by Britney King
When the FBI came knocking, I offered up Marcia Louis, first, and then unbeknownst to me, my father used his political connections to usher a plea bargain on my behalf. Of course, none of us knew how over our heads we were. If I had known I was going to experience what I did, or how close I was going to come to being wiped out, I probably wouldn’t have agreed. I never wanted to have a price tag put on my head. I only wanted my family back and a clean slate. In turn, I provided names of buyers. I destroyed the lives of some very influential and infamous people. You can’t offer up names of cartel leaders, the mafia, names of key players in Big Pharma, and expect for either you or your family to come out unscathed.
Most of us think if we reach toward the things we want, if we join the church, if we make the sale, if we get the guy or the girl, then and only then will we be fulfilled and happy. What most people don’t realize, myself and New Hope members alike, is that need can be exploited. Desperate people agree to desperate things.
I could see this in Vanessa Bolton. She seemed to be lying every bit as much to herself as she was to me. She thought she could play their game and come out on top. She thought if she played her cards right, freedom from the business, from the lies, from whatever it was she’d gotten herself into, would absolve her. She thought she could win. She was wrong about that, of course, but most incorrect things also contain an element of truth. There are bad outcomes and less bad outcomes. But no one wins in situations like these. Not really.
Just ask my neighbor, Mrs. Dunn. She too was arrested, and she too was helping the Feds. While I’m not aware of the specifics, I do know that she was never sentenced. She posted bail and was released, so whatever she gave them must have been good.
I learned a lot while here in prison. I learned that her real name is not Vanessa, nor Amanda. It’s Bethany. Whoever she is in real life, I like to think she offered me a bit of that in our time together. I heard she accepted a plea deal and was given probation. That makes me proud. I never doubted her ability to work the system.
As for me, I’ll serve thirty-six months here for selling my formulas on the black market. It started out pretty straightforward: I needed to sell the formulas, considering their short shelf life. I didn’t want to get bogged down with government red tape and yet here I am paying the price, half-saved by other people’s misdeeds.
Afterward, I’ll be ushered into life on the outside by way of the witness protection program. I’ll never spend another day in the lab. In my new life, I will not spend my days as a chemist. It’s also likely I’ll never see my wife or my daughter again. This is perhaps the toughest part to swallow, that to protect them I had to drag them into the mix. They were taken from our home in the middle of the night. They’ve had to move and assume new identities, for their safety. On good days, I like to remind myself that a fresh start might be good for everyone involved. Wouldn’t it be good for us to have finally found happiness, to have finally found what we were unable to give to each other? I don’t know.
On hard days, I tell myself there’s always Instalook. It won’t be easy, but knowing Emily, if I look hard enough, I’ll find her there.
Last week, I had my attorney get a package to Bethany—a fictional story written under a nom de plume, a recounting of the way things went down, which is to say was not so fictional at all. Only she will know what certain things meant or why they played out the way they did. It’s like the two of us created a language no one else would understand. But the truth is like that sometimes, hidden and elusive even to those who lived it.
My story was meant to be both an apology and a thank you. I may have wanted Emily, I still want her. But I needed Vanessa. In the end, she was the only one who was ever loyal to me. She told me to get out of that hotel room not realizing it was too late for the both of us. She risked her life to send those texts, and that gives me hope. I’ve come to appreciate the people we pretended to be, and at the end of the story, when I told her I think of her often, it was the truth.
I like to think of our paths crossing again, even if the scientist in me knows the improbability of that. On good days, I remind myself improbable is not the same as impossible. On the bad ones, I remember if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans, Louisiana, Ten years later
It’s the back of her head I notice first. Nothing out of the ordinary, as far as heads go, but this one signifies a certain kind of resolve. I’ve seen her here before. She stands apart from the others, just out of the aisle. She’s staring up at the ceiling, head slightly cocked, listening to the tour guide speak. This in and of itself is not unusual. Any number of people come here alone, looking for history, looking for a man, looking for guidance. Looking for something.
