by Amy Patrick
“And I wanted to give you this.”
Dangling from his hand was a necklace. With his other hand, he grasped the locket I always wore and yanked, breaking the delicate chain and removing it.
I gasped. “Why did you—”
“There is no reason for you to wear this any longer. You are innocent. You need to let the past go and move forward with your life, wherever it takes you.”
In shock, I stood motionless while he draped the new necklace over my head and settled it around my neck.
It was a long silver chain—not platinum—with a pendant at the end. It looked like a small silver dagger. The hilt of the miniature dagger was a red orb that resembled the blood moon. Was it a jewel?
But no, there was motion inside. When I lifted it and held it up to the light, I saw the orb was actually hollow and filled with... liquid.
“Is this blood?” I asked.
He didn’t answer.
“Reece. Whose blood is this?”
I couldn’t pull the necklace chain over my head fast enough. I handed it back to him.
“It’s Imogen’s, isn’t it? Is this how she plans to track me? No thank you. You can keep your mistress’s little gift.”
Taking my hand, he pressed the necklace back inside it, folding my fingers over it and enclosing my hand between both of his. I noticed his own fingers were trembling.
My eyes flew up to meet his.
“It isn’t from Imogen,” he said quietly. “It isn’t her blood. It’s mine. Be safe, Abbi. And be happy.”
And then he turned and walked away without another word.
Epilogue
One year later
Kelly, Heather, and I left the house at first dark, hurrying so we could beat the notorious L.A. traffic.
The commute to the VHC headquarters from our rented house could be brutal, but it was a pretty, safe neighborhood, and a lot of vampires lived here.
Some humans, too, but it was particularly popular with vampires because most of the homes had basements and attached garages and because of its proximity to the district’s blood bank.
“Are you still working on writing that grant application?” Heather asked me as she unlocked the car doors, and we opened them to let the hot air out.
I nodded. “Yep. Should finish up tonight. I really hope this lab gets the money. They’re the closest ones yet to developing a blood substitute.”
Working for Sadie was everything I’d hoped it would be. Not only had she given the three of us jobs, she’d given us a fresh start. A whole new life.
I was beginning to believe what both Reece and Sadie had said was true—that there was a reason for everything. Maybe the abrupt ending of my human life and the beginning of my vampire existence could somehow be used for good.
I reached up and touched the pendant I wore every day. It was a little hard to believe Reece’s refusal to leave the Bastion could ever be a good thing, but as I’d already seen, life was unpredictable. It could change in a matter of hours—minutes even.
“Wow, look at Mr. Hopper’s flowerbeds,” Kelly said, staring at our next-door neighbor’s house as she stood beside the open passenger side door. “And his window boxes. They’re almost dead. I wonder if he’s on vacation?”
“Maybe,” I said.
I slid into the back seat and fastened my seatbelt, a habit I practiced because it was the law—not because vampires ever died in traffic accidents.
“We can water them when we get home after work.”
“Work, work, work. I feel like everyone but us is on vacation,” Heather said.
She started the car and began backing it down the driveway. “Not that LA isn’t awesome, but the Furlongs have been gone at least three weeks now. I’ve been feeding their dog, and his food is almost gone. And their mail would be overflowing their mailbox if I wasn’t picking it up for them. I thought they were only going away for a week.”
Abruptly, Heather stomped the break, causing both Kelly and me to jolt in our seats. The seatbelt tightened uncomfortably across my chest and lap.
“What is it?”
“There’s a police car behind us.” She sounded nervous.
I twisted to look through the rear window. An LAPD squad car was parked horizontally across the driveway, blocking it.
“What’s this about, I wonder?” Kelly said. “Maybe Mr. Hopper isn’t on vacation. Maybe something happened to the poor old vamp.”
Spotting two human officers emerge from the car in full tactical gear, I said, “I don’t think this is about Mr. Hopper.”
“Oh my God, are we in trouble?” Heather whispered.
I glanced at her worried expression in the rearview mirror and tried to sound reassuring. “Of course not. We haven’t done anything wrong. I’m sure there’s some kind of mistake or something. Just roll down your window and stay calm. It’s going to be okay.”
When Heather lowered her window, one of the officers spoke in a loud, authoritative voice.
“Get out of the car. All three of you. Keep your hands raised and visible.”
As I slid out of the back seat and turned to face them, I prayed my fangs didn’t emerge at the threatening tone of his orders. It was a natural reflex, but the police would probably take it as a sign of hostility.
We’d been coached extensively at the VHC on tactics for de-escalating tension in potentially volatile situations.
“Hello officers. Can we help you?” I pasted on a smile and used the friendliest voice I could muster.
They did not smile back.
“Abigail Byler, Kelly Cook, and Heather Tippens?” the second officer said.
