Tracking Shadows Blog Tour: Excerpt & Giveaway

Today RBtWBC is hosting the next stop on the Tracking Shadows blog tour with a special excerpt and giveaway!

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From the author: In the following excerpt, Trina has just tried to escape Micky's warehouse. Though he stopped her, he indulged in an ill-timed kiss. Calmer, Micky tries again to get Trina to give up the name of whoever hired her to kill him:

He shook his head and she felt his sadness as her own. "I'll let you go, but I can't stand the thought of you out there working against me. Hating me."

She seized the excuse like a lifeline. "No problem. I'll leave you alone. I was planning to leave as soon as I got out of here. You can just go on about your business."

"Business will be a lot easier if I know who my enemies are." He gave her hand a squeeze. "Much easier if I know you aren't among my enemies."

Trina extricated her hand, her affection chilled by her stupidity. Why? Why did she keep falling for his tricks? "Which is the mask?"

"What?"

"The scar or the perfect face? Which is the mask?"

"No one knows Slick Micky is gruesome if that's what you mean." He cleared his throat. "Anonymity is part of the reason I've lasted this long.

"Trina, the day of the attack, I was burned and the injuries nearly killed me. This thing on my face is part laceration and part assassination."

"What?"

"I was cut by flying glass and swamped by the ball of fire. The spray-on skin worked on the rest of me." He paused and she wondered what secrets he left unsaid. "When my face was ready for the treatment, someone had tainted the mix – "

"In the hospital?"

He nodded, reached for her hand, but changed his mind, drumming his fingers on his knees instead. "Yes. It was painful and ugly. It stayed that way for a time."

She put up a blank wall in her mind. Just a lovely, black span blocking that god-awful day from her and him. This would be her new, last memory of Joel. No matter his ideas of mutual trust, she couldn't stay here. Not after the things she'd done, the things she had left to do.

"By the time I was back on my feet, you were long gone. I even asked Sis to help me find out what happened to you."

She recognized the invitation to share and fought the impulse. "You really think kissing me senseless and getting chatty will make me give up my employer?"

The resulting chill from him was palpable. "I'd hoped." He sighed into the gloom. "The thing is you really don't know what you're up against, what war you've stepped into."

She searched for the words to disagree without giving herself away. "You were so kind to me. You weren't the criminal sort."

"I dealt contraband in the lunchroom, Trina."

"Like sugar's really gonna kill anyone. You know what I mean." She shifted, an idea forming. "Leave it behind. Come with me and let someone else take the heat. Chicago's not the only place to have a life."

"It's not that easy."

"It should be." Her temper was creeping up again. "You just like it here. You're high on the power and the title and whatever you've got running here."

"It's more than a title. It's a calling." He held up a hand when she tried to interrupt. "The point is I am Slick Micky now and I'm not ready to give it up."

She wanted to believe it was greed, pure and simple. Just hit the rewind button and go back to when Slick Micky was an anonymous bastard she could take out with impunity.

Except she recognized her dear friend in the depths of that green gaze, obviously holding out hope that she'd understand.

"I need information if I'm going to survive this latest attempt to put me out of business. Information I believe you have."

She sighed. They were back to the impasse and what a fool she'd been.

He pushed to his feet and stalked away from her. "When I got out of the hospital there was a void on the street. The guy who tried to kill me ended up killing himself. I took over –"

"And took advantage of everyone. The Slick Micky reputation is epic."

"For a reason." He returned to her, bracing his hands on his knees to look her in the eye. She held her ground, but it was no easy task. "Who's gonna mess with the man that can get you whatever you want at any price? Who's brave enough to try and break down his network? Rumors work to my advantage." His eyes traveled down her body, leaving ripples of heat behind. "Most of the time."

She slid away and stood up, wanting to regain some sort of equal footing. "What do you want from me?"

"Trust!" He pointed to his scar. "I've laid it out for you, you've got to believe I'm not really a monster."

"So you can eliminate your enemies?"

"So I can protect the people who depend on me."

"Joel."

He shook his head. "It's Micky now."

"Let me go do what I have to do." She wasn't sure exactly what that meant anymore, but she couldn't stay here, close to him. Proximity would only fuel her old fantasies. And his dedication to his team would forever trump and crush those fantasies.

"Why don't you stay and do what you have to do from the safety I can provide?"

She sputtered, a bitter blend of laughter and disbelief. "No. Not after –"

His hands landed on her shoulders. "I didn't kiss you for information." His lips laid a delightfully brutal claim to hers. The contact ended just as suddenly, leaving her reeling.

"Look at me," he demanded as she gasped for air.

It was impossible to disobey.

"That has nothing to do with your secrets." She looked down as he pressed a key card into her hand. "Neither does the offer. The room's one floor down. Stay as long as you want. Just don't attack my team. We're a family. One that is willing to include you."

Duly noted, she thought as he walked away. He thought he knew which buttons to push and it galled her that he wasn't too far from the mark. Sure they'd be willing to include her, right up to the moment they discovered she'd been sent to kill the boss.

Next Stop: June 17 – The Bookish Dame Reviews

Regan Black writes action packed paranormal and urban fantasy novels so readers can savor a fantastic escape from the daily grind. Raised in the Midwest and California, she now lives in the South Carolina Lowcountry where the abundance of history and legend fuels her imagination. Experience a Regan Black adventure at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords. You can keep up with Regan at ReganBlack.com, twitter @ReganBlack and Facebook.

~*GIVEAWAY*~

Regan is graciously giving away one digital copy of her novel, Tracking Shadows. 

To enter, just fill out the form below. 

The giveaway will end at 11:59pm on June 30th, one winner will then be selected at random and contacted via email.