Never Underestimate the Power of a Livid Sister. 

An excerpt: 

I choked over my own words. 

“Your family is coming?”

Merrick slapped a firm hand on my back as I hacked through a cough, nailing the spot between my shoulder blades with his blows. The obstruction cleared and I breathed a little easier. 

“In twenty minutes.”

I set down a piece of black bread smeared with butter and stared at him. The wooden plate clattered.

“Tonight?” I squeaked.

He nodded, apology in his lovely eyes.

A quick glance down affirmed what I already knew—I was a mess. We’d just returned from a run. Before I dunked myself into the closest river and scrubbed it all off, I’d followed him to his room above Piccadilly Pub to gobble dinner. My ravenous stomach wouldn’t be waylaid. 

Now, I regretted it.

Sweat stained my shirt and dirt caked my ankles. Though I hadn’t confirmed, I suspected a twig stuck out of my braid. The sticky feeling of damp sweat continued to linger on my skin. Merrick didn’t fare much cleaner or better-smelling, but he didn’t need to impress anyone. 

He sighed in resignation. “Mother and her husband will be here in the morning. They gave me advanced notice. It’s Jacqueline that will be here in twenty minutes.”

“Why so soon?”

He ran a tongue over the top of his teeth. “The gods know, B, not me. Twenty minutes. Trust Jacqueline to be this difficult and unexpected.”

* * *

The Sister is the first of four short stories that are prequels to WAR OF THE GODS, the final book in the Network Saga. Readers that want a little more Merrick—and his fiesty younger  sister Jacqueline—will love this book.