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  Flint matched my movements, taking a sip of his own soda in an almost mocking fashion. “You disagree?”

  “Oh, my, yes.” I took another step. “You see, my values are as they have always been. I don’t seek the death of those who hurt me. I seek to stop people from hurting those I care about. Ian Walsh shot Scath. Because of him, Peasblossom could have lost her wings permanently. He put them in mortal danger. He used them. Manipulated me.”

  A flicker of some emotion I couldn’t recognize flashed through Flint’s eyes, but he didn’t look away.

  “I don’t like people who use other people. People who kill for power. People who think of others as pawns to be moved about a giant chessboard. People like that deserve to get their karmic due as quickly as possible, and I am always happy to help those consequences find their mark whenever I can. As soon as I can.”

  Another step. Flint wasn’t smiling anymore.

  “Ian thought he had time,” I said softly. “He thought I would hold myself to a level of honor he hadn’t earned, just because he’d already written me off as a goody- goody who didn’t want to get her hands dirty. He’s not the first to make that mistake.”

  My last step put Flint and I so close, a hard breath would have pressed our chests together. But for once, he didn’t lean in. Didn’t try to put his arms around me.

  “You’re not smiling anymore, Flint,” I whispered. “Is it possible that you finally understand? Will you be happy when your choices catch up to you?”

  For a long minute, neither of us said a word. Flint stared into my eyes, his gaze boring into mine as if he were searching for some sign that I was bluffing. Some sign that this was all an act to help me save face. Part of me waited for him to demand more information, to force me to explain what I’d meant when I’d said Ian hadn’t been the first to make that mistake.

  But he didn’t.

  And he didn’t find what he wanted in my eyes, either. Just for good measure, I let my brain entertain images of what I could have done to Flint if I’d convinced Ian to leave the gun. I pictured him on the floor in Scath’s place, lying in a pool of blood gasping for breath. Blood foaming on his lips. I imagined my pleasure over watching him die. Flint’s face didn’t move, but he was paler than he’d been a second ago.

  He wouldn’t be leaving iron weapons lying around anytime soon.

  “You’ve earned a break,” he said finally. “I’ll be going out of town for a week on a personal matter. While I’m gone, feel free to rest up.” He stepped away from me and finished his Coke in one long swallow. He crushed the can in his grip when he was finished. “Brew a few potions, keep practicing your fighting skills. You’ll need to be in peak condition when I come back.”

  “What about Andy?”

  He turned toward the door. “Yes, fine. Visit your FBI agent. I will return in a week, and I’ll have another job for you then.”

  I watched him walk to the door, something nagging at the back of my mind. “Flint?”

  “Yes?”

  “The anonymous tip that sent Roger and Jeff to Acme. The tip that started this whole mess. Someone knew Underhill was planning to take Stasya.”

  Flint tilted his head. “And?”

  “Whoever called in that tip could have saved Stasya’s life. But they chose not to. They chose to let this entire situation play out.”

  Tension squeezed Flint’s shoulders. “Do you have something to say, Shade?”

  “Was it you?”

  He didn’t turn. “Does it matter?”

  “No. I already know what kind of person you are. Manipulative. Dismissive of the lives of others. Willing to see someone die if it helps you get what you want.” I shrugged. “I guess I already know the answer.” I drummed my fingers on my can. “It’s all about choices, isn’t it?”

  This time he did look over his shoulder. I stared at him over the rim of my Coke as I took another sip.

  “Ten more months,” I murmured.

  Flint didn’t react, his facial expression didn’t change. “Call Agent Bradford, Shade. Take care of your pixie and your cat. I’ll see you next week.”

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  I hope that you enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you did, please spare a moment to leave a review. Nothing helps other ravenous readers find a good series like a passionate review from readers like you.

  THE BLOOD TRAILS SERIES is a fusion of fantasy and mystery that combines a classic private investigator/whodunnit with the sarcasm and magic that’s made the Urban Fantasy genre so famous.

  THE BLOOD PRINCE SERIES is a sensual paranormal romance series that twists beloved fairy tales into original tales of love, adventure, and…well, blood. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and ultimately, you’ll need to sink your teeth into the next book as you follow a desperate desire to find out just what the werewolf, the vampire, the demon, the angel, and the god are really up to…

  THE BLOOD REALM SERIES is a spin-off /continuation of the Blood Prince series. Though these books can be read in any order, to get the most out of the epilogues, I always recommend following the suggested reading order HERE.

  * * *

  All of my books are written in the same universe (yes, even the Urban Fantasy, which is contemporary, not historical like the Blood Prince/Blood Realm series—and you’ll have to read Deadline to find out how I managed that…). Be ready for crossovers and cameos!

  Jennifer Blackstream Newsletter

  OTHER BOOKS BY JENNIFER BLACKSTREAM

  * * *

  Urban Fantasy

  * * *

  Blood Trails Series

  Deadline

  Monster

  Taken

  Corruption

  Mercenary

  * * *

  Paranormal Romance

  * * *

  Blood Prince Series

  Before Midnight

  One Bite

  Golden Stair

  Divine Scales

  Beautiful Salvation

  Bonus Novel: The Pirate’s Witch

  * * *

  Blood Realm Series:

  All for a Rose

  Blue Voodoo

  The Archer

  Bear With Me

  Stolen Wish

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  Short stories are not listed here, but can be found on my website here.

  Did you find a typo?

  Typos are the jack-in-the-boxes of the reading world. There you are, reading an amazing story, when suddenly—BAM! A typo rips you right out of the groove. At Skeleton Key Publishing, our editors do their best to correct the typos that slink by our authors, but sometimes they escape and go on their ruinous rampage.

  So here’s the deal. If you found any typos, go to my website and report it. Every month we will put the names of everyone who reported a typo into a hat and pick one out. That person will then be offered a $25 gift certificate to an online retailer.

  That’s right…you can win a gift certificate just for reporting a typo. If you find more than three typos, send us a copy of your receipt and we’ll send you an updated version of the book.

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  Ahoy, ebook pirates!

  All right, so here's the deal. Certain online retailers have affiliate programs whereby people can earn referral fees for sending people to shop on their site. It's sort of like a "finder's fee" negotiated by a burly sea captain. Or perhaps a roguish treasure hunter. Maybe a dragon-shifter with a head for business... I digress. Basically, when you click on a referral link, the online retailer pays the associate (in this case, me) a very small percentage of whatever you spend during that session. So if you click that link and buy, say, LEGO Super Hero
es Super Hero Airport Battle for $75.70, then the retailer takes your $75.70 and gives me somewhere around $2.

  Now, some of you are reading this because you got your hands on a pirated copy of one of my books. I'm not going to lecture you, or shame you, or beg you to stop. I spent an hour last night begging my daughter to go to sleep, so I'm all groveled out for at least the next 12 hours. All I'm going to say is this: If you got any enjoyment out of my work, please consider clicking on the link below the next time you need to buy something from one of these very popular online retailers I’m sure you already shop at. You won't be spending a penny more than you would have anyway, and I'll get a little compensation for all the time and effort I put into writing the book so I can continue to write more books.

  Clicking the link is not an acknowledgement that you pirated one of my books. Even if you are a wonderful person who paid for this book, if you'd like to use this link to help me earn enough money for the next Lego set with a superhero in it (even though we all know my son's going to build it, then discard the majority in favor of playing with only the little people) then you can click the link too.

  The link can be found here: http://www.jenniferblackstream.com/ahoy-ebook-pirates/

  If for some reason you can't bring yourself to click the link, consider leaving a review for the book. Reviews help too.

  All right, back to writing. Thank you for reading,

  Jennifer Blackstream