by Maia Dylan
Grey River 7
The Trouble with Parris
Faced with her own mortality, Parris Church seeks out one of the only people in the world she can trust. Before Parris can get to her, the seizures that have been plaguing force her into hiding.
Jase and Rhys Wilson find a woman hurt and hiding behind their garden shed. Then their day gets a little strange. It turns out that she’s their mate, on the run from a mad man, and suffering from a medical condition she’s not interested in talking about. Despite her belief that there is no future for the three of them, Jase and Rhys are determined to give her a reason to live.
When they are finally given a solution that might help, Parris is followed to Grey River by a friend in need and an enemy with revenge in mind. Parris, Jase, and Rhys must deal with both if they're going to have any chance of a future.
Genre: Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Shape-shifter
Length: 52,901 words
THE TROUBLE WITH PARRIS
Grey River 7
Maia Dylan
MENAGE AMOUR
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Amour
THE TROUBLE WITH PARRIS
Copyright © 2016 by Maia Dylan
E-book ISBN: 978-1-68295-039-5
First E-book Publication: February 2016
Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2016 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
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DEDICATION
For Parris.
And my hubby, who lets me babble at him about my characters and my books incessantly. Love you!
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
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
Epilogue
About the Author
THE TROUBLE WITH PARRIS
Grey River 7
MAIA DYLAN
Copyright © 2016
Chapter 1
“Little raaaaabbit…little raaaaabbit…come on, little rabbit. Don’t you wanna come out and play?”
Parris pressed herself back as far into the corner of her room as she could. She shook with fear, her heart pounded, and her breathing was shallow as she fought to make as little noise as possible.
Parris hated that voice. All he had to do was speak, and she was on the verge of a panic attack. But in the dead of night, like now, with the lights out and nothing but his taunting coming from the front of the room, it was a thousand times worse. Every bruise, every scar, every mark that man had ever left on her body began to ache.
Screeee, screeeee, screeee!
Parris bit her lip so hard she could taste blood. He had his custom-made baton with the serrated handle with him. He was scraping it across the bars of her room. When he used it on her, he would twist the handle so that the serrated edge showed, and when it connected, it would more often than not draw blood. He loved using that sadistic tool of torture on her. Moments like these made her wish she had the strength to take her life. She might well only be sixteen years old, but she figured that if this was going to be her life from now on, she’d rather leave it on her terms.
She knew if she voiced that desire, Laina would scream and rage at her for wanting to quit. And Parris did feel guilty for wanting to take the easy way out, but she didn’t know how much more she could take. Wheeler was Drake’s head of security, and everyone turned a blind eye to the obsession he seemed to have with her. His intention was always to torment her and hurt her in any way that he could get away with. This afternoon, he had taken her through to the lab, strapped to the bed, and he got a look in his eyes that had her skin crawling. Laina had caught the looks he had given her and had screamed and yelled at him so much that she’d been sedated.
“Little rabbit, why are you so quiet?”
Parris whimpered when she heard the click and squeak that signaled that the door to her room had been opened.
“Ahhh, now there’s the sound I love to hear, my scared little rabbit whimpering in welcome.”
Wheeler laughed, and Parris’s heart filled with dread as he stepped farther into the room. Despite the darkness, she could make out his shape sauntering across the room. He swung his makeshift weapon around on one finger like he was some Wild West gunslinger, and Parris felt something she had never felt before. A spark of anger alighted within her and began to build. With each step that he took, her anger lifted a notch. The shaking that had almost incapacitated her just moments before was gone. In its place was an icy resolve to not be this bastard’s plaything anymore.
This man had tormented for the past six years, using her as his personal whipping toy and threatening to kill her almost daily. He controlled her wi
th fear, and she was determined that today would be the day she took control. For the first time ever, fear was not the most overwhelming emotion roiling around within her. Tonight, it was rage. Parris took a hold of her rage and, with both hands, pushed away from the wall to her feet.
