“How’d they get here so fast?” Alex asked.
“A little birdie must have told them,” Matt said. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll miss you when you’re in Virginia.”
“They say absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
“That’s bullshit. I’ll visit as often as I can.”
“You have an important and demanding job.”
“I’ll make time. And starting today, I’m on vacation—my first vacation since I was elected. A whole week.”
She smiled. “You’re serious.”
“Yes, I am. It might have been presumptuous of me, but I asked your brothers to move your stuff into my house.”
That surprised her. “You did?”
“I can call them and cancel.”
She smiled. “Don’t you dare. Let’s go home.” They walked out of the building, using a different exit than the one that Hooper used for Hart. Or, rather, Alex waddled out of the building on her crutches. “Are you really going to take the week off?”
“Yes. I have a terrific staff. They are perfectly capable of steering the ship so I can spoil you. Unless you’d rather go somewhere, like Tahoe? Hawaii? Anywhere you want.”
“I like the idea of spending all week alone with you at your house.” She stopped walking so she could lean up and kiss him. “I love you, Matt Elliott.”
Matt put his hands on either side of her head and kissed her again, slowly. She would have melted to the ground if she didn’t have her crutches to support her.
“It’s our house, Alex,” he whispered. “So let’s go home.”
***
About Allison Brennan
New York Times and USA Today bestseller Allison Brennan is the author of twenty-three novels and several short stories. A former consultant in the California State Legislature, she lives in Northern California with her husband Dan and their five children.
Crime fiction, mysteries, and romantic suspense have always been Allison's favorites, so it's no surprise that her romantic thrillers have a dark suspense edge. Reviewers have called her books "terrifying," "mesmerizing," "fast-paced," "pulse-pounding," "wonderfully complex," "layered," and "a master of suspense - tops in the genre." As Lisa Gardner says, "Brennan knows how to deliver."
Writing three books a year is more than a full-time job, and so is raising five kids, but Allison believes life is too short to be bored. When she's not writing, she's reading, playing video games, watching old movies or new television shows, driving to or attending volleyball basketball football soccer baseball / softball games, and on occasion even makes it to the gym where she enjoys people-watching more than exercise.
Find Allison here:
http://www.allisonbrennan.com/
https://www.facebook.com/AllisonBrennan
http://twitter.com/#!/Allison_Brennan
http://www.pinterest.com/abwrites/
Until Death
by Cynthia Eden
Prologue
The giant sea monster flew down the packed city streets. Its tentacles shot high into the air and its bright green body shone beneath the lights. Screams rose in the air, high, desperate cries of—
“Throw me something!”
Ivy DuLane smiled at those cries even as she let loose and threw a handful of gleaming, plastic necklaces into the crowd. The people out there roared even louder as the Mardi Gras parade really kicked into high gear.
Mardi Gras in Mobile. Damn, but she loved these nights. The Royal Ladies of Poseidon were ruling this town. Her float was rocking as it bobbed its way down the busy street. One of the high school bands marched in front of her sea monster, and the band’s music drifted into the air, merging with the cries from the crowd.
Ivy paused just a moment to adjust the mask that she wore—everyone on the float was wearing a pale, blue mask just like hers. The blue mask covered her eyes and just skimmed the top of her nose. Ivy swayed with the music and her smile stretched.
Energy pumped into the air. Those screams were full of joy and—
“Help me!”
Ivy’s head whipped to the right. She’d just grabbed more Mardi Gras beads from her post, but that cry stilled her hand. Her frantic gaze swept over the crowded street, looking past the barricade that the cops had set up to protect the parade goers.
She saw men and women. Children. They were all talking and laughing. Waving their hands into the air as they tried to catch the throws from the floats.
Behind the crowd, though, darkness waited. Shadows swept away from the street, heading back toward the old buildings. As she stared into those shadows, a shiver swept over Ivy.
The sea monster jerked and her hands flew out as she steadied herself. When the float moved, the crowd parted, just a bit, and she saw the two lovers in the darkness.
The man was behind the woman, one of his arms was wrapped around her waist and his other arm—
A knife glinted in the dark.
They aren’t lovers.
“Stop!” Ivy yelled as she dropped her beads and grabbed onto the side of the float.