Tuesday Teaser 7/2/19: Gina’s Wolf Part 46

To my friends north of the border, Happy Canada Day a day late! For my American friends, Happy 4th of July a couple of days early! In honor of the holidays, I have put Wolf’s Glory at $0.99 at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo. If you haven’t read it yet, this is a good time to grab it. It goes back to regular price on July 6. You can click any of the store names to go to the book there.

I have done a little writing this past week. Not as much as I’d like to, but at least I got some words. 🙂 I have a friend who has expressed a little concern about the level of violence in my books. She is one of the gals in my writing group and she has asked that we white out scenes that are violent. Those who don’t mind it can highlight those sections and read them and those who are disturbed can just skip over them. She admits she is very sensitive to blood and violence. Wolf’s Princess was a bit bloody there at the end, and Gina’s Wolf also has quite a bit of violence. What are your thoughts? Should I tone it down a bit?

Here is your tiny snip for tonight:

Gina heard voices, distant and distorted, as though she were under water. Someone spoke her name with an urgency that told her she really ought to pay attention, but she didn’t care. Pain made it hard to care about anything. The voice kept on and whatever she lay on moved, jiggling her head. She concentrated on the voice and gradually she realized it was more than one. Two? Or was it three? She listened and gradually she realized she recognized one. Her mother was one of the people speaking.

Where were they? Memory seeped sluggishly back into her brain. Gun? Yes, her mother had had a gun. She shot Todd. Gina woke a little more. She remembered Tanner and Jon. Her mom? Tanner had done something to her mom, something bloody.

“Mom?” She moved feebly, trying to sit up. “Mom, are you alright?”

“Gina!”

That was Cole’s voice. She was lying half in his lap and half on the ground. Her mind was groping for more memories. “I’m okay,” she said.  It was a lie. Her face was a blaze of throbbing aches, but she didn’t want him to worry. His arms tightened around her almost to the point of pain. His head dipped low over her and after a second, she felt something wet fall on her face. He was crying? She tried to reach up and pat his cheek. Her hand was seized in a tight grip.

“Gina,” Cole said thickly. “We have to leave here. It’s not safe.”

She couldn’t quite see him. “Mom?”

“I’m coming too.” Her mom’s voice was firm, almost defiant, but oddly muffled.

“Yes, ma’am, I’ll carry you.”

Gina wasn’t sure whose voice that was. There was suddenly a lot of movement around them, and a low babble of voices talking about a secured direction out of camp, and then she was being lifted and settled against Cole’s chest. There were what seemed like dozens of naked men crowding around her, but none of them seemed embarrassed about it.

Cole bent his head and she saw the silver gleam of tears on his cheeks. “We have to move fast, darling. Hold on and we’ll have you safe in Omaha as quick as we can.”

“Okay,” she mumbled.

Her head bounced unpleasantly as he ran. It bounced harder when he came to a sudden halt. Belatedly she registered the voice that commanded him to stop. The pain in her head was overwhelmed by nausea in her stomach. Major Ellis.

“Give us Miss Todd,” the major commanded in a ringing tone.

She managed a glance at the major. He was flanked by Lieutenant Mott on one side and two privates on the other. Her vision was a little fuzzy. It looked like the ground behind them wavered. The wavering morphed into furry wolves leaping at the Kansas-Missourians’ backs. And then the major and the other men were paint with the vivid red of blood. Her stomach decided it was the right time to turn itself inside out. She twisted in Cole’s arms and heaved until nothing more came up. He stroked her shoulder and murmured in a low, soothing tone while she puked, and when she was done, he ran again.

Throwing up hurt. It hurt so bad that she concluded unconsciousness was her friend. She saw flashes of her stepfather’s army camp go past in a blur before she shut her eyes. When the darkness fell over her, she embraced it with relief.