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Accolades & Reviews

EXCERPT

Finding one witch out of billions of people, with nothing more than a first name and an image in his head, had never been so tough.

He’d have better luck finding a designated driver on Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras.

“We’re going to find her,” Alistar said. There was no doubt in his mind. He just might need a minor miracle.

“I wish we’d been able to get more out of the shifter,” Basil said, glancing toward the back of the house where the holding cells were. The Council of Elders had sent for the shapeshifter, a former informant, who’d strolled right into the Stigward stronghold and tried to shoot Maddie. “If I’d had more time, I could have found the right pressure point.”

Alistar gave a low growl of agreement. Ordinarily, the lone female member of the team was exceptional at getting the facts out of captives. The shape-shifter wasn’t their only card to play, though.

“That bloody human,” Alistar muttered. During their battle at the warehouse, they’d captured one of Mariah’s henchmen, which was something, at least. If they couldn’t have the white-haired witch, at least they had one of her underlings.

Much to Alistar’s frustration, the human hadn’t said a word.

It was true that Alistar had lost respect for humans around the time he’d become a vampire. They’d never helped him. They’d tortured him.

They could all drop dead as far as he was concerned…except for the fact that he needed their blood to survive.

“I can’t believe I can’t break him,” Basil mused, sounding thoughtful and far away. “It’s got to be a record.”

“I can’t believe he didn’t take one look at you and trip over himself to tell us everything.”

Basil’s lips quirked to the side. She knew she was gorgeous, in a badass-pixie sort of way. Men lost their minds over her, but she always let them down gently. Unless they deserved otherwise.

And to her credit, she didn’t use her looks as a weapon.

There were plenty of men, and lots of women, in this world that would happily spill their guts to the blue-eyed beauty.

Even with her spiky, green hair, there was a charm about her. A graciousness that disarmed people.

Except for the man in their cell.

“He must be gay, or infatuated with the witch.”

“Or he’s just had training,” Basil said, as she strode over to the wall of screens.

He had maps, lists, photos. And none of it was adding up. They needed a new perspective as much as they needed new information about Mariah.

The problem was, Alistar was too in his head. Too entrenched in what had happened that night, and he’d memorized all the information on the screens.

Basil glanced at the clock centered over the monitors, the numbers glowing red.

“You need to bounce. Get out of here. Go out with the guys. Get laid. Something.”

“I need to catch her,” he pointed to the blurry, chest-cam photo. The best shot anyone’s camera had gotten before she’d slipped through his fucking fingers.

Basil sighed. He heard her frustration and knew that she was as stressed as he. More so because Alistar had become obsessed with it. But he also heard her good humor.

“We’ve got an hour until our shift. Want to go over it again?” she asked.

He did but at this point, he was spinning his wheels.

Regardless, he pulled up the dossier they’d put together on Mariah and the man in their cell. For now they called him Hades, because they didn’t have any other ID on him.

“Hades. Fingerprints come back a John Doe. Human. We estimate he’s early- to mid-thirties. Well trained.”

The phone on the center of the conference table rang. It was the ringtone for The Council. Alistar hit a button on his keyboard that connected the call.

“New Orleans,” Alistar answered.

“I need to speak to your ringleader.” Despite the fact they considered themselves equal, each team of six Guardians followed the orders of the most-senior member.

Alistar glanced over at Basil, who nodded and headed out the door.

“He’s on his way.”

“Thank you.”

Less than a minute later, Rhyse strolled into the room, Basil on his heels. Six feet, five inches of kick-ass hybrid; smart, capable, calm. And the man in charge of their little group of peacekeepers.

“Rhyse van Aert,” he said, bracing his hands against the edge of the conference table.

“One second please,” the feminine voice said.

A moment later, a man came on the line. “Are we on a secure line?” he asked, but sounded as if he was speaking to someone in the room with him.

“Of course, sir,” the woman answered.

“Rhyse?”

“This is Rhyse.”

“I have news for you. It’s not good. We’ve had a report of another witch disappearing. This time, in Maine. We’ve sent the details.”

Alistar did some quick, mental math. That was seven witches missing in the last month.

“I’m sending you some help, since your team is down a member,” Ksilvanté said. “We need to figure out what’s going on, and what this Mariah wants.”

