Lou Paduano | Urban Fantasy Novels | Sci-Fi Crime Series

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Dark Impulses Preview

March 3, 2020 By Lou

Dark Impulses arrives in less than one week! The penultimate chapter in The DSA’s first season pits partner against partner, testing everyone’s loyalty to the mission.

Pre-order your digital copy today!

Dark Impulses Preview

Chapter One

The dripping sound woke her. The small pitter-patter falling along the soaked carpet at her feet sent wave after wave of dizzying echoes into her unconscious thoughts until she was snapped awake. Her first thought landed on the sink: a poorly maintained bathroom basin in a two-star motel on a dead-end road. Of course it was the sink. It wasn’t until Morgan Dunleavy licked her lips that she realized it wasn’t water running from the sink, but blood dripping down her face.

“Where?” she asked to the shadows of the room. The small stream ran from the top of her head, down her nose, and over her lips. She spat as the question left her, which interrupted the steady dripping.

From behind her, light split the dark beige curtains of the motel room. The bed lay upended along the far wall. It matched the state of the rest of the furniture in the cramped space. Morgan fought to breathe, the blood trickling into her mouth and over her tongue. Her eyes struggled to adjust to the moonlight which faded behind the fast moving clouds in the winter sky.

“Zac?” she called out. Her head pounded. Everything hurt. Everything screamed to be noticed and mended. She searched for her medical kit. Her mother had given it to her after Morgan graduated. She always carried it with her. The small bag rested out of sight; it was lost in the darkness, just like everything else.

“No,” a voice growled in response. Two small pebbles of light flickered from the far side of the room. A tapping returned to the background, this time that of a heavy-soled sneaker—red and white with blue laces. Morgan’s eyes widened. They attempted to refocus despite the swelling along her temples. “Your boy toy isn’t here, Morgan.”

Her mind snapped to attention, and the cloud over her thoughts was gone the second his words cracked the darkness. She reached to wipe away the blood and remove the matted strands of dark hair from her face. Her hands refused to obey her. She pulled again, and the force caused her to cry out. Tied hands strained against the chair beneath her.

“Oh, hell.”

The tapping ended and the figure in the shadows stood. His chair flew across the room. It joined the table, the nightstand, and the bed in a crumpled heap. His eyes remained wide lights, and deep red ran along the edges of his pupils. His jaw was clenched, which kept his voice throaty and guttural. She recognized him anyway by the gun in his hand—the same Ruger he always carried.

“Ben,” she muttered as her partner stepped into view.

“You betrayed me!” Ben Riley’s empty hand rubbed at his neck. The other shook with fury, yet his sidearm remained locked on his captive. Morgan tried to lift her hands, to talk to her partner calmly and casually. Zip ties clacked against the wooden frame of the chair. She recalled the struggle from earlier. She remembered the argument that started it, and the blood that followed.

Her blood. She bit back the panic creeping into her chest. “This isn’t…” Ben shook his head as soon as she opened her mouth. She spoke louder. “Ben. You need to listen to me.”

“To your lies?” Spit flew across the air between them. “After what you’ve done to me?”

“I haven’t—”

The gun silenced her, now only inches in front of her face. “You stole my life,” Ben cried. His eyes were a deep, dark red that matched his flushed cheeks. Goosebumps ran up his arms, and both were shaking, matching his uncontrolled anger. “You and Metcalf and the rest. You took everything from me! Do you know how that feels? Of course you don’t.”

He was wrong. She understood what it was like to lose a life you worked so hard to create. The DSA was built for people like them. A second and final chance.

“Ben,” she whispered. “Please…”

The gun cocked loudly. Cold eyes answered her plea. “But you will, Morgan. You will.”

The flare of the muzzle was the last thing Morgan saw. Then the world went dark.

Find out what happens next on March 9th!

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Filed Under: Dark Impulses Tagged With: book preview, Dark Impulses, DSA

Spectral Advocate Preview

February 4, 2020 By Lou

Spectral Advocate arrives next week at all digital retailers. Book Four of The DSA Season One opens up a new realm of possibilities for Ben Riley, who stumbles into a murder investigation with dangerous implications for both him and the DSA.

Be sure to pre-order your copy today!

Paperback lovers:

You can order a signed paperback here. Or head over to Amazon to order one right now.

