Shades of Memory

A Diamond City Magic Novel, Book 4

Shades of Memory
Bell Bridge Books (November 3, 2017)
ebook ISBN-13: 9781611948226
print ISBN:
9781611948370

Print: Coming Soon
eBook: Amazon | Kobo | Google | iBooks | Nook

Riley’s lost the last damned thing she’s willing to lose. She’s declaring war and prisoners are optional.

After escaping the FBI, Riley and her family have become fugitives, and not just from the law. Every bad guy on the planet wants a piece of Riley. Gregg has been kidnapped. Worse than that, Price’s newly discovered magic is dangerously out of control, and her own is trying to kill her. She has little time to worry about any of that before all hell breaks loose in Diamond City, and she finds herself smack dab in the crossfire.

With the clock ticking down, Riley gathers her friends and family to execute a Hail Mary plan that will pit them against seven of the most dangerous thugs in Diamond City, a serial killer, Riley’s psychopath father, and a mysterious billionaire with plans of his own. If she succeeds, she makes herself an even bigger target. If she fails, everybody she cares about dies.

But the shadows hold danger even Riley will never see coming . . . .

Praise for Shades of Memory:

UF fans are in for a treat as Pharaoh Francis returns with the fourth installment in her original and gripping Diamond City Magic series. Any “wins” her protagonists’ have managed in their fight against a corrupt government and dangerous Tyet’s have come with terrible costs. Keeping the storytelling pace quick, Pharaoh Francis tracks events happening both to heroine Riley Hollis and Tyet boss Gregg Price. Dark times may be heading towards Diamond City so the intensity level of this book is off the charts! Make sure you don’t miss out on this stellar example of UF! –Jill Smith, Romantic Times, four star review

This book is a real game changer. Riley must make some hard decisions and will need a little help from both her family and friends. Things in Diamond City are about to change in a big way and Riley will be in the middle of it all. Relationships will be tested, lives will be put on the line, and a new threat will enter into the fray making for a highly intense, compelling, and gripping read.

I couldn’t help but give this one 5 out of 5 roses. I love this dynamic duo and the world Ms. Francis has created. The chemistry between Price and Riley is off the charts, and I love the way they banter back and forth. Price gives as good as he gets from Riley which keeps her on her toes. Be forewarned, however, that this one ends abruptly in a huge cliffhanger. Gah! (If you heard someone screaming loudly last night that was probably me shouting, “NOOOOOOoooooooo!” **smirk**) On the Lisarenee Romance Rating Scale this one earned a FAN rating–the temperature in the room seems to have suddenly gone up a couple of degrees and a fan would be nice. I highly recommend this series. This series is destined for my keeper shelf. –Seduced By A Book

Chapter 1

Gregg

WINDOWLESS WHITE walls, white floors, white toilet, white sink, white table. The room was unrelentingly white. Though Gregg assumed he was being monitored, he saw no signs of cameras or microphones. His rival in crime—Savannah Morrell—had imprisoned him in this incessantly white box and left him to stew. Stripped of everything but his clothing, he had no idea how long it had been since he’d been kidnapped.

The room offered no weapons. The bed was bolted to the floor, as was the table and the lone chair. The toilet had no seat or lid, and the faucet was motion sensitive. Only his mattress, the toilet paper, and the white cup could be mobilized, and while he could make a knife of the latter, it would have done him little good. No one came.

Nulls or binders deadened his traveller magic. Food came periodically. It arrived inside his table, which was attached to the wall. The tabletop rose, and within was a compartment accessible through a narrow panel along the wall. The meal arrived, and warned by the smell, Gregg ate, then shut the table again so that the panel could open to permit the removal of his dirty dishes.

Though plentiful, the food tasted like rehydrated camp slop. Gregg counted meals, even though he knew it meant little to the division of the day or night. He paced and performed a regimen of muscle-building exercises to keep himself ready. He slept in short bursts only when forced to by exhaustion. Mostly he spent his time staring at the sterile walls, mind spinning helplessly.

Somewhere outside this prison, his brother, Clay, was being tortured by the FBI. Or maybe the long week had passed, and he’d been released. Or maybe he’d broken, and they’d locked him in a supermax for the talented.

