THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON KNOWN TO MANKIND ISN’T A MAN.
High above earth in a low orbit facility, an experimental clean energy project known as Erebos—which taps into the vacuum structure of space—destabilizes and is jettisoned into the planet’s atmosphere.
Far below, unaware of the danger rocketing toward her, nineteen-year-old Sasha Kino goes night surfing to clear her head after a fight with her father. When Erebos crashes into the ocean the device fuses her DNA with that of an orca and Sasha is altered beyond recognition. She is stronger, can hold her breath longer, and can swim deeper and faster than any creature on the planet—but her newfound abilities may come at the cost of her humanity.
Captain Alric Jager, head of the U.S. Navy’s Special Projects Division, is sent to clean up the Erebos situation. But when Jager learns of what the device did to Sasha he decides to steal them both. Driven by a dark and twisted legacy, Jager is determined to create the ultimate super soldier – no matter the cost.
Torn between the land and the sea, and ruthlessly hunted by Jager, Sasha must rediscover who she is and for what she is willing to fight.
With one last yank, Sasha tore the restraint collar, popping and fizzing in a shower of sparks from around her neck. In a single stride, she vaulted forward. Her body crashed through the dark glass of the observation room, slamming one of the two men inside against the far wall. In a bumbling fit of terror, the other fell to the floor, scrambled to all fours, then ran screaming for the hallway. As he did, he slapped a large red button on the wall labeled containment breach.
The screaming high-pitched wail of an emergency beacon filled the air, the walls around Sasha flickering with intermittent flashes of red. Instinct, strong and powerful, told her to run, but her higher brain held her fast: what they’d done here was illegal, and she needed evidence. She scanned the various consoles. There, a flash drive. No time to waste. Jager’s men must be on their way. Any data she could grab was no good if she couldn’t get it off the ship.
Snatching the data stick from the console and looping the lanyard around her neck, Sasha gave one last look to the unconscious man slumped against the floor and turned for the door. She stepped into the strobe-lit flash of the corridor and hovered there, her heart beating fierce in her breast.
On either side of the corridor, two pairs of Strykers squared up, the dark brown tones of their flesh offset by midnight black BDUs. They tensed, the banded muscles of their arms taut. No one moved.
“I don’t want to fight,” Sasha said over the wail of the alarm, her heart still thrumming. “But I’m not staying locked up here anymore.”
“You don’t have a choice.” The one named Alvarez said through clenched teeth. “Get back in, or we’ll put you back in.”
Sasha knew she should be afraid of these men, but then she remembered about how easily, accidentally even, she’d killed the whalers. How moments ago, she’d torn a titanium collar from her neck and crashed through a seemingly impenetrable two-inch-thick layered sheet of armored glass.
Sasha steeled herself as the four Strykers advanced on her from either side, their fists raised. “I don’t want to hurt you,” she said.
The Strykers stopped, exchanging amused glances. One of them closest to her, a man with a cropped mohawk, let out a chuckle. “We’re not the ones who are about to get hurt, darlin’.”
Sasha’s skin flushed hot. Her eyes narrowed to slits as she flexed her clawed fingers. “That’s what you think.”
SWAT Sniper. Adventurer. Multi-Award-Winning Author of Epic Genre-Bending Thrillers.
A veteran law enforcement officer, Stu has served in patrol, narcotics, criminal investigations, as an instructor of firearms and police defensive tactics and as a team leader of a multi-jurisdictional SWAT team. He is trained and qualified as a law enforcement SWAT sniper, as well as in hostage rescue and high-risk entry tactics. Recently, Stu served for three years with a U.S. Marshal’s Regional Fugitive Task Force – hunting the worst of the worst.
He is the author of multiple sci-fi/action/thriller novels, including the multi-award-winning It Takes Death To Reach A Star duology, written with co-author Gareth Worthington(Children of the Fifth Sun).
Known for his character-driven stories and blistering action sequences, Stu strives to create thought-provoking reading experiences that challenge the status quo. When he’s not chasing bad guys or writing epic stories, he can be found planning his next adventure to some remote or exotic place.
Stu is represented by Italia Gandolfo of Gandolfo-Helin-Fountain literary.
Title: Never Hide Again Author: Garnet Christine Genre: Romantic Suspense
One man will do anything to keep her safe.
The other will do anything to see her dead.
For the last five years, I’ve been living as Olivia Tucker. With a cautious eye over my shoulder, I’ve been hiding in Seattle, staying anonymous, keeping a low-profile at a small interior design company.
Until Grant Brexton.
Billionaire, CEO of Hall and Brexton, he’s known as Seattle’s Best Playboy, the man who keeps Seattle under his heel.
As his new personal assistant, our attraction should be forbidden.
But Grant isn’t merely a man who sets my heart on fire.
He teaches me to be as strong as he is.
To live ruthlessly and without apologizing.
Most of all, Grant teaches me how to stop living in the shadows of fear.
Our love is unstoppable. Our bond is unbreakable.
Or so I think.
Lonnie, the man who murdered my husband, proves he’s still looking for me.
And just like five years before, he could rip everything away.
Grant included.
It will be up to me to walk in the power I’ve become familiar with and maintain control over my life.
Garnet Christie is an author and Midwestern native living in the desert. Though she misses trees, Garnet admits there is an acrid beauty to the place that has been home for twenty years. A traveling enthusiast, Garnet has visited over thirty-seven states and when challenged with something new, whether it was ice skating, tap dancing, ballet, piano lessons, or horseback riding, she never backed down. Armed with that bravery, a childhood spent in the company of English teachers, and her creative soul, Garnet took to writing
She loves serving up Alpha male’s who are searching for their happily ever after, and paring them up with women who are equally, if not more, reluctant. Inspired by experiences in life, friends, family, and countless stories on television and books, Garnet writes whatever story is screaming at her the loudest.
