Night Whispers: ShadowLands, Book 1

by Alisha Rai

  He narrowed his eyes. “You don’t like me.”

  “I prefer to be here earlier than this, maybe eleven o’clock-ish. So, if this is your normal time… Do we have a deal?” When in doubt, evade, evade, evade. I extended my hand, a sealant of our verbal contract.

  Finally—and unfortunately—he grinned. Every muscle in my abdomen worked together to restrain my gasp. He grasped my hand, the sheer size of his enclosing mine completely. The physical contact sent a shock through my arm, and for the tiniest of seconds I thought he might have felt it too. His face flickered into that same questioning expression he held on the dock but disappeared just as quickly. I tried to snatch my hand back in a way that didn’t seem offensive. He released it without a fight, oblivious to my reaction to him. How he could miss the goose bumps puckering my flesh, I wasn’t sure.

  “We have a deal,” he agreed, smiling. “I was just finishing up, if you’d like to go ahead and start. I won’t be here much longer.”

  “I will. Thanks.”

  I walked to one of the virtual joggers and pulled up the settings—a variety of sceneries including beaches, mountains, deserts, cities, highways, forests and a stadium track. Not wanting anything to do with beaches and the memory they could conjure up so close to bedtime, I opted for the one labeled Mountain Run.

  The hologram encompassed me, transporting me to a peaceful mountain trail, complete with sunlight beaming in through the tree canopy and a light breeze dancing through the ferns along the path. As I progressed up the mountain, the jogger inclined accordingly, and in no time at all, my heart rate raced with my exertions. For good measure, I increased the speed to a full run, in honor of the pile of candy wrappers still polluting my desk.

  The hologram wasn’t a solid barrier. Through it I could see Captain Marek collecting his items—with any luck his shirt was among them—and preparing to leave. He still grinned, and I wondered that I ever doubted his ability to do so, or for that matter, to do so for such an extended period of time. Whatever I did to amuse him was beyond me.

  He strolled to the jogger and watched me run for a moment, just long enough to make me uncomfortable. It seemed like he would say something, but he just gave a small wave to indicate he was departing. I returned one in kind, but otherwise had to concentrate on my breakneck pace. It just wouldn’t do to trip in front of the good captain.

  Some will rise, others will fall…

  Heroes Lost and Found

  © 2012 Sheryl Nantus

  Blaze of Glory, Book 3

  Jo Tanis is still recovering from her near-death experience in Las Vegas when she receives a mysterious postcard from Harris Limox, who claims to have a promising lead on the whereabouts of the Controller. Over her boyfriend/guardian Hunter’s objections, she sets off to a sleepy Oregon town to ferret out the truth.

  The Controller is more than just a disgruntled super. He’s a rogue Guardian who was presumed dead and is now armed with a slew of high-tech hardware that not only makes him physically superior to the supers—and therefore almost impossible to destroy—he’s got the ability to detonate the implants in the back of all supers’ necks.

  In Oregon, Jo meets a surviving Alpha super, Kit Masters, whose wild plan to capture the Controller could put an entire town of innocents at risk. But instead of successfully talking her former idol out of his disastrous bid to regain former glory, Jo finds herself betrayed and trapped in her worst nightmare.

  Fight her former teammates, or die.

  Warning: Super brawling, super loving and a super-hot ending!

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Heroes Lost and Found:

  Peter tapped Rachael on the shoulder. “Want to hit the club again? One last spin on the dance floor?”

  She stared at him, her face rotating between confusion, want and fear.

  “We’re all here.” Steve cracked his knuckles. “No one’s gonna hurt you with us around. Go have a good time with Peter. Just…” He waved a thick finger in the air. “No men back to the room. Either of ya. I ain’t gonna clean up your sloppy seconds.”

  Peter laughed and pulled Rachael to her feet as she blushed. The two of them walked off to their individual suites, leaving Steve, Hunter and myself in the main room.

  The muscleman turned to me, suddenly serious. “Do you want me to go with you? I know Harris. We weren’t too tight, but we were buddies. Alone doesn’t mean you have to go alone.”

  “Let me think it over,” I replied. “I’m not going to say I wouldn’t appreciate the company, but I don’t want to split the team up too much.”

  “Versus you going off on your own. Again,” Hunter grumbled.

  I ignored him and kept my attention on Steve and Jessie, who was still linked in from Toronto. “I need you with the rest of the team. If something goes down, they’ll need your muscle.” I addressed the screen, “I’m going off for the night, Jessie. Give David hugs and kisses, but don’t expect me for lunch tomorrow.”

  “He’s gonna be pissed.”

  “He’ll get over it. That or he’ll short-sheet my bed.” I faced Hunter. “Dinner first, fight later?”

  He got to his feet, shaking his head. “Women.”

  “Tell me about it.” Steve stretched out his arms and tucked them behind his head with a world-weary sigh. “That’s why I’m a player. Love ’em and leave ’em, just make sure you keep the keys to the car and extra clothing in the trunk.”

  I rolled my eyes as I headed out of the suite, hearing the two men laughing behind me.

  The walk down to the suite I shared with Hunter seemed longer than usual. I reached the door and unlocked it with the cardkey, leaving it ajar for Hunter.

  What I needed was a master plan on how to deal with Dykovski and his stolen tech.

  What I was about to get was a rip-roaring fight with my new boyfriend.

  Whoever said the life of a superhero was all bells and whistles was full of crap.

