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Living on the Edge: An Edge Novel PDF

326 Pages·2011·1.05 MB·English
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Table of Contents Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Teaser chapter Praise for Shannon K. Butcher and the Sentinel Wars Novels Finding the Lost “Exerts much the same appeal as Christine Feehan’s Carpathian series, what with tortured heroes, the necessity of f inding love or facing a fate worse than death, hot lovemaking, and danger-f illed adventure.” —Booklist “A terrif ic grim thriller with the romantic subplot playing a strong supporting role. The cast is powerful as the audience will feel every emotion that Andra feels from fear for her sister to fear for her falling in love. Finding the Lost is a dark tale, as Shannon K. Butcher paints a forbidding, gloomy landscape in which an ancient war between humanity’s guardians and their nasty adversaries heats up in Nebraska.” —Alternative Worlds “A very entertaining read . . . the ending was a great clif fhanger, and I can’t wait to read the next book in this series . . . a fast-paced story with great action scenes and lots of hot romance.” —The Book Lush “Butcher’s paranormal reality is dark and gritty in this second Sentinel Wars installment. What makes this story so gripping is the seamlessly delivered hard-hitting action and wrenching emotions. Butcher is a major talent in the making.” —Romantic Times Burning Alive “Starts of f with nonstop action. Readers will race through the pages, only to reread the entire novel to capture every little detail . . . a promising start for a new voice in urban fantasy/paranormal romance. I look forward to the next installment.” —A Romance Review (5 Roses) “This f irst book of the Sentinel Wars whets your appetite for the rest of the books in the series. Ms. Butcher is carving her way onto the bestseller lists with this phenomenal nonstop ride that will have you preordering the second book the minute you put this one down.” —Affaire de Coeur (5 stars) “Absorbing. . . . Butcher skillfully balances erotic, tender interactions with Helen’s worries, and intriguing secondary characters further enhance the unusual premise. Fans of Butcher’s romantic suspense novels will enjoy her turn toward the paranormal.” —Publishers Weekly “Ms. Butcher of fers fresh and delightfully creative elements in this paranormal romance, keeping readers engaged as the story unfolds. Burning Alive is a well-crafted beginning to this exciting new series, and will have fans of the genre coming back for the next adventure in the Sentinel Wars.” —Darque Reviews “An exciting romantic urban fantasy.... Shannon K. Butcher adds her trademark suspense with plenty of tension and danger to the mix of a terrif ic paranormal thriller.” —Midwest Book Review “Burning Alive is Shannon Butcher’s f irst foray into paranormal romance, and what a doozy it is! Filled with sizzling love scenes, great storytelling, and action galore, fans of paranormal romance will rejoice to have Ms. Butcher f inally join the genre!” —ParaNormal Romance “A dif ferent twist on the paranormal genre. . . . Overall, Shannon K. Butcher has done a good job with Burning Alive, and I will def initely be reading the next in the series.” —Fallen Angel Reviews Also by Shannon K. Butcher NOVELS OF THE SENTINEL WARS Running Scared Finding the Lost Burning Alive Living Nightmare eISBN : 978-1-101-47742-7 SIGNET ECLIPSE Published by New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi - 110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Off ices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England First published by Signet Eclipse, an imprint of New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. First Printing, March 2011 Copyright © Shannon K. Butcher, 2011 All rights reserved SIGNET ECLIPSE and logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. PUBLISHER’S NOTE This is a work of f iction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used f ictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. http://us.penguingroup.com For Jim Butcher. Happy twentieth anniversary, honey. Chapter 1 Lucas Ramsey’s target stood out from the swirling masses of perfumed, sequined gold diggers on the ballroom floor. There was something different about her—a watchful, focused quality that none of the other women at this fancy shindig possessed. Then again, there were three other women flirting with the flabby, older man she was hanging on. Maybe she was worried she’d lose her sugar daddy. Too bad Lucas wasn’t a rich man, ’cause he’d love to sign up for that job, even if for only one night. The weapon in his shoulder holster felt odd through the thin cotton of his tuxedo shirt, and the shiny leather shoes didn’t have the same gripping traction of his combat boots. He was as far out of place here as a man could get, but Sloane Gideon was here, so he was, too. She was his last chance to repay a man he owed everything to. And the job was simple. All he had to do was keep her from catching her flight on a private jet in ninety-eight minutes. No sweat. Even a washed-up soldier like him could handle that. In fact, Lucas could think of more than one