Broken

Table of Contents

 

“An exciting character-driven romantic suspense thriller.”

“
Fragile
is about the delicate balance of vulnerability and strength that can be brought on by trauma. It’s about love in the face of insurmountable odds. And it’s about suspense, mystery, and terror . . . All in all, this is an excellently crafted mystery and romance!”

“The suspense sneaks up on you like a good thriller should . . . One of the best contemporary romances I have read in an age.”

“A complex and intense story that addresses some very dark and disturbing issues . . . One of the most satisfying reads I’ve had in a while.”

“A fast-paced book that sizzles with suspense and sexual tension equally.”

“Walker is a master storyteller, and this book has everything you could possibly want in a suspenseful romance. I hope she writes more like this!”

“This book offers suspense, romance, and an ending that I can’t say anything about—because that would be a spoiler, yes? I recommend reading this one.”

 

“A page-turner from the very start. Intense and fast-paced, the action is gritty, the emotion heart-wrenching, and the characters lively. Sexy and romantic, this tale has plenty of action—of the erotic kind—and is loaded with suspense. No wonder Ms. Walker is loved by fans everywhere. This is a winner.”

“[A] romantic spine tingler . . . A sweet love story alternates with an exciting manhunt.”

“This is a great romantic suspense that grips the audience . . . Action packed.”

“Walker certainly has a future in paranormal and/or romantic suspense.”

 

“[A] hold-on-to-your-seat tale of demons, hunky warriors, and witches served with a mix of love and betrayal. Fun! If you enjoy otherworldly, action-packed adventures with a hot and steamy romance, this is for you.”

“A good read . . . Walker obviously has an unmatched imagination.”

“Action, adventure, and romance abound . . . An engaging tale.”

“A fabulous, action-packed romantic fantasy . . . Fans will believe that the world on the other side of the veil exists, which is key to this fine tale.”

 

“One of the best tales in a series that always achieves high marks . . . An excellent thriller.”

 

“Some of the best erotic romantic fantasies on the market. Walker’s world is vibrantly alive with this pair.”

 

“Action, sex, savvy writing, and characters with larger-than-life personalities that you will not soon forget are where Ms. Walker’s talents lie, and she delivered all that and more . . . This is a flawless five-rose paranormal novel, and one that every lover of things that go bump in the night will be howling about after they read it . . . Do not walk! Run to get your copy today!”

“An exhilarating romantic fantasy filled with suspense and . . . star-crossed love . . . Action packed.”

“Fast paced and very readable . . . Titillating.”

“Action-packed, with intriguing characters and a very erotic punch,
Hunting the Hunter
had me from page one. Thoroughly enjoyable with a great hero and a story line you can sink your teeth into, this book is a winner. A very good read!”

 

HUNTING THE HUNTER
HUNTERS: HEART AND SOUL
HUNTER’S SALVATION
THROUGH THE VEIL
HUNTER’S NEED

 

THE MISSING
FRAGILE
BROKEN

 

 

 

 

HOT SPELL
(with Emma Holly, Lora Leigh, and Meljean Brook)

 

 

PRIVATE PLACES
(with Robin Schone, Claudia Dain, and Allyson James)

Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia

(a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.)

Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi—110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand

(a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)

Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

 

Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

 

This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.

 

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

Copyright © 2010 by Shiloh Walker, Inc.

 

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions. BERKLEY
^®
SENSATION and the “B” design are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

 

PRINTING HISTORY
Berkley Sensation trade paperback edition / March 2010

 

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

 

Walker, Shiloh.

Broken/Shiloh Walker.

p. cm.

eISBN : 978-1-101-18573-5

1. Bounty hunters—Fiction. 2. Neighbors—Fiction. I. Title.

PS3623.A35958B76 2010

813’.6—dc22

2009044142

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

M
^AD.
Quinn could hear it in her voice: the old lady was mad.

Hell, screw mad. She was fucking pissed. Quinn swallowed the bitter taste bubbling up in his throat. It wasn’t a new thing, her being mad. She spent most of her life that way, or at least it sure seemed like that to him. At eleven years old, he couldn’t really think of a time when she
hadn’t
been mad over something.

Mad because she didn’t have the money to score some drugs.

Mad because she didn’t have the money to buy more booze.

Mad because the landlord wouldn’t take a blowjob in exchange for rent.

Mad because of Quinn—just because he existed.

Always mad about something.

Still, going by that shrill tone in her voice, he had a feeling it was worse than usual this time. He glanced around the dirty little apartment where they lived, calculating the distance to the door, wondering if he could get a window open without her hearing him.

Looking for escape, even though there wasn’t one.

It had all of three rooms, a main room where his mother slept on the couch, a kitchen that hadn’t ever been used, and a bathroom with a toilet that was permanently stained with urine and shit. He didn’t eat in that kitchen, and the only time he used the bathroom was when he had to piss or take a shower under the stingy showerhead.

When he could, he avoided even that. He’d rather sneak into a youth center and get a shower there. Sometimes he even pretended that he might stay, pretended that he could trust the adults there enough to think about staying.

He had found another nice youth center—he’d been going there for a while. It was clean, warm . . . safe. Not the nicest, but still. It was warm there. Warm, cleaner than anyplace he’d ever lived, the people who ran the joint didn’t yell at him . . . and they had books.

Quinn didn’t own a single book, but he loved to read.

He’d given up trying to keep any books for himself after what had happened the last time his mother had found his stash. She’d beaten him, but that hadn’t been the worst. She’d burned every book, right in front of him, tossing them into the sink and using her lighter to set the pages on fire.

All but one.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
. That book, she hadn’t burned. It had been a gift from a lady that worked at the Calumet Youth Center, a teen shelter run out of a church back in Indianapolis. It still had a card in it—Quinn had been using the card as a bookmark, unwilling to bend the pages of the book given to him by one of the ladies at the shelter.