“Couldn’t agree more,” Rhyse agreed.

“You’ll continue leading the investigation. You and your ring. Report your findings directly to the Council. The Elders…they don’t have a good feeling about this.”

“None of us do.”

“Lexi should be there any minute. Best hacker this side of the Atlantic Ocean.”

“Hacker, sir?” Rhyse frowned as he met Alistar’s gaze.

“Report when you have something.” Ksilvanté’s tone turned brusque, and brooked no argument. Not that any Stigward member would willingly argue with the man who’d founded the whole organization.

“Will do.”

The call disconnected, and there were several beats of silence as he, Rhyse, and Basil glanced at each other.

The Stigward were alternately for and against technology. They’d use whatever means it took to catch a rogue. So, it shouldn’t be a surprise that they’d call in a top computer mind to help with the search.

Searching via computer was a hell of a lot easier than the days of hunting via horseback.

But still, Alistar was surprised.

And who was this Lexi dude?

As if sensing the turmoil inside him, Basil patted his forearm. Had she had one of her visions? Maybe she was trying to soothe him.

“Shouldn’t we have gotten a report on this guy? I mean, if he’s going to be on the team, shouldn’t we know something more than his name?” Basil asked.

“First name,” Rhyse corrected.

“You’d think,” Alistar said, pulling up their group email.

There was no file waiting for them. Nothing new in their file system. They’d stopped sending paper copies in the mid-1990s.

He had an itch to call the council back and ask what the hell was going on.

With so many factions within the paranormal realm, and plenty of animosity after wars between species, it was customary to provide warning before a new ring member arrived.

“And what did he mean by arriving any minute? We always meet on neutral territory,” Basil said.

“What if this is a game? What if Mariah is playing with us?” Alistar asked, a sick feeling in his gut.

“Call the Council,” Rhyse said.

Alistar dialed the number every Stigward member knew by heart. He gave his identification code. The same soft, feminine voice as before came on the line.

“This is Rhyse van Aert. We haven’t received a file on our new team member.”

“Lexi isn’t a team member,” the woman said. “Lexi’s a helper.”

A helper?

What the hell?

“We’re going to need more than that,” Rhyse said, hands braced once more on the polished-wood surface.

The front gate buzzer sounded.

Chapter Two

Alistar’s fangs itched with annoyance.

They’d just run out of time.

Normally, Byron, the butler, would answer the door, but he didn’t appear from the foyer as he usually did. In his absence, Basil stepped over to the small screen just inside the rally room door.

Alistar moved to look over her shoulder. A woman with short, dark hair stared up at the camera, brows raised, a teasing smile on her lips.

“Can I help you?” Basil asked, his finger on the call button.

“I’m Lexi.”

“Sounds like she made it,” the woman on the other end of the phone said.

She?

“What the hell?” Alistar said. “I’ve never heard of a helper.”

And a female hacker? Those were rare. Like red diamonds.

“We need a new ring member,” Rhyse stressed to the woman on the phone. His tone was hard, imploring.

“She’s been briefed on the situation. She has some ideas of how to track your witch.”

“She’s not our witch,” Basil muttered, sauntering toward the front door.

What was happening? Alistar wanted to rewind the clock, go back to before this chaos. It was wrong. Didn’t sit right.

Each Stigward Ring was made of seven members. Six guardians and one butler who ran their house and life like clockwork. Diversity and support were key elements in the Stigward credo.

With Pascal gone, they needed a new teammate, not a Brainiac Barbie.

“What are you doing?” Alistar asked, on alert, as Basil reached for the front doorknob. It was after nightfall, so the light sensored latches were unlocked, but still…

“Going to meet our helper.” Basil drew her shoulders back and shot him a smirk that said it should be obvious. She might as well have patted him on the head like a child.

Alistar’s jaw hardened.

“Tell Ksilvanté I need more information about this supposed helper before I let her into the house,” Rhyse said into the speakerphone. If he was as confused by this as Alistar, he didn’t show it.

No, the hybrid was eerily calm, and completely in charge.

“Alistar,” Rhyse said, hitting the mute button on the console, “go see what you can find out about our new friend.”

Read her mind, he meant.

Gladly, Alistar sent the thought.

