by Lisa Edmonds
Arkady distracted me with another question. “And things with the pack? Better?”
My smile faded. “About the same.”
“Is Sean’s beta still giving you trouble?”
I shrugged. “I’ve only seen Jack once since we got back, when we crossed paths outside Maclin Security one day when I was meeting Sean for lunch, and he just ignored me. I’ve heard he pretends I don’t exist and doesn’t say anything if the subject comes up in conversation with other pack members. It’s pretty obvious he and his wife Delia still strongly disapprove of Sean and me being together, but Sean warned him to keep his opinions of me to himself, so that’s probably why he hasn’t been bad-mouthing me.”
“But the rest of the pack likes you, right?”
“Most of them. There are some others who also think Sean should be dating a shifter, but none of them are as angry about it as Jack and Delia.” I made a face. “And Caleb.”
“Caleb’s the kid who got bitten a couple of months ago and is having a hard time controlling himself?”
“Yeah. He moved in with Jack and Delia so they could keep an eye on him, and they’re just three little Alice-hating peas in a pod.” I decided to change the subject. “And how are things between you and Matthias?”
She waggled her hand in a so-so gesture. “Okay, I guess. I’m still hurting over Fortune. Matthias is being gentlemanly about it.”
Arkady’s lover Fortune had been an enforcer for Charles Vaughan of the Vampire Court. He’d been killed about a month ago during an attempt on Charles’s life. She’d been instrumental in the death of the man who killed him and that had helped, but it would take her some time to heal.
I was glad to hear that Matthias, who was also a Court enforcer, was being patient and supportive. It didn’t surprise me, though. The man practically worshiped the ground beneath her combat boots.
“So you two haven’t…?” I asked.
She gave me a wry smile. “We’ve fooled around some, but I’m still not at a point where it feels like the right time. It’s not that I feel like I’d be betraying Fortune, but…” She shrugged.
“It’s okay, I get it. Matthias can wait ’til you’re ready.”
She grinned. “Damn right he can. I’m worth waiting for.”
Footsteps crunched on the ground above us. I looked up to see four well-muscled men standing at the edge of the pit, looking down at us. Their haircuts and the way they stood said former Army. Two of them had paintball rifles slung over their shoulders. They were either the snipers or part of the patrols who had been hunting us for the better part of two days. I couldn’t help but glare balefully from where I sat at the bottom of the pit.
“Hey, Joe,” Arkady said casually, as if we’d just run into some old friends while relaxing in a bar. She draped her arms over her knees. “How’s it hangin’?”
“Still lower than my ex’s new husband.” The man in the center of the group regarded us with his hands on his hips. “You ready to get out of there?”
“Nah.” She settled back against the wall of the pit. “We were right in the middle of some serious girl talk. Could you give us another ten, fifteen minutes?”
“Shut up, Arkady. Yes, we are ready to get out of here.” I lurched to my feet on tired legs and almost fell over when my boots sank into the mud. “Do you have a ladder?”
The end of a rope dropped into the pit beside me. I stared at it, a little nonplussed.
Arkady got to her feet. She was grinning. “You’re getting soft, Joe. A rope? Last time I had to scramble up the dirt wall while you yelled insults.”
Joe gripped the other end of the rope with both hands. His biceps strained the fabric of his T-shirt. “Your new friend doesn’t look strong enough to get out of there without help.” He flicked the rope at me. “Let’s go, princess. Grab the rope and I’ll haul you up.”
My eyes narrowed. “Hey, Arkady? You want to get out of this pit without their help?”
She put her hands on her hips and studied me. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking G. I. Joe Junior up there can kiss my ass.” I crouched, stuck my hands into the mud, and started spooling earth magic. “You ready to go for a ride?”
She didn’t ask for an explanation, just planted her feet shoulder-width apart and braced herself. “Okay, let’s blow this popsicle stand.”
“What’cha doing, princess?” Joe called. “Grab the rope. We got stuff to do.”
“I’ll show you princess,” I muttered and pushed earth magic into the ground.
The earth trembled beneath us. The men stumbled back from the edge of the pit, cursing as the rumbling grew in volume. In a burst of bright green earth magic, the ground heaved us up as though we were surfers riding a wave made of dirt instead of water. Arkady whooped and laughed as we shot upward in a spray of mud, rotten leaves, and twigs.