It’s the way she watches him that gets my attention. It’s her intense focus that holds it. Attraction is an invitation for greater knowledge, so I shift my stance, walk to the pew behind hers and slide in. When the guide stops speaking, she grips the edge of the pew in front of hers and shifts her weight. It’s her fingers I’m captivated by. They’re long and slim. Capable. I bet she plays.
Just when I think she’s going to turn and leave, and that I’m going to miss the pleasure of watching such an event, she pauses and glances around. She’s waiting for someone. And that someone is me.
Her eyes scan the rear of the church, and she looks toward the entrance. They say people often experience an extrasensory phenomenon that allows them to sense that they’re being watched. Scopaesthesia. She is gifted.
“Funny thing, those clichés,” I say, and she turns.
Now she doesn’t have to sense me watching her. She can know it.
I like what I see. She hasn’t changed much. At least not on the outside. Same confident shoulders, same precise features: small nose, large eyes, same capable chin, curves that hold the promise of peaks and valleys worth being explored. After all, the eyes control only twenty percent of the vote when it comes to senses.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” she says as she leans forward, and I appreciate the way her blonde hair cascades, spilling into her eyes, covering her face. I wonder how that pretty face reads when she’s unsure of herself, and I like the way she doesn’t immediately move to brush it away. It shows she’s confident; it shows she’s comfortable in her surroundings.
She should be.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“What now?” she asks.
“The options are endless.”
She smiles. “You don’t know me. And I don’t even really know you. We know fantasy versions of one another.”
“And yet here we are.”
“The question is where do we go from here?”
“We could always move to a suburb. Start a church,” I say.
Her brow rises. “Seems a bit risky.”
“Yeah,” I agree. It’s like she’s reading my mind. “You’re probably right.”
She looks away. “Improbable,” she says as her eyes find mine. “But not impossible.”
A note from Britney
Dear Reader,
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I hope you enjoyed reading The Speak of the Devil. If you have a moment and you’d like to let me know what you thought, feel free to drop me an email. I enjoy hearing from readers.
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Writing a book is an interesting adventure, it’s a bit like inviting people into your brain to rummage around. Look where my imagination took me. These are the kind of stories I like…
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That feeling is often intense and unforgettable. And mostly, a ton of fun.
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With that in mind—thank you again for reading my work. I don’t have the backing or the advertising dollars of big publishing, but hopefully I have something better… readers who like the same kind of stories I do. If you are one of them, please share with your friends and consider helping out by doing one (or all) of these quick things:
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1. V
isit my Review Page and write a 30 second review (even short ones make a big difference).
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Many readers don’t realize what a difference reviews make but they make ALL the difference.
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2. Drop me an email and let me know you left a review. This way I can enter you into my monthly drawing for signed paperback copies.
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3. Point your psychological thriller loving friends to their free copies of my work. My favorite friends are those who introduce me to books I might like.
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4. If you’d like to make sure you don’t miss anything, to receive an email whenever I release a new title, sign up for my New Release Newsletter.
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Thanks for helping, and for reading my work. It means a lot.
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Britney King
Austin, Texas
September 2018
About The Author
Britney King lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, children, two dogs, one ridiculous cat, and a partridge in a peach tree.
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When she's not wrangling the things mentioned above, she writes psychological, domestic and romantic thrillers set in suburbia.
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Without a doubt, she thinks connecting with readers is the best part of this gig. You can find Britney online here:
• britneyking.com
• Email
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Goodreads
• Pinterest
Acknowledgments
As always thank you to my family and friends for the endless ways you provide love and inspiration.
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Thank you to my friends in the book world. From bloggers to my editor to all of the people I’m lucky enough to do business with—you make this gig so much fun.
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To my beta readers and my advance reader team… there aren’t enough words to describe the appreciation I feel for you—for being my biggest cheerleaders. To Jenny Hanson and Samantha Wiley, thank you.
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Last, but certainly not least, many thanks to the readers. I always say the best part of writing, for me, is the relationship I have with readers. Readers are the bee’s knees. Thank you for being that.
Also by Britney King
The Replacement Wife
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The Replacement Wife is a riveting, powerful psychological thriller which offers a savage look into a utopian cultish society where beauty and perfection are valued at all costs.
