Lena disappeared from sight when I was yanked to my feet and spun around, coming face to face with the man himself. Dean.
“I said you’d pay, didn’t I?” He grinned, his gaze moving to the brand on my neck. “I know you didn’t think you’d get off that easily.”
I was still crying, my body shaking, but somehow, despite the terror and anguish surging through me, I managed to say, “Fuck you.”
Dean didn’t respond, and his grin didn’t fade as he shoved me toward the other guards. Two of them grabbed me, one on each side. Their grip on me was as punishing as the plastic digging into my wrists. I tried to look back as I was dragged from the room, tried to get one last glimpse of Lena in the hope that I’d see at least a little regret on her face, but when I looked back all I could see was Dean. He was smiling, watching as I was pulled away, and the expression sent a shudder through me. Then I was pulled into the hall and toward the door, leaving my sister behind for good.
To be continued with Species Savior. Available NOW!
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Acknowledgments
Months ago, as I was trying to decide what to write next, I posted the first chapter of several projects I’d started and never completed in my Facebook reader group, allowing fans a chance to read them and vote on what they wanted me to pursue next. This was one of them. It wasn’t the winner, but it was a close second and ended up being what I was able to concentrate on the longest. I had the idea for this book years ago, and it’s probably been years since I wrote the first chapter – which wasn’t the prologue – but as usual, I only had a vague idea about where I wanted the story to go. Back then, I had given it the tentative title of The Bird and the Fish and had intended it to be more of a Romeo and Juliet type story. Things change, though, and when I started working on it last fall, it developed into a much more complicated story. And I’m glad.
For this project, I’d like to give a big thanks to Jan Strohecker who read it twice and helped me pick up on a few plot holes that needed to be filled in. As always, her keen eye and thoughtfulness helped more than I can even express when it came to revisions. Thanks also to Courtnee McGrew and Julie Dewey for reading the story early on, and to all the readers in my Facebook group who were excited by the story idea. I hope it met your expectations.
Thanks to Lori Whitwam for editing and Amber Garcia for PR. I could not accomplish so much without the help of other professionals like these two women!
Thanks, as always, to my husband and kids who allow me to stare at my computer for hours while writing and editing and who pick up the slack when I need help. I couldn’t do it without them.
Also by Kate L. Mary
The Broken World Series
Broken World
Shattered World
Mad World
Lost World
New World
Forgotten World
Silent World
Broken Stories
The Twisted Series
Twisted World
Twisted Mind
Twisted Memories
Twisted Fate
The Oklahoma Wastelands Series
The Loudest Silence
The Brightest Darkness
The Sweetest Torment
The Far Series
Far from Home
Zombie Apocalypse Love Story Novellas
More than Survival
Fighting for a Future
Playing the Odds
The Key to Survival
The Things We Cannot Change
Surviving the Storm
No Looking Back
Finding A Future
The Blood Will Dry
Collision
Tribe of Daughters
The Book of David
The Outliers Saga
Outliers
Uprising
Retribution
When We Were Human
Alone: A Zombie Novel
The Moonchild Series
Moonchild
Liberation
Redemption
The College of Charleston Series
The List
No Regrets
Moving On
Letting Go
Anthologies
Prep for Doom
Gone with the Dead
7 Sins of the Apocalypse
Undead Worlds 3
About the Author
Kate L. Mary is an award-winning author of Adult, New Adult, and Young Adult fiction, ranging from Post-apocalyptic tales of the undead to Speculative Fiction and Contemporary Romance. Her YA book, When We Were Human, was a 2015 Children's Moonbeam Book Awards Silver Medal winner for Young Adult Fantasy/Sci-Fi Fiction, and a 2016 Readers' Favorite Gold Medal winner for Young Adult Science Fiction. Her book Outliers was a Top 10 Finalist in the 2018 Author Academy Awards for Sci-Fi/Fantasy Fiction, a Finalist in the 2018 Wishing Shelf Book Awards, and the First Place Winner in the 2018 Kindle Book Awards for Sci-Fi/Fantasy Fiction. Her post-apocalyptic novel, Tribe of Daughters, was an Honorable Mention in the 2018 SPR Book Awards, a Bronze Medal Winner in the 2019 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards for Science Fiction, and a Semi-Finalist in the 2019 Kindle Book Awards for Sci-Fi/Fantasy Fiction.
Before starting her writing career, Kate was a stay-at-home-mom for over ten years to four amazing kids - two boys, two girls - and the wife of an Air Force pilot. Her family moved around quite a bit during their eleven years of active duty, and she’s gotten to experience many different parts of the country, and it isn't uncommon to find some of the places she’s lived as the setting for her books. She’s lived in Georgia (When We Were Human), Mississippi, South Carolina (The College of Charleston Series), California (Broken World), and Oklahoma (The Loudest Silence), but has recently returned to the Dayton, Ohio area (The Blood Will Dry, Collision). Military life has had its up and downs, but Kate has made some pretty incredible friends along the way who have been amazingly supportive of her writing. She loves zombies (especially The Walking Dead), Coffee, Wine, and Daryl Dixon.
For more information about Kate, check out her website: www.KateLMary.com
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