Mr. Heartbreaker by Jordan Marie Release Blitz

MR. HEARTBREAKER, an enemies-to-lovers new adult/high school romance from USA Today Bestselling Author, Jordan Marie, is available now!

Big Mike gets what he wants.

And Violet Raines? She’s already his…

 

Everybody envies Big Mike Huntington.

He prowls the halls of Black Mountain Academy like he owns them.
But since he’s from one of the wealthiest families in Black Mountain, he can.

He’s famous—or infamous, and not for his baseball skills like his brother—currently the Major League’s media darling.

On campus, Big Mike is notorious for the giant bat he swings—the one between his legs, not on the field.
And every girl swears Big Mike definitely lives up to the hype.

Mike owns it, embracing his reputation.

Until Violet Raines.

New girl in school, pure as driven snow, and she hates his guts from moment one.
Mike wants Miss Purity under him, begging for mercy he’ll never give.

When Violet refuses to play ball?

It’s time for Big Mike to get creative and steal a home run.

He zeros in on the new girl.

Now, there’s nowhere for her to hide.
No sassy words to save her.
No denying her hot, longing glances.

Big Mike gets what he wants.

And Violet Raines?
She’s already his.

 

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ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY!

Amazon US  |  Amazon AU  |  Amazon CA  |  Amazon UK

 

Add to Goodreads

 

 

 

 


About Jordan Marie:

I’m just a simple small town country girl, haunted by Alpha Men who talk in my head 24 hours a day. I knew I wanted to write when it became clear I couldn’t be happy with just viewing other people’s stories. I always wanted to rewrite them. Like why did Jack have to die? Why couldn’t Rose move her butt over? Because that was a huge piece of wood she was on, people. Happy Endings should be fought for, but they should always happen. Mine might take some curves and twists, but they eventually get there. Having published over fifty stories, it always feels surreal that this is my life. Hitting USA Today had me crying for days, but nothing is more special than hearing from readers that they loved one of my books.

Connect with Jordan Marie:

Website  |  Facebook  |  Facebook Group  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Goodreads  |  BookBub  |  Amazon  Author Page

Subscribe to Jordan Marie’s newsletter!

 

 

Reclaim by Aly Martinez Release Blitz

RECLAIM, an extremely raw and moving new second-chance romance from USA Today bestselling author, Aly Martinez, is available now!

Choices. Everyone makes them. But mine would ruin us all.

 

Choices. Everyone makes them. From mundane to unimaginable, one choice can change the trajectory of your entire life.

My mother’s choice was to abandon us with our abusive father. My brother’s choice was to go to prison for killing the boy who assaulted his soulmate. Camden Cole’s choice was to fall in love with a shattered girl who had absolutely nothing to offer him but heartbreak.

It was one summer beneath the trees, but with Camden, I had a place where I belonged. A friend who was always waiting for me. A boy who I caught staring at me more often than not.

He was mine, but when the world closed in and secrets exploded all around us, it was my choice to let him go.

Choices. Everyone makes them. But mine would ruin us all.

 

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ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY!

Amazon US  |  Amazon Worldwide 

 

Add RECLAIM to Goodreads 

 

** RECLAIM is a standalone that can be read and enjoyed independently. However, it does contain spoilers for RELEASE. **

 

 

 

 


About Aly Martinez:

Originally from Savannah, Georgia, USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez now lives in South Carolina with her husband and four young children.

Never one to take herself too seriously, she enjoys cheap wine, mystery leggings, and olives. It should be known, however, that she hates pizza and ice cream, almost as much as writing her bio in the third person.

She passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a super-sized tumbler of wine by her side.

 

Connect with Aly:

Website  |  Facebook  |  Reader Group  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads  |  Instagram  |  Amazon  |  BookBub

Sign up for Aly’s newsletter!

 

 

Noble Prince by Devney Perry Release Blitz

NOBLE PRINCE, the next exhilarating and suspenseful enemies-to-lovers romance in the Tin Gypsy series from USA Today Bestselling Author, Devney Perry, is available now!

