Bouncer Round 6 #27

Title: OUT OF THE SHADOWS

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Word Count: 75,000

Query:

High school senior Olivia Clayton is totally determined to win the Young Journalist Scholarship Award. Anything but first place is not an option. The scholarship is her ticket out of the academic and social purgatory that is community college. And the only way she’s getting to the U is by reporting the biggest story of her life.

Olivia already knows the source of her perfect story – local urban legend Doc Tucker who’s been rumored to conduct secret genetic experiments in his basement. Her investigation comes to a screeching halt, though, when the much-too-hot Kade Steele catches her poking around the doctor’s place with a camera in her hands. She’s given a choice: drop the story, or get turned in. She agrees to work on an alternative piece, but because she suspects Kade knows more about the doctor than he’s letting on, she pairs up with him, still hopeful of learning Doc’s secrets. But Olivia digs up more than she bargains for when she discovers Kade’s unnatural talents and his real connection to the doctor. Now she has to make her first tough call as journalist - submit the whole story and secure a promising future for herself, or scrap it and take a wild chance with the unpredictable guy she’s come to love.    

First 250:

Glimpsing movement through the split of curtain, Olivia grabbed her camera and squinted through the lens. Her quick breaths through the cold air spawned a film of humidity over the camera’s housing.    

“Move over Doc. Give me a super cool shot of your secret lab.”

As if he’d heard, he wandered to his desk, giving her the perfect view of a contraption labeled Perli.

“Yes,” she whispered, her future suddenly shining brighter than her science teacher’s bald head. This story could win her the Young Journalist Scholarship award - no problem. There’d be no freshman year stuck in the academic and social purgatory of community college for her!  Trembling, she snapped a picture of a package of syringes. She scooted closer and zoomed in on the odd machine’s digital display. “DNA…”

Doc moved, once again blocking her view. DNA what? Darn it! She was soooo close! Jumping to her feet, Olivia crept toward the back of the house. There had to be another window. She slipped around the corner and nearly dropped her camera. 

OMG! Torn shoes on feet…attached to a guy…backing out of Doc’s sliding door! Was he in on the genetic experiments? Her heart swung from beat-less to overdrive as she snapped a quick picture and dropped to her knees. All that stood between her and getting caught by the hot stranger was a bush that looked like a hedgehog with a bad haircut. Things were not looking good.