We bonded in darkness, over darkness.
Melanie Vaughn’s job ruined everything. Her social life, nonexistent. Her relationship with her boyfriend, a hostile roommate situation. She resolves to fix everything one snowy afternoon, but instead comes home to discover her boyfriend is already exploring other options. Blonder, bustier options. Rage drives Melanie to do the unthinkable.
When Soul Divider was on the top of the world, so was Ryder Maddox. When the band faded into obscurity, Ryder’s luck plummeted with it. In a last ditch effort to rekindle the band’s heyday, Soul Divider teams up with powerful vampire clan leader, Talis de Rancourt. In return for her services, the band pays the ultimate price for never ending fame.
Now on the run, Melanie meets Ryder in a middle of nowhere hotel. She never expected her teenage rock star crush to be as lost and as in need of a companion as she is. Their connection is all consuming, even before they find they share another kinship: murder.
The newly turned vampires in Soul Divider still have a lot to learn. The police and public begin to connect the girls that go missing or die in sync with the band’s tour schedule. Back at home, clues are also adding up against Melanie as well. Between constant media coverage and unrelenting attention from the authorities, Melanie and Ryder find themselves in uncharted territory.
Excerpt:
“What
the hell is she doing here?” Drake Bonham’s words alarmed me, waking me up better
than any cup of coffee could at four in the morning. I tried to hide my shock and
act as nonchalant as possible.
Did
I really want to explain what I was doing here? As much as I wanted a hole in the
head.
I let Ryder take the lead.
“She’s
coming with us.” Ryder didn’t look at Drake when he spoke, unaffected by the tone
of his inquisition. His eyes lost in the shadow of the bill of his baseball cap,
he continued playing with his phone. I stood nervously next to him as he perched
on his suitcase. I wanted desperately to reach out to him for some sort of comfort.
I didn’t, in fear that Drake would swat my hand like an old nun with a ruler.
“No.
Maddox, you know the rules. You double bag it and forget about the chicks when you
leave town.” In Drake’s eyes, I was less important than luggage. I wondered
about all the girls who followed the band around, hoping for a second of Drake’s
attention would feel listening to him right now, talking about me like I was
some cheap souvenir.
Ryder
sighed and shoved his phone in the pocket of his motorcycle jacket. “I’ve had enough
of the rules. They’ve already cost me my kids and marriage. How much more do you
expect me to give up for your band? She’s
coming with us.”
“That’s
right. My band. As your boss, I’m telling you we don’t need to be transporting groupies
all over the country.”
“Don’t
worry, she won’t cost you a cent. I’ll take care of her out of my per diem.”
“She’s
not coming.”
“Either
she comes with us, or I stay here with her.” The tension in the room was electric
as Ryder and Drake glared at each other, almost willing each other into a full blown
fist fight. The other members of the band hardly reacted, like this was a regular
occurrence. Great.
Was
I willing to destroy any more lives to enter some sort of parallel witness protection
plan universe?
I
was still recovering from the shock of learning that Drake regarded the other members
of the band like bad children who couldn’t think for themselves. If it wasn’t for
Ryder, Drake wouldn’t have ever written all of those songs, or had the success he
had enjoyed.
No
wonder I always liked Ryder better. I always thought Drake was a pompous ass. What
had Erin seen in him?
Even
a pretty face couldn’t excuse all that ugly.
I
put my hand on Ryder’s shoulder. “Listen, I don’t want to cause any trouble. I can
meet you there instead.” It might have been a good idea anyway. Otherwise, my
car would be left in the parking lot and I’d have no way to get home from
wherever they left me.
Like
I could ever go home again.
“No.
It’s no trouble at all. I want you to come with me.” He looked up at me but didn’t
smile.
I
could feel the steam rolling off of Drake as he crossed his arms in front of his
chest from the corner of my eye. I didn’t dare make eye contact with him, lest he
incinerate me with his glare. “It’s cool, I don’t want to cost you your job or anything.”
Drake
scoffed, but we both ignored him.