Wheeler stopped in surprise, and now that he was closer, she could make out his facial features. His stringy black hair was pulled back with its usual leather tie, his pinched lips were tightened not doubt with displeasure at seeing her standing up to him and no longer cowering against the wall, and his evil eyes, as black as his heart, narrowed. “What’s this little rabbit, going to make tonight a little more interesting?”
Parris looked him in the eye for the first time in six years. “I’m not going to let you hurt me anymore.”
Clenching her fists, Parris narrowed her gaze, prepared herself for the bite of pain that came with using her abilities, and pushed into his mind. Never before had she been able to breach the basic mind shield of a subject so easily, and never before had the pain been so intense when she used her power. But her anger and her newfound determination to fight back drove her forward until she gained full access his mind. The pain was intense, and she felt a warm liquid sliding down her face from her nose. She wondered for a brief moment if her brain might actually be leaking out her nose.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Wheeler snarled with a massive shake of his head. He then leaped toward her when he realized what she was doing.
Gritting her teeth, she stopped him with her hold on his mind, and he immediately came to a halt, stood stock still, and dropped the baton he had been swinging in her direction to the ground. Sensing that she was not going to be able to hold the connection with him for too long, she quickly planted a compulsion. She made him think that Drake had ordered him killed. She made him feel like there was no other option than to run, and never come back.
Parris deliberately left it vague as Drake had taught her, not giving him a firm reason why the kill order had been made. If she was specific and planted a compulsion completely out of character for the person, then the compulsion may not hold because the subject queried his or her actions. She simply planted the seed of fear and fanned the flames of doubt to ensure that it grew. She wanted him to feel fear, just like she had for so many years. Expanding on that theme, she added a personal doubt around his strength and ability to survive. He would never be strong enough to take on Drake, and he could never return.
Wheeler’s face filled with fear, and he spun quickly from the room, closing the door behind him. She heard his footsteps as he ran down the hallway. Parris swayed, before dropping to her knees and then collapsing onto her stomach on the floor. As darkness began to close in around her, the sharp coppery scent of her blood assaulted her senses. Her last thought before the darkness completely swallowed her was how ironic that now, at the moment of death, she realized how much she wanted to live.
Chapter 2
“Ma’am! Wake up!”
Parris heard the man’s voice, but it came to her as if he were a distance away. But that couldn’t be right, could it? She was sitting on a bus, traveling to…where in the hell was she going? God, her head hurt.
“Ma’am? Are you okay?”
Again, the man’s voice came—ah yes, the bus driver, now she remembered—but this time, it sounded a little clearer. Parris shivered as she let go of her memories of Wheeler from nine years ago. She struggled to push aside the cotton wool that seemed to have set up shop inside her head and cracked open her eyes. Shit! Light hurt. She moaned and blinked a couple of times, trying to dull the sledgehammers banging on the inside of her skull. She took a deep breath in an attempt to stave off the desire to throw up.
“Damn, lady.”
The man’s voice was clear as a bell now, and Parris gave an imaginary fist pump that her mind was clearing enough for her to make out what he was saying.
“You don’t look so good. Maybe I should call the sheriff’s office and get you some help.”
Parris felt a thread of alarm spike through her. If he were to call the sheriff’s office that would kick off a string of events that would not lead to a place Parris was keen to revisit. She couldn’t give him ID or a name. She would probably end up being fingerprinted, put into the system, and then, well, the end of that thought was not a good one for her, so she refused to finish it. Determined not to let that happen, Parris pushed gently into the man’s mind, she removed his impression that she was in trouble and left behind the illusion that all was well. She had to swallow the moan of pain using her ability caused her. Blinking rapidly she brought the elderly man’s face into focus.
“No, sorry,” Parris croaked, grimacing at the sound of her voice. After clearing her throat, she tried again. “Sorry, I’m fine, just tired, I guess. Let me get off your bus so that you can get on your way.”
Parris ignored the protest her head made when she moved and stood up, reaching for her pack from the seat beside her. She turned to the now-confused bus driver and tried for a smile of assurance.
