by Jaz Primo
That experience seemed like something out of a surreal dream; or, rather, a painful nightmare.
I became aware that the room had fallen silent.
“Caleb?” Ethan asked.
My attention returned to the present and I looked down at my arm, which was cradled in a shoulder harness.
“Earth to kiddo,” Paige said, snapping her fingers in front of me.
“Yeah-yeah, I’m fine,” I said.
I swatted at her hand using my good arm, but she swept her hand out of the way before I made contact. A twinge of pain shot through my injured shoulder and I sucked in air through gritted teeth.
Kat patted me on the back.
Having returned to London, we sat in Alton’s office discussing the implications of the failed attack in Gibraltar.
We still didn’t know who specifically had instigated it. The surviving attacker who had been taken prisoner was a vampire mercenary who had been contracted via a third-party liaison.
I scanned the faces around the room in series. Alton sat before his desk while Ethan and Marla commanded the two chairs before him. I sat between Kat and Paige on the couch.
Dane and Lyra sat together in two of the chairs at the nearby conference table. Both had seemed overly subdued when they learned about the Thanksgiving attack.
“It was a bold attack, I’ll give them that,” Alton said.
“Whoever they are,” Marla said.
“I’ll be giving them a number of things once we identify them,” Kat said, her voice flat.
I looked at her face and nearly shivered at her cold, stony expression.
“Katrina and I have discussed how we plan to move forward,” Alton said. “Dane and Lyra will return to New Haven to continue assisting with Caleb’s security detail.
“Hey, I’m back now, you know,” Paige said.
Alton’s cool expression fell upon her. “Pray tell, I had noticed that, actually. Nevertheless, their presence will permit additional latitude for field work as the opportunities present themselves.”
“I could stand with a bit of field work, actually,” Dane said.
“Funny,” Lyra muttered. “I thought you were pretty much averse to work.”
He gave her a dirty look.
“Dane,” Alton said. “I’m confident that you shall have marching orders soon enough.”
Dane inclined his head in deference.
“What about you, Ethan?” Kat asked.
“I plan to spend a couple of weeks in New Haven,” Ethan said. “However, I’ll need to return to Atlanta after that. I have surgeries scheduled through mid-December.”
I admired how dedicated he was to helping others, but I wished that he could spend more time with us in New Haven. From the expression on Paige’s face, I was willing to bet that she felt much the same way.
I leaned over toward her, nearly touching her shoulder with mine.
“You know, if you wanted to go back to Atlanta with Ethan—”
“Shut up or I’ll bite you,” she said. “You’re not getting rid of me again that quickly.”
“Ah-ha, so you missed me,” I said.
“Get real,” she said. “I just can’t wait to begin harassing your little ass for pulling that cross-country stunt of yours.”
“You’re all heart,” I said.
“It’s all about channeling my inner bitch and working through the angst,” she said.
“Hey, I thought all was forgiven,” I said.
“Nah, just on hiatus,” she said. “This will be much more therapeutic for me.”
I gave her a long look.
“As I was about to say,” Alton continued. “Katrina and I will keep each of you informed about developments. That being said, none of you are to engage anyone, except in the defense of either Caleb or your own welfare, without first clearing it with either Katrina or me. Understood?”
There was a variety of mumbled assents in the room.
Kat cleared her throat and I looked sidelong at her.
“You, in particular, are to do absolutely nothing risky, and especially without approval,” she said.
“So, you’d approve if I asked?”
“No,” she replied.
“The exception being, of course, unless I have to defend myself.”
Her eyebrows arched. “As if that was ever in question.”
“Any further questions?” Alton asked. “If not, your return flight is leaving in just under three hours. I suggest that everyone finish packing or finalizing any last-minute details between now and then.”
I reached out to grasp Kat’s hand in mine.
She looked at me with a concerned expression.
“Want to help me finish packing back at the hotel?” I asked, playfully wriggling my eyebrows.
“Oh, packing?” she countered. “Well, I’m all about that then.”
I smiled in anticipation.
* * *
Hours later, at the airport, Ethan checked his and Paige’s luggage at the counter while Kat had a final discussion with Paige, Dane, and Lyra.
Alton, looking more serious than usual, guided me across the terminal to an unoccupied space away from the others, as well as from prying ears.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“Caleb, do you remember our little chat when you arrived here in London a few days ago?”
How could I forget? It wasn’t every day that a vampire threatened to bite you in the neck for bad behavior.
“Don’t worry. My days of cutting town without permission are over,” I said. “Your admonition was more than memorable enough for me.”
“I meant every word,” he said. “Stay safe, and focus on your dissertation research. Your project results are important for far more than merely acquiring your doctorate.”
