Dark Wine at Dawn

Contents Copyright and Disclaimer About Dark Wine at Dawn Join Jenna Barwin's VIP Readers 1. The Challenge 2. Anger Management 3. Reconciliation 4. His Choice 5. New Job Complications 6. The Offer 7. Plans Change 8. Dead Bodies Seem to Follow Her 9. Confidential 10. The Ex-Boyfriend 11. Divided Loyalties 12. Unwelcomed Interruptions 13. Still Not Ready 14. Impossible Accusations 15. Unwarranted Interrogation 16. Vengeance 17. Quick Switch 18. New Directions 19. Resigned to the Inevitable 20. Good News, Bad News 21. Lead, Follow, or Shut Up 22. Hope 23. A Gift 24. Trepidation 25. Third Time’s the Charm 26. Mortal Demands 27. Immortal Demands 28. Holding the Line 29. Twisted Tales 30. We’re Through 31. Letting Go 32. Unwelcomed Sleep 33. Killer Instincts 34. What a Headache 35. Horrorfest Videoconference 36. Winging It 37. Digging Deeper 38. Retreat 39. The Hunt 40. Don’t Lose Him 41. Oops 42. Moonset 43. The Chase is On 44. He Who Helps Himself 45. Turning the Tables 46. Dealing the Cards 47. Betrayal…Maybe 48. Laid Bare 49. Hunger 50. Reunited 51. Cutting a Deal 52. Against Common Sense 53. Life or Death 54. The Gambit 55. No Means No 56. Consequences 57. The Truth 58. More Unpleasant Surprises 59. Frying Pan 60. Into the Fire 61. Roasting 62. On the Carving Board 63. Clear Your Desk 64. Wake Up and Smell the Coffee 65. Surprise Visitors 66. Vacation, Finally Also by Jenna Barwin Acknowledgments and Dedications Copyright and Disclaimer Dark Wine at Dawn by Jenna Barwin Copyright © 2023 Jenna Barwin. All rights reserved. This book or any portion of it may not be reproduced in any form or by any means, or used in any manner whatsoever, without the express written permission of the publisher or author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, public entities, products, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, public entities, locales, or actual events is purely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. Opinions of the characters are not necessarily those of the author. Printed in the United States of AmericaFirst printing & ebook edition, 2023 Hidden Depths PublishingDana Point, Californiawww.hiddendepthspublishing.com Cover design: Covers by Christian (Christian Bentulan)Images used under license from Stock.adobe.com and Shutterstock.com and Jacob Lund Photography ApSCover art is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted in the cover is a model or artist’s creation. Editing team: Katrina Diaz-Arnold, Refine Editing, LLC; Trenda K. Lundin, It’s Your Story Content Editing; Arran McNicol, Editing 720. Library of Congress Control Number: 2023906564 eBook ISBN 978-1-952755-11-8Print 978-1-952755-12-5 1) Paranormal Romance 2) Urban Fantasy Romance 3) Vampire Romance 4) Vampire Mystery 5) Vampire Suspense 6) Paranormal Romantic Suspense 7) Romantic Fantasy V1.0 About Dark Wine at Dawn How many ways can a Christmas vacation go wrong? On their first vacation together, Henry and Cerissa travel to the New York so Henry may renew the vampire bond with his maker, Anne-Louise—he has no choice in the matter—but after the bond’s renewed, he plans to spend two weeks playing tourist with Cerissa. But when Anne-Louise offers him a way to escape the maker-child bond forever, what she demands in exchange for his release is beyond the pale, and it turns Henry and Cerissa’s much-needed vacation into a battleground. To make matters worse, mortals start popping up dead—and staying that way. Based on circumstantial evidence, the security chief for the New York vampires arrests both Henry and Anne-Louise for conspiracy to murder. Cerissa must move into overdrive and use her skills analyzing vampire DNA to prove Henry’s innocence. Because if she doesn’t succeed before dawn arrives, this trip to New York may be his last. Praise for Dark Wine at Dawn“Immortal shenanigans at their finest! What a ride!”~InD’tale Magazine “A tantalizing murder/mystery with a vampirish slant. Everything is there that readers of vampire novels love. It’s sexy, it’s exciting, and it’s unpredictable.”~The Wishing Shelf “Dark Wine at Dawn hurls WOW moments across its pages like the whale that unexpectedly breaches beside your boat, nearly throwing you overboard. I actually shrieked out loud twice.”~Shari Bonin-Pratt’s Ink Flare Join Jenna Barwin's VIP Readers Want to know about new releases, and receive special announcements, exclusive excerpts, and other FREE fun stuff? SUBSCRIBE here to join Jenna’s VIP Readers and receive Jenna Barwin’s newsletter. And if the above subscribe button doesn’t work, to sign up go to: https://jennabarwin.com/jenna-barwins-newsletter/ Chapter 1 The Challenge New York Collective—Early DecemberSnow fell gently, blanketing the balcony on the tenth floor of the mid-Manhattan high-rise, the late dusk sky obscured with clouds, the magenta fading to deep grays. From the living room couch, Cerissa Patel watched a blue jay land on the balcony rail and steal the last peanut she’d left out for the birds. Instead of staring at the skyline, she could be reading, watching television, or doing just about anything other than obsessing over what was happening twelve floors above her.But her mind wouldn’t cooperate, so she sipped on her glass of Cabernet and stared out the balcony’s floor-to-ceiling window, focused on the hodgepodge view of skyscrapers pressed close together—some shorter ones made of old tawny bricks, some taller ones of glass and steel, with the Empire State Building and its art deco style and iconic spire in the distance. All the buildings were lit up against the night sky.Despite the stately view, her mind immediately shot back to the problem worrying her: Why hasn’t Henry returned?For this trip, she and her fiancé shared the richly appointed one-bedroom apartment. The elegant lodgings, part of the guest floor at the New York Collective, were courtesy of Anne-Louise. Cerissa took another sip of wine and tried to relax while she waited for Henry to finish his visit