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The Social Affair
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The Social Affair is an intense standalone about a timeless couple who find themselves with a secret admirer they hadn’t bargained for. For fans of the anti-heroine and stories told in unorthodox ways, the novel explores what can happen when privacy is traded for convenience. It is reminiscent of films such as One Hour Photo and Play Misty For Me. Classics. :)
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Water Under The Bridge | Book One
Dead In The Water | Book Two
Come Hell or High Water | Book Three
The Water Series Box Set
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The Water Trilogy follows the shady love story of unconventional married couple—he’s an assassin—she kills for fun. It has been compared to a crazier book version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Also, Dexter.
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Bedrock | Book One
Breaking Bedrock | Book Two
Beyond Bedrock | Book Three
The Bedrock Series Box Set
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The Bedrock Series features an unlikely heroine who should have known better. Turns out, she didn’t. Thus she finds herself tangled in a messy, dangerous, forbidden love story and face-to-face with a madman hell-bent on revenge. The series has been compared to Fatal Attraction, Single White Female, and Basic Instinct.
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Around The Bend
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Around The Bend, is a heart-pounding standalone which traces the journey of a well-to-do suburban housewife, and her life as it unravels, thanks to the secrets she keeps. If she were the only one with things she wanted to keep hidden, then maybe it wouldn’t have turned out so bad. But she wasn’t.
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Somewhere With You | Book One
Anywhere With You | Book Two
The With You Series Box Set
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The With You Series at its core is a deep love story about unlikely friends who travel the world; trying to find themselves, together and apart. Packed with drama and adventure along with a heavy dose of suspense, it has been compared to The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Love, Rosie.
GET EXCLUSIVE MATERIAL
Building a relationship with my readers is one of the best things about writing. Occasionally, I send newsletters with details on new releases, special offers and other bits of news related to what I’m working on. And if you sign up to the mailing list I’ll send you this free content:
A free copy of BEDROCK, a best-selling psychological thriller novel.
A free copy of THE THINGS WE SAY IN SILENCE. A collection of short stories: Exclusive to my mailing list.
Sneak Peek: Water Under The Bridge
Book One
In the spirit of Gone Girl and Behind Closed Doors comes a gripping, twisting, furiously clever read that demands your attention, and keeps you guessing until the very end. For fans of the anti-heroine and stories told in unorthodox ways, Water Under The Bridge delivers us the perfect dark and provocative villain.
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As a woman who feels her clock ticking every single moment of the day, former bad girl Kate Anderson is desperate to reinvent herself. So when she sees a handsome stranger walking toward her, she feels it in her bones, there's no time like the present. He's the one.
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Kate vows to do whatever it takes to have what she wants, even if that something is becoming someone else. Now, ten pounds thinner, armed with a new name, and a plan, she's this close to living the perfect life she's created in her mind.
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But Kate has secrets.
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And too bad for her, that handsome stranger has a few of his own.
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With twists and turns you won't see coming, Water Under The Bridge examines the pressure that many women feel to "have it all" and introduces a protagonist whose hard edges and cutthroat ambition will leave you questioning your judgment and straddling the line between what's right and wrong.
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Enjoy dark fiction? Are you a fan of stories told in unique ways? If so, you'll love Britney King's bestselling psychological thrillers. Get to know Jude and Kate, unreliable narrators at best, intense, and, in your face at worst. Water Under The Bridge is the first book in The Water Trilogy. Available in digital and print.
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DEAD IN THE WATER (Book Two) and COME HELL OR HIGH WATER (Book Three) are now available.
What readers are saying:
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"Another amazingly well-written novel by Britney King. It's every bit as dark, twisted and mind twisting as Water Under The Bridge...maybe even a little more so."
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"Hands down- best book by Britney King. Yet. She has delivered a difficult writing style so perfectly and effortlessly, that you just want to worship the book for the writing. The author has managed to make murder/assassination/accidental- gunshot- to-the-head- look easy. Necessary."
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"Having fallen completely head over heels for these characters and this author with the first book in the series, I've been pretty much salivating over the thought of this book for months now. You'll be glad to know that it did not disappoint!"