“Any chance you’d like to tell me why?” I asked. “I mean, if it’s so important, why not put together one of your expert teams for it? Isn’t it better suited for private investigators? I’m just a junior history professor who got laid off barely a year into his career.”
His expression softened somewhat. “My dear boy,” he said. “You’re so much more than that. And, besides, I already hired some of the best investigators on the market to look into your topic. They each hit dead ends.”
My eyes widened. “Then what do you expect for me to do that they couldn’t?”
“In the short time I’ve known you, you’ve managed to uncover clandestine London spy cells, international vampire conspiracies, and foreign government corruption,” he replied. “That’s far more than a coincidence. You have an unusual way of looking at the world and that may be just what I’ve been waiting for.”
I shrugged. “I’ll give it my best.”
“I know you will,” he said. “And besides, even if you turn up little more than others have, at the very least you’ll have completed the dissertation required to earn your doctorate. That’s something you’ve wanted for some time now.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
“Hey, kiddo,” Paige called from where she stood next to Kat. “Get a move on! We’re boarding.”
I reached out to shake Alton’s hand.
“Take care of yourself,” I said. “And maybe Kat, too, if you can manage it.”
He took my hand and pulled me into a fraternal embrace. “You know I will. And, Caleb, one more thing.”
“Yeah?”
He hugged me for a moment longer.
“Thank you for what you did, saving me on the roof of that hotel,” he said. “Your actions told me everything about who you are, and I couldn’t be more proud of you than I have been since that night.”
“In the end, it was Kat that saved both of us,” I said.
“Quite true,” he conceded. “But it was your arm that I was suspended from. For that, I’m grateful.”
“It was my pleasure,” I said. “I’m always happy to lend a hand.”
He pulled a pained expression over my pun.
“You
really do mean the world to me, Alton,” I said. “You’re like the fath—, I mean uncle, that I always wished I’d had.”
I almost felt embarrassed over my Freudian slip.
We separated from our embrace, but he held me a moment longer by the shoulders as he stared down into my eyes.
“Listen to me,” he said. “From now on, no matter what transpires, you’ll never want for family again. You have Kat, Paige, and I suspect, even Ethan. But, more to the point, you’re part of my family now. As far as I’m concerned, you’re a Rutherford, and I’ll never abandon you. That’s my vow to you.”
That touched me so very deeply. It struck at the fiber of everything that I thought had been lost since my mother’s passing from cancer some years prior.
My throat felt tight all of the sudden and my eyes began to water. I reached up to rub at them with my fingertips.
“Thank you,” I said. “That means more to me than you could know.”
“You’re welcome. And you may be surprised over what I know,” he said. “Now, go board your flight. I’ll be in touch again soon to check in on your research progress.”
I nodded and turned to walk across the terminal toward Kat. She stared intently at me, a concerned look on her face.
Then I stopped and turned back to look at Alton as an onerous inspiration surfaced.
“By the way, thanks for the surprise Thanksgiving trip to Gibraltar and all,” I said. “But do you think that maybe next we could just do a boring Christmas at my house?”
He shook his head and playfully wagged his upraised index finger at me. “Board your plane, you scalawag.”
I grinned as the edges of his mouth upturned slightly.
“And I’ll consider it,” he added.
* * *
The others had already boarded the flight as I held Kat in my arms just outside the entrance to the ramp leading to the aircraft.
“Did you and Alton have a good chat?” she asked. “It looked serious from my vantage point.”
“Yeah, he wants me to be careful and focus on my research,” I replied.
“Good advice,” she said. “Please don’t do anything that puts you in harm’s way, my love. I can’t bear a repeat of what you did on that hotel roof.”
I hugged her tighter. “I know. I’m sorry. But Alton means so much to me now.”
She sighed. “I know. I love him, too. But I—I love you even more. I need you as much as I need air and blood.”
“I need you, too. I love you, Kat.”
She brought so much happiness, love, and companionship into my life, fulfilling me more than anyone I could imagine.
We held each other a moment longer before separating from our embrace.
I gave her a long, warm kiss while grasping her hands in mine.
I didn’t want to leave her.
“These separations are getting harder,” I said.
She lightly ran her fingernails across my cheek. “I know,” she said. “I feel it, too.”
I swallowed to try to alleviate the growing tightness in my throat.
“There’s going to come a day, and it’s coming very soon, when I won’t be able to endure this anymore,” I said.
She gave me a sympathetic look. “As a matter of fact, I’m almost there myself.”
“Final boarding call for flight—”
“Dammit, there’s never enough time,” I said.
“I know, my love.”
I gave her a final kiss before turning and stepping onto the boarding bridge. I glanced back over my shoulder at her a final time and saw her glassy-eyed expression.
She gave me a cute little wave and tried to smile.
Alton stood beside her, wrapping a supportive arm across her shoulders and nodding at me in a reassuring manner.