***

Alistar strode down the walkway behind Basil. The two guard dogs that kept watch over the front of the lot trotted along beside them.

The New Orleans Stigward house was in the heart of the Garden District, surrounded by a maze of shrubbery and carefully manicured trees. Byron kept the yards in tip-top condition, and the lush foliage stopped traffic.

He and Basil paused at the gate. The woman on the other side gave them each a once-over, and a small wave. Unlike many, she didn’t seem perplexed by Alistar’s height or unnatural beauty.

Most women stared. Many slipped him their number. Others shoved their undergarments in his pockets. He didn’t understand women these days.

He had to give this one credit though. She didn’t seem fixated, or even fascinated by him. And she didn’t bat an eyelash at Basil’s unique hair.

He reached out, listening to her thoughts. Her mind was a whirlwind, moving so fast he couldn’t follow. Just words and phrases, like a crossword puzzle spun up in a tornado.

On the outside she seemed perfectly calm, incredibly normal, and yet… She was stunningly beautiful. She tried to hide it beneath bangs and glasses, but there was no hiding such perfect skin, or such full, kissable lips.

An inch or two to taller than Basil, Lexi had a lean athletic figure. Flip-flops graced her feet, dark jeans hugged her thighs, and a spaghetti-strap tank clung to her torso.

A headwind blew her hair back from her face, revealing her gorgeous neck. The sight of her creamy skin, so smooth and vulnerable hit him harder than a kick to the gut.

For the first time in a very long time, Alistar wanted to sink his fangs into the source. He wanted to feel her in his arms, her warmth cascading over his tongue, the hum of her pulse beneath his lips.

Would she fight him or welcome his embrace?

He took a deep breath, trying a different sense to figure her out. Strong heartbeat, but he couldn’t catch her scent. She didn’t strike him as a wolf, though her arms and shoulders looked strong. He watched for tell-tale fangs.

“I’m Basil, and this is Alistar.”

The woman nodded, her gaze swerving up the street for a moment before returning to them.

Who was she watching for?

Or perhaps she was naturally cautious.

Being hunted for generations would do that to you, he could attest.

“I’m Lexi, but you already knew that.” She lifted her gaze to Alistar and something about the way the corner of her mouth lifted put him on edge.

All they knew was her name, and that she was apparently a whiz with computers.

What exactly did she know?

Was it possible that she’d been briefed on them even though they hadn’t been briefed on her?

This whole situation was getting stranger by the moment.

She glanced up at the camera and back to them. “Are we going to get the show on the road?”

She seemed somehow eager, and yet completely at ease. A walking contradiction.

Alistar hated that.

“We’re just waiting for a few things to check out. You understand.” Basil laced her fingers, striking a casual pose.

She had more patience than he did.

“They said you’re a hacker.”

Lexi’s gaze snapped to Alistar’s. “Announce it to the whole city, why don’t you?”

She glanced up and down the street and over her shoulder. For the first time, she seemed nervous.

The breeze shifted, hitting the woman square in the back. She rocked forward on her toes, and that was when it hit him.

The thing that had been bugging him. Basil seemed to realize it at the same second.

Even from inside the walls of the Stigward house, his gut had told him something was off. Not quite right.

“You’re human,” Alistar said softly, ever aware of the Garden District’s close quarters. There were some things you didn’t want the neighbors overhearing.

Lexi stepped closer, closing her hands around the gate’s iron bars. Big, brown eyes full of mirth and intelligence. And that mouth…why couldn’t he stop staring at it?

“And you are a vampire,” she whispered, her words disappearing on the breeze.

There was something about the way she said the word vampire that made him think of long evenings of slow sex. Claiming her lips in lingering kisses. Fisting his hands into those chocolate locks. Drinking from her graceful neck. Being wrapped in her arms while he drilled into her tight heat.

“And I’m a hybrid. Woo-hoo,” Basil sing-songed.

Lexi didn’t break eye contact, and he had a feeling she was testing him. Why, he didn’t have the first clue.

But she barely blinked, and her lips were parted ever so slightly. Why couldn’t he stop looking at them?

Why couldn’t he stop wondering what they’d taste like?

And why couldn’t he hear her thoughts in his head?

Alistar took a step back, and realized instantly that he’d made a mistake.

If this had been a staring contest, he’d just blinked.