Gillian Zane's Blog: Romance Rocks

The Misfits Anthology Releases 11.7.18
20 Complicated love stories from complicated authors

Proceeds go to: ASAN – Autistic Self Advocacy Network.

Photography by: Eric David Battershell

Model: Josh McCann

Cover Design: Letitia Hasser

Release Date: November 7, 2018

Available everywhere eBooks are sold: Find them here | Add it to your TBR

This book has over 800 pages of stories with complex characters or relationships that might not fit the mold of what should be. The love stories are complicated and ready for you to fall in love with the twenty stories from:

Kimberly Knight
Elizabeth York
Heather Anne
K.Ries
F. Bradshaw
Casey Hagen
A.E. Folk
Stacy McWilliams
Jaime Russell
Sidonia Rose Author
Amber Nation
CL Matthews
Daisy Nathaniels
Author N Nieto
Emmy Gatrell
Cloud S. Riser
Gillian Zane
Sarah Ellison
Nikole Marshall
Sara Schoen

Gillian Zane brings zombies back! Set in the same world as her NOLA Zombies, you’ll go back to day ONE of the apocalypse with the Cajun Zombies…

What do you do when the U.S. military starts gunning down infected civilians in the streets? You…BUG OUT.

Captain Samantha Smith of the United States Army is on a mission to transition out of the military and get a real job. As a mercenary. The problem is, there’s a virus messing with her ability to get to Southern Louisiana and interview for the job. Flights are grounded, there’s rumors about New York being under quarantine, and now she’s forced to drive from Colorado Springs to the Godforsaken environment that is the Louisiana coastline.

The virus isn’t supposed to be a big deal, though. Or so the news says. As Sam gets closer and closer to the city, things get steadily worse. The iKPV virus might be running rampant in New Orleans. As chaos takes hold of the world around her, Sam steps up to command. She teams up with two soldiers who bring loyalty and stability to an uncomfortable mission that no one prepared them for as the military breaks down around them. Their new mission: Survive.

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Charged Releases Today
Charged: An Otherworldly Reverse Harem Romance

 

Bobbie Flemming was having one of those terrible, no good kind of days. Bobbie’s day gets even more interesting when she’s inadvertently bought at a charity auction and whisked away to an alien planet with not one but four hot aliens that are convinced she’s their charge mate.

 

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I asked readers to send me questions about the book that they would like answered. They didn't disappoint.
Questions about Charged: An Otherworldly Reverse Harem by Gillian Zane
























FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions About My Latest Release – Charged

Charged is an otherworldly reverse harem? What does that mean?

The book is in the Otherworld Series, and its a reverse harem so I shoved it all together in a subtitle. A reverse harem is a subgenre in the romance genre that usually involves a female and multiple boyfriends or mates in a polyamorous relationship. In Charged there is one heroine, Bobbie, and there are four heroes.

It says the man character is abducted, is there rape in the book? Is this a dark romance?

No. Not at all. The main character Bobbie is taken against her will at first because of a misunderstanding, let’s call it a cultural difference, but there is no forced sex in this book. This is the furthest from a dark romance, in fact I think it’s more “light romance” than anything since there is a lot of funny in it and hardly any darkness. I didn’t even kill anyone in this book! No blood either. Crazy, right?

Will this book end in a cliffhanger?

No. This is book 1 in a series, but each book will feature a new heroine and heroes with their own unique HEA.

So, there is no more Bobbie after this?

You might see Bobbie in the later books – because I introduce that “next” character in Charged, but she will only make a cameo in book 2.

I read the ARC and I love Bobbie’s character. I also love Roc – all of them! – who inspired you for these characters and the story?

I got the inspiration to write this at of all things a PTO school auction. They were auctioning off all this crazy sports memorabilia that I thought was going for too cheap. I had a thought that we should auction off the single dads in the group because those single moms would pay the big bucks for them – since they were such a hot commodity (the single dads at my kid’s school are scooped up quick). This led to the story idea which of course got changed a lot. But, Bobbie stuck and is actually inspired by a variety of single women in my life, but not one particular lady. Roc, well he’s named after his “looks” inspiration, but his character is a hard one to pin down. I don’t think any real person inspired him.

What is your favorite scene in the book?

I have a fave but it’s spoilery so I’m not going to go into details, you’ll have to read the book – it involves a dinner party and then a closet. My second favorite would be how the book opens with the auction – I had fun writing about how Bobbie and Roc first meet/see each other.

What made you write a science fiction reverse harem?

