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    Deep Blues Goodbye
    Deep Blues Goodbye
    Deep Blues Goodbye
    Ebook148 pages2 hours

    Deep Blues Goodbye

    By Laura Harner and T.A. Webb

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    About this ebook

    The world might not have been ready for vampires when NOPD Detective Travis Boudreaux had the bad taste to sit up at his own funeral, but two years later, the new cause célèbre is civil rights for preternatural beings and most humans are on the bandwagon. Except whoever is killing vampires and wannabes.

    Detective Sam Garrett hates all things preternatural. Having your undead partner try to make you his first meal will do that to a guy. One final screw-up gets Sam banished to the Paranormal Criminal Investigations Unit—the Odd Squad—under the oversight of Detective Danny Burkette.

    Now it’s up to Burkette to work with Garrett by day and Boudreaux by night as they follow a trail of clues that leads from the historic cemeteries of New Orleans to the bayous of southern Louisiana. Under the all-too-interested gaze of a Master vampire and the local werewolf pack Alpha, they discover some lessons in life—and death—take longer to learn...and not all second chances are created equal.

    Warning: In this series the vampires don’t sparkle, werewolves kill, and the men sometimes have sex. With each other.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLaura Harner
    Release dateAug 17, 2012
    ISBN9781937252243
    Deep Blues Goodbye
    Author

    Laura Harner

    Laura lives on waterfront property in Arizona because she's always wanted to be an oxymoron. She once enjoyed hobbies such as gardening and travel—now the characters in her head compel her to tell their stories, so she writes. (It doesn't actually help quiet the voices—but it keeps the folks in the white jackets at bay.)She shares her home with an ever-revolving cast of characters—some of whom are actually real—and is living her dream of building her own version of the Willow Springs Ranch.With over fifty published novels and novellas, Laura is an international bestselling author of erotic romances, romantic suspense, urban fantasy, and Highland romances. Her books can be found at all major online retailers.Connect with her online at:http://lauraharner.com

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    Reviews for Deep Blues Goodbye

    4/5

    30 ratings2 reviews

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    • 2/5
      It was a bit all over the place and there were so many characters to keep track of. I'm not into vampire books so I didn't really have much incentive to keep going once I became frustrated.
    • 4/5
      I don't know if I should hug Laura Harner and T.A. Webb, so slowly strangle them. I might have to do both!

      I loved this take on the vampire genre. It's not necessarily different, or 'out there' (thankfully lol), but it's a beautiful addition to it none the less.

      The atmosphere the authors create is fantastic. I felt as if it could be happening right here, right now and I love that about a book. I won't lie; I was slightly confused in the beginning. There is a lot going on, with quite a lot of different characters and it took a little bit of effort to put them all in their places and be completely comfortable with them. But what a read it is once that was taken care of! The MC's draw you in and grab hold of you.

      Now to where I am ready to strangle the authors... a unfinished ending....a cliffhanger! My most hated of all endings! so please, hurry up and bring me the rest of the story, finished this time if I might say so. It would have been a 5 star review if not for the ending!

    Book preview

    Deep Blues Goodbye - Laura Harner

    Deep Blues Goodbye

    Altered States: I

    Laura Harner and T.A. Webb

    Deep Blues Goodbye is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

    Copyright © 2012 by Laura Harner and T.A. Webb

    Edited by Jae Ashley

    Cover Art by Laura Harner

    All rights reserved.

    Smashwords Edition Published in the United States by Hot Corner Press.

    ISBN: 978-1-937252-24-3

    Warning: All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without written permission, except for brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

    The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

    Contact the publisher for further information: Hotcornerpress@gmail.com

    Dedication

    To Tal who I love and miss so much, to Havan and Lee for helping make me a better writer, and to Laura for taking a chance on such an unknown commodity and making this project so much fun.

    Tom

    A very special thank you to all of you who have made this work a success: Angel Martinez, Dan Skinner, Havan Fellows, Jae Ashley, Lee Brazil, Talon Stephan, and especially the twin of my heart, Tom.

    Laura

    Acknowledgements

    The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmark mentioned in this work of fiction:

    The authors acknowledge the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following trademarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

    Barbie Dreamhouse: Mattel, Inc.

