Scorched

by Lee, M. A.

  Scorched

  M.A. Lee

  Contents

  Letter to the Reader

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Epilogue

  The Salvation Society

  Acknowledgments

  Books by M.A. Lee

  Links for Author

  Copyright © 2020 by M.A. LEE

  All rights reserved.

  First edition.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, scanning, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Please do not partake in or encourage piracy of copyrighted works in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting this author’s hard work.

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to locales, events, or actual persons—living or dead—is purely coincidental.

  Cover Design:

  M.A. Lee

  Editing:

  KP Literary Edits

  Proofreading:

  Michelle Areaux and Stephanie Nichole

  This book is dedicated to anyone who has ever loved and lost. Never give up on love. The magic of finding someone that can ignite your soul, is the best kind of scorching burn.

  Letter to the Reader

  Dear Reader,

  As you already know, the Salvation World is a special series created by the amazing Corinne Michaels. When the opportunity was given to join this amazing series, of course, I jumped right at it. The fantastic writing, characters, and stories included in the Salvation World inspired me to write a story that also allowed me to include a crossover in which characters from my Breaking Boundaries series were able to appear in this novel. More than anything, I hope you enjoy the characters that I have matched in this world.

  Chapter One

  I can’t breathe.

  Heavy smoke fills my lungs as I struggle to take in a breath. Tears spring from my burning eyes and all I can do is scream for help, but no sound escapes. The only sounds resonating are that of my heavy heart beats and the crackling fire raging around me.

  The heat is almost too much to handle and I can feel my body about to give up. All around me death and chaos is consuming my world, yet, I can’t find a way to escape.

  Please, someone help me. I think to myself.

  Suddenly, my eyes spring open and the blurry vision is gone. Replaced is the realization that I was just having another nightmare.

  Well, it is really a nightmare if you have lived the tragic episodes you are haunted by each night?

  Sitting up, I feel the sweat dripping off me as I attempt to catch my breath.

  I listened carefully, praying I didn’t wake my roommates again. The room was still pitch black and no lights or sound came from the hallway.

  Sighing, I was momentarily relieved that I hadn’t woken up Stacy or Kirsten. Typically, when I went through one of my hellish nightmares, I woke everyone up in my apartment, and the rest of the tenants in our downtown San Diego apartment. It was quite impressive really, my screams could be louder than the busy city streets below.

  I wish I could say these hauntings weren’t real, but sadly, they were. Ever since I had lost my fiancé, Wade, in a tragic fire a few years ago, I had been plagued by death and fire. It was like my past was haunting me.

  I thought when I left my hometown and the tainted memories behind, the dreams would stay gone, too. Sadly, I was wrong.

  Instead, I brought my demons with me. The only reprieve I had was knowing that Stacy and Kirsten didn’t judge me. I knew it wasn’t easy on them being constantly woken up by my terror filled screams, but they were nothing but sympathetic to my situation.

  Stacy and I had grown up as neighbors and attended college together. We met Kirsten in our first class as freshmen and we all three hit it off. Then, last year, we decided to move in together. It was great-- except for me.

  Somehow, when darkness arrived, it was like my world turned upside down and I couldn’t control my body or emotions anymore.

  Glancing over at the bedside table, I saw that my clock read three in the morning. At least I had made it through most of the night before my dream had awoken me. Realizing I couldn’t go back to sleep now, I decided to power up my computer and work on some assignments from work. I had a lot of work that I could focus on for my job at MLA Publishing. It had been my dream ever since I was a child to work in the publishing industry. When I came to San Diego, I landed an internship with MLA Publishing; a small publishing house started by my boss, Melanie and her husband, Cole. After it gained great success, she ventured out and opened a local magazine company which published a monthly edition that featured local newsmakers.

  Working, I kept myself busy until the sun emerged in the morning sky. The never ending noise of San Diego kept me company when I would wake and have nothing else to do. It wasn’t like the chaos found in cities like New York, but more like people out enjoying the sunshine and beaches. The noise never bothered me and in fact, at times, it was comforting. Realizing it was safe to venture out of my room now, I crept into the hallway.

  “Caught you,” I heard from across the hall.

  Turning on my heel, I spotted Stacy staring at me, her arms folded across her small chest.

  “What?” I asked.

  “I thought I heard you having a nightmare last night,” she began, giving me a slight smile. “I figured you would try to sneak out here like nothing had happened,” she finished.

  I wanted to argue with her and try to fib my way out of this, but we both knew I was a terrible liar.

  “Sorry, did I wake you?” I asked her.

