PRAISE FOR THE ANNA STRONG, VAMPIRE SERIES
CROSSROADS
“Stein continues to challenge her gutsy heroine, both emotionally and physically, and Anna’s choices could affect mankind. Another for your must-read pile!”
—RT Book Reviews (4½ stars)
“Anna continues to evolve into who she was meant to be without losing her humanity. She is a charmingly fun heroine until you come up on her bad side, then she becomes a kick-ass heroine readers will delight in . . . Crossroads will take readers on some twist[s] and turns that won’t let you put this book down until the very end, and then you will be hungry for the next installment.”
—Fresh Fiction
CHOSEN
“With each book in the series, not only have Stein’s characters become stronger but so has her writing . . . hard-hitting urban fantasy with a hard-hitting female lead.”
—Fresh Fiction
“[I] cannot wait to see where Anna’s adventures take her next . . . Chosen is an excellent book and probably the most enthralling book in the series thus far.”
—Bitten by Books
“From the opening chapter of this terrific series, Stein has sent her gutsy heroine on an uncharted journey filled with danger and bitter betrayal . . . In this pivotal but emotionally brutal book, skillful Stein reveals some critical answers and delivers some devastating blows. Like a fine wine, this series is improving with age. Brava!”
—RT Book Reviews (4½ stars)
RETRIBUTION
“The fifth book in the exceptional first-person Anna Strong series is a powerful entry in an amazing saga.”
—RT Book Reviews (4½ stars, Top Pick)
“Ms. Stein has a true gift in storytelling and continues to add exciting new elements to this well-built world. Retribution is an engrossing read with an action-packed story line and secondary characters that are every bit as intriguing as the heroine. This is a must-read for fans of the series!”
—Darque Reviews
LEGACY
“Urban fantasy with true depth and flair!”
—RT Book Reviews (4½ stars)
“As riveting as the rest . . . one of my favorite urban fantasy series.”
—Darque Reviews
THE WATCHER
“Action fills every page, making this a novel that flies by . . . Dynamic relationships blend [with] complex mysteries in this thriller.”
—Huntress Book Reviews
“An exciting, fast-paced novel . . . first-rate plotting.”
—LoveVampires
“Dazzles readers with action-packed paranormal adventure, love and friendship. With many wonderfully executed twists and turns, this author’s suspenseful writing will hold readers spellbound until the very end.”
—Darque Reviews
“Snappy action and plot twists that will hold readers’ interest to the last page.”
—Monsters and Critics
BLOOD DRIVE
“A terrific tale of supernatural sleuthing . . . provides edge-of-your-seat thrills and a high-octane emotional punch.”
—RT Book Reviews (4½ stars)
“I loved this book . . . hugely enjoyable . . . an exciting read and everything any vampire-fantasy fan could hope for.”
—LoveVampires
“Once again Jeanne C. Stein delivers a jam-packed story full of mystery and intrigue that will keep you glued to the edge of your seat! Just like [with] the first book in the Anna Strong series, The Becoming, I could not put this book down even for a second. You will find yourself cheering Anna on as she goes after the bad guys. Jeanne C. Stein has given us a wonderful tough-as-nails heroine everyone will love!”
—Night Owl Reviews
“Jeanne C. Stein takes on the vampire mythos in her own unique manner that makes for an enthralling vampire thriller. Readers of Laurell K. Hamilton, Tanya Huff and Charlaine Harris will thoroughly enjoy this fast-paced novel filled with several action scenes that come one after the other, making it hard for the readers to catch a breather.”
—Midwest Book Review
“A really great series. Anna’s strengths and weaknesses make for a very compelling character. Stein really puts you in [Anna’s] head as she fumbles her way through a new life and the heartbreaking choices she will have to make. [Stein] also introduces new supernatural characters and gives a glimpse into a secret underground organization. This is a pretty cool urban fantasy series that will appeal to fans of Patricia Briggs’s Mercy Thompson series.”
—Vampire Genre
THE BECOMING
“This is a really, really good book. Anna is a great character, Stein’s plotting is adventurous and original, and I think most of my readers would have a great time with The Becoming.”
—Charlaine Harris, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse novels
“A cross between MaryJanice Davidson’s Undead series, starring Betsy Taylor, and Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series. [Anna’s] a kick-butt bounty hunter—but vampires are a complete surprise to her. Full of interesting twists and turns that will leave readers guessing. The Becoming is a great addition to the TBR pile.”
