Bargains and Betrayals (36 page)

I ran to him, my chair tipping over and clattering behind me. Wrapping my arms around him, I held on.

Around us, Cat and Max and Alexi pressed in close, crouched or kneeling.

“Oh, God,” Pietr whispered, cradling her in the crook of his arm and tenderly moving the hair back from her face. “You tell them, Dmitri—tell your masters—tell your
dogs
—” Shaking free of my grip, he set his mother reverently down and took the wineglass from the table. “Tell them there are no more werewolves in Junction”—he downed a dose in one large swallow, grinning at Dmitri with bloodstained teeth. “
That
time”—he grabbed Max’s mouth and forced it open, spilling the last of the cure into his mouth and along his face—“is over!”

He jumped to his feet and grabbed the stunned Mafioso. Dragging him to the front door, he shoved him into the cold outside. “Our deal is ended. I have nothing left to give you. We are all just men here, Dmitri, damaged, damned, and dangerous men. Leave. Do not come back—there is nothing to come back for. There are
no
werewolves in Junction,” he repeated.

The door slammed and I watched him sink to the floor, quivering as the pain of his final change overtook him.

From the dining room I heard Catherine, sobbing, and Max as he gagged and coughed and spit.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

By now you all should know I pride myself on being thankful to people who have made a difference in my life and my journey as an author.

Thanks goes out to Mindy Klasky (a great author of romances), who sat me down to talk, and later, via e-mail, introduced me to the amazing Richard Curtis of Richard Curtis Associates. Mindy and Richard—you rock!

To Panayiotes Asimakopoulous for doing the Greek translation for me!

To the beta readers who helped
Secrets and Shadows
become the best book it could be and stuck with me through
Bargains and Betrayals
: Alyson Beecher and Karl (the husband). You guys know this series from the ground up.

Likewise, Robin Wright—you’re one of the very first people I call when my brain’s become oatmeal, or I’m freaking over drama in the publishing world—well, the drama I
can
talk about. You may never know how much that means to me, that you’re around, but I hope you have a chance to make those same sorts of crazed calls to me (and soon).

Thanks to Christie Webb, the winner of Karen Alderman’s auction, which went to support both The Fisher House and Doctors Without Borders.

To the new betas who helped make
Bargains and Betrayals
what it is now: author Jordan Deen (another writer of werewolves!), who chatted with me about broken down vehicles, displaced alphas, and life in general, is an absolute sweetheart, and reminds me weekly when it’s Werewolf Wednesday; Lynsey Newton (the team’s witty Brit), who knows my characters very well and helped give me the courage to let what happens happen in this story—
so
very important; Saranna DeWylde (an author of spicy paranormal romance), who was the second Textnovel winner and is a scream; Anthony Mincarelli (the treasured male beta), who chewed through
Secrets and Shadows
and
Bargains and Betrayals
as quickly as a college schedule can allow, and fascinates me with the tech stuff he’s doing and has gotten quite good at talking me back from the ledge. During the course of much madness, these people have become more than beta readers or fans, they’ve become my friends. MINE.

Anthony gets double the thanks because the black and white Augmented Reality marker you’ll find on the next page (a paw print on a heart), which leads you to online fun well beyond this book’s paper pages, was his concept, too. Check it out!

And, of course, I’m thankful to the amazing team at St. Martin’s Press. Without these folks, the Rusakovas would be nothing: Michael Homler (an amazing editor who understands I occasionally freak out, and who teases me about stuff I have yet to learn about publishing—yes, there’s much he can still tease me about), and Eileen Rothschild and Sarit Schneider, who help make sure my books get into your hands. Their efforts mean so much!

And finally … Thanks to each of you who have embraced the Rusakovas, the Gillmansens, and all of Junction—you make their weird world turn!

If you have a computer with an Internet connection and a Webcam, you now have a special invitation to explore the world of 13 to Life more fully …

    1. Go to
http://13toLifeSeries.com/ARpawprint
.

    2. Hold the AR marker above up to your Webcam.

    3. Explore more of the world of 13 to Life!

ALSO BY SHANNON DELANY

13 to Life

Secrets and Shadows

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

BARGAINS AND BETRAYALS.
Copyright © 2011 by Shannon Delany. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

www.stmartins.com

ISBN 978-0-312-60916-0

First Edition: August 2011

eISBN 978-1-4299-8412-6

First St. Martin’s Griffin eBook Edition: August 2011