The Core by Kate Thomas - Release Day + Excerpt!
Title: The Core
Series: Equilibrium Series I
Author: Kate Thomas
Release Date: February 12th
Publisher: Patchwork Press
There’s something strange about David, something that goes beyond the way he makes Ellie feel. He’s wealthy, poised, and a complete enigma. With nothing to lose but her heart, Ellie goes in search of the truth — a search that leads her down an eye-opening path that reveals secrets about the world she thought she knew.The world’s order is held in careful balance, the essence of good and evil tilting the scale. When the fabric of reality is stripped away, Ellie is forced to make a decision to follow the path David’s constructed before her or simply walk away. The Core is missing and someone must step up and stand between the light and darkness, holding each back and maintaining equilibrium.
“You do realize that there is
absolutely no chance of us actually getting away with this, right?” Ellie
whispered loudly in the small confines of the car.
“There’s no need to whisper.
We’re in a car by ourselves, Elle.” Jacob kept his eyes on the car in front of
them, the large figure of his sister’s boss moving languidly from the Lincoln
to cross the busy street. “Besides, it’s the holidays, and it’s far too busy in
this neighborhood for Mr. Kelley to notice us.”
A soft sigh resounded beside him,
and sounds of fidgeting filled the air. Ellie was rarely the type to be nervous
or overcome with emotion of any sort. If anyone was capable of a stakeout
operation, it was most certainly his twin sister. She was only a few minutes
older than him, but years ahead in maturity and intellectual curiosities, to be
sure. He smiled as he felt the overwhelming heat of her stare. Paying her no
attention would be more fun than giving in to her well-founded fits of worry.
“I know you know I’m looking at
you, Jacob.” Her punch was much too light to be anything but playful.
He glanced her way only briefly,
a smirk on his mouth his only response. He was used to responding non-verbally.
“It’s not me you should be
watching, but your illustrious boss. I didn’t come out in the freezing cold to
spend my night in a car, hanging out with my bratty older sister. I came to see
if I could help you get a few answers. Pay attention!” He turned the heater up,
and the previously fogged window cleared, showing a row of beautifully
decorated mansions.
Christmas was in full effect on
Ebert Street, and the wealthy citizens of the neighborhood spent loads outdoing
their friends and family. Their study for the evening was a Mr. David Kelley,
Ellie’s boss for the last two years. He was an investor of other people’s
money, a financial advisor by some standards and a bookie by others.
“I am paying attention, but I
don’t know what you expect to find by sitting outside of a luxurious home in
the middle of winter. It’s the holidays, so yes, David goes to parties and
wines and dines the rich and famous. What did you think we would find tonight?”
She added softly, “I didn’t even ask you to come.”
Jacob turned to face his sister.
“You most certainly did ask me to come. You’ve been bitching for the last two years
about your boss’s oddities, and it was you that wanted to start looking into
his personal life.”
“Not his personal life, but I
wanted to see what it is that he does with his time.” She turned to face him as
well, a defiant look spreading across her features. “How does someone make more
money than God and never really DO anything? Besides, you’ve been wanting a
reason to see the Christmas lights in Westchester for years.”
“Christmas lights, pff …” He
rolled his eyes. “I want to hear it or I’m leaving.”
“Hear what?” Confusion spread
across her features.
“I want to hear that you asked me
to come, and that this is your operation.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Jacob.”
He turned to face the windshield
and moved to put the car in reverse before her hand clamped down on his
shoulder. “Fine. Fine. You’re such a child, but if I need to say it, I will. I
wanted you to help me figure out who my boss really is and what he’s up to.
There, I said it.”
Jacob put his hands in his lap
and looked back at his sister. “Why?”
“Why what?”
He sighed before continuing. “Why
did you want me to help you? You’ve been with Mr. Kelley for the last two
years. Why now?”
Ellie began fidgeting again, her
eyes moving from his face to focus somewhere in her lap as her fingers brushed
by one another. She didn’t speak for a minute, and he didn’t give her comfort
or afford her any alternative besides answering him. He’d been pulled into this
unfounded operation, and he deserved a reason for the sudden change in her
behavior. She glanced at him and then exhaled loudly, as if realizing that she
was, in fact, going to have to share some information that she must’ve wanted
to keep to herself.
“Fine. I wanted to know what he
was doing because he’s so mysterious, and I’ve yet to figure out what it is
that he does. Not to mention that every time I see him I’m reminded of how
unbelievably attractive he is. Maybe my only motive is that I just wanted to
sit here and stare at him.”
“Liar. Sell that crap to someone
else. Tell me the truth or my car and I are outta here.”
“What? He’s hot!” She paused and
received a look from her brother that pushed her to continue. “God, you’re so
difficult at times. I would totally do this with you if you asked, and I
wouldn’t give a rat’s ass why you wanted me to.”
“That’s a lie too. You’d never do
this in a million years with me, and you’d most likely call me creepy for
wanting to do it. Enough … why are we here? What did you see? Or did you hear
something?”
“Both. A few days ago I came in
an hour early, and the smell of Clorox hit me in the face like nothing you’ve
ever smelled. I dropped my things quietly and walked down to Mr. Kelley’s
office, peeking in to see if everything was alright.” She paused and looked at
Jacob and then back toward her hands, her large chestnut gaze filled with
foreign emotion. “He was only in his slacks, and parts of his chest and back
were covered in what looked like blood. There was blood on his floor and a bit
on the walls.”
“Good God, Elle. Did you call the
police? Was he hurt, or did someone get hurt?”
“That’s the weird part. I never
saw anything but the blood and, being a bit overwhelmed by it, I simply left
and called in sick that day. I wasn’t sure what to do about it. I can’t imagine
him hurting someone, since he’s such a pillar of the community and such.
Besides, what if it wasn’t blood, or what if he’d cut his finger or something?”
“Cut his finger? Don’t you think
the amount of blood or whatever would be slightly less than what you’re
describing from a papercut? Just because he gives to the people around him
doesn’t mean he’s not a monster underneath all that Daddy Warbucks stuff.”
She nodded and sunk down in her seat as the large figure
jogged back from the house toward his car. The man stopped before getting into
the back seat of the Lincoln and focusing for a minute on Jacob’s car, the tilt
of his head and bend of his neck telling Jacob one thing—he wasn’t looking at
Jacob, but at Ellie.
“We need to go,” she whispered
and covered her face with her small hands.
L.A. Starkey is the author of the upcoming Soul Keeper Series, a supernatural young adult series, and The Liarus Detective Series, a supernatural middle grade series.
She is a CPA by trade, a church planter and entrepreneur at heart; however, writing and reading are passions she just can't help but indulge in. With more ideas than one person should be allowed, she is blessed to have a muse that doesn't seem to take a vacation and more energy that one might consider healthy.
She writes under the following pen names:
L.A Starkey - YA/MG Paranormal
Kate Thomas - NA/Adult Paranormal
Isabella James - Sci-fi/Fantasy
Lauren Elizabeth - Adult Contemporary Romance
Author Links:
This tour was organized by Good Tales Book Tours.
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1 comments
Hi Natasha!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for hosting me today. Glad you’re part of Good Tales and I appreciate the support for my new release.
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Thanks again!
Laurie (aka Kate)
Hi! Thank you for stopping by and commenting on my blog. Wishing you a dreamy day!