Tainted
Blood Series
by
L J Halkett & R T Lucas
Dec
8th - Dec 14th
Commander Xavier Raige,
ex-Special Forces and now a leader of an elite team of mercenaries. At
6’7” he is as lethal as he is handsome. Xavier doesn’t have time to sugar
the pill - he is abrupt, direct and demanding. When he accepts a new
mission to stop a skilled thief that has been plaguing the notorious Belcastro
mafia family, Xavier is unaware that this job will change the course of
his life forever - and threaten to awaken the wolf he has kept at bay all his
life.
Alicia Carberletti is a small
woman with a BIG attitude! She is feisty, sexy, independent and smart -
she also admires people who know their manners! Alicia has been all alone ever
since her beloved family was brutally murdered. Trying to find peace, she
embarks on a holiday of a lifetime only to have it take a sinister turn.
Tainted blood, wicked lies,
deception and cruel fate: when Alicia and Xavier collide with one another will
events spiral out of control - or can they hold onto to one another and face
the dark consequences of their actions?
Together they will entice you
into their world - and this new series comes with a WARNING - once you enter,
you won't want to leave!
In a world of humans,
vampires, werewolves and a murky Mafia underworld, is it so easy to tell who
are the real monsters and who still holds their humanity?
US UK
Weaving his bike at the sharp
bends in the narrow road on the way to the Martinez mansion, Xavier mulled over
the fine details of his agreement to their job offer. He didn’t notice
the vehicle hurtling towards him in the opposite direction, and he hadn’t
factored in that the sun was just rising. He most definitely didn’t
expect that the driver of the other vehicle seemed to have a death wish.
The rising sun bounced off
the windshield of the oncoming vehicle, blinding Xavier momentarily. As he
swerved to the right he felt his front wheel dip, and he flew over the
handlebars of his bike as it slid under the front wheels of the offending
vehicle. Lying in the bushes at the side of the road, Xavier checked himself
over to ensure he wasn’t bleeding or broken, and slowly stood up. Making
his way over the now stationary vehicle, he curled his hand into a fist and
punched through the driver’s window, pulling out the driver. As he was
about to make chowder out of his face, he noticed that the driver’s feet were
dangling off the ground.
He then noticed that he was a
she. A very small she.
“What do you think you are
playing at, female? You could have killed me!” Narrowing his eyes, Xavier dangled
the female in front of him.
“I was driving my car - you
crashed into me you prick so don’t ask me what I was playing at!” Alicia glared
at the huge male that had her suspended in the air, her boots hovering as he
gripped her tightly by the shoulders.
“Help me! Help me! He’s
trying to kidnap me!”
Alicia started screaming at
the top of her voice as she looked up at the most unusual shade of green eyes
that she had ever seen. A small smirk started to appear on her lips and
she began to deliberately sway herself like a pendulum in the brute’s hold.
Slapping a gloved hand over
the screeching female’s mouth, Xavier lowered her to the ground, giving her a
warning look before removing his hand.
“Kidnap you? You are out of
your goddamn mind?” Xavier growled low as he moved away from her to survey the
damage she’d done to his bike. Crouching down, his hands caressed it like
a lover and he looked back at her, his face full of fury.
“You were driving like a
maniac and nearly totalled my damn bike,” he said clicking his fingers then
opening his palm out. “Your insurance details. Now!”
“The sun hit off my
windshield for the love of the gods! I swerved as I was momentarily blinded -
you must have been coming around the bends too fast! Where did you say
you got your licence? A Kinder egg?”
Alicia stood looking down at
the male. He looked to her like he was having an emotional breakdown over the
now twisted piece of metal. Her hand moved, but not to give him any piece of
paper with her details. Her left hand reached into her jacket pocket
where she pulled out a lolly, unwrapped it, and popped it in her mouth before
turning and proceeding to walk back to her car.
