Jacqui Jacoby

 

A Collection of Dead Men Stories: Nineteen Short Stories

By Jacqui Jacoby 

Travis Ricci, Ian Stuart, Jason Sullivan, Quinn Nelson and Evan Harris—before the Dead Men debuted in Dead Men Play the Game, these five guys had lives which took them across the Pacific Northwest, making their own history which could be no one's, but their own.

  They faced funny, they faced sadness, and they made sure each one of them was standing when the sun finally rose each day.

Aadens Hope 

by Jacqui Jacoby

“There is no cure,” Aaden said. “It’s over. Mankind took the hit.”

It took little time for the world to go from cell phones, credit cards and the Internet to barren continents and too few people to count. The very few who remained refused to roll over and die. Now, four years later in a small campground in Northern California, twenty people rely on each to make it day to day.

Before 'The Fall', Aaden Muñoz lived as a laid-back handyman with more music in his mind than crops. Now he serves as an unofficial leader, keeping wheels moving when chaos wants them to stop. Digger “No-Last-Name”, the newest recruit, is an efficient government operative carrying a secret grief no mother should ever have to bear.

The days of keeping the food growing and the supplies coming in are never-ending. Each survivor is responsible to the person next to them, helping them stay safe, healthy and happy. The camp is a place of unity, family and hope … until betrayal comes from nowhere with a knife to decide that maybe, none of them were meant to survive.

Illegal Exit

by Jacqui Jacoby

The crime wasn’t in what Trevor Grant had done. It lay in what was done to him.  Now, years after he lost his family, he faces life in prison for his part in the permanent removal oftrash. Hannah Parker has two strikes against her: she has too much money and even more intelligence. In her experience, one of these might blacklist you but the two together was a life sentence.

A private consultant, Hannah’s presence at the trial of Trevor Grant and his cousin, Gavin Shaw went well. Their cause became her cause. With the silent resources behind her, she worked her way through the system and through a backdoor, securing the release of the two men she believed were innocent of  the judgement, if not the crime.

Strangers coming from different backgrounds, Trevor with Gavin will join Hannah on a path that seemed impossible when the bars were down. Hannah will become part of their every day, filling her with more stability than she ever knew, even as she tracks the warrants on them all. When two surprises arrive simultaneously, the three of them either have to alter their plans, or die trying.

Dead Men Seal the Deal
by Jacqui Jacoby

Too-playful-for-his-own-good, Jason Sullivan keeps himself busy working his job, hitting the gym, and dating the right girl for the right amount of time. He loves romance. He loves treating a woman right. Until he has a chance encounter with Taylor Grant. Taylor escaped Georgia to flee a broken relationship. Her convictions to stay single, stay away from men and give up sex altogether will be challenged when the mischievous Jason gets her in his cross hairs. 

Jason’s seductions are not only in his romances, but also in his job. When a meeting with a new client brings Jason's human past forefront, secrets and regrets come crashing down around him. He will turn not only to the new lady in his life, but to his ‘brothers’—Travis, Ian, Quinn and Evan—who will unite as an unstoppable force that not even one greedy, vindictive hag can expect.

Bystander
by Jacqui Jacoby

A man raised in the Hollywood lifestyle, Sean Branigan wanted to try something other than parties and high maintenance way of life.  With the birth of his son, Adian, Sean walked away from the glitz to try something new.  He developed a television show that would keep him in one place long enough to raise his kid.

 Beth Hardwick has worked on the sets of Snap Shots since its premier episode five years ago. A writer by hobby, a reader by trade, she knew all about her boss's reputation and his pretty ladies and never thought twice that he would look in her direction.

Just getting out of a short-term, tepid relationship, Beth never expected trouble from her ex. She certainly never expected she would have to turn to Sean for help. 

As the ex refuses to back down, each threat he throws escalates until fear is the only reaction. It not only makes Beth a target, but also Sean and Adian. Under guard and terrified, they will have to trust each other to get them all to their new life.

Magic Man

by Jacqui Jacoby


Detective Peter Mackenzie knew crime and knew his job. With The Cemetery Man schedule to leave the next body on the next grave Peter doesn’t have time for the puzzling Alexandra Madison. Her wild stories of a stolen life and family and friends who don’t remember her. Her last resort, she tells him is him and the relationship they shared. Peter doesn’t need this nonsense and his eccentric father walking in only irritates him more. Until his father utters the name everyone forgot, giving hope to Alexandra for the first time. 

Time is their enemy as the weekend grows closer and on Sunday, Peter knows another body will be waiting. 

What he doesn’t know, what he couldn’t know, even with Alexandra delving deeper into his father’s past, the victims are not random. They are chosen with reason and the monster who takes them is not done. She is coming for one of them.






 Dead Men Play The Game
by Jacqui Jacoby


For a hundred years, Ian Stuart has fought the monster controlling his life. Living as a human among humans, he wants to fill the void that has followed him from one empty, lonely relationship to 
another. Ashley Barrow is working the worst murder case in Davenport, Oregon's history. She needs a drink to forget the detailed images in her mind.

When she walks into Ian's pub, Ian knows their lives are about to change, if only for a short while. Vampire and human, their relationships can only last so long. But an enemy from Ian's past has his own agenda about their future. His sadistic revenge changes Ashley forever, leaving Ian and his long time friends – Travis, Jason, Quinn and Evan -- desperate to ease her into her new life and find a way to defeat their enemy.