Depths: Southern Watch #2 (36 page)

He said nothing.

“I’m going to go get presentable,” she said, and brushed his cheek again. “And maybe,” she said, “after I’m done, we can spend some time together like a husband and wife should.” She paused, and he looked up in her eyes. “If you’d like?”

Still he said nothing, but after a few seconds, he found it in himself to nod. She smiled and withdrew her hands. Slowly, gently, and without taking her eyes off of him. She smiled all the while, that same gentle, lightly happy smile. She disappeared into the bedroom again, and he heard the closet door open as she rummaged for something to wear.

As soon as he heard her clacking the clothes hangers together, he fell onto his haunches. He sat there, eyes unfocused, staring at white walls of the apartment. He felt the hard linoleum floor under his buttocks through the seat of his pants. He could taste something in his mouth, something bitter from where he’d put his lips to her hands and smelled—

Arch drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. She hadn’t asked about his shirt. He was before her, shirtless, begging her forgiveness and she hadn’t said a word about it. He’d thought when he came in maybe she was too distracted, but she hadn’t said anything even before he launched himself at her in apology.

And now he knew why.

He held his hands up to his nose and sniffed again. They smelled of gunpowder from where he’d shot his Glock, over and over at Gideon while trying to stop him. It was distinct, it had a tang that hung in his nose, an aroma that couldn’t be mistaken.

When he’d held Alison’s hands up to his nose he’d smelled gunpowder of a different kind than was on his. Sharper. Stronger. As if from a gun that had far more power—and powder per cartridge—than his piddly handgun.

He heard the clack of the coat hangers moving in the closet as she stood there—like she always did—trying to figure out what to wear. The same old Alison.

But to his ears, every time the plastic hangars clacked together, he heard the roar of a sniper rifle barking down from a hill above him.

Where his wife had stood, raining hell down on his enemy from on high.

Return to Midian, Tennessee in

SOUTHERN WATCH

BOOK 3

Coming Summer 2014!

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Robert J. Crane

Robert J. Crane was born and raised on Florida’s Space Coast before moving to the upper midwest in search of cooler climates and more palatable beer. He graduated from the University of Central Florida with a degree in English Creative Writing. He worked for a year as a substitute teacher and worked in the financial services field for seven years while writing in his spare time. He makes his home in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota.

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First thanks goes out to all who helped make the launch of Called: Southern Watch #1 in the Sinners & Sorcerers boxed set so successful. In no particular order, I owe gratitude to the great Daniel Arenson, Scott Nicholson, J.R. Rain and Phoenix Sullivan, who managed the whole thing with the professionalism and aplomb.

I owe the greatest debt to my friend S.M. Reine, without whom this series would not even be seeing the light of day until 2015. She convinced me to speed things up and gave me a damned good reason to do so, and for that - and much more - I owe her my thanks.

Gratitude also goes to Jerod Heck and David Leach, who read through the book in its first draft form to help me pin down major screwups. Thanks, guys.

Karri Klawiter once more did the cover, and she deserves extra mention this time for doing a second round cover on Called (which she totally knocked out of the park!).

Sarah Barbour pulled editing duty on this particular work, and gave me perhaps the greatest compliment of my professional career after remarking that the Gideon scenes were so disturbing she felt like she needed to shower afterward.

Nick Ambrose came out of retirement to format this book on extremely short notice. I'm dedicating Girl in the Box #9 to him, but he deserves extra special mention for this, too, because he's just such a standup guy. Without Nick, my publishing career would not be where it is today, and for that he has my thanks.

In the last roundup, thanks to my mom and dad as well as my wife and kids. 'Nuff said.

The Sanctuary Series

Epic Fantasy

Defender: The Sanctuary Series, Volume One

Avenger: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Two

Champion: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Three

Crusader: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Four

Sanctuary Tales, Volume One - A Short Story Collection

Thy Father's Shadow: A Sanctuary Novel* (Coming Summer 2014!)

Master: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Five*

The Girl in the Box

Contemporary Urban Fantasy

Alone: The Girl in the Box, Book 1

Untouched: The Girl in the Box, Book 2

Soulless: The Girl in the Box, Book 3

Family: The Girl in the Box, Book 4

Omega: The Girl in the Box, Book 5

Broken: The Girl in the Box, Book 6

Enemies: The Girl in the Box, Book 7

Legacy: The Girl in the Box, Book 8

Destiny: The Girl in the Box, Book 9* (Coming Spring 2014!)

Power: The Girl in the Box, Book 10*

Southern Watch

Contemporary Urban Fantasy

Called: Southern Watch, Book 1

Depths: Southern Watch, Book 2

Corrupted: Southern Watch, Book 3* (Coming Summer 2014!)

* Forthcoming