Excerpt of Descended and a chance to win!

I don't know about you, but I really enjoy reading excerpts of books. They hit my feed here and there on Facebook, and I always get pulled in. So, I thought I'd share a short excerpt from my most recent book, Descended.

Watch for the man in the white fedora...you'll understand once you get to the end of the book.

Descended by Melissa Koslin

Ancient bloodlines, secret societies, an attempt in her life, and a familiar yet enigmatic stranger…

Thousands of miles from home, Isa sees a man who looks intensely familiar. After she thwarts an attempt on her life, she escapes down the mountain with the familiar man, Xander, and he explains about four ancient bloodlines, each with its own unique set of skills: Cicero, Solomon, Sun Tzu, and Lilith. He belongs to a secret society devoted to observing and recording, but never interfering. Until now.

As Isa fights to survive, she grows close to Xander. She learns of her abilities passed down through blood and struggles to uncover the truths of her past. She decides she has to put a stop to the killing of the bloodlines and protect Xander from any further harm…even if it kills her. But will the truth of the killer’s motivations and identity be too much to handle?

Amazon   |   Apple   |   Barnes & Noble

COMMENT to win a free paperback copy of the book!

Chapter 1

               “Do not embarrass me,” Mr. Lagides said. “This is not vacation. You are here to work.”

               “Of course.” Isa looked down at her notes rather than at him. She had to do that a lot so she wouldn’t be tempted to laugh at him. He was her boss, after all.

               They’d been driving through the snow-covered mountains for a while. Isa never thought she’d ever visit the Swiss Alps. They’d passed through a village farther down the mountain that looked like it came straight out of The Sound of Music, and now all she could see was miles of majestic mountain range.

According to the GPS, they were getting close to the hotel. This particular resort was high up in the mountains, so the roads had become rather steep.

               A building came into view. It was a combination of rustic lodge and posh, glittering, modern resort, nestled into the rock as if a natural outcropping.

               Mr. Lagides pulled the Mercedes rental up to the valet next to the main entrance.

               Isa got out and looked around at the beautiful people walking in and out of the hotel. Utterly different from her apartment in Jacksonville, FL, where half her neighbors were laborers. The temperature was just as different. She hugged her coat more tightly around herself. She’d lived all over the U.S., including plenty of cold areas, but she’d always been on the thin side and had never been able to develop much muscle mass, even with all her physical activity, so she tended to run cold.

Mr. Lagides walked around the back of the car toward her, while a bellman stacked their luggage onto a cart.

               Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a man speaking with someone. Tall and dark. He looked intensely familiar…

Mr. Lagides snapped his fingers in front of her face. “Pay attention.” He held up his phone to show her something.

A man in a white fedora walked by and bumped his hand. Mr. Lagides’ phone went flying.

“Look what you did,” Lagides snapped at Isa.

Isa jogged after his phone. The drive was sloped, so when it hit the ground, it started sliding. He kept his whole life in his phone, and she knew he’d be unbearable if he lost it.

The phone slid under a car. Isa darted around the car and barely avoided running into a bellman. The phone bounced off a column at the edge of the overhang and skidded down the drive, which was an even steeper angle. She darted after it, trying not to slide on the stone drive.

The things I do for that klutz of a man!

She was getting closer.

Almost.

She reached out to grab it… Someone bumped her. Was that the same man in the white fedora? She slid and fell—right in front of a car coming up the drive.

She managed to scamper back to her feet, and just before the car hit her, someone grabbed her and pulled her out of the way.

She looked back at the car as it screeched to a stop.

Then she turned to the person who’d grabbed her, who was still holding onto her. It was the familiar man. He had golden skin and sleek, black hair.

He was staring at her.

She stared back. Where had she seen him before? How?

She expected him to say something, ask if she was all right, something. He just stared at her, still with his arms around her. She literally had not been held since her parents died when she was ten years old. Maybe that was why she felt frozen in place and couldn’t seem to get any words out.

“Clumsy girl,” came Lagides voice. “Give me that phone.”

The man looked over at Lagides and then let her go and walked away. Without a word.