Vampire billionaire and casino owner, Quinn Ward, is on the run from someone who wants to extract his dhampir sonâs abilities. To protect his child, he must rely on Meddy and the eccentric Supernaturals in Feline Fine Retirement Home. Can he count on them to help overpower the powerful Head of the Vampire House Diablos?
With the fate of his son on the line, Quinn and Meddy must recruit and train a Magical team. Can Quinn overcome his past and let another woman into his life? Will this longshot give them the payout they both need? Or will Meddy and Quinn lose it all in this do or die gamble for love?
Las Vegas, Nevada
Four Years Ago
Quinn Ward scanned the silent monitors, that watched every room of the casino. Pan, tilt, zoom, PTZ. Pit bosses paced, keeping eagle eyes on gaming tables. PTZ. Cocktail waitresses offered free drinks to retirees playing the slot machines, elders unaware the one-armed bandits observed them. PTZ. The high rollersâ room with the foreign dignitaries looked like a morgue. All hands on table. Poker faces. Not a thing off-key. PTZ. The coffee shop. Keno game runningâOh, look, that little old lady just stuffed salt and pepper shakers into her purse.
He keyed his radio. âWe need a female security guard to the coffee shop. Lovely older lady in elegant animal print dress with large matching purse just got a five-finger discount on a set of our vintage salt and pepper shakers.â
A woman snorted. âAgain? She must be selling them on the Internet.â
âSee what else she has in that bag.â
âYou got it, boss.â
In the next row of tables in the coffee shop, a drunk vomited and passed out on the floor. âAlso, clean up on aisle five.â
âNo. Not again,â a male voice chimed in. âI got it last time.â
âSteve, itâs your job to clean up the messes,â Quinn said. âYouâre a janitor. A well-paid one. You guys beg to take turns at cleaning the restrooms.â
âFor the chips, boss, remember? People drop them on the floor and hand us chips. Itâs a good location.â
âWell, for every good location, thereâs a bad one. Luck of the draw.â
âBut I gagââ
Quinn keyed off the mike. Steve the Slacker raked in good bucks here. He could pitch in more.
A ghost wearing a black skirt, white blouse, and a black jacket with the casinoâs logo from the fifties apparated between him and the monitors. âHi, Quinn.â
âHey, Penny, itâs been a minute since Iâve seen you. Whatâs up?â
âI have a bad feeling about the doorman. Check the lifts.â
âYouâre never wrong, my dear.â
PTZ.
At the elevators, a female security guard stepped in front of two people headed to the hotel rooms. The thirty-something, well-dressed man puffed up his chest and gesticulated, a large diamond on his pinky catching the light. Next to him, a dark-haired, overly rouged teenager swayed on impossibly high heels. Clad in a tube top, a mini skirt, fishnet stockings, and huge hoop earrings, the girl looked as if she belonged at home watching cartoons, not standing in a casino lobby.
A former law enforcement officer waved over a colleague to assist her with detaining the couple. Mr. Pinky Ring must be a stranger to the Strip. Everyone in Vegas knew the Ghost of a Chance was off limits to drugs, guns, and sex trafficking.
He picked up his cell phone. âJoey, send me the CCTV for the front door for the last two hours. Put it on monitor six.â
There stood Brad in his epauleted finery; six-foot, three-inches tall; a former boxer with the muscle still intact. Mr. Pinky Ring appeared, and Brad put an open palm behind his back. Mr. Pinky Ring placed a wad of bills in the landing pad.
Keeping the incident off the airwaves, Quinnâs next call was to the head of security. âPaul, we have a Family Member in violation of our Code of Conduct. Please detain Brad and put another man at the door.â
âYou got it, boss.â
Quinn nodded at Penny. âThanks, I owe youâagain.â
âItâs my job. I love watching over the old place. This is better than when we had catwalks and watched the players through one-way glass. Glad you took those out.â
âMe, too.â He paused. âSorry I found you there like that.â
Her ethereal blond hair floated in a nimbus around her head. âItâs okay. I still canât remember anything but thinking âOh, horsefeathers!â and then everything went black.â
âI wish I could help. When this place went up for auction, despite the fire damage, I couldnât resist buying it. When I inspected it to see what needed to be fixed, I never expected to find your body hidden in the ceiling. That was a shock.â
She laughed. âFor both of us. No one had seen me in over half a century. When you looked at me--really looked at meâand asked me who I was? I almost fainted.â
He chuckled. âThanks to my familyâs history of Celtic seers, it wasnât quite so hard on me, but you still surprised me. Your devotion and loyalty to this place are unlike anyone elseâs. You keep on working, like that bunny in the ads on TV.â
She stretched and yawned. âI donât need as much rest as I did when I was alive, but I still require downtime. Ciao, baby. Glad your real girlfriend isnât the jealous type.â Penny blew him a kiss and winked out.
He shook his head. Never a dull day. Who would have thought a poor kid from the West Virginia coal country would wind up owning his own businessâmuch less a successful casinoâand having a beautiful woman at his side, too?
Adopt a furever friend at the Cove Cat CafĂ©, treat yourself to a psychic reading at Eye of Newt metaphysical shop, pick up a special trinket from Black Cat Antiquities. And donât be surprised if you find your heart in the magic of Catâs Paw Cove.
In a violent storm in 1645, Colin Wilshireâs Barbados-bound ship is swept off course. Heâs sure he and his pregnant bride are fated to drown when heâs tossed into the sea. He wakes in a strange land and is saved by a blue-haired angel.
Twenty-first-century witch and cat rescuer Luna Halpern has fallen for more than her share of unsuitable guysâincluding one with a long-distance fiancĂ©, and another who was more interested in other dudes than in Luna. Finally, a safe, drama-free guy is interested in her, and sheâs confident that sheâll muster up an attraction to him. When she stumbles upon a handsome, mysterious man who speaks oddly, seems not to know where he is, or even what century it is, her first instinct is to help him.
Certain heâs either stuck in a crazy dream or in limbo between life and death, Colin stays close to Luna. As his feelings for her grow, heâs forced to choose between his obligations in the past and his hopes for the future.
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fun
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ReplyDeleteWhat a great cover. and excerpt.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think of the book details? Do you have any questions for the author?
ReplyDeleteA very good blurb
THX