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Love can conquer all, if he’ll only believe…
Roman Jonas has spent years recovering from a violent assault when he was just a teenager. He’s worked hard, and finally found his place in the world. Now, if he can only get his coyote to agree. As a medicine man for his pack, he isn’t able to shift. It’s frustrating to say the least, but not as frustrating—or confusing—as the feelings he has for former Ranger Abraham Evans.
Abraham lost the ability to do his job effectively when he was shot. His right arm and hand are close to useless, and he’s had a hell of a time not dying over the past month. Sometimes it seems like it’d be so much easier to just give up, but a certain hazel-eyed man has captured his heart, and it won’t stop beating.
When Abraham is discharged from the hospital, he moves to Del Rey to be closer to Roman, and because he has no one else in his life who truly cares about him.
Slowly, he and Roman begin a tentative friendship that turns into something more enduring than they’ve ever dreamed of, but enemies from the past threaten everything and everyone Roman and Abraham love.
Reader Advisory: This book contains reference to past sexual assault.
General Release Date: 9th February 2016
Pain. It was the one constant in Abraham Evans’ life. Despite the medication to counter it that was dripping into his veins via an IV, pain followed him into sleep. His chest and back burned with it—a hot, coiling agony that seemed to never ebb much. If he could have, he’d have just drifted away and never come back to his body.
He’d seen himself lying there on the hospital bed a couple of times. The first instance, he’d flipped out, panicked, tried to scream and make himself move as doctors and nurses rushed around him. When he’d slammed back into that traitorous body, agony unlike anything Abraham had ever felt had scorched every one of his nerves.
The second time, he’d been less scared, and more worried that he’d be pulled back into his body. Which he had been, by the dedicated staff at St. Luke’s Hospital.
Abraham knew where he was, had a sort of cognizance about what had happened to him. He’d been poisoned and shot, and he’d died—three times since. None of the dying had stuck, but the pain clung to him like a multi-tentacled demon unwilling to give him respite.
The third time he’d died, Abraham had fought against being pulled down into his body again. That body had betrayed him, was weak and giving up on his soul or whatever floaty part of him was out of it.
Abraham had worked all his life to be strong, to be virtually bulletproof. He wasn’t supposed to be taken out so easily. His body was supposed to be closer to invincible, or at least not so weak.
Yet there he was, hooked up to more machines than any living person ought to be without being half robot. The beeps and swishes they made kept him from truly resting. He heard them, just as he heard the doctors and nurses, and the few visitors he had, even when those people said he was in a coma.
And sometimes, he left his body while the medical equipment still worked, and he looked around the hospital room, at his coworkers, fellow Texas Rangers, who were checking in on him, or at Miller Hudson and his partner, Gideon Wells.
But Abraham didn’t see the one person he longed for. He thought maybe that was why he didn’t want to wake up.
He didn’t have any business longing for the young man who never visited. There was no reason for him to feel abandoned by him or hurt. Abraham wasn’t sure those were issues he was experiencing anyway. All he really was in touch with was that he hurt, so bad, and he was tired of hurting. If dying meant the pain ended, he was ready for his life to end.
Yet it didn’t. He didn’t. Instead, the machines droned and chirped, and medical staff came in to examine Abraham. Visitors showed up, though not too often now that he’d been in the hospital for a while. Abraham didn’t know the passing of the days and nights, but it felt like he’d been there in that bed for a long time.
He was tired, and ready for things to change. He just needed to decide what kind of change he wanted to occur—either he willed himself dead and gone, or he focused on trying to get better.
It wasn’t as easy a choice to make as Abraham would have once believed it to be.
* * * *
Opening his eyes almost took more effort than it was worth. Abraham wasn’t sure he’d even managed it until someone congratulated him on coming back to the world. His vision was so blurry, at first Abraham feared he’d damaged his eyes permanently, but some frantic blinking made a minimal difference.
“Here. You’ve got ointment in your eyes. Don’t get scared when I press this cloth to them.”
Abraham didn’t recognize the speaker. Her voice was steady and sure, though, so he was inclined to trust that she knew what she was doing. After she’d finished her ministrations, Abraham’s eyes began to focus.
“Well, it’s so good you decided to come back to us,” she said. “We took your tube out and have been slowly wakening you.”
Scrubs—nurse. Abraham’s brain made the connection. She had short gray hair and a round, pleasant face. Her smile held kindness, or it seemed so to him. Regardless, Abraham didn’t smile back.
“I’m Barb, and I’m on shift until eleven tonight.” Barb glanced away. “Oh, and here’s Doctor Molina, coming to check you over.”
More poking and prodding, just what Abraham wanted. But, he’d decided to put every effort he could into getting better. He was still furious at his body for being so weak and failing him, but there were things still tying him to his life. Something inside him had awakened and pushed him not to give up. Even now, he felt it, pulsing with determination, like an echo of his heartbeat.
A native Texan, Bailey spends her days spinning stories around in her head, which has contributed to more than one incident of tripping over her own feet. Evenings are reserved for pounding away at the keyboard, as are early morning hours. Sleep? Doesn't happen much. Writing is too much fun, and there are too many characters bouncing about, tapping on Bailey's brain demanding to be let out.
Caffeine and chocolate are permanent fixtures in Bailey's office and are never far from hand at any given time. Removing either of those necessities from Bailey's presence can result in what is known as A Very, Very Scary Bailey and is not advised under any circumstances.
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Blue Moon Rising was an investment in reading. The world building created by Bailey Bradford was fresh and original. Shifters who have lost their natural way, can’t shift, and need t...
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The characters are strong, compelling and grip the readers by their hearts as they draw them into the story and the fast paced, smooth flowing plot ensnares readers with suspense, excitement and roman...
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