Dex
Page 19
He’d never imagined finding one person he trusted, much less five.
“Do you still want to find the big city?” Lucy’s voice brought Dex back to the present.
He frowned. “I’m not so sure it even exists. The metropolis I’ve always dreamed of is probably no better off than my community.”
She patted his arm. “Maybe someday we can look. What do you think it’ll be like?”
Dex thought of his family. “Probably full of heartless wanderers.”
“You said a walled-in wonderland.”
“I don’t believe in walls anymore.”
“It might exist.”
“Maybe.” He didn’t believe it, but he didn’t feel like arguing.
The van up ahead slowed, and Dex shifted down to third. The truck bumped a little, but not as bad as before.
“You’re getting it.” Lucy grinned at him.
He beamed, loving the way she looked at him. They talked about all kinds of things from the nonexistent metropolis to what his family was like to some of Lucy’s experiences at Silverly.
When they pulled up to the path leading to the house, it was just getting dark.
Ian ran out, his eyes wide. “Whoa! Holy smokes! Where’d we get the trucks and all that loot? Did the community give it to us?”
“Kind of.” Radley slammed the van door shut. “Not sure Dex wants to talk about it right now, though.”
Ian’s expression fell. “I’m sorry, man.”
Dex stuck his hands in his pockets and played with his parents’ rings. “It is what it is. Let’s get this stuff unloaded.”
Lucy yawned. “Can’t we leave it locked up overnight?”
Zianna shook her head. “Can’t risk someone stumbling down the path while we sleep. Then they take everything.”
An hour and a half later, they finally had everything unloaded, and the Hummer was back in the garage. Most of the new things were now piled high in the living room.
They were going to work on the new garage the next day. But for now, everyone was ready to fall into bed.
Dex and Lucy said goodnight to everyone and made it up to their room. He flung himself on top of the covers and waited for Lucy to make herself comfortable under them.
She snuggled close, and he wrapped his arm around her.
“Are you going to be okay?” she asked.
“Going to have to be.”
“No, I’m serious. Are you okay? After burying your family.”
“You mean killing them.” His tone came out harsher than he’d meant.
“They were already dead. You gave them mercy.”
Dex sighed. “Hopefully that’s how they saw it.”
“They didn’t see anything.” She ran her fingers down his arm. “All of them are long gone.”
He clasped her hand in his. “Thank you for everything.”
“Sure.”
“I mean it. There’s no way I could’ve gotten through all of that without you. I… back in my room…”
Lucy turned around and placed her finger on his lips. “Don’t mention it. I’m here for you. Always.”
Dex thought of the two wedding rings now tucked under a flap in the bottom of his quiver. “I hope so.”
“You and me forever.” She pressed her lips against his, then lay on her pillow and closed her eyes. Almost immediately, her breathing grew deep from sleep.
He closed his eyes, also, and a smile formed on his lips. Despite it being the worst day of his life, the fact that he now had Lucy made everything better. Now he had hope for his—their—future.
Story Worlds by Stacy Claflin
Stacy is a USA Today bestselling author who writes about complex characters overcoming incredible odds. Whether it's her Gone saga of psychological thrillers, her various paranormal romance tales, or her contemporary sweet romances, Stacy's three-dimensional characters shine through bringing an experience readers don’t soon forget.
If you enjoyed the zombie aspect of Dex, then you may enjoy Stacy’s paranormal tales. The Curse of the Moon series features werewolves and other creatures, such as jaguar shifters, a valkyrie, a former troll king and more. Her Transformed series features vampires, dragons, and other supernatural creatures.
If thrillers are more your thing, then you won’t want to miss the Alex Mercer thrillers or the Gone Saga, which those books were spun-off from. All of those stories are edge-of-your-seat contemporary reads that often involve kidnappings or killers.
However, if the romance between Dex and Lucy was more your cup of tea, then you’ll love Stacy’s sweet romance series. Be sure to check out the Hunters!
Read below for more information!
Alex Mercer Thrillers
Gone Saga spin-off
Girl in Trouble
Turn Back Time
Little Lies
The Gone Saga
The Gone Trilogy: Gone, Held, Over
Dean’s List
No Return
Curse of the Moon
Lost Wolf
Chosen Wolf
Hunted Wolf
Broken Wolf
Cursed Wolf
Secret Jaguar
The Transformed Series
Main Series
Deception
Betrayal
Forgotten
Ascension
Duplicity
Sacrifice
Destroyed
Transcend
Entangled
Dauntless
Obscured
Partition
Standalones
Fallen
Silent Bite
Hidden Intentions
Saved by a Vampire
Sweet Desire
Short Story Collection
Tiny Bites
Standalones
Haunted
Sweet Dreams (Indigo Bay)
Love’s First Kiss
The Hunters
Seaside Surprises
Seaside Heartbeats
Seaside Dances
Seaside Kisses
Seaside Christmas
Bayside Wishes
Bayside Evenings
Bayside Promises
Bayside Destinies
Bayside Dreams
More coming soon!