Title:  NOBLE PRINCE

Series:  TIN GYPSY (#3)

Author:  DEVNEY PERRY

Genre:  ROMANTIC SUSPENSE

Release Date:  NOVEMBER 10, 2020

 

The night Luke Rosen met Scarlett Marks was the only time he’s regretted becoming chief of police. One horrific night of blood and death, and now she’s living under his roof—all because he swore an oath to serve and protect.

Scarlett is stubborn and infuriating. She has no respect for the order in his structured life, and she never does anything she’s told. Worse, she doesn’t seem to care that the information she has on a motorcycle gang means she might end up dead. But her unwavering strength, her courage and tenacity and beauty, makes it impossible for him to abandon her.

If Luke is going to keep her safe, he’ll have to make the hardest decision of his life. He can either honor his values as a cop, knowing Scarlett is unlikely to survive . . . or he can break all the rules and protect the woman who’s invaded his home and his heart.

 

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ORDER YOUR COPY NOW!

Amazon  |  Apple Books  |  Kobo  |  Nook

 

Add to Goodreads

 

 

 


About Devney Perry: 

Devney is a USA Today bestselling author who lives in Washington with her husband and two sons. Born and raised in Montana, she loves writing books set in her treasured home state. After working in the technology industry for nearly a decade, she abandoned conference calls and project schedules to enjoy a slower pace at home with her family. Writing one book, let alone many, was not something she ever expected to do. But now that she’s discovered her true passion for writing romance, she has no plans to ever stop.

 

Connect with Devney: 

Website  |  Facebook  |  Facebook Reader Group  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Twitter  |  Amazon  |  BookBub  |  Goodreads

Sign up for Devney’s newsletter!

 

 

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Make Me Yours by Melanie Harlow Cover Reveal

 

MAKE ME YOURS, a sexy new single-dad rom com from USA Today bestselling author, Melanie Harlow, is coming November 23rd, and I have the hot hot hot cover!

 

Cover Designer: Hang Le    |    Photographer: Michelle Lancaster    |    Cover Model: Heath Hutchins

 

He’s my brother’s best friend.

The hot single dad next door.

And one accidental sext later, my massive crush on him is no longer a secret.

It’s my own damn fault. I’m thirty years old, for heaven’s sake. I’m a kindergarten teacher and a (reasonably) responsible adult. I should know better than to get tipsy and draft a fake text listing all the dirty things I wish Officer Cole Mitchell would do to me.

I wasn’t supposed to hit send.

He wasn’t supposed to see it.

And he definitely wasn’t supposed to text back telling me to go on . . .

Because after that, things escalate quickly.

Cole is everything I’ve ever wanted. He’s sexy and protective. A devoted father to his little girl. A dedicated cop the whole town adores. The kind of guy you can trust to keep his hands to himself, even when you’re desperately hoping he won’t.

I’m not the girl he thought he’d end up with, but after all this time, I might finally get the chance to say the words I’ve always dreamed of . . . make me yours.

 

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PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY!

Amazon US  |  Amazon Worldwide

 

Add to Goodreads

 

 


About Melanie Harlow:

USA Today bestselling author Melanie Harlow likes her martinis dry, her heels high, and her history with the naughty bits left in. When she’s not writing or reading, she gets her kicks from TV series like Schitt’s Creek, Homeland, and Fleabag. She occasionally runs three miles, but only so she can have more gin and steak.

Melanie is the author of the CLOVERLEIGH FARMS series, the ONE & ONLY series, AFTER WE FALL series, the HAPPY CRAZY LOVE series, the FRENCHED series, and the sexy historical SPEAK EASY duet, set in the 1920s. She lifts her glass to romance readers and writers from her home near Detroit, MI, where she lives with her husband, two daughters, and pet rabbit.

 

Connect with Melanie:

Website  |  Facebook  |  Reader Group  |  Amazon  |  BookBub  |  Pinterest  |  Instagram

Stay up to date with Melanie, sign up for her mailing list

 

Mr. Heartbreaker by Jordan Marie Excerpt Reveal

 

MR. HEARTBREAKER by Jordan Marie
Release Date: November 12th

 

Everybody envies Big Mike Huntington.

