I unknot the drawstrings and pull the garrote from the bag. I stare down at it in disbelief before clutching it to my chest. “Seriously?”
“Samuel had said it was your favorite.”
My heart erupts with excitement and gratitude. I barrel into Eli, wrapping him in a tight hug. “This is amazing, Eli. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now go—the path down to the village is at the turn where we went left. Just go as though heading to the right instead. Take this,” he says, passing me a second GPS device.
We watch one another for a long moment before I press my lips to Eli’s in a searing kiss. I love this man. I love him more completely than I thought possible. And every day, it only grows.
When we part, Eli takes off his pack and sits on one of the rocks, pulling out his lunch and a book. “I’ll be here…not watching.”
We exchange a dark smile and then I turn away, striding down the path, a walk that becomes a jog.
The Devil’s daughter is at your back, Donald. And she’ll send you straight to hell.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to read Black Sheep! Please consider leaving a review; not only will it help Black Sheep to reach more readers, but it will add some sunshine to our day! Unless you hate it, which is also totally fair, just please… don’t tag us haha!
Please also feel free to reach out to us on social media! We LOVE to hear from readers and are always open to questions!
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ALEXA
Honestly, this book came together in such a wild way. One day Brynne and I were joking about writing a book about a female serial killer who hunts cults (obviously, because there aren’t enough books with FMC serial killers). And then we were like “haha, that’s a funny joke… UNLESS” and now fast forward like four months later, this book is done.
I can honestly say co-authoring a book was definitely NOT on my 2022 bingo card, but this kinda just happened.
Thank you to Brynne, this could not have happened without you. We make one hell of a team, and I enjoyed every second of this process. It’s not everyday I am able to work with one of my favorite authors and create this beauty.
Thank you to my best friend, the first person I told that I was co-authoring a book and she told me that it was amazing and she was very proud of me. I love you lots. SSDGM.
Thank you to Maria, one of my first book friends I told that Black Sheep was a thing and she has been supporting me from the beginning. Thank you for your screaming reactions during the beginning stages.
Thank you to our incredible editor, Nessa Wojtanowski for helping to make Black Sheep the best it could be!
Thank you to all of our ARC readers, reading your reviews and reactions made me indescribably happy. It warms my heart that you love Black Sheep and all the characters as much as Brynne and I do.
BRYNNE
Thank you first and most importantly to my amazing friend, Alexa Harlowe. The journey of writing this book together has been surprising, hilarious, exhilarating, and so much FUN. Thank you for always spitballing ideas at the most random times of day and for getting us out of a jam every.single.time. It was a blast, and an honor to work with you.
Thank you to author Stephanie Fournet, who was a huge inspiration and support to me when I first started this journey of writing books. She’s always been there for a word of support when I had minor (and major!) freak-outs haha! Please check out her books, you will not be disappointed with the depth of heart and emotion that jumps off the page. Someone Like Me and Dream House are two of my faves!
A massive THANK YOU to our editor extraordinaire, Nessa Wojtanowski. Reading your comments brought me so much joy haha. You truly polished this gem until it shone. Thank you for all your hard work!
So much love to our ARC readers, you lot just make my heart burst when you send us your voice messages and notes and reviews and videos. It honestly means so much to me. There have been so many times when I’ve felt like giving up, and your support has kept me going every.single.time. Huge, HUGE thanks to: Bella, Arley, Toyah, Lin, Lina, Kerrie, Amber, Rachel, Nicole, Ashley, Laura, Kaitlynn, Megan, Meagan, Emma, Jessica, Kim, Erica, Maci, Nat, Natalie, Nyx, Penny, Sedona, Zoe, Jessica, Veronika, Leigh, Hicran, Maria, Evan, Barb, Lana, Johanna, & Paula-Jayne! Omg I hope I didn’t miss anyone, because truly, you mean the world to me.
Thank you to my friends and family. To Sanja, Mary, Lynsey, Regan, and April - I’m so fortunate to have such an amazing group of smart, funny, gorgeous women in my life. To my husband who’s always the first to proudly proclaim “my wife writes smutty books!” to literally everyone we meet haha: thank you for always talking through these zany ideas and for your unwavering support on my journey of putting stories out into the world. Lastly, to my little man, Hayden. Please just don’t read this one. It just keeps getting worse haha. But know that your mommy loves you more than anything and I hope I make you proud.
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Alexa Harlowe
Alexa Harlowe started her obsession with reading as any young millennial did, with Twilight of course. That is when the vampire obsession started. As a teen, she read anything with vampires, werewolves, witches, etc you name it. Then college happened and reading for funzies stopped altogether (dark times, lol). Fast forward to 2020 when everyone and their parents started reading again, Alexa discovered this nifty thing called Kindle Unlimited, she is a huge fan of it and a lot of indie authors she’s been introduced to because of it. Over half of the books she’s read in the past three years come from Kindle Unlimited. She reads a wide array of genres from cute fluffy romcoms, to dark romance and anything and everything in between.
When Alexa is not reading, or (unfortunately) working (gotta fund the reading obsession somehow), she’s either watching movies/shows while crafting/drawing/painting, or working out.
Black Sheep is Alexa’s debut novel, she appreciates you reading it and hopes you enjoyed it.
Brynne Weaver
Brynne is a fan of velociraptors, the Alien movies (well, most of them), red wine, and wild adventures. She can relate nearly anything you say to a line from the movie Hot Fuzz. She has been trying unsuccessfully for years to convince her husband that they should acquire a pet mink to add to their menagerie of animals (what could possibly go wrong with that plan?!). Brynne has been everything from an archaeologist to a waitress, a deep-sea core analyst to an advertising account executive. For the last several years, she has been working in the field of neuroscience clinical research.
Brynne has been writing since childhood and has published a non-fiction book under her real name, but she won’t tell you what it is unless you provide a live, fully trained velociraptor. When not busy at her day job or writing, Brynne can be found working with her husband and their son on their family farm in Nova Scotia, Canada, or enjoying her other passions which include riding horses & motorcycles, reading, and spending time with family and friends around a raclette and a bottle of wine. Black Sheep is her fourth novel.
OceanofPDF.com
ALSO BY BRYNNE WEAVER
The Shadow Realm Series
A Shadow In The Reaping