Title:
Unhidden (The Gatekeeper Chronicles, Book
#1)
Release date: December 29, 2014
Book Genre: Adult Urban Fantasy /
Paranormal Romance / Horror
Cover Designer: by Hang Le
Blurb
It’s not
always easy to differentiate between the good guys and the bad guys, especially
when a trained killer may be falling in love with her evil hunter…
Emma
Hayes, a former military Special Forces Operative turned mercenary-for-hire,
finds her tightly controlled world turned upside down when she becomes the
target of attacks by powerful supernatural creatures.
Emma must use
every skill in her arsenal to stay alive as she tries to solve the mystery of
why she has been targeted. Her list of enemies keeps growing - from Zane
Shayde, an evil Mage, to a secret branch of the US government - and she doesn't
know if there is anyone left she can trust.
To complicate
matters further, Emma is inexplicably drawn to Zane in a way she does not quite
understand, even knowing her life is forfeit if captured. Who is he and why
does he have this affect on her? How can she fight someone who calls to her,
body and soul?
Emma is left
haunted by questions, doubts and fears as to why she has been targeted, when
they will come for her next, and how she will possibly survive against an enemy
she doesn't understand.
Excerpt
Claws, teeth,
and a slavering black tongue rose over me as I lay prone on the floor. It could
have easily ripped my throat out or killed me in a dozen hideous ways. It
seemed to realize this, too. Its jaw cracked and popped, unhinging so wide it
could make a meal of my head in one bite. Hot, putrid saliva dripped onto my
face, leaking into my open wound and searing it like acid. I hissed at the
sensation and turned away; however, I couldn’t escape its fetid
breath.
It leaned in,
eager and hungry, while I was frozen. I would meet death in the jaws of an
inhuman beast. It would drink my blood, feast on my organs, and gnaw on my bones
for dessert.
Darko’s hoarse
voice called from down the hall. “Don’t kill her! We need her.”
The thing
paused and let out a high-pitched wail of anger at being deprived of its dinner.
The sound shattered my fear.
I threw up a
knee, violently slamming it in the creature’s crotch. Thankfully, it was
humanoid enough, that it had the same effect as any other male. He howled and
rolled off me into the fetal position. I immediately scrambled backward,
sliding along the marble floor. My left arm, screaming in pain, remained limp
at my side.
With my right
arm, I reached over my head to grab the gun. As my fingers wrapped around the
grip, the familiar feeling was like coming home again.
I pointed the
Glock down the length of my body, and without a moment’s hesitation, I pulled
the trigger in three quick, precise squeezes. The head of the creature I had
nut-cracked exploded in a spray of blood and gore.
Shifting the
gun’s sight, I found the second creature barreling down the hall toward me. The
first three shots hit him square in the chest, yet he hardly slowed. I lifted
the gun slightly, took a deep breath and held it, then squeezed the trigger,
putting a round straight through its eye and into its brain. That time, it
stumbled yet still kept coming. I put four more rounds into its head, not missing
a shot, before it finally crashed to the floor only inches shy of my
feet.
Darko merely
stood there, a sly, half-smile tugging at the corner of his mouth while I
unsteadily got to my feet, pushing myself up with my gun hand. Despite the fact
that Darko carried no weapon I could see, for a moment, I considered shooting
him. He had set me up, kidnapped an innocent girl, and commanded those
creatures. Even though he had stopped them from killing me, I was sure he wouldn’t
hesitate if he got what he wanted from me.
With him only
a few yards away, I had a clear shot. I pointed my weapon at him, and for the
first time today, he reacted. The blood drained from his face, his eyes darting
around, seeking escape. He quickly came to the same conclusion I had—there was
no escape for him.
My finger
tightened on the trigger, but before I could get off the shot, a monstrous
animal bounded from the shadows behind him. It leapt past Darko, springing at
me on all fours. It was the size of a bear with dry, scaly skin, and a mouth
full of sharp teeth. Two tusks extended from the roof of its mouth, past its
jaw. It bellowed like a foghorn as it charged me.
About the
Author
Dina Given
lives in rural New Jersey – home of farms, horses and the largest hot air
balloon festival in North America – with her husband, two crazy kids, and one
rescue dog. She is an exercise enthusiast and avid lover of food and wine
(hence the need to exercise). Dina also works full time for one of the largest
healthcare companies in the world. She attributes her ability to juggle family,
work and writing to her obsessive, hyper-focused, Type A
personality.
Connect with
Dina
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