BE MY VAMPIRE
by Myla Jackson
Blurb
Elite Paranormal Investigative Agent Reggie Gallagher hates vampires. After thirteen beautiful women are kidnapped off the streets of Houston, Reggie and her sister set themselves up as bait to catch the kidnappers. The mission goes sour, her sister vanishes and Reggie is surrounded by a rabid pack of vampires only to be rescued by the most desirable vampire Reggie’s ever encountered. Captivated by his incredible magnetism, Reggie can’t deny her body’s response to the vampire’s nearness. When the sexy beast insists on providing protection and assistance in finding the missing women, Reggie can’t refuse.
After the woman he loved turned Yuri Kovac into a vampire four hundred years ago, he swore he’d never trust another woman with his heart. Then he saved a sensuous hellcat from a band of vicious vampires only to find himself mesmerized by her curvaceous body, hot temper and fierce love for her family. Together Yuri and Reggie seek Reggie’s missing sister and face down the evil behind the disappearances while fighting their growing attraction for each other.
Publisher’s Note: This story was previously published elsewhere under the title Tempting and Body Snatchers and has been revised for Story Ink LLC.
Excerpt
Reggie Gallagher ducked behind the last in a row of Dumpsters and braced her hands on her knees, dragging in huge gulps of air. Sweat ran down the side of her face, and the black ribbed tank top she wore clung to her breasts. The coastal humidity and heat acted like a steam bath even when she was standing still. For the moment, all she could hear was the ragged gasps of her breath wheezing in and out of her straining lungs. And despite the retched stench of the waste beside her, she welcomed the respite from the chase.
Where was Madison? She’d been right behind Reggie until now.
The quiet of the alley was broken when pounding footsteps
entered and raced toward her.
Risking a stealthy glance around the hard metal corner of
the Dumpster, Reggie confirmed the runner, and she reached out to snag her and
pull her in beside her.
“Can’t…stop.” Madison bent low, her shoulders heaving with
the effort to fill her oxygen-starved lungs.
“Breathe,” Reggie ordered, and tapped the miniature headset
positioned inside her ear like a hearing aid. “I can think of a hundred
friggin' better ways to spend Valentine's Day. ”
“I'd have preferred...chocolates. ”
“Where the hell are Jordan and Mike?”
“It’s…as…if…they disappeared.” Madison sucked in air and
gushed, “Ah, shit! I can’t breathe. I don’t know if those guys saw me turn down
here, but they can’t be far behind.”
“Then let’s go.” Reggie shot another glance around the
corner of the Dumpster. The alley was empty. She waited another second and then
grabbed her sister’s hand, pulling her along behind her.
“There!” The shout of one of their pursuers echoed off the
brick of the multistory structures rising up from their concrete foundations.
The buildings spread over entire blocks, channeling Reggie and Madison through
the worst part of Houston, leaving few places to hide or take cover. How had
the mission gone south so fast? Where was their backup?
“They’ll catch us at this rate,” Madison shouted between
gasps. “Gotta split up.”
“No!” But before Reggie could tighten her grip, her younger
sister pulled free and swung left, sprinting west, away from the downtown area.
Reggie glanced back at the group of six men closing in
behind her. If she played her hand right, they’d follow her and leave Madison
alone. The fastest runner on the team at the Paranormal Investigative Agency,
she could outrun every man, except perhaps the boss. Tanner was made of iron
and muscles. No one could outrun, out gun or outsmart him.
But if she wanted to live, Reggie had better make it her
goal to beat all of his records and then some. She just hoped the hell Madison
got away.
Summoning every last ounce of energy, she punched out,
running straight for two blocks to ensure the bad boys behind her wouldn’t
branch off and pursue her sister. Just as she was about to veer east, a shot
rang out and something hard and fast slammed against her left shoulder,
spinning her around so quickly she crashed into the brick corner of an office
building.
Surprise numbed the pain for the first five seconds until
her heart resumed function, kicking her blood through her body and out the
ragged exit wound in the front of her shoulder. Her stomach lurched, and the
pale glow of the streetlamps dimmed. No. She couldn’t pass out. Not now.
Have to run. Have to get farther away from Madison.
As fog crept in around her peripheral vision, Reggie rounded
the corner she’d been aiming for and set off at a swift jog, her pace slowing
more each time her heels hit the pavement.
No. This couldn’t happen. She would not be another one of
the victims she risked her life to protect. No way would the gang members or
bloodsuckers take her down as they’d done her father.
Heartless bastards! All of them.
Although Tanner said there were good vamps out there, Reggie
had it firmly in her mind that the only good vampire was a dead vampire. She
repeated the words like a cadence, motivating her legs to keep pumping and her
feet to continue moving away from her attackers.
“The only good vampire is a—” With only half a block between
her and the six men, she reached the end of the street and swung a hard right,
running into a solid wall of steel. Her forehead made contact and then her
chest, knocking what little air was left from her lungs. The force of the
collision made her bounce backward, her head snapping up. With no air to sustain
breathing and her vision blurred, the ground sucked her downward. As her knees
buckled, her mouth completed her sentence. “Dead vampire.”
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1 comment:
WOW!!!! This sounds awesome. Adding to my wishlist right now.
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