Amber Alert by Dan Lawton
Download Amber Alert while it’s free on Amazon December 31 – January 4.
“What was that?” Andy blurted out, still staring at the screen. He couldn’t look away.
O’Malley looked at the screen again. “You mean what species? Who knows if anyone has a complete list of what’s out there.” He squinted. “Hmm. Could be Syntax just from the pack size. I don’t think we have the resolution in this satellite to det—”
“No,” Andy said firmly, “what was that? What attacked those men? Was it a pack of dogs or wolves or something?” He couldn’t imagine what else it could be, from the size of the dots on the screen. They’d been travelling in a pack, but this was too far south for wolves, wasn’t it? And what kind of feral dogs would attack a group of armed men? Twenty-one seemed a huge pack.
The soldier operating the computer looked at O’Malley, and O’Malley in turn looked at Andy. “Don’t they tell you blokes anything before they send you out here?” O’Malley asked in shock. He looked at the other soldier in disbelief. “Unbelievable.”
“I didn’t get your name yet,” she said. “I’m Kari.”
“Colin.”
A lovely name. One that would feel good to say, nice and round in the mouth. She needed to not think about mouths. “You were telling me about how you got interested in coffee and cats.”
He leaned back in his chair and studied the large, framed poster of kittens on the side wall. “Who wouldn’t like cats? As for coffee, I’m not a connoisseur, but I like a good cup, and I can learn all the fancy stuff.” His gaze returned to her. “I started cooking mainly to feed myself. I was getting flabby from too much fast food.”
He didn’t look flabby now.
A smile softened his mouth. “Turns out cooking is fun. Focusing on the colors, the smells, the tastes. That helps keep me in the moment better than meditation. So eventually I got into baking.”
Kari sat up a little straighter. “You bake?”
Colin leaned forward and said in a seductive voice, “You should try my salted caramel blondies.”

Melinda Deir-Boyette, a bestselling and award-winning author, dedicates this book to all seekers of the Truth and the Light.Children of the Living God who are asleep must be awakened and set free from the shackles of lies false prophets are using to ensnare them. Through The Holy Spirit, I hope to free my brothers and sisters who have been held captive, brainwashed, and indoctrinated by false prophets in their institutional churches.
“Forgive me, signorina,” Matteo Garibaldi said in his dark velvety accent. “I did not mean to frighten you.”
Isobel stared at him with wide eyes. “My lord! How did you come up behind me without me hearing you?”
She didn’t understand. With his tall muscular frame, she should have heard something: the sound of his footsteps on the stairs or a creak of the floorboards. But there had been nothing, she was sure of it.
Matteo shrugged and smiled. “I walk quietly. Again, my apologies for surprising you. I had hoped to be able to speak with you more. Perhaps you would join me in a stroll in the garden tomorrow?”
For a moment, Isobel was truly flattered. There had never been any young men in her life, none that admired her near her own station. And Matteo was well-built and handsome with elegant manners.
But there was something in his voice, an unnatural intensity, that didn’t match his simple request. His eyes rested on her like dark pools in the dim light, and Isobel ‘s heart picked up speed.
“Er, I’m sorry, my lord,” she said eventually. Her throat was tight, but she made herself say the words anyway. “I’m afraid that would not be appropriate.”