  There was a small first-aid kit in the bathroom left over from my recent adventures in spelunking. I grabbed some antiseptic cream, gauze pads and bandages and headed for the living room to wait.

  I settled down on our own black leather couch, stretching out on the cushions. The television remote control lay on the coffee table, just within reach. I didn’t bother trying to get it.

  The door slammed shut.

  Hunter sat down beside me and offered his left hand in silence.

  The cut wasn’t deep, nothing more than a nasty set of scratches from the splintered wood. I cleaned it out thoroughly and dabbed an obscene amount of cream on it before applying the bandage.

  “You’re not seriously considering this.”

  I looked up. “At least you didn’t call me Shirley.”

  The joke fell flatter than a bad pancake.

  He put his bandaged hand on my thigh. “Jo, you don’t have to prove anything to anyone. Running off on your own is going to get you killed. Hell, it almost got you killed once already. Even in Vegas a good player knows when to walk away from the table.”

  I pointed at the folded postcard where it lay on one of the side tables. “Then what do I do about that? He sent it to me, Hunter. He didn’t send it to Toronto to wait until we got home. He didn’t send it to you or to David. He sent it to me, here. He knows we’re here and what we’ve been dealing with. It’s immediate and it’s happening now and I have to go.”

  “You think it’s got something to do with Dykovski. Which makes it even more dangerous.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “I almost lost you two weeks ago, Jo. I don’t want to let you go running into the street to play in traffic.”

  “It’s Harris. I owe him at least the opportunity to hear him out.”

  “It could be a trap.”

  “It could be. But Harris wouldn’t do that to me. To us.”

  “Are you that sure?” Hunter stroked my cheek. “What if he’s hooked up with Dykovski? I know he promised you he wouldn’t go back to the dark side, but who knows what’s happened? If he couldn�
��t hack it out in the real world, it might be damned enticing to flip sides.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that,” I admitted. “But I can’t not go.” I locked eyes with him. “He helped out when he didn’t have to. I trust him not to set me up.”

  “So let’s all go. We’ll throw the team onto a bus and chug on out to Buttcheek, Wherever.”

  “And make Harris a target for Dykovski,” I shot back. “If Dykovski’s monitoring us through the media, he’s going to follow us out there along with all the news vans. Harris doesn’t have a jammer. If he gets to Harris before we do, jumps ahead of us, the guy’s as good as dead.” I drew a thumb across my throat, the meaning clear. “The more people who go, the more media it attracts. We can’t take that risk, not with Harris or any other supers.”

  “Okay.” Hunter stood with a resigned look. “I know when you’re being stubborn. But at least wear my jacket.”

  I blinked in confusion as I pushed myself into a sitting position. “Not that I don’t mind wearing your shirt when we pause for a snack, but…”

  He laughed. “My mission leather, silly.” A few long strides took Hunter to the giant closet where he pulled out a black leather jacket.

  In all the confusion and drama I’d forgotten about our new toys. Jessie had jumped through some fancy hoops to give us a practical uniform we could use, body armor being the most important. No one was pulling punches because we had to look pretty for a photo shoot after the fight.

  “I can monitor you nonstop.” Hunter nodded towards the small computer tablet lying on the far table. “At least do that much for me. Between the link and the camera, I’ll be able to track what’s going on, and if you need help, we’ll be on the way.” He threw the jacket on the couch beside me. “Give me something here, Jo. Don’t make this into a full-fledged brawl.” He grinned. “I can think of better things to do for our last night in Las Vegas.”

  I picked up the jacket. My own had been shredded in the mine collapse that had almost cost me my life and had cost Lamarr his.

  “Lost my pants too.”

  “Not interested in replacing those.” He advanced on me with a smile, knowing he’d won a concession. “In fact, I like it when you don’t wear any pants at all.”

  I fondled the leather for a second before putting it to one side. “How about we call it a win for me and we order up dinner?”

  “And what do I get for losing?”

  “Anything you want.” I gave him my best come-hither look. “That is, after we eat. I think I’m going to need a lot of energy for tonight.”

  He almost broke a leg trying to get to the phone.

  Night Whispers

  Alisha Rai

  When every night is a battle for survival, love is an endangered species.

  ShadowLands, Book 1

  Analyst James Bennett has spent the years since humankind fell victim to the Illness living underground. Part of an elite group of survivors determined to save their race, his only interaction with the blood-drinking Shadows roaming the Earth is through surveillance technology carried by his team of search-and-rescue agents. Scarred by vicious events, he has no desire to leave the safety of his bunker for the dangerous world outside—until he recruits a tough, haunted young woman clear across the country.

  Former gang member Jules Guerrero learned two things early on: the value of loyalty and never backing down from a fight. Both of those teachings come in handy now that her job description includes protecting humans and kicking Shadow ass. But it’s hard to keep her mind strictly on her mission when all she can think about is the man whose voice keeps her sane through the depths of each dark night.

  When Jules is captured and threatened by a rogue organization even more bloodthirsty than the Shadows, James must draw on all of his courage to fuel a furious cross-country chase through the lawless land…before the Jules he loves is destroyed forever.

  Warning: Contains a hero who would fight monsters for his love, a heroine out to save the world, a treacherous wasteland, poetry as foreplay and flesh-eating enemies.

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  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

  11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B

  Cincinnati OH 45249

  Night Whispers

  Copyright © 2012 by Alisha Rai

  ISBN: 978-1-60928-544-9

  Edited by Sasha Knight

  Cover by Kanaxa

  All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: November 2012

  www.samhainpublishing.com