As I stepped across the threshold into the cabin of the aircraft, it took everything I could muster not to turn around and run back to Kat.
In that moment— a moment of near-clarity—I believed that I fully understood the power and magnetism of true love.
About the Author
Jaz Primo: Delving into flights of fancy and realms of imagination; eagerly sharing with you.
Jaz lives in the Great American Midwest where he writes paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and young adult literature. He’s a history aficionado, Doctor Who fanatic, “pun-master”, an all-around fan of vampires, and a caregiver to the world’s most endearing cat.
You can find Jaz Primo online at the following locations:
Website: http://jazprimo.com
Facebook: Jaz Primo
Twitter: @jazprimo
Winner of the Paranormal Romance Guild’s Reviewer’s Gotcha Choice Award for Best Young Adult Novel of 2012 !
Gwen Reaper
A Young Adult Paranormal Romance
by Jaz Primo
Boy meets beautiful and mysterious, yet reclusive, girl who harbors a potentially-lethal secret.
"A thing of beauty is a joy forever: its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness." John Keats, English romantic poet.
I never thought that my first exposure to real beauty would be tinged with the threat of oblivion…
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
When high school junior Scott Blackstone is forced to move from his childhood home in Springfield, Illinois to small-town Custer, South Dakota, he expects nothing less than to languish in complete disappointment. Instead, he discovers a beautiful and mysterious seventeen-year-old girl named Gwen, who captivates him from his initial, adrenaline-laced sight of her on the shores of Stockade Lake. Scott’s pursuit of the elusive Gwen sweeps him into the midst of a potentially lethal family heritage that was birthed in hope, only to be passed into a legacy of guilt and death.
Scott engages in a journey of discovery, tinged with both angst and danger. Like many dire legends throughout history, he is unprepared for the untimely revelation that both love and despair are often two sides of the same coin.
Now available in trade paperback and all major eBook formats!
Go to http://jazprimo.com/books for purchasing links!
Sunrise at Sunset: Revamped
Sunset Vampire Series, Book 1
Second Edition
by Jaz Primo
The Sunset Vampire series was awarded Third Place in the Reviewer’s Choice Award for Best Paranormal Series of 2012 by the Paranormal Romance Guild.
*READER BEWARE - WARNING!*
If you're easily offended or turned off by: dominant or assertive female figures, primary love-interest characters that are beta males, or non-traditional relationships between men and women, then you should NOT read the Sunset Vampire Series!
Everyone Else: You're in for a real treat that's edgy, unique, and highly satisfying. Welcome to the Sunset Vampire Series!
When is a bloodthirsty predator the best protection against a psychotic killer?
When the predator is both a vampire...and the woman you love.
Caleb is bravely overcoming a dark past while having no memory of the beautiful vampire that saved him.
Despite a promise to stay away, Katrina is compelled to return to him.
However, a vengeful rival from her past has dire plans for both of them.
Can one woman’s love triumph over another’s thirst for revenge?
This collectible second edition is a content-enriched version of the original novel that includes a foreword and insightful interview with Jaz Primo, as well as a special bonus chapter containing new, never seen before material!
Now available in trade paperback and all major eBook formats!
Go to http://jazprimo.com/books for purchasing links!
A Bloody London Sunset
Sunset Vampire Series, Book 2
by Jaz Primo
In A Bloody London Sunset, a timid spirit rises to assert himself, a forbidden love sparks, and a forgotten past threatens to topple the power of love.
Katrina Rawlings is a vampire who has finally rediscovered happi
ness for the first time in centuries. But unwanted complications erupt with a vengeance. Decisions of necessity combined with dark memories from a forgotten past threaten her relationship with the love of her life. When a sacrifice must be made, can she endure her decision?
Caleb Taylor's life is finally back on track. He has rebounded from a near mortal injury, both physically and emotionally. Yet, his reality is shaken by the suggestion of a betrayal of trust from the woman he loves. Can the power of love overcome the power of a lie?
Paige Turner is a century old vampire who fearlessly revels in a simple existence pursuing blood, dancing, and sex. Simple needs, and all met in the same manner: hot, fast, and without regrets. But a spontaneous visit leads to heartfelt sacrifice, and unexpected complications strike fear to the core of her soul. Will she survive the revelations?
In the exciting second novel in the Sunset Vampire Series, a trust is betrayed, bonds of friendship are strained, relationships may end, and a tenuous neutrality among the world's vampire population is threatened. With stakes so high, some will not survive A Bloody London Sunset!
Now available in trade paperback and all major eBook formats!
Go to http://jazprimo.com/books for purchasing links!
Summit at Sunset
Sunset Vampire Series, Book 3
by Jaz Primo
Does the fate of one innocent human soul outweigh the needs of the entire vampire race?