I love both of these excerpts and couldn't decide which one to use, so I'll share them both with you.
Excerpt 1
"Are we at the marina?"
"Fucking shit!" Riley whirled to look in the back seat, smacking his elbow on the steering wheel. Danika crouched on the floor, her slight body hidden in the shadows. "What the hell are you doing in my car?"
"Tagging along. To find out where you're going." She rose and perched on the back seat. "You're here for that boat, aren't you? Siren of the Sea?"
"I am. What do you know about it?"
"Probably same thing as you. But you go first."
"Uh-uh. I went first last time. You." Aware he sounded like an eight year old, Riley crossed his arms.
"Okay fine."
"And come up here so I can see you. Did you take my wallet back at the bar?"
She scrambled into the front seat and plunked next to him. "I did. Sorry. Had to get you distracted to get into your car. Okay. The boat. I keep track of weird news stories that might be about people like me. Like us. With strange power. Most of the time, there's nothing to them. You do the same thing, right?"
"I do."
"You must have picked up that story, guy says he saw light dancing in the water and sparks coming from some dude's boat out in the ocean. Cops come to investigate, they chalk it up to bioluminescence and since the boat hasn't burned down, figured the witness ate a few mushrooms or swallowed some chemicals."
Riley uncrossed his arms and rested his hands on the steering wheel. "What made you zero in on that particular story?"
"A hunch. Instinct. The guy who owned the boat wouldn't give his name, didn't want anyone to know about him. Most people are media whores. Will do anything to get noticed."
"And you picked out the boat, in the background of the picture. The news story didn't give a name or an exact location."
"Yep. I tracked it to this marina. Wasn't real sure what I would do when I got here. Just talk to the owner, I guess. What's your plan?"
Son of a bitch. The goofy girl had the same idea he did. "No plan. I'm winging it too. But I'm winging it alone. Tomorrow."
"Why not now?"
"Because it's dark and we're both likely to land in lock-up again if we get caught prowling around boat slips at ten o'clock at night."
"I have good vision. I could find the vessel, no problem."
"You're hammered."
"Am not. I snagged a can of Buzz Kill at the bar. I can find the boat."
"No."
"No? I don't recall asking for your permission." She fumbled on the door for the handle.
Riley clicked the locks shut. "What are you going to say, if you find anyone on the boat? Ask the man or whoever owns it, if they made the water light up? Since this person didn't want to talk to the police or the press, I doubt he'll want to talk to you. Especially since you smell like a drunk."
"I do not." She put her palms in front of her face and breathed. "Much. I'll eat a cough drop. Anyway, what's your great idea for tomorrow? You said you didn't have a plan. Maybe it's better if we sneak up on him, confront him when he's not expecting it."
"Somehow, I don't think that will end well. We'll give it a rest tonight, then we can both talk to the guy tomorrow."
"Together?"
"Yes, together."
She gnawed on her bottom lip and drummed her fingers on her leg. "Not a chance."
Before he could stop her, she unlocked the door, tumbled out, and took off.
"Damn it, get back here." He wrenched his own door open and chased after her.
Shit, she moved fast for a pint-size girl. He caught her at the beginning of a walkway and grabbed her arm. "This is not a good plan."
"I know where the boat is. Let go of me."
"You know where Siren of the Sea is docked?"
"I came here earlier and found it."
"Why didn't you tell me? No, forget it. Doesn't matter. Let's go and come back in daylight."
She snatched her arm out of his grip. "I'm going now. You come with me or not."
Gritting his teeth, Riley followed as she marched forward. Stubborn woman would get herself in trouble and much as he wanted to avoid more shit, he needed answers. If she screwed this up, he'd never find them.
"Here." She stopped. "This is it. Looks dark. No, wait, light is coming from below. See, around the curtains?"
Riley walked the length of the boat. Sure enough, Siren of the Sea was painted on the side.
"Hello. Anyone home?" Danika called out.
"Keep it down." He stepped a foot on the boat and knocked on the side. "Hello. Permission to come aboard."
