Authors: Regina Morris
Dear Readers,
I hope you enjoyed reading my novel, Enduring Service (Book Three of The Colony series). Please take a moment to leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads, and/or Barnes & Noble. Reviews encourage me to improve my craft and to continue writing this series. Thank you.
Please visit my website (
http://www.reginamorris.com
) for more information about the other novels in the Colony Series. Feel free to contact me through my website, through my social media sites (see my website for the list) or by email at
mailto:[email protected]
.
I live in Austin, Texas with my husband and two children. I graduated high school in Germany and I attended the University of Texas at Austin where I received a degree in Computer Science with a minor in math. After enjoying a career in software engineering, I discovered that writing is in my blood, and had to put pen to paper!
The opinions I express in my novels are my own. My stories are my own intellectual property. Copyright (c) 2014, Regina Morris
Sincerely,
Regina Morris
Vampires exist among us. They can be our neighbor, best friend, our child’s teacher…
They alter their aged appearance based upon the amount of blood they consume. They move to a new area, drink a lot of blood, and appear young. Slowly they limit their intake of blood and age, right in front of our unsuspecting eyes. After decades, they fake their death, move, and do it over and over again.
Most live quiet lives in an effort to blend in.
Some, however, want power and control.
The Colony is an elite group of vampires sworn to protect the President of the United States from these rogue vampires.
Eternal Service (Book #1)
Amazon Top 100 Bestseller
978–0–9888222–0–7 (ebook)
978–0–9888222–1–4 (paperback)
When Agent Raymond Metcalf, vampire coven master of the Colony, teams up with a human female operative–who has no idea that vampires even exist–will his mission or his heart be compromised first?
Career military woman, Alex Brennan, is being offered the promotion of a lifetime, and with it a romance that she has desperately been seeking. Does she dare accept the position as Director of the Colony, an elite group of deadly creatures of the night and risk a dangerous romance with a man who isn’t even human? Together, can they save the President?
United Service (Book #2)
Amazon Top 100 Bestseller
978–0–9888222–6–9 (ebook)
978–0–9888222–7–6 (paperback)
Sterling Metcalf is a modern–day vampire who clashes with his father’s antiquated ideals. Being the half–breed of the Colony group, Sterling hates being the team’s weakest link. He jumps at an opportunity to do some fieldwork rescuing kidnapped vampire children and is accompanied by Kate Spencer, the nanny of one of the children. Kate is a purebred vampire with a secret of her own. Can Sterling put aside his bad–boy ways and woo the lovely Kate? Will Kate accept the advances of a half–breed? Together, can they save the children from a religious cult who wants to kill them?
William’s Tale (Novella #1)
978–0–9914034–4–8 (ebook)
Available Summer 2014
Fifteen years ago, Colony Agent William Wardell met his future wife Jackie Pearlman. She’s sexy, opinionated, and finds him to be a mockery of the American dream of equality for all. Can a past Freedom Rider and racial activist from the 1960s, now turned vampire, prove to the love of his life that he’s not just a political puppet?
Reliant Service (Book #4)
978–0–9914034–2–4 (ebook)
978–0–9914034–3–1 (paperback)
Available Fall 2014
After faking his death from an assassination attempt on the President, and retiring his first and only alias with the Colony, Daniel Brighton discovers the mandatory sabbatical to be less than exciting. He chooses to do a favor and act as a security guard for a fading pop–singer, Lori Austin, whose career is winding down. He travels across Europe with her and discovers her past to be one of deception and intrigue with a history leading directly back to the Colony itself.
Lori Austin is struggling to keep her career alive, and is willing to do what is necessary to save it. From bad press and scandalous stories, she travels across Europe on a relief tour to revitalize her career, but doesn’t realize she is traveling with a vampire. Discovering a hidden family secret, she realizes that the one man who can save her is the handsome security guard she fought so hard not to hire.
Special thanks to my husband and our children for their love and support; to my sister for believing in me and encouraging me to follow my dream.