“Are you sure?” The man shook his head and placed a gnarled hand on her arm. “Look, you remind me of my granddaughter. I know that if she were somewhere looking like you do, that someone would be there to offer her a hand. Let me take you over to the sheriff’s office. Ty and Trent Jamieson are the law in this town, and they will look after you.”
Ignoring the agony it brought with it, she pushed again into the man’s mind. As nice as having someone looking after her sounded to her, Parris knew she was on her own. If she was in Grey River, then she just needed to find Laina.
The last time she saw Laina was three weeks ago, when she had returned to the compound they’d called home for the past six years. She’d told Parris about this town called Grey River, where the people there were equipped to help her, but she didn’t go into much detail. She had simply told her if she ever got the chance to run, do it, get to this town in Oklahoma and call the number on the piece of paper Parris carried with her at all times.
If she could get to Laina, then she would be safe. Shaking her head and giving into instinct, Parris leaned in and hugged the man.
“Thank you so much for caring about me.” She pulled back and smiled at the man who smiled back this time. “I have a friend here in Grey River, and she’s expecting me.” Well, not so much. “Once I get to her place, I’ll get some sleep. I’m sure I’ll be back to my normal self once I can get some rest.”
Parris knew that was a lie. Hell, she couldn’t even remember what being normal felt like. Parris followed the man down the aisle and stepped out of the bus and into the heat of the day. The weather was unseasonably warm for this late in the fall, but the sun felt wonderful on her face. If only it didn’t come with so much bright light.
With one last farewell wave at the bus driver, Parris left the bus terminal and made her way down the main street of Grey River. She hadn’t really known what to expect when Laina told her she could find her here. It was definitely bigger than she had expected. The main street was filled with stores, and vehicles lined both sides of the street. A line of mature trees ran the length of the road on the left side, and the forest-covered mountains rose behind the stores and houses on both sides of the street.
Across the road, she saw a huge barnlike structure with concrete foundations and large cedar sidings. The sign across the front read Country Blue and Parris caught the scent of barbeque wafting across the street making her mouth water. Next to the car park of the restaurant and bar, there was a garage. The large metal door was rolled all the way up, and Parris could hear the rhythmic banging and whirring of machinery over loud country music being played.
Outside the store, there were the usual gas pumps and racks of tires, oil, and other car related things you might need. What caught her eye and had her heading across the road in that direction was the phone booth tucked up against the wall. As she walked across the street, she stumbled a little as her legs started to weaken. Consciously slowing do
wn for fear of falling flat on her face, she slowly stepped up to the public phone.
She reached into her pocket, pulled out the crumpled piece of paper she had written Laina’s number on, and smoothed it out with shaky hands. Parris placed a hand against the wall of the store, trying to catch her breath. Jesus, she could normally run a sub-four-minute mile and hold that speed for at least five miles, but right now, just walking across the street almost had her on her ass. Wiping the sweat from her brow, she took a deep breath and tried to focus on the numbers on the paper.
The fact that her vision was now fading into a black haze, and…Shit, were they spots? Yeah, they were spots, floating at the edge of her vision. Fuck. She knew exactly what would come next. She was going to pass out. She had about a minute before the seizure she knew was imminent hit, and then she would be unconscious for at least a couple of hours. Panicking, she knew she couldn’t stay out here in the open. She needed to get somewhere safe, or at least somewhere she could hide.
Staggering around the corner of the store attached to the garage, Parris followed a path that lead to the back of the property. As she neared a garden shed, she was tempted to go inside but figured that whoever was working in that garage just might come out and look for more tools in this shed. Nope, not inside.
Parris moaned as quietly as she could as her legs buckled, and she fell to the ground hard. Ignoring the spike of pain through her knees, she crawled between the shed and the fence that ran alongside it. It was slow going because there wasn’t much space to maneuver. She pushed her pack ahead of her and squeezed in as far as she could. It really was a tight fit, but she figured it might actually work in her favor if the seizure was a bad one.
