The Tiger & The Snake

By Tracy A. Ball

Love thy enemy. Thoroughly.

"Oh, Lord. He's back."

Lareina and Christian had the love of a lifetime, a lifetime ago. Now, they're frienemies with not enough benefits for either of them. 

Christian wants to get past their problem, but Lareina is not having it, or him. Until a desperate call and a fateful day changes him; changes her; changes everything. Love has forced them to play a dangerous game called KAYOS.

This prequel to KAYOS: The Bad & The Worse is the need-to-know origin of Lareina and Christian's impossible relationship and includes the how and why the members of KAYOS are who they've become.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Crazy Ink
• Release date: Nov 9, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223557654

Book preview

International Bestselling Author

Tracy A. Ball

The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.

Such is the case in the 2050s. Civil war is not just hell, it is everyday living in America the Divided. The United States Government, The Revolutionaries, and The United People’s Front fight for and against the people.

In the quest for power and/or the resistance to it, America’s most dangerous weapons are the children.

Some would use them. Some would subdue them. But the kids—those natural-born war machines—only need a queen, someone to train, point, and aim them.

A person and person posing for a picture Description automatically generated

PREVIEW OF KAYOS: THE Bad & The Worse

2058

They made tacos, complete with salsa and corncake. They had cookies and cream pie for dessert. Many of the ingredients were rare these days, but tacos were Christian’s favorite. He always managed to get what he needed. Afterward, they lounged on the deck and shared some bourbon. He tapped the bottle. Remember this?

No. She did, but that wasn’t his business.

Yes, you do.

I don’t care to.

You left it at the hospital.

Why would I want to remember it?

They were silent. The bourbon was warm.

When was the last time we were here? He watched a hummingbird raid a vine of honeysuckles.

Ummmm. Let me think. She stretched it out, just because. Two summers ago. She remembered. It wasn’t a time she was likely to forget. Christian had been shot. No one knew it. He removed the bullet himself and called her. She brought him here to heal in safety. Those days were crazy-scary. She still hadn’t fully forgiven him for getting hurt.

He remembered too. He could have died. She saved him. Afterwards, they could have chosen a different course. But they didn’t. They were already on this reckless path to consumption and destruction. Nothing to do now, but see it through. Do I have to admit you were right? His thoughts were distant. She sensed the edginess of his mood. What did you find out?

... BACKTRACK TWO YEARS...

2056

Chapter One

Y our dress covers less than the bag it came in.

What would you know about it? Lareina went with it. She hadn’t seen Christian in months; didn’t expect him to waste his time coming to the EP Scholar’s Conference. She hadn’t imagined he’d be on hand when she arrived at the hotel. She wore the strapless mini-dress on the off-chance he might be around to catch it. But he didn’t need to know that part.

More than anybody else. She let him take her suitcase and followed him into the elevator, quirking an eyebrow when he pressed the button for her floor.

So you think. As a government agent, she accepted he knew things about her that weren’t his business.

If it were an issue, I wouldn’t let you wear it.

As a Revolutionary sympathizer, she made a point of keeping abreast of his activities as well. She took in his polo shirt and jeans, sunglasses on top of his head, and gold earring. His hair was dark—recently dyed. He wore dark contacts, too. Even in disguise, he looked fresh in the Savannah summer heat. What are you doing here, Eugene?

Christian loved his middle name when it fell from Lareina’s lips. It sounded like sex. For that reason, no one else got to use it. Same thing as you. A relaxing weekend full of fun, sun, and education for us weary Excellence Program Scholars.

She laughed outright at his blatant lie. Other patrons of the Grande Kadisson Hotel entered the elevator, forcing them to keep their comments to themselves. They stayed quiet on the way to her door, where he held his hand out for the key card. Lareina glanced at his hand, pursed her lips, and unlocked the door herself. Rolling his eyes at her impertinence, he went in ahead of her. He set her suitcase on the nearest bed and did a quick sweep of the room. Tossing the envelope with the key cards and Wi-Fi instructions on the desk, she opened the curtains and took in the scene. Despite the damage caused by the war, the view was breathtaking.

Christian took in the sight of her and lost himself. Turning her to face him, he enfolded her in his desperate embrace. He buried his face in her neck and let his hands roam down her back, across her ass, squeezing it as he pulled her in snug against his groin. Damn you, girl, he kissed her shoulder. How am I supposed to function with you in this?

In defiance of her body’s immediate reaction, Lareina neither discouraged nor encouraged him. She stood comfortably still, letting him fondle her.

You smell so good. He tried to kiss her.

She turned her head. You’re messing up my hair.

He laughed and settled for brushing his mouth across her high cheekbone. Braid it. I love it when you braid it.

She failed at not smiling at his reference to their time as a couple, when she would braid her hair as a precaution against it sweating out during sex. No need. It won’t be getting hot in here. I guarantee it.

Ouch. He released her. They’d been playing this game for years. Four of them. If Christian thought about it, he could probably come up with months and weeks. He was going to get her back. He knew it. With or without acknowledgement, so did she. He gave his pinky ring a subconscious twist. The ring was part of a set they shared. As an ode to her love of analyzing, Lareina had a pair of necklaces made in the image of their personalities. A ruby-eyed Bengal tiger for her; his, a black-mamba snake made of crushed diamonds. Not to be outdone, Christian commissioned a design for the ring. Her tiger faced his snake, both with fangs exposed, touching. Blood made from rubies dripped from the tiger’s fangs to mingle with the snake’s venom created from diamonds. He and she. Blood and venom. The tiger and the snake. The ring belonged on her finger. He had every intention of putting it there.

Lareina took a stroll around the room. She needed to walk off his effect on her. Won’t being in here cause suspicion?

My team knows my intentions.

You have a team? Interesting.

He didn’t elaborate. They expect me to be here. Which works out because you are my cover.

"Oh,