Lev Baronovsky, a
soulless creature of the night, has a problem. Carly, the love of his life has
just died in an accident and in three days will pass to the other side. Without
a soul, he cannot cross over with her and the thought of spending eternity
without his beloved is unbearable. Is seventy-two hours enough time to find a
way?
With the help of
his brother, Alexei, they must face the vilest creature of all, Boris, an
ancient one with selfish motivations of his own.
Excerpt:
Lev moved swiftly through the hallways, darting in
and out and around what, to him, were slowly moving nurses and orderlies—those
unfortunates working the midnight shift. Faster than any human eye was capable
of detecting, he made it to Carly’s room in a flash. In fact, he made it there
just in time, nostrils plucking the acrid scents from the air better than any
dog’s.
He sat on the bed beside her in the dimly lit room
and noticed, thankfully, she had no roommate. The bed beside Carly was recently
vacated. The scent of death still lingered heavily and sadly.
Taking her delicate hand in his, Lev noticed a monitor clipped on an index finger. It seemed it measured her pulse and
heartbeat. He noticed too that her heart was beating slowly, though he didn’t
need a monitor for that. He heard its throb, and it made him think of a dying
battery.
However, relief settled on him as he realized he
was the first to arrive after the accident that had left her comatose. Carly’s
family was nowhere near yet. It would take hours for them to get here from the
other coast. He had time, plenty of it. Stealthily, Lev glanced into the
hallway from his perch in the darkened hospital room. The occasional nurse
strode past, but it was late, or perhaps the better term was early. In the wee
hours of the morning, there would be fewer staff than during the day.
With a sigh, he took Carly in. Her blonde hair was
matted and dirty, even though it looked as if someone had tried to clean her
up, perhaps finger combing her thick mane and tucking it behind her head. Her
face was still perfect. Not a single scratch had sullied her beauty.
A knot twisted in his belly. Why hadn’t he known?
He could have saved her if only he’d known. But even Lev couldn’t know
everything. It was his brother, Alexei, who’d given him the news moments ago.
“Brother,” he’d said, “there’s been an accident.
Go now to the hospital or you’ll never see your precious Carly again.”
He hadn’t asked the how, the why, the when. Alexei
had dropped his mental barriers. Lev felt them fall like a drawbridge. His
brother had let him in. It was easier than speaking—Lev was able to glean
whatever information he needed in an instant. But with the simple facts of
Carly’s accident came the realization his brother was happy for the turmoil. A
hint of a smile had curled Alexei’s full lips, and his eyes were bright. Lev
was not surprised.
He pulled his thoughts from Alexei and looked down
at his beloved’s hand in his. The pallor of it matched his own. He listened to
the slow rush of blood through her veins, willing it to grow stronger.
Bio:
I've been a
part of the publishing industry for over twenty years, working first as a
freelance journalist, then as an in-house editor for LexisNexis Canada. I
currently work as a freelance editor and writer. I’m represented by the
Serendipity Literary Agency.
My debut
novel, Invisible, a young adult
paranormal romance, has been optioned for film. Invisible is an Amazon bestseller both domestically and
internationally.
Another of
my novels, Nowhere to Run, tells the
story of Lily Valier, a woman of substance and beauty, and her dilemma when she
falls in love with a man whose mission it is to bring her down.
Currently,
I'm finishing up work on Dark Angel,
a paranormal thriller.
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Thank you very much for your kind words and for hosting me :)
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