Rising frenzy, p.1
Big Monster Money (Big Easy Bounty Hunter Book 1), page 1
BIG MONSTER MONEY
BIG EASY BOUNTY HUNTER™ BOOK 1
CHARLES TILLMAN
MARTHA CARR
MICHAEL ANDERLE
This book is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.
Copyright © 2022 LMBPN Publishing
Cover by Mihaela Voicu http://www.mihaelavoicu.com/ Cover copyright © LMBPN Publishing
A Michael Anderle Production
LMBPN Publishing supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.
The distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact support@lmbpn.com. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
LMBPN Publishing
PMB 196, 2540 South Maryland Pkwy
Las Vegas, NV 89109
Version 1.00, November 2022
ebook ISBN:979-8-88541-251-3
Print ISBN: 979-8-88541-679-5
The Oriceran Universe (and what happens within / characters / situations / worlds) are Copyright © 2017-22 by Martha Carr and LMBPN Publishing.
THE BIG MONSTER MONEY TEAM
Thanks to our Beta Readers
Larry Omans, John Ashmore, Kelly O’Donnell, Jim Caplan
Thanks to our JIT Readers
Diane L. Smith
Jackey Hankard-Brodie
Dave Hicks
Micky Cocker
Dorothy Lloyd
Zacc Pelter
Peter Manis
Editor
SkyFyre Editing Team
CONTENTS
Prologue
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
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Epilogue
Free Books
Author Notes - Charles Tillman
Author Notes - Martha Carr
Books By Michael Anderle
Connect with The Authors
PROLOGUE
Dammit, whoever’s behind me is still there, Natalia fretted as she forced herself to maintain the same steady pace instead of breaking into a run as her instincts screamed.
I knew it was a mistake to come to Knoxville. I should have gone farther before I stopped to decide what to do. I should have known someone would spot me and rat me out to them. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I need to go far away, maybe to another country, to escape my family’s reach.
Natalia pulled her black ash wand from a concealed pocket in her cloak and gripped it in a white-knuckled fist. She readied a lethal spell as she ducked into the shadows of the university stadium and crouched behind a thick concrete column. She held her breath as she tried to hear the stealthy footsteps over the pounding of her racing heart.
“Come out, sister. I know you’re there,” an amused voice called.
Oh damn, it’s Chauncey. Natalia drew a breath to steel herself and stepped out to face him with her wand held concealed along her leg. If Chauncey was here, it was for one of two reasons. Either she agreed to come home and marry the man her mother had arranged for her willingly, or she returned as her older brother’s unwilling captive. There was no way Chauncey would have been there unless their mother ordered it. The stuck-up prick barely concealed his disdain for Natalia and her “soft heart,” as he called her refusal to embrace the evil agendas the dark families pushed.
“Go home, Chauncey. I’m not marrying that man to advance Mother’s political aspirations. I’m never setting foot in that woman’s house again.”
“Don’t be stupid,” Chauncy spat. “You will come home with me and attend your wedding with a smile on your stupid face. You’ve embarrassed the family too much with your childish actions already. You’re lucky our mother wants you alive. My vote was to kill you flat out for your insolent behavior.”
Natalia whipped her wand up, and a black orb with red streaks shot toward his head. With a casual flick of his wrist, the sphere veered harmlessly over the parking lot.
“Is that the best you’ve got?” Chauncey smirked. “You should have paid closer attention when your tutors taught offensive spell work. See if you remember this one.”
His wand slashed the air at chest level, and a blast of wind shoved her back against the rough concrete support she’d hidden behind. She gritted her teeth and made an intricate motion with one hand while stabbing straight out with her wand. The wind cut off immediately. Natalia spun her wand in a half-circle and sent a cloud of black fog from its tip toward her attacker.
Chauncey’s eyes widened as he recognized the spell that would melt his skin like acid if it touched him. He swept his wand up and spun it over his head three times as he muttered, “Ventus.” The oily black cloud halted as if it had hit a wall and started to rotate. The cloud spun faster and faster until it was a column of darkness spinning between them. Chauncey sent the deadly fog up with a flick of his wand, where it dissipated in the dark skies above.
“Ooh, that’s nasty, sister. Maybe you aren’t a total waste after all,” Chauncey sneered as he shot a fireball toward her.