Nothing.
"Let's take a peek." Danika jumped onto the craft.
"Get off of there."
"Come on. I hear something in the lower cabin. We should check it out."
"No, we shouldn't," he hissed, but she already found the door leading below and opened it. A second later, light spilled from the cabin.
"Oh hell. We've got a problem." Her voice wavered, and she stood stock still in the doorway.
Riley moved all the way onto the deck behind Danika and looked over her shoulder into the interior of the lower cabin. "What?"
"I think there's a dead body down there."
He moved past her and stopped when he saw a figure on the floor. Judging by the skewed angle of the arms and legs, the pool of red liquid, and the smell of piss and shit, Riley had to agree with her assessment.
Excerpt 2
Okie dokie. Next subject. "What was it like, when you first realized you could mess with electricity?"
"Weird."
"Like what weird? What happened?"
A long sigh that might put off a lesser woman, but Danika persisted. "What?"
"I thought I was having a heart attack, shorted out the electricity in my office. Went home, played with it, figured out what I could do."
"How did it feel?"
"I told you, weird."
For heaven sake. "I know you're a big tough guy and all, but can't you give me more details, about the actual sensation of when you realized what you could do?"
"No. Can't you sit and be quiet for ten minutes?"
"I can, but I figure since this is the first time I've had another 'freak' as you call us, to talk to, I'd take advantage of it. And you're the one who came looking for me down here, remember?"
"I remember."
"So don't you want to share stories? That's why we're looking for the machine, right? To find others, see if we can figure out what happened to us. You want to get rid of those headaches, don't you?"
"Yes, I do."
He did, but something else motivated this guy. Danika drew away from him and leaned her chair back. Riley had another agenda, her intuition told her. A reason for his search. And he wasn't sharing with her. She jumped as the burner phone rang.
"It's Travis again. I should talk to him."
"No, let him leave a message."
"He left me two already, asking where I was. Sounded pissed."
"Let him leave another. He'll get anxious, give away information."
"I should answer."
"What are you going to say?"
"I've got it worked out. I'll say I chickened out at the last minute at the bar, got worried about meeting him."
"Then what?"
The phone stopped ringing.
"I don't know, depends on his response. I guess he'll want to meet again, and I'll tell him I had to leave. See what he says after that. I think quick on my feet."
"Did he leave a message?" Riley held out his hand. "Give me the phone."
"Yes." She shoved the hand away. "I'll pick it up." Bossy man. He would not bark out orders and expect her to obey like a puppy.
"Come back here, where it's quieter." He stood and motioned with his head. "We'll both listen to it."
"Don't trust me?"
He raised an eyebrow, and she almost laughed. "Yeah, fine, I don't trust you either."
In the relative quiet of the back area of the terminal, she punched in the code to pull up the message and put the phone on speaker.
"It's Travis. Wish you'd return my call. I've got the machine. I didn't tell you when we talked before. Charlie gave it to me to make modifications, last time I saw him. Charlie and I plan to sell it. Except I'm pretty sure Charlie took off. I can't get ahold of him. Look, I need money and need to get out of town. I'll sell it to you, for my share. Charlie can pay you back. Fifty thousand dollars. Get with me soon. Other people are asking about it."
Danika hit the button to save the message. "You think he's for real? That someone else is interested in buying the device?"
"No, he's full of shit. He wants you to get in touch with him, doesn't know how to operate the machine and wants to make money off it. Knows you can't ask Charlie anything, but he's still not mentioning that he's dead."
"What an idiot. Like I won't suspect something is wrong? Try to reach my uncle? Fifty thousand dollars. He's whacked."
"Guess he figures start high. Maybe you want it bad enough." He pulled out his own phone and checked the time. "My shuttle's almost here. I'll dig around, see what I come up with on Travis."
"Keep me updated, about whatever you find, promise?"
"Promise."
"Tonight. Call me tonight and give me an update."
He leaned his head back and growled. "Damn woman, give it a rest. I'll get with you when I learn something of interest."
