Phoenix

   It would be so easy to slip away unseen. To be forgotten would imply that she was ever remembered. Gone like the morning fog or that elusive lightning bug leaving people wondering if you ever really existed.
   Her absence left no mark on the world around her. No empty cog in the machine of life. The world kept turning, the birds keep singing. The sky was an angry blue with white cotton ball clouds when she disappeared into the darkness of the abyss. Silently she slept in the darkness waiting to be reborn,

Dancing with the Devil

The feeling of doom that had been dogging him hung in the air like the sickly sweet smell of death. They would be forever bound and changed by this moment. You couldn’t take a life and not be changed in some way. He wondered if she would deal with it or push it down deep and let the numbness blanket her, impervious, until nothing could get through, not even love.

 “Go now and hide, don’t come out no matter what you hear.” 

Angel’s life had gone from bad dream to nightmare in the last year. She had run away from her abusive father only to become Carlos’ sex slave, and now she had killed him. Was her life even worth saving anymore? There was only one thing she was sure of at this moment-she didn’t want this man to die. He took her in his arms and kissed in a way that sent shivers down to her toes.

“Please, go. I’ll come for you if I can,” he whispered.

Angel heard the shouts of Carlos’ men as she ran out the back door and knew he was going to die.

Nick threw the gun down; when the men burst through the door he raised his hands in surrender. They checked Carlos on the floor and found he was dead. One of them hit Nick with a rifle butt and the lights went out.

Unsure if he was alive or dead, Angel watched from the garage as they carried Nick back to the main house. Men scurried around the compound like angry ants. She wiped away a tear and saw his blood staining her hands, and she cried until there were no tears left. The corner of the grounds next to the garage was hidden by trees; she had spent months looking for a way to escape but she heard the coyotes at night, so close she could hear them lick their lips in anticipation of her delicate flesh. What would happen to her now would make death by coyote a mercy. Was life with Carlos worse than being torn to shreds by hungry animals? Now she had no choice, she would run for herself and to get help for the man who had stolen her heart. Angel climbed quickly and hit the ground running, she ran for the tree line clutching the cross and praying he would survive.

Dancing with the Devil

Nick moved silently, like the big cats that stalked the rocky hillsides outside of L.A. Unseen but none the less deadly to the unsuspecting. He crept up silently behind Meyers; his death would be quick and merciful, more than what he deserved for the pain he caused his family. Rage filled him as he thought about what Meyers had done to Kathy and Angel and each precious day that had slipped by without his children

He spun Meyers around to face him. The glint of fear in his eyes was quickly replaced with hatred.

Meyers reached for his gun but Dempsey was inhumanly fast. A steel grip squeezed his throat, Meyers grunted, fighting for air, for his life, for one last breath. His gun clattered to the ground, it was useless to him now. Dempsey’s grip loosened and Meyers first thought was to scream for help, but he wouldn’t give Dempsey the satisfaction of showing him fear. He would be dead and Dempsey gone before anyone could finish dialing 911.

“See Dempsey, I was right. You are nothing but a stone-cold killer, and from the look of your eyes, you’re using again. You’re weak and I knew if I pushed hard enough you’d break. His fate was sealed and at the moment death seemed better than an eight by ten cell for the rest of his life. The only satisfaction he had was in knowing he had destroyed Dempsey in the process. He had in some small way destroyed them all.

Dancing with the Devil

   Nick’s head was spinning from the whiskey and the pain killers. The adrenaline rush that carried through his ordeal was fading fast and exhaustion was hitting him hard. If the way he felt now was any indication tomorrow he was going to wish Carlos had killed him.
   Angel soaked the surgical kit in alcohol while she got a washcloth and towel from the bathroom. She splashed her flushed cheeks with cool water and stared at herself in the mirror. What was she doing, what was she thinking? There was no escape from here and it would be cruel to get this man killed because of her mistake.
   He looked at her warily when she took the washcloth and wiped the sweat from his face and chest. She sat down beside him at the table and examined the wound while he dried off. “It’s not too bad, but it might hurt.”
  Angel moved away quickly when Nick flinched. “I’m sorry,” she said.
   She shook like a dog that was beaten by its master, cowering at his feet. Nick grabbed her arm gently. “I won’t hurt you. I will never hurt you.”
   He got lost for a moment in the most beautiful green eyes he had ever seen, but there was so much pain in them for someone so young. He smiled when he saw the fear disappear. There had to be a way to get her out of here and away from Carlos without her ending up in prison with the rest of them.
   Angel nodded and finished the stitches; he was barely conscious and needed to rest. There was no telling what other sick games Carlos had planned for him; she had seen so many die. Some days she couldn’t get away from the smell of death. Today she was more frightened than usual; first Carlos was angry at her interest in this man, and then he had her playing nurse to him.
   She steadied him as he stood and led him to the bedroom. This man was all about control and power; he didn’t need a gun or an army of men to command respect or to illicit fear.
   “Take your jeans off and I’ll wash them. I don’t think I can save the shirt. I’ll see if I can find you one to wear,” she said.
   “Nothing silk.” Nick started laughing. “Oh, that hurt.” He wished it had been Carlos in his silk shirt lying on the concrete floor, dead.
   Angel giggled
   He rested his hands on her shoulders while he stepped out of the blood-stained jeans. She stood momentarily transfixed, admiring his body; it was hard and muscled, not soft like Carlos’. What would he be like as a lover? Would he be rough and brutal or would his touch be gentle as it was now?

