Protected by the Alpha – Book 1
Jocelyn Thomas
Copyright © 2015 Jocelyn Thomas
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying recording, or other electronic, or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. Jocelyn Thomas holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.
Thank you for downloading Protected by the Alpha Book !.
Thank you for your support!
Protected by the Alpha
Jocelyn Thomas
Table of Contents
Prelude
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Thanks for reading Protected by the Alpha Book 1!
Keep up and keep in touch
Prelude
Amaris couldn’t sleep. Every minute of the night was clouded by nightmares of what she’d witnessed. Images of the slain man lying on his back staring straight up at her were more than she could bear. To make matters worse, she was now the only surviving witness who could identify his killer. The notorious Jinx Thomlinson was well known among the underworld for being one of the most heartless hired killers to run the city. Until the fateful night Amaris happen to look out her bedroom window into the alley below, she knew nothing about him. In the split second flash of gunfire, her mild mannered life was quickly turned on its head.
She tossed and turned in bed. The scratchy sheets of her motel room coiled around her curvy body in an attempt to soothe her. They were nothing like the jersey cotton she was used too. The small comfort of her modest home was something she longed for in these hours when restlessness wouldn’t turn her lose. She wanted her queen size bed with the wooden headboard she’d made with instructions found on Pinterest. It wasn’t a luxurious life, but that didn’t matter to her. Amaris didn’t come from wealth and privilege, just hardworking people who were gone too soon. She’d fought tooth and nail for every minute achievement she’d accomplish and her life was a pleasant one if nothing else. Some might even call it boring, but that suited Amaris just fine. She liked her job as a part time librarian, her tiny little apartment with the creaky bathroom door, and after finished her final year at the university she’d be ready to jump into the next phase of her life as a preschool teacher.
She hadn’t expected this interruption though. There was something about being an eyewitness to a heinous murder that pulls the rug from under a girl. All of her plans were suddenly on hold while the powers that be worked to keep Jinx Thomlinson locked away. Amaris wanted to believe they would be able to hold him, with or without her testimony, but she didn’t have faith. This wasn’t Jinx’s first time on trial for murder and one way or another he was always able to walk free. It could happen again this time as well. With Amaris being the only witness still alive, so much hinged on her testifying as to what she saw. It wasn’t a job she wanted and it had in fact taken some time for the FBI to even convince her to do so. She wanted to do what was right, but didn’t know how steep a price she’d pay for morality. Nothing could have prepared her for the fear she lived with daily as she tried to make sense of having a bounty on her head.
Amaris inhaled the stale air of her temporary home. The small motel had two beds with thin patterned comforters and dingy white sheets. The pillows were pancake flat and even stacking two, one on top of the other, didn’t fill them out or create a soft buffer between her head and the stone mattress of the bed. She was afraid to walk on the carpet without slippers, and had only showered twice in the week she’d been there. The tub, wasn’t appetizing in the least with its stained grunge ring and hard water. The place was a dump, but it was still safer than her apartment. Amaris didn’t want to be ungrateful so he kept her complaints to herself, but she couldn’t wait until there was somewhere more suitable available to her.
Her handler, Agent Johnston, said the place was just temporary until they could find a safe house more accommodating for her extended stay. They’d relocated her to the motel in the dead of night once Jinx had been arrested. Things happened so quickly that a lot of the specifics were being made up on the fly. The primary goal was to stay one step ahead of Jinx. He was being held at a local prison, but that didn’t mean anything to Amaris or any of the agents assigned to his case. Jinx had gotten the other witnesses killed while he was still on the inside, it was obvious that he had a point of contact outside of those walls. No one could assume they were safe.
Amaris was trying to remain calm, but she couldn’t control her raging thoughts. Every worst case scenario possible filled her head, and the exhaustion it caused was breaking her down. She lay on her back and squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to force herself to sleep. She knew it was pointless, but after catching a glimpse of herself in the cloudy bathroom mirror she had to do something. The bags under her eyes were brutally honest about the effect all of this was having on her. She needed the rest, it was undeniable. She just didn’t know how she would ever be able to sleep until Jinx Thomlinson was out of her life for good, that wouldn’t be until this trial was behind her.