Never. Never in his adult
life had anyone addressed him like this - especially not a pixie sized female
with the driving skills of a kamikaze. Xavier’s jaw nearly hit the ground
as she smart mouthed him, then casually stood at the roadside sucking on the
candy. It was only then that Xavier got a good look at her. The rising sun had
illuminated her outline and his eyes took their time, checking her out from
feet to head.
She was slender, but her
curves were in all the right places. Her long auburn hair tumbled over her
shoulders and her big brown eyes seemed to look right into his soul. Her
full pouting lips were taunting him with that damn candy. Almost forgetting why
he was pissed off with her, he shook his head and focused.
“The sun was in my direction,
so there’s no way it could’ve blinded you. Besides, you were steaming down that
road like a bat out of hell. Now, I’m not in the habit of repeating myself -
your insurance details.” His jaw ticked as he faced up to this little female
with the huge attitude. Usually his sheer size and no nonsense approach had
people running in the opposite direction, not trying to go head to head with
him. This was a new experience for him, and he was pretty sure he didn’t
like it.
Using her thumb and
forefinger to gently tug on the stick of the lolly, Alicia removed the candy
from her lips, her hand moving as she addressed the giant with the vibrant green
eyes and blond hair, strands of which had come loose from his ponytail.
“And I am not in the habit of
giving my personal details out to hooligans that crash into me and then blame
me for their reckless driving! Look…neither of us were hurt so what’s the
problem here? You go your way and I’ll go my way, simples.”
Exasperated, Xavier was for
the first time in his life stuck for words. This small female was facing
up to him - and winning! Twice he’d demanded her details, and both times she
shot him down without as much as a blink.
“Sweetcheeks,” his voice
lowered as he stood up to tower over her, “you damaged my bike through your
dodgem-car style driving. If you don’t have insurance then you can give
me the cash up front to fix it, yeah?”
Xavier had no need for the
money, he was wanting to scare the female into providing her details. It wasn’t
so much about fixing his bike anymore as much as…he just had to know her name.
He’d never met anyone quite like her and as much as she irritated him, there
was something about her stubbornness and conviction that intrigued him.
Alicia’s words came out
through her gritted teeth. “Please! ‘Please may I have your insurance details
ma’am?’ Manners seem to be very much lacking in you don’t they, sir?” she said,
thinking to herself that he did not just refer to her as ‘Sweetcheeks’!
The
Warrior (Tainted Blood, #2)
There is a reason for
everything and all actions have consequences.
All Commander Xavier Raige
wanted to do from the minute his world collided with Alicia Carberletti’s was
to protect her. Now, the biggest battle he has ever faced has just begun. He
needs to find a way back to Alicia and save her from the dark forces that are
gathering against her, and he won’t let the inconvenience of being dead keep
him away.
Lieutenant “Shuggie”
MacAndrew, ancient Scottish warrior vampire. Mystery surrounds his past and
puts his future in jeopardy. Can he win the battle between his heart and head,
or will he be defeated in his pursuit of The One?
Dr Teodora Valdez, skilled
surgeon and scientist. She almost has it all until a dark secret resurfaces.
Can she heal the wounds or will she discover there is no cure for a broken
heart?
The consequences of recent
events unravel and battle for dominance in the Mafia Underworld intensifies.
Ambition…family…revenge…love...
All become as tainted as the
blood that ties them together.
Shuggie stood in front of the
doors to the medical bay barring Teodora from entering.
“Ye cannae go in there Doc –
it’s no safe fur any of us.” His voice was grim and his face set in stone. He
was still trying to process what he had just witnessed, and was glad for once
that the youngling had taken off on her own. To see with her own eyes what he
had seen may very well have broken her mentally. As it was, he wasn’t sure if
he was losing his marbles. “What dae ye huv in yer hands, Doc?” nodding to
indicate the file that she was holding tightly.
