Published By AM Hargrove, LLC
Copyright © 2015 A. M. Hargrove
All rights reserved.
This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the author, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at [email protected]
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to peoples either living or deceased is purely coincidental. Names, places, and characters are figments of the author’s imagination, or, if real, used fictitiously.
Cover by Mayhem Cover Creations
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Prologue—Serena Callahan
Chapter 1—Sabin, One Year Later
Chapter 2—Serena
Chapter 3—Sabin
Chapter 4—Serena
Chapter 5—Sabin
Chapter 6—Serena
Chapter 7—Sabin
Chapter 8—Serena
Chapter 9—Sabin
Chapter 10—Serena
Chapter 11—Sabin
Chapter 12—Serena
Chapter 13—Serena
Chapter 14—Sabin
Chapter 15—Serena
Chapter 16—Sabin
Chapter 17—Serena
Chapter 18—Sabin
Chapter 19—Serena
Chapter 20—Sabin
Chapter 21—Serena
Chapter 22—Sabin
Chapter 23—Sabin
Chapter 24—Serena
Chapter 25—Sabin
Chapter 26—Serena
Epilogue—Sabin
About The Author
Other Books by A.M. Hargrove
A Note From The Author
Stalk A.M. Hargrove
An Excerpt from The Fall and Rise of Kade Hart (A Hart Brothers Novel)
Acknowledgements
Thank you to all the readers who have been with me from the beginning, who have discovered me recently, or picked this one up as a new read. Words can’t express how thankful I am for giving me the chance to entertain you for a few hours of your life. I hope I live up to your expectations.
Here’s a shout out to my betas, who put up with me on this one. Gah, I was mess, with a newly acquired puppy, trying to keep it all straight. I was not prepared and I’ll just leave it at that. Terri, Kat, Andrea, and Kristie—I would be LOST without you ladies. Seriously. Thanks for bailing me out and catching all the mess ups on Sabin. Mwah! And a whopper of a thanks goes to Heather King for choosing the name Serena. I was in turmoil and she came through like the totally cool friend that she is!
Finally, thank you Jessica at Rare Bird Words for editing. Whew! This was a long one, too!
Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.
-Aristotle
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been obsessed with scuba diving. I first fell in love with the idea when I used to watch my little goldfish swim around in their bowl. As silly as it seems, it was the movie The Little Mermaid that fueled my obsession.
My excitement surges as I prepare to drop back in the crystalline waters of the Caribbean Sea for the first time ever.
“Listen up everyone,” the dive master, Joe, begins. “We’re making two drops. The first group of three will drop here, and we’re leaving a buoy with the beacon. A line is attached. In case of an emergency, all you need to do is surface and activate the emergency mode on the buoy. It’s right on top and you can’t miss it. The maximum depth here is only sixty feet, so you should all be fine. Any questions?”
Everyone shakes their heads. This is a shallow, night dive between Peter Island and Salt Island, in the British Virgin Islands. Our goal is to collect different species that are indigenous to the area so we can study them to identify any mutations in response to environmental factors, and my heart is pumping hard from excitement. Night dives bring out different species of fish and the marine biologist in me is thrilled. But even if I weren’t here to conduct research for my master’s degree, I still would be stoked knowing how this is going to be all kinds of awesome. If possible, I would live in the water.
“We’ll be back to pick you up in one hour. This area is out of the main traffic line, plus the buoy is lit with a large blinking light, as you can see, so even if you surface, just hang tight and you’ll be fine.”
They lower the buoy, and it’s big enough to sit on the edge.
“You can drop at any time.” Joe glances around at all our exuberant faces, including the two professors and three Ph.D. candidates that accompany me.
I don’t want to waste precious dive time, so I put on my mask and flop backwards into the water. The sea is dark and chilly, but I acclimate quickly because of the neoprene suit I am wearing. I adjust my buoyancy control device so I can sink to the bottom and wait for my companions.
