PRAISE FOR #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR
CHRISTINE FEEHAN
"The erotic, gripping series that has defined an entire genre . . . I love everything [Christine Feehan] does."
--J. R. Ward
"The queen of paranormal romance."
--USA Today
"Gritty, brutal and wonderfully magical . . . Unexpected and mesmerizing perfection."
--Library Journal
"Once again, Christine Feehan brings a sizzling story of seduction and sorcery to her readers."
--Examiner.com
"Book after book, Feehan gives readers emotionally rich and powerful stories that are hard to forget!"
--RT Book Reviews
"She is the master."
--The Best Reviews
"Intense, sensual, mesmerizing."
--Library Journal
"[An] out-of-the-ordinary romance . . . deeply sensuous . . . exquisitely detailed."
--Booklist
"Exciting and full of danger as well as a deeply moving love story."
--Fresh Fiction
"Ms. Feehan is at the top of her game with this magical romance."
--The Romance Readers Connection "Suspenseful, engaging--fraught with magic, action and romance . . . I HAVE to read the next one in the series."
--Smexy Books
"Avid readers of Ms. Feehan's work should dive in."
--Fiction Vixen
"Stunning, vivid, lushly visual . . . It's the perfect way to escape."
--Romance Books Forum
Titles by Christine Feehan
SPIDER GAME
VIPER GAME
SAMURAI GAME
RUTHLESS GAME
STREET GAME
MURDER GAME
PREDATORY GAME
DEADLY GAME
CONSPIRACY GAME
NIGHT GAME
MIND GAME
SHADOW GAME
HIDDEN CURRENTS
TURBULENT SEA
SAFE HARBOR
DANGEROUS TIDES
OCEANS OF FIRE
WILD CAT
CAT'S LAIR
LEOPARD'S PREY
SAVAGE NATURE
WILD FIRE
BURNING WILD
WILD RAIN
FIRE BOUND
EARTH BOUND
AIR BOUND
SPIRIT BOUND
WATER BOUND
SHADOW RIDER
DARK PROMISES
DARK GHOST
DARK BLOOD
DARK WOLF
DARK LYCAN
DARK STORM
DARK PREDATOR
DARK PERIL
DARK SLAYER
DARK CURSE
DARK HUNGER
DARK POSSESSION
DARK CELEBRATION
DARK DEMON
DARK SECRET
DARK DESTINY
DARK MELODY
DARK SYMPHONY
DARK GUARDIAN
DARK LEGEND
DARK FIRE
DARK CHALLENGE
DARK MAGIC
DARK GOLD
DARK DESIRE
DARK PRINCE
Anthologies EDGE OF DARKNESS
(with Maggie Shayne and Lori Herter) DARKEST AT DAWN
(includes Dark Hunger and Dark Secret)
SEA STORM
(includes Magic in the Wind and Oceans of Fire)
FEVER
(includes The Awakening and Wild Rain)
HOT BLOODED
(with Maggie Shayne, Emma Holly, and Angela Knight)
LOVER BEWARE
(with Fiona Brand, Katherine Sutcliffe, and Eileen Wilks)
FANTASY
(with Emma Holly, Sabrina Jeffries, and Elda Minger)
Specials
DARK HUNGER
MAGIC IN THE WIND
THE AWAKENING
An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014
SHADOW RIDER
A Jove Book / published by arrangement with the author Copyright (c) 2016 by Christine Feehan.
Excerpt from Dark Carousel copyright (c) 2016 by Christine Feehan.
Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.
JOVE(r) is a registered trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.
The "J" design is a trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.
For more information, visit penguin.com.
eBook ISBN: 9780698197770
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Jove mass-market edition / July 2016
Cover illustration by Danny O'Leary.
Cover design by Judith Lagerman.
Cover photograph of brick (c) Lenatru / Shutterstock.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Version_1
For Alisha Roysum,
thanks for the major family support.
I can't tell you how much it means to me.
FOR MY READERS
Be sure to go to christinefeehan.com/members/ to sign up for my PRIVATE book announcement list and download the FREE ebook of Dark Desserts. Join my community and get firsthand news, enter the book discussions, ask your questions and chat with me. Please feel free to email me at
[email protected]. I would love to hear from you.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
With any book there are many people to thank. For her help with Italian translations, a huge thank-you to Lillian Pacini. Any mistakes made are strictly my own. Thanks to Domini, for her research and help with editing; to C. L. Wilson, Sheila English and Kathie Firzlaff, for the hours in starfish bouncing around ideas; and of course to Brian Feehan, who I can call anytime and brainstorm with so I don't lose a single hour.
