Behind His Eyes - Consequences

by Aleatha Romig

  Tony took a deep breath; his ribs ached. He reached for his side, and said, “I suppose this’ll get worse before it gets better.”

  “I’ll be in touch. I promise to keep you up-to-date.”

  Tony stood, his dark eyes downcast before settling on the prosecutor. “Marcus, I promise that you’ll not regret this. I know you won’t disappoint me, and I won’t disappoint you. The state of Iowa has excellent opportunities. I believe there are great prospects in your future.”

  Marcus’s shoulders went back. “Thank you, Mr. Rawlings. I’m truly saddened by this string of events. I’ll keep the casualty list as short as possible.”

  “Tony,” Tony said. “Please, you’ve been to my wedding and by my side as it all fell apart. Please, call me Tony.”

  “Thank you, Tony. I’ll also let you know the full list of who’s seen this information and promise to keep that list manageable.”

  Tony put out his hand. “I don’t doubt your abilities. That’s why I believe you have true possibilities for great aspirations. Both of our futures will be much brighter. I look forward to hearing from you.”

  Tony gathered his overcoat and stepped from Marcus’ office, confident of the containment of Claire’s disobedience. Fine! She didn’t want to take his offer. Tony wouldn’t be derailed by a Nichols! Let her rot in a damn prison. Let her experience the consequences of her decision—at least Tony would know where she was. One day her little reprieve would be over, and she’d be free—from the state of Iowa, that was, but never from him.

  Tony could promise that!

  Above anything else, Anthony Rawlings was a man of his word.

  THE END … until Behind His Eyes—TRUTH is revealed!

  -Primary Characters-

  Anthony (Tony) Rawlings: billionaire, entrepreneur, founder of Rawlings Industries

  Anton Rawls: son of Samuel, grandson of Nathaniel (birth name)

  Claire Nichols: meteorologist/ bartender/ woman whose life changed forever

  -Secondary Characters-

  Brent Simmons: Rawlings Attorney/ Tony’s best friend

  Catherine Marie London: housekeeper/ friend of Anton Rawls

  Courtney Simmons: Brent Simmons’ wife

  Emily (Nichols) Vandersol: Claire’s older sister

  John Vandersol: Emily’s husband/ Claire’s brother-in-law/ attorney

  Nathaniel Rawls: grandfather of Anton Rawls/ father of Samuel Rawls/ owner of Rawls Corporation

  Samuel Rawls: son of Nathaniel Rawls / father of Anton

  -Tertiary Characters-

  Amber McCoy: Simon Johnson’s fiancée

  Amanda Rawls: Samuel Rawls’ wife, Anton’s mother

  Anne Robinson: Vanity Fair reporter

  Bev Miller: designer, wife of Tom Miller

  Bonnie: wife of Chance

  Brad Clark: wedding consultant

  Caleb Simmons: son of Brent and Courtney Simmons

  Carlos: house staff at Rawlings estate

  Chance: associate of Elijah Summer’s

  Charles: housekeeper, Anthony’s Chicago apartment

  Cindy: maid at the Rawlings estate

  Connie: Nathaniel Rawls’ secretary

  David Field: Rawlings negotiator

  Elijah (Eli) Summers: entertainment entrepreneur, friend of Tony’s

  Eric Hensley: Tony’s driver and assistant

  Agent Hart: FBI agent

  Agent Ferguson: FBI agent

  Jan: housekeeper, Anthony’s New York apartment

  Jane Allyson: court-appointed counsel

  Jared Clawson: CFO Rawls Corporation

  Julia: Caleb Simmons’ fiancée

  Kelli: secretary Rawlings Industries, New York office

  Kirstin: Marcus Evergreen’s secretary

  Marcus Evergreen: Iowa City Prosecutor

  Mr. and Mrs. Johnson: Simon Johnson’s parents

  Dr. Leonard: physician

  Dr. Logan: physician

  MaryAnn Combs: longtime companion of Elijah Summer, Tony’s friend

  Meredith Banks: reporter, sorority sister of Claire Nichols

  Sergeant Miles: police officer, St. Louis

  Monica Thompson: wedding planner

  Naiade: housekeeper in Fiji

  Patricia: personal assistant to Anthony Rawlings, Corporate Rawlings Industries

  Paul Task: court-appointed counsel

  Judge Reynolds: court judge, Iowa City

  Sharon Michaels: attorney for Rawlings Industries

  Sharron Rawls: wife of Nathaniel Rawls

  Shaun Stivert: photographer for Vanity Fair

  Shelly: Anthony Rawlings’ publicist

  Simon Johnson: first love and classmate of Claire Nichols, gaming entrepreneur

  Sophia Burke: owner of art studio in Provincetown, Massachusetts

  Sue Benson: Tim Benson’s wife

  Tim Benson: vice president, Corporate Rawlings Industries

  Tom Miller: Rawlings Attorney, friend of Tony’s

  -1921-

  Nathaniel Rawls—born

  -1943-

  Nathaniel Rawls—home from WWII

  Nathaniel Rawls marries Sharron

  -1944-

  Samuel Rawls—born to Nathaniel and Sharron

  -1962-

  Catherine Marie London—born

  -1963-

  Samuel Rawls marries Amanda

  -1965- (February 12)

