Truth is Found
By Morgan Kelley
Copyright © 2015 Morgan Kelley LLC
All rights reserved. Without limiting rights under the copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, introduced into a retrieval system, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including without limitation photocopying, recording, or other electronic or technical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
The scanning, uploading, and/or distribution of this document via the internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and is punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrightable materials. For permission requests, email [email protected]
Content Advisory: This book is intended for mature audiences and contains graphic violence, explicit sexual activity and disturbing imagery
©Copyright 2015 cover photo Cover art by Celest Abraham. ©Photo by Gashgeron/Deamstine.com
Other works by Morgan Kelley:
Standalone Thrillers
The Junction
Serial Sins
The Blood Betrayal
FBI Romance Series
The Killing Times (Book 1)
Sacred Burial Grounds (Book 2)
True Love Lost (Book 3)
Deep Dark Mire (Book 4)
Fire Burns Hot (Book 5)
Darkness of Truth (Book 6)
Devil Hath Come (Book 7)
Consumed by Wrath (Book 8)
Redemption is Here (Book 9)
Dead Shall Speak (Book 10)
Croft & Croft Romance Adventure Series
Celestia is Falling (1)
Vegas is Dying (2)
Christmas is Killing (3)
Love is Bleeding (4)
Heaven is Weeping (5)
Hell is Burning (6)
Littlemoon Investigations
Blood Red Rage (Book 1)
Lost & Broken (Book 2)
Unthinkable Games (Book 3)
Truth is Found (Book 4)
The Carter Chronicles
Sinner Repent (1)
Sinner Realized (2)
Sinner Reborn (3)
The Harcourte Vampyre Society series
Dangerous Revelations (1)
Dangerous Choices (2)
Dangerous Misery (3)
Dangerous Retaliation (4)
Behind Closed Doors Anthology
Illegal Fantasies ~ Behind Closed Doors (1)
Romance Under Arrest~ Behind Closed Doors (2)
Holiday Reinforcements ~ Behind Closed Doors (3)
~~~~ About the Author ~~~~
Morgan Kelley lives in the beautiful Pocono Mountains with her husband and two children. After attending college at Penn State University and studying Criminal Justice, Morgan knew her only true passion in life would be murder and books. She put them both together and began her career as a writer. Other than books and writing, you can find Morgan hanging out in her garden and digging in the dirt.
Her other works include: The Junction, Serial Sins, The Blood Betrayal, The Killing Times (1), Sacred Burial Grounds (2), True Love Lost (3), Deep Dark Mire (4), Fire Burns Hot (5), Darkness of Truth (6), Devil Hath Come (7), Consumed by Wrath (8), Redemption is Here (9), Dead Shall Speak (10), Pledging to Die (11), Slay Bells Ring (12), Blood Red Rage (1) Lost & Broken (2), Unthinkable Games (3), Truth is Found (4), Sinner Repent (1), Sinner Realized (2), Sinner Reborn (3), Celestia is Falling (1), Vegas is Dying (2), Christmas is Killing (3), Love is Bleeding (4), Heaven is Weeping (5), Hell is Burning (6), Dangerous Revelations (1), Dangerous Choices (2), Dangerous Misery (3), Dangerous Retaliation (4), Illegal Fantasies (Anthology 1), and Romance Under Arrest (Anthology 2)
Please feel free to email her at [email protected], or visit her blog at www.morgankelley.blogspot.com.
“Justin, we don’t always know why things happen. We just have to keep moving forward.”
“That’s easy for you to say.”
“No, that’s where you’re wrong. I know how hard this is. I have to watch people I love suffer, and I feel helpless too.”
~ Julian and Justin Littlemoon
I’m Beau Christensen,
and I’ve spent my life alone...
I’m Nyx Nightingale,
and was damaged beyond repair...
Prologue
Two Weeks Later…
Everything was falling apart.
The more he tried to hold it together, the faster it began to unravel. Justin Littlemoon’s life had come crashing to a halt the day he’d received the call.
That one moment in time was forever on his mind. It changed everything. It altered his present and future. There was nothing in his life more crushing and devastating.
In all the wars, battles, and bloodshed, nothing had prepared him for that call.
The afternoon his wife and co-workers were in the car accident, fate stepped in and handed him a defeating blow. Now nothing would be the same again, and he knew it.
That day had been so happy too.
It all seemed surreal.
That morning, he and Vivian had made love, laughed, and planned for their child’s future. Then in a matter of seconds, a drunk driver had ended their joy. The second the guilty man got behind the wheel of his sports car--post liquid business lunch--he’d killed Justin’s hopes and dreams.
