“Call the cleanup crew,” I said as I wiped my hands on the towel. “After this is done, we’re bulldozing this place. Too much shit happened here.”
Mason nodded as he sent a text. Once he was done, he reached for the knife, wiped the blade on the towel, removed a leather sheath from his pocket, and reinserted the knife. Next, he put the knife back in his pocket. “What? It was a gift.”
His casualness made me grin.
I took one last look at Gordon Maples. As grotesque as it sounded, the sight of him gave me my first glimmer of light. I would make this world safe again for Lorna. Killing this disgusting creature was only the first step.
Together Mason and I turned and walked toward the front door.
I’ll bulldoze every last splinter.
The hinges creaked as Mason opened the front door inward and we stepped onto the porch. Scanning the scene, I saw our SUV across the street and one of our Sparrows nearby on the sidewalk.
It was as we proceeded toward the stairs to the walkway that the bang of a screen door hitting a house across the street caught my attention. I barely had time to register the chain of events that followed.
The first to step from the house across the street was Zella. She wasn’t at the bank as she’d been told, but on that porch, her baby still on her hip. Next, a tall man came into view, exiting the house behind her.
Slow motion as in the movies was a cinematic illusion. In reality, the clock didn’t slow, it accelerated. There wasn’t time to register details. Things I’d been trained to recall such as the man’s characteristics or identity were merely a blur.
“Watch out...” I began to shout as the man behind Zella lifted a long shotgun and pointed it in our direction. With my reflexes on high alert and without conscious thought, my hand moved, reaching for my gun, freeing it from the holster.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mason crouched behind the porch’s railing with his pistol already aimed. Our backup Sparrows flew into action. One on the street ducked behind a car and pointed his gun toward the man. Another stepped from the side of the porch, his firearm aimed.
Don’t hit the baby.
That was one of my many thoughts as shots rang from different directions. The air filled with pops and bangs—multiple explosions—as if a pack of firecrackers left behind from an Independence Day celebration had been ignited.
And then...
It wasn’t the impact of the bullet that I felt as much as it was the way its thrust propelled my body backward toward the open doorway. I reached for the doorframe. Crimson from my palm painted the jamb as my grip loosened, sliding down toward the floor as my knees gave way. Collapsing in the threshold of the home that had caused Lorna too much pain, light disappeared.
“Reid.” Mason’s voice came and went.
Dark claimed another victory.
Thank you for reading DARK...find out what happens next in the dramatic conclusion of Reid and Lorna’s story, DAWN.
Pre-order your copy today by clicking on the link.
If you enjoyed DARK and want to know more about our other Sparrow men, Web of Sin, Sterling and Araneae’s story is complete with SECRETS (FREE), LIES, and PROMISES.
Mason and Laurel’s story is also complete in Tangled Web, with TWISTED, OBSESSED, and BOUND.
And Patrick and Madeline’s story is complete in Web of Desire, with SPARK, FLAME, and ASHES.
It’s time to binge Sparrow Webs!
Acknowledgments
A special thank you to my beta readers: Sherry, Angie, Val, Ilona, and Mr.Jeff, my editor, Lisa Aurello, and my sensitivity readers, Renita McKinney and Yulanda Bolton for their dedication to my Sparrow Web world, the array of characters, and to making Reid and Lorna’s story the best it can be.
You are all greatly appreciated. Please know I couldn’t do this without you.
Thank you.
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Books by New York Times bestselling author Aleatha Romig
NEW STORY COMING:
DEVIL’S DEAL
Coming May 2121
THE SPARROW WEBS:
DANGEROUS WEB:
DUSK
Releasing Nov, 2020
DARK
Releasing 2021
DAWN
Releasing 2021
WEB OF DESIRE:
SPARK
Released Jan. 14, 2020
FLAME
Released February 25, 2020
ASHES
Released April 7, 2020
TANGLED WEB:
TWISTED
Released May, 2019
OBSESSED
Released July, 2019
BOUND
Released August, 2019
WEB OF SIN:
SECRETS
Released October, 2018
LIES
Released December, 2018
PROMISES
Released January, 2019
THE INFIDELITY SERIES:
BETRAYAL
Book #1
Released October 2015
CUNNING
Book #2
Released January 2016
DECEPTION
Book #3
Released May 2016
ENTRAPMENT
Book #4
Released September 2016
FIDELITY
Book #5
Released January 2017
THE CONSEQUENCES SERIES:
CONSEQUENCES
(Book #1)
Released August 2011
TRUTH
(Book #2)
Released October 2012
CONVICTED
(Book #3)
Released October 2013
REVEALED
(Book #4)
Previously titled: Behind His Eyes Convicted: The Missing Years
Re-released June 2014
BEYOND THE CONSEQUENCES
(Book #5)
Released January 2015
RIPPLES
Released October 2017
CONSEQUENCES COMPANION READS:
BEHIND HIS EYES-CONSEQUENCES
Released January 2014
BEHIND HIS EYES-TRUTH
Released March 2014
STAND ALONE MAFIA THRILLER:
PRICE OF HONOR
Available Now
THE LIGHT DUET:
Published through Thomas and Mercer Amazon exclusive
INTO THE LIGHT
Released June, 2016
AWAY FROM THE DARK
Released October, 2016