BLURB:
Love, Trickery, Murder. All are abundant in
the Jewel City. Ben is a schemer and a pickpocket. He knows the city well...and
he is torn. Does he betray the woman he loves? Does he have a choice? Will he
follow his heart, firmly in the grasp of the beautiful Athena, or give in to
the unsavory life he knows?
EXCERPT:
Athena
reached for Ben’s hand before he could draw it away. His knuckles were scraped
and bleeding. She shot an angry glance at Nikolas and pulled Ben to a stool by
the bar. “You sit down. I’ll get something for it.”
“Why
are you looking at me like that?” Niki said. “You assume it’s my fault?”
“Of
course I do.”
“Well,
I told you, Ben got me out of a little scrape. What did you think?”
“Oh,
please...” Athena began, but Ben stopped her with a quiet word.
“It’s
true. It wasn’t your brother. That man wouldn’t have let it go.”
Athena
studied his face. It was a pleasant face under the weathered creases and the
soft swelling of his eye. She read sincerity in his look and it made her smile.
She wanted to be cross. She abhorred violence and it was all too common. But
hadn’t this man stuck up for her little brother? No doubt he was a victim of
Niki’s charms.
Athena
shook her head but couldn’t help a smile. Ben was smiling too. He began to look
more at ease.
“I
have a salve in the back. Wait here and I’ll get it.”
“Thank
you.”
She
felt his gaze follow her as she passed through the doorway. She was used to the
attention. She was also used to the beer-sodden whistles that usually came with
it. But Ben was nice. He seemed sweet...like her father. Yes, a sweet man. She
could tell.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Patrick Bran spent much of
his early life moving around. He traveled from the Middle East to Antarctica by
way of the US Army. When he returned home to Washington State, Patrick quickly
began what would become a lifelong involvement in theatre. His work in
stagecraft eventually took him to Washington DC, where he built scenery for a
nationally-renowned regional theatre. When progress demanded it, Patrick left
the scene shop and took the reins of the theatre's young web presence, a job he
has been doing for more than a decade. Patrick still lives in Washington DC
with his wife and two daughters. He writes fiction and gets his best ideas from
ancient history, myth and the legends of the past.
Website: http://PatrickBran.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PtkBran
Twitter: @PtkBran
Amazon Buy Link: http://amzn.to/1BxFHOu
Patrick Bran will be awarding a randomly drawn commenter a $15 Amazon/BN GC.
The more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:
Glad to share my book with your readers.
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