"And in the meantime, I shouldn't worry my pretty little head? You'll take care of everything?"
He shook his head, a half-smile pulling at his mouth. "I'll contact you. Don't worry."
Oh, how good it would feel to smack that grin right off his face. Patronizing asshole.
She watched him head down the platform. He moved smooth, sure of himself, arms swinging easily, his stride even and strong. Like a tiger who'd claimed the world as his kingdom.
Sensual.
Fuck. She closed her eyes and rubbed them with her knuckles, erasing the momentary lust. There would be nothing between them. At all. His only use in her life was finding out more about Travis and getting that machine back.
She trudged to the other end of the terminal to wait for her own shuttle. Damn it, if she had to find a person cursed with power, why did it have to be an egotistical jerk like Riley? Why couldn't she have encountered a guy with some empathy?
Riley was all about himself. He'd do what he wanted to improve his life, no matter the cost, she suspected. If it coincided with helping others, he'd go along, but wouldn't make any special effort. Lots of people became that way, after The Annihilation. Selfish, scared, distrustful.
Shoving her hands in her pockets, she let out a breath. So maybe she got a little pushy with Riley. A little demanding. Danika did her best to not let anxiety rule her moods, but some days, fear won out.
With Riley, she needed to stay sharp, not let him run over her like a stampede of wild horses. He wanted to be in control, wasn't comfortable working with a partner.
Too bad. She hitched her backpack up as her bus pulled in. He had a partner now, and better get used to it.
Excerpt 1
"Are we at the marina?"
"Fucking shit!" Riley whirled to look in the back seat, smacking his elbow on the steering wheel. Danika crouched on the floor, her slight body hidden in the shadows. "What the hell are you doing in my car?"
"Tagging along. To find out where you're going." She rose and perched on the back seat. "You're here for that boat, aren't you? Siren of the Sea?"
"I am. What do you know about it?"
"Probably same thing as you. But you go first."
"Uh-uh. I went first last time. You." Aware he sounded like an eight year old, Riley crossed his arms.
"Okay fine."
"And come up here so I can see you. Did you take my wallet back at the bar?"
She scrambled into the front seat and plunked next to him. "I did. Sorry. Had to get you distracted to get into your car. Okay. The boat. I keep track of weird news stories that might be about people like me. Like us. With strange power. Most of the time, there's nothing to them. You do the same thing, right?"
"I do."
"You must have picked up that story, guy says he saw light dancing in the water and sparks coming from some dude's boat out in the ocean. Cops come to investigate, they chalk it up to bioluminescence and since the boat hasn't burned down, figured the witness ate a few mushrooms or swallowed some chemicals."
Riley uncrossed his arms and rested his hands on the steering wheel. "What made you zero in on that particular story?"
"A hunch. Instinct. The guy who owned the boat wouldn't give his name, didn't want anyone to know about him. Most people are media whores. Will do anything to get noticed."
"And you picked out the boat, in the background of the picture. The news story didn't give a name or an exact location."
"Yep. I tracked it to this marina. Wasn't real sure what I would do when I got here. Just talk to the owner, I guess. What's your plan?"
Son of a bitch. The goofy girl had the same idea he did. "No plan. I'm winging it too. But I'm winging it alone. Tomorrow."
"Why not now?"
"Because it's dark and we're both likely to land in lock-up again if we get caught prowling around boat slips at ten o'clock at night."
"I have good vision. I could find the vessel, no problem."
"You're hammered."
"Am not. I snagged a can of Buzz Kill at the bar. I can find the boat."
"No."
"No? I don't recall asking for your permission." She fumbled on the door for the handle.
Riley clicked the locks shut. "What are you going to say, if you find anyone on the boat? Ask the man or whoever owns it, if they made the water light up? Since this person didn't want to talk to the police or the press, I doubt he'll want to talk to you. Especially since you smell like a drunk."
"I do not." She put her palms in front of her face and breathed. "Much. I'll eat a cough drop. Anyway, what's your great idea for tomorrow? You said you didn't have a plan. Maybe it's better if we sneak up on him, confront him when he's not expecting it."
