Her Beast_A Dark Romance

by Nicole Casey

  My sisters froze but it wasn’t them he was after.

  I was snatched up in a fistful of hair as he pressed the blade of the hunting knife to my neck.

  “Now that is no way to introduce your boyfriend to your family,” he hissed, and I yelped in pain as he dragged me back away from the table toward the poolside.

  “Run!” I choked again as the cold steel pressed up against my throat but neither woman moved.

  I could see my parents clearly in the kitchen, lost in conversation and oblivious to what was happening a few feet away.

  “Troy,” I gasped. “Troy what are you doing?”

  “I am visiting my girlfriend on her birthday,” he sneered, and my blood ran cold as he continued to move me back.

  I silently pled Vy and Yve to flee the scene and suddenly Yvette jumped for her phone.

  “Don’t move!” Troy howled, the tip of the blade breaking the tender skin at my neck. “I will kill her. Don’t even think about it!”

  Vyolet started to scream then and I closed my eyes, waiting for the slash which would end my life.

  Abruptly, I was pushed into the pool and water filled my lungs as I struggled to get my bearings.

  Panicked, I fought for the surface and clawed at the water, my head whipping in all directions at once.

  Vyolet was still screaming and Yvette was on the phone, her face contorted in a frantic expression.

  My dad was lunging across the lawn toward where a pair of bodies was entwined in a lethal wrestling match as my mother watched the scene, dumbfounded and uncomprehending.

  I swam to the edge and pulled myself out, rushing to where Troy was pinned on the ground, the knife still wedged in his hand.

  “Drop it!” Slade groaned. “Drop the damned knife, you maniac!”

  A second later, dad kicked the blade from his hand and Troy howled in defiance, a burst of adrenaline coursing through him as he struggled to sit up.

  But Slade seemed prepared for the action and kept him still, headbutting him in place.

  I gasped, jumping on Troy’s legs to restrain him as my dad helped Slade keep his chest in place.

  “Call 9-1-1!” I screeched but I could tell that Yvette was already on it.

  “Where did you come from?” I breathed, adding more weight to the thrashing psychopath beneath us. “Are you hurt?”

  “Just give me a second, Maya,” Slade groaned. “Kind of in the middle of something.”

  The police swarmed the backyard, relieving the three of us to place Troy into custody as I fell onto the grass.

  My heart was thudding almost out of my chest as I stared up at Slade.

  “Are you hurt?” I asked again, and he shook his head but even as he did, I could see blood seeping from his shoulder.

  Dizziness swept through me and I leapt from my spot.

  “He needs an ambulance!” I yelled. “He’s been stabbed!”

  Dad rushed to look at Slade’s wound, ignoring his protests as the rest of my family swarmed him.

  “It’s a scratch,” he argued, unsuccessfully trying to wave us off as if we were a pesky bunch of bees.

  “I tried to warn you that once you stepped foot on this property there would be no escaping,” I muttered but my cheeks were wet with tears.

  “You warned me again,” Slade agreed, looking at me with worried blue eyes. “You’re bleeding too.”

  “Also a scratch,” I assured him.

  “What on God’s green earth is going on here?” my mother bellowed, her face almost opaque as Troy was led from the yard in handcuffs. “Who are these people?”

  Slade looked at me and I sighed inwardly.

  This was not the way I wanted to do it, but it seemed I had little choice in the matter now.

  “Slade,” I started as a paramedic arrived. “This is my mom, Amelia, my dad Oscar and my sisters, Vyolet and Yvette. Everyone, this is Slade Payne, my boyfriend.”

  Oddly, saying it myself didn’t sound as funny as when Yvette had said it earlier.

  Maybe it was growing on me.

  Or perhaps it was the stress of the situation.

  In either case, I was happy to present him to my family.

  “Maya, what is going on?” mom demanded again, her brow drawn in confusion.

  But I wasn’t paying attention. My focus was strictly on Slade and what was happening with his wound.

  “How did you know to come?” I asked again.

  Was he following me? Is that weird?

  “I put a GPS tracker on Troy’s car,” Slade confessed, his voice quiet as to not let the police hear his illegal move.

  My brows shot up.

  “What? Why?”

  Slade shrugged.

  “I knew it was only a matter of time before he did something insane again and I didn’t want to beg the police to do their job, so I thought I would keep an eye on him.”

  I stared at him for a long moment.

  “And you put a GPS on me too,” I said, prickles covering my skin.

  His blue eyes widened.

  “Of course not!” he replied, looking offended that I would suggest such a thing, but I couldn’t understand how he would have known otherwise.

  He lowered his gaze and cleared his throat nervously.

  “I Googled your parents’ address,” he admitted, and I felt a rush of air escape my lungs.

  Slade had been sitting on pins and needles, worried about me for days. That was why he had looked up my parents’ house.

  He loved me. He really did love me.

  In everything he did, he showed me, and I couldn’t even bring him to meet my family because I was worried about letting go of my past.

  In all of my desire to live a free life with constraints, I had almost missed out on an opportunity for a pure and secure love.