Many people have helped me in the creation of this novel. Special thanks to:
My Beta Readers: Chelle L. of Literal Addition and Lynn W. of the Paranormal Romance Guild
My Content Editor: Selena W.
My Line Editors: Sue M. and Kathryn Z.
My Proof Readers: Pennie B, Jean G., Rorie S, and Deb T.
I’d also like to thank my Street Team of supporters – For the Love of Fiction Team.
The support you have given me gave me the courage, strength and resources to complete this novel. Thank you!
Raymond recoiled from the sight of the woman’s blood on his hands as he struggled to keep the exhausted blood–soaked forger pinned to the cold hard ground. “You son of a bitch,” he scowled. The crisp dried leaves crunched beneath his prey. “That woman had a life, and a family who cared for her. You killed her like she was nothing.”
The subdued forger shrugged, unwilling to make eye contact. “The woman was collateral damage, nothing more.”
The cool night breeze blew the scent of the woman’s blood into Raymond’s face, and Raymond grimaced. He shook his head in disgust. Suddenly needing to end the interrogation, he turned to his team. The darkness of the evening was even more intensified by the secluded spot where he held the forger down, but he could still easily make out the faces of his men.
One of the shadows separated from the dark. Agent Ben knelt down next to Raymond, his dark skin and stocky, muscular build contrasting sharply with Raymond’s tall, marble–like perfection. Ben callously crushed the forger’s hands as he digitally scanned his fingerprints.
“Aargh! Son of a bitch! Look, I’ll make a deal with you if you let me go.”
“You don’t know who hired you, so you have nothing to bargain with,” Raymond said dismissively as he watched Ben finish his task and pocket the scanner. Raymond then glanced over at his son, Sterling, who was checking the vampire’s belongings.
“I’ve got everything I need,” Sterling mumbled as he tossed the backpack to the ground.
Raymond pulled a dagger from his boot and wondered if the forger would show any remorse or fear now that he was about to die, but none came. Sterling moved to hold the captive’s feet down in preparation for the end.
“I can pay you. I can get you gems, gold, blood … whatever you want.”
Raymond didn’t bother to acknowledge the forger’s bribes. Instead, he showed him the cold steel blade as his answer.
“C’mon, everybody’s got a price. What do you say?”
“You breached the perimeter of the White House in an effort to kill the President,” Raymond said.
“It was just a job. I wasn’t sent there to kill anybody.”
Raymond looked at the man in disgust. “Tell that to the guards you attacked and the pregnant woman you killed as you fled.”
The forger’s eyes were wide, as if he were thinking of anything to say that could save his life.
“There’s also a price to pay for the lives you took,” Raymond said as he plunged the dagger into the vampire’s heart. Instantly, Raymond’s knees sank into the dirt as the vampire disappeared beneath him. A cloud of dust scattered across Raymond’s fatigues, and the once shiny blade now lay stained in a dusty mound on the ground. The last remains of the captive.
Ben knelt down beside Raymond, “We’ll have to list him as an enemy killed in action,” he said as he collected what was left of the EKIA for DNA.
“The Director and Homeland Security need to be informed that there’s been a breach,” Raymond said as he stood and shook the dust from his pants.
Nodding, Sterling took out his phone, “Dixon, we need to meet. McGregor’s Pub. Give us about an hour.”
*******
McGregor’s pub was located on the outskirts of the suburbs, the kind of place where the parking lot was still a back lawn, Appletinis didn’t exist, and the bartender was always willing for you to bend his ear. The neon beer signs were still lit and the open sign was still slung on the door, so Raymond led the team in.
They strode past the long bar counter, with its many empty stools sitting in a row. The few tables in the place were clustered together. Booths and pool tables took up all the room in the way back. It was an older place but still kept up, at least to the point where you could sit down and not worry about sticking to the chairs. They found Dixon sitting in his usual back corner booth drinking a beer.
“Dixon, good you could make it here so fast,” Raymond said as they approached the older man.
