Amber and Blue Chapter 5 Excerpt

Chapter 5 

First Attempt   

  Weary and worn, but in harmony with his world, the old Rastaman stood on the corner of Fifth and Market.  Dreadlocks swung long and gnarled to his waist, and were salted with the gray of old age.  His clothing hung loose and ragged on his small thin frame, but he held his shoulders back with his chin up.  He was a proud man and he smiled.  Some days he held a sign—Liberate Jamaica.  Other days, he stood with a tray strapped across his shoulders, hawking an assortment of scented oils and perfumes.

   "Have a nice day," he would call out, greeting the capitalists in their three-piece suits.  They pushed by without a glance.  To them—he was invisible.

"Hi Russell!" Grace yelled when he breezed through the door of the shelter.

"Hello Grace, how are you on this beautiful day?"  The rhythmic flow of his accent lilted through the noisy room like music, making heavy heads lift and the downtrodden smile.

"Much better since you’re here!" she said.

She was always happy to see Russell, which was often, when she volunteered at the shelter.  His smiling eyes and kind heart left a lingering peace with every soul that he touched.

Dinner's rush had come and gone and the stifling heat of the kitchen became unbearable.  Grace needed a break.  Outside, she leaned back against the crumbling brick wall at the rear of the building.  Resting her eyes, she enjoyed the slight breeze while fanning her face with a thick paper plate.  Long, stray, wisps of dark hair escaped from her twist, and stuck fast to the sweat that rolled down her neck.  Twirling the strands together, she stuffed them behind her ears before turning to go back inside.

"Excuse me mam," a man said.  He stood with his hands in his pockets, near the entrance of an alley next to the building. "Do you work here?"

She stopped, turning his way. "Yes sir, I do, kind of."

Despite the warmth of the day, he had the hood of his blue jacket drawn over his head and down to cover his brow.  His head hung low but two amber orbs peered out with a rapt intensity.

"Maybe you can help me," he said. "My young son is ill, and we need a place to stay for the night."

"He’s sick?" She walked toward him. "Poor little fella, how old is he?"

"Come see.  He’s in the car."

"Grace!" Russell’s voice called from behind her. "Come here!"

Turning back, she caught the sight of an anxious Russell furiously waving her toward him.

"I’ll be right back," she said to the man, making her way to where Russell stood.

"Grace," the old Rastaman said. "You stay away from that man."

"But his son is sick—"

"No, girl, I have a bad feeling—very bad.  I’ve never seen him before and I’ve been around here a long, long time."

She looked over her shoulder but the man had vanished.

"Look, you see," he said. "Now he’s gone."

"Where’d he go?" Walking to the edge of the building, she leaned around the corner.

"Does your father know you’re here today?"

"No," she replied with a guilty smile.

"You scare me, child," Russell said, coming to stand beside her. "You trust too easy."


Amber and Blue is FREE at Amazon.  Check it out.  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009LUCHXS

Amber and Blue II Victory Release

Finally!  The  Amber and Blue II -Victory is now out on Amazon and Smashwords!

Please stay tuned as it will also be distributed to Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iTunes and many other vendors in the coming days

Their love fated, their lives complete, Alex and Grace finally begin to plan a perfect future together.  But their peaceful existence is soon shattered by the ghosts from their tormented past.  Angered, the unforgiving family of the man Grace shot in self-defense demands retribution for his death.

Defeated and fighting his own demons, struggling with the pain of Grace’s rejection, Lucien slips back into the only way of life he’s ever known—that of a criminal.  Danger lurks in the form of revenge and Lucien is disturbed when Alex ignores his warning.  Torn between losing his own sanity and risking everything, a gnawing obsession soon burns out of control.

In an ultimate act of betrayal, Lucien unwittingly exposes Grace to a merciless world of violence and vigilante justice.  Isolated and alone, Grace seeks solace in a group of new friends, but will her comfort come at the cost of her own mortality?  Will Lucien and Alex destroy one another in a final deadly clash, or will a vicious man from Lucien's past return to destroy them all?

Amazon US:  http://www.amazon.com/Amber-Blue-II-Victory-Rowe-ebook/dp/B00HXJ5FOM/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1390523935&sr=1-2&keywords=amber+and+blue





Amber and Blue II Victory 1st Chapter Excerpt

It's finally here! 

It's been slower than molasses on a cold winter day, but finally, after a few extended deadlines, it's almost here.  I considered making up some catastrophic event that slowed my progress but unfortunately, I am just a slowpoke.  Amber and Blue II Victory is slated for release at Amazon on February 1st, 2014.  Below, I am including the first chapter, and an updated version of the cover.  If you haven't had an opportunity to check out my first book, Amber and Blue, maybe Victory's excerpt will pique your interest and you'll decide to take a peek at both.

Amber and Blue II Victory

Chapter 1

Lucien's Pain

     "Son of a bitch!" A large framed painting rattled against the wall before it smashed to the bedroom floor.  In the hallway, a furious man rammed the door with his shoulder, "I'll kill you—you little bastard!"

     "It's my husband," the woman whispered. "You have to get out of here."

     "Your husband?" Lucien threw on his pants and grabbed his shirt and shoes from the floor. "I thought he was out of town."

     "He was supposed to be."

     "Damn it!  Where are my keys?" Lucien slung the comforter from the mattress, but finding nothing, he dropped to the floor.  He slid his arm under the bed, spread his fingers across the dusty hardwood, and found them, just as the door splintered and cracked from the man's repeated blows.  Lucien jumped to his feet, stumbled to the window, and stopped.  He turned to the woman and winked. "It's been fun, ma chérie."

     The second floor jump hurt like hell when he crashed in a heap on the sidewalk below.  He staggered to his feet and dragged a throbbing ankle with him as he limped, shirtless, and shoeless to his bike.  He slid on his helmet, fired up his motorcycle, and looked back.  The man burst through the back door and charged across the lawn after him.

     Lucien spun back the throttle and popped the clutch.  The engine screamed when the bike's torque yanked the wheel from the pavement.  The enraged man became a speck in his mirror, and left far behind as Lucien vanished from sight.

     The speed felt good, and the wind against his chest made him feel alive, but feeling alive meant feeling pain.  When he finally arrived at his apartment, he hobbled inside and headed straight for the shower.  His doctor would chew his ass if he knew what he’d been up to.  Although his chest wound had healed, it was still sore and tender, and a jump to the pavement was not what the doctor had ordered.  Still soaked from the shower, he fell onto his bed, rolled over, and let his eyes close.

     When he opened them, she was there by his side. "Grace?"

    

Amber and Blue II Victory

The sequel to Amber and Blue is coming! February 1st, 2014!

Their love fated, their lives complete, Alex and Grace finally begin to plan a perfect future together. But their peaceful existence is soon shattered by the ghosts from their tormented past. Angered, the unforgiving family of the man Grace shot in self-defense demands retribution for his death.

Defeated and fighting his own demons, struggling with the pain of Grace’s rejection, Lucien slips back into the only way of life he’s ever known—that of a criminal. Danger lurks in the form of revenge and Lucien is disturbed when Alex ignores his warning. Torn between losing his own sanity and risking everything, a gnawing obsession soon burns out of control.

In an ultimate act of betrayal, Lucien unwittingly exposes Grace to a merciless world of violence and vigilante justice. Isolated and alone, Grace seeks solace in a group of new friends, but will her comfort come at the cost of her own mortality? Will Lucien and Alex destroy one another in a final deadly clash, or will a vicious man from Lucien's past return to destroy them all?