  “Why are you looking at me like that? Did I cross a line?” he asked, shame coloring his face. “I only did it because I was –”

  “Worried about me,” I interjected. “I know. And yes, you have crossed a line.”

  He gazed at me, the corners of his mouth tucking inward as he waited for a lecture.

  “You crossed the line into my heart,” I told him earnestly. “I love you.”

  His face seemed to brighten and suddenly I realized that my entire family was watching us, their mouths agape but I didn’t care.

  For once in my life I had permitted myself to experience love on a deeper than tangible level.

  “I love you too, Maya,” he replied gruffly.

  I leaned in to kiss his lips and we smiled at one another.

  “There’s one more thing,” I said.

  “I don’t know if I can handle anymore things,” he groaned, and I laughed.

  “You are going to have to,” I replied, shrugging my shoulders.

  “All right,” he agreed begrudgingly. “What?”

  “I think we should move in together.”

  Epilogue

  MALCOLM

  There were three moving trucks outside and for a moment I stared at them wondering why we needed three.

  Then I remembered; they weren’t for me.

  Sterling wandered through the living room and gazed at me almost balefully, but I turned my back deliberately to discourage conversation.

  It didn’t stop her.

  “I can’t believe you’re doing this,” she whined, and I chewed on the insides of my cheeks. “You’re so selfish!”

  I tossed her a look over my shoulder and shrugged nonchalant.

  “Selfish it is,” I agreed. It was easier to concede her points than argue with her after all.

  In a few hours they would all be gone, and my house would be mine again after years of sharing it with anyone who wanted it or needed it.

  “Can’t we just stay for –”

  “No, you can’t,” I interrupted shortly. “You and Luke have to be out just like everyone else. You have had two months to prepare for this.”

  “This is insane, Mal. You’re going to miss
us when we’re gone and we’re not coming back!”

  I knew there was some truth to her words.

  I likely would miss her annoying, squirrel-like face and silly chirping. She and Luke had been in my house since the start.

  I suppose that was also the reason that they had to go the most.

  Reminders of what this house once was will not help me.

  There had been some thought toward selling it, but it was still worth something and I did love the creaky old place with its wainscoting and original woodwork.

  No. I can start new on an old foundation. It happens all the time. Same framework, different furnishings, I thought, smiling to myself.

  “I’m glad this is so amusing to you!” Sterling screamed in frustration, but I didn’t flinch.

  Her outbursts were old news to me.

  I watched as she stormed out into the yard, flapping her arms like some rabid bird as she complained to Luke who stood listening impassively.

  They really were a couple I would never understand.

  But they worked.

  Like Slade and Maya I suppose. Opposites attract as they say.

  As hearing my thoughts, the back door opened, and I heard Maya’s voice call out to me.

  “Hey? You home?”

  “In the front room,” I replied, my voice echoing through the near empty ground floor.

  Chase and Trixie had left the previous day.

  That meant it was only Sterling, Luke and Chanel left to go.

  If Sterling and Luke ever left.

  “What are you doing?” Maya asked as she sauntered in, looking around at the barren space.

  “Watching Sterling throw a fit,” I replied, grinning.

  I did a double take as my eyes fell on her.

  “You’re wearing a business suit,” I commented, unsure of how I felt about it. She looked beautiful as always, but the attire was so unlike anything I had ever seen her in.

  Maya laughed and threw her head back.

  “Apparently running a business means I am supposed to look professional; even if it is a doggy hotel and daycare.”

  “Well you look great,” I insisted, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “How is Slade liking the change of pace?”

  Maya shrugged.

  “He doesn’t look like he’s about to fall into the throes of cardiac arrest every day so that’s something. And Rocco loves it. Happy dog, happy honey I believe the adage goes,” Maya said. “What about you? How are you handling this?”

  I nodded amiably.

  “This has been a long time coming.”

  “Yeah?” she asked, cocking her head to the side. “You sure?”

  I studied her face.

  “You inspired me to do it,” I explained, and confusion colored her face.

  Suddenly she looked shamed.

  “Oh Mal, I thought that you and I –”

  “No!” I interceded, holding up my hand. “I don’t mean it like that at all. I mean that when you and Slade hooked up, it made me suddenly look around at my life and wonder why I lived the way I did. I used to think it made me happy, but I realized that having people come in and out of my life like this was a way to keep me from feeling lonely since my divorce.”

  “Really?” Maya seemed dubious, but I was being truthful.

  “I thought of myself as someone who would never fall down the path of love again because it’s too rigid and you’re only setting yourself up for pain – you know the whole spiel better than anyone.”

  Maya nodded, still listening.

  “I never gave living a shot after my divorce. Don’t get me wrong,” I continued. “I loved my life here with all you guys and the time I spent with you but now…”

  I inhaled deeply and smiled serenely.

  Maya’s smile widened, and she nodded wisely.

  “I know what you mean,” she laughed, grabbing my hands in her and kissing them sweetly. “I am happy if you are happy, Mal.”

