Showing results by author "Rick Reed" in All Categories

Voices slam through the corridor of his wounded mind. The words of his dead sister cry out. His parents' taunts fill the silent room where he sits and waits - waits for the murderous rage, filling him with strength, driving him to kill, to touch the cold flesh, taste the warm blood - to feel alive again.... A witness has seen him, but his killing only turns her on and now she wants to protect him. His wife suspects him, but the private detective she hired cannot stop him. Joe MacAree fears nothing - except that he may no longer be human.

Beth Walsh seems like such a demure housewife. But Beth has a secret life. While her husband works, Beth slides into what she calls her "slut clothes" and goes on the prowl. She becomes a completely different woman, wanton and uninhibited, with dozens of handsome strangers...until she meets the one blindingly gorgeous stranger who will make her more than sorry for her secrets and lies.

Short novels may well be the perfect length for science-fiction stories. They are movie-length tales that resonate with moxie while fully exploring characters, new worlds, and ideas. The stories in this unabridged audio collection are the best-of-the-best short science-fiction novels published in 2010 by current and emerging masters of this form.

When pirates hijack a container ship off the coast of Somalia, a plan to cripple the US presence in the Persian Gulf and precipitate a war is unleashed. Two North Korean nuclear warheads being smuggled to Iran are the centerpiece of an ISIS plot to distract the world's attention. If they succeed, thousands of people will die and the world will be at war. Enter OUTCAST (Operational Undertaking To Counteract Active Stateside Threats) - six ex-operatives from six of America's most powerful organizations.

Who knew that a summer thunderstorm and a lost little boy would conspire to change single dad Cayce D'Amico's life in an instant? With Luke missing, Cayce ventures into the woods near their house to find his son, only to have lightning strike a tree near him, sending a branch down on his head. When he awakens the next day in the hospital, he discovers he has been blessed or cursed - he isn't sure which - with psychic ability.

Nate Tippie and Brandon Wilde are gay, single, and both hoping to meet that special man, even though fate has not yet delivered him to their doorstep. Nate's sister, Hannah, and her kooky best friend, Marilyn, are about to help fate with that task by creating a profile on the gay dating site, OpenHeartOpenMind. The two women are only exploring, but when they need a face and body for the persona they create, they use Nate as the model.

Guided by a sexy therapist, a Sex Addicts Anonymous group, a well-endowed Chihuahua named Johnny Wadd, and Bobby's own cache of memories, Bobby takes a spiritual, sexual, and emotional journey to discover that life's most satisfactory love connections lie in quality, not quantity. And when he's ready to love not only himself but someone else, sex and love fit, at last, into one perfect package.

Caden DeSarro is what they call a chubby chaser. He likes his guys with a few extra pounds on them. So when he meets Kevin Dodge in a bar bathroom, he can't help but stare, even if he does make an ass of himself. As far as Caden is concerned, Kevin is physically perfect: a stocky bearded blond with a dick that's just right. (They met in the bathroom - of course he looked!) But Caden gets tongue-tied and misses his chance.

A biotechnology conference in Prague is the target of a terrorist attack, and in its aftermath a renowned geneticist lay dying. His last act is to inject a man he has never before met with an experimental substance - artificial DNA that has been encoded with the details of a plot to unleash mass terror on the United States. Enter OUTCAST (Operational Undertaking to Counteract Active Stateside Threats) - six ex-operatives from six of America's most powerful organizations.

Three haters. Two lovers. And a collision course with tragedy. That October night, Donald and Mark had no idea their lives and love were about to be shattered by fag bashers, intent on pain, and armed with ridicule, fists, and an aluminum baseball bat. Bashed charts the course of a journey that encompasses suspense, horror, and - ultimately - romance.

The old house at the end of a dead-end street is more of a dead end than anyone realizes... They are five misfit kids who have banded together in their small Ohio River town. Over the years, they had organized various clubs, and now they've formed the Halloween Horror Club. The premise is simple: each week, each teen spins a horrifying tale, and at the end of five weeks, the scariest story wins a prize.

When their plane crashed, their desire took flight. CEO Maine Braxton and his invaluable assistant, Colby, don't realize they share a deep secret: they're in love - with each other. That secret may have never come to light but for a terrifying plane crash in the Cascade Mountains that changes everything.

It only takes a few days for Ollie D'Angelo to lose his boyfriend, his job, and his home. Instead of mourning what he doesn't have, Ollie celebrates what he does: the freedom to pursue his real passion - cooking. He begins Dinner at Home, a home-catering business, and it takes off. Late one night, Ollie catches Hank Mellinger, a streetwise hood down on his luck, about to rob his car. Ollie soon discovers that appearances aren't necessarily what they seem.

Arliss is a gorgeous young dancer at Tricks, the hottest club in Chicago's Boystown. Sean is the classic nerd, out of place in Tricks, but nursing his wounds from a recent break-up. When the two spy each other, magic blooms. But this opposites-attract tale does not run smooth. What happens when Arliss is approached by one of the biggest porn producers in the business? Can he make his dreams of stardom come true without throwing away the only real love he's ever known?

Love comes along when you least expect it. That's what Duncan Taylor's sister, Scout, tells him. Scout has everything Duncan wants--a happy life with a wonderful husband. Now that Seattle has made gay marriage legal, Duncan knows he can have the same thing. But when he proposes to his boyfriend, Tucker, he doesn't get the answer for which he hoped. Tucker's refusal is another misstep in a long line of failed romances.

It's 1991, and Dan Calzolaio has just moved to Florida with his lover, Mark, having fled Chicago and Mark's addictions to begin a new life on the Gulf Coast. Volunteering for the Tampa AIDS Alliance is just one part of that new beginning, and that's how Dan meets his new buddy, Adam. Adam Schmidt is not at all what Dan expected. The guy is an original - witty, wry, and sarcastic with a fondness for a smart black dress, Barbra Streisand, and a good mai tai.

For Comparetto, this encounter with a witness is the beginning of a nightmare. Because this witness did more than just show up at the scene of the crime; he set the scene. And maybe, he's more than just a killer...maybe he's dead himself.

Christmas, 1983: A young man, Robert, tends to his soul mate, Keith, who is dying from AIDS. Robert tries valiantly to make this a special Christmas for his lover, but loses the fight late Christmas night. Christmas, 2007: Robert ventures out late Christmas night and finds a young girl about to fling herself into the unforgiving waters of Lake Michigan. He rescues her, and the two form a bond forged from an odd feeling they share of familiarity, and even love.

In 1986, thirteen-year-old Jeb Kleber vanished during his small town’s Fourth of July fireworks. His mysterious disappearance left his first love, Sammy Blake, grieving for years. Flash forward to present day. A now middle-aged Sam Blake has a comfortable and predictable life with his husband Marc in Chicago. All that changes when a stranger arrives at Sam’s door, claiming to be the missing Jeb Kleber.

Poor Ethan Schwartz. It seems like he will never find that special someone. At age forty-two, he’s still alone, his bed still empty, and his 42-inch HDTV overworked. He’s tried the bars and other places where gay men are supposed to find one another, but for Ethan, it never works out. He wonders if it ever will. Should he get a cat?