He prowls the halls of Black Mountain Academy like he owns them.
But since he’s from one of the wealthiest families in Black Mountain, he can.

He’s famous—or infamous, and not for his baseball skills like his brother—currently the Major League’s media darling.

On campus, Big Mike is notorious for the giant bat he swings—the one between his legs, not on the field.
And every girl swears Big Mike definitely lives up to the hype.

Mike owns it, embracing his reputation.

Until Violet Raines.

New girl in school, pure as driven snow, and she hates his guts from moment one.
Mike wants Miss Purity under him, begging for mercy he’ll never give.

When Violet refuses to play ball?

It’s time for Big Mike to get creative and steal a home run.

He zeros in on the new girl.

Now, there’s nowhere for her to hide.
No sassy words to save her.
No denying her hot, longing glances.

Big Mike gets what he wants.

And Violet Raines?
She’s already his.

 

 

PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY!

Amazon US  |  Amazon AU  |  Amazon CA  |  Amazon UK

 

Add to Goodreads

 

EXCERPT:

There’s just him and me, the smell of his cologne mixed with the heated scent of his body, and this feeling of being wrapped in him. I’ve never felt anything like it before. It’s as intoxicating as it is terrifying.

“Bullshit. You feel the same fucking pull between us that I do, Vi.”

“I don’t,” I deny. He bends his head down, his nose nuzzling against me, his lips close to my ear – so close that I can feel the heat as he exhales.

 

 

 


About Jordan Marie:

I’m just a simple small town country girl, haunted by Alpha Men who talk in my head 24 hours a day. I knew I wanted to write when it became clear I couldn’t be happy with just viewing other people’s stories. I always wanted to rewrite them. Like why did Jack have to die? Why couldn’t Rose move her butt over? Because that was a huge piece of wood she was on, people. Happy Endings should be fought for, but they should always happen. Mine might take some curves and twists, but they eventually get there. Having published over fifty stories, it always feels surreal that this is my life. Hitting USA Today had me crying for days, but nothing is more special than hearing from readers that they loved one of my books.

Connect with Jordan Marie:

Website  |  Facebook  |  Facebook Group  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Goodreads  |  BookBub  |  Amazon  Author Page

Subscribe to Jordan Marie’s newsletter!

 

Cherish Me by J. Kenner Blog Tour with Excerpt & Trailer

 

CHERISH ME, an all-new sexy and sweet Stark Ever After novella from New York Times bestselling author, J. Kenner, is available now!

 

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author J. Kenner comes a new story in her Stark Ever After series…

My life with Damien has always been magical, and never more so than during the holidays, a time for us to celebrate the hardships we’ve overcome and the incredible gift that is our family. Over the years, he has both protected and cherished me. He has made my life more rich and full than I could ever have imagined.

This year, he’s treating me and our daughters to a holiday in Manhattan. With parades and ice skating, toy displays and candies. And, most of all, with each other.

It’s a wonderful gift, a trip I will always cherish. But this year, I’m the one with the surprise. And I can’t wait to see the look of delight and awe when I finally share my secret with Damien.

But I’m terrified that when danger strikes, it will take a holiday miracle for me to even get the chance.

**Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you’ll enjoy each one as much as we do.**

 

 

Download your copy today exclusively on Amazon!

Amazon US  |  Amazon Worldwide  |  Amazon Paperback

 

Add CHERISH ME to Goodreads

EXCERPT:

“We’re a lot alike, Stark. I think you know why.”

Damien moved to one of the equipment banks, pausing in front of a set of monitors with labels in multiple languages. He put his hand on the metal and felt the thrum of information flowing under his palm and through the electronic veins of the deceptively plain-looking metal boxes. The equipment like something he’d imagined as a child while curled up reading science fiction.

“I do,” he said slowly, his attention still on the equipment. “You chased your demons for years. Not because they were yours, but because they were Jane’s, too. You both needed that closure. And now—well, now you’re done.”