  Anton Rawls—born to Samuel and Amanda

  -1975-

  Rawls Corporation goes public

  -1980-

  Emily Nichols—born to Jordon and Shirley Nichols

  -1983- (October 17)

  Claire Nichols—born to Jordon and Shirley Nichols

  -1986-

  Rawls Corporation falls

  -1987-

  Nathaniel Rawls found guilty of multiple counts of insider trading, misappropriation of funds, price fixing, and securities fraud

  -1989-

  Nathaniel Rawls—dies

  Samuel and Amanda Rawls—die

  -1990-

  Anton Rawls changes his name to Anthony Rawlings

  Anthony Rawlings begins CSR-Company Smithers Rawlings with Jonas Smithers

  -1994-

  Anthony Rawlings buys out Jonas Smithers and CSR becomes Rawlings Industries

  -1996-

  Rawlings Industries begins to diversify

  -2002-

  Claire Nichols—graduates high school

  Claire Nichols—attends Valparaiso University

  -2004-

  Jordon and Shirley Nichols—die

  -2005-

  Emily Nichols—marries John Vandersol

  -2007-

  Claire Nichols—graduates from Valparaiso, degree in meteorology

  Claire Nichols—moves from Indiana to New York for internship

  -2008-

  Claire Nichols—moves to Atlanta, Georgia, for job at WKPZ

  -2009-

  WKPZ—purchased by large corporation resulting in lay-offs

  -2010-

  Anthony Rawlings—enters the Red Wing in Atlanta, Georgia (March)

  Anthony Rawlings—takes Claire Nichols on a date

  Claire Nichols—wakes at Anthony’s estate

  Claire Nichols—liberties begin to increase (May)

  Anthony Rawlings—takes Claire Nichols to symphony and introduces “Tony” (late May)

  Meredith Banks’ article appears—Claire Nichols’ accident

  Anthony Rawlings—marries Claire Nichols (December 18)

  -2011-

  Vanity Fair article

  Claire Rawlings—sees college boyfriend, Simon Johnson

  Simon Johnson—dies

  -2012-

  Claire Rawlings—drives away from the Rawlings estate

  Anthony Rawlings—poisoned

  Claire Rawlings—arrested for attempted murder

  Anthony Rawlings—divorces Claire Nichols

  Claire Nichols—receives box of information while in
prison

  CONSEQUENCES

  Purchase from Amazon

  TRUTH

  Purchase from Amazon

  CONVICTED

  Purchase from Amazon

  BEHIND HIS EYES—CONSEQUENCES

  BEHIND HIS EYES—TRUTH

  Coming Soon

  BEHIND HIS EYES—CONVICTED

  Coming Soon

  Aleatha Romig is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, who has been voted #1 “New Author to Read” on Goodreads, July 2012 through present!

  Aleatha has lived most of her life in Indiana, growing up in Mishawaka, graduating from Indiana University, and currently living south of Indianapolis. Together with her high-school sweetheart and husband of twenty-seven years, they've raised three children. Before she became a full-time author, she worked days as a dental hygienist and spent her nights writing. Now, when she’s not imagining mind-blowing twists and turns, she likes to spend her time with her family and friends. Her pastimes include exercising, reading, and creating heroes/anti-heroes who haunt your dreams!

  Aleatha enjoys traveling, especially when there is a beach involved. In 2011, she had the opportunity to visit Sydney, Australia, to visit her daughter studying at the University of Wollongong. Her dream is to travel to places in her novels and around the world.

  CONSEQUENCES, her first novel, was released in August, 2011, by Xlibris Publishing. Then in October of 2012, Ms. Romig re-released CONSEQUENCES as an indie author. TRUTH, the sequel, was released October 30, 2012, and CONVICTED, the final installment of the Consequences series, was released October 8, 2013! She is now releasing the CONSEQUENCES READING COMPANIONS: BEHIND HIS EYES – A trilogy of companions, from Anthony Rawlings’ POV.

  Aleatha is a “Published Author’s Network” member of the Romance Writers of America and represented by Danielle Egan-Miller of Brown and Miller Literary Associates.

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  *Amazon, BEHIND HIS EYES CONSEQUENCES by Romig, Customer Reviews

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  Email Aleatha: aleatharomig@gmail.com / Check out her blog: http://aleatharomig.blogspot.com