    Jose Cuervo 1800: Tequila Cuervo La Rojena, S.A.

    Angry Birds: Rovio Entertainment Ltd.

    Contents

    Dedication

    Acknowledgements

    Chapter One

    Chapter Two

    Chapter Three

    Chapter Four

    Chapter Five

    Chapter Six

    Chapter Seven

    Chapter Eight

    Chapter Nine

    Chapter Ten

    Chapter Eleven

    About the Authors

    Also Available

    Prologue

    It had been relatively quiet as far as cop funerals went in New Orleans. No parasol parades, no second lining through the streets, no brass instruments or woodwinds belting out the blues. Just a quiet memorial service, because the city had experienced enough shocks for one week…for one lifetime. The death of New Orleans Police Detective Travis Boudreaux should have made a splash, but the discovery that vampires were real stole his thunder.

    Cops from Baton Rouge all the way to the bayou showed up to pay their respects, but Sam sat alone at his request. Maxine Dupree, the division lieutenant at the time, stood to speak on Trav’s behalf, but she’d barely started when the strangest expression crossed her face. She hadn't been facing the crowded rows of officers. She’d been looking toward the open casket, at the dead Travis Boudreaux, his dress uniform crisply pressed, medals brushing softly against the heavy wool.

    The same Travis Boudreaux he’d held, he’d kissed, he’d been halfway to loving was now sitting up and looking at him from inside his own coffin. Looking at him for answers.

    "Sam? What the fuck is going on?"

    ~~~

    Sam? Hey, Garrett? You okay? What do you want me to do here? The nasal voice grated against his nerves and brought him back to the problem at hand.

    Stalling for time, Sam rubbed a hand over his shaved head and blinked rapidly, clearing the last of the cobwebs away. After two years, he’d gotten pretty good at putting that memory back in its box. Too bad the box never stayed shut for long.

    Should I enter ‘em into the spook DB or not? asked the obviously impatient Paula Hawkins. She was a sharp enough kid, but since she’d come straight out of patrol, she lacked the experience that gave a good detective the edge and the patience necessary to work a long case. It was his job to teach her those skills. Heaven help both of them.

    He looked over at the fresh-faced young woman and wondered what she knew of life. Did she have any inkling of just how quickly dreams and desires could slip through your hands? She’d not been on the streets long enough to understand all the ways people could fuck each other over. The way that life could crush your dreams. He’d give her a few months working homicides like this one…she’d catch on soon enough. He blew out a sigh.

    Two teenagers making out on top of a grave. Both staked through the heart. As senior detective, it was his call whether to transfer this case to the Odd Squad.

    The murder weapon…that was the key. He sat back in his rickety chair and considered. Sure, it could have been superhuman strength, but it also could have been a modified crossbow or spear gun. This felt a whole lot like that string of staged attacks the previous year—multiple reports of young vampires chasing people through the Vieux Carré that turned out to be a bunch of teenagers scaring tourists. There was no sense jumping on the paranormal bandwagon and turning this case over too soon. These kids were his now. He’d take care of them himself.

    Sam looked down at the open folder on his desk, then rubbed a gentle finger over the bloody pictures of Brock and Clarissa. High school seniors with their whole lives ahead of them and all they’d wanted to do was be undead. Ignoring his trainee’s eye roll, he went with his gut.

    Dumb kids doing dumb things. Dead is dead, and no amount of celebrity worship is going to change that. Just a couple of vampire wannabes, all Goth’d up and nowhere better to go than the cemetery to make out. Whatever happened to the back seat of a car? With the fresh wash of memories still a bitter taste on his tongue, his words came out more harshly than he'd intended. Drawing in a deep breath, he tossed the case file to Hawkins.

    Some stupid shit is out there murdering kids. I don’t care if this was a prank gone way-the-fuck wrong or if someone thought these two deserved to die. They’re ours now. We don’t need to bother the Odd Squad with this one just yet. Let’s practice some good, old-fashioned investigating, Detective Hawkins. You take the files and make a list of all the people you think we should talk with and we’ll get started.