I’ve been hooked on the reverse harem genre for the last year so I was dying to give it a go, but the science fiction thing has always been my hook. I love anything scifi or fantasy. I’ve also been dying to write an alien romance – so there ya go.

Is there a villain in the book?

There is. There might be a few, but I don’t want to give anything away.

Can you compare CHARGED to any other books?

That’s a hard one. Not that I know of, but I’m sure I didn’t come up with something new. Before this, I didn’t read any RHs that involved aliens or space because I didn’t want to inadvertently influence my writing. I will say I was inspired by fun and quirky contemporary books like Emma Chase’s Royally series and fun teen television shows like Star-Crossed, so let’s just say it’s like the Royally series meets Star-Crossed in outer space? Does that work?

Will there be lots of sexy-time in Charged?

Yes. *nods* Yes.

Who will be the heroine of the next book?

You’ll find out soon…

 

Have a question you would like answered? Ask in the comments.

 

Coming 9.18.18 a Scifi Reverse Harem














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The Otherworlds Series
Charged by Gillian Zane





















Bobbie Flemming was having one of those terrible, no good kind of days.

Her boss yelled at her because of something a co-worker did, her sometimes boyfriend was getting engaged to another woman, and she wore two different shoes to work. To make matters worse, she agreed to be in a charitable “most eligible” auction for her friend Chuck, who won’t speak to her if she doesn’t show up.

Bobbie doesn’t feel most eligible, and she definitely doesn’t feel like going on a date with someone so desperate they have to win her in an auction. But when two of the hottest men on the planet, who happen to be twins, show up and outbid everyone, Bobbie thinks she’s won the lottery. Until the one in charge opens his mouth and she realizes he’s bat sh*t crazy.

Now, Bobbie’s being whisked off, without her consent, to the middle of Central Park—and what is that—a spaceship?

This was how Bobbie finds herself stranded on an alien planet, with not two, but four incarnations of the same man. (They do that on their planet, it’s like their thing.) And all four of these hot alien males think Bobbie is their fated Charge Mate. All Bobbie knows is she didn’t sign up for this. Sure, the sex might be awesome, and the guys might be super-hot, but what does it take to get back to Earth where everything is normal, and there aren’t Emperors who want to kill her?














 

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Have you witnessed someone do something that made your teeth grind in frustration? Something that made you wish karma exists? I know I do…every day. I would like to introduce you to my next series:








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A NEW SERIES FROM GILLIAN ZANE
Six Books. Six Cases. A whole lot of crazy.
























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An Urban Fantasy Serial













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Free on Kindle Unlimited













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Monthly Releases Start July 26th
























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Karma’s a bitch…and her name’s Cassie. 

Working for Karma Incorporated might sound like the best job in the world, but there’s one really big catch: you’ve got to die to get it. Cassandra Mercier died at the ripe old age of twenty-one and is now gainfully employed by the Afterlife Corporation as a Karma operative. Her job duties include manifesting bad karma on unsuspecting victims.

Two months into her internship Cassie is promoted and given her first solo case. His name is Bishop and he is a cheat. He needs some bad karma, and Cassie’s the right girl for the job.

Inflicting a bit of payback on this cheat should be easy for Cassie, so she gets permission from her boss to do a little investigating on her own time. Investigating into her living life, the one she can’t seem to remember. The only problem, she is forbidden from doing the digging herself. Afterlife Corporation rule. She can hire someone to look into it for her, though, and that someone turns out to be Drake Greco. She regrets her decision the moment she walks into his office…

Cheat (Karma Inc. Book 1)

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Now scheduling a Cover Reveal and Release Day Blitz for Cheat by Gillian Zane

The reveal will be July 15

The Blitz July 26

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Limited ARCs Available

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The Haunted Sultan by Gillian Zane
Releasing June 15th























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Skeleton Key Book Series

One Skeleton Key. Endless Adventures.

The Sultan’s Palace is one of the most horrific tales of New Orleans’ historic French Quarter. The Sultan, a Turkish man who lived there in the late 1800s, is said to be seen staring down at people on the street from the third-floor balcony of the house nicknamed The Sultan’s Palace. On most nights in the French Quarter, haunted tour groups traipse past the majestic house while tour guides weave tales of mass murder, thieving pirates and jealous brothers…but none know the real truth.

