The
Scarlet Tanager
(The
Misadventures of Annika Brisby, Book 3)
By
Emigh Cannaday
"You're part samodiva. I knew that when I met you. It's in
your blood to be distracted by beauty...and pleasure."
He turned to face her, taking in every sensuous curve of
her female form. "You seem to have forgotten that it's in
my blood as well. Whatever shall I do to remind you?"
Scandal. Blackmail. Obsession. It’s just another day if you’re
a Marinossian. When Annika disappears without a trace,
Talvi launches the hunt for his most infuriating rival yet. His
only clues are from a government he’s increasingly at odds
with. In exchange for access to their resources, he does the
unthinkable and reveals Annika’s true nature. Time is short,
but the list of names Talvi can trust keeps getting shorter.
Back
home at the family’s country estate, his brother Finn is
blindsided
when the missing redhead turns up injured with
no recollection of how
she arrived. While his mother tends
to her physical wounds, Finn’s given
the task of restoring
her memory…and he just can’t resist showing her
his
version of the truth. But playing mind games is like playing
roulette—and someone’s luck is about to run out.
Aarrgg!!! Dam you
woman. You did it to me again. Not only
did I stay up 24 hours straight reading
this book, but you go
and end this one like that. Nnnooo I don’t want that end
to be
true. And please get me the next book ASAP. Crap it say not
till next
year. So for a year I have to wonder if one of my
favorite characters is dead.
I am hoping it was someone
Else, or a dream. Anything else, but how it went
down….
Okay now that I am done with my rant. On with the review.
I am trying so
hard not to blow this book for you. Now if you
have not read the first two
books, go get them and start
there. This is one phenomenal set of books. I just
wish
I could get book 4 now. But I do know she is still writing it.
So alas I have
to wait.
Now the last book
ended with Anika was kidnapped by a
very bad, well I am not sure as he is able
to shape shift into
anyone he has ever touched. Well this whatever it is sells
her to a bunch
of vampires. And that is when her true hell
begins. Even now that she does not remember
what has
happened in the past year. She remembers some things.
But Finn is not right
in the head and is confusing her even
more =. So much so she thinks he is her
husband. Granted
he tells her he is not. But it seems he is off his rocker.
Meanwhile,
Talvi is still searching for her. Finn has sent him
a cryptic note telling him
he has her but it takes Merri to
figure it out. Then there is the wako Yuri who
is now a
vampire. She is so vile she tells Finn things that are really
awful
man I want to kill her at times.
Now before I ruin
this for you I will leave off here. I
hope you
enjoy this book as much as I did. If you do like this book,
please consider leaving a review. The Authors really like
it when you do; they
value your opinions too.
The Annika Brisby Series
(dark romantic fantasy/paranormal romance)
iBooks | Kobo | Smashwords
The Darkest of Dreams
The Annika Brisby Series ~ Book 4 (2017)
Release & Catch (A Sexy Romantic Comedy)
Release & Catch: part 1 (FREE eBook!)
Release & Catch: a 3 part book bundle\
When Annika opened her eyes, she could barely make out Talvi’s profile in the driver’s seat of her car. Her vision was about as blurry as a watercolor painting left in the rain, leaving her unable to see much of anything except flashes of headlights passing by. Careful not to move a muscle, she remained slumped against the door until she was sure that the sedative he’d slipped her was indeed wearing off. While they sped down the highway, she considered her escape options. Even in her stupor, she knew her choices were beyond limited. The only one she could think of was insane, and it might get her killed in the process, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Her right hand crept along the side panel of the door until it felt the handle. She gripped and pulled it as hard as she could, launching herself towards her freedom. She remembered being briefly airborne in the dark summer night before everything went black.
“You weren’t supposed to wake up, you stupid bitch,” snarled a familiar voice, but the accent was all wrong. Annika opened her eyes and screamed at the man groping at her. She tried to crawl backwards and away from Talvi, but he held her wrists down beside her ears, laughing with a disgusting air of malice.
