Authors: AE Jones
Mind Sweeper (41 page)
“Welcome to Manuelo’s.”
Jean Luc glanced around the restaurant. “We would like to speak with Manny.”
The behemoth crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Sorry, he’s not available right now.”
A door behind the host’s counter opened and a short, portly man appeared. “It’s okay, Jacob, I’ll take it from here.” He gestured them to a corner booth.
Once they were seated, he smiled and said, “I’m Manny, and you must be the new team Nicholas assigned to the city.”
“How did you know?” asked Misha.
He shrugged. “Vampires and demons don’t normally mix, so I put two and two together.”
“Then you also know we are here to discuss Peter’s murder,” Jean Luc said.
Manny frowned. “I can’t believe Peter’s dead. The cops wouldn’t tell me what happened.”
“Peter was killed by a supernatural.”
“Damn.”
“What can you tell us?” Misha interjected.
“Same things I told the cops. I don’t know who would want to kill him. He was a good employee and got along with everyone.”
Jean Luc tuned into the flow of Manny’s blood, listening to his heartbeat, which remained slow and steady. “What about one of your clients who might hold a grudge?”
Manny’s eyes narrowed for a moment, as if he was trying to decide how much to say. “Peter didn’t deal directly with my
customers
. He worked in the back room and balanced the books.”
“Did he know about supernaturals? That you are a shifter?”
“Nope. We’re careful here. Our human employees don’t have a clue.”
* * *
Jean Luc opened the restaurant door. Dusk cast a light orange hue over the street as the sun sank beneath the skyline.
Misha walked around him toward the car. “Well, that was a bust. It reminds me of a recent episode of
Magnum, P.I.
Magnum questioned this guy who had stolen…”
The tingling started again, traveling lightly up Jean Luc’s spine, and Misha’s voice faded away. He would swear he sensed a fledgling, but it was not possible. Vampires were required to register with them when entering their jurisdiction. And there were no new vampires under the age of fifty currently living in the city.
He looked across the street, studying the area illuminated by the neon sign advertising the Gentleman’s Club. But unlike the refined gentleman’s clubs Jean Luc had frequented centuries ago, the name now represented something seedy, sordid.
He surveyed the immediate area. No one stood outside the club, and the windows were covered with thick curtains. The street appeared to be empty.
But someone was watching.
Author’s Note
This story takes place in Cleveland and while I tried to stay as accurate to the city as possible, I did bend the truth slightly in order for the story to work. For example, there is a scene in the story that takes place in the locker area of the city’s train station. In real life, there is no locker area in the Cleveland train station. And the office building that the team works in and the warehouses that they frequent throughout the story do not actually exist. Please forgive this author for taking creative license with this and some of the other items concerning the wonderful city of Cleveland.
Acknowledgements
Wow, where to begin? The writing and publication of this book has been such a rollercoaster ride for me. And I have countless people to thank.
Let me start off with my town’s small but mighty writers’ group that I joined several years ago. I remember the first time I went to a meeting. My hands shook and I started to sweat profusely as I read my story out loud for the first time. Thank you for your suggestions and encouragement as you read my books chapter by revised chapter.
Thanks to my friends and beta readers, Audrey, Helen, Jayne, Karen, Lara, Ruth and Trish. You have been my support system throughout this and I could not have gotten here without you.
To my local writer’s chapter, NEORWA, what a wonderful group you are. I have learned so much and found new friends who are not afraid to announce that they hear voices in their heads like I do.
To my friend and critique partner, Becky Lower, thank you for everything and for allowing me to follow in your published writer footsteps. Your late night calls have made all the difference!
To my editor, Faith, who has made this process as painless as editing can hope to be. I am so relieved that you get my humor and patiently answer my numerous questions!
To my cover artist, Gabrielle. Thanks for talking this neurotic author off the ledge. The cover is wonderful and I can’t wait to see what you have up your sleeve for the rest of the series!
Finally, to my family who didn’t think I was crazy at all when I announced I wanted to be a writer. Instead they argued over having characters named after them in my stories (You got your wish, Dad!). Thanks for never doubting that I could do this even when I doubted it myself.
AE Jones
Growing up a TV junkie, award winning author AE Jones oftentimes rewrote endings of episodes in her head when she didn’t like the outcome. She immersed herself in sci-fi and soap operas. But when Buffy hit the little screen she knew her true love was paranormal. Now she spends her nights weaving stories about all variation of supernatural—their angst and their humor. After all life is about both…whether you sport fangs or not.
AE lives in Ohio with her eclectic family and friends who in no way resembles any characters in her books.
Honest.
Now her two cats are another story altogether.
AE Jones: Mind Sweeper
Copyright © 2014 by Amy E Jones
AE Jones: The Fledgling (excerpt)
Copyright © 2014 by Amy E Jones
Publisher: Gabby Reads Publishing LLC
Cover Art: http://coveryourdreams.net/
Editor: http://www.demonfordetails.com/
ISBN-10: 1941871011
ISBN-13: 978-1-941871-01-0
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, or otherwise, without expressed written permission from the author.
The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
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