Coming May 18th!! Deep Within The Shadows
May 18th will be the big day!! Deep Within The Shadows is available for preorder at $.99 at Amazon right now! The big release day is May 18th!!
Here's the Blurb:
Twins Miranda and Juliet Templeton have been haunted by childhood trauma their entire lives. One has the reputation for being bold and rash, the other compulsively responsible. When both are viciously attacked within minutes of each other, they are forced to leave their differences behind in order to survive.
Here's the Blurb:
Welcome to Superstition, Kentucky
Twins Miranda and Juliet Templeton have been haunted by childhood trauma their entire lives. One has the reputation for being bold and rash, the other compulsively responsible. When both are viciously attacked within minutes of each other, they are forced to leave their differences behind in order to survive.
Caleb Faulkner has always loved Miranda Templeton. Her
letters to him, during his deployment gave him a slice of home to hold on to.
Even though they’re finally together, something is keeping her from acting on
her feelings. When she and her sister are injured Caleb’s driven to protect them
both. But all his military training can’t help him combat this danger.
Detective Chase Robinson is lead investigator for the murder
of Tanner Newton. When the two hired thugs responsible for Tanner’s death are
killed and Juliet, his only witness, nearly strangled to death, Chase is
certain the crimes are connected. He decides to stay close to the twins so he
can catch the real killer. But his police training is useless against his
growing feelings for Juliet and what’s hiding DEEP WITHIN THE SHADOWS.
An Excerpt:
CHAPTER
1
Juliet Templeton scanned the
patrons lined up at the bar waiting for drinks. Her hands flew as she packed
ice into a glass and measured vodka in a jigger and dumped it in. She reached
for the orange juice and tipped the jug.
“Have I told you this
vampire-biker-chick look suits you?” Justin’s warm, moist breath brushed her
neck. She flinched away, resisting the urge to elbow him in the gut. Orange
juice splashed onto the counter. For weeks, since he’d been hired to bartend,
he’d pushed for a date. He was doing it again tonight. With his shaggy mop of
dark hair, clean-shaven, angular jaw, and hazel eyes, he could pass for Hayden
Christensen’s cousin. Even with the Goth makeup turning his skin pale, he
exuded sex appeal. Had her feelings not been deadened to it—to him—to every
man, since—
“Look Justin. I don’t date anyone I
work with. It causes too many complications. Move on to someone else.”
His smile wavered but didn’t quite
die. “Maybe I’ll have to quit my job, then.”
She shook her head. I’m not worth the sacrifice. I’m trouble you
don’t need. She slid the drink to the waiting customer and picked up his
money.
A woman slinked up to the bar, her
tight black strapless dress hugging her generous curves like a sausage casing. With
arrogance and grace, she raised her hand in a demanding gesture. Juliet took a
deep breath. She didn’t have the patience to deal with Justin and her, too. She
nodded toward the customer. “Can you get her order? I need to ring this up.”
She waved the money in her hand.
With a wry grin, Justin strolled
down the workspace behind the bar, his shoes squeaking on the rubber mat.
Juliet heaved a gusty sigh. Maybe
he’d hook up with Ms. Sausage and quit pressuring her. Hell, maybe they’d find
true love together. She could only hope.
Her feet ached, as did her back,
from nearly ten hours behind the bar. Even her facial muscles felt tired from
smiling at customers. She just wanted to finish her shift and go home to a
long, long bath and an empty bed.
She returned to the task at hand.
The heavy metal beat from the stage pounded against her ears, drowning out the
beep of the cash register as she keyed in the order. The base drum thumped in
time with the headache throbbing behind her eyes. Jesus! She rubbed her
temples. The rock bands Hector hired were usually more than loud enough, but
for the last two weeks, The Skull’s music had been falling just short of an
assault.
She scanned the dance floor where a
strobe light captured the dancers’ stop-action gyrations. Not couples, but the
group, the collective. They moved as one. She paused a moment, attempting to
guess which were human and which had something to hide. The smoke machine
backstage provided an eerie atmospheric backdrop for the band and the audience.
Since they were already painted and garbed in Goth style, the special effects
lent the patrons the look of extras on a Day
of the Dead movie set.
The bar was the new happening
hangout in Superstition, Kentucky. Business was booming. Tips were good. Unless
you knew what to look for, it was difficult to sort the real from the imagined.
Management strenuously encouraged the employees to dress a part. And the
clientele.
Since the college had taken root, the
sleepy little town of Superstition had begun to attract an interesting
demographic. Very interesting.
The counter was sticky from orange
juice she slopped while trying to fix a screwdriver and also avoid Justin’s
latest pseudo-amorous efforts. She wiped her workstation with a damp sponge,
tossed it in the sink, and turned her attention to the next drink order, a
Primal Scream. The lead singer accompanied the order with a shrill demonstration.
Juliet winced.
From the stage, a spotlight swept
across the crowd and paused on the bar. Blinking against the harsh glare, she
snatched up a bottle of Kahlua from the packed shelves. Its sweet scent
momentarily dulled the flowery smell of her last customer’s cologne. The mirror
behind the bar captured a brief glimpse of her pale face and exaggerated eye
makeup.
A movement, a form, stealthy, fast,
and gray, rose behind her in the glass. Cold feathered her skin and crawled
across her scalp. The shape sprouted two very long arm-like appendages that
looped around her. With a startled yelp, she twisted around to face the threat.
The spotlight swung away.
Juliet blinked, blinded by the
change in light. Her vision cleared.
Nothing.
Nothing was there.
Teresa Reasor
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