“If you wanted to lay on your back so bad, you could’ve just told me to pull over…but I guess you like playing hard to get,” he said, unzipping his jeans. Annika growled in defiance and spit in his face, and he responded by hitting the side of her face so hard that she wondered if he’d knocked out some of her teeth.
“That’s no way to treat your husband,” he laughed, pushing up her poofy, sparkly rainbow skirt. She struggled against him, trying to kick him, but her legs felt heavy and weak. “You sure don’t behave like a good girl. Lucky for you that I’m not a good guy.”
She screamed again, and when he shoved his hand against her mouth she bit down hard, prepared for his fist when it struck her again. Her head throbbed but she somehow found the courage to taunt him to hit her again. The second his hand left her wrist, she punched him in the throat with her renewed strength. He reeled backwards, gasping as he clutched his neck. Then he lunged towards her, and Annika sank her knee into his crotch so forcefully that he fell onto his side, doubled over in pain. She began to crawl up the embankment, grasping in desperation onto the tall, wet ferns and stumbled over the thick, moss-covered logs until she saw her car a few yards ahead. She made a wobbly run for the driver’s side, oblivious to the traffic flying past her as her rubbery legs carried her to safety. She got in and locked the door, but when she reached over to close the passenger’s side, she screamed in terror. Talvi was already standing there, glaring at her with the nastiest expression she’d ever seen on his face. He grabbed her by the underarms and dragged her through the car and then shoved her down to the gravel shoulder, hitting her again before pulling out a flask from his pocket. He forced her jaws apart and poured the bitter alcoholic contents into her mouth. She tried to spit it out, but amidst the coughing and choking, her numb and sore jaws were no match for his painfully sober grip.
Red and blue lights began to flicker all around her, and when the Portland Police squad car pulled up and shined a spotlight through the rear window, she breathed a sigh of relief. Talvi hid the flask under the floor mat and rolled up his shirtsleeves, unconcerned as he waited for the officer to step out of his car. For Annika, the seconds seemed to drag by. Her arms felt like lead weights hanging off her sides, and her eyelids were betraying her, thanks to whatever had been mixed in that flask. Time began to slow down like it had earlier that night, making everything appear as blurry as another ruined watercolor.
“Everything alright here?” the officer asked, stepping closer to take a look at Annika. Her mouth opened to speak, but her frantic pleas for help sounded like incoherent drunken babble.
“I think I’ve gotten the situation under control as much as I can,” said Talvi, laughing softly. “My wife drank too much on an empty stomach, and when I pulled over to let her throw up, she fell down the ditch. She got a few scratches, but she’ll be okay.”
The officer shined his flashlight on Annika and furrowed his brow in confusion. He didn’t see any scratches at all, although there was some mud and grass stains on her disheveled clothes and her lip was bleeding.
“You alright, miss?” he asked. Annika’s voice failed her completely this time, and she beckoned with her eyes for him to rescue her from this grey-eyed monster that had the nerve to disguise himself as her husband. Troubled by her expression, the policeman turned to Talvi.
“I’ll need to see your license and registration,” he said. “Both yours and hers. It’s standard procedure.”
“We’re actually on our way to the airport,” said Talvi. “We have an international flight.”
“I doubt they’ll let your wife on the plane if she’s so drunk she can’t even talk,” said the officer with a skeptical look. “But the sooner I clear you, the sooner you’re free to find out.”
Talvi glanced in the backseat at his brown backpack.
“My ID’s in the back seat. Is it alright for me to get it?”
The officer shook his head.
“I’ll get it. You stay right where you are.”
The officer crawled into the car and reached for the bag, but when he reappeared, his eyes widened in disbelief. Talvi was almost a foot shorter, and his wild black hair had morphed to a neatly clipped ash blonde cut that was longer on the top and buzzed close at the sides. His eyes, however, were still the same shade of grey.