Dancing with the Devil

 Here's an excerpt from the new book. I'm trying out the new title as well. Enjoy!

Nick circled the block in the borrowed car then parked the next street over. The scent of fire wafted through the air; he was back in California and it seemed something was always burning. It had been a long time since he felt this kind of fear and excitement. He watched and listened, all of his senses heightened by the adrenaline pumping through his veins. He had to stay calm and focused; his son’s life depended on it. Whatever demand Angel made he would do it. All that mattered was seeing his son back safely in Kathy’s arms. He knocked on the door He took a deep breath and tried to steady his nerves before he knocked on the door. 

 “Come in,” a muffled voice yelled from behind the door.

His breath left him when he saw her in front of the window. Her skin glowed and light danced on her hair. Bathed in the soft glow of sunset she looked like an angel, and in that instant she was his Angel, then and forever.

His anger turned inward and all he wanted to do was touch her, to feel the flesh, to hear her sighs. He realized he was hers and a piece of him always would be. He had never stopped craving her, any more than he would a line of coke or a shot of Jack Daniels. Each woman he loved carried a piece of him with her; only death could break that bond. Angel was a painful part of his past and had no place in his future. He wondered if you ever stopped loving someone you once loved.

Angel’s breath caught in her throat. At long last the man she loved stood before her, but the look of hatred in his eyes was for her. She scanned the room quickly for a way out, or a weapon if she needed it. Deep down she knew she’d never be able to hurt him anymore than she already had. What could be more painful than killing his wife and stealing his child? Yet somehow her fate was worse, never having held or seen her child before it was taken away. How long did she have to wait to feel her daughter in her arms? She inched her way towards the hallway. This was all a horrible mistake. His dark angry eyes never left her for a moment. She’d forgotten how lethal he was, like a cat - quick, silent, deadly. His silence was what terrified her most.

“She’s not dead.” In a heartbeat Nick closed the distance between them. “You bitch, I can’t believe you did this to me!” he screamed.

Angel backed into the wall; the broken pictures sent shards of glass falling around her feet. To see her again was like opening an old wound; the pain leaked from him like the blood of his victims; it covered him, engulfed him until he thought he’d drown in its depths. His sins had been cast upon his son.

Title contest

This is a brief synopses of my sequel to Nature of the Beast. I'm not sure about using my current title and would love some opinions from all of you!!

Sheriff Nick Dempsey has spent a lifetime making enemies. With his marriage to actress Kathy Tyler and the birth of their child, his life is finally complete. After Kathy gets an offer to make another movie, the three leave Minnesota for L.A. and the life they left behind.

Angel, a former lover and an old enemy team up to destroy Nick and his family. After a brutal attack, Kathy is left for dead and their son is kidnapped. Nick becomes a pawn in a power struggle and learns that the price of his son’s freedom is murder.

As his life spins violently out of control, the lure of drugs and his ex-lover offer him an escape from the pain. Angel must decide if she can forgive Nick before it costs him his freedom or his life.

TITLE:

1. Ties that Bind

2. Blood Ties

3. Sins and Secrets

4. Dancing with the Devil

5. Scorned

6. Sin and Redemption

7. The Devil You Know 
8. Past Sins
9. Entangled

Please feel free to add a title. If I choose it,  I will give you a $10 Amazon gift card and copies of all my novels. If I don't use a contestant's title; I will choose a winner from the other entries. In case of more than one submission for the same book title I will pick a winner at random.

Thank you for entering!!

   We walked out of the unfamiliar building and no one stopped us. I let out a sigh of relief when I got into his SUV. He shook his head and said. “Ye of little faith.” That pretty much summed me up. If I couldn’t see, touch or taste it I had a hard time accepting it existed.

   I asked a silly question that I already knew the answer to, but I had to ask it anyway. “So it’s over?”

   “It’s over. You are free.”

   Free to do what I thought. There isn’t much market for paid killers. Sure I could go places I didn’t want to go and do things I didn’t want to do but I had already spent a lifetime doing that. I had nothing to show for the years except some money in the bank and job skills that would land me in prison. If I avoided the shoe store it was enough money to last me for years. I couldn’t go home I would never again feel safe there.

   “How about you come home with me for a while? We have a lot of catching up to do.” He smiled. I knew what that smile meant and I couldn’t wait to get back to his place. God, how I had missed that smile.

   “Sure.” I smiled back.

   He nodded. “Good.”

   I had a million questions to ask him but right now I just wanted to enjoy the moment. There are so few people in life you can be quiet with. Petr was the one I could.be quiet with.

   “Are you sure you want me to know where you live?”

   “I know you would die before you betray me.”

   “I’m trying to get used to the not dying part.”

   His laugh was deep and masculine. He tossed me a bottle of pills. “Take one.”

   “What happened to the trusting me stuff?”

   He looked over at me and I shook a pill out. Looked like Valium. I had a fear of flying which was normally kept in check but this was going to be bad. I took some bottled water and washed the pill down.

   “Helicopter.” I said.

   “Helicopter.”

   Two men were standing guard next to the helicopter when we pulled into the small airport. That was reassuring. Petr nodded and the men stepped aside. My wobbles were getting worse so he walked me around and helped me into the helicopter. God, how I hate to fly.

   I swallowed hard as we took off. A few minutes in my head stared to spin and things dimmed. I struck out at him with my fist but he moved away easily and smiled. “Why?” That was a stupid question. Why should I be surprised that both of the men I have loved in my life have betrayed me.

   “No worries. I trust you, but it’s better you don’t know for now.”

Trust is highly overrated.