I’m still hard at work on The Mind Thieves, book 2 in The Mind Readers series. But while we’re waiting for its release, I have another excerpt to share!
A low rumble of thunder shook the sky. Maddox glanced up and smiled. “Excellent.”
“You’re excited that it’s going to rain?”
“Yep. Rain means people go inside. Those left outside avert their gazes, trying to keep the rain from their eyes. In other words, Sweetheart, we have less of a chance of being recognized.”
“Rain means we get soaked, Harriet the Spy, and we don’t have any other clothes,” I said, being a little more practical about the situation.
“Something I’m going to remedy right now.”
He steered me toward a booth selling carved objects in a dark wood. Typical island junk sold to tourists.
“What can I help you with?” the man behind the stall rubbed his hands eagerly while smiling at us under his bushy black mustache. His beady eyes darted back and forth between the two of us, obviously trying to decide who controlled the wallet in our happy little family.
“This will be an easy sale,” he thought.
Maddox picked up the statue of a pig. “We’re on our honeymoon.”
“Ahhh!” The seller clapped his pudgy hands together. “Wonderful! True love!”
I gagged.
Maddox threw me a threatening glare as he replaced the statue. “We want to find something special to remember our honeymoon, don’t we, my dear?”
I was saved from answering by the overly helpful salesman. “Of course, of course!”
He scurried toward a table holding wooden bowls. “How is this?”
“No, something else. Something…with a lid.”
What the heck was he doing? We were supposed to be running for our lives and he was buying a gift for someone? I glanced around, growing anxious. We couldn’t seriously be shopping, so what was Maddox up to?
Thunder rumbled menacingly again, making the earth tremble. Shoppers were fleeing to the few cafés on the corners.
I started to turn toward Maddox and urge him to hurry when someone at the red tent next to us shifted. I couldn’t say why the woman caught my attention, but she had. She was about my age, maybe a couple years older. Her blonde hair was pulled into a sleek ponytail that whispered across her tanned back as she sashayed away. The sundress she wore tied around her neck and hung low around her backside, showing lots of skin. I knew before she turned, she was gorgeous. As if sensing my attention, she paused.
I took a hesitant step closer, curious about her in some way I didn’t understand. Slowly, she turned. She wore sunglasses that covered her eyes, but it didn’t matter. There was something about her… about her face, her body, her very being that seemed oddly familiar. Her lips lifted into a smile that was more of a smirk, almost as if she understood my confusion.
Who was she?
“Here’s your new wardrobe.” Maddox stepped close to me, drawing my attention to him. He lifted the lid of the jar he held. A wad of bills were tucked neatly inside. It had to be thousands of dollars.
I gasped, shocked when really at this point nothing should have surprised me. “How?”
He winked. “I have my resources.” He closed the lid and glanced around. “You ready?”
Rain fell from the skies, pattering against the tents, soaking my sweatshirt. “I guess.” I glanced down the aisle, looking for the blonde girl. She was gone.
“What is it?” Maddox rested his hand on my lower back.
The base of my skull began to throb. “I thought…nothing.” I rubbed my neck and turned toward him. “I’m fine. Let’s go and get this over with.”