  “I was sort of tossing and turning. Then I heard you just now. Do you want to talk about it?” she asked, like always.

  However, I never took her up on her offer. The last thing I wanted to do was relive those memories while awake. It was bad enough I had to do it nightly.

  Shaking my head, no, I walked further into the hall. “No, I’m ok,” I said, and then walked to the kitchen.

  Starting a pot of coffee, I could hear Stacy making her way to the bathroom to get ready for the day. I was beyond grateful that she never pried further. I always knew she and Kirsten were there for me if needed, but they never pushed me to tell them what was truly going on in my messed up head.

  I didn’t understand it myself.

  And at times, I wish I could forget everything that happened that night that ruined my life forever.

  Chapter Two

  Gun fire echoed all around me as a scream pierced through my ears. I turned, my heavy machine rifle stuck at my side, as I tried to keep my eyes open for the enemy. The dessert was hot-- scorching, as I walked in all of my required gear.

  A blast boomed behind me and the ground shook, almost knocking me off balance. Ahead, a helicopter flew by and I waved one arm, h
oping they would see me and get me the hell out of this fucking place.

  Screams continued to haunt me, but I couldn’t find the faces of my brothers. We had come here in one of our humvees and before any of us could register what was happening, we were struck by a missile.

  I landed several feet away from the now blazing truck. I needed to check on everyone, but I couldn’t see anything. I opened my mouth to scream…

  Shooting up in bed, that scream came tearing out of me in a wild roar.

  “Fuck me,” I said, wiping my hands across my face.

  A night didn’t go by that I didn’t wake up in a puddle of my own sweat and tears.

  It might make me sound crazy, but at least I was alive. That was more than I could say about several of my other combat brothers who weren’t as lucky as I was.

  Sitting up in the darkened room, I could feel my chest panting as I struggled for air.

  “It’s just a dream,” I reminded myself.

  I had seen more therapists than I could count, but still, no one knew how to stop the night terrors from triggering. It had been over five years since I had seen enemy soil and combat, so how I was still shaken to the core by my life as a navy SEAL, was still beyond me.

  Throwing the covers off my now drenched body, I glanced at the clock on my phone. I could already hear the hustle and bustle of the city in the morning beginning. It was after four in the morning. At least I made it through most of the night. Realizing I was never going to get my body to settle down again to sleep, I climbed out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom attached to my bedroom. A nice, hot shower would do just the trick. I would just head into work early, a job that had been a blessing from another SEAL, Jackson Cole. Only, I just wished that it could erase the memories of the day I lost all of my brothers in war.

  Chapter Three

  “Did you see how hot the barista was?” Kirsten asks, as she falls into the chair beside me.

  We are sitting in one of our favorite breakfast spots in the city, and I was trying to enjoy my toasted bagel and cream cheese.

  Kirsten comes from a wealthy family that has social ties to many of the biggest public relations companies in the world. She was guaranteed a job after college, and I couldn’t help envy her for that. For me, I had to work hard for everything I have. Honestly, Kirsten wants to work a few years, then marry a billionaire. With her long, caramel colored hair, striking brown eyes, and tall, lean frame, she is nothing short of a Greek goddess. If anyone could make that goal a reality, it would be Kirsten.

  As for me, I knew I would have to work for the rest of my life. Marriage wasn’t something that was in the forefront of my mind right now. Don’t get me wrong, my parents had a great marriage. But, after getting engaged to my high school boyfriend at eighteen, I thought I had everything I would ever need. Then, one night, everything went up in flames as my love was scorched. I still remembered that night like it was yesterday.

  The sound of a phone ringing woke me from my sleep. Rolling over, I reached for my phone on the nightstand, but almost knocked my diamond engagement ring onto the floor.

  “Hello,” I said, my voice groggy. I wasn’t sure of the time, but I knew it must be very late at night.

  “He’s gone,” a voice wailed.

  Sitting up, I clutched the phone tightly. “What? Who is this?” I asked.

  In my slumber, I hadn’t looked at the number calling. Now, looking down, my heart fell into the pits of my stomach as I saw it was Wade’s mom.

  “Wade, he’s gone,” she cried out, and then the phone went dead.

  A loud scream tore out of me and at some point, my parents rushed into my bedroom. Shaking my head, I tried to wake myself up from this nightmare, but it was all real.

  Now, shuddering as the sounds of his mother's cries echo through my head, I closed my eyes to stop the tears from forming.