"Somehow, I don't think that will end well. We'll give it a rest tonight, then we can both talk to the guy tomorrow."
"Together?"
"Yes, together."
She gnawed on her bottom lip and drummed her fingers on her leg. "Not a chance."
Before he could stop her, she unlocked the door, tumbled out, and took off.
"Damn it, get back here." He wrenched his own door open and chased after her.
Shit, she moved fast for a pint-size girl. He caught her at the beginning of a walkway and grabbed her arm. "This is not a good plan."
"I know where the boat is. Let go of me."
"You know where Siren of the Sea is docked?"
"I came here earlier and found it."
"Why didn't you tell me? No, forget it. Doesn't matter. Let's go and come back in daylight."
She snatched her arm out of his grip. "I'm going now. You come with me or not."
Gritting his teeth, Riley followed as she marched forward. Stubborn woman would get herself in trouble and much as he wanted to avoid more shit, he needed answers. If she screwed this up, he'd never find them.
"Here." She stopped. "This is it. Looks dark. No, wait, light is coming from below. See, around the curtains?"
Riley walked the length of the boat. Sure enough, Siren of the Sea was painted on the side.
"Hello. Anyone home?" Danika called out.
"Keep it down." He stepped a foot on the boat and knocked on the side. "Hello. Permission to come aboard."
Nothing.
"Let's take a peek." Danika jumped onto the craft.
"Get off of there."
"Come on. I hear something in the lower cabin. We should check it out."
"No, we shouldn't," he hissed, but she already found the door leading below and opened it. A second later, light spilled from the cabin.
"Oh hell. We've got a problem." Her voice wavered, and she stood stock still in the doorway.
Riley moved all the way onto the deck behind Danika and looked over her shoulder into the interior of the lower cabin. "What?"
"I think there's a dead body down there."
He moved past her and stopped when he saw a figure on the floor. Judging by the skewed angle of the arms and legs, the pool of red liquid, and the smell of piss and shit, Riley had to agree with her assessment.
Excerpt 2
Okie dokie. Next subject. "What was it like, when you first realized you could mess with electricity?"
"Weird."
"Like what weird? What happened?"
A long sigh that might put off a lesser woman, but Danika persisted. "What?"
"I thought I was having a heart attack, shorted out the electricity in my office. Went home, played with it, figured out what I could do."
"How did it feel?"
"I told you, weird."
For heaven sake. "I know you're a big tough guy and all, but can't you give me more details, about the actual sensation of when you realized what you could do?"
"No. Can't you sit and be quiet for ten minutes?"
"I can, but I figure since this is the first time I've had another 'freak' as you call us, to talk to, I'd take advantage of it. And you're the one who came looking for me down here, remember?"
"I remember."
"So don't you want to share stories? That's why we're looking for the machine, right? To find others, see if we can figure out what happened to us. You want to get rid of those headaches, don't you?"
"Yes, I do."
He did, but something else motivated this guy. Danika drew away from him and leaned her chair back. Riley had another agenda, her intuition told her. A reason for his search. And he wasn't sharing with her. She jumped as the burner phone rang.
"It's Travis again. I should talk to him."
"No, let him leave a message."
"He left me two already, asking where I was. Sounded pissed."
"Let him leave another. He'll get anxious, give away information."
"I should answer."
"What are you going to say?"
"I've got it worked out. I'll say I chickened out at the last minute at the bar, got worried about meeting him."
"Then what?"
The phone stopped ringing.
"I don't know, depends on his response. I guess he'll want to meet again, and I'll tell him I had to leave. See what he says after that. I think quick on my feet."
"Did he leave a message?" Riley held out his hand. "Give me the phone."
"Yes." She shoved the hand away. "I'll pick it up." Bossy man. He would not bark out orders and expect her to obey like a puppy.
"Come back here, where it's quieter." He stood and motioned with his head. "We'll both listen to it."
"Don't trust me?"