Dallas nodded. “Instead, I’m wallowing in the joys of marriage and fatherhood. Sound familiar? Plus, I get the occasional thrill by helping out the Feds or WORR,” he added, referring to the World Organization for Rescue and Rehabilitation, an above-board non-governmental agency with a close relationship with worldwide law enforcement. “Sometimes, I even help out a few less visible organizations. But my role is very behind the scenes,” Dallas added. “And I’m okay with that.”

Once again, he focused on Damien. “Like I said. I’m a lot like you.” His eyes narrowed. “Or maybe I’m wrong about that…?”

Damien frowned. Over the years he’d become skilled at keeping his feelings hidden, but he’d lost some of that ability recently. The fallout of opening up his world the way he had when he found Nikki. He’d let people get closer—not simply as colleagues, but as friends.

And that gave them power.

A few years ago, that would have bothered him. Now he studied it out of intellectual curiosity, not fear.

Slowly, he nodded. “You’re not wrong. I spent my life chasing the dream of making myself into more than what my father would have made of me. Of not letting anyone harness me the way he and my coach had tried to.”

“Chased the dream and caught it, I’d say.” Dallas shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I inherited my seed capital. You earned every penny you ever had.”

“Earned? Yes. But I also paid. In blood. In pain. The life I built was an escape pod, jettisoning me out of a past I hated and into a future that I’d created.” He waved a dismissive hand, as if signaling that it had all been easy. Maybe in some ways it had.

But mostly he’d worked his ass off to get to the top of the mountain. Which begged the question of where one went after reaching the pinnacle.

He looked at his friend, somewhat amazed that he was having this conversation with anyone other than Nikki or Ryan Hunter, his closest friend and chief operative for all Stark International and Stark Security ventures. Or Jackson Steele, for that matter, the half-brother he hadn’t even known existed until a few years ago but now trusted completely.

He trusted Dallas just as much. And with that realization came the knowledge that Damien had loosened the once-tight grip he’d always kept on himself. He had Nikki to thank for that.

Hell, he had Nikki to thank for everything.

 

 


About J. Kenner:

J. Kenner (aka Julie Kenner) is the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Wall Street Journal and #1 International bestselling author of over one hundred novels, novellas and short stories in a variety of genres.
Though known primarily for her award-winning and international bestselling erotic romances (including the Stark and Most Wanted series) that have reached as high as #2 on the New York Times bestseller list, JK has been writing full time for over a decade in a variety of genres including paranormal and contemporary romance, “chicklit” suspense, urban fantasy, and paranormal mommy lit.
JK has been praised by Publishers Weekly as an author with a “flair for dialogue and eccentric characterizations” and by RT Bookclub for having “cornered the market on sinfully attractive, dominant antiheroes and the women who swoon for them.” A six time finalist for Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA award, JK took home the first RITA trophy awarded in the category of erotic romance in 2014 for her novel, Claim Me (book 2 of her Stark Trilogy) and in 2017 for Wicked Dirty in the same category. Her Demon Hunting Soccer Mom series (as Julie Kenner) is currently in development as a television show.
Her books have sold over three million copies and are published in over twenty languages.
In her previous career as an attorney, JK worked as a clerk on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and practiced primarily civil, entertainment and First Amendment litigation in Los Angeles and Irvine, California, as well as in Austin, Texas. She currently lives in Central Texas, with her husband, two daughters, and two rather spastic cats.

 

Connect with J. Kenner:

Website  |  Facebook  |  Facebook Fan Group  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Amazon  |  Goodreads  |  BookBub

Subscribe to her newsletter

 

—————————————————————————————————-

 

For more information about 1001 Dark Nights Visit:

Website  |  Facebook  | Instagram

Stay up to date on all 1001 Dark Nights releases, sign up for their newsletter today!

 

 

Date Me Like You Mean It by R. S. Grey

DATE ME LIKE YOU MEAN IT, a standalone enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy from USA Today Bestselling Author, R. S. Grey, is available now!

I’m good at hiding my feelings.

Having to pretend I’m not in love with my best friend?

Pfft. That’s child’s play.

