Black Friday Excerpt + Contest: Nice Guys Bite by Jennifer Estep

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Jennifer EstepIt’s that time…Black Friday is here and we’re celebrating the season with Jennifer Estep’s Silvio Sanchez, the vampire assistant of Gin Blanco from her Elemental Assassin’s series as he brings us a gift. A sneak peek into his own adventure that happens during the holidays – Nice Guys Bite, releasing December 12, 2016.

New York Times bestseller Jennifer Estep continues her Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series with a novella starring Silvio Sanchez, the vampire assistant of Gin Blanco, as he goes on a holiday date that turns out to be more deadly than romantic.

Working for Gin Blanco (aka the Spider, the assassin who runs the Ashland underworld) doesn’t leave much time for romance, especially with Gin’s holiday party planning in full swing. But when he catches the eye of a charming gentleman, Silvio finds himself going out for coffee.

All’s fair in love and war, though. Just as Silvio is starting to enjoy himself, he realizes he’s being watched. His nice guy date doesn’t sense the danger, and Silvio wants to keep it that way (and, well, keep the guy alive) so Silvio ends the date early—only to be abducted by some villainous giants.

Will Silvio survive the night and make it back to the Pork Pit in time for Gin’s holiday party? Only if he decks the hall with bodies…

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Excerpt: Nice Guys Bite by Jennifer Estep

jestep-nice-guys-bite“You work too much.”

I ignored the teasing drawl and swiped through another screen on my tablet, reviewing our schedule and wondering if I could squeeze in a meeting today. Or, rather, if I could get her to squeeze in a meeting today. Probably not. Getting her to agree to them in the first place was always a struggle, and she would be even more reluctant now, given how badly the one yesterday had gone.

But mid-level underworld boss Liam Carter had called me earlier, asking for a sit-down in hopes of smoothing out a territorial dispute before it turned any bloodier than it already was. He’d actually been quite polite with his request, calm and respectful, unlike so many of the other bosses who went straight to bellowing and bullying.

As if such things would intimidate me. As a personal assistant, I highly valued politeness, especially when it was directed at me, and I really wanted to accommodate Mr. Carter—

“Silvio, please put your tablet down.” The voice sounded again, this time with a little more emphasis. “Before I take it away from you.”

I looked up from the screen to find my boss, Gin Blanco, staring at me. She was sitting on a stool next to the cash register, but for once she wasn’t ringing up orders or running credit cards. Instead, a pair of scissors glinted in her hand, and red, white, and green construction paper covered the counter in front of her, along with glue sticks, pots of glitter, and an assortment of ribbons.

I nudged a couple of the curling ribbons aside with my index finger so that they wouldn’t further encroach on my work space, which was the only clear patch of counter left. But of course, the ribbons slithered right back to where they’d been, like tiny snakes determined to infect me with their holiday cheer.

“Tell me again why you’re doing arts and crafts?” I asked.

Gin held up the sheet of red paper that she’d been snipping with her scissors for the last few minutes, took an end in either hand, and unfolded it like an accordion, revealing a string of, well, let’s just say unusual snowflakes.

She beamed at me, her gray eyes bright in her pretty face, proud of her crafty creation. “Because the holiday party is in a few hours, and what says ‘Merry Christmas’ better than pig-shaped snowflakes?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” I said in a dry tone. “Anything other than pig-shaped snowflakes?”

Gin rolled her eyes and set her string of snowflakes down on the counter. “You’re no fun.”

“You don’t pay me to be fun. You pay me to be your assistant.” I waved my tablet at her. “So why don’t you let me get back to actually assisting you?”

“Because you’re supposed to take the afternoon off, just like everyone else, remember? Now, be a nice assistant, and put that thing down.” She brandished her scissors at me. “Before I stab it to death—literally.”

With anyone else, I would have considered it an idle threat. But not when my boss was Gin Blanco, the assassin the Spider. I’d seen her kill men with her bare hands . . . trash can lids . . . loose bricks . . . even a fork once. Give her anything sharp and pointed, like the silverstone knives she always carried, and she was lethal. Not to mention her Ice and Stone elemental magic, which gave her even more deadly power.

I was a vampire and pretty deadly myself, but I knew when I was beaten. So I sighed, turned off my tablet, and set it on the counter next to my phone.
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Meet Jennifer Estep!

Jennifer Estep is a New York Times bestselling author, prowling the streets of her imagination in search of her next fantasy idea. Jennifer writes the Elemental Assassin adult urban fantasy series for Pocket. Jennifer also writes the Mythos Academy young adult urban fantasy series for Kensington. Jennifer is also the author of the Bigtime paranormal romance series.

jestep-snaredContact Info: Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads

Want to purchase Jennifer’s novels?
Elemental Assassin series
Nice Guys Bite (An Elemental Assassin novella)
Snared (Elemental Assassin #16) (Apr 25, 2017)
Cold Burn of Magic (Black Blade #1)
Mythos Academy Bundle: First Frost, Touch of Frost, Kiss of Frost & Dark Frost
Halloween Frost (A Mythos Academy novella)
Karma Girl (Bigtime #1)
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Contest Details

What is Black Friday without a few gifts, right? We’re giving away two copies of any Elemental Assassin novel, winners choice. Do you need to get caught up with the series – here’s your chance. To enter, all you have to do is answer this one question: It sounds like Silvio Sanchez deserves a vacation – where should he go? Remember, you must answer the question in order to be entered.

Have you checked out the other Black Friday stories yet? Check out the Master List to see all the Black Friday fun. All Black Friday contests will remain open until December 31st. All giveaways are subject to LE’s Giveaway Policy.

Please help spread the word: Tweet: Celebrate the chaos of #BlackFriday with holiday stories & contests by 20+ authors. Missed one? Here they all are: http://www.literaryescapism.com/49224/blackfriday-2016-master-list

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About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.

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