Sneak Peek 4 of Setting Fire, Book 1 of the Fire Series by Mia Smantz
#thestillwindseries #miasmantz #SashaLiPopova #gamma #reverseharem #reverseharemseries #settingfire
Hello all!
Welcome to the sneak peeks countdown. With the first book of the new series, Setting Fire, soon to be released on September 30th, I'll be posting some snippets from the story to whet your whistles :)
If you're here, then you are getting excited for the release of Setting Fire, book 1 of the Fire Series!
Some notes before we get to the good stuff... my first series, The Cardinal Series is all completed and available on Amazon Kindle Unlimited for free. It's also available for purchase. If you're interested in purchasing a hardcopy set of the first two books, The Cardinal Bird and Cardinal Caged, you can buy the first volume here. This volume is also available in the Kindle Unlimited store if you want to purchase or add to your ten-book Unlimited list to help free up a slot for another great book. I know I always have a hard time trying to cull my ten-book limit. Get the Kindle version here. Soon, I'll be bundling the second volume of the series to include Cardinal of Hope and The Cardinal Sin as well as Cardinal Rose and The Red Cardinal. I'll make sure to announce it on social media.
One more thing before the preview, I created the pre-order for the next book so that I could include the link within the current book, but I haven't been promoting it. But, here it is, the next book in the series:
Setting Fire, Book 1
SNEAK PEEK
I entered the apartment.
I let out a sigh at the warm, floral scent that greeted me. It felt good to be home before dark for once. Kara had been right to force me up here for some relaxation.
A small bowl carved from pine held my keys, but that was about as organized as my personal life got. It was hard enough juggling all the responsibilities of a restaurant with two employees. My orange Converse sneakers were toed off halfway down the entryway, my sweater landed haphazardly over the back of the worn, tattered sofa, and my hair pins ended up strewn across the kitchen island.
I scratched my scalp with my nails as I collapsed back onto the couch.
“This is heaven,” I groaned as all the tension melted away.
I reached for the remote to turn on the TV, not to watch, but for the ambience, when a loud noise caught my attention.
My apartment consisted of a combined kitchen and living room, and two bedrooms with a shared bathroom, so it wasn’t hard to pinpoint where the sound had come from.
I stared down the darkened hall that led to the three rooms I hadn’t been to yet.
My heart raced as I crossed over to the coat rack that never got used and grabbed a Cookie Monster umbrella. I wielded it like a weapon as I approached the hall that seemed to stretch an impossible distance, considering it only had three doors.
I chickened out before entering, slipping to the side and leaning back against the wall. “Come on, get a grip,” I whispered.
It crossed my mind to phone for help or, hell, go downstairs and grab Eli to investigate.
“No, Sasha. Papa’s had a long enough day, as have the rest of the fire department, and Eli will never let you hear the end of it if it turned out to be something stupid.” I gave myself a pep talk, squared my shoulders, and entered the hallway, the Sesame Street umbrella held aloft and ready to take on any attackers.
The bathroom door was open already, so a quick reach in had the lights turning on and robbing my night vision. I blinked and squinted, easily able to tell no one was hiding in there unless they were squatting in the bathtub behind the kitty and butterfly shower curtain.
I adjusted my sweaty grip on the umbrella.
“One down, two to go.”
Deciding to check the guest room next, since it would be a lot neater than my bedroom, I crossed the hall and eased that door open. It creaked like it was auditioning for a part in a cliché horror movie, not helping my nerves at all. I was so jumpy that I leaped into the room and knocked my knee against the wall in my haste to scramble for the light switch.
My eyes ran over the bare walls, the double bed covered in a Looney Tunes bedspread, and the empty nightstand. No one jumped out to stab me, so I figured I was in the clear.
After checking the closet, I trudged back to the hallway and faced the door to my room.
“This is it, Sasha. You can do it. C’mon. And now. Now. And… now.” My feet remained rooted firmly in place.
I shook my head at my overreaction.
“This is stupid,” I declared and decided to return the umbrella to the stand.
In the middle of turning, something loud crashed to the ground behind my bedroom door.
“Fuck!” I cried and bolted for the stairs, fleeing the apartment.
I burst through the door, panting and out of breath, immediately drawing Eli’s attention.
He dropped the plate and spatula to the counter when he read my fear. “What’s wrong?” he demanded, pushing his sleeves up to his elbows and marching my way.