Meilin and The Challenger
Futuristic urban fantasy/fairy tale
Blurb
Meilin King has never
believed in fairy tales. Happy ever afters might have happened in the old days—before
zombies. But this is 2089. When her father promises riches to the one who can
rid their city of zombies, Meilin and her sisters rush to develop a solution
that won’t bankrupt Dad.
The war overseas left Will MacGregor
disillusioned, but fighting zombies at home is a cause he can embrace. Meilin’s
another. Tough but sweet, she might make him believe in life again, and maybe
even love, if she doesn’t kick his ass first.
When zombies kidnap her
family, Meilin must rescue them. But can she and Will save them from the worst
fate of all?
Excerpt
A click sounded beside him. Meilin
propped a rifle to her shoulder and sighted her aim toward the advancing
zombies. “Let’s annihilate the party crashers, sisters.”
A lopsided smile quirked his lips.
“Not all the party crashers, I hope.”
Her stance steady, she glanced over.
“I might spare you.”
Oh
hell, I’m in love. Gunfire erupted on either side, but he
couldn’t tear his focus from her. Amazing, how she braced against the kick of
the rifle—her slight frame absorbed it and she fired away. Like you should be doing.
As trained, he lifted the Uzi.
Stunned, he could only watch as the girls split the zombies’ heads with one
shot apiece, the most efficient kill he’d ever witnessed. The zombies at the
front of the charge fell first. Those in the center scattered to either side.
Hell, these women didn’t need his help. If only the soldiers in his platoon had
been so deadly accurate.
Better
at least try to be helpful. He let the bullets fly. Too bad
the walking dead couldn’t run; soon they dropped to the forest floor with the
others.
The tallest blonde held a strange
set of binoculars to her face. “There, two more getting away.”
Hard to sight them in the dark. He
swiveled one of the dance floor spotlights in their direction. Momentarily
blinded, the walking dead stopped walking. Meilin and the tall blonde aimed,
and their shots cracked the zombies’ heads in two.
Meilin tapped his shoulder. “Aim the
light to three o’clock. I think I see a few more.”
She stood so close, he grew woozy. Cherry blossoms. He struggled to fight
off her intoxicating scent. He did as she asked, but his acute awareness
centered on her. Built the way he liked, petite but powerful. She moved with
purpose and grace, surety and intense focus in every action. Like the others,
she felled the three zombies with one shot each, in exactly the spot needed for
the final kill: their heads. Oh yeah, a woman who knew what she wanted and went
after it, a force to be reckoned with.
She rested the rifle butt against
her hip. “What do you think, Lakshme? More hiding out there?”
The girl with almond eyes shrugged.
“Probably.”
Yeah,
most likely. Better make sure. “I’ll do a sweep and check.”
The tallest blonde winced. “By
yourself?”
Lakshme smirked. “Aren’t we lucky?
Superman’s here.”
Meilin’s gaze swept over him. “Oh, I
thought he was the Green Hornet.”
The blonde’s lip curled. “Horn dog,
more like.”
What the hell was their problem?
“Hey, I’m only trying to help.”
“Good thing.” Lakshme’s voice turned
breathy. “We’re helpless girls, after all.”
Oh, man. Great first impression.
“No, I didn’t—”
Meilin raised her rifle and shot
three times in quick succession. “Three more down. Now we need to find out how
many we missed.”
A no-nonsense babe. Excellent.
The tall blonde jumped to the
ground. “Pull up the truck so we can dump the bodies. Wouldn’t want to ruin the
surprise for any latecomers.” She flashed a sardonic smile and headed for the
nearest carcass.
One sister disappeared into the
brush. An engine roared, and a delivery truck backed into the site, halted, and
the doors flew open.
Once they’d loaded the last of the
zombie bodies, Will blew out a breath. The tall blonde latched the door closed.
How did they all still appear ready freshly showered and ready for a night of
dancing? They had this routine down, to the last detail.
“What now?” he asked.
The tall blonde poked a finger into
his chest. “Now you forget everything you saw here, and we won’t have to
incinerate you with the rest of them.”
Forget? He glanced at Meilin. Not
happening. “You might find me useful. And I want to learn more about your
operation. It’s impressive. Mr. King’s looking to hire—”
The blonde grabbed his shirt, her
grimace eye level with him. “Don’t ever mention him again.”
Not speak of their father? He
studied Meilin for a clue.
She wrenched the blonde’s arm. “Back
off, Zoe. He’s harmless.”
Zoe shoved Meilin, who stumbled
backward and lost her balance.
Landing on her butt, she looked up
at Will with sadness. “Sorry.”
His heart lurched. Hopefully, not
sorry she met him. “For what?”
A hard thud to the back of his head
came in answer. His knees hit the dance floor, and he toppled over.
Book video
About Cate
Cate
Masters has made beautiful central Pennsylvania her home, but she’ll always be
a Jersey girl at heart. When not spending time with her dear hubby, she can be
found in her lair, concocting a magical brew of contemporary, historical, and
fantasy/paranormal stories with her cat Chairman Maiow and dog Lily as company.
Catch up to Cate
Twitter:
@CateMasters
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