.”
Akasha turned to Max. “Do we still have a half rack in the fridge?”
Max nodded, eyes darting between her and Silas.
Akasha grinned at her mentor and business partner. “Good, let’s head on downstairs. Talking is thirsty work and this is gonna take awhile.”
***
“Push!” Joe Holmes shouted encouragingly to the panting woman on the bed.
The surrogate mother complied with a groan and clung to Lillian’s hand like a lifeline.
Holmes’s daughter gripped her hand back and gave her a tight smile of encouragement before looking back at the monitors.
“They’re both still going strong.”
“Splendid!” Holmes crouched between the woman’s legs, heart pounding in anticipation. “It’s crowning!”
Moments later a mass of slimy, squalling flesh slid into his gloved hands.
He didn’t lay the infant on the woman’s chest like they did in maternity wards nowadays. It wouldn’t be good for the surrogate to form a bond.
Instead, he wasted no time in cleaning up the crying baby and ensuring that its airways were clear.
“Well?” Lillian inquired pointedly as she handed the surrogate a glass of water.
“It’s a girl.”
The baby's cries eased as she stared up at Holmes. One tiny hand gripped his finger tight enough to hurt.
“She has her mother's strength.” The question was, would she have her father's taste for blood or vulnerability to sunlight? Or at least, as he hoped, healing powers and longevity?
The surrogate rose slightly from the bed to wipe sweat soaked strands of hair from her forehead. “Thank you so much, doctor, for giving me the chance to make amends, to do something good.” She clasped her St. Christopher Medal. “I hope the baby is healthy and her parents are happy with her.”
With that, she slumped back against the pillow, passed out from exhaustion.
Just in case, Lillian added a little morphine to the woman's IV so she could rest easier. “Will the baby’s parents ever know she exists?”
Holmes tamped down a pang of guilt. Although he’d lied to this woman regarding their reasons for needing her to be a surrogate, he'd paid her twice what surrogates usually earned and helped ease her conscience on her past transgressions.
I've done something good, he told himself. I've achieved a scientific breakthrough.
“Perhaps in time,” he answered at last. Though I pray they never find out.
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Rachel Faircloth, my best, best, best friend, for always being there!
Thanks to Christa Scovel for reading my first handwritten pages and asking what happened next.
Thanks to all the people who read some or all of the work. Dean ChamberlainWayne Gunderson, Margaret Bail, Erica Chapman, Jamie DeBree, Rissa Watkins, Sterling Smith, Gabriel Rees, Michel King, Shelley Martin, Bonnie Paulson, Asa Maria Bradley, Millie McClaine, Layna Pimental, an, d Ashlyn Chase.
Thanks to Danae Ayusso for the beautiful cover, war stories, and advice.
Thanks to Kent Butler for all your help with the process of bringing this story into the world. You just can’t stay out of my acknowledgements, can you?
Thanks to my agent, Eric Ruben for your advice and encouragement.
Thanks to my friends at Gus’s Cigar Pub for your friendship and enthusiastic encouragement.
And thanks to my friends and family for their never ending support!
About the Author
A former mechanic turned paranormal romance author, Brooklyn Ann lives in the beautiful city of Coeur d’Alene with her son, her cat, and a 1980 Datsun 210. She can be found online at http://brooklynann.blogspot.com as well as on twitter and facebook.
Works:
Published by Sourcebooks
BITE ME, YOUR GRACE (April 2013)
ONE BITE PER NIGHT (August 2014)
BITE AT FIRST SIGHT (To be announced)
Published by Broken Angels
WRENCHING FATE (February 2014)
IRONIC SACRIFICE (To be announced)
Table of Contents
Copyright
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
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Chapter Thirty-five
Chapter Thirty-six
Chapter Thirty-seven
Chapter Thirty-eight
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
About the Author
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