Not only did his dreams die that day, but also the bastard had killed his child.
Now his wife was falling apart, and he was helplessly watching as if out of his own body.
As long as he lived, he’d never forget that day.
How could he?
It was the day hope died.
The vehicle had struck the SUV Tori had been driving right behind her seat. It hit squarely where Vivian had been sitting, and she had suffered the most of all four women.
It broke his heart.
Of all the missions, he thought he could withstand anything. He was a soldier, and he was built to endure.
He thought he was tough.
He believed he was strong.
Then he was proven wrong.
When his twin got the call, they all rushed to the emergency room. Horrifically, they were forced to drive past the accident. The women were nearly back at the office, and only three blocks from being safe and sound.
They were so close…
And yet they were too far to keep safe.
The mangled vehicle was sitting in the middle of the road as a sick reminder of what they might be losing…
Love.
When the men arrived at the hospital, it was in an uproar. They had three pregnant women in their care, and one who wasn’t expecting, but who had been pretty badly hurt.
Claire had a broken arm and was shaken up as she clung to her sister-in-law’s hand.
Tori was unconscious and her face was cut from impact against the window. She was a bloody mess.
Christina was shaken up, crying hysterically for her fiancé. She held her stomach, weeping bitter tears at what nearly had happened as the doctors checked her out.
And Vivian…
Poor Vivian was covered in blood and on her way to surgery.
To their credit, the hospital was working hard to save them all--including the tiniest of passengers that day. The first responders had done their job, and the five men were thankful for that, but ultimately, it didn't matter.
That day, two weeks ago, had changed everything.
It had changed Justin and not for the better.
Deep down inside, he’d bee
n forever altered from the man he was destined to be. Now, he was nothing more than a monster. He hated everything, and he couldn’t locate that peaceful man he’d become the day he and Vivian met.
It was gone.
He was destroyed.
People told him that what didn't kill him would make him stronger, but that was total bullshit. He’d fought in wars, had bullet wounds, and watched people he thought of as brothers die in front of him. That didn't make him stronger. It created a void in his heart. The only thing that made him stronger was his wife and the life they’d created.
Now Vivian was sinking too, and he was too ripped apart to save her. He could barely hold his head above water, sinking into depression. How was he supposed to hold her up too?
He didn't have a damn clue.
Yes, she survived the surgery.
Yes, she was alive.
When he had to tell her the bad news, he saw it in her eyes. He saw the pain, the anger, and the loss. They were no longer expecting.
Their son was gone.
It destroyed her.
For that, Justin wanted revenge. He wanted to find the asshole who took their child from them, and he wanted to inflict the worst possible pain on him.
Torture wouldn’t be enough.
Killing him wouldn’t quench that thirst.
See?
He’d become a monster.
Justin wanted to hold him down, cut him open, and make him bleed. For every drop of blood shed because he had too many martinis for lunch, he wanted to spill his.
Justin wanted to murder someone.
If that wasn’t the epitome of monster, he didn't know what was.
For the first time in his life, he craved killing. Before it had been out of survival, but now…
He wanted to wash his hands in the drunk driver’s blood. Justin wanted to watch him suffer, like they all were.
If it wasn’t for his brother and the simple fact that the asshole was locked up in jail for killing their child, he would have done it.
Oh, the driver was a menace to society, but Justin had news for the world.
He was far more lethal.
Dangerous.
And now he had a mission in life. It was to hurt the man who had destroyed their happiness.
If he could, he would have hunted him down, gone to the man’s house, and broke him in a million pieces.
Justin would have done it in front of the scumbag’s wife.
While his children watched.
And as the media recorded every single second of it.
Justin would have destroyed him then and there, but he couldn’t. Maybe if he was able to make him bleed, this wouldn’t be so hard. Because he was forced to keep it in, it was festering.
That hate was feeding the monster.
The family came to keep them company, and to rally around them like they always did. Clarissa didn't cry, but he could see she wanted to do just that. After all, she’d lost the grandchild she coveted more than all the gold in the world.
Instead, she did the mom thing, and held them up.
The rest of the family did the same. Liana, Connor, Claire, and Julian gave him the promise to be there, and they were. His siblings let him mourn, and they didn't tell him to stop. They let him cry, and while he needed it, that wasn’t enough.
God!
It would never be enough…
If not for Julian, he’d be drowning himself at the bottom of a bottle in some shitty bar in town. He would have gotten his gun and hunted the man’s family down.
An eye for an eye.
Wasn’t that the saying?
Well, it resonated with him.
