Honorable Rogue Read online

  Honorable Rogue

  Linda J. Parisi

  HONORABLE ROGUE

  By

  Linda J. Parisi

  Copyright © 2021 Linda J. Parisi

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  Edited by Tee Tate

  Cover Design by Mibl Art.

  All stock photos licensed appropriately.

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  Published in the United States by City Owl Press.

  www.cityowlpress.com

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  For information on subsidiary rights, please contact the publisher at [email protected]

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior consent and permission of the publisher.

  For Diane

  Praise for the Works of Linda J. Parisi

  “This book hit the mark, amazing characters, suspense, and the mystery behind the rogues. I loved every second of the book and read it in one sitting, now all I have to do is wait for the next book in the series which hopefully won’t be too long.” – Paranormal Romance Guild

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  “Stacy and Chaz light up the page together and are downright unforgettable. Plenty of steam and just enough danger to keep the plot zipping along at a fast, thrilling clip combine to make this a phenomenal read in the vein of JR Ward that fans of paranormal romance will adore as much as I did.” – April the Book Dragon

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  “A charming story that was a nice derivative of a standard vampire story…I loved the drama and danger throughout the book. The insights into vampire politics were fascinating. Well written and very easy to read and understand, it was a great start to the series, and I’m looking forward to what happens next.” – MP Book Reviews

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  “The story was well written in a way that the reader could stop after this book and not be disappointed. A great read for a cold weekend.” – Readers Favorite

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  “Blood Rogue took me on a journey filled with suspense, danger, humor, and romance.” – Totally Addicted to Reading

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  “The debut novel to a new paranormal series, Blood Rogue, is a fast-paced, action-packed fantasy from page one…It is an entertaining story readers can devour in no time.” – InD’tale Magazine

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  “With a gritty urban backdrop and plenty of intriguing clan dynamics, Blood Rogue is a perfect vampire romance. Plenty of steam and just enough danger to keep the plot zipping along at a fast, thrilling clip combine to make this a phenomenal read.” – Kat Turner, Author of Hex, Love, and Rock and Roll

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  “Blood Rogue is a well-crafted, smart adventure of the unlikeliest of lovers…reminiscent of lore’s age-old heartbreak, how can two beings that belong in separate worlds ever be together? A great read!” – M. Kate Quinn, Author of Endangered Diamond

  Contents

  Author’s Note

  Want More City Owl Press Books?

  Keep Reading Paranormal Romance!

  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

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Epilogue

  Sneak Peek of Pride and Paranormal

  Keep Reading Paranormal Romance!

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  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  About the Publisher

  Additional Titles

  Author’s Note

  This book deals with loss, pain, and grief. This book also deals with healing. No one can ever truly know what another person feels but to me, there can be no better aspiration that to try and understand. A broken heart will never heal the exact same way it was before. Just remember that the people who love and care for you will always be there. No matter how many repairs have to be made, they will always be your glue.

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  Want even more paranormal romance? Try PRIDE AND PARANORMAL by City Owl Author, Adrienne Blake, and find more from Linda J. Parisi at www.lindajparisi.com

  What do love potions and banshee karaoke have to do with one of the greatest enemies-to-lovers tales of all time?

  Izzy may be the only responsible witch in her poor family of misfits, and as such, she has duties to uphold. Only a hot, mysterious, and infuriating warlock is determined to get in the way.

  When the rich and handsome Fitz Darcy blows into town, sparks fly.

  The wrong kind...

  He has earned her ire as much as her eye with his constant harsh words and acts, but what will happen when a bit of magic goes awry, and Izzy needs the help of this powerful man she claims to hate?

  Will Izzy's pride get in the way of saving her family's welfare and reputation? Find out in this witty, funny, fantasy retelling of Pride & Prejudice.

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  Chapter One

  Only one city in the world moved constantly, jumping and jiving much like the dancers in the ballroom behind him and much to the same beat—driving, frenetic, and unstoppable. Only in the hours just before the faint rays of the sun peeked out over the ocean would New York mellow, going from hip hop to cool jazz, and allow that much-needed breath before beginning a new day.

  Hunter Pierce knew behind him, even in the dim light, past the lavender-and-white neon, past the glitter of the disco ball attached to the ceiling, past the delicate white flowers encased in glass on each table, they danced straight into an uncertain future.