way to make her miss that flight. The Old Man had said to use any means necessary to keep her in Texas, and as the list of the more interesting possibilities formed in Lucas’s head, his body temperature kicked up a couple of degrees. There were hundreds of people here, all as well dressed as the room itself. Silk draped the walls, and fine linen cloths covered the tables. No polyester there. A tidy crew of unobtrusive waiters wove among the guests, offering an endless supply of champagne in crystal flutes. Live music sweled from the raised platform where a small orchestra played. Elegant harmonies wove their way through the room, and on the far left, couples danced to a waltz Lucas recognized but could not name. He was more of a beer and rock-and-roll kind of guy, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t appreciate the finer things in life. Like Sloane Gideon. She was definitely fine. Sloane was lovely in an untouchable sort of way. Perfect hair, perfect makeup, perfect dress flowing over perfect curves. She was walking perfection, and he’d bet his last dollar that she knew it. Decked out in diamonds and a dress that probably cost more than his car, she was way out of his league. Of course, if a man managed to strip her of all that flash and sparkle, the playing field would be a lot more even. And a lot more interesting. All he had to do was pry her off the arm of Moneybags. Lucas made his way across the ballroom, through the glittering upper-crust socialites. He ignored the women who glanced his way, and the men who sized him up, staring at him as if trying to calculate his net worth. Not much, he knew, but he’d played enough roles in his life that this one wasn’t much of a stretch. At least here no one was shooting at him, which made this a walk in the park by comparison. He mimicked the rigid posture of the other men here, donned an air of casual indifference to the ridiculous amounts of wealth being displayed, and moved toward his target. His knee throbbed as he forced it to accept his weight without limping. He wasn’t sure how he was going to hit the dance floor with Sloane without giving away his weakness, but he’d think of something. Maybe a nice, long slow dance would come their way. Even with a busted knee, Lucas could still come up with at least a dozen ways he could make her forget about her flight. Hell, if he wasn’t too rusty, he might even be able to make her forget what day of the week it was. That would be a nice change of pace from his recent, unwelcomed, lengthy celibacy. Any means necessary held a cargo ship load of possibilities. Lucas had a hotel room upstairs all ready and waiting, stocked with enough wine to knock a man his size unconscious. Come morning when his debt to the Old Man was repaid, he’d leave Sloane satisfied and sleeping while he walked away from his old life with a clean slate and a clean conscience. His new life held little appeal, but that, thankfully, was a problem for another day. A movement in his peripheral vision stopped him dead in his tracks. He wasn’t yet sure what he’d seen, but his instincts were: trouble. The urge to duck and cover screamed inside him, making his pulse skyrocket. He turned his head, just enough to see the threat. On a raised platform behind the orchestra was a thick arrangement of huge potted trees and plants. Sticking out of those plants was the last six inches of a rifle’s barrel. And it was aimed right at Sloane. The man crossing the ballroom toward Sloane had been born to wear a tux. She let her gaze slide up and down his body, appreciating the way the fabric hugged his broad shoulders and accentuated his trim waist. The fit was so good it almost hid the bulge of the weapon beneath his jacket. Almost. She tightened her grip on the arm of her client, signaling to him there was trouble. “Time to go,” she whispered into his ear, smiling as though she’d just said something seductive. Edward Henning looked at the three cosmetically engineered gold diggers fawning over him and giggling, then back at her like she was crazy. “I don’t think so.” Sloane squeezed his arm harder. “Move. Now.” She’d scoped out the place earlier, and her best bet was the eastern stairwell exit. She gave her client a not so gentle tug, but the man refused to budge. Hanging on whatever bimbette number three was saying, he stayed glued to the spot. Mr. Tuxedo and his concealed weapon were still fifty feet away, but he was making progress through the crowds easily. Men parted from his path, pulling their wives and dates out of his way. Not that she could blame them. Any woman in that man’s path was a target—whether for sex or violence, Sloane wasn’t sure, but it was definitely one of the two. Maybe both. The bimbo trio giggled at something her client said, and she felt his chest puff up. At sixty-three, Edward Henning was turning to flab, spending too much time at a boardroom table and not enough in a gym. Then again, if he’d been in better shape, maybe he wouldn’t have needed to hire her to watch his back. Out-of-shape flab with deep pockets was her job security. And Sloane loved her job—loved the

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Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.