Gregg knotted his hands in his hair and let out an agonized moan. If he could, he’d kill Savannah for getting in the way of his saving Clay. God, he hoped Riley had made it clear of the trap. His brother’s girlfriend had been with him when Savannah’s thugs had closed in. He’d sent her running into the night. She was smart and had skills. Surely if Savannah had captured Riley, she’d have taunted him with it already. He had to take comfort in that. He had no other choice.

Thirty-six meals later, he received the newspaper. It came folded beside his paper plate. All the dates had been blacked out. He flattened it on the table and read the headline: Marchont Research Facility Annihilated. His chest exploded like he’d been punched. He knew that place. It was a secret FBI facility, and the one he figured housed Clay for interrogation. His breath coming in short pants, he scanned the article.

A magical explosion had not just leveled the compound, it had left nothing more than a black hole in the ground. A grainy picture of the scene splayed over the entire top half of the paper, with insets of blackened bodies and melted debris. The burn extended up the surrounding hills, leaving behind ridges of slag and ash. One hundred and twenty people had been declared dead or missing.

The article explained that the place had been attacked, though no one knew who might have done it. The reporter speculated that the explosion pointed to domestic terrorism or a Tyet hit.

Gregg stared at the pictures. Surely Clay had escaped. A scornful laugh wedged in his throat. God, how naïve and stupid! Clay had been held as tightly as Gregg was being held now.

Unless—maybe this had been a rescue. If Riley had escaped Savannah, if she’d organized an escape mission . . .

It wasn’t possible. Resourceful as she was, she didn’t have the means. Hell, she didn’t even know Marchont was an FBI compound. She was practically a babe in the woods when it came to Tyet business.

He found himself sliding to the floor, rolling onto his side as he curled into a ball. Scalding tears ran down his face as he wept, the sounds he made ugly and harsh.

No one came.

Later he read the article again. Then again. Three more times until he noticed the little box on the back page in the “Too late for regular publication” box. It listed an update. A helicopter discovered abandoned a few miles away. It belonged to Hollis Aviation. Investigators were following up.

Gregg crumpled the paper in his fists, hope lighting in his gut. Taylor’s helicopter. That meant she’d been there, with Riley. That meant it was possible they’d got Clay out before—

For the first time in hours, his brain shifted into gear. Had they caused the explosion to cover their escape? Had Clay done it himself? But up until the FBI had arrested him, he hadn’t known he even had a talent. And even if he had known, he didn’t make fire. At least, Gregg didn’t think he could. His brother had moved a mountain as a child, before trauma had sealed that memory away in his brain. He hadn’t created one lick of fire. Neither could he imagine Taylor or Riley sacrificing so many lives. It wasn’t their natures. So what had happened? Who had wanted that building demolished beyond recovery? And why?

He paced. More food came. Another sliding panel opened, revealing a small shower. How long had it been since it last opened? He’d guess at least three or four days by his smell. He went inside gratefully. He washed and put on the clothes left for him inside the table. This time he was given a pair of gray sweatpants and a red Denver Broncos tee shirt.

More food, several more showers, no news. No contact. He fought to keep sane. He stretched and did exercises until his body shook with exertion and sweat ran in runnels from his skin. He made himself perform math equations out loud, if only to hear his own voice, if only to break the crushing silence.

He could do nothing about the smothering white.

And then, when his beard had grown nearly an inch, a different panel slid open to reveal a hallway with a pale blue carpet and flowered wallpaper between white Greek pilasters. Graceful tables held vases of bright flowers. Mirrors reflected the light of small crystal chandeliers.

A slender, dark-skinned man waited with two bruisers at his back. His mouth curved an unfriendly smile. He held up a heavy silver cuff. “Mister Touray, I am Dembe Heinu. Put this on, if you please.”

Gregg eyed it balefully, then snapped it around his wrist. He didn’t have to ask to know it was a null.

“If you’ll just raise your arm, now?” Dembe held a small padlock.

Gregg did as requested, watching as the other man slid the shank through the loop on the cuff and clicked it home.

“I am to tell you that should you attempt to escape, the Micha Center will be destroyed. A large high school cheerleading competition happens there today. The death toll would be eight thousand at a minimum. You should also know that explosives have been placed at two dozen other sites throughout the city. Should you successfully escape, every hour will see further deaths until you return to our custody.”

