EXCERPT!

It's October!! How did we get here?! Wasn't it just the beginning of summer like two minutes ago and now its fall? If your life is anything like mine, the minutes seem to be flying by and you still feel like you have accomplished nothing. However, when you step back, you see a bigger picture; one that includes that despite things not being completed, good headway was accomplished. An excellent example is my next book featuring Eddie from my first novel. I have made wonderful progress and to show my gratitude to all my fans, I have included the first chapter below. I hope you enjoy this small excerpt and it gives you a small reprieve from everyday life. Enjoy! And as always...a review is a wonderful way to show your love for the heroes and heroines you are reading. Please feel free to sign up for my newsletters, which not only feature release dates but when books go on sale! Sign up by going to my website: SJRowe.com.

And now, what you've all been waiting for:

Eddie's Story

“Shhhh!”

“What? Why are you shushing me? I thought you said this was your place?”

“Well yes and no.”

Eddie stopped in his tracks, not caring that blood was still running down his arm and his shoulder was screaming in pain. “Jesse, what the hell is going on?” He was tired. It had been a long day, hell, it had been a long few years. The last thing he wanted to add to his night was breaking and entering.

“I don’t know!” Jesse’s irritation with the woman was obvious. Good. Hopefully the young sap would get over the crush he had developed in less than three hours and get with the f**king program. They were on a mission, not find and seduce the local shop girl.

The woman, Leslie, shot them both a glare as she continued to walk quietly to the back of the property they had entered a few second before. “I never said this was my place with the meaning that I owned it. You needed a place to go. You said no hospitals. All I said, and I quote, is ‘I have a place’. Meaning a place for us to go, not necessary my place.”

“Damn women.”

“I heard that.”

“You were meant to.” Eddie grumbled again. Why he never listened to the voice inside his head that told him repeatedly not to trust a woman, the devil would only know. Women were the downfall of all men, going back even to the beginning with Adam and that damn apple tree.

Despite the fact that Eddie knew this wasn’t Leslie’s place, the cold hard fact was that they had nowhere else to go. Even if their phone’s GPS did work in the mountains, they were still in the middle of nowhere's land in upstate Montana, so close to the border they may as well claim themselves Canadian for the night. They missed their contact due to the Kayen attack and they now had no way of reaching their contact since the man refused to get his head out of his ass and join the 21st century. How the hell was Eddie suppose to get in touch with his contact, who was a recluse that refused to own a telephone or even have a computer within five hundred miles of his house for fear of being found?!

So here he was, following some girl, who got him and his men into the Kayen fight to begin with, to a stranger’s house that might or might not be a trap. Nights like this made Eddie question why he ever gave up his position as a Trainer to the new Reborns five years ago. It was a good job, even an easy one most days. The only things he worried about then were mood swings from the other Primes and the occasional hunt of a Kayen when the Rookies were ready. But now, he had Kayens on his back more times than he could count and they seemed to be growing in numbers as well as brain cells. How they managed to create a weapon that prevented his kind from healing instantly, was not something he needed to add to the list of worries for the week.

This was so not his night. Thankfully, it seemed the worst was over.

CRACK!

“Mother F**ker” fate was an evil b**ch. Eddie looked up to the skies just in time to see it split open as the clouds cried out in sorrow and drench those below. The storm that Eddie was hoping would hold off for a few more hours broke to all heavens. It was followed by the wings of the devil as the wind picked up rapidly and almost became a barrier in their path.

No command was necessary to get the group running for the back patio. Despite that it was covered, the wind threw water on them continuously as the lightening lit the sky in rapid warning.

“The doors locked. Where’s the key?” Gabe yelled above the howling of the winds.

“I’m looking for it!” Leslie continued to check under every rock in the vicinity, Jesse joined in the hunt.

“F**k this.” Eddie scanned the building and saw no heated elements representing life. “It’s clear. Open it.”

Gabe didn’t question as he waved his hand over the door and it opened easily. Eddie was happy Leslie was too occupied looking for the damn key to see what Gabe did. He really didn’t want to have to add another explanation onto the night. It was going to be tough as it was to convince her the people that attacked them weren’t trying to rip out her heart to drink her soul as it was. Add telling her that they were all descendants of Cain and Abel would be another headache in itself. Another reason why he desperately needed a Swiper in his group. Having someone that would erase Outsiders memories would make his job so much easier.

“Let’s go!” Eddie waited until the group filed into the room before he followed; taking one last sweep of the grounds to confirm no one had followed them.

Despite that the room was dark, Eddie still saw clearly it was a spacious living room with various entry ways leading throughout the house. A quick glance at Gabe confirmed that the power was out as the boy continued to flick the switches on and off in rapid succession to confirm his theory. At first glance, the place looked like a haven for the time being, but Eddie’s own past proved that things that looked too good to be true usually were.

Slowly he roamed the room, allowing his Prime abilities to heighten his sight to see every crevasse, every flower print on the wing chairs, every movie title on the bookshelves. Everything. To include the person asleep on the far couch.

But my scan came up negative? How is that possible? Is she dead? No, I can hear her breathing clearly.

Eddie moved closer, preparing for the attack to come. His ability had never let him down before and the fact that it messed up now, only increased his trepidation that they were not in the clear at all. Eddie noted that Gabe also became aware of the woman and moved to the left, giving Eddie the full front to launch the attack and only providing assistance when needed. Jesse was on the other side of the couch, attending to the woman. He sat her down in a wing chair and began checking her superficial wounds. Eddie wasn’t sure if Jesse noticed the new threat or if he was just putting himself in Lindsey’s field of view so she wouldn’t see what was about to happen. Either way, Eddie needed to talk with Jesse about his tactics. Granted the man was a Fallen member and not a Prime, but still, they needed to be able to rely on one another in unknown situations and Eddie was still unsure where Jesse stood on everything. He liked killing Kayens and he liked f**king, but Eddie didn’t know which one outweighed the other.

Slowly, Eddie pulled out his knife. He couldn’t rely on his ability and if there were more in the house than just the person on the coach, he needed to be quiet. Stealth was always key. He moved closer. His eyes roamed the petite figure and his body involuntarily reacted to the female form that was turned away from him.

What the f**k?

His body hadn’t reacted to anyone as it did now in so long, that Eddie was beginning to think he was gay, expect he didn’t find men attractive either. The jeans clung to the form and her sweater, though bulky in most areas, still showed signs of femininity curves beneath it. Her face was mostly covered by her long hair and an arm swung across face as if trying to block out the light that once was.

Silence ensued as Eddie continued to admire the woman below him. He was unsure of the next course of action. Was she an innocent? Was she the enemy? Too many question and not enough time to find out as the thunder screamed in the night sky with lightening answering quickly causing the noise to ricochet in the room.

Eddie watched as the sleeping beauty fluttered her lashes before opening them. Sleep still hung in clouds around her pupils but was blinked quickly away as her eyes found his face, the knife, and made note of three others in the room. Quicker than Eddie thought possible, the woman jumped straight up on the couch, her mouth hung open as if she was about to scream in panic, but her footing on the cushions caused her voice to sing out in alarm instead as she balanced on the back of the couch unsteadily. Unable to understand the mechanics of it, Eddie watched in confusion as the whole thing tilted backwards. The girl along with it.

Two things occurred after he heard the fallen creature moan in pain and softly mutter “that’s going to leave a mark”. First, his c*ck stirred when he heard her sweet moan and second, he actually wanted to laugh at her remark. Two things that he never did.

This was bad, this was very bad.

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