When not writing, Garnet is found reading, dancing, and spending too much money on K-pop merch. All the above is achieved by drinking too much tea, avoiding sleep, and eating chocolate. Garnet also adores Italian food and will go to great lengths to hunt down a fantastic plate of Chicken Marsala that comes with a cannoli.
Title: The Wrong Boy Author: Ashley Munoz Genre: Small-Town Romance
Having a bed and breakfast with just one communal bathroom wasn’t working, and it was past time to bite the bullet and upgrade the inn.
There was just one small problem: In the small town of Deacon, Texas, there was only one contractor.
Yep, just one: Jonathan Oaks.
But it didn’t matter how skilled he was at building things when all I knew about him was how good at breaking my heart he was.
Five years could put a lot into perspective, but it wasn’t enough time to make me forget that he was the wrong boy for me then and he’d be the wrong boy for the job now.
I should have known better.
Jonathan Oaks wasn’t about to lose the chance to renovate my inn, or to rub in my face that he’d been right about us all along.
This place was breathtaking in the spring and charming in the summer, and in the winter, she had the fire roaring and thick, wool blankets out for all the guests to use while watching the rain pour from the porch. I had wanted Tilly to upgrade this place years ago, but we always fought whenever I brought it up, which made this entire situation even more frustrating because she’d finally decided to upgrade, just not with me.
“Well, thank you for your time…” I heard Tilly say gently while tugging open the screen door and holding it for the man exiting her inn. He had a white head of hair and a matching white beard to match.
“Not a problem, ma’am.”
He gave me a swift nod of acknowledgment and headed to his truck. Meanwhile Tilly’s eyes were on me as if I were a werewolf that had just snuck onto her property.
“What are you doing here?”
I stalked up the creaking steps and joined her on the porch, stuffing my hands into the pockets of my worn jeans. Just like every other time, I felt naked in front of her, as though she was seeing all my weaknesses and everything that made me vulnerable.
“Got a visit from your sister today.” A few bees hovered overhead near the flower baskets as a cool breeze made the blooms sway back and forth.
Tilly let out a soft breath as her eyes darted to the side, which gave me a free pass to check her out.
She had changed over the past five years, a lot. I mean, we lived in the same small town, so it wasn’t like I hadn’t seen her around, but we were usually goin’ in the other direction if one of us was in the same vicinity. It was an unspoken rule that we never frequented the same spots at the same time, and our friends and family had learned over time not to invite us both to the same events, so it was rare that I was actually in front of her like this.
Her hair was red gold, as if each piece of auburn hair was intertwined with sunshine. It hung down to the middle of her back in thick, glossy waves. Her petite frame was similar to her sisters’: big chest, curved hips, and an ass that made my brain empty and my dick hard as stone. She was still as perfect as she’d been five years ago, and the years I’d seen and wanted her prior to that. My mother once guessed that Tilly Banks would be the great love of my life, but because I couldn’t seem to keep the girl, she’d be the great loss of it too, which explained my perpetual grumpy attitude.
My mother was wrong, though. I was over Tilly. I had been for years; I just couldn’t help noticing God’s fine handiwork. The man deserved a medal for what he’d done with Telissa Banks.
“Oaks…”
I snapped my attention from Tilly’s chest back up to her face. “What?”
“I asked why you came.”
I shrugged. “Told you, your sister—”
“Yeah.” She waved me off, heading inside. “Honey is always marchin’ and talkin’—doesn’t explain why you suddenly jumped to it.”
I followed her through the foyer, bypassing the small service desk being managed by a much younger Banks sister, the youngest of the six.
“Hello Hennessey.” I tipped my head in her direction.
She had her cell phone shoved under her nose as her eyes tipped up. “You’re still the enemy, Oaks, at least according to my father.”
“That’s enough, Henny,” Tilly warned as she stormed past the desk and toward the small alcove under the stairs that acted as her office. There wasn’t any fire in her warning to her sister, though, so I knew I’d become the butt end of a joke in their family…which sat in my chest like a spiked barb.
Slowing my steps outside of Tilly’s office, I watched as she took a seat at her desk. There wasn’t enough room inside for two people, so I placed my hand along the doorway and leaned down.
“Competition, Ms. Banks. You’re callin’ in outside contractors when the good people of Deacon could use that work.”
She shuffled a few papers at her desk, completely unaware of the fact that with her sitting and me standing, I could see right down her dress.
“Well, I’m sorry to say, but it was a wasted effort on your end. I’ll be having Tack Construction handle the renovation.”
I let out a loud scoff, because this girl was ridiculous. “They’re going to travel all the way from Austin to handle this every single day?”
She nodded but didn’t look up from her monitor.
“What was their bid on this place?” I pushed off the frame and looked down the hall. “And what all are you doin’ anyhow?”
“Nothin’. Now if you’ll please find your way out, I’d appreciate it.”
Cold and mean as a honey badger—that was all Tilly had been to me for five years, and I was fucking tired of it. Heaving a sigh, I shook my head and decided I’d get my answers elsewhere.
“I’ll go, but plan on me bein’ back,” I warned as I turned to leave, but I didn’t miss the little comment she made as I turned my back. “Not likely, Oaks…you never come back.”
Ashley resides in the Pacific Northwest, where she lives with her four children and her husband. She loves coffee, reading fantasy, and writing about people who kiss and cuss.