Check out the exclusive preview of Spectral Advocate –

Thought escaped him. Seconds ticked by though it felt like an eternity. The world silenced around him. Ben was grateful for the reprieve, content to have something to do instead of mull over his options, despite the growing weariness in his bones.

The flight of stairs to the eighth floor of the Edgemont faded behind him. His bare feet slid along the stained carpet of the corridor. Dim lights ran along the center of the ceiling. Ben blinked rapidly, resisting the heaviness of his eyes. The cold metal of the Ruger sent a chill along his arm. He held the weapon tight to his side. Despite the emptiness of the hall, Ben took each step slower than the last. Each door remained closed and each shadow caught on his periphery was his own.

When a door opened to his left he nearly opened fire on instinct. An elderly woman with rollers in her hair and thick glasses staggered from her apartment. Her eyes thinned at the sight of him and his weapon. Never stopping, never backing away, the woman raised a frying pan at him, ready to swing.

Ben lowered the gun and tucked it in his waistband. He opened his badge for her, though her attention was elsewhere. Her gaze trailed down from his awkward smile to his bare chest.

“Great,” Ben muttered, attempting to close his shirt. He continued down the hall. As he passed her, a needy paw pinched his ass. “Hey!”

The woman chuckled, the pan holstered under her arm. She licked her lips slowly, hand to the frame of her apartment. Her words were rapid mumbles, the language foreign and incomprehensible to the exhausted agent.

Ben nodded politely as he backed away from her creeping hand. Before he could respond, a wrenching sound echoed down the corridor. Wood cracked, once then twice in quick succession, before shattering. When he turned back to the woman, her door was closed and the chain lock was sliding into place.

Swiping at his eyes, Ben rounded the corner for the far side of the building. The third door on the left was exposed. The heavy oak had been snapped at the lock. It hammered against the back wall, unable to make the return trip to the frame. Splinters were scattered inside the hall of the apartment and right outside. The intruder’s footprints were clearly marked through the debris.

Hand to the door to keep it in place, Ben entered the apartment. His gun led the way. No more screams guided him. The aid was no longer necessary to track its origin point.

The domicile matched his own, reversed because of its location in the building. Just inside the entrance was a small hallway. Green carpeting ran throughout. The bathroom was tucked on the right and the door was open a crack. Ben edged the door back. He caught his reflection in the mirror.

I look like crap.

He cleared the room quickly, then wheeled down the hall for the rest of the apartment. Opposite the bathroom was the kitchen, which bled into the main living space of the two-bedroom unit.

Dishes were stacked in the sink, one plate, a coffee cup, silverware, and a wine glass. The wrapper of the microwave meal peeked from the lidless trash in the corner. It looked like a lonely night in, matching most of his when not in the field for the DSA.

A single occupant clearly lived there. Female, from what he could tell from the decorations. Candles sat along the counter. A bright pink sweatshirt hung over the lounger in the corner of the living room.

The place looked newly furnished, the couches factory fresh. Someone new to the area? Their first apartment?

Speculation fell behind the sound of heavy breathing in the living room. Away from the couches dotting the space on the left-hand side lay a woman along the carpet. She stared up at the ceiling. Gaping lips of ruby red and deep, recessed green eyes welcomed him to their emptiness. Thin, black locks of hair were scattered underneath her, spreading like a fan along the ground.

No wounds were visible, and no blood spread beneath her along the recently installed carpet. At least not that Ben noticed. His focus was locked on the pair of hands pressing with all their might between her breasts.

A figure knelt close to her body. His wrinkled shirt and moppy brown hair obscured Ben’s view of the victim.

“Don’t move!” Ben shouted, awake to the situation at last. He raised his sidearm, maintaining a safe distance from the man looming over the deceased in the room. “Hands where I can see them!”

The man’s arms fell limply to his sides, the heavy breathing from the act of supplying CPR to the dead woman slowly fading. He turned to face Ben, hands spread to show their emptiness.

“This looks kinda bad, doesn’t it?”

Spectral Advocate launches February 11th!

Be sure to order your copy now. This installment not only propels the series toward the season finale, but also introduces you to Cal Cooper – a hero with his own story to tell.

Pre-order your digital copy now.

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