Tyler was gasping, coughing, his hands on the pavement.
“Come on,” said Nick, letting Quinn go but taking her hand to drag her with him. Probably making sure she didn’t lay into Tyler again.
“Don’t be stupid,” Tyler choked from behind them. “I only came here to talk.”
“Sure you did.” Nick dragged her up the steps to the front door, then jammed his key in the lock.
“What really happened at the carnival last week?” Tyler yelled. “I heard the news about pentagrams. Another Guide came here, didn’t he?”
Nick ignored him and hauled her through the door, then slammed it, throwing the dead bolt for good measure.
Then he put his head against the door and unclenched his fists.
Quinn stared at him. Their breath still fogged in the air as if the heat in the house wasn’t working. Gooseflesh had sprung up along her forearms, and she shivered. “You want to tell me what just happened there?”
“Yeah.” Nick turned his head to look at her. “That’s the rest of my secret.”
Have you read all the Elemental books?
Elemental (novella)
Storm
Fearless (novella)
Spark
Breathless (novella)
Spirit
BRIGID KEMMERER
SECRET* The Elemental Series
KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.
All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.
Table of Contents
Tyler was gasping, coughing, his hands on the pavement. Title Page Dedication ACKNOWLEDGMENTS PROLOGUE CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 CHAPTER 9 CHAPTER 10 CHAPTER 11 CHAPTER 12 CHAPTER 13 CHAPTER 14 CHAPTER 15 CHAPTER 16 CHAPTER 17 CHAPTER 18 CHAPTER 19 CHAPTER 20 CHAPTER 21 CHAPTER 22 CHAPTER 23 CHAPTER 24 CHAPTER 25 CHAPTER 26 CHAPTER 27 CHAPTER 28 CHAPTER 29 CHAPTER 30 CHAPTER 31 CHAPTER 32 CHAPTER 33 CHAPTER 34 CHAPTER 35 CHAPTER 36 BEYOND THE STORY AFTERWORD SECRET PLAYLIST Copyright Page
For my mother,
who has always been there for me.
Always.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
If you’ve read my books for any length of time, you know I always thank my mother first. This time is no different. She’s my constant inspiration. You wouldn’t be holding this book in your hands if not for her support and influence in my life. Thank you, Mom, for everything.
My husband, Michael, is my sounding board, my confidant, and my best friend. I can’t imagine spending a day without him. (Unfortunately, he spends many days without me, while I’m eating cake pops with the Starbucks baristas, *ahem* I mean, when I’m writing.) Thank you, honey, for always being there. And for suggesting Adam’s name. And for supporting me even when you weren’t sure about the topic of this book. It means so, so much. I hope you know that.
I have a close circle of critique partners. Bobbie Goettler and Alison Kemper Beard, you’ve been with me every step of the way, and I can’t thank you enough for your guidance, support, and friendship. I seriously could not do this without you guys. Could. Not.
My fearless agent, Mandy Hubbard, is beyond compare. Thank you for your support in this book and in my career. And thanks for not minding when I fling the F word into our e-mail correspondence. My editor at Kensington, Alicia Condon, is amazing to work with, and she had no idea that Nick Merrick was interested in boys until I sent her Breathless, Nick’s novella. It was a risk, and I’m lucky she and Mandy have supported me every step of the way.
Eternal gratitude to the wonderful people at Kensington books who work so hard to make my book a success, especially Vida Engstrand, Alex Nicolajsen, and Mel Saccone. Many, many thanks to the fine people at Allen & Unwin, my publisher in Australia, especially Jodie Webster and Lara Wallace. I’m so lucky and excited to work with all of you.
This book took a lot of research, in many forms. I am deeply indebted to Danny Rome, Jason Deem, Jim Hilderbrandt, H. Duncan Moseley III, Tradd Sanderson,