  “I really am happy,” I said.

  The front door opened, and we turned as Cara walked inside.

  “Oh! Hi…Maya, right?” she asked.

  I lowered my eyes sheepishly as Maya tried to place the chipper redhead.

  “I’m so sorry, you are…?”

  “Cara. I used to date Troy? We met the night he stalked you over here. I testified at his trial?”

  Maya’s face seemed to change six colors in five seconds.

  “Of course,” she choked, looking at me. “How nice to see you! And thank you for that…uh, I mean the trial thing.”

  “Sure!” Cara said brightly. “I think I always knew there was something wrong with that guy.”

  She turned her attention to me as if she had already forgotten about Troy.

  “So babe, if most of the stuff is out, can I start unpacking my truck in here now?” she asked.

  I nodded quickly, swallowing a smile at Maya’s dazed expression.

  “I’ll be out to help in a minute,” I promised her as she turned back to the yard.

  “You’re living with Troy’s ex-girlfriend?” she screeched, and I shrugged.

  “It just kind of happened,” I muttered.

  Maya whooped and jumped into my arms, kissing my cheeks with happiness.

  “I am so glad for you both. Make sure you invite us to your housewarming!”

  “Only if you invite me to your wedding,” I joked but Maya’s smile faltered slightly as she stared at him.

  “Now that you mention it…”

  I gaped at her.

  “I was kidding! You’re getting married?” I demanded, and she nodded shyly.

  “You’ll get your invite in the mail like normal people do I suppose,” she laughed.

  I embraced her again and suddenly I realized something important.

  There was no pang of desire for the girl whom I had once shared my bed.

  I still loved her dearly of course but I saw her as my little sister, my best friend. But not a lover.

  “How about that,” I murmured.

  “What?”

  “We are both exactly where we are supposed to be.”

  “Fate always guides the way,” Maya replied. “Even if it needs some helps sometimes.”

  - THE END -

  Pursuing Yvette

  A Second Chance Romance

  The Viera Triplets Series Book 3

  Book Description

  Pursuing Yvette

  Yes, we had a history. But that was six years ago.

  We were kids.

  We were innocent.

  We didn’t understand love.

  And we were both ambitious to pursue the career of an attorney.

  So I took all my belongings and disappeared from his life.

  I became a junior partner at a law firm to tear married couples apart.

  I’ve seen enough to draw this conclusion: true love doesn’t exist.

  But how come my heart still soars when I think about him?

  Worse yet?

  We are both fighting for the senior partner position in the same firm.

  We are both involved in a celebrity divorce case, an epic and ugly legal battle.

  The competition is about to get fierce, and so is the heat between us.

  1

  Draven

  I watched the tablet fizz in the glass of water as my stomach made an unsettling noise. It wasn’t a hangover; it was an ulcer in the making. I had warded them off before and I hoped I didn’t have to go back to the doctor again.

  I guess Indian food is out of the question for lunch, I thought wryly. Not that I ever wanted to eat Indian food but knowing that it was off limits somehow made it more appealing.

  My stomach snarled again, and I silently apologized to it for the joke.

  “Mr. Archer, Sarah Miller is on line one and Avery Carlissi is on line three.”

  I groaned aloud and rolled my eyes before snatching up the phone.

  “Take messages on both and hold all my calls until eleven,” I
told Abby, glancing at my desk calendar. I stifled yet another grunt of agony as I realized what I had in store for me that day.

  “Actually, hold all my calls until after lunch.”

  “Yes, Mr. Archer,” Abby chirped back, and I wondered, not for the first time, if she got a kick out of dealing with the angry souls who endlessly called the offices.

  She always sounded so damned happy when I told her to brush off the clients as if she thrived for the moment that she could feed someone more bad news.

  I was probably imagining things, living vicariously through someone who might be happy in the realm of misery I called work.

  Eyeing the glass of antacid warily, I picked it up and choked it back before I could change my mind, gagging on the liquid slightly before placing the empty glass on the desktop.

  It was only Monday.

  I flopped into my leather swivel chair and turned to the computer, trying to get my mind in order to face the week.

  A knock on the door proved to be a happy distraction and I turned my attention to the doorframe expectantly.

  “Come in!” I called, and Vern stuck his head inside.

  It was comforting to see that he seemed as frazzled as I felt most days but of course I made no comment to his disheveled hair and raccoon eyes barely hidden behind his glasses.

  He resembled a man doing the walk of shame home after a spotty Friday night in the city.

  I tried to envision Vern drunk and the thought terrified me for some reason.

  “You busy, Drave?” he asked, and I did not comment on the inane nature of the question.

  Am I busy? I’m a junior partner. Of course, I’m busy.

  But Vern was a senior partner. I was never too busy for him even though the world was constantly falling apart around me.

  “Nope,” I lied, sitting back and exhaling as the Alker Seltzer did its magic in my stomach. “What’s up?”

  “Do you know Ryerson Sterling?” he asked, and I was beginning to wonder if today was going to be ridiculous inquiry day.