All the Light There Is
The Healing Edge
Book Three
Anise Eden
Genre: Paranormal Romance/Suspense
Publisher: Diversion Books
Date of Publication: September 12, 2017
ISBN: 978-1635761641
ASIN: 1635761646
Number of pages: 290
Word Count: 97,770
Tagline: Anise Eden brings us the thrilling and romantic finale to The Healing Edge Series, perfect for fans of Karen Robards or Shiloh Walker.
Book Description:
Psychotherapist Cate Duncan is done with danger. Her whirlwind weeks of training at the MacGregor Group’s parapsychology clinic, while exhilarating, have also brought one crisis after another. So when their research colleague Skeet offers Cate and her boss-turned-boyfriend Ben some time away at his secluded hunting lodge, even though it’ll be a working vacation, they jump at the chance.
But the idyllic Mercier Lodge is teeming with secrets. An aura reader and a telepath who work with Skeet reveal his unorthodox research methods, triggering the MacGregor Group’s suspicions. Then there’s the matter of a tragic death that occurred at the lodge over a year ago, and how it connects to unsolved mysteries from Cate’s past―mysteries she may not be ready to confront.
As they delve into Mercier’s unsavory history, Ben and Cate stick close together, trusting in their love for each other to keep them safe. But when a plot separates them, Cate must rely on the MacGregor Group’s paranormal abilities, some surprise allies, and her own determination to track Ben down and crack Mercier’s mysteries before the strange place claims any more victims.
Excerpt:
The bedroom
itself was all warm colors and fabrics that invited touching. I fell backward
onto the bed, ready to hash out everything that had happened over coffee. But
when Ben came in, he held his finger over his mouth in a silencing gesture. He
was carrying some kind of small device. It unfolded into the sort of metal
sculpture you might see on an office desk. He placed it on the windowsill,
concealed behind the curtain.
“What is that?”
I mouthed when he turned back towards me.
“It’s okay, we
can talk now,” he said. “It’s a scrambler. It’ll disrupt any attempts at
surveillance in this room. We’ll each have one.”
“Seriously? You
really think we’re being bugged, or tapped, or something?”
“No,” he said in
a tone that sounded more like “probably.” “Just erring on the side of caution.”
I was shaking my
head when a gauzy white canopy over the bed caught my eye. “Is that—mosquito netting?”
Ben reached up
and rubbed the fabric between his fingers. “It is. Obviously, they’re going for
authenticity here.”
For some reason,
his dry tone made me giggle, and in spite of the fact that there was nothing
funny about the situation, I found that I couldn’t stop. I curled up on the
bed, then stretched out spread-eagle as laughter overtook me. Ben just looked
down at me, rubbing his jaw.
Between guffaws,
I managed, “Don’t you get how absurd all of this is? We come here to
investigate whether Skeet’s up to something sinister and find out I’m part owner
of the Death Star! Oh!” Then the thought of another Star Wars comparison threw me into gales of laughter. “And my
father might have been Darth Vader! Oh my god—and I dressed up as Princess Leia
one Halloween!” I rolled onto my stomach, grabbing a pillow to laugh into so
that the whole lodge wouldn’t hear.
I felt the
mattress sink beside me as Ben joined me on the bed. The waves of laughter
gradually slowed until they were just occasional lurches. The outburst had
drained the tension from my body, and I felt limp. I turned my head to look at
Ben, who was half-reclining next to me. He reached out and rested his hand
between my shoulder blades, then began to rub slow, wide circles on my back.
The last of the jerky laughter stopped as my body entered a relaxed trance.
“Mmm.” My eyelids fell closed.
“Princess Leia,
huh?”
“Yeah. My mom
put my hair in those rolly side buns and everything.”
“I should warn
you, I had a crush on Leia back in the day.”
I opened one eye
and looked at him. “Really?”
“Absolutely.” He
arched an inquisitive eyebrow. “Any chance you had the hots for Han Solo?”
“Why?” As soon
as I asked, it dawned on me. Ben’s hand dropped away as I rolled onto my side
and propped myself up on my elbow, grinning. “Did you dress up as him?”
Ben nodded
solemnly. “My mother may have photographic evidence.”
“Hah!” I loved
the thought of little Ben trick-or-treating in a Han Solo costume. “I am so talking to your mother when we get
home. I want to see every single photo album. But why didn’t you dress up as
your namesake, Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi?”
“You’re
disappointed?” Ben frowned. “You had a thing for Obi-Wan Kenobi?”
“Of course not!
He was old enough to be my grandfather. I much
preferred Han Solo.”
He reached over and squeezed my hip, then ran
his hand up over my waist until it came to rest on the side of my ribcage. I
gasped, hoping beyond hope that his fingers would continue their journey
upward…. But no such luck. Instead, Ben just gave me a sideways smile and said,
“At your service, Princess.”
“If only.” I reached
up and stroked his hand, teasing the soft skin between his fingers. “You do
realize that Leia gives the orders; she doesn’t take them. And she doesn’t take
‘no’ for an answer, either.”
“Hmm.” He lifted
my hand to his lips and kissed me on the palm, sending a shiver through me.
“This Leia sounds pretty headstrong. Good thing she has Han Solo to look out
for her.”
Although his
tone was light, Ben’s words called to mind each time over the past two weeks
that he had, in fact, stepped in to protect me—even saving my life a few times.
The gold flecks in his eyes flashed, and I knew that his subtle reminder hadn’t
been accidental.
But this week,
we were honored guests at a luxury sporting resort, not trying to solve a
top-secret murder under Marine Corps protection. “As I said before, you can
relax, Rottie,” I said, using his old Marine Corps nickname. “I promised to
follow your safety protocols, remember?”
“I remember, but
we haven’t established what those are yet. Until we do, I want us to stick
together, okay? No separating, no running off.”
“I’m not going
to run off!”
“Just making
sure.”
Hearing the
undercurrent of pain in his voice, I kept my irritation in check. In fairness
to Ben, I had sort of run off once
before, even though it had been for a good reason. And I knew why he was so
fixated on protecting those he loved. He felt guilty for failing to prevent his
father’s death, even though it had been due to an accidental overdose. But his
father had struggled with alcoholism for years, and when Ben left home to join
the Marines, his father began abusing painkillers, as well. Ben blamed himself
for that, believing that if he had stayed home, his father would still be
alive.
Between that
guilt and being a member of Yankee Company—his special Marine Corps unit
dedicated to protecting whistleblowers from the government—Ben had developed an
amplified sense of responsibility for protecting others. Unfortunately, the
fact that I kept getting into life-threatening situations had only intensified
his need to feel in control of things.
I squeezed his
hand. “We’ll stick together.”
“Good.” Ben
released my hand and gently brushed a loose strand of hair from my cheek. “Now
let’s talk about you. You had me worried, back there in the dining room. How
are you holding up?”
“I’m okay, I
guess. The past twenty-four hours…it’s been a lot to take in. I guess I just
needed a minute to breathe.”
About the Author:
Before becoming an award-winning author, ANISE EDEN wanted to be a wildlife photographer. Unfortunately, a strong aversion to large insects, poisonous snakes, and sharks―along with a cat allergy that might well extend to tigers―limited that career option. Also, Anise always roots for the gazelle, and we all know how that usually turns out. Fortunately, Anise’s voracious hunger for reading kept her occupied, eventually morphing into a passion for writing quirky stories filled with heart, humor, and imagination. Anise loves that through writing, she can live out any adventure she likes without the need for antivenom or antihistamines.
Visit her online at
Website: http://aniseeden.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoraniseeden
Twitter: http://twitter.com/aniseeden
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