“You suppose I care about other people’s lives,” Gregg said tightly.

I suppose nothing,” Dembe said. “If you will follow me.”

He turned and strode away down the wide corridor. Gregg fell in behind, with the two bruisers bringing up the rear. Tentatively, he reached for his magic, but as he suspected, the cuff nulled his power. Not that he’d dare an escape.

He didn’t doubt for a single second that Savannah would follow through on her threat. She didn’t mind blood on her conscience. He snorted inwardly. As if she even had a conscience. She was cold-blooded, ruthless, and devious as hell, not to mention ambitious and greedy for power. She liked holding other people’s lives in her hands. She liked knowing that they depended on her to keep breathing. She liked it when they knew it, too. Most of all, she liked wielding that power. She’d left a lot of corpses in her wake over the years and wouldn’t shy from adding to the body count.

They passed a number of doorways, then took a set of white marble stairs upward to a wide gallery scattered with clusters of furniture and capped by a coffered ceiling. An enormous fireplace dominated one wall, with floor-to-ceiling windows revealing a gorgeous view. The lights of the snow-covered city clinging to the side of the caldera below glimmered like stars against the velvet night.

On the other end of the gallery, Dembe led Gregg around a wall and through a wide archway. Here was a comfortable salon, with white couches and a fully-stocked bar along one wall. The windowed walls rounded outward and rose to curve overhead. He sighed as his deprived senses drank in the world.

“Welcome, Gregg. Would you care for a drink?”

Savannah Morrell rose from her wingback chair. She stood no more than five feet tall, though silvered pumps lent her at least four more inches. Blond hair curved around her face in a smooth cap. Her pale face was flawless, her clothing chic. She smelled of expensive French perfume.

Gregg hated her with all his soul. For weeks before his capture, he’d been hunting her, trying to find a hole through her security to kill her. Now here he stood within a few feet, and he might as well be on another planet, as much good as his proximity did.

He made himself relax. He needed to play the game if he wanted to find an escape. “I’d take a scotch.”

“That’s right. You like a good single malt, if I recall. Dembe, pour him a Macallan, if you please. It is quite good, I’m told. The usual for me.”

She motioned for Gregg to sit in a chair and sank gracefully back into hers. Her legs were clad in silk stockings, her body sheathed in a long-sleeved cashmere dress the color of blood rubies. She said nothing, waiting as Dembe prepared their drinks and set them on the table between them.

“Leave,” she said with a wave of her fingers.

In a moment, the two of them were alone. Savannah picked up her glass and sipped, making a pleased humming sound. “It’s lovely outside, is it not? The new fall of snow makes the world seem fresh born.”

“And yet we both know the world beneath the snow is crawling with maggots,” Gregg drawled, swirling his scotch.

“We must take it as we find it.”

“Or change it to suit ourselves. Is that not what you’ve in mind?”

She shrugged, a liquid movement full of feline grace. “You must admit that you plan the same.”

“Except I want to save the city. Shut down the violence and the corruption.”

She laughed. “Call it what you want, it’s still running the city to suit yourself.”

He forced a half smile, lifting his drink to his lips and taking a large swallow. The whiskey tasted smoky and woodsy, running down his throat in a delicious burn.

“You didn’t kidnap me to discuss our competing views for the city,” he said. He wanted to ask for news of Clay, of the explosion, but refused to give her the satisfaction. That, and she’d use it against him. Savannah could spot weakness a mile away, and she never hesitated to take advantage. When she went to war, she left nothing on the table.

“Direct as usual,” she said with a curve of her red lips. “Very well. I want the Kensington artifacts in your possession, including the vial of his blood. Turn them over to me and no one will be harmed. Don’t turn them over, and . . .” She shrugged and looked out the window, lifting her glass to her lips.

Fire bloomed in the night. Orange, red, and yellow swelled and burst into bright flowers. A few seconds later, another explosion, then another, and another. Six in all. Gregg leaped to his feet, coming to stand inches from the window, shocked horror yanking the air from his lungs.

He whirled. “What the fuck have you done?”

“I’ve made a point. Sit down. We’re not done negotiating.”

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Check out the rest of the Diamond City Magic books.