GENRE: Gay Paranormal Spicy Romance
LENGTH: 58,367 words
RATING:

Are you willing to commit murder to save your daughter?

Jinx Kilduff is in trouble. Big trouble. The leader of his community wants him to take out Gertrude, the leader of the Myrfolk community. To get Jinx to follow through, he kidnaps Jinx’s daughter. Jinx doesn’t want to kill Gertrude. He’s been trying to get her to take him in so he can escape the life he’s trapped in. Now he’s forced to kill her instead.

Namir Klossner wants to be left alone. He doesn’t want anyone in his space, so no one is more surprised than him when he offers a panther shifter from another community to stay in his guestroom. There is something about him that makes Namir want to keep him close. Mostly it’s because he doesn’t trust him, but he’d be lying if he said that was the only reason.

Jinx will do whatever he has to do to get his daughter back, but maybe there is a way other than to kill Gertrude. And maybe, just maybe, he can stay with Namir. There is nothing Namir hates more than vampires, so when he hears Jinx has a daughter and she is kept prisoner by one, he swears to do everything in his power to get her back ... and if he succeeds, maybe Jinx will want to stay with him.

EXCERPT:
Note: may contain sexually explicit scenes of a homoerotic nature.

Jinx groaned, put his elbows on the table, and cradled his head. “I have a daughter.”

When no one said anything for several seconds, he looked up. Namir glanced between him and Gertrude, but his reaction wasn’t important right now.

“Okay.” A small crease formed between Gertrude's brows.

“I didn’t tell you because ...” How much to tell her? “I proposed the meat delivery deal because it was the only way I could think of to have a legit reason to contact you.” He prayed she’d understand. Czar would’ve punished him for withholding information, but Gertrude didn’t act like Czar, which was the main reason he’d put all this into motion.

“You could’ve contacted me --”

“Not without Czar using my innards to hang me in the middle of the square. He’s paranoid on a good day, insane on a bad.”

She nodded, which had a spark of hope taking form in his chest. As a community leader, she must’ve heard stories about Czar.

“So I put everything in play, in hopes of gaining your trust.”

Gertrude didn’t look pleased, and Namir made an I-told-you-so sound.

“Because?” Her voice gave nothing away, and Jinx bounced his leg in a nervous gesture, which he cut off the moment he became aware of doing it. Fuck.

“I need out. I need to get Ximena out. Oakmouth is no place for a child.”

Gertrude frowned at him. “Then why didn’t you ask?”

“I ... did.”

“No, you didn’t. You said you might want to live in Myrfolk. It’s not the same as Help me, Gertrude, I’m in deep shit, and I need somewhere to stay.”

He stared at her. “I have a child, and I know you’re struggling.”

“And a mate?”

“No, no mate. It was a ... short-time thing.”

Gertrude’s eyebrows climbed her forehead. “You had a cub with a short-time thing?”

“Didn’t know she got pregnant until she stood by the community gate with a seven-month-old baby saying she was done, and either I take her or she’d leave her at a fire station or something.”

A low growl sounded from Namir. Jinx nodded in reply.

Gertrude tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “How old is she?”

“Four.” He said nothing about her not being a normal four-year-old.

“So she’s lived in Oakmouth for three years.”

He nodded.

“And you need out now?”

“I’ve saved as much money as I possibly can to be able to afford to move, to be ready when an opportunity arises.”

“But?”

“But there are no opportunities. I’m Czar’s second in command. He tells me what he wants, and I make it happen. No one will ever trust me, no one wants me in their community, and I don’t dare live among humans with a supernatural child.” The humans’ acceptance of supernaturals fluctuated over the years, but right now, it wasn’t safe to walk the streets without backup.

“So you played me?”

“I was hoping for mutual benefit. You got meat, I got to give my daughter a better life.”

“And Czar?”

“Has no idea, but he’s the reason I’m here.” Jinx sent her a pleading look and jumped when Namir placed a mug on the table in front of him, filled it with steaming water, and plopped a tea infuser in it. Jinx seldom drank tea. He didn’t dislike it, but since he couldn’t function without coffee it was what he chose to spend his money on.

“How’s so?” Gertrude nodded a thanks to Namir as he poured her a cup too, and then one for himself. He sat next to Gertrude.

Jinx took a deep breath and told them about informing Czar about the bomb in the truck, and how he believed Gertrude was trying to take over the Oakmouth community.

“What?” Gertrude scrunched her nose as if Oakmouth disgusted her. Maybe it did.

“He believes you planted the bomb in an attempt to ... I don’t know. He thinks you used Christopherson to shift the attention from you to someone else, and that you’re trying to take over the community.”

“By blowing up a truck?” Namir spoke for the first time since Jinx had started his explanation.

“It doesn’t make much sense, but yes.”

Namir looked at Gertrude, who looked shocked.

“And you’re here to?” Namir was frowning.

“Kill Gertrude.”