by K. Webster
A sob wracks through me so hard I think I’ll throw up. My fingers grip at Duvan’s hair as I try to get him to look at me.
“P-Please, don’t you dare die,” I sob. Nothing else around me matters but him. Not his killer. Not my friends.
Just me and my love.
“I love you, Duvan.”
His breath comes out in a ragged rush before he murmurs a final word. “Tigress.”
Beat.
Beat.
Beat.
The sound of my own heart is thundering in my head, but no other sound comes through. My body grows cold. Shivers begin to ripple through me. A blankness settles over my mind.
Beat.
Beat.
Beat.
Nothing makes sense. I’m scrambling far, far away from reality inside my head. I want as far from the truth as I can get. I want to crawl into the black hole of despair in my brain only to never escape.
Beat.
“Gabriella.”
Heath’s cold voice drags me from my safe haven into my hell. My senses assault me all at once. A brutal beat down of my psyche. The people on the computer are still screaming. The man on my chest is dead. And the monster standing behind the couch is soulless.
Eyes that once looked upon me as if I were a treat his mommy wouldn’t let him have now glare at me like he wants to tear through my flesh with his teeth and then suck on the bones after. The giant knife he used to slit the throat of my husband drips with blood. A knife similar to the one that fatally cut through my mother’s neck too.
He’s going to kill me too.
I’m going to die.
Duvan, our baby, and me. We’ll be together at least.
“Not today, Gabriella,” Heath hisses. “I’ve come a long way for you. A promise is a promise. And I promised I’d be back for you.”
My eyes roll back as I succumb to shock. The heavy weight is gone and I’m floating. It isn’t until I’m laid on something soft that I reopen my eyes. I’m on the bed—a bed I’ve made love to Duvan countless times on—and Heath is cutting my clothes right from my body.
I can’t move.
I can’t think.
I can’t feel.
I just stare at the monster. He isn’t careful as he tears the shorts off me. I’m knicked by the sharp blade on my hip bone when he cuts my panties from me. The tank I’m wearing is easily sawed through.
Blood.
So much blood.
All over my hands and upper body.
His hands.
The knife.
Bile creeps up my throat, and I turn my head to the side so I don’t drown in my own vomit. Heath’s belt jangles as he prepares to fuck me. Just beyond my dead husband’s body.
And I can’t do anything about it.
I pray for him to push the tip of his blade into my chest so I’ll bleed out too. I want him to dump my dying body on Duvan’s so we can race into the afterlife together.
“I’ve been waiting so long for this,” Heath hisses.
Blink.
Blink.
Blink.
And then him.
Elation surges through me like the heroin used to cause. Hot and exciting as it rushed through my veins. Heath will pay for this. I can see it in my hero’s eyes.
Dark and murderous.
Hate-filled.
My heart flops.
Hope soars inside me like a thousand eagles taking flight.
A knife, much bigger than Heath’s glints in the bedroom light. Thunder booms outside like a prologue to the massacre that shall be.
Stabbing and stabbing and stabbing.
Death crashing around us like the storm waging outside.
I can’t help but get high off the vengeance. More satisfying than any hit of bliss that ever swam through my veins. I want to thank the man with every ounce of my being who singlehandedly crushed a demon that had somehow escaped from hell.
A devastated scream I recognize as Vee’s from the computer, makes my skin crawl.
Heath croaks and crumbles to the floor. His dick is hanging out but he never got to do what he came for. I stare at his unmoving body on the floor. If I had the energy, I would spit on him.
“Brie baby.”
I drag my gaze from the psycho on the floor to the hero standing beside my bed. He sits down next to me and pushes my sticky hair from my face. A tender expression crosses over his features, and I’m instantly comforted.
“Is he alive?” I choke out.
He turns and regards Heath on the floor. “That motherfucker is dead.”
“And my husband?”
This time, he frowns. Sadness washes over me. All this time, I had him painted as a monster. He’s no monster.
He.
Came.
For.
Me.
“No.”
A tear streaks down my cheek. “But I loved him.”
“I know, baby.”
“I will never love anyone like I loved him…”
He narrows his eyes at me and gives me a smile I remember fondly. “You will. It’ll be different, but you will. Love is strange, Sylvia.” Warm memories surge through me at the silly name.
I close my eyes and let my last happy moments with Duvan wash over me on repeat. His laughter. His touch. His decadent scent. His doting nature. His jokes. His strength. His ability to find my broken heart and mend it.