Sierra is spending her twenty-first birthday with her best friend in New Orleans. It’s Halloween and what better way to celebrate the night than on a spooky haunted tour? Sierra has to have the whole package though, and with her best friend leading the way, they find a costume shop down a dark alley and a mysterious shopkeeper who has the perfect costume for her. She doesn’t want money though, only a favor, help the one that asks. Clothed in a breathtaking costume, with a mysterious key around her neck, Sierra goes on the haunted tour and quickly forgets the strange shopkeeper, especially as she strikes up a conversation with Owen and sparks begin to fly. She doesn’t remember the words of the shopkeeper until someone asks for help…and the key around her neck opens the door to the Sultan’s Palace.

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Releasing June 15

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The Haunted Sultan is inspired by a real haunted house located in New Orleans’ French Quarter. The building that sits on the outskirts of the historic French Quarter is nicknamed The Sultan’s Palace and is one of the most haunted homes in the area.

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The Haunted Sultan is about two girls that come to New Orleans to celebrate their twenty-first birthday. Both girls are sheltered and they are looking forward to letting their hair down and experiencing something different. Their birthdays also happen to be on Halloween, which is an interesting time in the Quarter.

Cecilia, wants to take a ghost tour and talks her best friend Sierra into joining her.  Ghost Tours are a big deal in the Quarter – and they have all sorts of tour guides that like to dress up and scare the tourists.

Sierra, the fabulous main character is not thrilled about going on a ghost tour. She wants to go to a bar and flirt with other tourists. Which is what you’re supposed to do in New Orleans. She even has a list of all the bars to hit and what drink to order at that bar. Most French Quarter bars have a signature drink. At Lafitte’s it’s called the VOODOO. It’s a purple frozen slushie made with everclear. Good luck with that one. 

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Sierra is not that thrilled to go on a Haunted Tour because she doesn’t have a costume. So, her best friend drags her down a dark alley and to a tiny little costume shop where the shop keeper presents her with the perfect costume and a skeleton key…not for a price, but in exchange for a favor. Just one tiny favor…

To Sierra’s delight the tour isn’t filled with geriatrics with fanny packs…some are even drool-worthy. Including Owen, who she can’t seem to resist…

 

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Releasing June 15

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Justice is Coming...

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Which is why I’m releasing this one on Mardi Gras Day!

And do you know how we celebrate in New Orleans during this time of year? With Cake. Lots and lots of cake! King Cake that is. There is nothing better than lots and lots of preorders unless it is lots and lots of King Cake.

I want to get lots of PreOrders for Justice – and I want to give everyone who preorders Justice a hug. So if you PreOrdered Justice – this is me giving you a virtual HUG.

{{{{ HUG }}}}}

Did you feel it? Well, I tried.

I want the release of JUSTICE to be huge! I want to have parades on my release day and get hit in the head with plastic beads. I want someone to flash me their tits in celebration of the release of my book!!!

How about a King Cake then? I’m going to reward one random person that PreOrders Justice with a King Cake. Now for those lots of PreOrders -> If I meet my PreOrder goals by 50% I will add another King Cake. Everyone wins! Well, technically three people win. Me, and the two King Cake winners. That is gonna be you! I know it. Then…once I hit 100% of my goals I’ll send out a HUGE Mardi Gras prize pack, including beads I catch myself on Mardi Gras day.

Yep! That is going to be off the charts. King Cake. Beads. PreOrders. Maybe even a plastic “to-go” cup. Everyone wins!

How does one win?

There is no purchase necessary. You get one free entry. But if you PreOrder Justice you get a lot of extra entries and the more PreOrders I get the more chances to win! Use the Rafflecopter widget to enter to win. Good Luck!

Shipping is U.S. Only (No P.O. Boxes)
You will receive a Sucre King Cake – voted one of the best King Cakes in New Orleans





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The NOLA Zombie Prequel – SHTF – cover is here!!!!

 

It’s beautiful! But I’m biased. What do you think? That is Romeo on the cover…he’s all upset. You have to read the book to find out why!

An action-packed prequel to the Amazon bestselling NOLA Zombie series. This isn’t a romance…there aren’t any happily-ever-afters, this is just Romeo’s fight for survival and how he became a NOLA Survivor.

It’s Friday night in New Orleans and Tim “Romeo” Voiter has the night off. A night of rest and relaxation is something new for the former Marine, and he’s looking forward to enjoying a fun night out with his buddy, Lucas Martinez.  The two men try to ignore the emergency broadcasts and news about the spreading iKPV virus and just enjoy the evening. Romeo, true to his name, even hooks up with a hot redhead and plans on ending the evening at her place.