Teodora tried to peek around
Shuggie but his sheer size was blocking her from doing so. “I ran off to do
some tests, but from the way you are all acting I believe my findings have
already happened yes? The wolf is in the bay, I presume Lieutenant?” Teodora
always addressed Shuggie professionally when her staff or the Commander's unit
were present.
“No jist any wolf, Doc…” His
granite features fixed on Teodora, and the ink on his body was glowing like oil
on water. “...he’s a fucking monster.” Shuggie stood to one side, but his arm
was still outstretched preventing Teodora being able to move any further.
“Super Hybrid is the term you
are looking for Lieutenant, his ‘lazy wolf syndrome’ mixed with Alicia’s blood
has created something not even I have ever seen. Where is Alicia now?” The
scientist part of Teodora’s brain was starting to pique and she wanted inside
that bay to assess this ‘super wolf’. This was ground-breaking research for her
and she wasn’t wanting to miss the opportunity of a lifetime.
From inside the bay, Shuggie
heard the loudest wolf-howl he had experienced in his thousands of years, and
it made the whole area shake like a mini-earthquake. “Jesus fucking Christ!”
Turning his head in slow motion, he made eye contact with the ‘Beast’ for the
first time, but he was still talking to Teodora. “Super hybrid ye say? So with
yer sayin’ is that the youngling’s blood has mutated the Commander’s DNA?” Both
watched as the enormous wolf started towards them.
The sounds of screams and
people fleeing for their lives echoed around the compound as Teo and Shuggie
stood conversing about the findings of the blood work. Xavier was heading
towards them, but the Doctor was transfixed at what she was seeing. He was
enormous! The howling and barking noises he was making triggered a thought in
her head as she spoke to Shuggie. “He’s trying to communicate with us.”
“Nae shit, Sherlock,” Shuggie
muttered under his breath.
“What the fuck are they
looking at? I know I’m fuck handsome, but take a goddamn picture and be done
with it, yeah?” Xavier was grumpy. Not that he wanted parades and statues in
his honour – but still, his best friend was standing having a heart to heart
with the Doc as his employees stood around gawking. “And where the fuck is
Sweetcheeks?” The least she could have done was be here to welcome him back to
terra firma.
Unless.
What if she had been injured
or killed and that was what Shuggie and the Doc were arguing about? “Get
fucking in here Lieutenant!” He barked the order.
He didn’t realise that he had
literally ‘barked’ the order.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gokux-J2YJQ
The
Lies ( Tainted Love Book #3)
Alicia Carberletti has
finally found someone to share her immortal life with - but her friend has been
kidnapped and her mate Commander Xavier Raige and best friend Lieutenant
Shuggie MacAndrew are on a mission to try to save her.
As she starts to build up her
family’s mafia business once again, Alicia starts to unravel a web of deceit
and lies about her family and her own past - which threatens her very sanity
and future.
The only one she can rely on
is Xavier - but as fate steps in and creates obstacles for them, will Xavier be
able to help unravel the mystery that is Alicia Carberletti or will time run
out for the unlucky lovers?
The battle for dominance in
the mafia underworld rages on with ambition; family; revenge; love and hate
making it difficult to tell who is the monsters - the humans or the
immortals? The stained blood of the past
threatens to taint the future
US UK
“When will you be home? It’s
been four months Xav, four months of searching for Dory, and I only get you for
a day—two if I’m lucky—then you're off again!” Alicia whined as she cradled her
cell to her ear. She never knew when Xavier would call, so it was on the
loudest tone possible and practically glued to her hand.
Xavier popped a stick of gum
in his mouth as he listened to Alicia, kicking Shuggie in the ass to get him
out of the room so he had some privacy. Ignoring the Scotsman’s complaints, he
turned his attention back to his call. “Sweetcheeks...” he had lowered his
voice, and was laying on the charm, “...shut up, yeah. It’s quantity not
quality.” Grinning, he stretched his long legs out and laid back in his seat,
closing his eyes and imagining that his female was sitting opposite him. “Look,
we are making real progress on the whereabouts of the Doc, but I’m having to
manage psycho-Scot here who wants to napalm any fucker called Tony or Mabel,
yeah? Anyway, let’s not waste the time we’ve got. What are you wearing?” His
grin had turned into a wicked smirk.