Even though he wanted it so badly, Julian wouldn’t let him do it. Despite his own wife being seriously injured, his brother was holding him steady.
Maybe it was a twin thing.
Possibly, it was a family thing.
Either way, it was all he had in that horrible moment. His brother’s calm was the only thing keeping him from going off the tracks.
This train of hate was ready to derail, and it would be a disaster if it did. He could see the multiple casualties already…
Now, sitting in his office, while his wife was home recovering at their place, he felt guilty. Vivian was mourning, and he wasn’t able to be there for her. When he tried, the anger would well up, grabbing him by the balls.
That hate was dangerous, and he knew it. If it got free, then no one would be safe from it.
If he had to watch Vivian weep anymore, or look at the room they had begun decorating, he was going to lose it.
Before Vivian, let’s face it…Justin wasn’t a calm man.
In fact, he was anything but. Out of the two twins, he was the one who inherited his mother’s temper. If someone was going to snap, it would be him.
At that moment, his notorious rage was simmering. It was bubbling toward the top, and at any moment, it was going to explode from him in a gush of hate.
He could barely contain it. Soon, it would only be a matter of time before he lost it.
So, he was hiding.
The only safe place was in his office with the door locked, as he pretended to be working. When in actuality, he was doing anything but. It was the furthest from his mind. Justin was losing the battle, and he knew it would only be a matter of time before he caved.
The big blow up was coming.
It all depended on how long he could hold it all back and when he’d lose control. The helplessness was eating away at him, and he couldn’t stop it.
He was falling.
Slipping.
Drowning.
Sadly, no one could save him. This time, he believed he was so far gone that not even his twin lifeline could pull him back.
It was a shame.
The broken soldier suffering from PTSD had been recovering.
Life had been looking up.
Justin believed, deep in his heart, that there was no one more at blame than him.
This was his fault.
He should have known better.
Some people didn't deserve happiness. He was one of them, and now Vivian had been sucked into the mess.
He was a shitty husband.
Why?
Because he was cursed.
* * * L i t t l e m o o n * * *
One Hour Away
The voice wouldn’t stop.
No matter what she did, it wouldn’t go away. While she tried to convince him that she wasn’t the one to offer him help, there was no relenting.
NONE.
His imploring had gone on for days, and she was ready to medicate to get rid of the nonstop droning in her brain.
Nyx Nightingale was losing her mind, and not because she was hearing things.
That…well…that was normal for her. Some people called it her gift, but she believed it was a curse.
None of that mattered now, since she couldn’t think straight. The man in her head was making her want to do irrational things to get him to shut up.
No matter what she did, he didn't care. There was no talking him down, bribing him, or shutting him out. For some reason, and she wished she knew why, he was able to have full access to her. While she could shut the others out, he didn't play by the same rules.
No, he was making them up as he went.
Because of that, Nyx was suffering.
The voice wouldn’t stop.
He woke her from sleep, begging, pleading, and trying to force her to get him help. The more she tried to explain that he was dead, the more worked up he became. It was as if he didn't realize that he’d crossed to the other side.
He wasn’t alive anymore.
He was simply a ghost.
As she tried to rationalize with a dead man, he didn't want to hear it. Nyx didn't understand what was so urgent, but he wouldn’t give up.
He was holding her brain hostage. In order to have a moment’s peace, she listened.
She did what he asked.
W
hy he wanted her to go to the winery and drop clues, she didn't know, but after it was done, she felt the difference.
The second she met with the ‘important man’, the silence began. The dead guy was happy at last. It was the happiest moment of her life for weeks. Now she could concentrate on her life, her business, and getting by each day.
There was no way to explain how perfect the silence finally felt. She was reveling in it.
There was one thing for sure…being a clairvoyant sucked.
Maybe that wasn’t the word for it, but it was close. Let’s just say that being a psychic had its challenges.
Mostly the deceased.
Once you could get past having them show up in your daily routines, nothing seemed to faze you.
They were the greatest obstacle to her life and job, but also the only reason she could do what she did.
The dead liked to pop in, make their demands, and then harass her until she complied. They’d drone on and on, and normally, she could shut them out. Nyx had built those barriers over the years to protect herself. It was her only defense.
Until that moment, they’d never been able to break through. Only, this one dead man had figured it out.
She didn't know how.
Fortunately for her, she didn't see them too. That one small thing was her greatest fortune.
Unbelievably, that was a blessing.
In her mind, she heard their conversations. It was like being tuned in to ‘Dead Radio’ all day long. Sometimes, she could flip the channel, forcing them out. Lately, that wasn’t the case.
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