Jaguar Jack Campbell, Aussie reality TV star, travels the globe filming escapades in the wild. His charismatic charm conceals an unwanted psychic gift and buried memories.
Major Maggie Savannah, aka Maggie-the-Mouth, is brash, brave and beautiful. She lives to beat the bad guys via covert military operations. The last thing she wants is a pretty boy TV personality partner.
But when a missionary is kidnapped by terrorists on a mysterious island, Jack and Maggie must join forces to secure her rescue and, perhaps, save the world.
The Set-Up: Jack and Maggie are heading into the heart of the island of Paradisio in a small motorboat. A sudden squall comes up and they get a glimpse of their real nemesis.
Excerpt from Chapter 12
A roll of thunder cut short their discussion; gusts of wind whipped up the water. A strange, putrid scent rode the breeze. Branches groaned; shushing, creaking sounds of leaves quivered. Limbs waved overhead from the approaching storm.
Jack surveyed the sky. Tropical storms came swiftly, nothing unusual in that. But these black clouds swirled with rare speed, as if pushed by an unseen hand. Calm water quickly turned into a boiling cauldron. A curtain of fog fell, dark and thick. Along the bank, just behind the first screen of trees, Jack thought he saw a figure pass.
Trees shook in great disturbance.
A lightning bolt split a tree, sending it up in instant flame. The sudden illumination flashed on a long, dark body. A feline shape with a huge head. It reared up on hind legs and revealed front feet with extended bear-like claws. A savage howl tore over the storm’s din; the smell of death permeated the air.
Darkness shrouded the creature in shadow once again.
“Holy shit! What was that?” Maggie yelled. Her exclamation faded in the storm cacophony.
Jack struggled to keep the boat on an even course. Hard rain let loose from the skies. He threw a bucket to Maggie and shouted, “Start bailing.”
Water pelted from every direction. Drenching…sloshing…soaking. Deafening crashes of thunder rumbled overhead, followed by jagged spears of lightning striking the ground.
The little boat bobbed and twirled like a toy in a tempest. Waves slapped his face and chest with stinging force. He fought to keep the rudder steady until his arms quivered with fatigue. Maggie’s soaked figure worked furiously before him against the onslaught of water into their small vessel. At one point a flash of lightning illuminated the magnificent defiance on her face.
Almost as quickly as it came, the rain slackened…
The darkness faded…
The river settled…
Jack righted their course down the middle of the rushing river. Plant debris floated past in the currents.
Maggie pushed a clump of hair from her face and slowed her bailing to catch her breath. “What kind of animal was that back there?”
He didn’t know what to tell her. It was nothing ever mentioned in any zoology books, that’s for sure. It might have been his overactive imagination, if she hadn’t seen it, too.
He’d just glimpsed the stuff dreams were made of—his dreams, his nightmares. Crikey, could such an animal be possible? Surely those tales of mythology were exaggerations.
“I’ve only seen it called one thing. In the Book of Revelation it’s known as The Beast.”
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The Adventures of Jaguar Jack is available in paperback and ebook at Amazon.com.
Supernal Living with Dana Taylor 