The wave deposited us on the ground next to the pit and dumped a hundred gallons of smelly mud on Joe and the others, covering them from head to toe in muck. They stared at us, dumbfounded, blinking like muddy owls.
“Oops,” I said insincerely, as the magic faded and the ground went still.
Arkady brushed leaves off her shoulder and gave Joe her biggest smile. “Guess we didn’t need your help after all.” She turned to me and gestured at the lights of the compound. “Matthias is due to pick us up in thirty minutes. Let’s hit the showers and get the hell out of here.”
And so we did.
Find book one of the Alice Worth novels with HEART OF MALICE and discover more from Lisa Edmonds at www.lisaedmonds.com
Meet Alice.
Private Investigator of the Supernatural.
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The first time Moses Murphy’s granddaughter killed on his orders, she was six years old.
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For twenty years, she was a prisoner of an organized crime syndicate, forced to use her magic to make Moses the most powerful and feared man on the East Coast. To escape his cruelty, she faked her own death and started a new life as Alice Worth. As a private investigator specializing in cases involving the supernatural, Alice walks a precarious line between atoning for the sins of her grandfather’s cabal and keeping her true identity hidden.
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Hired to investigate the disappearance of a mysterious object of power, Alice enlists the help of Malcolm, a ghost running from a past as nightmarish as her own. It soon becomes clear the missing object was taken by someone with a dangerous secret and an unknown agenda. When her client is kidnapped, Alice must find her and the object of power before a vengeful killer destroys the city and slaughters thousands—starting with Alice.
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Acknowledgments
Every time I sit down to write the acknowledgments for an Alice Worth book, I’m always amazed and humbled by how many people I need to thank. If it takes a village to raise a child, it requires a small army to make a book.
First, all my thanks to Heather, Tina, and Yelena at City Owl Press for their continued support, guidance, and patience through all of the stages of the writing process: drafting, revising, drinking, revising, editing, more drinking, more revising, some crying…wait, where was I? Oh, yes, and then copyediting! Thank you, wonderful ladies!
A mountain of gratitude to my faithful Heart of Ice beta readers: Dr. Marie Guthrie, Dr. Adrienne Foreman, Dr. Robert James, Amy Hopper, Shannon Butler, and Dr. Kimberly Dodson.
A special thank you to Sg
t. Richard Hass, U.S. Army Combat Engineer, for saving me from relying on Groupons and YouTube videos for information on things that go bang and boom; to Jennifer White, who rules the boxing gym when she isn’t busy saving the world; and to Dr. Rick Moberly for medical advising.
When the going gets tough, the tough call on their friends to talk it through, and I owe many friends for their help during the writing and revising process. Thank you Dr. Jeff Stumpo, Dr. Trey Jansen, and Adrianne Treinies for helping me through the rough patches. I’d also like to thank Christine Rice, Jen Bauer-Krueger, J.C. Krueger, Jennifer Miller, Stacey Kelley, Neda Benitez, Rachel Ballantine, and Dr. Nicholas Lawrence for always being there when I need a laugh, a shoulder, a smile, a friend, or a kick in the butt. And of course a huge thank you to Bridget and Jennifer at The Full Cup, my second home, where I can usually be found at a table by the window, chugging coffee and writing.
As always, all my love and thanks to my wonderful and encouraging family: my mother, my sister Susan, my brother-in-law Josh, my sweet nephew Madden, and my lovely and brilliant cousins Antoinette and Felicia. I’d especially like to express my love and gratitude to Steve and Sheran Herrin for welcoming me as part of their family, and to my awesome cousin Tom Snowe for a whole list of things, but most importantly for making sure I didn’t miss my chance to make some important family connections this year.
And because I saved the best for last, thank you to my wonderful husband Bill for his seemingly never-ending patience and support. You make loving fun.
About the Author
© Madison Hurley Photography
LISA EDMONDS was born and raised in Kansas, and studied English and forensic criminology at Wichita State University. After acquiring her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, she considered a career in law enforcement as a behavioral analyst before earning a Ph.D. in English from Texas A&M University. She is currently an associate professor of English at a college in Texas and teaches both writing and literature courses. When not in the classroom, she shares a quiet country home with her husband Bill D’Amico and their cats, and enjoys writing, reading, traveling, spoiling her nephew, and singing karaoke.