Xavier and Shuggie had left
Alicia shortly after their fortified compound hidden in the South of France had
been attacked. They were mercenaries–highly trained military operatives who
also had the enviable qualities of being supernatural beings—Shuggie, Scottish
vampire warrior and Xavier who was a super hybrid werewolf. Alicia was a unique
species of vampire called Sanguin Solis and as such was a valuable prize for
those who would hunt her down–she had the ability to walk in the sunlight. The
intruders were a sadistic sorcerer named Anthony Hills III who had been Doctor
Teodora Valdez-MacAndrew’s former employer and Shuggie’s torturer, and
Mabel—Alicia’s ‘Maker’ and as insane as they come. In the midst of the attack,
Shuggie’s new wife Teodora had been kidnapped, mistaken for Alicia. There had
been no communication from the kidnappers of Teodora since.
“Just promise me you’ll be
here for opening night, if you miss it I will flash to where you are and kill
you for real this time!” Alicia popped a lolly in her mouth as Frazzle was
lying stretched out over her thighs. “I’m wearing your hoody and a pair of
shorts...why, you weirdo?”
Xavier heard the candy
wrapper, and let out a low growl. “Keep sucking like that and I’ll come on
opening night...and every other night of the week!” Laughing, he sat up, trying
not to think too much about her sitting there in only his top and a pair of
shorts. “Is everything alright there, Sweetcheeks, Hawkeye behaving himself?” Sergeant
Ciaran “Hawkeye” Paterson was one of Xavier’s most loyal soldiers, and the
Irishman owed his life to his Commander. Unlike the rest of Xavier’s unit,
Hawkeye had been recently included into the inner circle and was now keeper of
their secret supernatural abilities. It had taken him some time to get his head
around the fact that humans interacted unknowingly with vampires, werewolves
and the like, but he was always a professional. Although his nickname was
Hawkeye, due in part to his precise eye for detail, Alicia always called him
Patcheye and she was the only one to call him by the moniker. Hawkeye never
questioned it–he took the name as a badge of honour, as he had noted that
Alicia never got anyone’s name right if she liked them. Xavier had left the day
to day security of Alicia with Hawkeye and had several calls with him daily on
how she was doing, but she didn’t need to know that. He wanted Alicia to feel
as though she was in charge when he was gone, even though he left absolutely
nothing to chance where her safety was concerned.
“Want to suck my lolly?”
Alicia let out a laugh as she rearranged her body on their bed, so she was
lying further down. “All’s cool here. I spent the day in Italy at the new
place, it looks freaking awesome and yes Patcheye is behaving, although he’s no
fun! He doesn’t argue with me like you do!” Although Hawkeye’s eye had fully
healed after having it broken by Xavier’s fist some months back, Alicia had
remained calling him Patcheye. “How is Hugh really doing?”
Opening his eyes, Xavier
rolled his shoulders and exhaled slowly. “The mad bastard is grouchier than me,
and that’s fucking saying something. ‘Course he’s worried about Teo—just
married and then losing her to the sociopath Tony? Not the honeymoon he was
planning, yeah? As I said, we’re making good progress and should be able to
make a move soon. I just hope there’s something worth saving when we finally
get there…” His tone had turned serious, and although he was trying to shield
Alicia from exactly what was happening, he knew she was no fool and couldn’t
hide everything from her.