—Romance Reviews Today
“A wonderful new vampire book . . . that will keep you on the edge of your seat.”
—Fallen Angel Reviews
Ace Books by Jeanne C. Stein
THE BECOMING
BLOOD DRIVE
THE WATCHER
LEGACY
RETRIBUTION
CHOSEN
CROSSROADS
HAUNTED
HAUNTED
JEANNE C. STEIN
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) • Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England • Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) • Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) • Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi—110 017, India • Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) • Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
HAUNTED
An Ace Book / published by arrangement with the author
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Ace mass-market edition / September 2012
Copyright © 2012 by Jeanne C. Stein.
Cover art by Cliff Nielsen.
Cover design by Judith Lagerman.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
; ISBN: 978-1-101-61126-5
ACE
Ace Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
ACE and the “A” design are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
To the people of Mexico caught in the cross fire. I wish there was a real-life hero to save you.
Contents
PRAISE FOR THE ANNA STRONG, VAMPIRE SERIES
ACE BOOKS BY JEANNE C. STEIN
TITLE PAGE
COPYRIGHT
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
EPIGRAPH
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
CHAPTER 35
CHAPTER 36
CHAPTER 37
CHAPTER 38
CHAPTER 39
CHAPTER 40
CHAPTER 41
CHAPTER 42
CHAPTER 43
CHAPTER 44
CHAPTER 45
CHAPTER 46
CHAPTER 47
CHAPTER 48
CHAPTER 49
CHAPTER 50
CHAPTER 51
CHAPTER 52
CHAPTER 53
CHAPTER 54
CHAPTER 55
CHAPTER 56
CHAPTER 57
CHAPTER 58
CHAPTER 59
CHAPTER 60
CHAPTER 61
CHAPTER 62
CHAPTER 63
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This was a difficult book to write because there is a war going on south of our borders and we seem powerless to do anything about it. But that’s the great thing about writing fiction: I can take a problem I’m interested in and “solve” it, if only temporarily and on a small scale, through the efforts of my heroine.
As for the writing process itself, I have the usual suspects to thank. Members of the Pearl Street Critique: Mario Acevedo, Warren Hammond, Tamra Monahan, Aaron Ritchey, Tom and Margie Lawson and Terry Wright.
For correcting my Spanish: Mario Acevedo, Warren Hammond and Mario’s friend Armando Provencio.
For being there in this crazy book business: my agent, Scott Miller of Trident Media, and my editor, Jessica Wade at Penguin (and their hardworking staff members).
For support and encouragement: loyal friends and readers who tell me they love Anna as much as I do.
And for everything else: Phil, who is always ready to discuss story with me, and Jeanette, who is becoming known far and wide for turning my books out on store shelves!
Philosophy is perfectly right in saying that life must be understood backward. But then one forgets the other clause—that it must be lived forward.
SØREN KIERKEGAARD
1813–1855
CHAPTER 1
I’M STARING OUT THE BEDROOM SLIDING GLASS door feeling sorry for myself. Stupid, really, since being alone tonight is entirely my own fault. I could be in France with my family. Or at my business partner David’s for his annual Christmas Eve bash. Why aren’t I? Because both would require that I spend most of the time pretending to eat and drink, pretending to be human. A lot of work. So here I am, all by my lonesome the night before Christmas, feeling churlish, staring at a gray sheet of pounding rain.
Rain. It’s all we’ve had this winter. This is San Diego, for Christ’s sake. The land of predictable, even boring, weather. The land of a constant 72 degrees. The land of sun and blue sky.
Not this year.
I can count on one hand the number of nice days we’ve had. It’s beginning to get irritating. What’s the use of being a vampire who can go out in sunlight if there is no sunlight to go out in?
Even my reporter boyfriend, Stephen, is not around. He’s with the president visiting the troops overseas. He called me on Skype last night and we were able to exchange greetings. Greetings. What I want to exchange is bodily fluids. But that’s not going to happen for another ten days. Since there were about a hundred soldiers gathered around awaiting their turn on the computer, we couldn’t even talk dirty.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
I need to do something. I need to share the misery. Where would a sulking vampire go to find other discontents as sorry ass as she is?
Luckily, I know just the place.