The waitress eyed the three handsome men as soon as they entered, and bustled to the booth to take their order. As she approached, she eyed each one and sized them up. Each stood well over six foot in height, and offered her a variety of flavors to choose from. Raymond, towering over the others and striking with his dark hair and pale, flawless skin, sat down next to Dixon. The other two men squeezed their large frames into the other side of the booth. The shorter of the two, with his long blond locks and playboy visage managing to look like he was lounging even in the small space, seemed to have tempted the waitress, as did the cocoa brown skinned and powerfully built muscles of the other. Of course each one was her senior by over a century, but that was undetectable. “You boys want something?” She winked over at Ben as her chosen favorite. Obviously there was nothing wrong with a little brown sugar in her sugar bowl tonight.
Raymond searched deep into her eyes and willed the human to obey him. “Quickly finish closing. We’ll lock up when we’re done here.” As he compelled the waitress, Ben rose with his usual military precision to contend with the bartender. At a stern glance from his father, Sterling slouched over to each of the few patrons in the place. The pub cleared within minutes. The men helped themselves to drinks and gathered around their table.
“OK, I’m guessing this has to do with what happened earlier tonight on the south lawn of the White House,” Dixon said, scratching the gray whiskers of his five o’clock shadow. He then added, “The guards are fine. The hospital released them a short while ago. Of course the media frenzy is still going on. It’s been classified as a random attack with the assailant having escaped.”
“Has the President been briefed about the event?” asked Raymond.
“Yes. He was unaware of the breech at the time. He is still safely tucked away in the residence quarters, probably asleep by now.” Dixon raised an eyebrow, “Nobody suspects anything, but am I correct in assuming that the man was a vampire?”
“Yes.” Raymond nodded towards Ben. “Show him.”
Ben shrugged the backpack off his massive shoulders and handed it over to Dixon, who opened the bag and studied its contents.
“These forged documents are damn good copies of the invite to the President’s state dinner. Looks like four security passes and paperwork as well. Christ,” Dixon cursed.
“The forger is an EKIA. He gave us quite a chase and thought he could ditch us in a park outside the city, but we staked him.” Raymond sighed. “He also took a pregnant woman hostage at the start of the chase. She didn’t survive. By now, her body has been discovered.” Raymond glanced across the table with saddened eyes at his team members. The pain of the loss hung in the air.
“There was no way to save her.” Ben then shifted gears, pointing to the forged documents. “With the dinner still days away, there’s time to get new passes made.”
Dixon didn’t comment on the death. She’d become another unsolved murder, just like all the others. “I’m sure you did what you could.” Dixon studied the evidence in his hand. “At least the passes contain pictures. Should be good for some facial recognition software … might get a hit in the FBI, CIA or police databases. Obviously the people on the IDs will try and infiltrate the state dinner next week. The President is in grave danger.” Setting the IDs aside, he asked, “Any idea what might be on the memory cards?”
“Probably backups of these documents,” Sterling tossed out.
“Or maybe Intel as to whom the leader is. If we’re lucky,” Ben added.
Sterling pointed his gloved finger at the backpack, “I didn’t sense anything off of the docs or the tech stuff, but I got a reading off of the backpack. The forger was a loner and did this job only for the money. He didn’t know and didn’t care who the benefactor was.”
The team was well aware of Sterling’s ability to glean information from inanimate objects, and Dixon was no exception. He brushed his fingertips against the fabric of the bag. “We’ll need to find out who hired him. I’ll make sure the Director of Homeland Security has access to these findings, including the fact the man was a vampire.”
“We’ll provide what information we can from the tech pieces,” Raymond offered. “Now that we’ve killed the forger, they’ll know that immortals are behind it. Humans couldn’t have dispatched him so easily. If the leader is also a vampire, they’ll be taking their game up a notch when this vampire fails to show up with the passes. We’ll have to be more careful.”
Dixon nodded. “Right.” He shifted in his seat and drained his beer.
Raymond observed his old friend carefully. “So what’s bugging you tonight? I can feel your thought patterns, and I can tell it’s not good.”
“Yeah, I’ve wanted to talk with you boys about something for a while now.” Dixon took a deep breath. “I’m going to retire. I’ve pushed off retirement as much as I could, but the years are getting to me now. It’s time to hand the reigns over to the next Director for you boys.”