Natalia ducked her head and swept her wand down as she shouted, “Vallum.” The fireball hit an unseen obstacle and stopped in the air between them, turning a sickly green before it faded out.
“I’m not some broodmare Mother can marry off to the highest bidder to get what she wants. Randall Blackwell is an abusive, womanizing bastard. I’ll never marry him, no matter what you or Mommy Dearest want!” Natalia yelled as she launched a thick stream of red flame toward the grinning wizard.
He batted it aside with a careless shrug. “You don’t have a choice, Natalia. Your opinion of Randall and your objections are on record, but you will not bring shame to our family. Mother worked hard to arrange this pairing, and it will increase our family standing with the other dark families. You either come back to Lexington willingly, or I’ll blast you until you're too weak to resist. You know you can’t beat me. You never have and never will.”
“Dammit, Chauncey! Why do you always have to be such a prick? Mommy’s favorite, always doing her bidding. Grow a pair and tell her you couldn’t find me. You know the Blackwell clan are all bad news.”
“That’s enough of this childish stupidity. If you were half as loyal to our family as I am, you wouldn’t have run in the first place. If you don't come back on your own, I'll do whatever is necessary before I let you shame us in the eyes of the others.” An evil-looking globe of green and yellow formed on the tip of his wand as he harangued her. Now he raised it menacingly above his head. “Last chance, sister. What will it be? Marriage or death?”
A cluster of small black orbs split apart and shot toward the wizard as she grunted, “Marrying that bastard will be the death of me, and you damn well know it.”
Chauncey threw his hand out and shook his head contemptuously as the attack approached. The spheres stopped and zipped back toward the witch. She desperately tried to block them, but one struck her hand and dislodged her wand as another hit her shoulder and knocked her into a wall.
“Well, Natalia, since you're determined not to honor your family obligations—something Mother thought wasn’t possible—it’s up to our dear sister Angelica to step up and do it for you. She always was the more loyal daughter. The fact that she's been screwing Randall for the past two years makes me sure he’d prefer her instead of your prudish ass anyway.”
He laughed as he released the massive ball of dark magic toward her. She pushed up on one arm and screamed as darkness enveloped her.
CHAPTER ONE
Garden District, New Orleans, Louisiana
Natalia awoke screaming in total darkness. Her heart pounded fast in her chest as a weight pressed down on her face, preventing her from drawing a breath
Distant pounding followed by a muffled voice calling, “Natalia!” barely penetrated the encompassing dread as she struggled to free herself from her unseen assailant.
“Natalia, cher, open dis door ‘fore I bust it down,” the voice called again.
A loud blast shook her body, and seconds later, she shrieked again as strong hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled her off the hard surface.
“Natalia, wake up. You done fell outta bed, cher.”
The weight covering her face disappeared, and Natalia whimpered as bright light speared into her eyes, clouding her vision with yellow and green spots. She tried to raise her hand to block the source of her pain but struggled ineffectively to free them from their entrapment.
“Hold on, you all tangled up in da covers.” The voice spoke to her softly, calming her panic enough to stop fighting against the force that held her.
Seconds later, her hands came free, and she shielded her eyes from the stabbing light. As her vision cleared, she became more alert and realized that the room and the voice were familiar.
“Matt?”
“I got you. There you go, cher. Everythin’s gonna be all right.”
The blanket that had cocooned her slid to the floor, and she sighed as strong arms pulled her against a hard, muscular chest.
“You’re okay. You’re safe here,” Matt mumbled reassuringly. “You had a bad dream, is all.”
The nightmare's events came back to her, and she shuddered. “It was Chauncey. I saw his spell coming at me and knew I couldn’t get away.” Natalia sniffed as tears welled in her eyes.
“Shhh, he can’t hurt you no more. It was only a dream. You’re safe here an' can’t nobody get to you. I promise.”
Natalia stiffened when she turned her head, and her face rubbed across bare skin and solid muscle. She flushed when her hand brushed against the smooth flesh of his chest as if it had a mind of its own.
A second later, she froze when she remembered that her thin t-shirt didn’t leave much to the imagination up top and barely covered her below.
“I-I’m okay. You can let go now,” she murmured, mortified by the unbidden urge to see if his chest was the only bare part.