Hearing Xavier’s tone change
from playful to serious, Alicia knew not to ask. She knew damn fine well Xavier
would tell her if she asked, but there were some things she just didn’t need to
know. She wanted Dory back alive but then she also knew what the thing she
referred to as her creator was capable of. Tony Hills, on the other hand, was
just a random to her—albeit one that tried along with Mabel to kidnap her. A
shudder coursed through Alicia at the thought of ‘her’ name.
“Look after him Xav, his wife
is missing and if it were me? You’d be fucking psychotic.”
The wolf in Xavier reared up
the instant that visual was put into his head. Psychotic would be his ‘relaxed’
state if anything happened to Alicia. Not wanting to go down that route he
answered, “Will do, Sweetcheeks. Don’t worry, I never leave one of my own and
not about to start now. Besides, the sooner I get this mission over with the
sooner I can be on top of you.” He never wanted his female stressed or
harassed. He protected her from everything, including worry.
Alicia let out a purr. “Mmm,
under you sounds like heaven, Commander Prick. I just want our family all
together like we should be! Right you, get some sleep, Ti Amo.”
“No sleep for me,
Sweetcheeks.” Xavier hated ending calls to Alicia, but tonight seemed to hit
him harder than usual for some reason. “Don’t forget to scream my name tonight,
yeah?” then hung up abruptly. If he didn’t, he knew he’d be ordering his
Lieutenant to flash him back to their compound tonight and to hell with the
mission to save Teo.
Sighing to herself, Alicia
slipped off the bed. “Ready to go to work baby?” Frazzle leaped from the covers
and ran to the door. “Easy leopard, I have to get ready first” Walking over to
where the Bengal tiger was waiting, she opened the door telling her beloved pet
to go and get Hawkeye. Wherever they went, Frazzle went too.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XV-P-2-O6mc
LJ Halkett
L J Halkett is 35 years of
age, Mother, Wife and Housing Officer for Local Government. She is a
smart, sassy and superbly imaginative woman who devours books - especially in
the paranormal genre! She is the master at multi-tasking and she is always
thinking ten steps ahead. With her passion for creativity, she brings to life
her imagination with vivid detail. Family is the cornerstone of LJ’s
life, and her greatest achievement is her wonderful son.
Left Partially sighted after
her Stroke, LJ has to write in what the Authors call ‘Nasa’ font and can only
detect the colour red, which can be difficult when reading print on a daily
basis - her determination is testament to her personality - as she says....
"Where's there's a will? There's a way!"
Connect with LJ at any of her
social media sites:
RT Lucas
RT Lucas is 41 years of age,
soon to be Divorced [Hurrah!] and had a very successful career in Recruitment
and Business Development until it was cut short through illness. Having
worked in the Health Sector, Human Resources and Ministry of Defence, she has a
myriad of experiences to draw from - and says that sometimes life can be
stranger than Fiction! RT is an avid reader of the paranormal/romance
genres but her first love will always be Science Fiction. She says that
she has far superior music taste to that of her Best Friend and Co-Author - and
uses every available opportunity to tell her so! RT lives alone with her
#XavCat who faithfully lies by her computer whenever she wanders into the world
of Tainted Blood.
Connect with LJ at any of her
social media sites:
Hosted by Obsessive Pimpette Promotions
Author Bio:
I am a books, movie, and music nerd. I can tell you about every book I’ve read chapter by chapter. Can tell you about every movie I’ve ever seen, and can sing songs I’ve only heard once.
I’m pretty talented right?!
I absolutely love writing. It’s been a pure dream to write and put my stories out into the world for all the lovely readers to have in their grabby hands.
I currently own my own business in Southwest Florida.
I love the warm weather, and the humidity.
I love torturing my husband ;) playing with my dog Rogue, and making my super cute as hell baby smile.
I’m obsessed with survival stuff. Just put me out in the woods for a weekend and I will Bear Grylls it up!
I’m not a good cook, I can make quesadillas like no bodies business though!
I will always be me, and stand up for what I feel.
I am a geeky redhead that reads books, and likes to be outside.
That’s me. <3