Amaris turned to lay on her side. She pulled the covers to her chin and fought back tears. She just wanted this nightmare to be over, but the ending was nowhere in sight. Out of the darkness, the phone rang. The shrill chiming startled her and sent her heart into palpitations as she tried to determine her next move. By the third ring she was sitting up in bed. The gold flecks in her green eyes glistened in the dark. Her eyes were the size of half dollars and her knees were pulled up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them. Amaris’ corn silk blonde hair framed her face in the whirlwind of her sitting up.
She stared at the phone as it rang. No one was supposed to know she was here. Not even her closest friends would be able to contact her. The only people who knew what room she was even in were her handler and his supervisor. Neither of them would call her at this time of night. No one else would even look for her if she came up missing. It was a sobering thought, but one that Amaris came to terms with years ago. She wasn’t eager to reach that fate. Her anxiety was still at an all-time high as the incessant ringing continued. Amaris felt fear creeping up in her body. She reached for the phone with a trembling hand. As she touched the phone to retrieve it from its cradle, the ringing stopped and silence once again surrounded her.
Amaris exhaled a breath she hadn’t intended to hold. She tried to calm herself, maybe it was nothing. These seedy motels were used to having transients, maybe someone was calling for a past resident. Amaris didn’t want to speculate any further. Her head was already starting to throb from her dangerous adrenaline levels. She moistened her full pink lips and squeezed her eyes shut. She settled herself back against the bed, but still couldn’t stop her heart from threatening to leap from her chest. She’d never actually get to sleep now, but she longed for the relief of being able to ignore her circumstances even briefly.
As she forced her breathing to steady, Amaris was once again startled into action when the phone began to ring again. A chill went down her spine. There was no way for her to know if the caller was the same, but that did nothing to stop her anxiety from climbing again. It seemed unlikely that whoever was on the other side of the line would be an ally. Amaris knew she had to answer. She reasoned that the two agents outside her door waiting to intercept anyone who came uninvited, would be there if she needed them. They’d also bug
ged the phone, just in case. Amaris was safe. They would protect her, she reminded herself. She wrung the lifeless sheets in her hands as she tried to find courage. The ringing wouldn’t stop. Her shaking hands could hardly wrap around the phone to pick it up from its cradle and she didn’t trust her voice when she finally held the phone in her hand. She had to answer. If she let it rang any longer it would just alarm the agents outside and she didn’t want any intrusions if she could help it.
“Hello?” said Amaris, her voice was weak with fear. Amaris didn’t know what she would hear on the other end and couldn’t control her wild imagination. Her intentions to convince herself that it was probably something harmless were soon shatter when a rusted voice answered her.
“No matter where they hide you, I will stalk you, hunt you down, and skin you alive,” said the deep and gritty voice on the other end. Dark and hysterical laughter filled the line. Amaris struggled to breathe. It was Jinx calling to taunt her.
Amaris dropped the phone to the floor. She pressed her hands against her ears to drown out the sound of his laughter as she rocked back and forward in bed. The color drained from her face as she stared down at the receiver. Tears stained her cheeks in long streams. How did he know she was here? How did he get the direct number to her room? She was supposed to be out of his reach. Yet, he’d made it clear that she wasn’t. It bothered Amaris that she didn’t have answers to the most basic questions of her safety. She was stunned to silence and quivering when the door burst open.
Amaris nearly climbed the wall trying to escape. Her golden flecked, green eyes were wild with fear at who could be on the other side. Agent Johnston charged in behind the door.
“Get your things. We have to get you out of here,” said Agent Cody Johnston. His eyes were just as wild with concern.
Amaris didn’t argue. She forgot about modesty as she jumped from the bed and dashed around the room putting on clothes and stuffing things into her overnight bag. The toiletries items she would leave. Anything that she couldn’t grab in the five minutes of prep time would just have to be replaced. Amaris left it all behind, and jumped into Agent Johnston’s car. Agent Johnston took the passenger side and she jumped in the back. Amaris barely closed the door before his partner sped off into the night. Once again she was running for her life because Jinx Thomlinson proved he would always have access to her. She was quiet in the backseat as the chilling voice of Jinx replayed over and over in her head. Fear paralyzed her and strangled her voice from her throat. Amaris was convinced that she wouldn’t survive the six months it would take to get to trial. If Jinx didn’t kill her - fear would.
Protected by the Alpha - Volume 1 Page 1
