A Real Wild One: Magic and Mayhem Universe: Wild in Love, #1

By Cherie Marks

She has the right to remain silent because whatever she says--men will do.

 

Hollyn Oates has a knack for finding treasure. She fancies herself a female version of the movie archaeologist that rhymes with Jindiana Bones. Just one problem—she can't talk. Well, as a powerful half-siren, half-witch, she could—if she wanted to mesmerize every male within a twenty-foot radius. So, she lives by the silence is golden, and Duct Tape is silver philosophy and continues successfully hunting treasure. Just one thing scares her—her father. A warlock who wants her tears to enhance his magic, he's willing to do just about anything to get them, and unfortunately, he's hot on her trail. If only she had an amulet to protect herself.

 

Kai Iona is a pilot-for-hire discovering new magical abilities each day, but he still doesn't know exactly what type of supernatural creature he is. Abandoned on a Hawaiian beach at birth, he only had a simple shell with an emblem carved into the side of it as a clue. Now, he's been hired to fly Hollyn Oates, who is "not to be confused with the band," to an island in the Atlantic to find an amulet with the exact same emblem carved into it. It's the first lead he's had, and he's ready to chase it.

 

These two will hunt for the greatest treasure of their lives. Could be an amulet; could be love. But one thing is for sure, it's going to be A Real Wild One.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cherie Marks
• Release date: Jun 26, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223719335

Cherie Marks

It all started with an old-fashioned typewriter. When the family brought it home, all those stories and characters rolling around in her head could finally get out. The press and click of the keys satisfied in their own right, but when she pulled out a finished page, she knew this was for her. Since then, she's graduated to a laptop, but the stories still find a way out. She's a breast cancer survivor, a teacher, a wife, a mother, and from the very beginning—a storyteller. Always a hint humorous and honest to a fault, she loves to make people laugh and smile. Her goal in life is to achieve tact and stop procrastinating. The battle wages on.

Book preview

Acknowledgments

SO MUCH ABOUT LIFE lately has been unpredictable, but I can always count on the kindness of those people with whom I choose to surround myself. Thank you to my friends and family for supporting me through the good and the bad.

Thank you to Robyn for being so understanding these past couple of years. My time and attention have gone to my students, and I hope I have been able to bring some positive energy their way in such a negative time for so many. I am, however, excited to be back to writing in the world of Magic & Mayhem. This is my therapy.

As always, thank you, Teresa M. You consistently put the polish on my pigs, and I couldn’t ask for a better editor.

Dedication

THIS IS DEDICATED TO those people who continually fight fate. Rage, rage against the naysayers and the positivity-suckers. Never be satisfied with this is the best you can do. You can do so much more!

Foreword

BLAST OFF WITH US INTO the Magic and Mayhem Universe!

I’m Robyn Peterman, the creator of the Magic and Mayhem Series and I’d like to invite you to my Magic and Mayhem Universe.

What is the Magic and Mayhem Universe, you may ask?

Well, let me explain...

It’s basically authorized fan fiction written by some amazing authors that I stalked and blackmailed! KIDDING! I was lucky and blessed to have some brilliant authors say yes! They have written brand new stories using my world and some of my characters. And let me tell you...the results are hilarious!

So here it is! Blast off with us into the hilarious Magic and Mayhem Universe. Side splitting books by fantabulous authors! Check out each and every one. You will laugh your way to a magical HEA!

For all the stories, go to https://magicandmayhemuniverse.com/. Grab your copy today!

And if you would like to read the book that started all the madness, Switching Hour is FREE!

https://robynpeterman.com/switching-hour/

Chapter 1

HOLLYN OATES HELD THE circular chunk of gold up to the light, turning it back and forth with her thumb and index finger. With her other hand, she took a swig of the amber ale the bartender set on the bar in front of her.

Her voice was barely a whisper as she turned to the person on the stool next to her and mumbled, Found this and a trove of others in the remains of a shipwreck off the coast of the Carolinas.

