Bold Tricks

Bold Tricks

The Artists Trilogy 3

by

Karina Halle

About the Author

The daughter of a Norwegian Viking and a Fi

Karina holds a screenwriting degree from Vancouver Film School and a Bachelor of Journalism from TRU. Her travel writing, music reviews/interviews and photography has appeared in publications such as Consequence of Sound, Mxdwn and Go Nomad Travel Guides. She currently lives on an island off the coast of British Columbia with her fiancé and her rescue pup, preparing for the zombie apocalypse.

To find out more about Karina Halle, visit http://khalle.wordpress.com. Find her author Facebook page by searching “Karina Halle” or follow her on Twitter @MetalBlonde. 

Acknowledgements

Typing “The End” on Bold Tricks was a surreal experience for me. It was the first series I’ve written to be completed in its entirety and by the time the epilogue came rolling around, I was a complete and utter mess. I’ve loved these characters like no other and to say goodbye … well, that was extremely hard. So, I have to thank Ellie, Camden and Javier (and Gus!) for being so complicated and fun to work with. I know, these people are creations from the dark recesses of my head, but honestly, I feel like they’re out there somewhere, living their lives. I hope I did your stories justice – you certainly made 2013 such a wonderful rush and you changed my life in a big way.

Scott MacKenzie, your unfailing support and belief in me is the reason I could even complete these books to begin with. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love you.

Brucey Poo … You’re one tough puppy. Thank you for somewhat understanding when mommy had to go write and didn’t have time to play with you. Your ability to lie on the couch for hours has been very helpful. Also, big thanks to Dana Hicks!

My family – Tuuli, Sven, Kris … Thank you. You’ve all helped in your own ways, my mother especially for taking care of the dog and the house when I was too busy under deadline to even bathe myself. Though, next time, please leave less notes. And to the MacKenzies, particularly Wendy and Jill for your tireless purchasing of my books, thank you for being awesome!

Kelly St-Laurent – Your help in brainstorming for Bold Tricks gave me the right framework to lay down the beams. Thank you for believing in me.

My beta readers – Megan “Po Po” Simpson, Nina “Cries for Camden” Decker, Laura “Soulless” Moore, Claire “Mrs. Gus” Contreras, Kayla “Team Jumper” Veres, Lucia “Javi Hater” Valov íková, Barbie “Art Vandelay” Bohrman, Chelsea “Not married to Kirk” Cameron, Kara “Partner-in-Crime” Malinczak, Emily “Skulls” Franke, Amanda “Vegas Princess” Polito, Robin “Ticket Ripper” Prete, Shawna “Boom” Vitale, Jamie “Pusher” Sager Hall, Boobie Snickle Tush, Kirsten “Camden Lover” Papi, Bre

So many authors to thank, all for their support and belief in my work: S.L. Je

Bloggers make the writing world go round – Maryse’s Book Blog, Autumn Review, Reading in Winter, Ginger Reads, Book Hookers, Angie’s Dreamy Reads, Aestas, Natasha Book Junkie, My Secret Romance, The Demon Librarian, True Story Book Blog, Books Babes and Cheap Cabernet, Flirt and Dirty Girls, Under the Covers, Group Therapy Book Club, The Romance Cover, Xpresso Reads, The Book Bellas, The Reading Vixens, Hook Me Up Book Blog, A Love Affair with Books, the list goes on …

Then there’s the team at Grand Central Publishing/Forever Romance – my lovely editor Latoya Smith, the enthusiastic Julie Paulauski for all her PR work, plus everyone else who has come on board TAT train. And of course, my favorite Naj Qamber for her wonderful covers.

Can’t go without showing my gratitude to my superhero agent Scott Waxman and his team at Waxman Leavell, plus Samantha Howard and Mary Cummings. Farley Chase and Kate Abnerstein, you also rock my socks.

Last but not least, the readers, the fans and everyone in Halle’s Harlots. I would not be HERE writing this right now if it weren’t for YOU. Love you all long time. 

Prologue

The girl woke up screaming.

The pain that had engulfed her the night before hadn’t subsided while she lay unconscious, lulled to sleep by the drugs the doctors had given her. The pain wrapped around her legs, defying the morphine that seeped through her young veins.

She tried to sit up in her hospital bed and look around the dark room. There was no one there, not even her parents. She started to shake and cry, not understanding what had happened to her, not able to deal with the agony that had taken over.

She was alone and forever damaged.

Finally one of the night-shift nurses appeared at the door and came ru

“What is it, Ellie?” the nurse asked but the girl couldn’t speak. Her sobs were too powerful. She could only shake her head and moan pitifully, tears streaming down her face.

The nurse knew. She quickly administered more drugs through the IV drip that went into the girl’s arm. The girl had been horribly burned on her leg, one of the worst instances the nurse had ever seen. The doctors had done what they could but without insurance, her parents were unable to pay for any reconstructive surgery. A skin graft could have saved the girl from having horrible scars in the future.

Her parents weren’t even around. They had been sitting in the waiting room for most of the day, but at night they’d gone elsewhere, leaving the girl alone in the hospital. The nurse was extremely suspicious of them – everything from the furtive way they kept leaving the building to the way they explained what had happened to the girl.

Though it was believable that the girl came from the type of low-income family that would allow her to search for car parts on a nearby trash heap, the whole story about accidently spilling battery acid on her leg didn’t ring true. The nurse thought it sounded like her parents were probably ru

Except now. The girl’s sobs were subsiding as the morphine began to take effect, working quickly in her eleven-year-old system. The nurse watched her carefully, debating whether or not she should try and ask her. This was a job for Child Services, not her, but there was something about the girl she wanted to protect. It was like she could see the child was already damaged before the burns on her leg happened.