We’re coming up on the release date for the fifth novel in the Of Cinder and Bone series, Of Claws and Inferno, so here’s your second excerpt! Spoiler alert, as always. Read the first excerpt here if you’re not caught up yet.

CHAPTER FIVE

ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES

The abyss gazed back.

That was what Faye Worthington, MIT engineer and designer of the Knight Division’s dragon tracker technology, had learned over the last year.

“Hold your arms out, please.”

Faye spread her arms and legs. The guard swept her from head to toe with the metal detector, then gave her a pat down. She smirked when he returned in front of her, fluffing out her natural blonde locks around her shoulders. “Wow. You didn’t cop a feel. I’m proud of you.”

The guard gave her a stony look. She smiled wider, batting her lashes. “You have ten minutes, Ms. Worthington. Don’t make him late for his appointment.”

“Of course. Then I’d be late, since we have the same appointment.”

She heard a loud buzzing noise and then the iron gates unlocked in front of her. The guard pulled them open and she walked through them, her stride easy, relaxed, despite how she actually felt inside. Her stomach wouldn’t stop doing jumping jacks. She hadn’t been able to eat anything as a result. It annoyed her to no end.

Another guard opened a second door for her into the visitation area of the Cedar Junction Massachusetts Correctional Institution. Her heart thumped clumsily against her sternum as she walked through the maze of tables to the one designated for her and the room’s only occupant.

The man sitting at the table was of indeterminant age. His features were plain and ordinary as could be but for his dark brown eyes. Somehow or other, the fluorescent lights didn’t seem to reach them, as if they were perpetually in darkness, like twin black holes set in his brow. His head was completely shaved bald and beneath his dark red jumpsuit was a compact, muscular frame.

“Well, well, well,” Winston, hitman extraordinaire, drawled, his mouth stretching into a pointy grin. “Look what the cat dragged in.”

Faye snorted as she pulled the chair out from the table and sat down. “Excuse you. I’m wearing Prada. Nobody dragged me anywhere.”

Winston chuckled as he glanced over her exquisite red dress. “Acknowledged. I’m flattered you dressed up for me.”

Faye rolled her eyes. “You wish, bastard. Do you know how many members of the press are showing up to this farce? I have to keep up appearances. Besides, pretty sure having a nice rack will positively influence the media to give me sympathy points.”

“You’re being downright tactical about it, huh?”

Faye shrugged. “Can’t hurt my chances.”

“Chances, heh. Even without me talking, it’s pretty open and shut. I ain’t a rich politician. I was never getting off for this shit, even if I had gone with a fancy lawyer.”

Faye crossed her arms, her blue-grey eyes fixed intently on him. “And why didn’t you? We both know you’ve got the means to make it happen.”

Winston rubbed his scalp, his handcuffs jingling. “Why bother wasting the money?”

“Aren’t you up against the death penalty because you wouldn’t talk?”

Winston shrugged. “Lived a good life. If they wanna kill me, they can go ahead. Wouldn’t do what I do for a living if I were afraid of death.”

Faye’s eyes narrowed. “You said do, not did.”

Winston smiled. “Did I?”

“Uh-huh. You’re up to something.”

“What makes you say that?”

“You offered to meet with me before we go to the sentencing. Why?”

Winston touched his chest, pretending to be offended. “Blondie, I’m hurt. Are you saying you didn’t want to say goodbye? After all, this concludes our little cat-and-mouse game. They’re not going to let us have another private chat after this point. Especially not if I get the needle.”

“Let’s just say I’m skeptical that you don’t have some scheme to break yourself out of prison waiting in the wings.”

The grin returned. “You really think I’m capable of it?”

“I am more than sure you are. As much as I’d like to believe that I won our game, I’m not convinced. You let me win. I take issue with that.” The pretend amiability left her expression. Steel replaced it. “I’m not a child, Winston. You said you wanted a worthy opponent. You said you wouldn’t mind a beautiful Valkyrie like me putting you in the ground. So tell me what’s really going on here? Why didn’t you try to break out of prison to come after me?”

Winston clucked his tongue. “Too easy. That mystery you’ll have to figure out on your own. You’re smart. I’m sure you’ll get there soon enough.”

Faye shot him a sour look. “So then you brought me in here just to screw with me?”

“Not exactly.”

“Then what? Do you expect me to humanize you and ask twenty questions like the Iceman Chronicles or something?”

Winston flashed his teeth. “You know goddamn well I ain’t human, blondie.”

“Ain’t that the truth?” She sat back in her seat and scrutinized him. “Fine. If I’m not here for you, then I have to figure I’m here for Stella.”

“Winner, winner, chicken dinner.”

“What’s there to say? She’s in hot water, same as you, only worse because she shot Deputy Burns in the leg in front of the whole precinct. A lot of cops got hurt during that raid on her safe house, too. She did opt for the fancy lawyer, but we both know she’s not getting out of this either.”

“You’re assuming I brought you here to tell you something and not the other way around.”

Faye blinked in surprise. “What the hell does that mean?”

“I want to know if she’s sent anyone after you since she’s been in slam.”

“Oh. That. Yeah, she has.”

Winston scowled. “Tell me.”

Faye ran a hand through her hair. “Let’s see. There was the suspicious package delivered to our front door. We had to evacuate and call in the bomb squad, but it turned out to be a false alarm. All that was inside the box was an hourglass and a note that said, ‘You’re living on borrowed time.’ Technically speaking, it could’ve come from one of Jack and Kam’s enemies, but I wouldn’t put it past Stella. A week after that, I was walking to my car and Jack called me. Apparently, that shorted out the nice little car bomb someone attached to my Honda Civic and set it off early.”

“Jesus Christ,” Winston swore.

