BACK WITH ANOTHER EXCERPT FROM IN THE ARMS OF DANGER

Good Morning Readers,
Ug, how can I possibly sound so chipper at 4:30am and I've been up since 3?...Don't ask me, but I thought since I'm up, I might as well sneak in a visit to Miz Ginger's Blogsite and post another excerpt from In the Arms of Danger, my latest release. Don't forget to scope out mywebsite at http://www.tabithashay.com/ for buy links, reviews and full chapters from my books, plus, my blogsite is combined with my website, so everything is taken care of in fell swoop. So, I'll stop wasting my time and yours and post the excerpt.

Setting the scene. At this point, Danger is a little put out with Lacey. He's told her several times to stay put at moments of crisis', but she never listens to him. This is one of those time when she should have....Enjoy...Tabs...WARNING: GP RATED, SOME LANGUAGE


The soft thud and mild shriek he heard made him pause for an instant, but he didn’t have to see first hand to know what had happened. His mouth split into a wide grin. She’d landed on her shapely ass. Maybe it would teach her to do what he told her. Right! The woman was never going to listen to a thing he said. He’d lost track of the times she ignored his orders or warnings.
“Thanks for the help,” she yelled. “Such a gentleman.”
Danger ignored her outburst and moved to the other side of Diablo and loosened the cinch. And he waited patiently for Lacey to catch up with him. She’d just found firm footing on solid ground when he glanced up and saw her skid to a halt. Her eyes widened. Her jaw gaped. She stood there as still as a statue.
“What is it?” Danger circled Diablo, then froze as he heard the low, soft whir of a rattlesnake. The blasted thing was mere inches from her booted foot. “Better not move,” he warned.
“It’s a snake,” she squeaked.
Didn’t the woman know he had enough sense to see the damned thing?
She took a shaky step back. Loose rock slid forward. The snake reared its triangular head. Rattles buzzed furiously. Definitely, the rattler was in a snit at having its hunting ground invaded.
“Lacey. Dammit, don’t move!”
The vibration of the rattles grew louder. More ominous. Danger felt his throat tighten with fear. The faint whimpering sounds escaping Lacey sent chills up his spine.
“Don’t move,” he repeated in a softer tone. “Please.”
Lacey’s slender arms trembled and she backed up another step. “I can’t stand snakes,” she breathed.
Danger looked up in surprise. “This from the woman who photographed mating cobras?”
“They were in a freakin’ glass cage!”
“For God’s sake, Lacey, for once, do as I say, stop moving.”
Lacey raised terrified eyes to his. “I’m not moving. It’s moving! It keeps coming closer. And—it’s looking at meee.” Her voice screeched on a broken note.
Danger swore softly. “It’s a prairie rattler, probably not long out of hibernation, hungry and pissed. You have to keep still.”
He raked his mind, trying to remember if Coe packed an anti-venom kit. He didn’t think so. If she was bitten, she could die before he could get her to help. The very thought turned his blood cold.
“Do something,” Lacey implored as the scaly creature crawled forward, deadly in its determination to edge closer to its prey.
The snake’s black, forked tongue whipped in and out tasting the air. It was evil. Something so foul, its musty scent permeated the air with wicked intent.
Danger glanced resolutely in the direction he’d spied the smoke, then back at Lacey. A gunshot would alert whoever was out there. If it was the murderer, then he’d be giving him plenty of warning that they were closer than he realized. If he didn’t do something, Lacey could die. He had no choice.
“Sweetheart,” he said very softly. “Have you ever fired a gun at all?”
“Never. Can’t you shoot it?”
Danger muttered beneath his breath. He could never get the Winchester from the pack horse in time. The slightest movement from him might cause the snake to strike at her. It was big and mean. It could strike the length of its body. If it did, it might bite her on the face or throat.
He drew in a sharp breath. “You have the gun, baby,” he answered quietly. “Point it at the snake and squeeze the trigger. You might even get lucky and hit the damn thing.”
He’d said it so calmly, Lacey’s head jerked up with a snap. “Easy for you to say, you’re not looking at those beady, little eyes. What if I miss?” Lacey wrung her hands. “Oh Lord, I’ve never shot anything helpless before.”
Danger blinked, his lips parting in surprise. “Helpless? Jesus H. Christ, woman! What the hell do you think it is a damned puppy dog?”
He released a deep breath. Good God, she’d not hesitated to hold him at gunpoint, yet she couldn’t shoot a snake?
Okay. All right. She’s scared. He understood that. He sucked in a deep breath and slowly released it. He felt her fear. He even sympathized, but damn it, she had to shoot. “You have to kill it, sweetheart,” he said gently. “Go ahead, little cat. Shoot.”
Lacey hesitated. The snake moved closer. She gave a whimper. Her hand trembled as she pointed the gun at the snake.
“Shoot, damn it. Shoot it,” Danger yelled hoarsely.
Lacey nodded. Slowly, she leveled the gun at the venomous reptile, but instead of squeezing the trigger as Danger had instructed, she suddenly drew back and hurled the gun at the rattler.
Danger’s eyes widened with stunned disbelief.


Okay, that's it until next time...Hope you enjoyed it....Tabs