So this wasn’t a case of mistaken identity. In spite of instructing my friends to stay calm, my pulse was speeding, and I was suddenly struggling to breathe normally. Had something happened at the VHC headquarters?
“Yes. What’s this about?” I asked.
Both officers moved toward us in cautious, battle-ready stances. One of them pulled out three pairs of platinum-plated handcuffs. The other held an anti-vamp gun.
Pointed at us.
“I’m gonna need you to come with us,” he said. “You’re all under arrest.”
Thank you for reading Crimson Born, book one of the Crimson Accord series. I hope you enjoyed it! There’s much more to come for Abigail, Reece and all the players in the Crimson world. Book two of the series, Crimson Storm, is available now. Order your copy and keep reading.
Turn the page for a peek…
Next in Series
Get your copy of Crimson Storm now! Here’s a bit about the story…
Seventeen-year-old Abigail Byler is a resolute pacifist.
And a vampire.
She’s thankful for the Crimson Accord, a peace treaty signed fifty-five years ago that allowed vampires to come out of hiding and begin participating in the world in a respectable, productive way.
Not only did it permanently solve supply chain issues arising from illness, death, and exhaustion for humans (Vampires make phenomenal long-haul truck drivers and night-shift workers) it also provided a much-needed non-violent option for her kind to satisfy their own nutritional needs.
As long as every healthy adult human made regular donations to blood banks and a reasonable percentage of the supply was allotted to vampires, no one would ever be bitten (without their permission) again.
But now the anti-vamp movement in America is growing, blood donations are down, and the Accord is in danger of crumbling.
Worse, Abbi and her friends have been arrested and taken to one of the new Security Zones where many vampires have been forced to relocate.
Knowing she’s committed no crime, she trusts in the system to prove her innocence. Her only other hope is the intervention of the vampire leader she works for—or the one who turned her in the first place.
Until then, she plans to keep her head down and avoid any entanglements with the less tolerant and more dangerous of the human guards watching them.
It’s only when she’s “rescued” by a group of humans with a secret agenda that she realizes… maybe it’s time to become dangerous herself.
Grab your copy here.
Turn the page for word from the author and to find out how to get a free book!
Afterword
Thank you so much for reading Crimson Born, the first book in my brand new Crimson Accord series. I hope you enjoyed it! If you did, I’d be so grateful if you’d leave a review on the retailer where you purchased it. And if your fingers aren’t too tired, on Goodreads as well. It’s not hard to do—just a few words about what you thought of the book is perfectly fine. Reviews are so important for authors and help other readers find great books.
The series continues with book two, Crimson Storm, available now!
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Also by Amy Patrick
The Complete Hidden Saga- available in KU!
Hidden Deep (FREE DOWNLOAD)
Hidden Heart
Hidden Hope
The Sway- A Hidden Saga Companion Novella
Hidden Darkness (The Dark Court, 1)
Hidden Danger (The Dark Court, 2)
Hidden Desire (The Dark Court, 3)
Hidden Game (The Ancient Court, 1)
Hidden Magic (The Ancient Court, 2)
Hidden Hero (The Ancient Court, 3)
Hidden Heir
Also by Amy Patrick
available in Audio
HIDDEN DEEP
HIDDEN HEART
HIDDEN HOPE
HIDDEN DARKNESS
HIDDEN DANGER
HIDDEN DESIRE
The Ancient Court subset containing Hidden Game, Hidden Magic, and Hidden Hero will release in audiobook soon!
The Crimson Accord series will also be available in audio. Book 1 CRIMSON BORN is out now!
TAKE ME TO THE AUDIOBOOKS
About the Author
Amy Patrick writes "unique" and "engrossing" (Examiner. com) romantic fiction and young adult fantasy/paranormal books that make you want to "read straight through the night into the breaking hours of dawn." (Bitten By Books)
Her hugely popular Hidden Saga is now joined by her new Crimson Accord series, a romantic young adult vampire saga.
Follow Amy on Bookbub to receive notices about her new releases and sales, and join her VIP mailing list at https://bit.ly/APsVIPs for the latest book news, insider info, and fun freebies.
Amy is a multi-award-winning author and two-time RWA Golden Heart finalist and lives in Rhode Island where she enjoys writing at the beach year round. She's been a professional singer, voiceover artist, and TV news anchor, and currently writes fiction full time as well as narrating audiobooks.
For more, visit her website—http://www.amypatrickbooks.com/
Copyright © 2020 by Amy Patrick
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No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. All trademarks are the property of their respective companies.
Crimson Born is a work of fiction. Characters, names, places, brands, media, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and should not be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment and may not be re-sold or given away to other people. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Oxford South Press/October 2020
Cover design by Andreea Vraciu at AV Fantasy Book Covers Art and Design