Once they join me, we’re off, and I go to work. My wrist mounted light guides me along as I use my plankton net to gather samples, never drifting too far from the others. It only seems like minutes when I’m alerted that we are close to our one-hour mark. When a companion gives me the signal to surface, I resent it. I could stay here for hours.
Right as I’m securing my mesh bags onto my belt, something catches my eye—an oval-shaped odd colored stone, suspended from a black chain. I snatch it, giving it a quick glance. It’s intriguing but doesn’t necessarily look antique or expensive. Then again, the dim light in the dark water might not be doing it justice. I stuff it in my mesh bag, and then surface, intending to pay closer attention to my little treasure at a later time.
It’s not uncommon to find things while diving—jewelry, sunglasses, money, you name it. None of it usually amounts to much. There isn’t a lost and found for sea dives. Besides, half of the time what I find is considered junk. If the jewelry isn’t broken, it’s one earring, or oftentimes cheap costume jewelry. Once, when I went through the hassle and paperwork of claiming an item for discovery, the examiner gave me the stink eye when she found a “made in China” stamp on the clasp. But even as I surface, something about this seems special, different somehow. I don’t spend time examining it now, but plan to inspect it more closely later.
Once the boat picks us up, it’s hard to think straight between the roar of the engine and all the chatter. I’m riding high from being in the water, mentally calculating when I can do it again. But I do know one thing. SCUBA diving ranks number one for me, despite the negativity my family gives me about it. Like my instructor told me, I must’ve been born to do this. Being under water sure brings me happiness.
The next morning, I dress and I’m on my way down to eat breakfast when I remember the necklace. Grabbing it off the desk, I stuff it in my bag with the rest of my jewelry. What I couldn’t have known is this action seals my fate, a fate filled with danger that would lead me down a path I could never have anticipated.
The knock on my door surprises me. I wasn’t expecting anyone so when I open it, I’m even more shocked to see who it is.
“L’han, we need you to come with us.”
“Where?”
“Please, L’han. Just come.”
“I don’t understand.” He doesn’t speak, so I have no choice but to follow him. When we arrive at our destination, my parents are there. My mother is on the floor, sobbing, and my father is as distraught as my mother.
Looking at my escort, I ask, “What
the hell is going on?” We are in the Hall of the Council. It is also where Paradox lies … where my sister is on duty. The question of why my parents are so upset lingers as I look up to the massive doors before me. “Answer me!” Those damn Council members. Such idiots.
“L’han, please. Inside.” The tremor in his voice alarms me. I know in my heart what I will find. “We need a third party verification. Your brother could not be located.”
Motherfucker. Opening the doors, I spy the vague outline of her body. It lies in a heap on the floor, in front of the place where Paradox is kept. The vault for Paradox is undisturbed. Tuara, on the other hand, is not. When I drop to my knees by her side, her eyes, which bear a remarkable resemblance to mine, are wide open and stare directly at me. But they are lifeless orbs, blank, and vacant. Blood soaks the bodice of her gown, part of her regimental uniform. When I open it, I can see why. Her sternum is gashed open, torn by what were no doubt her mortal wounds.
“L’han?”
Stupid Council member. “It is she. Tuara of the sovereign house of Lhu’hantran. My sister.” Then I stare him down and snarl, “And I want to know who did this. Do you hear me? How did the Shaurok get in here? This was a calculated taking of a royal life, the life of a guard of Paradox. You tell your Council this needs their utmost attention!”
“Yes, L’han. But the Shaurok …”
“Fuck the Shaurok. I want to know how they got in. And why didn’t they take Judgment Day?”
I don’t know if he stays or leaves, because all my focus is on my sister. She was older than me by two years. And I feel like my heart has just stopped beating.
Though it’s been seven years, the memory slams me as I enter the silent room. The only perceptible sound is the soft tapping of fingers on glass as commands are given to the complink. Images flash across the dozens of screens that cover every square inch of wall space, and then some. I do a thorough scan of each screen, processing what I can.