    He looked down at the file one more time, reaching out to touch it and whispering to Brock and Clarissa. I’ve got you now.

    ****

    Two weeks later…

    Spanish moss hung from live oaks, and created the illusion of a lacy veil surrounding one of the oldest crypts in the cemetery. All the sounds he’d heard when he first arrived silenced the minute he’d stepped through the elaborately forged iron gate of the small enclosure. Nothing seemed able to penetrate. Not the sound of the nighttime traffic on I-10 as it curved around the city. Not the tinny, happy mix of drunken tourists and jazz. Not even the slap of flesh of the two kids who were fucking in the northwest corner, near the alleged tomb of Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau. As if the very unconsecrated ground on which he stood in this deepest, darkest corner smothered every sign of the living.

    Vincent shivered, despite his inability to feel the cold for nearly three years now. Something about this place gave him the willies. The last time he’d been to a cemetery, he’d destroyed two desecraters he’d caught fucking on the empty grave of one of the brethren. Of course, he’d taken steps to make sure it hadn’t looked like a vampire kill, because there was no sense in drawing unwanted attention. Given the sounds he’d heard as he arrived tonight, it was reasonable to assume the Master appreciated his previous work and summoned him tonight for a similar mission.

    Despite his reputation for violence, he might have just scared them off when he’d been alive. Maybe because they were kids. Now that he was dead, he didn’t fucking give a shit. God, these kids were stupid enough to fuck on a grave in these days and times, it was like asking to be killed. Kind of like that dip-shit vampire who’d been even younger than Vincent that he’d found trying to break into a crypt a couple of months ago. The stupid ass mighta fucked up one of the older vamps. Vincent took care of that little problem, too. In fact, maybe the Master would see his usefulness as an enforcer. He had plenty of practice, both dead and alive. He swallowed the laugh that almost escaped.

    A whoosh of wind brushed his hair and heralded the arrival of the Master. He bit back the flare of impatience that swept through him at the ancient vampire’s ability to fly. As a juvenile among the undead, his training was still limited to stalking and shadow-making. Necessary skills for the hunt. He smiled at that thought. Now that the Master was here, they would take care of business, and with any luck, he’d be invited for the night’s hunt. He’d never feasted as well as when he was with his sire after a kill.

    He lowered his head and waited to be addressed, the subservient pose his Master’s preference. He’d lowered his head for no man in life…but in death? There was no problem showing his sire the customary honor.

    With his head bowed, a second unexpected wind caught at his shirt. In less time than it took to blink an eye, he found himself pinned to the earth, awaiting his fate.

    Chapter One

    Wearing nothing but blue jeans, Travis stood staring at the inside of a nearly empty refrigerator. Type A or…well, shit, he was down to his last bag. All right, first on his things-to-do-list for the night was buy more blood. And something other than the bland synth-A flavor. He removed the bag and put it in the squat chrome Normalizer that sat on his counter like a normal person’s coffee maker, then pressed the temperature control to Human. He knew there were some vamps that used the microwave, but he preferred his blood freshly oxygenated and heated to precisely 98.6 degrees. Saliva pooled in his mouth and he slid his tongue over his fangs in anticipation even as his mind rebelled at the thought of drinking blood. Two fucking years and he still hadn’t come to terms with being turned.

    While his dinner hummed, Travis listened to the noise outside his French Quarter home. The sounds of a brass jazz band interlaced with the voices of happy tourists, the shouts of the harkers, the whores. Living on Chartres Street let him feel in touch with the humanity he was no longer part of. The timer dinged just as the sound of his own name brought his attention to a familiar voice floating on the evening breeze. Someone was talking about him on the street below his third story sanctuary.

    Sure, he lives here, but let me tell you something, Burkette. I’ve known Travis Boudreaux for close to ten years, and he ain’t gonna want to talk to you or anyone else on the Odd Squad. Jesus, slow down, would you? Maxine’s voice rasped out, full of smoke, bourbon, and brass.

    There’d been a day he’d counted her among his closest friends on the force, and the only one who’d known his secret, until that last case. After—he swallowed hard—after he’d been changed, she’d been one of the very few who would still talk to him. And she knew damn

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