Gut Rot and Gargoyles: A Paranormal Women's Midlife Fiction Novel (Trailer Park Vampire Book 3)

GUT ROT AND GARGOYLES Trailer Park Vampire #3 by J.R. RAIN & H.P. MALLORY The Trailer Park Vampire Series Shotguns and Shifters Hillbillies and Hellhounds Gut Rot and Gargoyles Bumpkins and Banshees Other Books by J.R. Rain VAMPIRE FOR HIRE Moon Dance Vampire Moon American Vampire Moon Child Christmas Moon (novella) Vampire Dawn Vampire Games Moon Island Moon River Vampire Sun Moon Dragon Moon Shadow Vampire Fire Midnight Moon Moon Angel Vampire Sire Moon Master Dead Moon Lost Moon Vampire Destiny Infinite Moon Vampire Empress Moon Elder Wicked Moon Winter Moon Sasquatch Moon Wild Moon Moon Magic Moon World (coming soon) SAMANTHA MOON ADVENTURES Banshee Moon Moon Monster Moon Ripper Witch Moon Moon Goddess Moon Blaze Golem Moon Moon Maidens SAMANTHA MOON CASE FILES Moon Bayou Blood Moon Parallel Moon SAMANTHA MOON ORIGINS New Moon Rising Moon Mourning Haunted Moon Other Books by H.P. Mallory PARANORMAL WOMEN’S FICTION: Haven Hollow Midlife Spirits Misty Hollow Trailer Park Vampire Midlife Mermaid PARANORMAL ROMANCE: Witch & Warlock Vampire Esquire Ever Dark Academy FANTASY ROMANCE: Dark Destinies Gates of the Underworld Lily Harper Dulcie O’Neil PARANORMAL REVERSE HAREM: My Five Kings Happily Never After SCI-FI ROMANCE: The Alaskan Detective TRILOGIES: Crown Of Lies Dark Circus Chasing Demons Dungeon Raider Here to There Arctic Wolves Wolves of Valhalla Lucy Westenra Gut Rot and Gargoyles Published by Rain Press Copyright © 2023 by J.R. Rain & H.P. Mallory All rights reserved. Ebook Edition, License Notes This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Reading Sample: Bite of the Gargoyle About J.R. Rain About H.P. Mallory Gut Rot And Gargoyles Chapter One If Karen Dooley tapped the service bell one more time, I was going to bite her horns off. The sights, sounds, and smells of the Damnation Diner were overwhelming at the best of times. Before the fog, I’d enjoyed working here. The smell of coffee grounds and greasy diner foods was nostalgic, and the slightly sticky bar stools and booths were a part of the charm. Now that I had the nose of a bloodhound and the visual acuity of a hawk, the place wasn’t half as charming. The food was still greasy, though the nature of what was being deep-fat fried had changed. The most popular lunch item on the menu now was the fried gizzard and earthworm bowl. A lot of the regulars had turned into carnivores (well, more so than they already were) after the red fog had swept through and metamorphized almost every person in Damnation County. So far as we could tell, we were one of only three communities in the Ozarks to have been affected by the fog, but it wasn’t like we were going door-to-door with a survey. Well, one of us sort of was… Ding! Ding! Ding! The strident bell tone scraped off another layer of my sanity. With a snarled word, I set aside the honey, peach, and whipped cream soup I’d been making for Cletus, a fruit bat shifter who was sleeping in the woods these days. I figured he deserved something extra sweet after the little woman kicked him out of their trailer. Darlene was the suspicious sort and prone to fits of temper when she saw her beau in the proximity of another woman. It didn’t matter that the woman in question was Cletus’s cousin. She was still a stunning brunette with impressively large raven wings sprouting from her back. The huge, coal-dark eyes had only made Christy look exotic instead of frightening. I’d heard there was a fight Jerry Springer would’ve been proud of and Darlene had pulled some of Christy’s tail feathers right on out. Darlene was gonna cool down eventually and invite Cletus back to the trailer so I wasn’t that worried about him. Though I figured she wasn’t gonna wave the white flag of surrender until after the marks of Christy’s talons faded from her face and throat. Thankfully, we healed quick in these parts. But until he was sleeping in his bed again, I’d put a little extra work into Cletus’ food. Ding! I shoved my face into the little kitchen window and glowered out at Karen. The middle-aged busybody had transformed into her inner self after the fog. Yep, she’d become a devil, complete with horns, red skin, hooves, and a tail. “What do you want, Karen?” I half-snarled. Karen had the gall to look affronted. She flattened a hand to her chest, clutching imaginary pearls. She had some real pearls at home and made sure everyone knew it. They were one of the few things she’d inherited from her grandmother when the old bat had died. In Karen’s own mind, she was the height of sophistication and we were all beneath her. Which was a lot like declaring yourself a proud homeowner in these parts. Yes, your home didn’t have wheels, but it was still stuck in one of the poorest communities in rural Missouri. That meant your property value was in the toilet along with everyone else’s. “You don’t have to shout, Twila! I’m the one who’s been rudely ignored!” I jabbed a finger at the paper I’d plastered over the front door. We are short-staffed and wait times may vary. We’re sorry for the inconvenience. Karen crossed her arms over her chest, undeterred. “I got here twenty minutes ago. People who came in after me have already been served, so what’s the hold up?” There were some days I just wanted to gag Karen and lock her in a trailer somewhere. Then forget the key. Well, that was most days actually. She was one of those women who wasn’t happy unless she was inflicting