CONTENTS
PRAISE FOR CHRISTINE FEEHAN
TITLES BY CHRISTINE FEEHAN
TITLE PAGE
COPYRIGHT
DEDICATION
FOR MY READERS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
EPILOGUE
EXCERPT FROM Dark Carousel
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CHAPTER ONE
Stefano Ferraro pulled on soft leather driving gloves, his dark blue eyes taking a long, slow scan around the neighborhood. His neighborhood. His family knew everything that happened there. It was a good place to live, the people loyal. A close-knit community. It was safe because his family kept it safe. Women could walk the streets alone at night. Children could play outside without parents fearing for them.
He knew every shop owner, e
very homeowner by name. The Ferraro family territory started just on the edge of Little Italy. He knew every inch of Little Italy as well, and those residing and working there knew him and his family. Crime stopped at the edge of the Ferraro territory. That invisible line was known by even the most hardened of criminals and no one dared to cross it because retaliation was always swift and brutal.
He glanced at his watch, knowing he didn't have a lot of time. The jet was fueled and waiting for his arrival. He needed to get into his car and get the hell to the airport, but something held him there. Whatever it was, the feeling he had was disturbing. The compulsion to stay was strong, and anytime that happened, every Ferraro knew there was trouble coming. He carefully and very quietly shut the door to his Maserati, rounding the hood, and then retreating to the sidewalk.
Urgency was always about work, and nothing ever interfered with the Ferraro family business. Nothing. He played hard when he played, but work was important and dangerous and he kept his head in the game when it was time to get down to business. He needed to get his ass moving, but he still couldn't force himself, in spite of all the years of discipline, to get into his car and get to the airport. The compulsion in him was strong, not to be ignored, and he had no choice but to give in to it.
A voice drifted to him above the normal sounds of the street. Elusive. Mysterious. Musical. He turned his head as two women rounded the corner just at the very edge of his territory and began walking deeper into it. He recognized Joanna Masci immediately. Her uncle, Pietro Masci, was a longtime resident in Ferraro territory, born and raised there. He owned the local deli, a very popular place for residents to buy their produce and meats. A good man, everyone in the neighborhood liked Pietro and respected him. Pietro had taken Joanna in when his brother died years earlier.
It wasn't Joanna who caught his interest. The woman walking beside her was dressed totally inappropriately for the weather. No coat. No sweater. There were rips in her blue jeans, which clung lovingly to her body. And she had a figure. She wasn't thin like most girls preferred; she actually had curves. Her hair was wild. Thick. Very shiny. She wore part of it pulled back from her face in an intricate thick braid, but the rest tumbled down her back in waves. The color was rich. Vibrant. A true black. He couldn't see her eyes from that distance, but she was shivering in the cold Chicago weather and for some reason, he had an entirely primal reaction to her constant shivering. His gut knotted and a slow burn of rage began in his belly.
It wasn't her looks that caught his interest or made him stand utterly still. It was her shadow. The sun was throwing light perfectly to create tall, full shadows. Hers leaked long tentacles. Thin. Like streaks reaching out toward the shadows around her. Everywhere there was a shadow, hers connected to it with the long feelers--with long tubes. His breath hitched. His lungs seized.
She was the last thing he'd ever expected to happen because . . . frankly . . . a woman like her was so rare. He didn't know how to feel about it, but suddenly there was nothing else more important, not even Ferraro family business.
He had his cell phone out and punched in numbers without taking his gaze off of her. "Franco, I'm going to need to take the helicopter this morning. I have business to attend to before I can leave. Half an hour. Yeah. I'll meet you." He ended the call, still watching the two women and the strange shadow the stranger cast as he punched in another number. "Henry. I'm not going to use the car after all. Please return it to the garage for me." The Ferraro family had a temperature-controlled garage with a fleet of various cars and motorcycles. They all liked them fast. Henry took care of all the vehicles and kept them in top running order.
Stefano snapped the phone shut and stepped off the sidewalk to cross the street. He held up his hand imperiously and of course the cars stopped for him. Everything stopped for him when he demanded it.
*
Francesca Capello prayed she wouldn't pass out as she walked with Joanna toward the deli. She'd never felt so weak in her life. She was hungry. She'd made tomato soup using ketchup and water, but that was all she'd had to eat for the last two days. If she didn't get this job she was going to have to do something desperate, like ask the homeless woman she'd given her coat to where the nearest soup kitchen was.
Maybe it hadn't been such a great idea to give the woman her coat. Her clothes weren't the best for a job interview, but they were all she had. She needed the job, and she definitely wasn't looking very professional in her faded but very soft vintage blue jeans, a perfect fit, which was rare for her to find in the thrift stores. There were holes in the knees and one small one on her upper thigh, but some of the designer jeans featured rips. The tears in her jeans just happened to be from real wear.
"Wow, the deli's packed," Joanna observed as they stopped in front of a glass door. She yanked it open and ushered Francesca inside.
Francesca thought she might faint from all the smells of food. Her stomach growled and she pushed on it with one hand, hoping to quiet it. People were three deep at the counter and every small table throughout the room was filled.
