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pyromancer and mercenary captain Andrea Walker is scrambling to save her Zero Dogs. A team including
(but not limited to) a sexually repressed succubus, a werewolf with a thing for health food, a sarcastic tank
driver/aspiring romance novelist, a three-hundred-pound calico cat, and a massive demon who really loves
to blow stuff up.
With the bankruptcy vultures circling, Homeland Security throws her a high-paying, short-term
contract even the Zero Dogs can t screw up: destroy a capitalist necromancer bent on dominating the
gelatin industry with an all-zombie workforce. The catch? She has to take on Special Forces Captain Jake
Sanders, a man who threatens both the existence of the team and Andrea s deliberate avoidance of romantic
entanglements.
As Andrea strains to hold her dysfunctional team together long enough to derail the corporate zombie
apocalypse, the prospect of getting her heart run over by a tank tread is the least of her worries. The
government never does anything without an ulterior motive. Jake could be the key to success& or just
another bad day at the office for the Zeroes.
Warning: Contains explicit language, intense action and violence, rampaging zombie hordes, a
heroine with an attitude and flamethrower, Special Forces commandos, ninjas, apocalyptic necromancer
capitalist machinations, absurd parody and mayhem, self-deluded humor, irreverence, geek humor, mutant
cats, low-brow comedy, and banana-kiwi-flavored gelatin.
Enjoy the following excerpt for The Zero Dog War:
I double-timed it up the stairs off the foyer, thumping my way toward Gavin s rooms. I wanted
nothing more than to get this over with ASAP, and I d just raced up to the second-floor landing when I
rounded the banister and crashed right into Captain Sanders. For one moment all I could think about was
muscles and the smell of gun oil& until I realized he held me steady, his large hands on my upper arms. I
shoved back from him, and he let me go. I could feel my skin grow blazing hot.
Excuse me. I stepped farther away. He d come early. I hadn t expected him until tonight.
Something else to deal with, and my list already floweth over.
He smiled, but he had a way of looking at me that made me feel as if I were the focal point of the
universe, as if he waited for every word I might chose to speak. I didn t like it. The word disconcerting
sprang to mind.
I m sorry, he said. I should ve been more careful. I was looking for you.
I ll let you know when I find me.
He cocked an eyebrow, but his smile didn t falter. I took a deep breath and willed my heart to airbrake
back to a normal speed. A muscle in my cheek might ve twitched with my effort to suppress my stupid
schoolgirl-crush reactions. I clamped down even tighter. I had a job to do and a team to run. I sure as hell
wouldn t allow this distraction to endanger either.
I wondered if we could sit down together and go over a few tactical scenarios before the briefing, he
said. Make sure we re on the same page.
I m still tracking down my people. I glanced at my watch. And I m scheduled out until
about& eight twenty-five. And hey, that s when your briefing starts. How unfortunate.
His smile slipped a notch. Maybe afterwards
Look, Captain Sanders
Call me Jake. Save syllables.
Fine. Jake. I m busy running a team, Jake. Not a lot of time to attend your little tête-à-tête. Hail,
and all witness Captain Andrea Walker behaving like an ass yet, I couldn t stop now. Inertia was a
horrible thing.
He didn t seem daunted as the wattage on his smile dialed back up to blazing. May I call you
Andrea? In private, of course.
God. Damn. It. Men, you let them pick up the ball and they ran off the field with it, yelling how
they d won. I m more comfortable with Captain Walker, Jake, thank you.
All right, Captain Walker.
We stood so close, with no one else around. My skin felt afire, flushed, and sweat dampened my
armpits. The urge to drop my gaze from his eyes pulled at me like an iron chain, but I refused to look away.
Dominance games? I could play them all week, and he d soon find out if he didn t stand down. I stepped
back from him again, putting even more distance between us. Any farther and I d fall down the stairs but
I still didn t blink, so point to me.
He didn t pursue. I m confident we can map out some strategies to maximize our team assets.
Our team assets? Look, Jake, those are my people. Mine. I m responsible for them, for keeping them
safe and getting them back here every night after we go out and bust our asses, blowing shit up. I call the
shots. I m the only Captain Ahab around here. You can dispense advice when I damn well decide I need the
input of a magical Green Beret.
Something flared in his eyes either anger or respect before the professional detachment slammed
back down. Anger I could understand, but respect would only vex me more. I didn t need his damn respect.
I didn t mean to violate protocols, he said in a smooth, calm voice. I just want to make certain we
mesh together well. That our leadership styles are fully integrated to avoid any splintering of command.
Mesh together well. That conjured up some distracting images. Oh, he did vex me something awful,
the bastard. We can fully integrate if you listen to my orders. When we re hot, I m calling the shots.
Understood. I m here to support and advise. My only goal is to achieve our mission objectives.
Then I suggest you stay out of my way. I m driving this truck. I walked around him, careful not to
touch him again, and continued up the next set of stairs, willing my fists to remain unclenched and my jaw
muscles to cease and desist from grinding my teeth to powder.
He called after me. One last thing, Captain Walker.
I glanced down. He had his game face on a hard-as-steel, raptor-eyed, chew-dynamite-and-spit-out-
nitroglycerin look which appeared pretty damn impressive. What?
I meant what I said about achieving mission objectives. I ll do whatever I have to. There are lives to
save.
I swallowed my cheeky comment and gave him the benefit of a nod, despite my smoldering irritation.
As if I didn t know there were civvy lives at stake. Who d he think he was dealing with? Backwater hicks?
I spun on my heel and took the stairs two at a time, eager to be away from him. God help me, this
might just be the hardest damn job I d ever done.
What happens in Atlantic City& changes everything.
The Naked Detective
© 2010 Vivi Andrews
Karmic Consultants, Book 4
The gift that makes Ciara Liung the FBI s prized secret weapon makes her existence more like a
curse. Unable to bear human contact, she lives as a hermit, immersing herself in the water that gives her
peace and amplifies her power.
Her new FBI handler, though, only believes what he can see. The problem? Her gift the ability to
psychically locate stolen jewels only works in the nude.
Special Agent Nathan Smith can t believe he s expected to babysit some psychic finder.
Psychic& right. An undercover op gone wrong may have left him a desk jockey and Ciara s charms are
more distracting than he cares to admit but he s a field agent at heart. She s working some kind of angle.
It s just a matter of time before he unravels it.
Sent to Atlantic City to recover a ruby necklace for Monaco s royal family, both finder and Fed are
pushed outside their comfort zones, and discover more than they ever believed possible. And when a trap is
sprung, they realize they stand to lose much more than a sparkly stone&
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