Plans come crashing down, though, as he comes face to face with what the iKPV infected really looks like–and it is not like any infection he’s encountered before.  Knowing the media is sugarcoating the virus and things are about to get a lot worse in his city, Romeo talks his family into leaving their urban home and bugging out to a more secluded and secure area; the compound his employers own at the edge of the city, deep in the marsh that surrounds New Orleans. But, as the infection spreads and New Orleans begins to fall under the chaos of victims gone made with the virus, Romeo begins to realize that the “stuff” has hit the fan in New Orleans and things will never be the same for the Voiters.

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Releasing December 22nd

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Unedited Excerpt from SHTF by Gillian Zane

ONE | Hipsters & Death Threats

Going from the lobby of the Royal Sonesta to a very hot and smelly Bourbon Street was surreal. The posh decadence of the hotel, along with its chilly air-conditioned halls were in startling contrast to the outside world. Lucas Martinez and I stepped out of the elegant interior of the hotel and onto the cobbled streets of the French Quarter and just stood there taking in our new environment. The jazz band across the street belted out a raucous tune and the laughter and catcalls of the party-goers walking up and down the street created a buzz of excitement that saturated the whole crowd. There was no place like New Orleans.

We were both now officially off-duty and standing in the middle of the French Quarter. It was strange. Made my skin itch under the surface.

Having Friday night off was a new thing for me. Being on domestic soil on a Friday night was even more out of the ordinary. Hell, I wasn’t used to being a civilian yet, so this new freedom felt odd and I didn’t know quite what to do with it. Granted, I could easily entertain myself, I was pretty good at that, but it was still an odd feeling.

I liked being on the job, I liked keeping busy, I never knew quite what to do with myself when free-time loomed in front me. I had to fill it up somehow and lately that seemed to be with women or drinking. When I wasn’t doing that, I was training or doing a detail. My family would have liked to have me with them, but that was another sort of drama I wasn’t equipped to deal with.

Which brings me back to Friday night. I had a whole weekend looming before me, forty-eight hours of free time. Our client had just relieved us of duty and I had no other job lined up until Monday.

It was going to be one of those extremely hot New Orleans summer weekends, I could already feel the sweat dripping down my back from the two minutes standing on the street. We were still standing in front of the hotel and the door would open, when tourists left and entered the building, each time a crisp, air-conditioned wind would blow past us, our only relief.  I decided, right then, I would make a goal, one that I would stick to this weekend–stay cool and stay inside, preferably in bed with a hot redhead. I had redheads on the brain.

Martinez and I had just been on a standard protection detail for one of the high-roller celebs that like to frequent the Big Easy.  With the skyrocketing murder rate and the threat of some kind of viral infection that was spreading in most of the major cities, we were constantly being called to escort New Orleans’ wealthy as they went about their business. The world was going to shit, lucky for me, when the world went to shit, everyone wanted a grunt at their side.

LIVE Releases Today!
Read the First Two Chapters Here...















Alexis' Story Comes To A Close in LIVE (NOLA Zombie #3)

























ONE | Denial 101
Blake

It took ten minutes to figure out something was wrong. I should have fucking seen it. I should have been paying attention. I saw the look Clara was directing at us.  I saw her get up and follow Alexis down the hallway. I just didn’t think that Clara would have the stones to pull off something like this. She was such a behind-the-scenes operator. She never got her hands dirty.

It took me by surprise and I don’t like surprises.

I just sat there waiting on an emotional high because of what we had accomplished today and what might happen tonight. No alarm bells, the       hyper-awareness that I’m so proud of failed me. Of all the times, of all the situations! 

Four tours, four official tours at least–don’t get me started on unofficial ones–and I didn’t sense the danger staring me right in the face. Danger from an enemy that I had brought to our gates. I had brought her in. I had given her a free pass.

Bubba was the one that alerted us, fucking Bubba was the only one paying attention. He came barreling through the front doors like an enraged bull. His hollering caused everyone to jump to their feet scared and on alert. The first thought in my mind was that we were under attack. He had been grabbing a smoke outside and saw the entire thing or at least the part where the SUV rammed the gates of our compound and headed off to God knows where.

“Who’s missing? I need a headcount now!” Zach yelled when Bubba ran in and reported the breach.

“I think it was Alexis who was driving, and she had someone else with her,” Bubba panted.

Everyone had been at the party except the four on guard duty and they all radioed in confirming they were still at their posts. It was obvious there were only two missing from the party as we milled around counting heads.