  For me, I never wanted to experience such brutal pain. I’d rather be single forever than love and lose someone that could destroy me. Wade had proposed to me at our high school graduation. He had decided to forgo college and had become a firefighter in our small hometown. I was going to take classes at the local community college for business and Marketing, and we were supposed to be happy forever. But, that changed.

  I watched a few more patrons pile into the small restaurant. Glancing at my clock, I realized we needed to hurry or we would be late to work.

  “Can’t you focus on something other than guys?” I asked her, rolling my eyes and offering a slight smile.

  Kirsten narrowed her eyes at me as she whispered, “Never. In fact, I think you should focus more on guys and less on work,” she said, eyeing me.

  Shaking my head, I took another bite of my bagel. I wasn’t even about to have this conversation with her here.

  Thankfully, Kirsten’s order was up and she was called to the counter to retrieve her food. I was saved for now.

  * * *

  By noon, I had completed over half of my day's work. I had been tasked with editing an upcoming feature article in the magazine that discusses a new trend in food trucks in downtown San Diego. I took a short lunch outside and walked along the busy streets. I never minded to walk, even if my destination was far. I enjoyed the time with myself. It allowed me to think and just enjoy being alone.

  Thirty minutes later, I stepped inside the building and made my way to my small cubicle where I had a small desk and computer. My job mainly consisted of organizing emails, editing, and occasionally, working on sorting through manuscripts sent to the publishing house. Everything was completed in one office building-- Melanie believed in keeping her business running more like a family. We all worked on various aspects of the company and to me, it only furthered my knowledge of the publishing world.

  I was just opening my email when I heard my name being called.

  Sliding into my small space, Stacy had a wide grin on her face. Stacy was working as an assistant to one of our senior literary agents who dealt with more high celebrity clients. She thrived on the juicy gossip stories that she was constantly having to ‘fix’ in the eye of the public. To me, it sounded stressful, but she always raved about it.

  “Meghan, you have to see the guys out in the lobby,” she said, her voice a loud whisper.

  “Stacy, I just got here, I can’t go run out and oggle guys with you,” I teased.

  “I am serious. They are here with Jackson Cole. He was introducing them around as some of the SEALs he used to work with,” she says, her eyes dancing with giddiness.

  Who in the world is Jackson Cole? I thought to myself.

  Part of me was intrigued, but I wasn’t interested in looking.

  “Why don’t you go meet them?” I ask.

  “You are coming with me,” she says, grabbing my hand and pulling me out of my chair.

  I go to fight her, but it’s no use. Stacy is freakishly strong and when she has her mindset on something, there is no stopping her. So, I allowed her to drag me down the hall and to the main lobby.

  “Who is Jackson Cole? That name does sound familiar now that I think about it,” I ask.

  “Duh, Meg. Jackson Cole is the owner of Cole Security Forces. We ran a feature on him in the magazine last month. He started a security company,” she said, as though that was something I should have remembered. We ran lots of stories on various people. As we turned the corner, I felt my breath falter as we both stopped dead in our tracks.

  Standing by the receptionist's desk, were four of the most handsome men I had ever seen in my life. Then, I spotted the dark-haired, handsome man who I remembered now that I saw his face. Jackson Cole. The guys were clean-shaven, had large, muscular arms, and towered over everyone else in the room.

  One in particular, seemed to draw my gaze straight to him. I could feel him watching me and as I dared to glance at him again, I found myself almost drooling. His dark eyes were smoldering. Dark, brown hair was slicked back and he wore a leather jacket. Never had a man been able to cause such a reaction in me
. I wasn’t sure what had me more shocked; the glorious man in front of me or my own reaction to his presence.

  Nudging my shoulder, Stacy smirked at me. “See, I told you they were hot,” she said under her breath.

  All I could do was nod.

  “Thank you so much for agreeing to be part of this,” Melanie gushed, as she shook his hand.

  I stood there, wracking my brain as I tried to think of a reason why he would be back at the office again. Then, I remembered a string of emails that went out last week. Jackson was bringing in a group of navy Seals to join the ranks at Cole Security Forces. These were men who were honorably discharged from service and Melanie thought it would make a great cover story for next month's magazine edition.

  Jackson was talking to all of us, but I never heard a word he said. Instead, I stood there frozen in place like a lunatic. When the men went to leave, I realized I hadn’t even heard their names. More though, the name of the man who was stealing all of my brain cells right now.

  Once they were gone, I stumbled back to my cubicle and slumped into my chair. What in the hell had just happened to me?

  Chapter Four

  One look.

  One fucking look was all it took and I knew that somehow, someway, I would have to make that beauty mine.