Want an exclusive look at the playlists for the Alice Worth novels? Check out her website: www.lisaedmonds.com
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And be sure to find Lisa Edmonds across social media.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Edmonds411
Instagram: www.instagram.com/edmonds411/
Twitter: www.twitter.com/Edmonds411
About the Publisher
City Owl Press is a cutting edge indie publishing company, bringing the world of romance and speculative fiction to discerning readers.
www.cityowlpress.com
Additional Titles
HEART OF MALICE
By: Lisa Edmonds
The first time Moses Murphy’s granddaughter killed on his orders, she was six years old.
* * *
HEART OF FIRE
By: Lisa Edmonds
It has been a rough month for mage private investigator Alice Worth.
A TOUCH OF DARKNESS
By: Yelena Casale & Tina Moss
USA Today Bestselling Authors
Cassie Durrett dreams of the darkness. And lives the nightmare.
Award Winning Urban Fantasy
* * *
EMBRACING DARKNESS
By: Yelena Casale & Tina Moss,
USA Today Bestselling Authors
After a hellish ordeal suffered at the hands of evil, demons haunt Zoey’s every step.
FREE Short Story Sequel to A TOUCH OF DARKNESS.
* * *
CODE BLACK
By: Tina Moss
USA Today Bestselling Author
Gossip mag reporter Sera Benenati knows a thing or two about unearthing secrets...and burying them.
* * *
FROSTBITE
By: Joshua Bader
Getting hired to be a personal wizard for a billionaire may just become a death sentence.
* * *
TWO WIZARD ROULETTE
By: Joshua Bader
While working as a personal wizard for a billionaire, the stakes have never been higher.
* * *
FUTURE THAT NEVER WAS
By: Kin S. Law
A steampunk romp featuring an unorthodox, multi-cultural pirate Captain!
* * *
MAD GOD WALKING
By: Connor Drexler
A stranger on earth and a refugee from a twisted Sideways world, can Damon save his friends before he turns into the Mad God the Inquisition believes him to be?
* * *
MIXED IN
By: Catherine Haustein
When passions are regulated, which laws will you break?
* * *
MUD
By: E. J. Wenstrom
Torn apart by war and abandoned by the gods, only one hope remains to save humanity. But the savior isn’t human at all.
Royal Palm Literary Award for Book of the Year and First Place for Fantasy.
* * *
RAIN
By: E. J. Wenstrom
After Nia’s father dies from a mysterious illness, she grows in isolation amidst the fear and suspicion from her village.
Prequel novella of Chronicles of the Third Realm War.
* * *
TIDES
By: E. J. Wenstrom
Rona didn't ask to be brought back from the Underworld, and now that she is alive again, she’s angry enough to raise hell.
* * *
PURGATORY’S ANGEL
By: B. Hughes-Millman
We all have a dark side where inner demons roam. When devils of our nightmares murder in their sleep, only she can stop them.
* * *
SORROW’S POINT
By: Danielle DeVor
Not All Exorcists are Equal....One is Marked
* * *
SORROW’S EDGE
By: Danielle DeVor
Uncovering The Truth…Will Take An Exorcist
* * *
SORROW’S TURN
By: Danielle DeVor
Some Things Are Worse Than Demons
* * *
SORROW’S LIE
By: Danielle DeVor
Only an Exorcist Can Confront His Demons
* * *
THE MARKER CHRONICLES: THE FIRST TRILOGY
By: Danielle DeVor
From Examiner’s Recommended Women in Horror comes the First Trilogy containing books 1 – 3.
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SOUL OF THE UNBORN
By: Natalia Brothers
Can you call yourself human if supernatural forces control your every breath, every emotion, every desire?
* * *
THE FIX
By: Kristin Rouse
Sometimes the fix is worth the fall.
* * *
TRUTHSIGHT
By: Miriam Greystone
Rowan and Amy must join forces with the creatures who were once her patients and fight to uncover the one secret that may be powerful enough to save them all.
* * *
WINTER’S MAGE
By: Miriam Greystone
A strange new danger is stirring in the forest . . .
* * *
UNAFRAID
By: Megan Lynch
When Freedom Has a Price, Who Will Stand Unafraid?
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UNREGISTERED
By: Megan Lynch
Living the ideal life is a human right, unless you’re unregistered.
* * *
WAKING THE DEAD
By: D. B. Sieders
The road to hell begins when the reaper darkens her door.
* * *
RAISING THE DEAD
By: D. B. Sieders
Afterlife management is a tricky business, especially for a living soul broker.
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