“How did it go?” Rafe, my second in command, asks.
“How the hell do you think it went?”
“That bad, huh?”
“If you count having my ass handed to me with my balls propped up right next to it on a silver platter bad, then yeah.”
“The hell? The Council wouldn’t listen, then?”
“Oh, they listened. Right before they ripped me to shreds. And Ali’yah was gloating. You should’ve seen her. I swear the bitch’s teeth have become pointed since, well, you know.” My fury is explosive. All I want to do is destroy this room, but that would be childish and futile. Instead, my hands fist in frustration.
“You look like you need a good fight.”
“You willing?” I ask.
“Only if you promise not to beat me to a pulp.”
Giving my head a shake, I say, “Yeah.”
“Are you okay?”
“No. I’m fucking pissed. They sit in their lofty positions and have no idea what we put ourselves through for their safety. Worse yet, they aren’t willing to give us the benefit of the doubt. I take that back, Rafe. I’ve got a raging hard on, I’m so damn furious. Mother fucking pricks.”
“Let’s get out of here. I need to kick your ass or we’ll all be paying the price for who knows how long.”
“As if.”
An hour and a half later, Rafe and I are dripping sweat, bloody and bruised. He was right about the ass kicking, only I was the one who did the kicking. Well, mostly. He got in his due. I look him up and down and then myself. We both look like hell.
“You keep looking at me like that, I’m gonna think you’re hitting on me,” he says.
“I should knock the shit out of you again for that.”
“I do believe you imagined I was Ali’yah the whole time,” he states. Rafe’s half right. Maybe three quarters.
“Yeah. Either her or the Council.”
“Sabin, don’t even bring them up. I don’t want your mood to go south again. My body couldn’t take it.” He flexes his arms, then stretches his back. Everything cracks into place.
“You sound like you’re in need of a few new joints, the way you creak.”
He grunts. “And you don’t? You must be deaf.”
I growl in response. He’s right. I feel like I’ve been dragged behind a truck for twenty miles on a gravel road at ninety miles per hour. And that was before we sparred. I drop my head back and work out some of the kinks in my neck. When I look up, Rafe stares at me.
“Sabin, you are my commanding officer first, and my friend second. You have to let this go. You did not fuck up, no matter what they say. You can’t carry this on your shoulders.”
“You are wrong. We’re going to have this conversation one time, and then you and I are going to drop this and never refer to it again. I did fuck up. I should never have let Juliette out of my sight. I shouldn’t have taken Kade Hart so lightly. But I did. As leader of the mission, I call the shots and I royally fucked up. So now, it’s my responsibility to fix this.”
Rafe stops me. “No. We have to fix this. We are a team, remember?”
“Yes, but since I’m the one who gives the orders, it’s my responsibility and duty to make it right. I can’t put this on you or the others.”
Rafe doesn’t say a word for a bit. Then he offers up some advice. “You don’t like it when I contradict you, but I’m going to anyway. Yes, we are your responsibility. But dammit, we did the best with what we had to work with. We couldn’t tell Juliette a damn thing, Sabin, so that limited our capabilities. Our hands were tied. And then her ability to see us when we were transparent made it nearly impossible for us to do our jobs. You have to stop blaming yourself.”
“I can’t. If we had been better at monitoring their conversations, we would’ve known they were planning to leave. And we are better than that. I made a bad call, Rafe. I take the blame. Fully. Completely. Now we end this discussion. Clear?”
“Clear.”
“How are the Harts, since we’re on the topic?”
“Assimilated back into their life in Denver. Never missed a beat. You can see for yourself. Verus monitors them.”
“Excellent.”
“Question. And I don’t want to ruin a good moment. Did you ask the Council for more men?”