“Let me carry you outta here. You don’ have on shoes, and I don’ want you ta get a splinter.” Matt adjusted his grip and backed through the doorway.
Natalia glanced down. Wood fragments covered the floor. A look around the room showed a large piece of the door leaning against a nightstand and splinters littering the bed.
The events of the past few days came back as she recovered from the nightmare-induced panic. She’d run away from her family home in Lexington, Kentucky, to avoid an arranged marriage to a truly evil man.
She shuddered at the memory of her brother’s deadly spell whizzing toward her. He'd intended to kill her and would have if not for the man who saved her—a powerful wizard and bounty hunter from New Orleans named Matt Bordelon.
The man whose strong arms crushed her against him and whose hands held her…
Uh-uh, don’t you dare go there, Natalia Greymont. Forget how damned good he smells…damn it, stop it now, you foolish girl.
Natalia’s feet touched the floor, and the smooth chest that dominated her vision moved away.
“Cher, you okay?” Matt leaned down to look into her eyes.
Her breath caught in her throat. Sapphire blue eyes with gold flecks anxiously stared at her. She closed her eyes and shook her head to break the spell that held her frozen.
A large hand wrapped around one upper arm while the other frantically patted her body, searching for any injuries. “Where you hurt, girl? Talk to me, Natalia.”
Matt gently ran his hand over her head, checking for bumps. “Did you hit your head?”
She pressed a palm against his chest and pushed lightly. “I’m fine. I'm just a little shaken. You can let go of me now.” She looked at her hand and snatched it away as though it burned.
“Is that coffee I smell?” She changed the subject.
Matt nodded as he ran his fingers over the spot where her hand had rested.
“Give me a minute.” She pushed her hair back and nodded at the bathroom door across the hall. “I need to brush my teeth and do something with this mess.” She self-consciously tugged the shirt down with one hand, then blushed and covered her chest with the other arm when she saw where Matt’s wide-eyed gaze lingered. “And put on something presentable.”
“You're beautiful,” Matt mumbled, then turned red when her eyes narrowed.
“Two sugars, no cream. I remember.” Matt nodded as he released her and backed away. “I, uh, I’ll have it in the kitchen when you get there.”
Matt turned and stumbled for the stairs without looking back.
Natalia watched appreciatively with a faint smile. His upper body tapered to his waist in a natural "V" with well-defined muscles down to his gray shorts. His bare legs with their light coating of dark hair were as well-formed as the rest, and she let out a muffled groan as his muscles flexed when he walked.
That man is fine. His muscles even have muscles. Yummy.
Her eyes widened, and she slapped her hand over her mouth. She turned and hurried into the bathroom, closing and locking the door before she leaned against it.
No, no, no! Natalia, get it together. No matter how dreamy that man is, you can’t stay here, and you damn well know it. You’ll get yourself and him killed.
She’d laid awake into the early morning hours, convincing herself that she had to run no matter what she’d told him earlier. Even if Chauncey was dead, her mother had any number of people who’d gladly hunt her down and drag her back home, or worse. Her cousins were a greater threat. If it meant Marian Greymont owed them a favor, most in her extended family would gladly sell out their mothers without a second thought.
No matter what, she had to convince Matt that staying here with him wasn’t an option. With that thought firmly in place, Natalia grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a dark hoodie from the stack of clothes he'd picked up for her the night before and quickly dressed. She was determined to be miles away from New Orleans—and Matt—by the time the sun set.
CHAPTER TWO
Garden District, New Orleans, Louisiana
Way to go, dumbass! First, you bust in on her in da bath like some deranged madman yesterday. Then you blow the door off da bedroom this mornin’. Ain’t no way dat girl gonna want nothin’ to do with you. Hell, you lucky if she don’t run right out the door and keep on runnin’ ’til she halfway across Texas. Matt shook his head, berating himself and his traitorous mouth as he rushed down the stairs to the kitchen.
What tha hell you thinkin’, fool? You told her you killed her brother yesterday, and you’re oglin’ her and droolin’ over her today. She’s gonna run out and get herself found ’cause you actin’ like a damn fool. Matt pulled two mugs out of the cabinet and filled them from the pot as the last rich black coffee dripped into it.