“Whoa, what the fuck just happened?” asked the policeman as his fingers grazed the handle of his gun. His unease was apparent as he eyed the smaller man in baggy clothes. “You’re…you’re not the same guy I was just talking to a second ago!”
“Sure I am,” said the young man in a husky, casual voice. “You’ve probably had a long night, haven’t you?”
“I just started my shift,” the officer replied while cautiously taking the ID from the grey-eyed man. The photo on the card matched the person standing in front of him, but he was still unsure about exactly who he was dealing with. “Do me a favor and come with me, Stephan. I want you to sit in the back of the squad car while I run this.”
“What about my wife?”
The officer glanced over at Annika, who was passed out on the ground next to the passenger door of her car.
“Yeah…I don’t think she’s going anywhere.”
The two men walked to the police car, where the officer let the man previously thought to be Talvi into the back seat. After running a background check on him and Annika and responding to a few calls from his dispatcher, he held the door open and handed back the driver’s licenses.
“Well Stephan, your record’s as clean as a whistle, but it looks like your wife has a recent history of public indecency around motor vehicles…” he said hesitantly. “I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, but it’s public record, so…”
“What did she do this time?” Stephan asked in a bored tone, which caught the officer off guard.
“She was arrested a few months ago with another guy for lewd and lascivious behavior. A Mr. Marinossian.”
“Oh I know all about Talvi,” said Stephan with an indifferent shrug as he stepped out of the squad car. “My wife and I have an open marriage.”
“No shit?” said the officer, dumbfounded again. “How’s that working out for you?”
“It would be working out better for me if she wasn’t shitfaced and lying on the ground right now,” said Stephen with a forced smile, sliding his ID into his wallet. “I was hoping to have a little quality time together before being stuck on a plane for the next twenty-four hours, but c’est la vie. It’s so embarrassing when she gets like this, but you probably see it all the time. When will women learn that they can’t drink like a man unless they’re built like one?”
“Aw, well, today’s her birthday, so go easy on her,” said the officer, trying not to snicker at the sight of the redhead passed out in the gravel. “I’ve seen plenty of college gals in worse shape than her, but she’ll probably still have one hell of a hangover during the flight. Where’re you headed, anyway? Twenty-four hours seems like a long time to be stuck on a plane.”
“We’re going to Prague. There’s a lot of connecting flights.”
“Oh, that’ll be nice. Real romantic looking, from the pictures I’ve seen. You’ll have tons of quality time once you get there,” the officer said, smiling good naturedly. “Hopefully I didn’t keep you kids too long and they’ll let her on the plane. I can’t imagine security being bad at this time of night. Do you want a hand getting her back into your car? It’s the least I can do.”
“If you don’t mind, that would be great,” Stephan replied as he extended his hand towards the officer. “What’s your name, by the way?”
“Jenkins,” the officer said as he shook Stephan’s hand. “Aaron Jenkins.”
“How wonderful to have met you, Aaron Jenkins,” Stephan grinned as he gripped the officer’s hand a little tighter and shook it a little longer than necessary, “I don’t think you have any idea how lucky I am that our paths crossed.”
·٠•● Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ●•٠· Emigh Cannaday ·٠•●
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ●•٠·
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After bouncing around from Paris to Portland, Emigh
After bouncing around from Paris to Portland, Emigh
Cannaday now lives in Wisconsin with her husband and
a pack of Welsh Corgis. She grew up drawing, painting,
and writing down her elaborate daydreams that focus on
nature, intuition, and a bit of magic. She spends her free
time testing out new recipes in the kitchen and playing
with houseplants and horses.
She also co-hosts the Wine Wars podcast, a show dedicated
She also co-hosts the Wine Wars podcast, a show dedicated
to all things wine and Star Wars. Find her on Facebook,
www.emighcannaday.com to get the latest author updates
and connect with other fans.
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