Expected publication: October 13th, 2013
Description:
FBI agent Tyler Reed trusts only facts and evidence, until the day a beautiful blonde delivers a life-saving warning ... based on nothing more than a vision.
Five years later, the mysterious Morgan Standish has used her talents to help Tyler and the FBI bring down countless criminals. Still, Tyler knows next to nothing about her. She contacts him by phone—and by some sort of psychic connection he's not prepared to admit exists—but has not shown herself once. Until now.
Morgan's gift may let her see things others can't, but it comes at a price. Getting too close to anyone is dangerous, especially the gorgeous, moody Special Agent Reed. For she's seen the future: if they meet again too soon, an innocent could be lost.
But when Tyler's latest case forces Morgan out of hiding, she is the one thrust into the path of a serial killer, the Psychic Slayer, who will stop at nothing to protect the secrets only Morgan can see.
EXCERPT:
That bitch hadn’t given him the job he’d tried so hard to get. He’d sobered up and put on the cleanest clothes he’d had for the interview, and still she’d turned him down. Not enough experience. Hell, how much experience did you need to clear tables and wash dishes in a fancy restaurant? He could do that stoned and drunk, which is how he usually spent his days and nights. The tips from all the wealthy people who ate there would keep him high all the time, and he wouldn’t have to resort to stealing and pick-pocketing.
He hadn’t slept in two days and he was getting to the point where he’d have to take more pills to come down enough to sleep a few hours. He needed to score more drugs. To do that, he needed money. He’d seen the old-fashioned safe in the office. It reminded him of the old western movies where bandits stormed the bank and used dynamite to blast it open. He wished he had some dynamite. It’d be one hell of a show.
His grandmother came toward him and he took a stumbling step back and raised the gun to her. He leaned a little forward to get a better look at her. Maybe he was hallucinating. He hated it when he took too much and started seeing things.
“Grandma? Is that you? You’re dead,” he slurred.
“And you’re supposed to be finishing school and getting good grades,” Morgan said. “I taught you better than this. You come in here drunk, stoned, waving a gun, and scaring these folks. What’s the matter with you, boy? Don’t you have any respect for yourself? For me?”
Robby didn’t know what to do. That safe had to be full of cash. He imagined it all stacked up. She wanted to stop him from getting all that money. His anger erupted and he took a step toward her and aimed the gun at her face.
“You’re dead. You can’t tell me what to do anymore.”
“Boy, you best put that gun down, or I’ll smack you into next Tuesday.”
She would. He’d had her riled a few times when he skipped school and she’d shown him what for. Then, she died and he wound up in a foster home. The woman didn’t care about him. She only wanted to collect her check and watch daytime soaps. So, he’d dropped out of school, started hanging out with some of the local guys, and they’d kept him busy doing petty crimes like stealing and shoplifting. One of the guys gave him some weed and another gave him some pills. Now, all he thought about was making his next score and getting high.
“You died,” he screamed and spittle came out of his mouth with all the rage. “You died and you left me with no one.”
Morgan’s strength waned. He had the gun trained on her face, and although his hands weren’t steady, at this range he wouldn’t miss if he fired. The overwhelming sadness underneath the anger made her push on. This boy missed his grandmother. She’d been the only one to care about him. She’d kept him on the straight and narrow after his mother dropped him with her before leaving for parts unknown. He’d never known his father and couldn’t be sure the man they thought had done the deed was for sure his dad.
“It’s time for you to grow up, boy. You don’t have me to keep you on the right path. You’ve got to do for yourself.”
“I can’t. I’m all messed up.” He wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.
“Sure you can. Didn’t I always tell you, you’ve got to do for yourself? Ain’t nobody gonna give you anything. You’ve got to work hard.”
“I’ll make her give me the money. Then, I can do for myself.”
“She’s done nothing to you, and here you are holding a gun wanting to hurt these folks. You don’t want to hurt them. You put the gun down,” she said softly.
He wanted to leave. He didn’t want to see his dead grandmother anymore. He wanted to go back to that bug-infested apartment and sleep on his mattress on the floor. He’d let his mind clear and figure out what to do later. He just wanted to get away.
The sound of sirens and people shouting brought him back to the scene in the restaurant. He’d been there too long, and the lady hadn’t even gotten up to open the vault. He’d never get away clean now.
“This wasn’t how it was supposed to be,” he yelled at his grandmother. “You aren’t supposed to be here. I’m supposed to get the money and go.” He shook the gun at her face with each word. The police poured into the restaurant and people directed them to him in the back. He didn’t want to go to jail, or be killed.
Morgan feared he’d shoot. Exhausted, she wanted to shut down and block it all out of her mind. His rage and sadness were everywhere around her, like a thick blanket smothering her.
She heard the officers coming and knew the boy heard them, too. She took her chance when he glanced over his shoulder at the approaching police. She swung the wine bottle and knocked the gun out of his hand. It went flying across the floor.
“No.” Robby grabbed the knife on his belt and slashed at the woman in front of him. His grandmother disappeared. He cut the woman across the arm before she swung the wine bottle at his head, and he didn’t see anything anymore.
He dropped to the ground unconscious along with Morgan. She couldn’t take any more. As she fell to the floor, she hoped Sam would keep his promise and take her somewhere quiet and isolated from others.
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About the author:
Jennifer Ryan writes romantic suspense and contemporary small-town romances featuring strong men and equally resilient women. Her stories are filled with love, friendship, and the happily-ever-after we all hope to find. Jennifer lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, three children, dog (Bella), and cat (Shadow). When she isn't writing a book, she's reading one.
6 comments:
Seems like a good book.
Rather enchanting giveaway... hope its open internationally!
Man, covers are getting worse day by day...
Ooo... I've ALWAYS wanted a psychic reading! It will be fun!
Lovely covers.
Covers are definitely getting interesting
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