A Mysterious Meeting Steve and Danni

J.E and I were talking about our characters one day and we decided it might be fun if the two met. Here is what happens when DARK RECKONING meets BANISHED WITCH (for Part 2 please jump over to http://www.jetaylor75.com)


"Damn rain," Steve Williams mumbled as he snapped the wet map in his hand and closed the tavern door behind him. Strolling to the bar, his eyes scanned the dark recesses landing on the stocky bartender. He slid onto one of several empty barstools. "I think I took a wrong turn, can you tell me where I am?"

The bartender continued to dry the beer mug in his grasp, his eyes flicking between Steve and someone just beyond him.

Steve glanced in the direction of the bartender’s stare and did a double take. A sexy blonde took the seat next to him, giving him a full view of her breasts with the sultry motion. She leaned forward and his breath caught in his throat, her ample cleavage teasing him and drawing a quick flick of his tongue over his lips while he dragged his gaze to her smoky blue eyes.

“You lost?”

He smiled and shrugged. “I really should know the way to Brooksfield by now, but I must have zoned out and taken a wrong turn somewhere. I don’t ever remember seeing this tavern on Route 4 before.” He turned, studying the rustic pine flooring and basic wagon wheel tables, all of which reminded him of an ancient tavern as opposed to a modern day pub. For an instant, he thought he walked into the early eighteen hundreds and he focused back on the woman next to him.

Her secret smile sent a shiver down his spine, breaking his skin into hard nubs of gooseflesh and shaking a sliver of illogical fear into his mouth. He forced the tinny taste down his throat and nodded to the bartender. “Corona please?”
The bartender’s hands stopped leaving the rag hanging out of the pristine mugs mouth like a dog’s tongue on a hot summer day. “Corona?” His eyebrows scrunched together.

Steve did a quick sweep of the bar, noting the absence of beer bottles lining the back counter, like so many of the establishments did these days to advertise their stock . Even the number of hard liquor choices was sparse and none of the bottles carried labels. This place was obviously a throwback to some earlier time so maybe they didn’t serve bottled beer here. The one draft tap seemed ancient and worn and he pointed his chin in that direction. “What do you have on draft?”

“Beer.”

The dust hanging in the air along with an uneasy twinge dried all the spit from his mouth and Steve suppressed a sarcastic comeback and nodded. “I’ll have a beer please.”

With a leery glance in the woman’s direction, the bartender pulled the rag out of the shimmering mug and filled it, the foam mounting and cascading over the edges as he set it on the counter before Steve without a word.

The bartender shuffled to the far end of the bar, busying himself with the other patrons and Steve raised his eyebrows at the sliver of dark amber liquid capped with a frothing head.

“I can fix that for you,” she said and stuck her index finger in the foam before he could protest.

He watched, transfixed as she stirred her hand in languid circles. The foam first clung to her delicate skin then receding to a thin layer before she pulled her hand away from the settling beer. Instead of licking her finger, she wiped it on the cocktail napkin and leaned back in her seat, studying him.

“Thanks,” he shifted under her inquisitive stare and glanced at his watch. He told Jack he’d be in Brooksfield in an hour and according to his watch; he was going to miss that meeting. Shit, Jack wasn’t going to be very happy with him. Not happy at all. Under normal circumstances, he would have gladly ignored his orders and spent more time getting to know the beauty next to him, but this time he couldn’t. A missing child’s life hung in the balance and finding her was more important than satisfying his over active libido. “What’s your name?”

“Danni.”

He took a quick swig of the beer, drowning the metallic lining in his mouth and replacing it with a bitter undercurrent. He looked at the beer in his hand and then at her sparkling blue eyes, cocking his head at the unfamiliar taste. Setting the glass down, he unfolded the map. “Well Danni, can you show me where we are so I can get back on the road?”

The map fizzled out of focus and he blinked it back just in time for her hand to cover his, her sparkling red nails shining under the increasing light.

Thanks J.E.Taylor for dreaming up a met between our two characters - Steve and Danni. It was fun.

Now Everyone Check out Dark Reckoning:


Blurb:

A sadistic killer stalks the secluded college town of Brooksfield , New Hampshire . With bodies piling up and rumors of the murders being part of sacrificial hazing rituals, the FBI plants Special Agent Steve Williams in a fraternity at Brooksfield University . His investigation takes a ninety degree turn into the bizarre when he’s introduced to Jennifer, a clairvoyant co-ed who swears the killer isn’t human.

Steve considers the plausibility of the extraordinary, the unspeakable, even the inconceivable when his notebook starts bleeding cryptic messages. Messages that indicate Jennifer is at the heart of the darkness in Brooksfield.

When she describes her latest vision, a trail of violent deaths, including his, Steve asks the million-dollar question: Is Jennifer trying to help . . . or is she actually the one responsible?

Find more about J.E.
at http://www.jetaylor75.com/

and purchase her book at http://fidopublishing.com/store/catalog

Anita