His love…
My body physically aches from this loss. I’m not sure the pain will ever subside. With a shaking hand, I reach out to him. “I want to go home, Daddy.”
To be continued…
This is Me, Baby
Brie’s story continues on in this next book!
Listen on Spotify here.
Don’t You (Forget About Me) – Simple Minds
Closer – Nine Inch Nails
Closer – Kings of Leon
If You Leave – Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life – Bill Medley
She’s Like the Wind – Patrick Swayze
Hungry Eyes – Eric Carmen
Stay – Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
Your Love – The Outfield
We Belong – Pat Benatar
Every Breath You Take – The Police
Waiting for a Girl Like You – Foreigner
The Man Who Sold the World – Nirvana
Kiss from a Rose – Seal
Don’t Speak – No Doubt
Love is Strange – Mickey & Sylvia
Where Is My Mind? – Pixies
Crawl – Kings of Leon
Stand By Me – Ben E. King
Stand By Me – Ki: Theory
Books by Author K Webster
THE BREAKING THE RULES SERIES:
Broken (Book 1)
Wrong (Book 2)
Scarred (Book 3)
Mistake (Book 4)
Crushed (Book 5 – a novella)
THE VEGAS ACES SERIES:
Rock Country (Book 1)
Rock Heart (Book 2)
Rock Bottom (Book 3)
THE BECOMING HER SERIES:
Becoming Lady Thomas (Book 1)
Becoming Countess Dumont (Book 2)
Becoming Mrs. Benedict (Book 3)
Alpha & Omega
Omega & Love
WAR & PEACE SERIES:
This is War, Baby
This is Love, Baby
This Isn’t Over, Baby
STANDALONE NOVELS
Apartment 2B
Love and Law
Moth to a Flame
Erased
The Road Back to Us
Give Me Yesterday
Running Free
Dirty Ugly Toy
Zeke’s Eden
Sweet Jayne
Untimely You
Mad Sea
Thank you to my husband, Matt. I wouldn’t be able to do any of this without your support. I love you bunches!
I want to thank the people who read thi
s beta book early and gave me incredible support. Elizabeth Clinton, Ella Stewart, Amanda Soderlund, Amy Bosica, Shannon Martin, Brooklyn Miller, Robin Martin, Jessica Hollyfield, Amy Simms, and Sunny Borek. (I hope I didn’t forget anyone.) You guys always provide AMAZING feedback. You all give me helpful ideas to make my stories better and give me incredible encouragement. I appreciate all of your comments and suggestions.
Jessica V. Viteri, thank you for helping me brush up on my Spanish insults and phrases. Without you, everyone would be chickens instead of something awful like I intended lol. You rock!!
A big thank you to my author friends who have given me your friendship and your support. You have no idea how much that means to me.
Thank you to all of my blogger friends both big and small that go above and beyond to always share my stuff. You all rock! #AllBlogsMatter
I’m especially thankful for my Krazy for K reader group. You ladies are wonderful with your support and friendship. Each and every single one of you is amazingly supportive and caring. #Cucumbers4Life
I am totally thankful for my author group, the COPA gals, for being there when I need to take a load off and whine. Y’all rock!
Vanessa Bridges, you’re an angel! Without you, I’d be lost! And, Jessica Descent, you rock for being there to make sure my story is awesome and giving it a second set of eyes. Love you ladies! Also, a big thank you to Bex LovesBooks and Vanessa Renee Place for proofreading my story…I can’t thank you enough for dropping your schedule to help me out!
Thank you Stacey Blake for being amazing as usual. You make my books gorgeous and I am so thankful to have you on my team. Love you!
A big thanks to my PR gal, Nicole Blanchard. You are fabulous at what you do and keep me on track! And also thank you to The Hype PR gals for sharing the love!
Lastly but certainly not least of all, thank you to all of the wonderful readers out there that are willing to hear my story and enjoy my characters like I do. It means the world to me!
K Webster is the author of dozens of romance books in many different genres including contemporary romance, historical romance, paranormal romance, dark romance, romantic suspense, and erotic romance. When not spending time with her husband of thirteen years and two adorable children, she’s active on social media connecting with her readers.
Her other passions besides writing include reading and graphic design. K can always be found in front of her computer chasing her next idea and taking action. She looks forward to the day when she will see one of her titles on the big screen.
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