“Alexis and Clara,” Baby shouted after she had made a circuit around the room. I knew this, but the confirmation was crippling.

“Get a vehicle loaded up, Hannah, I want you and Romeo fully armed with us. Grab the spotlights,” I yelled. “Now!” I reiterated when she stalled and looked to Zach. Six months away and now she second guessed me, deferring to Zach, fuck.

“You can’t go out at night, Blake.  You don’t know what you’ll find out there.” Grace Peters walked up to me.

I didn’t need arguments. I didn’t need resistance. I needed action. I said nothing to her and whatever was visible on my face had her stepping back and grabbing her husband by the arm as if to protect him. I wasn’t going to take her husband with me.  I don’t know why she would even get involved in this situation.

I needed to find Alexis now. Day, night, nothing mattered but finding out what was going on. I needed to know why Alexis would have rammed the gates and taken off with Clara. Why would she have done that?

What would have made her do this? Did Clara threaten her with something or did she take Clara to get rid of her?  I couldn’t believe either scenario.

“We have no other choice. It’s either now or we might as well write them both off as dead,” I said through clenched teeth when Cole Peters tried to take his wife’s side, arguing about the lack of visibility.

“Hannah, Romeo, you down?” I didn’t want to force anyone to go out at night, but I was going with or without them.  Both of them nodded in the affirmative.

“Fall out, two minutes,” Zach called, and I rushed upstairs and quickly slipped on my arm guards, thick leather jacket, and random pieces of bite-proof armor.  I armed myself quickly, slipping enough ammo and weapons to take down an army into my many pockets and holsters. I was back down in the cafeteria in less than 60 seconds and in under two minutes we were sliding into the SUV with Zach behind the wheel.

He stopped long enough to shout to Martinez, who was about to go on guard duty, “Get the gate fixed STAT!”  Then he tore off, gravel shooting out from the tires as he raced to the bridge.

Zach followed the most logical path in a slow methodical pace. We drove up the main drag and Baby and I shined the spotlights on the marsh next to the road, looking for any sign of the missing SUV. We found nothing, nothing at all. When we hit Highway 90, we had two choices, left or right, to New Orleans or Mississippi. Which way would she have gone? Who was in control, Clara or Lex?

All these questions stormed around in my head, but it came down to one…who was in control?

It had to be Clara. Alexis wouldn’t have done this; Clara was the unstable element in this equation. It was the only logical conclusion. Her actions had been illogical and erratic for the past year and had only increased in oddness since we got to the compound.  She claimed it was because of her pregnancy and the miscarriage, something about postpartum, a fact I doubted. I had begun to doubt the pregnancy altogether on the trip back from Houston. She would have said anything to get me to Texas. It took going out there, unfortunately, to realize this.  The fact that she continued with her charade even after the infection happened showed how off-base she was. She would have done and said anything to get me to go to her and now that she didn’t get her way she was taking it out on Alexis, the easiest person to blame.

It rang true.  My instincts never lied.

“Right,” I called to Zach. “She would have gone right.” She knew about the men we had tangled with earlier; it was the most convenient out for her. Blame them, play the victim, something she was really good at.

It took us ten minutes to find the SUV. It was crashed into a guard rail, the keys still in the ignition. I jumped out of the vehicle, gun drawn, but there was no sign of life. We were maybe twenty minutes behind them, but they were both gone. Hannah had the spotlight and was shining it on the ground around the SUV. The driver’s door was open, and there was glass all over the ground. I had Baby point the spotlight at the ground by my feet.

“Shit,” I cursed.

Scattered on the ground was glass from the passenger side window and I could see the unmistakable red tint of blood. I looked into the vehicle and saw a casing on the floor of the driver’s side. I picked it up.  It looked like it was from a 9-millimeter round. It obviously discharged in the vehicle and blew out the driver side window. What was the blood from? The driver fell out of the car and bled onto the glass from a wound sustained by the shot fired? It wasn’t a lot of blood, the injury must not be that bad. It was hard to tell.  Now the question was, who was driving? Who fired the weapon? Who was hit?

Bubba had said he thought it was Alexis driving.

“Blake, look at this,” Zach said from the passenger seat. I went around to his side and immediately noticed the dark wet stain on the cloth seats. The seats were a dark gray, so on first glance it could be anything, water, piss…I ran my finger through it and it came back red.

“That’s a lot of fucking blood,” I said.  The seat was saturated.  It was a lot more blood than what was outside mixed in with the glass.

