The Lair Comes out Today!!!

My very, very, very good friend and writing partner, Emily Mckay, has a new book out today.  The Lair is a follow up to her Rita award winning novel, The Farm, which is a dystopian vampire novel that kicks total ass!!! I love The Lair and am thrilled to be sharing it with you today. 
So check out the excerpt and blurb below :)

Blurb:

In the battle against the vampiric Ticks, humanity was slowly but certainly headed for extinction. For months, twin sisters Lily and Mel had been “quarantined” with thousands of other young people being harvested for their blood—food for the Ticks. Finally escaping with a few friends, the twins are separated—and must continue the fight on their own . . . 

After making it to a resistance base camp in Utah, Lily learned to survive at all costs. But when a Tick attack decimates the fighters, Lily and her pregnant friend, McKenna, decide to make the hard trek north to Canada—and safety.

Meanwhile, Mel is being taught how to survive by the very vampire that turned her. Living without her sister is hard, but dealing with the fact that her autism was cured by the vampire bite is an even bigger challenge.

But when a monstrous betrayal places Lily in mortal danger, Mel must set out to find her, save her, and begin to unravel the empire of destruction that the Ticks have built.
Excerpt:

“No. Don’t go borrowing trouble. We know you weren’t exposed.”

“No, we—”

“Yes. We know. I was with you the whole time. You weren’t bitten. Besides, it took us two days to drive here. I’ve been watching for symptoms that whole time and haven’t seen any. And I know you haven’t, either.”

“How do you know—”

“The way you kept asking McKenna if she was cold, too? And the way you kept holding my hand to your cheek? You’ve been watching for signs of a fever. Not very subtly, either.” He brought his hand up to her face and cupped her jaw. His other hand slipped to her waist. “You’re fine. Don’t worry.”

The anguish in his voice as he said it matched the way she felt. Then he dropped his forehead to hers, and she had to close her eyes against her tears. It was all she could do not to press her body against his and just lose herself in his touch. But it seemed wrong under the circumstances with McKenna there. Especially since McKenna had just lost Joe. So instead, Lily swallowed hard and stepped back. Carter trailed his fingers down her arm and clasped her hand.

“Did you really think I hadn’t noticed?” he asked.

Lily gave a shrug. “You’re the one who’s always talking about how smart I am. I guess I just hoped I’d figured it out before you. I didn’t want to freak anyone out unless—” She couldn’t even bring herself to say it.

“Well, we don’t have to worry about that,” he said brusquely. “You’re fine.”

Okay, time to get past her squeamishness. She didn’t want to say it aloud, but she couldn’t afford not to say it, either. “Look, about that. If something does happen—”

“Nothing’s going to happen. We’re here now. We’re safe. That’s not something we have to worry about.”

“Sure. Right now. But if I am exposed, I want you to promise me—”

“It’s not ever going to happen.” Carter’s voice was like steel.

Lily dropped his hand, wanting to throw up her own hands in exasperation. “Fine. We’ll pretend it’s not a possibility. But just so we’re clear, if I ever am exposed to the virus, if I ever do start to turn, I want you to take me out before I can hurt anyone else.”

“Jesus, Lily, you can’t ask me to kill you.”

“If I’m exposed to the Tick virus, I won’t be me anymore. I’m asking you to do the right thing. I’m asking you to protect the people I care about if I’m not in a position to do it myself.”