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All of us have done things which are reckless. We've taken chances with our health, our heart and our lives. My cousin is a prime example of someone who takes risks. He joined the military to jump out of planes and did five tours overseas, even going back to serve as a contractor. He loves to race motorcycles, doing jumps... It's surprising to him that he's lived to be 40... In MS Kaye's latest release in her In Death series, Illona has faced the death of her loved ones and is taking some dangerous risks...Archer is determined to protect her, putting himself in danger.....  Blurb: Will they discover the truth of their ancient connection before it destroys them both? Ilona continues to struggle with loss, as well as trying to find where she fits in with other people, if she ever really will. She starts taking dangerous risks. Archer is desperate to protect Illona and discovers more about himself in the progress. When Ilona is in danger of being mauled by a dog, he desperately tries something that shouldn’t be possible. And yet he succeeds. This is just the beginning of his discovery of who—what—he truly is. EXCERPT By the time Ilona walked into the hall, the bell had rung. The whole bell thing still seemed weird to her. She started toward her next class. As she approached a group of girls huddled around a locker, she glanced over, while trying not to get run over by the hordes of teenagers now filling the hall. She noticed a clear bag filled with a white, powdery substance. She wondered if it was an ingredient for Home Ec—and then realized it wasn’t sugar or flour and looked away. As she passed the girls, someone muttered, “Grab her.” Footsteps sounded behind her. She ducked and saw as a fist swung through the air where her head had been. She shifted to stand and bolt forward, but someone grabbed her by the arm and dragged her around the corner. Great. A pale girl with dark hair and piercings all over her sneered in Ilona’s face. “You ain’t seen nothin’, bitch.” “Sure,” Ilona said, voice level. “Don’t give no lip,” the darker girl said. “Or I’ll do more then split that pretty lip. I’ll rip your shit off.” “Okay.” The first girl shoved Ilona against the lockers. Ilona wasn’t sure how to get them to back off. Perhaps she should be showing more fear than she felt? She hadn’t been able to muster much in the way of emotion for a while. Except grief and regret—those about consumed her, most days. “I’m not sure what you think,” Ilona said, “but I didn’t see anything.” “That’s right,” the pierced girl said. “You ain’t seen nothin’.” “Sure.” The girl’s lip curled, and she balled her fist. As the girl shifted, Ilona moved to the side, and the girl smashed her hand against the locker with a reverberating clang. “Fucking bitch,” she yelled. The darker girl stepped forward and reached for Ilona’s neck. Without thinking if she should, Ilona slipped to the spirit side. The girl’s hand passed through her. Ilona stepped back and pulled herself back to the living side, hoping the girl just assumed she’d missed Ilona’s neck. The girl looked at her hand, then Ilona. “What the fuck?” “I didn’t see anything,” Ilona said. “Leave me the hell alone.” She had to do something to take the girl’s attention away from what’d just happened, and provoking her with an aggressive attitude was the only thing she could think of that quickly. The darker girl roared something unintelligible and lunged forward. Ilona balled her small hand and rammed her fist at the girl’s nose. Cartilage crunched, and warm blood dripped down Ilona’s cold hand. Pain radiated up her wrist—her hands weren’t conditioned for striking, not like Archer’s. She tried to wipe that thought, his image, from her mind. The other girl was coming at her. Ilona clenched her other fist, but she wasn’t sure she’d be able to stop her with her less-dominant hand. The girl stopped, a sudden halt, as if hitting an invisible wall. Ilona realized someone had grabbed the collar of her coat from behind, like a dog on a leash. “Back off,” a voice growled. Now Available... |