The men at the table were deadly quiet now as they studied Dixon’s face and took a good look at the man they had known for decades. “Are you sure?” Raymond asked. “I mean, we’ve had a lot of Directors in the past, but we see you as part of our team. Are you really that old?”
“You know my age, Raymond. I’m not old, but I’m also not young anymore,” he sighed. His face suddenly appeared more aged to Raymond.
Only the President and a handful of people knew about the Colony and its immortal vampires who worked for the federal government. Once you left the inner circle your memories were erased. Raymond had performed the memory wipe many times and it was always complete, decisive, and permanent.
“Look. I’ve been reviewing possible candidates and I think I’ve found the perfect replacement. Raymond, I’d like for the two of you to meet so I can see what you think of the Captain. How about this Friday at 8 a.m.?”
“Whatever you need,” Raymond agreed. He suspected Dixon wanted to talk more but the late hour wasn’t affording them that opportunity. With the unspoken language that most old friends seem to have, Raymond looked over at Dixon, tilted his head slightly, and lifted an eyebrow.
Raymond was happy the message was received. Dixon nodded, “Let’s put everything in motion, just like we talked about.” The exchange wasn’t noticed by the other team members and the response was cryptic enough so that only Raymond understood.
“Does anyone want more to drink? I’m buying.” Dixon pulled out his phone to transfer money to an account the bar owner kept.
“No. Go home, Dixon. It’s late and it looks like we have a lot of work to do tomorrow.” Raymond smiled at his friend as he watched him pick up the backpack and start to leave. “I hope you’re happy with your decision.”
Dixon completed the money transaction and put the phone back in his pocket. He then pulled a worn key off his key ring and placed it on the table. “Make sure to lock up.” He stood up from the table and walked out.
“Now that was a shocker.” Ben said, as he slid the key over to Raymond. “But, if you two will excuse me, there’s a lovely lady I stood up this evening, and I plan on making it up to her tonight”
“Ben,” Raymond touched his friend’s arm, “if you’re talking about the secretary from this afternoon, did you notice the ring on her finger?”
“Yes, but she doesn’t seem to be a fanatic about it. Plus her husband is out of town. See you later.”
Overall, it wasn’t any of his business, but it still bothered Raymond that the secretary was a married woman. His empty bottle indicated it was time to go.
Sterling finished his drink and walked out with his father. As Raymond locked up, Sterling announced, “See ya at home tomorrow.”
“Where are you going?” Raymond asked.
“I have a date,” he said, hopping into his red Ferrari.
Raymond tried to bite his tongue, but failed as usual. “With whom?”
Sterling cocked an eyebrow and a devilish smirk appeared on his face. “I don’t know yet.”
Raymond had to collect himself once again as he dealt with his only child. “Sterling, I don’t know why you insist on this reckless lifestyle of dating any human that crosses your path. I can’t say anything to Ben since he isn’t my son, but it really bothers me when you do it. We have blood at home so there’s no reason to go looking for it.”
“Maybe it’s not the blood I’m after.”
“Yeah. I know.” He shook his head. “A wife would be …”
Sterling cut off his father. “We’re not having this conversation again, Dad.”
Raymond raked his hand through his dark, thick hair. “I just don’t understand.”
Anger flashed across Sterling’s face. “Because unlike you, I don’t like to sleep alone.” He then drove off, his license plate, ’LOVR4U’, fading into the distance.
*******
Alex Brennan entered her therapist’s office and folded her long, lean body into her usual spot on the couch. Vanilla fragrance hung in the air from the candle on the window sill and assaulted her nostrils, leaving a sick feeling in her stomach. She hated the smell of vanilla since it always reminded her of this room. For a distraction she mentally reviewed her long list of things to do that seemed to never get done. A dentist appointment topped that list. Sighing, she thought how much nicer it would be to be getting a cleaning right now. Checking her watch, she realized she was early for the session. Damn. She hated therapy and definitely didn’t want to appear eager for it.