When Tessa rallies friends and family to find her missing date, they uncover a secret…and start a war that causes ripples in all aspects of their lives.

A vampire with throwback human genes. Sixteen-year-old Tessa finds more than just her friend in this journey…she also finds herself in need of rescue … Imprisoned, she has to find a way to escape and reunite with her family before this war takes out those she loves.

The youngest of his ancient line. Eighteen-year-old Cody descends from flyer vampires wants Tessa back at his side where she belongs – even as he struggles with conflicting emotions about his best friend’s kid sister…

A human determined to protect his people. Seventeen year-old Jared thought his life was over then he finds out that his rescuers are vampires…how can he trust them? And then he finds out the truth about Tessa…and that she’s been taken, too…

Three brave souls struggle as war breaks out around them…a war that shows them no mercy.

Two very important things happened at the end of the first book, one was the discovery of Moltere hanging like the humans in that warehouse. Moltere was their prime suspect, now they had no idea who could be running this place. Second, Tessa had been sleeping in a bed next to Jared when she disappears. No one knows what happened or where she is other than Cody found a syringe on the floor by the bed. That leaves the question of how did they get in and then out with Tessa.

Now Tessa’s guards are concerned, first she got sick and second she’s not waking up. Although that wasn’t exactly true, she was pretending to be asleep and listening to every word they said. When they leave she gets free and heads in the opposite direction of their energy.

In the meantime, Cody and Ian find the passage they think was used to take Tessa and follow it, finding nothing but a possible exit streaming daylight and beyond a marshy area with no footprints they head back. Only to be knocked out briefly. Goran, Serus and David went the other direction, to where they came in. Then covering up and dashing to the house they first searched for Jared but found Cody and Jewel. They find themselves locked in but search to be sure they haven’t missed anything before returning to the warehouse.

Jared wakes up and Rhea explains what had happened and also that Tessa has been kidnapped. He’s a bit shocked to find out Tessa is a vampire. He doesn’t know who to trust, that vampires did this doesn’t inspire trust in the ones around him.

When the doctors and support teams show up, Jared freaks out and runs.

This is a favorite scene.

Cody groaned and stumbled to his feet. “Damn it, Ian. What hit us?”

“I don’t know.” Ian clutched his head and tried to stand up. “Man, my head is killing me.”

“Yeah, mine too.” With a wince, Cody walked to the end of the hall. “No one’s here. All I see is that bloody cupboard. Could it have fallen on us when we came through?”

He stared at the partially damaged shelving and the gaping hole in the wall.

“I suppose it’s possible. It’s not like we were calm and quiet. If the hinges were only secured to the drywall, they might have loosened when we jumped through.

“Great. I suggest we don’t tell the others. This could be a little embarrassing. And speaking of which, let’s go find them.” Still rubbing his temple, Cody walked out to where the hallway joined the warehouse. Just the look of all those hanging bodies made his stomach lurch again. Damn scary. With Ian close behind him, he headed in the direction where they’d left Rhia and Jewel.

“I wonder if anyone has news on Tessa yet.”

“They better have.”

Cody grimaced. “Maybe the medics will be there, too. I could use some food and rest, and I won’t get either until we find Tessa. As soon as it’s dark, I’m flying.”

“Hmph. Rub it in, why don’t you?” Ian grinned at the old joke between them. Both were fliers, but Cody was faster and stronger.

They hurried around the corner with Cody leading the way. He slammed into someone running fast and went down. The other person fell, too…so hard, in fact, his head actually bounced.

Cody gave himself a shake and jumped to his feet.

Ian laughed. “Now that was like something straight out of a cartoon.”

“What the hell?” Cody stepped around the prone man until he could see the guy’s face. It was Jared. “There’s nothing to him. He hit me like a linebacker and bounced off. Like, I don’t get it. What’s he running from?”

The answer to his question came running around the corner: Jewel and Rhia.

Rhia cried out, “Oh, thank heavens you’ve caught him. I don’t want to lose him again.”

“Why was he running away?” Cody glared down at Tessa’s friend. Apparently, Jared was still causing trouble.

Rhia raised her palms and shrugged. “The medical team arrived, and Jared seems to think they’re the bad guys in disguise. He really took offense at Dr. Korner, the head of the team.”

“Offense?” Cody asked cautiously. He didn’t know the doctor in question, but Jared had been through a lot and it might not have taken all that much to spook him. He’d been the only conscious human surrounded by a pack of vampires – and that obviously hadn’t done much for his comfort level. Exasperation laced his voice as he continued, “Let’s get him back to bed. He has spent more time injured because of me than he has from the vamps that kidnapped him.”

“We won’t hold that against you.” Jewel grinned. “He might though, when he comes to.”

“Yeah, he looks like the kind to hold a grudge.” Cody couldn’t do anything about the way Jared felt, but he could make the guy more comfortable. So he bent down, and with Ian’s help, raised Jared onto his shoulder. He then carried Tessa’s friend to his old room.

A group of people stood outside the room, gawking at them.

“Hi,” Cody murmured as he passed them before lowering Jared onto the same bed he’d been in before.

Throwing a blanket over Jared, Cody backed up out of the way so Rhia could mother him again. That kid had to stop going against Cody. He might end up seriously injured one of these days.

Accidentally injured, of course.
Mayer, Dale. Vampire in Distress (Family Blood Ties Book 2) (ppp. 76-79). Valley Publishing Ltd.. Kindle Edition.

I sort of feel sorry for Jared, but he does eventually pull it together.

Tessa manages to get away and to a safe spot where once darkness falls Goran and her father can pick her up. In the meantime things are off in many ways down in the warehouse.

Tessa discovers unconscious people in a van that should have been transporting the rescue crews, adding even more suspense to this already tense tale. She also decides enough is enough and calls in everyone she can think of both human and vampire to help.

Plenty of funny moments as well as tense ones as this story progresses. There is another cliffhanger but that’s okay because this is a completed series. I’m off to start the next book!

5 Contented Purrs for Dale!

Dale Mayer

Dale Mayer is a USA Today bestselling author best known for her Psychic Visions and Family Blood Ties series. Her contemporary romances are raw and full of passion and emotion (Second Chances, SKIN), her thrillers will keep you guessing (By Death series), and her romantic comedies will keep you giggling (It’s a Dog’s Life and Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy series).

She honors the stories that come to her – and some of them are crazy and break all the rules and cross multiple genres!

To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, companion gardening and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series. All her books are available in print and ebook format.