Here’s how I do it: I avert my eyes when he walks out of his room, shirtless in all his toned glory. I squash the butterflies that fill my stomach every time he slowly unfurls a dimpled smile. And, most importantly, I keep an arsenal of “personal massagers” in my bedside drawer. Wink.

Not to brag, but Aiden Smith isn’t hard to resist if you’ve been doing it for as long as I have. In fact, we might have continued as best friends forever if not for the fact that I needed him to play the part of my fake boyfriend.

Date me like you mean it, I told him. Nudge nudge. C’mon, just go along with a little lie, help a girl out, and then we can all return to life as we know it.

Except he veered from the plan.

He crossed the line.

Flirting with me when no one else was around? Pinning me down and kissing me like that? Okay, how exactly is taking off my bra part of the ruse, Aiden?!

I’d ask him about it if I could, but well…things got ugly and we’re not best friends anymore.

In fact, we’re the exact opposite.

Now, I have to play nice even though I want to crush his heart in the palm of my hand.

Pretending not to love Aiden was the easy part.

Pretending not to hate him?

Well…I might need a little more practice.

 

 

ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY OR READ FOR FREE IN KINDLE UNLIMITED!

Amazon US  |  Amazon AU Amazon CA  |  Amazon UK

 

Add to Goodreads

 

 

 


About R.S. Grey:

R.S. Grey is the USA Today bestselling author of over twenty novels. She lives in Texas with her husband and daughter, and can be found reading, binge-watching reality TV, or practicing yoga! Visit her at rsgrey.com

Connect with R.S. Grey

Website Twitter | Facebook | R.S. Grey’s Little Reds Facebook Group | Newsletter | Instagram

 

Cherish Me by J. Kenner Release Blitz

CHERISH ME, an all-new not-to-be-missed Stark Ever After 1001 Dark Nights novella from New York Times bestselling author, J. Kenner, is available now!

when danger strikes, it will take a holiday miracle…

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author J. Kenner comes a new story in her Stark Ever After series…

My life with Damien has always been magical, and never more so than during the holidays, a time for us to celebrate the hardships we’ve overcome and the incredible gift that is our family. Over the years, he has both protected and cherished me. He has made my life more rich and full than I could ever have imagined.

This year, he’s treating me and our daughters to a holiday in Manhattan. With parades and ice skating, toy displays and candies. And, most of all, with each other.

It’s a wonderful gift, a trip I will always cherish. But this year, I’m the one with the surprise. And I can’t wait to see the look of delight and awe when I finally share my secret with Damien.

But I’m terrified that when danger strikes, it will take a holiday miracle for me to even get the chance.

**Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you’ll enjoy each one as much as we do.**

 

—————————————————————————————————-

 

Download your copy today exclusively on Amazon!

Amazon US  |  Amazon Worldwide  |  Amazon Paperback

 

Add CHERISH ME to Goodreads

 

 

 


About J. Kenner:

J. Kenner (aka Julie Kenner) is the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Wall Street Journal and #1 International bestselling author of over one hundred novels, novellas and short stories in a variety of genres.
Though known primarily for her award-winning and international bestselling erotic romances (including the Stark and Most Wanted series) that have reached as high as #2 on the New York Times bestseller list, JK has been writing full time for over a decade in a variety of genres including paranormal and contemporary romance, “chicklit” suspense, urban fantasy, and paranormal mommy lit.
JK has been praised by Publishers Weekly as an author with a “flair for dialogue and eccentric characterizations” and by RT Bookclub for having “cornered the market on sinfully attractive, dominant antiheroes and the women who swoon for them.” A six time finalist for Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA award, JK took home the first RITA trophy awarded in the category of erotic romance in 2014 for her novel, Claim Me (book 2 of her Stark Trilogy) and in 2017 for Wicked Dirty in the same category. Her Demon Hunting Soccer Mom series (as Julie Kenner) is currently in development as a television show.
Her books have sold over three million copies and are published in over twenty languages.
In her previous career as an attorney, JK worked as a clerk on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and practiced primarily civil, entertainment and First Amendment litigation in Los Angeles and Irvine, California, as well as in Austin, Texas. She currently lives in Central Texas, with her husband, two daughters, and two rather spastic cats.

