The following text is an excerpt from the Paranormal Romance (currently untitled). In this excerpt, our herioine, Allyson Sparks, meets a genie hunter.
Ruby pointed to the old beige car across the street. Through the gauzy curtains, I could see a man in the car. “He’s the one that’s been following me,” she said. “I first noticed him at the grocery store over the weekend. He’s tall, with dark blonde hair, and around your age. Maybe a little older.”
He was just sitting in his car. I could go out and talk to him right now. But then he might drive off and I’d learn nothing. “I’m going to follow him and see where he goes,” I said.
I walked toward the back door, with Ruby on my heels. “You be careful,” she said. She stopped me with a hand on my arm. She grabbed a charm hanging by her back door and put it around my neck. I was careful not to roll my eyes at her superstition. “This will help keep you safe.”
I went through the gate between our fenced back yards. Ruby had some workmen install the gate when I was young so that I could join her on her back porch for afternoon tea. My parents’ cars were in the garage. Because I had visited with them before going to see Ruby, my SUV was parked in the alley behind the house. I had my keys and purse with me, so I hopped in and drove around the block, stopping about a block behind the Camry.
After doing nothing for ten minutes while hunched down in my seat, I called Ruby. “Hey, what are you doing right now?” I asked her.
“I’m in the kitchen starting dinner. Are you hungry?” she asked me.
I smiled. “No, but this guy can’t see into your kitchen. Can you get comfy on the sofa and start watching TV? I want him to see that you’re not doing anything interesting, so he’ll leave.”
“Sure,” she said, and hung up.
It was a cloudy Seattle day, and I saw the lamps in Ruby’s living room come on. Within a couple of minutes, the guy started the Camry and we were on our way.
I kept a careful distance from the Camry. I had seen TV shows where the chaser was spotted, and I knew the tricks. Keep 1-3 cars between you. Don’t make any sudden moves. Be careful with turns and lane changes. I followed him up the ramp onto the interstate. We went south to downtown, where we exited onto 6th Ave. After a couple of turns, he parked his car and got out. I drove past him and when he turned to walk up the sidewalk to his building, I parked my car.
I hurried out and followed him. He was doing something on his phone and didn’t notice me. I followed his path up the stairs and to apartment 205. As he pulled out his keys, I tapped him on the shoulder.
He dropped his phone and whirled around, eyes moving quickly as if scanning for an attack.
“Hi,” I said with a wide smile and slightly vacant eyes. “Do you live here?”
He looked more carefully at me. My long, black hair was loosely curled. The only makeup I wore was mascara. I was wearing black spandex workout pants with a matching tank top. I looked like I had just come from the gym. Which is technically what I did before going to visit my family. He relaxed and gave me an appreciative glance.
“I do,” he said with a wide smile. “Would you like to come in for a drink?”
Wow. That was easier than I expected. I looked at him carefully, probably seeing more than he knew. He was tall; at least 8 inches taller than me. His hair was dark blonde. It was short and brushed down on the sides, to match his thin beard. The top of his hair was a little longer and spiked sideways with a styling product. I was pretty sure that he had highlights in his hair, and that was definitely an expensive haircut. He had money, despite his cheap apartment. And he cared how his hair looked. That made him a little vain.
He was wearing slightly baggy military-style pants that fit his waist. I recognized the style as one that my MMA friends wore. They liked them because they made it easy to maneuver during a fight. He also had on a black fitted t-shirt. It was showing off his broad shoulders, thick chest, and ripped abs. I tried not to drool.
He wore heavy black boots, and a blue canvas jacket over his clothes. He was strong, and he was a fighter. I didn’t know whether to be frightened or turned on. I decided to be a little nervous. It was good for the soul.
His face. Wow, his face. I was pretty sure that my mouth was a little askew, and I hoped there was no drool. The man was beyond handsome. He was probably a little older than me. His beard didn’t hide his strong jaw. His deep green eyes were set tantalizingly deep under his thick eyebrows. Yum. He cocked one luscious eyebrow as I stared at him. Yeah, he knew how handsome he was.
I could tell by the way that he turned his back to me that he didn’t see me as a threat. And that he fully expected me to follow him.
His apartment wasn’t what I expected. He was, after all, a stalker of old ladies. I was surprised at how neat it was. He did have the requisite deep leather sofa and giant wall-mounted television. And sure enough, there was a motorcycle engine in his dining room area where a table should have been. I looked a little harder. “Ducati?” I asked him.
He grinned at me for the first time, and I lost my breath. He had a wide, even smile and soft lips. His emerald eyes sparkled and there were small lines around his eyes. “Yep. You know bikes?” He asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t have one, but I do like a good ride.”
He choked on his laughter and walked over to the bar cart sitting between the living and dining areas. He gestured at the bottles. “If you’re 21, what’ll ya have?”
It wasn’t exactly subtle, but I doubted anything about him was. “I am, and I’ll have a vodka tonic.”
As he mixed our drinks, I looked around at all of the books in his apartment. There was an open aerodynamic engineering textbook on his side table. I saw an art book under it. I walked over to look at the art piece above his sofa. It was surprisingly sophisticated. It was a large abstract piece made of painted metal pieces. “This is nice. It’s made of hard engine parts, but it’s very fluid,” I said astutely. I did take a history of art class in college.
He handed me my drink. “It’s an artist at the University. I commissioned it,” he said. He took a sip of his drink and then said, “Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but what’s a beautiful, art-appreciating, motorcycle-riding woman like you doing in a place like this?”
I put down my drink without sipping it. (I was a risk-taker, but I wasn’t completely stupid.) “I’d like to know why you’re following my friend.”
His eyes darkened and the muscle on his jaw twitched. “That depends. Who is your friend?”
“The red-headed woman that lives in Meridian. I followed you here,” I said. I wasn’t giving him Ruby’s name if he didn’t have it.
His body tensed. “Who’s asking?”
I put my hands on my hips and adjusted my feet to a wider fighting stance. “A concerned friend. You made her nervous.”
He twitched his right wrist and a short stick appeared in his hand. It wasn’t long enough to be a formidable weapon, so I ignored it. I repeated, “Why are you following her?”
He lowered his right arm a little, relaxing when I didn’t react to the stick. “That’s my business, not yours.”
I stepped closer, and he raised the stick again. “I’m making it my business,” I said, threateningly.
“He flicked his wrist and muttered under his breath. I felt a slight tingle between my breasts. I’d been feeling a tingle elsewhere since I saw him up close. But this was different. It was on the OUTSIDE of my skin.
I thrust my left hand out quickly and knocked the stick across the room, near the door. “What do you think you’re doing?” I asked, without moving my feet.
His eyes widened at my move and his body tensed. He glanced with longing at his stick. “Uh…” he said, and then his empty fist was barreling toward my head.
I quickly stepped to the right and felt the air of his movement against my ear. While he was extended, I grabbed his arm, twisted my body, and flipped him. I quickly dropped and locked my legs around his neck from behind, while holding his arm above his head. He tried to kick up and lift his body off the ground. He failed. I was restricting his air supply. He tried to kick and twist his body away from me. It only torqued his neck.
He gasped, “If you wanted to wrap your legs around my neck, you could have asked.”
I grinned from behind him and released his throat a little before he passed out. I said, “I have 3 black belts. I can knock you unconscious, search your apartment, and take your stick.”
He sucked in a deep breath, and I felt him relax. I did not relax. “I’m a genie hunter. Your friend has genie magic.”
I squeezed a little tighter. “You’ll have to tell me a better story than that. I think I would have noticed a magic genie lamp in her house,” I said sarcastically.
“I’m telling the truth,” he wheezed.