“The shot came from the passenger seat, but it looks like the passenger sustained the most damage.”

“Got something out here,” Baby called, her light pointed at the road. I quickly walked from around the vehicle to the middle of the highway. There was more blood and Alexis’s knife, coated in blood, was just lying there on the asphalt. There was a piece of material on the ground. I recognized it immediately as coming from her shirt.

“There are tire tracks over here,” Romeo called. He had been scanning the area with the other spotlight. “It looks like they turned around and headed east.”

“Shit, what the-” Romeo yelled, and his light clattered to the ground.

I holstered my gun and withdrew my machete from the homemade case I had rigged at my hip and rushed to Romeo’s side. There were three Z’s coming at us.  One was on him, yanking at his thick clothing. I dispatched the first one, the one closest to me; it was a male, and it only took one slice to cut in deep enough to take him out. The blade went in cleanly and I yanked it out without any resistance, wiping the blood off on my jeans.

I turned and saw Baby had her spotlight up and was shining it on the area surrounding us. Romeo had taken out the other two.

“Are any of them her?” Zach called, desperation evident in his voice.

That idea hadn’t even crossed my mind. But now, after Zach voiced it, the thought overtook me, my breath hitched in my chest, panic flooded my system.  Was this what a panic attack felt like? I shined my light on the three dead Z’s that lay at my feet. They weren’t fresh. Their flesh was decomposed so badly that they were hardly recognizable as human.  Their eye sockets were gaping holes; their lips were eaten away and their noses were only a fleshy mound of cartilage. She wasn’t one of them.

“She’s not one of them.” I put a hand reassuringly on Zach’s shoulder as he walked up to me. He was shaking.  I could feel the trembling through my gloved hand. I had served two tours with Zach and I’d never seen him break a sweat, much less physically react to a situation. Zach was always cool and collected, an ice man compared to me and the other Raiders. I had felt like some emo douche next to him, all fucked up over Clara and her bullshit, and now with Alexis and this stupid crap between us. My off-the-cuff emotions were always getting me in a bind. Zach had been the voice of logic and reason, and now he was about to tumble over the edge. It was sobering.

“What the fuck did that bitch do to her?” His voice was tight, and it came out in a growl.

“We don’t know if this was Clara,” I said. I was used to defending her.  It was second nature even though I knew it had to be her. She had to be behind this.

“You’re a fucking idiot.” He turned to face me and there was pure hatred in his eyes, so much so that I stepped back. I didn’t want to see that hate directed at me. This was Zach. The same Zach who had my back for the last eight years that we had known each other, who always set my ass straight without so much as a raised voice.

“You’re right.” I held up my hands in a “we come in peace” gesture to placate him. His hands were clenched in fists like he wanted to hit something and I didn’t want that something to be me. “It had to be Clara. She must have forced Lex out here, but someone else got them…” I backpedaled, not enjoying having to back down, but I couldn’t make excuses for Clara anymore. My instincts told me she masterminded this. I didn’t like admitting to Zach that my ex was responsible for it though. This was a person that I had brought into our sanctuary. This was all my fault.

I did this. 

I fucked up again and Lex was probably going to die because of my stupidity.

Fuck. Fuck. 

The feeling was too much.  I squeezed my eyes shut and turned around, slamming my fist into the side of the wrecked SUV. The pain in my fist shot sweet clarity through me. She couldn’t die. I wouldn’t let her die.

“You think someone else found them, maybe heard the gunshot?” Baby said, her voice calm and level-headed compared to my chaotic insanity.

“It had to be unless Clara had some arrangement with another group. Did you come across any other people on your way here? She hasn’t left the compound since she got here, right?” Romeo asked me.  I could tell by his calm tone that he was trying to talk me down. I rubbed at my face trying to think. She hadn’t left the compound since we got here. She had been so lazy since we arrived, not doing anything that required manual labor, no supply runs, no clean-up, nothing.  I should hate the bitch. 

“No, the only other group we came into contact with I took care of.  The others we brought along,” I said, surprised at how calm my voice was.

“It could be those men from earlier; maybe they were scouting the area trying to locate our compound. They had to know we were in this part of the parish,” Zach said.  He crouched down next to the tire tracks and ran his fingers through the disturbed mud.

“They’re the only ones in the area that we know of beside the family in Venetian Isles,” Romeo added. “It’s a logical place to start.”