 

 

Connect with J. Kenner:

Website  |  Facebook  |  Facebook Fan Group  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Amazon  |  Goodreads  |  BookBub

Subscribe to her newsletter

 

 

 

—————————————————————————————————-

 

For more information about 1001 Dark Nights Visit:

Website  |  Facebook  | Instagram

Stay up to date on all 1001 Dark Nights releases, sign up for their newsletter today!

 

Maybe This Time by Lauren Blakely Review

5 SMOOCHES!

* * * * * * * * * *

SYNOPSIS:

From #1 NYT Bestseller Lauren Blakely comes a sexy, forbidden MM romance novella about a rock star and a bodyguard!

There’s one thing I need in my life right now and one thing only — a new job.

So I’m stoked when I land a dream gig as a bodyguard for a rock star.

But there’s definitely one thing I do not need at all — a complication.

Like being wildly attracted to the guy who just hired me.

So I vow to do everything I can to deny the intense attraction for the man I’m sworn to protect.

All I have to do is ignore it. Eventually it’ll go away, right?

But that’s not what happens one night after a concert

 

* * * * * * * * * *

REVIEW:

Maybe This Time is the prequel to One Time Only by Lauren Blakely, a bodyguard-rockstar M/M romance. Maybe This Time sets the stage and gives readers the backstory of Stone and Jackson’s first meeting while also giving them a front row seat to those first embers of desire between this couple. The banter, the tension, the restraint – it’s all deliciously building up to what will undoubtedly be another explosive M/M story from Blakely. I was excited for Stone and Jackson’s story before I read Maybe This Time, but now? Well, now I’m waiting anxiously for it to hit my Kindle! Five smooches from me for Maybe This Time by Lauren Blakely!

~Danielle Palumbo

 

 


GRAB YOUR FREE COPY NOW!

Amazon  |  Apple Books  |  Google Play  |  Kobo  |  Nook (coming soon)

 

Reclaim by Aly Martinez Sneak Peek

 

RECLAIM, an all-new second chance romance from USA Today bestselling author, Aly Martinez, is coming November 12th, and I have the first sneak peek!

 

Choices. Everyone makes them. From mundane to unimaginable, one choice can change the trajectory of your entire life.

My mother’s choice was to abandon us with our abusive father. My brother’s choice was to go to prison for killing the boy who assaulted his soulmate. Camden Cole’s choice was to fall in love with a shattered girl who had absolutely nothing to offer him but heartbreak.

It was one summer beneath the trees, but with Camden, I had a place where I belonged. A friend who was always waiting for me. A boy who I caught staring at me more often than not.

He was mine, but when the world closed in and secrets exploded all around us, it was my choice to let him go.

Choices. Everyone makes them. But mine would ruin us all.

 

————————————————————————————————————————————

 

PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY!

Amazon US  |  Amazon Worldwide 

 

Add RECLAIM to Goodreads 

 

**RECLAIM is a standalone that can be read and enjoyed independently. However, it does contain spoilers for RELEASE**

 

SNEAK PEEK:

Prologue

Nora

 

Choices.

Everyone makes them.

From mundane and monotonous to life-changing and unimaginable.

But regardless what that choice may be, life is lived in the consequences.

People want to believe that decisions are weighted. In theory, “What should I have for dinner?” should fall on the opposite end of the spectrum as “Should I swallow this bottle of pills?” But in reality, even the smallest decision can change the trajectory of your entire life.

 “Oh God!” Ramsey yelled, scrambling across the dirt road on all fours. I watched in the rearview mirror as he paused, hovering over the bloody and lifeless body, not sure which broken part to touch first. “No. No. No.”

I wanted to care. I wanted to be flooded with guilt and regret. I just wanted to fucking feel something again. Anything.

Instead, I sat there, stunned and utterly numb.