"Popular place," she observed, because she had to say something. She'd let Joanna do most of the talking because--well--she couldn't talk. She wasn't bursting into tears in front of her friend. Not after all Joanna had done for her.
"I told you." Joanna flashed a grin, caught her arm and tugged her through the crowd to the window on the far side opposite the door. "We can wait here until Zio Pietro has a couple of minutes."
Francesca didn't think he was going to be free anytime soon. Now all the smells blended together, making her feel nauseous. She didn't want to throw up right there in his deli. She was fairly certain that wouldn't get her the job, but her stomach was so empty.
Her lungs burned from holding her breath, waiting for Joanna's uncle to get free enough to come interview her. Joanna had promised her the job. Francesca had spent nearly every cent she had--the money she'd borrowed from Joanna--getting to Chicago, and into the tiny apartment right on the very edge of Little Italy. She had nothing left for food or clothing. She had to get this job. She could survive another week if she was very, very careful, but not much longer. She'd be living on the street with Dina, the homeless woman. She'd done that already once and it hadn't been fun. Truthfully, she wasn't altogether certain that her apartment was better than the street. Still, it had a roof.
Francesca couldn't stop shivering, no matter how hard she tried. The cold was biting and penetrated right to the bone. It didn't help that after the wild storm, there were puddles everywhere, impossible to avoid, and her shoes and socks were soaking wet. The soles were thin and the water had easily gotten inside her shoes. Not only were her feet wet, but her toes were numb.
Still, if she got the job, this was the perfect place for her. The neighborhood was small. Everything was in walking distance. She didn't own a car, or anything else for that matter. She was starting over, determined to rise from the ashes like the phoenix, but seriously, if Pietro didn't hurry up, she'd be on the floor soon.
If she didn't need food and to warm up so badly, she would have been happy with the evidence that the store was popular as a small specialty grocery and sandwich shop. Clearly, Pietro needed help. She could handle a cash register no problem. She could make sandwiches. She'd held a job in a deli while putting herself through school and she was certain this would be a piece of cake.
The door opened and a blast of cold air swept into the shop, chilling her further. She turned her head and froze. She had never in her life seen a man more gorgeous or more dangerous. He was tall, broad-shouldered, tough as nails and totally ripped. His hair was jet-black and seemed messy, but artfully so, as if even it refused to disobey him.
He wore a three-piece dark charcoal pin-striped suit that had to have been tailor made in Italy or France and looked to be worth a fortune. His tie was a darker gray to match the thin stripes in his suit and was worn over a lighter shade of charcoal shirt. He wore butter-soft gloves and a long, dark cashmere overcoat. Ev
en the shoes on his feet looked like he'd paid a fortune for them. He made her acutely aware of her shabby clothes.
She wasn't the only one who noticed him. The moment he entered, all chatter in the shop ceased. Completely. No one so much as whispered. No one moved, as if they were all frozen in place. Pietro came to attention. Beside her, Joanna took a deep breath. The atmosphere in the store went from friendly chatter and lighthearted gossip to one of danger.
His face was carved in masculine lines and set in stone. He had a strong jaw covered by a dark shadow. He was easily the most gorgeous man she'd ever seen. His eyes were such an intense blue she almost didn't believe it was his natural color. The blue eyes swept the room, taking in everything and everyone. She knew they did. So did everyone in the room. Just like her, they were all staring at him. The eyes came back to her. Settled. Narrowed.
The impact was physical. Her breath rushed from her lungs. He could see right through her. She had far too many secrets for him to be looking at her and seeing so much. Worse, his gaze drifted over her, taking in the cropped sweater that molded to her breasts and just barely reached her waist. Her jeans rode a little lower than her waist so she had to resist pulling at the hem of the sweater, although her fingers automatically curled around the hem to do just that. The sweater was one of the few things she owned that was warm.
His gaze traveled down her holey jeans to her wet shoes and back up to her face. She wished the earth would open up and swallow her. The tension in the deli went up several more notches. Francesca knew why. Not only was this man gorgeous and dangerous, he was angry. A black wall of intense heat filled the room until no one seemed able to breathe. She could actually feel his anger shimmering in the air. The room vibrated with his fury.
She found herself trembling and shrinking back under that brilliant blue stare. She didn't understand why he'd singled her out, but he had. His diamond-hard gaze was fixed on her, not on any of the other customers--just her. She took a deep breath and let it out, tugging self-consciously on the hem of her sweater. When she did, his scowl deepened.
"Mr. Ferraro." Pietro stepped around the counter.
Pietro's shoulders were square, his face a mask of concern, his tone respectful. He looked as if he might faint any moment. Everyone did. Francesca didn't understand what was happening, but clearly Joanna was very aware. Her friend trembled and put one hand on Francesca's arm as if to steady herself.
They were all afraid of him. Francesca could see why--he looked and felt dangerous. But every single person in the store? Afraid? Of. This. Man. That was a little terrifying. She wished fervently he would stop looking at her.