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    The Devil's Playground
    The Devil's Playground
    The Devil's Playground
    Ebook75 pages1 hour

    The Devil's Playground

    By Parker Williams

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    They say the course of true love never runs smooth, and Detective Ben Nelson is learning the truth of that adage in a big way. Two months ago, his lover Artie Middleton was tortured by demons determined to claim the psychic’s special gifts for their own. Now the same friends who helped Ben with the rescue are making a strong case that something about Artie isn’t right. When Artie verbally attacks his best friend, Ben is forced to acknowledge the unbreakable barriers surrounding Artie’s mind.

    Searching for someone with the right gifts to help, Ben encounters a woman who insists there’s only one way—and one person—who stands a chance at saving Artie. What Ben finds when he goes on his solo rescue mission may very well mean both of their deaths, as they confront the evil that has made Artie’s mind the Devil’s playground.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherParker Williams
    Release dateJul 13, 2015
    ISBN9781941841235
    The Devil's Playground
    Author

    Parker Williams

    Parker Williams is a bestselling author of MM romance and suspense. One of his recent works was nominated for the Lambda Literary Awards, and several books have been runners-up at the Rainbow Awards. Parker loves the written word. A chance encounter with an amazing author changed the course of his life as he began to write the stories his men were whispering to him. With the help of some amazing friends and a community of writers he’s proud to be part of, Parker continues telling stories of love, hurt, comfort, and sometimes tosses in a little angst for fun. He believes in love, but also knows that anything worth having requires work and sacrifice (and maybe a little hurt runs smooth, and he enjoys writing about it. Parker lives in Milwaukee, WI, with his husband, Paul, and their menagerie of dogs and cats. Most days you’ll find him on Facebook, sharing stories and pictures of the zoo, or even about Paul, who is always good for a laugh and comfort too). The course of true love never. Website: www.parkerwilliamsauthor.com Twitter: @ParkerWAuthor Facebook: www.facebook.com/parker.williams.75641 Email: parker@parkerwilliamsauthor.com

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      Book preview

      The Devil's Playground - Parker Williams

      Devil’s Playground

      Four of Clubs Three

      PF 2015 Collection

      By

      Parker Williams

      Copyright

      Devil’s Playground: Four of Clubs Three is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

      Copyright © 2015 by Parker Williams

      Cover Art by Laura Harner

      Edited by Jae Ashley

      Formatting by Author.Services

      All rights reserved.

      Smashwords Edition Published in the United States by Pride Press.

      ISBN: 978-1-941841-23-5

      Warning: All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without written permission, except for brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

      Contact the publisher for further information: parker@parkerwilliamsauthor.com

      Acknowledgements

      Many thanks to Becky Condit and Mary Phillips Wallace for their invaluable help in beta reading.

      Jae Ashley for her awesome editing.

      Laura Harner, Havan Fellows, Lee Brazil, and Tom Webb just for being.

      And to Laura Harner for the awesome cover, and Author.Services for help in formatting the book.

      Extra special thanks goes to Christy Duke for being in our corner and all of her support.

      Contents

      Copyright

      Acknowledgements

      Devil’s Playground

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      About the Author

      About PF 2015

      Also Available

      Devil’s Playground

      They say the course of true love never runs smooth, and Detective Ben Nelson is learning the truth of that adage in a big way. Two months ago, his lover Artie Middleton was tortured by demons determined to claim the psychic’s special gifts for their own. Now the same friends who helped Ben with the rescue are making a strong case that something about Artie isn’t right. When Artie verbally attacks his best friend, Ben is forced to acknowledge the unbreakable barriers surrounding Artie’s mind.

      Searching for someone with the right gifts to help, Ben encounters a woman who insists there’s only one way—and one person—who stands a chance at saving Artie. What Ben finds when he goes on his solo rescue mission may very well mean both of their deaths, as they confront the evil that has made Artie’s mind the Devil’s playground.

      Chapter One

      The scream rent the night air, driving Ben from the bed. He glanced over to where his lover should have been, but Artie wasn’t there. He headed down from the loft, unsurprised to find Artie in his usual spot on the couch, curled with Duke, and sobbing. It broke his heart to see Artie this way, but he refused to let the man push him away. He moved quietly, not wanting to frighten his lover, and was about to reach out when Artie cried out again.

      Don't touch me! Artie screamed, wrapping his arms around himself as if trying to ward off pain.

      Ben stepped back, his mind replaying the scene that had begun this whole episode.

      He’d woken from Duke howling that night, too, only Artie had been well and truly gone—taken by demons—not just curled on the couch in what had since become his spot.

      A single panicked phone call brought Jet, Sabine, and Laurant, plus their various friends—a veritable army of preternaturals—to the aid of the only two mostly humans in the group.

      Jet quickly sniffed out the truth. There are scents here that don’t belong to either of you. They’re all over the table.

      Fuck. The caterers. Artie wanted to have the night perfect for everyone, so he hired a catering company. They’re supposed to be here today to pick everything up.

      Everyone searched the house, hoping to find even the smallest clue. Duke padded around, moaning as he searched for Artie, too. Ben called to him and was surprised when Duke came over and lay at his feet.

      I swear to you we’ll find Artie. I’ll bring him home. Though Duke didn’t react to Ben’s words, they made Ben feel better.

      The caterers finally showed up a few minutes after nine. As they set to breaking down the buffet table, Jet surreptitiously wandered around nearby. Finally he snarled and grabbed one young man by the throat, lifting him from the ground and slamming him into the wall hard enough to rattle the dishes in the display.

      I’m only going to ask you this one time. Give me the wrong answer, and I’ll remove your head. Do you understand?

      The young man’s hazel eyes widened, and a puddle began to form beneath him. He nodded as well as he could.

      You were in their bedroom. Why?

      He can’t answer if you choke him to death, Alpha, the one Jet had introduced as Celeste told him, keeping a grip on Jet’s forearm.

      Jet turned him loose, and the man fell to the floor, rubbing his neck.

      A guy paid me to tie something to the bed. He said it was a joke for the new lovers, he said, his eyes darting toward Ben. He gave me fifty bucks.

      Ben could see Jet’s muscles tighten. If it hadn’t been for Celeste, the young man’s insides would be meeting his outsides.

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