A very special note of thanks to Karen Roma for her generous contribution to Brenda Novak’s Auction for Diabetes Research and for lending me her wonderful son Kristopher, a.k.a. Kage, so that he could not only fight at Aden’s side, but also create such beautiful art on Aden and all of his vamps.

As always, I owe sincere gratitude to my friends and critique partners, Steve McHugh and Michelle Muto, for their help in making everything I write sound (and read) better. They’re both wonderful writers, and I’m lucky to have them in my corner—check out their books on Amazon, you won’t be sorry you did. Thanks also to everyone in the Misfit-Rebel Alliance for keeping me sane when the yard gremlins wrecked my sprinklers and flooded half my house. Rebel love all around.

More thanks to John Gorski, my go-to source for everything I need to know about guns and sharp pointy things. Thank you to Zainab Mulla (and her sister-in-law) for their help with Arabic, as well as to the anonymous participants in the several online forums where we discussed the variety and appropriateness of the many different Arabic endearments.

Endless thanks to all of my readers who make it possible for me to tell my stories and do what I love. And finally thank you to my Darling Husband and my very big family for all of their love and support in everything I do. I love you all.