She reached out to grab my arm and three sets of snarls rent the air along with a very polite, “Ms.
Tally, I’m sure we can work this all out. There’s no need to get hostile.”
She ignored every single snarl and addressed them all with a glare. “I’m not abducting her, you fools. I’m taking her outside. With your superior scent detection—things wolves love to brag about—
are you all telling me that you missed the most important piece of this so far?”
She tugged me by the shirtsleeve out of the office. Everyone trailed after her. She was a remarkably strong woman for such a tiny person. I had no idea how old she was, and witches aged differently than shifters, but I was thinking
She yanked open the door to the parking lot, the one we’d all just tiptoed through, and marched us directly across the asphalt, coming to a stop by a large patch of bushes.
I walked a few paces closer, my fingers reaching out to touch the green leaves. I took a big breath in and inhaled, pulling the night air over my tongue. My eyebrows shot up into my hairline and I
turned around, meeting a few more surprised faces. We’d all scented the same thing.
“James.”
The End of Book Two.
To my husband, Bill. You are amazing. There’s no way I could embark on this journey without you.
You’ve supported me at every turn, you pick up the slack at home with no complaint, and you keep me laughing. I love you.
To my kids, Paige, Nat, and Jane. Thanks for putting up with cheese and crackers for dinner and being patient with my deadlines. You guys are amazing. Someday you’ll get to read my books. I
promise.
To my agent, Nicole Resciniti. You are beyond wonderful. You cheer me on, put up with my stress,
and believe in me like no other. You’re so talented at what you do and have such a great heart. Thank you for all you do.
To Amanda Bonilla for keeping me sane all the time and without question. You are such a bright light on this journey and I’m so very thankful to have you in my life.
To my awesome early readers, as always, DeLane Corbin and Kathy Faircloth, for all your cheerleading, e- mails, notes, tweets, and support. I love you guys!
To my author pals at Magic & Mayhem, Shawntelle Madison, Sandy Williams, and Nadia Lee for including me in the fold. So happy to have joined the ranks.
To Cindi, for always being there. Without your awesomeness, the world would be a bleak place. To
Mira Lyn Kelly and Carolyn Crane for being my Minnesota rocks. Every time we get together and talk writing, I’m happy.
To Molly Winkels, for your unfaltering enthusiasm and support. I have the best family in the world.
To my agency mates Jules, Amanda, Lea, Melissa, Jen, Marianne, Marisa, Cecy, and everyone else at the Seymour Agency, for all their awesome shoulders, advice, help, and laughter. You guys rock.
To my editor, Devi, and the entire crew at Orbit—Tim, Anna, Susan, Lauren, Laura, Alex, and
Ellen—for being so wonderful. I’m excited to write every day because of all of you. Thanks for making my dreams come true. To my awesome copy editor, Penina Lopez, for correcting my all my
“further”s and “farther”s and for help in making this manuscript the best it can be.
To all my new fans! It’s been such a fun journey so far. I hope you enjoyed the book. To all the reviewers who have supported me. I’m blown away. Thank you for your willingness to spread the word and for giving an honest review.
And to my parents, to whom this book is dedicated. Your enthusiasm for my writing knows no bounds. You give your love freely and often. I’m beyond lucky to have you.
extras
meet the author
A Minnesota girl born and bred, AMANDA CARLSON graduated from the University of Minnesota with a double major in speech and hearing science and child development. After enjoying her time as a sign language interpreter, she decided to stay at home and write in earnest once her second child was born. She loves playing Scrabble, visiting tropical beaches, and shopping trips to IKEA. She lives in
Minneapolis with her husband and three kids.
To find out more about the author, visit www.amandacarlson.com or find her on Twitter
@AmandaCCarlson.
introducing
If you enjoyed HOT BLOODED, look out for
RED-HEADED STEPCHILD
Digging graves is hell on a manicure, but I was taught good vampires clean up after every meal. So I
ignored the chipped onyx polish. I ignored the dirt caked under my nails. I ignored my palms, rubbed raw and blistering. And when a snapping twig announced David’s arrival, I ignored him too.
He said nothing, just stood off behind a thicket of trees waiting for me to acknowledge him.
Despite his silence, I could feel hot waves of disapproval flying in my direction.
At last, the final scoop of earth fell onto the grave. Stalling, I leaned on the shovel handle and restored order to my hair. Next I brushed flecks of dirt from my cashmere sweater. Not the first choice of digging attire for some, but I always believed manual labor was no excuse for sloppiness. Besides,
the sweater was black, so it went well with the haphazard funerary rites.
The Harvest Moon, a glowing orange sphere, still loomed in the sky. Plenty of time before sunrise.
In the distance, traffic hummed like white noise in the City of Angels. I took a moment to appreciate the calm.
Memory of the phone call from my grandmother intruded. When she told me the target of my latest assignment, an icy chill spread through my veins. I’d almost hung up, unable to believe what she was asking me to do. But when she told me David was working with Clovis Trakiya, white-hot anger replaced the chill. I called up that anger now to spur my resolve. I clenched my teeth and ignored the cold stone sitting in my stomach. My own feelings about David were irrelevant now. The minute he decided to work with one of the Dominae’s enemies—a glorified cult leader who wanted to overthrow their power—he’d signed his death warrant.
Unable to put it off any longer, I turned to him. “What’s up?”
David stalked out of his hiding place, a frown marring the perfect planes of his face. “Do you want to tell me why you’re burying a body?”
“Who, me?” I asked, tossing the shovel to the ground. My palms were already healing. I wish I