My brother’s mouth moved, fast and sharp, but I couldn’t hear him over the ringing in my ears. With shaky hands, I tried to open the car door twice before I was successful. My chest vibrated as a barrage of emotions ricocheted inside me, none of them able to escape. All of them slicing me to the core of my soul.

Or maybe it was only the remnants of my soul, because the rest of it had been destroyed long before that starry night.

I swung my legs out, my head swirling with the high of adrenaline, and I struggled to find even one breath of oxygen.

My brother was seventeen, but he looked like a man as he started chest compressions and rescue breathing. Curiously, I wondered where he’d learned that. Then I immediately wished he hadn’t.

It was pointless though. He was dead. I didn’t have to be up close and personal to know that.

“Come on, come on, come on,” Ramsey chanted, never giving up, just like the hero I knew him to be. “Breathe.”

That asshole didn’t deserve to breathe. He didn’t deserve anything. He’d already stolen it all from me.

“Stop,” I forced out.

Ramsey’s panicked gaze swung my way. “What the fuck happened?”

How much time did he have?

Wood splintering into my back.

Blink.

His fingers digging into my flesh.

Blink.

The welcomed darkness that swallowed me as my only way to survive.

Blink.

Thea.

Thea.

Thea.

“Let him die!” I roared so loudly that it scorched my throat.

But at least I felt that.

The sound of people talking in the distance interrupted my echo, and my brother’s panic skyrocketed. Ramsey quickly abandoned his attempts to revive him and raced in my direction, but just seeing him lying there, alone and lifeless the way I would always feel, gave me a sick sense of pleasure.

I should have been crying.

Why wasn’t I crying?

I’d spent two years living in fear—nightmares, sobbing until I physically passed out, hiding behind a smile for fear people could see the filth behind it.

Maybe there was nothing left of me to give. Not even tears.

The voices got closer, and Ramsey stepped into my line of sight, blocking out that monster the way I would never be able to do.

“You gotta go,” he barked. “I’ll take care of this, but you gotta go before someone sees you here.”

“I’m not leaving.”

He grabbed my shoulders and gave me a hard shake. “Listen to me. You have to leave. I’ll get the car and meet you back at the house. If anyone asks, you haven’t seen me. Tell them I’ve been with Thea all night.”

I could hear the words coming from his mouth, but I was struggling to process what he was saying. It was like an optical illusion: I could see the picture in front of me, but none of it felt real.

I glanced around and his car was still running, the front end smashed and covered in blood. “What if they see your car?”

“I’ll…I’ll… I’ll tell ’em I hit a deer or something.” He looked over his shoulder as three silhouettes appeared at the end of the Johnsons’ driveway. “Please, Nora,” he hissed. “I promise you this is going to be okay. But you can’t be here. If they find out what he did to you, they’ll know this wasn’t an accident. I can’t risk that. Okay? You weren’t here. Nothing happened. It was a terrible, terrible accident. End of story.” He palmed each side of my face and pressed a shaky kiss to my forehead.

That might have been more jarring for me than running over a man.

Ramsey wasn’t the most affectionate brother. We hugged on occasion, and when I was little, he’d always ruffled my hair or pinched me playfully on the side.

But he wasn’t a forehead kisser.

“Ramsey,” I choked out, the adrenaline starting to ebb from my system, a hurricane of emotions moving in.

“Please,” he whispered, his desperate and pleading brown eyes sparkling with unshed tears in the moonlight. “Just run home and get in bed. I’ll meet you there. Everything’s going to be okay.”

Okay. That was a word I recognized all too well. Not good. Or great. Or even fine. Just simply okay was a state of being for us.

Besides, Ramsey had never steered me wrong before.

So I squeezed his hand, and like a coward, I ran.

Choices. Everyone makes them.

But mine would ruin us all.

 

 

 

 


About Aly Martinez:

Originally from Savannah, Georgia, USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez now lives in South Carolina with her husband and four young children.

Never one to take herself too seriously, she enjoys cheap wine, mystery leggings, and olives. It should be known, however, that she hates pizza and ice cream, almost as much as writing her bio in the third person.

She passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a super-sized tumbler of wine by her side.

 

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