  And not just Charles and Stacy—all of them.

  Yes, the future was uncertain. But for nearly two thousand years Hunter had watched humans build cities and watched those cities rise and fall. He’d seen civilizations ravaged by plagues and become decimated by war. Yet this was his home, the bedrock of his soul.

  He sank his weight into the ground, ready to fight. A vampire plague, a pestilence of rogue vampires, threatened all he had built. For a split second he knew the hollow of fear, then he felt the rock of the Palisades beneath his feet and drove that foundation deep into his psyche. No one would take this home from him. Not even his maker.

  Hunter shook his head. He had so many misg
ivings. Despite the tenuous times, he applauded Charles and Stacy and their courage, for even if humans and vampires survived the war to come, what could they have together in this beautiful marriage, sixty or seventy years?

  While people lined up outside the ballroom to fill their plates with food, too many scents assailed his senses. He found the aroma of the food heavenly but the mixture of alcohol and perfume distasteful. And the deep bass of the music pounded away at the inside of his ears. But, most of all, he couldn’t get rid of his sense of unease which made his escape to the hilltop inevitable.

  Crisp, cool, and dry, he enjoyed the brilliant night. Once he compartmentalized, there was perfection in the silence, a stillness which took the breath away. A valley of diamond lights spread out before him until the land rose and the distance gave way to the greatest skyline in the world. Hunter breathed deeply, caught once again by the sheer magnificence of a sight he’d never have been able to conceive of as a human and had never gotten used to as a vampire.

  He settled his shoulders as he stared and marveled at man’s ingenuity and then, with a slight huff, scolded himself for not appreciating one of the pleasures life had to offer. There were so few left. And so, he wondered. Was sixty or seventy years of happiness worth the pain? Was this amount of bliss all this life had to offer his friend now?

  Life? Life meant only one thing: the river of blood. His mouth watered, and he chided himself again. After nearly two thousand years Hunter thought being in a crowd of humans would have been easier to bear. But there would be the blood and there could only ever be the blood, as it was at the beginning and as it was now.

  He swallowed again and tamped down his thirst. He was glad to be at this wedding, even though their anonymity was at stake. What would happen to his people? What would happen to these two people who he now called friends? Stacy had earned his gratitude for her courage, even garnered his respect, not lightly given. Together Charles and Stacy had fought a rogue. Not just any rogue, Mikhail Kirilenko, a Paladin, a vampire cop whose job was to hunt and kill rogues. He hoped they would use their courage and be able to survive the inevitable, for the only true constant in this life was time and its companion, change.

  Hunter moved to the edge of a patio with a slight shake of his head, watching the humans in the ballroom jump up and down, their arms waving and hips twisting to music that seemed to keep getting louder. For thousands of years, humans had been dancing as a part of celebrating, and he couldn’t get used to their frenetic gyrations nor the assault on his ears.

  He preferred the cocoon of darkness, the perfect stillness of the night and sank into the silence to find the peace eluding him, but then a muffled choke broke that peace. He looked down at the terraced grounds to find a woman standing on the grass below him. She seemed to try holding back a shivered sigh but failed, and the sound reached inside, surprising him. He cocked his head and stared. Tall, with auburn hair swept up into a Grecian knot, she wore the same dress as the other women who’d stood by Stacy as she’d married Charles.

  He hadn’t really noticed her before, and Hunter wondered why as he found himself walking toward a small set of stairs. Charles had surprised him by asking that he stand with him during the ceremony. Saying no still seemed the best course of action. But now he thought perhaps not, as he would’ve shared time with this willowy beauty. Something about this woman tugged at him. And in blocking out the incessant noise from the crowd, he couldn’t hear her thoughts. He continued until he was on the grass, then standing beside her. She smelled fresh and clean, of citrus and herbs, a scent he’d enjoyed as a human.

  She seemed…sad, and he wondered what sadness could intrude on such a festive occasion. “Apologies. The night is beautiful, the silence self-explanatory. May I?”

  She turned. Her brown eyes reminded him of amber glass, bright in the moonlight which made him think of being alive and unfettered. Yet her gaze held the vulnerability of a doe and the threads of a pain he could only guess at. “Free country.” She turned back to the skyline. “Friend of the groom?”

