Up in Smoke
Authors: Alice Brown
Up in Smoke
Number II of
Texas Vampire Rangers
Alice Brown
JK Publishing, Inc. (2014)
Tags: Erotic, Paranormal, Romance, Vampires
Eroticttt Paranormalttt Romancettt Vampiresttt
Warning: For Mature Adult Audiences. Contains language and actions some may deem offensive. Sexually explicit content. MF
In book two of the Texas Vampire Rangers: After her husband's murder and her kidnapping, Susan thought she was doing quite well putting her life back together. She had a job at the Texas Ranger headquarters. Who cared if her new friends were vampires. It was past time for her to be happy.
Nathaniel had been sheriff of a small town for ten years and when he started dodging questions as to why he wasn’t looking any older, he knew it was time to move on. So he called his brother and packed his bags, ready to accept his new assignment with the Texas Rangers. He had no idea that walking in the front door on his first day was going to change his life forever.
Nathaniel might claim Susan as his mate, but after being in one unhappy relationship, she isn’t too sure she is ready for another. When someone begins terrorizing her, Nathaniel doesn't take any chances with her safety. He just hopes when her past catches up with her, he can keep her safe.
Up in Smoke
Texas Vampire Rangers
Book Two
by Alice Brown
© Copyright November 2014 JK Publishing, Inc.
ISBN#
All cover art and logo © Copyright November 2014 by JK Publishing, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Artwork by Jess Buffett
Published by JK Publishing, Inc.
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Table of Contents
Prologue
Susan Honeycutt sat behind the front desk of the Texas Ranger Headquarters. Her mind wandered as she looked through a small stack of handwritten notes her boss had left for her to type up. She couldn’t help but think through the many changes her life had taken in just a few short months. Three months ago, she was a housewife who did a bit of housecleaning and sewing on the side for a little spending money. Her husband, Joe, worked security for the Texas Rangers. That was before he decided to turn greedy and spy on the Rangers, handing over valuable information to a group of thugs.
The price of him getting involved with the wrong people had been high. He was murdered, but that was only the start of the list of her life altering events. The head of the Texas Rangers, Walter Andrews, had come to speak with her himself, and while he hadn’t been completely forthcoming in telling her everything, he did emphasize that she was not safe staying by herself and had insisted she go with him. She ended up at his house and quickly made friends with his wife, Sissy Andrews.
It turned out the same group of thugs who were responsible for her husband’s death were also after another young woman who had witnessed a murder. Before the Rangers could apprehend the group, they kidnapped her and three other women, including Sissy Andrews and her sister, Betty.
That’s when the nightmare had really begun. The kidnappers were actual vampires, as in honest-to-goodness drink-every-last-drop-of-your-blood and leave-you-for-dead vampires! But as Walter’s team of Rangers came blazing in to save the day, it became apparent that not only were the thugs vampires, but Walter, and from what she could tell, the entire team of Rangers were all vampires.
If it hadn’t been for Sissy and her sister, Betty, keeping her calm, she would have checked herself into the nearest loony bin and asked for the best padded room. Oh, and in the process of keeping her calm, they had also come clean with her and admitted they were both vampires. She wasn’t going crazy. The shit really did happen.
Sissy and Betty helped her see that just like humans, there were good vampires and there were bad vampires. And the Texas Rangers were all good, of that she was sure. It took a bit of time for her to become accustomed to the fact she now worked every day with a large group of vampires. But then again, most of the Rangers made it easy, treating her no different than they had in the past. And they were very good at hiding what they really were. They had to be. They worked with the public everyday of their lives.
The bell above the front door chimed and brought her back to reality. She looked up. The sight that appeared before her eyes made her gulp. She had no idea if the man standing in front of her was a vampire or a human, but the sheer size of him made her think of Goliath. No matter which, the man was large enough to break her in two.
Oh crap, I hope he isn’t a vampire
, she thought.
She forced herself to put her fears aside, knowing vampires had acute senses and could smell fear. Plastering a smile on her face, she greeted the giant, “Good morning, how can I help you?”
*****
Nathaniel Scott Andrews walked out of the scorching Texas sun and into cool air conditioning.
Thank God for modern day conveniences
, he thought. He had just recently, as in yesterday, relocated from Wyoming, where he’d been the town sheriff for ten years. Unfortunately, he hadn’t aged a day in those ten years and people were starting to notice.
Yep, time to move on
. A quick call to his brother and he was on his way to the Lone Star state. How in the hell did Walter deal with this heat?
The first scent that reached him was of a human. What the hell? Since when did Walter employ humans to work with their kind on a daily basis? He took two steps inside and came to a complete stop. The scent of pure human was still there, but with it now came the scent of the sweetest mixture of honeysuckle and lilac. It was a tantalizing fragrance, and it managed to capture every ounce of his blood and send it straight south. He quickly brought his hands forward to try to hide the massive erection that was now trying to protrude through his pants. How in the hell had this happened? How in the hell did fate match him up with a mere slip of a human? The fickle bitch must surely be laughing her ass off right about now.
As he started walking toward the counter, he heard her state, “Good morning, how can I help you?”
He walked straight up and leaned over the counter, getting as close to her as he could. “Don’t go anywhere, darlin', I want you for lunch.”
The look on her face went from shock to outrage in less than two seconds. “What did you just say?” she inquired with her eyebrow cocked. She stood from her desk and leaned into him, coming so damn close he could have easily reached out and kissed her. She was a feisty little thing, he’d give her that much.
“Listen, buddy. I don’t know who the hell you are, and quite frankly I don’t care, but there is no way in hell you’ll get away with talking to me like that. I’m calling my boss, who just happens to be the head of the Rangers.”
“You do that, darlin'. Tell my brother, Walter, that I’m here.”
“Wwwhhhattt?”
He reached over and lightly chucked her under her chin. “Never mind, baby. I know where to find him. You just be ready for me when I come back out.”
Chapter One