But, as low as she’d said it, she knew he hadn’t really heard her in the noisy atmosphere. So, she decided to show him what she’d found instead. She grinned as she handed the piece of metal over to Fencer, the contact that helped her find a buyer for the treasures she found in the ocean. It wasn’t his real name, but he didn’t know hers either. They used code names, and she only reached out through other channels when she was on to a possible treasure hunt.

She couldn’t help but get excited this time, though. She’d reached out a couple of days ago, and she was glad she did. This finding was one of the biggest she’d ever found. But now, things were getting strange. Fencer seemed more fidgety than usual, and Hollyn couldn’t get a hold of the one person she trusted whole-heartedly to figure out what price she should ask for the mountain of Spanish gold she had hidden away in a nearby location. She knew what she wanted to ask for, but Jesse was always able to negotiate a little more realistically.

She’d radioed her aunt Jesse as soon as she was back on board the rented passenger boat she’d used to get to the site of the shipwreck. However, Jesse hadn’t responded. It had been unlike her not to be waiting at the dock. She hadn’t even answered her cell phone, but that wasn’t unusual if she’d decided to look up one of the dates she frequently hung out with when she felt particularly...lonely.

But Jesse had known Hollyn would contact her as soon as she had what they were looking for. It was supposed to be the big one they’d dreamed of. With this finding, they planned to finally buy the sailboat they’d been dreaming about and sail around the world.

Hollyn looked at the time. She had stayed out longer than usual, pushing her dive earlier to a little over forty-five minutes. It was the absolute limit she knew she could push her scuba equipment, but it had been necessary to load everything into the box that was connected to a crank and reel on the boat before she surfaced and pulled it all up into the boat. She wasn’t leaving without all the pieces of gold she could find. But Jesse had already known that the process could take a while.

But even when she’d docked the rented boat an hour ago, Hollyn had expected Jesse to be standing on the dock, waiting to help her offload the gold in secret. Instead, Hollyn had had to toss her scuba gear overboard and hide the gold at the bottom of her clothing bags. It had been painful to lose her equipment, but she couldn’t chance someone tracing it back to her if she’d left it on the boat to be found.

Fencer ran a nervous hand over the back of his neck, as if the hairs there needed smoothing down. Um...could we hurry this up. I’ve got another job to get to.

Hollyn set down her drink and pulled out the small pad of paper she always carried with her and used the nearby pen that one of the last patrons had used to sign off on the credit card payment used to settle up for drinks. She scribbled, How much for all of it?

Fencer was used to her odd methods of communication. He didn’t even question it as he answered, I’ve got a buyer lined up who’s willing to pay $500,000 a coin if there are Tricentennial Royal coins contained within.

Why so special? Hollyn wrote her question and slid it in front of Fencer.

They were minted for King Philip V of Spain, and there were only six of them made. One was found in a shipwreck off of the Bahamas about ten years ago, but there are still some out there just waiting to be discovered.

The door to the bar opened and slammed shut with a loud thunk. Fencer jumped on his stool and swiveled his head to stare at the laughing couple entangled with each other as they made their way inside. He continued to scan the dim barroom, making Hollyn suspicious that something was definitely wrong.

She pulled the pad of paper back and wrote, Why are you so nervous?

He pursed his lips and cocked his head to the side as he explained, I screwed up, Jones. He used her codename. It was a silly reference to her role in their relationship. She was Indiana Jones and Fencer was Marcus Brody. Right now, though, she was getting more anxious about having a connection to anyone. She’d been so careful over the past ten years to move around often, to stay off the grid, to be an unknown, to practically be a ghost.

Now, fear gripped her as she realized that her whole world was about to come crashing down.

Her hand flew across the page as she wrote the words, What did you do?

You can’t blame me! Not really.

She pressed so hard on the page as she wrote, What happened?

"A month ago, a man approached me. He said he was your father. I doubted his story at first, but he knew things about you that were specific. He knew what you looked like down to the clothing you’re wearing tonight. He knew about the scar on your chin.

Her father should have known about the scar. He’d been the one to give it to her.

How had he found her?

She scribbled, "Is he here