Visit StacyClaflin.com for details.
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Paranormal Books Now Available
Lost Wolf
She’s hiding a dark secret. It already killed her once.
Victoria can’t wait to start college, but there’s a hitch—she can’t remember anything before arriving on campus. Her memories spark when she sees her ruggedly handsome math professor, but she senses something horrific. The shock on his face affirms her fears.
Toby is an alpha wolf who never thought he’d see his true love again—not after she died in his arms. Nothing could have prepared him for her walking into his class. But to his dismay, not only has she forgotten what happened, she doesn’t even know who she is.
He’s determined to do whatever it takes to restore what they’ve lost. Can Toby help Victoria recover her memories, or will he lose her forever?
Purchase links.
Sweet Desire
Fate can only be avoided for so long. Gessilyn’s time is up.
She has been living a quiet life pretending to be human for many years, but now she’s a witch on the run. Claudia, her old rival, has found her—and she wants Gessilyn dead.
If she’s to survive, Gessilyn must return to her roots and learn magic from a father she never knew. The power within her reveals itself to be stronger than anyone has ever seen, and Gessilyn finds herself more a risk to herself than anyone else is until she can learn to co
ntrol it.
While needing to focus on all she has to learn, Gessilyn finds herself increasingly drawn to Killian, the handsome loner in her father’s coven. She tries to ignore her growing feelings, but they only intensify. Will she be able to hone her powers in time to defeat Claudia, or will Killian distract her and become her downfall?
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Thrillers now available
The Gone Trilogy
A USA Today bestselling title
One poor decision will haunt her forever.
Macy Mercer only wants a little independence. Eager to prove herself grown up, she goes to a dark, secluded park. She’s supposed to meet the boy of her dreams who she met online. But the cute fifteen year old was a fantasy, his pictures fake. She finds herself face to face with Chester Woodran, a man capable of murder.
Distraught over his own missing daughter, Chester insists that Macy replace his lost girl. He locks Macy up, withholds food, and roughs her up, demanding that she call him dad. Under duress from his constant threats and mind games, her hold on reality starts to slip. Clinging to her memories is the only way of holding onto her true identity, not believing that she is Chester’s daughter. Otherwise she may never see her family again.
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Dean’s List
A USA Today bestselling title
Every marriage has secrets. Some are deadly.
Lydia Harris knows her marriage to Dean has problems, but when she finds a box of news clippings he took great pains to conceal, the problems go from disappointing to dangerous. Nation-wide murders… in cities where he has traveled. She doesn’t want to believe him capable of such violence, so she searches for clues to explain the hidden clippings.
As the evidence begins to mount, Lydia is torn. Dean seems to be trying to rekindle their lost spark, and she yearns for what they’d once had. But can she look past her own feelings to uncover the truth, or will she be next on his list?
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No Return
Family comes first. Until it kills you…
Rusty Caldwell is a lonely victim of tragedy. After losing his wife and kids to a drunk driver, he spends most nights towing drunks to keep them off the streets. His one-track existence takes a turn when he finds out his estranged sister Mandy has committed suicide.
After flying out to offer his support, Rusty learns there’s much more to the story. It turns out his sister had been cheating on her husband Chris with Travis Calloway, the rich CEO of the biggest company in town. Before Mandy died, she claimed that Travis fathered one of her children and demanded that he pay up…
Rusty and Mandy’s neighbor Laura look into Travis, only to receive death threats for their troubles. With Travis and Chris both looking guilty, Rusty better find out the truth before he’s the next one to fall.
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Author’s Note
Thanks so much for reading Dex. This book has been a long time coming, and some readers have been asking about it for years! It started with one short story called Wanderers because I wanted to write about zombies. It was the story of Dex’s escape from the community. Then I wanted to continue Dex’s story, so I wrote another short story called Monsters. That was one incident in Dex’s adulthood where he faced off with zombies and then some cannibals.
At the end of those short stories, I asked reader to let me know if they were interested in reading a novel about Dex. Over time, requests have trickled in, and eventually I was thrilled to realize it was finally time to write Dex a full story! And now that you’ve read it, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have. I really had a lot of fun writing it!
If you’re interested in reading the two short stories, they’re both available in my short story collection, Tiny Bites.
If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review wherever you purchased it. Not only will your review help me to better understand what you like—so I can give you more of it!—but it will also help other readers find my work. Reviews can be short—just share your honest thoughts. That’s it.
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I’ve spent many hours writing, re-writing, and editing this work. I even put together a team who helped with the editing process. As it is impossible to find every single error, if you find any, please contact me through my website and let me know. Then I can fix them for future editions.
Thank you for your support!
~Stacy