“Do you think I went in there only to get my ass chewed? Of course I asked. I’ve been asking ever since the League started this operation. It falls on deaf ears. Rafe, just between us, we have a troop of halfwits manning the Council. And it scares the piss out of me. Hell, you know Ali’yah. If she’s on it, then you can figure out the types that run the show. It’s disturbing.”
“How the fuck were you two ever married?”
“Beats the hell out of me. Now are we here to discuss my ex-wife, or did you have something else to tell me before I hit the shower? I have a lot on my plate that needs my attention before I get some sleep, and I’m half starved, too.”
“Right. I’ll catch you back in the security center.”
We part ways and I head to my quarters to shower and change. As the hot water soothes away my aches and pains, I can’t help but think the Council is right. I really did leave a gaping hole where Juliette and Kade Hart were concerned. Yes, Juliette had Judgment Day, the necklace, and they left Denver unexpectedly to go to the British Virgin Islands. Yes, Kade thought he was helping Juliette by getting rid of what they thought was only a troublesome piece of jewelry. But it’s not like we don’t have the power to ascertain these kinds of things. I could’ve executed a better plan, could have ordered the men to be more intrusive on their lives. But the truth of it was I didn’t want to. I wanted Juliette and Kade to carve out a piece of happiness and I wanted them to have their privacy. That was my monumental error. When they flew out of Denver I knew I was screwed. My plan changed from protecting them to finding them alive and hoping that damned necklace was still in their possession.
As luck—and not the good kind—would have it, we found them about forty-five minutes too late. Juliette had to
ssed Judgment Day into the Caribbean Sea. My men did a thorough search for it and found that it had already been moved. And then all hell broke loose.
Do you know how many times we’ve saved your ass from getting flayed open by the Shaurok?”
“I can’t answer that because I don’t even know what a Shaurok is.”
“That night that I covered your body, little girl, with mine. The night I told you not to walk home in the dark by yourself. Yeah that night, the night I took the beating for you, those were Shaurok. And they want your blood. In the worst way. And won’t stop until they have it. Oh, and don’t think just because you don’t have the necklace anymore they’ll forget. It doesn’t work that way.”
Juliette. I shake my head when I think of her. That girl has more moxie than any other person I’ve ever encountered doing this job. She never backed down from me. Ever.
Juliette slams her hand on the table. “I’m tired of your shit. You know? I’ve been running from these assholes for almost three years, and I have no idea who they are. I didn’t even know why they wanted me until now. Try putting yourself in my shoes. What would you have done, Mr. High and Mighty?”
Guilt rains down on me, like the water from the showerhead. I did her and Kade a huge disservice. By giving them more freedom, I actually almost got them killed. Slamming my palms against the solid surface of the shower wall, I growl. How long before my raging anger will dissipate? I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive myself. What’s worse is that she burrowed into my heart, into a place where I allow no one, and that makes it all the more painful. My last words to her roar back at me with a vengeance.
Juliette smacked me on the shoulder and asked, “When we leave, will we ever see you again?”
“You will. Kade, probably not since he could never pick up on us.”
Lies. I won’t ever allow her to see me again. Because I fucked up in too many ways. And to let her back in would be far too dangerous. She will be protected, but not by me. Not ever by me.
I scrape my face with calloused hands. For all I learned from the shit I’ve been through, little good did it do when it came to this case. Right now I feel like an adolescent trying to find his way. Cursing for the hundredth time, I pound my fists against the wall, bruising them further in the process. And I honestly don’t give a fuck. I have too many evil spirits roaming around in my brain that need to be purged the hell out of there. The sparring with Rafe and this shower were meant to cleanse me of this, but that certainly isn’t the case. I want to rip some heads off right now. And that bitch, Ali’yah. What the hell did I ever see in her? She used to look good, I guess, but was never good in bed. Hated sex, I think. God knows I tried with the she-devil. Now she’s nothing but a damn shrew. She ruined my life for too many years and she’s still fucking with me.
Sabin, A Seven Novel Page 1