  “Yes. For quite some time.” Hunter bowed his head. “Hunter Pierce at your service.”

  The line of her mouth softened from straight to curved. “Chaz said those very words the first time we met,” she murmured. “I always wondered how far he’d go with it.” She seemed to start, as if just realizing she’d spoken out loud. “I’m Tori. Tori Roberts. Friend of the bride.”

  She moved a small pocketbook to her left hand and reached out with her right as if to shake hands. Hunter backed up a step. In an awkward response, she stepped back as well.

  “I gathered by your dress, although I was a little late for the ceremony,” he remarked, trying to cover his faux pas. “Do you disapprove?”

  “What?” She seemed startled by the question. “Of Chaz and Stacy?” He nodded, and she shook her head. “No, never. My God, you can see how much they love each other.”

  “I do. And yet you seem upset. So I thought…well, if I may be candid?”

  “Go right ahead,” she dared.

  “You might be jealous.”

  Her gaze turned from horrified to amused in less than a second. “Boy, is your radar off. Way off. We’re sisters. I couldn’t want anything more than for Stacy to be as happy as she is right now.”

  Hunter frowned. “Stacy didn’t mention any siblings.”

  Tori laughed softly, and Hunter enjoyed the sound. “Sorry. Not by blood. We’re sorority sisters. Best friends.”

  “Ahh. Then I beg your pardon. My assumption was incorrect.”

  “You know what they say about assuming anything, don’t you?”

  Hunter nodded and thought of Sam and Charles and the bond that had grown between all of them because of the menace they faced, a bond that wouldn’t exist under normal circumstances. Vampires tended to be loners and very territorial. “Would you like to sit?” He indicated a stone bench nearby.

  She faltered, and Hunter found her hesitation unsettling. But then she agreed, which he found to be even more unsettling. She placed her pocketbook on the bench. “Not too long, otherwise they’ll send out a search party.”

  “You have nothing to fear,” he replied, scanning the area one more time. “The grounds are secure.”

  “Nice to know. But from what?” Her gaze caught his as she tried to read his meaning. He made sure she didn’t succeed. “Chaz seems to be in some kind of security business for some kind of pharmaceutical company.”

  Surprise had Hunter answering a touch too quickly. “Why do you say that?”

  She paused, seeming to notice, but then continued anyway. “Because Stacy asked me some very vague questions regarding scientific method but wouldn’t answer my questions because of a nondisclosure agreement.” He raised a brow to indicate she should go on. “Are you in the same business as Chaz?”

  Hunter nearly laughed. She didn’t know who or what they were, which was good for her safety. He had no wish to threaten her life as he had Stacy’s. “No.” Her face fell. “I own the business.”

  “Really,” she huffed. “I’d never have thought.” She rose and stared down at him with an eagerness that had concern filling his insides. “Perhaps you can explain.”

  He shook his head ever so slightly. “You know I cannot answer.”

  “Of course.” She swallowed as if to contain her curiosity, but the movement only brought his gaze to the tiny pulse fluttering in her neck. He stared, mesmerized by the sight. “But you’ll find I can be very persistent when I want information.”

  Her words brought him back to the present. “I’ve withstood worse.” The corner of his mouth lifted.

  She set her chin and shoulders as if ready to fight. “I’m tempted to take your words as a challenge.”

  Pleased, he retorted, “I would welcome such a contest.”

  “I’ll bet you would.” She glanced toward the ballroom windows, then back at him. “If you’ll excuse me? As much as I would love to continue this conversation, I really need
to get back.”

  Hunter stood as well. He wondered how someone so astute could be so sad inside. So he asked, “A question before you go?” She lifted her chin, almost a dare to continue. “Why are you so sad?”

  She reached for the small pocketbook sitting on the bench. The movement caused her shoulder to hide part of her face. Hunter knew all about hiding.

  “How do you know I’m sad?”

  “Part of my business is reading people. Can you tell me a few moments ago you weren’t?”

  She stepped back, trying to put distance between them. “I’m not sure that’s any of your business.”

  “Agreed.” Hunter approached her as he would a doe, trying to suppress the predator inside. “You wear a mask, and if I may be so bold, I think your friends would prefer you didn’t.”