DEEP WITHIN THE SHADOWS Coming May 18th!!!


I don't have a set release date yet but Deep Within The Shadows will be out in May. I'll keep posting updates to keep you notified.  Deep Within The Shadows is  a Paranormal Urban Fantasy set in the southeastern hills of Kentucky in a small town named Superstition. 






THE FINAL BLURB:
Welcome to Superstition, Kentucky

Twins Miranda and Juliet Templeton have been haunted by childhood trauma their entire lives. One has the reputation for being bold and rash, the other compulsively responsible. When both are viciously attacked within minutes of each other, they are forced to leave their differences behind in order to survive.

Caleb Faulkner has always loved Miranda Templeton. Her letters to him, during his deployment gave him a slice of home to hold on to. Even though they’re finally together, something is keeping her from acting on her feelings. When she and her sister are injured Caleb’s driven to protect them both. But all his military training can’t help him combat this danger.

Detective Chase Robinson is lead investigator for the murder of Tanner Newton. When the two hired thugs responsible for Tanner’s death are killed and Juliet, his only witness, nearly strangled to death, Chase is certain the crimes are connected. He decides to stay close to the twins so he can catch the real killer. But his police training is useless against his growing feelings for Juliet and what’s hiding DEEP WITHIN THE SHADOWS.



Here's a sneak peak at the first chapter (this is an unedited version):
PROLOGUE

      A hungry scream echoed behind him in the distance. Willy jerked, a strangled gasp tearing from him. His heart beat high in his throat. He kicked his shuffling jog into a run. Sweat ran in rivulets down his face. After the coolness of the basement he’d just left, he was baking alive in the hot, still humidity that hung in the air.
      Damn that security guard for putting him out. He wasn’t botherin’ nothin'. Fucking jerk. Luckily he knew where Gerry was staying. They’d split up weeks ago, hoping to throw the shadows off. It hadn’t worked. They just kept coming, night after night. And now the daytime creatures were on the prowl there was no place left to hide. God he was so tired.
      Another angry cry sounded from a block away. They were getting closer. If he could get far enough ahead he might find somewhere to hole-up until daylight. Somewhere no light could enter. A basement, crawlspace, anything. He’d even take the bottom of a dumpster if he could find one that was empty enough for him to squeeze in.
      He careened around the corner of Kentucky Street and slipped into a dim alley. The sour smell of his own sweat mingled with the odor of rotting garbage from the dumpster at the back of one of the restaurants. His feet hit a flat sheet of corrugated cardboard and his right foot slid forward before the other could catch up. His left knee hit the ground with all his weight and he cried out.
      “Jesus, oh Jesus.” He was hurt. Something had cut into his knee. Pushing up with one hand, something gooey squished between his fingers. He swore and slung his hand to get it off as he staggered to his feet. Hugging the brick wall of the building, he settled back into the deepest pool of darkness he could find. He wiped his filthy hand on his pants and probed the knee with the other one. A triangle of glass stuck out of his flesh and blood welled up around it. He jerked the shard free and a whimper of pain tore from him. He slung the piece of glass away with a sob.
      They’d smell the blood and track him. He didn’t know how they did it, but they always seemed to know where he was. Oh God, if only they hadn’t tried to kidnap that girl. He knew she had something to do with them. They’d shown up right after they’d killed the guy she was with. The burns had finally healed and now he had a cut that would probably rot his leg off.
      He hobbled forward a foot or two. The pain made him light headed. The coppery scent of his own blood turned his empty stomach. He gagged.  
     How long had it been since he’d eaten. Two days. He’d been afraid to leave the safety of the basement. Until the asshole guard had tossed him out. If he could just reach Gerry’s motel room. Gerry would have some food. Maybe some weed. They could wait out the night in the dark together.
      Another scream came from the end of the alley and he jumped. In the wide, yellowish-white circle from the streetlight, a dark gray form rose. Its arms hung down nearly three quarters of its form.  Strangely elongated fingers repeated a grabbing movement like a crab's claw, as though it hoped to pluck him from his hiding place. Though it had no eyes, and he hid in the deepest shadows cast by the three-story brick building, it homed in on where he stood twenty feet away with unerring precision. The creature opened its mouth like a black pit and screamed again. The sound, a blend of a baboon-like cry and an ear-ringing roar, was filled with frustration and rage.
       Willy quivered in fear. His knee ached like an abscessed tooth. His mouth tasted pasty and dry and his bladder felt uncomfortably full.
       The shadow paced back and forth looking for the light it needed to travel by. Willy stumbled further down the alley, hugging the building. The rough bricks picked at his clothing and scrapped his arm, his hand, as he attempted to stay out of even the most anemic light cast from the windows above him.
      His head jerked up at the sudden rumble of an engine approaching. A silver car swung into the street directly in front of him, the bright headlights pinning him against the wall. Willy opened his mouth. “No-o-o-o-o!” The scream of denial worked its way up his throat. Almost from beneath his feet, a shadow leaped from the ground with inhuman speed.
       Willy half turned to run. A slicing pain caught him just beneath his ribs and he was shoved against the wall and lifted. His legs scissored, running in space. A suffocating fullness invaded his chest. His heart seized. The pain stole his breath and limited his scream to a choked gurgle.  His bladder released and the warm urine ran down his legs to wet his pants all the way to his socks.
       As the creature squeezed his heart to bursting, Willy’s last thought was one of relief. His two-month hell was over.

I hope you enjoyed the preview!! 
Read on,
Teresa J. Reasor 

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