Praise from New York Times Bestselling Authors
“Jacquelyn Frank is a fresh new voice, a stunning new talent. I look forward to the next book.”
—Sherrilyn Kenyon
“Jacki Frank’s NIGHTWALKER series depicts an engrossing alternate world, drawn in prose that is lush and lyrical.”
—Linda Howard
“Jacki Frank’s JACOB is mesmerizing, breath-taking, scorching sex and filled with unforgettable characters.”
—Christine Feehan
“JACOB: THE NIGHTWALKERS is the page-turning beginning of a fresh, original, new series. Readers will devour Jacob’s story and camp out at the bookstore demanding more. Jacquelyn Frank knows how to write an intense, rip-roaring good read!”
—Cathy Maxwell
“An astounding, fresh, captivating new voice—paranormal fans will devour this book!”
—Lori Foster
“Like the most delicious chocolate, JACOB: THE NIGHTWALKERS is rich, dark, and satisfies every craving.”
—JoAnn Ross
THE NIGHTWALKERS
JACOB
JACQUELYN FRANK
For Laura,
my proofreader, my editor, my cheerleader,
my critic who keeps me from looking silly,
my very most loyal fan and one of my best friends.
For Tanya,
who believed in me just as much as Laura has
and in all the same ways.
Thank goodness for the internet!
And…
for Pat,
who gave me my very first typewriter
and made me put my money where my mouth was
at the tender age of thirteen.
I finally did it!!!
With special thanks to:
Kate, Robin, Sulay and Diana.
Thanks for all you have done
and for putting up with all my…eccentricities!
Extra special thanks to Lori Foster
for holding a very fated contest
and all the authors who helped her run it.
It changed my life into what I always wanted it to be—
the life of a published author!
Contents
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 ONE
How ridiculously simple it would be to cause them harm.
From far above, he watched with unwavering dark eyes as they walked down the shadowy street. The human male was so absorbed in his flirtation with his female, he would have no chance of protecting her from harm should they be surprised by a threat. What if he were to drop onto them from his current height?
Although in that instance, “surprised” wouldn’t be an adequate descriptive. The debate of defense would be futile as well. A human versus one of his ilk?
Jacob the Enforcer exhaled a sardonic laugh.
The redheaded woman had chosen poorly, in his opinion. No respectable male would have encouraged his partner to venture out on such a forbidding night. Mystical portents aside, the street they walked was notoriously disreputable. Menacing shadows shifted with threats unknown to simple human senses as clouds skimmed over the fickle light of the moon.
The couple walked beneath him, oblivious to his camouflaged presence.
Not to mention the coming of the other.
Jacob cocked his head, taking careful note of the other’s distant movements. Though the man-made features of a glass-and-concrete city numbed the Enforcer’s favored senses, he could still follow the comer’s progress easily. The younger, less experienced Demon was being careless, his focus riveted to his objective.
The human female.
Jacob recognized the younger Demon’s hunger, feeling it as it eddied into him, oppressive and pungent with the musk of unrestrained lust. The young Demon, Kane by common name, was stepping in and out of solid existence as he progressed toward the redhead. Kane’s fixation was making him uncharacteristically single-minded. He had no idea that the Enforcer had pursued him, that he was now lying in resolute wait for him.
Kane abruptly appeared on the pavement below in a burst of roiling smoke and the distinctive odor of sulfur. He was several yards behind the unknowing couple, his teleportation going completely unnoticed despite its display.
Jacob waited, the tension stretching his nerves taut. Although it pressed on him to interfere, it was his duty to let the other Demon commit to his course. Only then would he have justification for bringing the laws of their people down on him. All the while, he prayed to Destiny that Kane would regain control and walk away.
As Jacob gave the other Demon his chance to change his mind, he sat as still as a stone, watching Kane step into the recently trod path of the couple. When he passed beneath the Enforcer’s unseen perch up on the light pole to gain on his prey, Jacob launched upward into the air in a light, airy leap from one lamppost to the next several yards down the sidewalk. There was no sound as his feet touched the cool metal, no rustle of the clothing he wore as he crouched down once more in perfect balance. The only telltale sign of his presence was the sudden flickering twitch of the light. It only took him a moment to compensate, making the others below him perceive all as normal, though in actuality the light continued to flash with increasing spasms of protest.
He kept his thoughts hidden behind this projected camouflage as well. He knew that even in the grip of these basest of instincts, Kane would sense him if he did not. And yet, a whisper in the back of his mind was begging the Enforcer within him to just once, only this once, make an error. One small error, it murmured, and Kane, who is so dear to you, will sense your presence and your thoughts. Let him have the chance that you have denied so many others.
No one would ever know what Jacob sacrificed to deny that insidious whispering. Regardless of the voice’s entreaty, he could not forswear his duty.
So instead, he watched as Kane sent out his summons to the vulnerable couple. Abruptly, the male human turned and walked away from the female, abandoning her without reason or the awareness that he was doing so. The redhead turned completely around, facing the approaching Demon. She was quite beautiful, Jacob noted as she faced the lamplight, with a lush, long body and auburn curls hanging in lengthy coils down her back.