“We’ll send someone over to Venetian Isles first thing. We need to ask those people if they’ve noticed anything strange lately or any movement. We need to get a line on this group near Pearl River. If it is them; if they’re the people that took Alexis, I’m going to kill them,” Zach stated calmly.

“Oorah,” I said in agreement.

“Then I’m going to kill Clara.” Zach declared as he caught my eye and didn’t blink. My whole body clenched in denial at his statement. He was talking about a woman I had married, a woman I had known since high school, someone I thought I loved, a non-combatant female to put it simply.  No matter what she had done, I couldn’t just sit back and accept his cold declaration. I had no issues with killing the enemy, predators, criminals, especially ones that preyed on the weak.  I had even taken down women in the sandbox. They weren’t my proudest moments though. Those had plagued me more than the rest, even though they had been trying to kill our men. They always came in with bombs strapped to their chests on a suicide mission–chaos and death the goal.  Those were few and far between, but it didn’t matter.  They were still female. I had still taken their lives no matter what the intentions were.  I wasn’t programmed to hurt women, regardless of the circumstances behind their actions. I couldn’t let Zach kill Clara, no matter what her intentions were. Yes, if she came at him with a gun, but not in cold-blooded revenge.

But from what I could tell, her intentions had been to take out Alexis, to either force her from the Compound, forced exile or to bring her out here to kill her. It was the only thing that made sense. For Lex to drive out here, to break down the gates, Clara must have had her at gunpoint or was threatening her with something. God only knew what. All I knew was that Clara had stepped over the line. She had tried to hurt Lex. Clara, my ex, the one I had left Alexis for, the one I had brought into our Compound. The one I had ignored and figured would get the picture. She had attacked Alexis. Alexis, the woman I loved, the woman I wanted to be with, the only thing that had brought me joy in this fucked up world. We couldn’t prosecute Clara. There were no cops, no jails.  Killing her would be an eye for an eye, apocalypse justice, but I couldn’t let that happen without some explanation for her actions. There could be something we were missing. We had to implement some kind of order, if not we were no better than the men we pursued. I didn’t want to argue with Zach right now, but I knew if I gave him time, he might rethink his position. So I just held his gaze and stated plainly, “We’ll find them and then we’ll take care of business.”

We would and there was no question about that. There was no way we had come this far to have it end like this.

TWO | Self-Control is for Pussies
Zach

The humming in my ears, the thick thrumming of my own blood pumping through my veins had finally settled.  I had paced the scene for the last hour, trying to figure out what the fuck was going on. I had finally centered myself and figured we  had gathered as much information from the scene as was possible at this late hour and couldn’t go any further.

Getting behind the wheel of the busted SUV and driving it back to the Compound was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do. It was like giving up on Alexis. I wanted to keep going; I wanted to find whoever took Alexis and I wanted to eviscerate them. I wanted to rip out their fucking intestines and feed their   shit-packed guts back to them, but I knew there was nothing we could do in this oppressive darkness. The roads were pitch black. Even PreZ, this area of the state had been dark and hard to access. Now without the lights of New Orleans giving us reference, we might as well be in outer space. There was no point of reference, no way of telling how far we had come or how far we had to go. We wouldn’t be able to spot any Z activity or any of the living, even with the assistance of the lights of the vehicles.  Unless they put up a big neon sign that said “we are here,” we were out of luck.

The moon was in its last quarter, barely giving off any light, allowing millions of stars to show in the night sky. I made a mental note to get my hands on astronomy texts.  In this new world, knowing how to pinpoint your location using constellations would be vital, kicking it real old school.  I should have done that when the shit first hit, but there was no use dwelling on it, hindsight, and all that shit.

I didn’t want to study the stars though.  I wanted to beat someone’s face in. I wanted to get my hands around Clara’s neck and fucking squeeze the life out of her. I didn’t want to think about the fact that those rednecks might have Alexis and were doing God knows what to her.

“Fuck!” I punched the windshield, a large crack spider webbing across its face. My knuckles stung, and when I glanced down at them, I saw that they were bleeding. I gripped the steering wheel tightly. The pain felt good.

“Can you see through that?” Blake asked calmly. I don’t know how he could deal with this shit. He was acting all laid back, like this was just some normal night, some normal patrol. He had broken down after I had called out Clara and threatened her life.  Yeah, that got him all hot in the ass, but now he was all cool and calm…and he claimed he loved Lex, fucking bastard.

I picked up the shotgun next to me and smashed the rest of the windshield out. The destruction and the sound of breaking glass felt good.

“Now I can.” I put the SUV into gear and did a quick turn heading back to the compound.