He raised an eyebrow, and she almost laughed. "Yeah, fine, I don't trust you either."
In the relative quiet of the back area of the terminal, she punched in the code to pull up the message and put the phone on speaker.
"It's Travis. Wish you'd return my call. I've got the machine. I didn't tell you when we talked before. Charlie gave it to me to make modifications, last time I saw him. Charlie and I plan to sell it. Except I'm pretty sure Charlie took off. I can't get ahold of him. Look, I need money and need to get out of town. I'll sell it to you, for my share. Charlie can pay you back. Fifty thousand dollars. Get with me soon. Other people are asking about it."
Danika hit the button to save the message. "You think he's for real? That someone else is interested in buying the device?"
"No, he's full of shit. He wants you to get in touch with him, doesn't know how to operate the machine and wants to make money off it. Knows you can't ask Charlie anything, but he's still not mentioning that he's dead."
"What an idiot. Like I won't suspect something is wrong? Try to reach my uncle? Fifty thousand dollars. He's whacked."
"Guess he figures start high. Maybe you want it bad enough." He pulled out his own phone and checked the time. "My shuttle's almost here. I'll dig around, see what I come up with on Travis."
"Keep me updated, about whatever you find, promise?"
"Promise."
"Tonight. Call me tonight and give me an update."
He leaned his head back and growled. "Damn woman, give it a rest. I'll get with you when I learn something of interest."
"And in the meantime, I shouldn't worry my pretty little head? You'll take care of everything?"
He shook his head, a half-smile pulling at his mouth. "I'll contact you. Don't worry."
Oh, how good it would feel to smack that grin right off his face. Patronizing asshole.
She watched him head down the platform. He moved smooth, sure of himself, arms swinging easily, his stride even and strong. Like a tiger who'd claimed the world as his kingdom.
Sensual.
Fuck. She closed her eyes and rubbed them with her knuckles, erasing the momentary lust. There would be nothing between them. At all. His only use in her life was finding out more about Travis and getting that machine back.
She trudged to the other end of the terminal to wait for her own shuttle. Damn it, if she had to find a person cursed with power, why did it have to be an egotistical jerk like Riley? Why couldn't she have encountered a guy with some empathy?
Riley was all about himself. He'd do what he wanted to improve his life, no matter the cost, she suspected. If it coincided with helping others, he'd go along, but wouldn't make any special effort. Lots of people became that way, after The Annihilation. Selfish, scared, distrustful.
Shoving her hands in her pockets, she let out a breath. So maybe she got a little pushy with Riley. A little demanding. Danika did her best to not let anxiety rule her moods, but some days, fear won out.
With Riley, she needed to stay sharp, not let him run over her like a stampede of wild horses. He wanted to be in control, wasn't comfortable working with a partner.
Too bad. She hitched her backpack up as her bus pulled in. He had a partner now, and better get used to it.
Reviews at Amazon and elsewhere
Dangerous Addictions ... is an action-packed suspense novel that you will not want to put down and will keep you on the edge of your seat.
This was so amazing. I loved it so much and the author's writing was wonderful. She sucked me into this world of amazement.. she made me feel as if I was a part of that world also.
Very well written and nicely paced. Two very independent lead characters suffering a similar plight continue to find themselves thrown together... The storyline held my interest, with plenty of thought provoking elements surrounding the long term after effects of a nationwide attack against US water filtration plants...a suspense/intrigue novel with a bit of chemistry between the two leads.
Honestly, I don’t know what had me more riveted, the adventures Riley and Danika had or the control that the government was taking to keep people ‘safe’...My first book and certainly not my last, by author Naomi Bellina, has it all. Murder, suspense, and intrigue keep this story rolling at a fast pace. The slow building from distrust, to working together, to something more for Riley and Danika made for delightful.
From Jacque at The Jeep Diva
Fast-paced and action-packed, DANGEROUS ADDICTIONS by Naomi Bellina is a quirky and unusual read, with interesting characters and a unique plot line - well worth a read. From Linda at Books of All Kinds