“You
won’t. If you’re going to hang around with me, baby, you need to get used to Drake’s
outbursts.” Finally the corners of Ryder’s mouth turned upward. I nodded and smiled,
sneaking a look at Drake. He rolled his eyes and shook his head.
An
awkward silence spread over the lobby as we waited to board the bus. I tried to
distract myself by looking at my phone. Friends back home were wondering how Jamie
and I were faring during the storm, with some even asking if we needed anything.
A friend with electricity and heat offered her house if the cold was too much
to handle. All the kindness overwhelmed me. I could probably still feign being a
power outage victim; it bought me some time before I had to start answering their
questions.
How long would it take before someone started looking
for us because we didn’t answer them? How long before Angela’s family started
searching for her, if not already?
I
attempted to focus, hard, on how excited I should be to be going on tour with my
favorite band. But all I could see was Angela’s two little girls.
I
focused my thoughts again. I’d never been on a tour bus before, and I wasn’t sure
what to expect. We boarded a small kitchen area first, and rows of bunks eerily
stacked like coffins, filled the middle.
“This
is home.” Ryder stopped at the top bunk off to the right side. He graciously took
my bag and slung it up on the bed. “The lounge area is in back, and the bathroom
is right here.” He pointed to a door at the entrance to the living area. “You know
the rules of the bus, right?”
“No.
What rules?” What I thought would be a party bus was turning into a boarding school
on wheels.
Ryder
chuckled and blushed. “I can’t believe I’m saying this to a lady. Serious business,
if you know what I mean, goes in a bag and gets thrown out the window.”
I
burst out laughing. “Why on earth would you do that?”
“You
don’t want to be traveling on a rolling cow patty.”
“Oh
my God.” I pictured myself throwing a bag of crap out of the window onto the side
of the road. “That’s so gross. Funny, but gross.”
“That’s
kind of what life is like on the road.” Adam, the drummer, piped in as he put his
stuff in the bunk below us. “Funny, but gross.”
“I
wouldn’t expect much else from five guys living on a bus.” I smiled at him. He winked
at me and headed back toward the lounge.
Speaking
of Drake, where was he? “There are only four bunks and there are five of you.” I
did a head count while looking at Ryder. “Where does Drake sleep?”
“He
has his own bus.”
“What?
Are you kidding? He’s too good to travel with you guys?” And he was concerned about
me costing too much money? Little did he know I could more than pay my own way.
And the bastard had his own bus.
“Something
like that.” Ryder shrugged.
Drake was obviously a sore subject. I needed to
stop pouring salt on the wound. Time to switch gears. “So what happens on this bus?”
“Oh
you know, a little of this, a little of that.” Ryder smiled, leaning against
the bunks, making his black T shirt ride up a little on his stomach, and
exposing the line of hair that started at his belly button disappeared into his
jeans. I forced myself to tear my eyes away.
“Do
the mice play while the cat is away?” I traced my finger along his jawbone.
“They
do.” He grabbed my hand, putting my finger into his mouth to suck on it. He had
some crazy sharp teeth. I thought I had imagined it while we were in bed together,
but now it felt like he practically had fangs. I’d never noticed that before. And
believe me, I’d spent a lot of time looking at Ryder Maddox in my life.
“Even
if it’s against the rules?” I could barely manage the words as Ryder’s lips made
their way down my arm, his eyes never leaving mine.
“Especially
if it’s against the rules.” He pulled me in close, nuzzling my neck.
“Jesus,
if you two are going to fuck, at least come to the common area so we can enjoy the
show!” A thick Scottish accent jeered from the couch. Thomas, the bassist who replaced
Chaz, had already cracked into a beer and had a game controller in his lap. “I’d
rather watch you, lovie, than fight these bloody dragons for the thousandth time.”
“She’s
not that kind of girl, Tommy.” Ryder pulled away, looking annoyed.
“They’re
all that kind of girl, mate.”
Ryder
rolled his eyes and smiled at me, shaking his head. “That’s why your credit card
is maxed out on porn. You need to treat a girl like a lady to get them to stick
around.” He turned back at me and pulled my face towards his. “I’m ready for a private
viewing.”
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