“We’ll find her,” Blake said quietly.

“This is all your fucking fault!” I yelled, unable to hold it in anymore. I knew it was unfair the moment it was out of my mouth, but I had to blame someone and Blake was convenient. I looked over and he was looking down at the Glock he had in his hand. He wouldn’t look at me.

“It is. I shouldn’t have left in the first place. I know that shit, but I couldn’t–I just couldn’t…and I think the people I picked up are good people. We’ve become close, almost family. I didn’t realize Clara was this fucked up. I should have realized it, but I didn’t. I regret not being more aware of what she was doing. I’ll take the blame for that, Zach. Let me have it. I thought if I ignored her she would move on.  I would never have thought she would do this though.” He still wouldn’t look up from his piece.

“Crazy bitch,” I muttered.  But I got it. I should have known there was a threat within our walls. I should have seen that Clara was unstable. But Blake should have known that Clara would take crazy to a whole new level. Why didn’t he see it? Why didn’t we both see it?

“Who do you think grabbed them?” he asked.

“My bets are on the Pearl River group, those fucking rednecks. They had to be scouting the area, looking for movement, any sign of our base. The gunshot and the sound of the crash must have led them right to the women.”

“Yeah, there is no one else in the area, it’s gotta be them,” he agreed.

“I don’t know what their intentions are, hold them for ransom, or maybe for their own uses. It’s driving me crazy. All I know is someone took her. She wouldn’t have left on her own.”

“Well, whoever took her, it’s going to be the last thing they do,” Blake growled, finally showing some emotion.

“They have no idea what they’ve started,” I said under my breath.

“It’s been awhile since we kicked in doors together, brother.” Blake finally looked at me and I recognized that look.  I hadn’t seen it in a long time.  It was hungry, not for food, or sex, or even power, but blood.

“I have a feeling this time it’s gonna be a lot more satisfying,” I laughed and knew I was sporting the same look.

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Excerpt from LIVE by Gillian Zane

The following excerpt is copyrighted by Gillian Zane with All Rights Reserved. You may not republish or use the following work without the authors expressed permission, unless used for review or commentary.

 

ONE | Denial 101
Blake

It took ten minutes to figure out something was wrong. I should have fucking seen it. I should have been paying attention. I saw the look Clara was directing at us.  I saw her get up and follow Alexis down the hallway. I just didn’t think that Clara would have the stones to pull off something like this. She was such a behind- the- scenes operator. She never got her hands dirty.

It took me by surprise and I don’t like surprises.

I just sat there waiting on an emotional high because of what we had accomplished today and what might happen tonight. No alarm bells, the       hyper-awareness that I’m so proud of failed me. Of all the times, of all the situations! 

Four tours, four official tours at least — don’t even get me started on unofficial ones -– and I didn’t even sense danger staring me right in the face of an enemy that I had brought to our gates. I had brought her in. I had given her a free pass.

Bubba was the one that alerted us, fucking Bubba was the only one paying attention. He came barreling through the front doors like an enraged bull. His hollering caused everyone to jump to their feet scared and on alert. The first thought in my mind was that we were under attack. He had been grabbing a smoke outside and saw the entire thing or at least the part where the SUV rammed the gates of our compound and headed off to God knows where.

“Who’s missing? I need a headcount now!” Zach yelled when Bubba ran in and reported the breach.

“I think it was Alexis who was driving, and she had someone else with her,” Bubba panted.

Everyone had been at the party except the four on guard duty and they all radioed in confirming they were still at their posts. It was obvious there were only two missing from the party as we milled around counting heads.

“Alexis and Clara,” Baby shouted after she had made a circuit around the room. I knew this, but the confirmation was crippling.

“Get a vehicle loaded up, Hannah, I want you and Romeo fully armed with us. Grab the spotlights,” I yelled, “Now!” I reiterated when she stalled and looked to Zach. Six months and now she second guessed me, deferred to Zach, fuck.

“You can’t go out at night, Blake.  You don’t know what you’ll find out there.” Grace Peters walked up to me.

I didn’t need arguments. I didn’t need resistance. I needed action. I said nothing to her and whatever was visible on my face had her stepping back and grabbing her husband by the arm as if to protect him. I wasn’t going to take her husband with me.  I don’t know why she would even get involved in this situation.

I needed to find Alexis now, day, night, nothing mattered but finding out what was going on. I need to know why Alexis would have rammed the gates and taken off with Clara. Why would she have done that?