Crimson Born - Amy Patrick Page 0,71
said. “Maybe Mr. Hopper isn’t on vacation. Maybe something happened to the poor old vamp.”
Spotting two human officers emerge from the car in full tactical gear, I said, “I don’t think this is about Mr. Hopper.”
“Oh my God, are we in trouble?” Heather whispered.
I glanced at her worried expression in the rearview mirror and tried to sound reassuring. “Of course not. We haven’t done anything wrong. I’m sure there’s some kind of mistake or something. Just roll down your window and stay calm. It’s going to be okay.”
When Heather lowered her window, one of the officers spoke in a loud, authoritative voice.
“Get out of the car. All three of you. Keep your hands raised and visible.”
As I slid out of the back seat and turned to face them, I prayed my fangs didn’t emerge at the threatening tone of his orders. It was a natural reflex, but the police would probably take it as a sign of hostility.
We’d been coached extensively at the VHC on tactics for de-escalating tension in potentially volatile situations.
“Hello officers. Can we help you?” I pasted on a smile and used the friendliest voice I could muster.
They did not smile back.
“Abigail Byler, Kelly Cook, and Heather Tippens?” the second officer said.
So this wasn’t a case of mistaken identity. In spite of instructing my friends to stay calm, my pulse was speeding, and I was suddenly struggling to breathe normally. Had something happened at the VHC headquarters?
“Yes. What’s this about?” I asked.
Both officers moved toward us in cautious, battle-ready stances. One of them pulled out three pairs of platinum-plated handcuffs. The other held an anti-vamp gun.
Pointed at us.
“I’m gonna need you to come with us,” he said. “You’re all under arrest.”
Thank you for reading Crimson Born, book one of the Crimson series. I hope you enjoyed it! Obviously, there’s much more to come for Abigail, Reece and all the players in the Crimson world. Book two of the series, Crimson Storm, releases in ebook and print December 26th, 2020, and is available now for pre-order on Amazon. Order it now and find it waiting on your kindle on release day!
Can’t wait until then for a new fantasy escape? Join my VIP mailing list, and I’ll send you a free ebook download of my novella The Sway, which is a companion book to my completed Hidden Saga series.
Next in Series
Pre-order Crimson Storm now! Or add it on Goodreads and be notified when it goes live in Kindle Unlimited. Turn the page for more
Afterword
Thank you so much for reading Crimson Born, the first book in my brand new Crimson Accord series. I hope you enjoyed it! If you did, I’d be so grateful if you’d leave a review on Amazon, and if your fingers aren’t too tired, on Goodreads as well. It’s not hard to do—just a few words about what you thought of the book is perfectly fine. Reviews are so important for authors and help other readers find great books.
The series continues with book two, Crimson Storm, releasing on December 26!
Members of my VIP mailing list will receive a notification when it’s available and get sneak peeks ahead of time plus a free story. I’d love to have you join! Click here to do that.
Here’s a little about Crimson Storm…
Seventeen-year-old Abigail Byler is a resolute pacifist.
And a vampire.
She’s thankful for the Crimson Accord, a peace treaty signed fifty-five years ago that allowed vampires to come out of hiding and begin participating in the world in a respectable, productive way.
Not only did it permanently solve supply chain issues arising from illness, death, and exhaustion for humans (Vampires make phenomenal long-haul truck drivers and night-shift workers) it also provided a much-needed non-violent option for her kind to satisfy their own nutritional needs.
As long as every healthy adult human made regular donations to blood banks and a reasonable percentage of the supply was allotted to vampires, no one would ever be bitten (without their permission) again.
But now the anti-vamp movement in America is growing, blood donations are down, and the Accord is in danger of crumbling.
Worse, Abbi and her friends have been arrested and taken to one of the new Security Zones where many vampires have been forced to relocate.
Knowing she’s committed no crime, she trusts in the system to prove her innocence. Her only other hope is the intervention of the vampire leader she works for—or the one who turned her in the first place.
Until then, she plans to keep her head down and avoid any entanglements with the less tolerant and more dangerous of the human guards watching them.
It’s only when she’s “rescued” by a group of humans with a secret agenda that she realizes—maybe it’s time to become dangerous herself.
Also by Amy Patrick
The Complete Hidden Saga- available in KU!
Hidden Deep
Hidden Heart
Hidden Hope
The Sway- A Hidden Saga Companion Novella
Hidden Darkness (The Dark Court, 1)
Hidden Danger (The Dark Court, 2)
Hidden Desire (The Dark Court, 3)
Hidden Game (The Ancient Court, 1)
Hidden Magic (The Ancient Court, 2)
Hidden Hero (The Ancient Court, 3)
Hidden Heir
Also by Amy Patrick
HIDDEN DEEP
HIDDEN HEART
HIDDEN HOPE
HIDDEN DARKNESS
HIDDEN DANGER
HIDDEN DESIRE
The Ancient Court subset containing Hidden Game, Hidden Magic, and Hidden Hero will release in audiobook soon!
TAKE ME TO THE AUDIOBOOKS
About the Author
Amy Patrick writes "unique" and "engrossing" (Examiner. com) romantic fiction and young adult fantasy/paranormal books that make you want to "read straight through the night into the breaking hours of dawn." (Bitten By Books)
Her hugely popular Hidden Saga is soon to be followed by her new Crimson Accord series, a romantic young adult vampire series. Book 1, Crimson Born, releases October 30, 2020.
Follow Amy on Bookbub to receive notices about her new releases and sales, and join her VIP mailing list at https://bit.ly/APsVIPs for the latest book news, insider info, and fun freebies.
Amy is a multi-award-winning author and two-time RWA Golden Heart finalist and lives in Rhode Island where she enjoys writing at the beach year round. She's been a professional singer, voiceover artist, and TV news anchor, and currently writes fiction full time as well as narrating audiobooks.
For more, visit her website—http://www.amypatrickbooks.com/
Copyright © 2020 by Amy Patrick
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Crimson Born is a work of fiction. Characters, names, places, brands, media, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and should not be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment and may not be re-sold or given away to other people. 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. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Oxford South Press/October 2020
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