“Yeah, she’s a real piece of work, your ex-wife. When the bomb didn’t work, she sent McKenzie.”

Winston sucked his teeth. “Oh, that punk.”

“Yeah. He was hiding behind a dumpster when I got out of my evening hair appointment. Tried to strangle me in the parking garage.”

He snorted. “How did that go for him?”

Faye smiled. “Three broken ribs and a gunshot to the right foot.”

Winston whistled. “Atta girl.”

“And then there was Silicon Valley.”

Winston frowned. “What happened in Silicon Valley?”

“Sniper. I was leaving a conference center after a lecture about the dragon trackers. I sneezed right when he pulled the trigger, which made him miss. The bullet hit the trunk of the Uber I’d been about to get in. Total dumb luck. I took cover before he could try for another shot.”

“Did they catch the culprit?”

Faye shook her head. “Unfortunately, they think he was perched on top of a hotel. Once he blew the shot, he probably just went back inside to his room and waited it out. No one remembers seeing anything and the hotel’s old school, no cameras on the rooftop or in the hallways.”

“And when did that happen?”

“Six months ago.”

“Nothing since?”

“No.”

Winston’s frown deepened. “Don’t you think that’s suspicious?”

“I don’t think anything. I know it is. Stella’s sentencing is this Friday. Dollars to donuts, that’s when she makes her final play.”

“And just what are you going to do about it?”

“I’ve survived her twice already. Third time’s the charm. I’ve been in martial arts and sharpshooting classes since last April and I’m licensed to carry. If she’s stupid enough to try anything, then she won’t have to worry about a needle.”

Winston nodded. “Good girl. Death penalty’s up in the air for me, but the stuff they managed to unearth about Stella almost guarantees the death penalty, especially with her accepting the contract on Dr. Anjali while she was pregnant. Juries and judges aren’t supposed to be influenced by things like that, but in truth, they are. You try to kill a kid or a baby under their watch and you’re done. That’s why I never went after anyone younger than twenty-one, no matter what the price tag was. Stella doesn’t have my scruples. Predators are most dangerous when they’re cornered. This is the endgame, blondie. You’d better be ready.”

“I will be,” Faye whispered. “And this time, you won’t be there to stop me from pulling the trigger.”

“I’ve had time to think about that. And I realized this whole time you’ve been toeing that line between vengeance and justice. To some degree, I’d hoped you’d be able to keep your hands clean. Protect without becoming a killer, like me. But life doesn’t work that way. That first kill changes you.”

Faye tilted her head slightly. “When was your first kill?”

Winston met her stare for a long while, then exhaled. “I was nineteen, fighting a war I probably shouldn’t have been fighting, but it’s not like I knew that at the time.”

“Mm. Did you regret it?”

Winston grinned, but she could see the dark edges to it. “What? You think I come from some tragic backstory, blondie? That I’m a broken little boy who kills to fill that hole inside of my chest where my soul used to be? Nah. This ain’t one of them stories. I can’t dance or roll my tongue, but I can kill people pretty good. It’s the only thing I’ve ever been good at and when I lay my head down at night, I sleep like a baby. I don’t see their faces. Never have. Probably never will.”

A chill spilled through her. The matter-of-fact nature of his confession scared her more than almost anything else she’d ever heard him say.

Faye licked her lips. “They told me no one’s been able to ID you. You don’t have any family? Friends?”

“Do you think I’d tell you even if I did?”

Faye snorted. “Yeah, guess that was a stupid question. I’m going out on a limb here and guessing you left home to join the military, then faked your own death, changed your face and name, and came back a new man. That’s why no one’s recognized you even after your trial went viral. The last time they’d have seen you, you’d have been a teenager. Doesn’t matter if your family’s still alive; they’d have no way of recognizing you. The tip line turned up bupkiss, given your reputation. No one in your assassin’s guild is gonna give you up either since they know it’s a death sentence if they do. If you’ve taken any government contracts, they’re not gonna talk either to avoid implicating themselves. Given the circles you’ve traveled in, why are you still alive, Winston?”

“‘Cause I didn’t talk and I didn’t cut a deal,” he grunted. “If I’d have done either, oh, yeah, trust me, I’d be worm food right now. Great thing about having a reputation for going on a few decades is that if other killers and their handlers know you don’t talk, then there’s no need to waste resources trying to shut you up.”

Faye narrowed her eyes. “So you’re telling me no one’s tried anything with you since you’ve been caught?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Let me guess: the mob guys in Boston that you pissed off when you killed that driver?”

“Bingo. But their guys are sloppy. Too used to using brute force. They’re pretty easy to stop, comparatively speaking.”

Faye jumped slightly as she heard the guard knock on the door to give her a warning that her visitation had ended.

Winston smiled. “Time’s up, blondie. Gotta say, it was fun while it lasted. You’re something else. Watch your back.”

Faye smiled in return. “You’re a monster. You deserve to rot in a jail cell and I’m glad that I’m the one who put you in it. Just like I said I would.”

“Yeah,” he said, his eyes glittering with strange and troublesome things. “Just like you said you would.”

Faye stood and pushed in her seat before dusting off her gorgeous dress. “Goodbye, Frank.”

“Goodbye, blondie.”

She left without looking back.

–

Find out the conclusion to the cat and mouse game between Faye, Winston, and Stella in Of Claws and Inferno.

Release date: April 22nd, 2022

Pre-order available on Amazon and all other platforms for only .99 cents. Get it before April 22nd. The price will increase on April 23rd. Don’t forget to also add it to your Goodreads To Be Read shelf.

You can also sign up between now and April 22nd for the ARC program. Get a free copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review by signing up here.

See you guys back here in a month for the third and final excerpt!