* * *
BESO DE LA MUERTE LOOKS EVEN MORE DESOLATE and run-down than usual, which says a lot since it’s basically a ghost town you won’t find on any map of northern Mexico. There’s only one building in the middle of what could be called Main Street, if the streets had names, that shows any sign of life. A string of blinking red-and-green Christmas lights slumps over the door to Culebra’s bar in an attempt, I suppose, to invoke some holiday cheer. Half the bulbs are burned out. The other half sputter unconvincingly.
What was Culebra thinking? Is this his idea of a joke—a fuck-you to the season and its forced joviality? Suddenly, I find myself enjoying those pathetic little lights. They make me smile.
Culebra and I share a warped sense of humor.
There’s a single car in front of the bar. A car that looks familiar. It gives me a moment’s pause until I recognize whose car it is. Then it takes me another minute to decide if I want to drag an unsuspecting mortal into the black hole of my self-pity.
The car belongs to Max, an ex. Who better to drag into a black hole than an ex? I shrug off any misgivings and walk inside.
Max and Culebra are seated at a table in the middle of the bar. Alone. They have an open bottle of Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel whiskey between them. Half empty. They’re puffing away on cigars and blowing smoke rings at each other. If Max didn’t look like a well-dressed thug clad all in black, and Culebra like an extra in a spaghetti western, poncho and all, I’d say they belonged in a gentlemen’s club.
Max spies me first. “Well, well. Look what the bat flew in.”
“Hilarious, Max. I see in the newspapers that you DEA dudes have really done your part to win the drug war. We’re practically narco free.”
He shakes his head and clucks his tongue. “Ouch.”
Go easy on Max, Culebra says, straight from his brain into mine, something he can do because he’s a shape-shifter and we share a psychic bond. He’s feeling sorry for himself. Alone at Christmas. You understand.
The last is said in a kind of “there’s a lot of that going around, isn’t there?” tone.
I just grunt.
Culebra pushes his chair back and stands up to scoot another chair over from a nearby table. “Sit.” He grabs another shot glass from the bar and pours a shot. “Drink.”
Loquacious as ever. But I do take the glass and sip. Smooth. Tickles the back of the throat and warms a path all the way down.
Culebra refills his own glass, then Max’s. “What brings you here? I figured you’d be at David’s shindig.”
I take another sip before answering. “Too many people I don’t know. Too much work pretending I might want to know them. He travels in a different circle.”
Max tilts his glass toward me. “You mean a human circle, don’t you?”
He has the knives out. “Who
shoved a stake up your ass? I helped you not long ago if I remember correctly. You didn’t seem to mind what I was then.”
Culebra places the bottle down between Max and me and raises his glass. “Come on now. Truce. It’s Christmas Eve. Time for peace on Earth. Good will to . . . creatures, great and small. For some reason, fate has drawn us here together this evening. Let’s make the most of it. To friends.”
He shoves his glass toward us. And looks around expectantly. I wait to see if Max will move first. He remains stubbornly still, arms crossed over his chest, waiting for me.
Shit. I want another drink. I raise my glass and clink it against Culebra’s. Max follows, reluctantly. He avoids my eyes, but does let his glass touch mine.
We drink.
And drink some more. Not much conversation. Culebra isn’t even intruding into my head. Each of us seems content to be alone together to wallow in whatever pits of dejection brought us here.
Alcohol, like blood, is absorbed directly into my system. After a half dozen shots, the booze loosens my tongue. There’s a question I’ve wanted to ask these two since I first saw Max and Culebra together a year and a half ago. I had just become vampire and was sent to Beso de la Muerte to hunt down the vamp who made me. Max was working undercover in the DEA and he was here, too, on an assignment. He never gave me a direct answer to what he was doing here then, and it seems the perfect opportunity to get that answer now.
I pour each of them another shot and dive in. “How’d you two come to know each other?”
At first I think Max is going to counter with some bullshit about classified DEA information or fall back on the old “if I tell you, I have to kill you” dodge. But he does neither. He looks over at Culebra and Culebra shrugs.
“She knows everything else.”
Max downs his shot. It’s the fifth since I’ve been here and I have no idea how many he had before I arrived. But the alcohol does seem to have smoothed the edge off his animosity. He shrugs back at Culebra. “Do you want to start or should I?”
Culebra looks hard at me, as if gauging how much truth I can take. In fact, that’s the very thought that sifts through the haze of alcohol in his head.