No Place to Die

by Jaden Skye

  “And I’d do it again!” Rhonda shrieked and flailed.

  The manager stared at Rhonda.

  The guards looked back and forth in horror. In a few seconds they cuffed Rhonda, led her away, propped up Olivia, and called the police.

  Olivia took a deep breath, then sat on the couch and wept openly.

  Finally, it was over.

  EPILOGUE

  Olivia stood in the airport at the gate and tried to silence her buzzing phone. She was flooded with calls and texts congratulating her after the news hit. Suddenly surrounded by people, reporters, and praise, she found it hard to catch her breath.

  Her father stood beside her, flowers in hand and tears in his eyes.

  “It’s over, it’s over,” he kept repeating.

  “That’s our gate,” she said, as they called it.

  The people began to board, and she was shuffling ahead with her father, merging into the crowd, when a voice called out.

  “Olivia!”

  She turned to see Wayne rushing to catch her at the gate. His face was lined with compassion and regret, and she recalled how he had been texting and apologizing all morning.

  “Leaving so soon?” he asked when he caught up to her.

  He was smiling, but she did not smile back.

  “I’m finished here now,” she said. “I’m never coming back.”

  He raised his hands. “Whoa!” he said. “I’m not trying to detain you. I just—”

  “What?” she asked.

  He hesitated.

  “I just wanted to say sorry once again. And to congratulate you. That was amazing detective work. I know I couldn’t have done it.”

  Olivia nodded, still upset with him for accusing her all the while.

  “Stay down here with us for a while,” Wayne urged.

  Olivia looked back, stunned.

  “What better way to get over Todd’s death?” he said. “There are other cases to solve. There is important work waiting for you down here. The department could really use your help. They asked me to tell you.”

  Olivia was flattered by his offer, but it was the last thing she wanted to do. She shook her head.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, “not interested. Todd meant the world to me, and now my world is gone. I’m finished here.”

  Olivia turned to board the flight with her father, and as it filled up and prepared for takeoff, she stared out the window at the gorgeous landscape and wondered. She wondered what could have been if she’d never found out who killed Todd, or if she and Todd had wed. What would have happened if she’d actually been jailed down here? If Rhonda had killed her? If she herself had eaten her original meal?

  It was a gorgeous landscape, filled with palm trees, oceans, dazzling sunsets, and yet one teeming with danger, where nothing was what it seemed.

  Olivia couldn’t stay down here. This was no place to die. And she wasn’t ready to die, either. Not now, not ever.

  She thought about what she told Wayne. Had she meant it? Had she no interest in helping solve other murders?

  She couldn’t say for sure. Maybe, she realized, this wasn’t the end.

  Maybe it was just the beginning.

  NOW AVAILABLE!

  NO PLACE TO VANISH

  (Murder in the Keys—Book #2)

  NO PLACE TO VANISH is book #2 in the new romantic suspense series by #1 bestselling author Jaden Skye.

  Olivia, back in New York and trying to resume her normal life, receives a shocking phone call: her best friend from college has gone missing. She never returned from her bachelorette party.

  Olivia, implored by her friend’s husband to help, flies back down to Miami, determined to find her. She meets the woman’s friends, and finds herself lead deeper and deeper into a maze of lies, strippers, secret lovers, and jilted husbands. As the trail leads her back to Key West, she finds herself working side by side with Wayne again, stirring up old memories. Yet, even so, the trail has seemed to gone cold.

  Olivia can’t help but wonder: did her friend run off? Kill herself?

  Or was she murdered?

  NO PLACE TO VANISH is book #2 in an explosive new romantic suspense series filled with love, tragedy, heartbreak, betrayal and suspense, one that will leave you turning pages late into the night. Book #3 will be released soon.

  Jaden is also author of the #1 Bestselling series MURDER IN THE CARIBBEAN, which begins with DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1), a free download with over 200 five star reviews!

  Enjoy the first chapter of NO PLACE TO VANISH!

  NO PLACE TO VANISH

  (Murder in the Keys—Book #2)

  CHAPTER ONE

  As the plane tossed through the gathering clouds, Olivia looked out the window, replaying all that had gone on. It was still impossible to believe that she was returning to New York alone. Todd wasn’t with her; he was gone. Her hand reached out to the empty seat beside her as her mind continued to play games. He’ll be back in a minute, her mind whispered. This was all a dream, Todd’s alive, he’s well. He’ll be there at the airport waiting when you arrive.

  Of course Olivia knew that Todd wouldn’t be there, not today, nor ever again. It was hard to believe that they’d gotten engaged in Key West only a few weeks ago. The engagement ring Todd had given Olivia right before he was killed still sat on her finger, looking up at her, gleaming. At times it was soothing to look at it, reminding her of wonderful times. Other times the ring seemed to be mocking her, daring her to take it off, put it in a drawer, and move on.

  The plane took a sudden dip in the growing turbulence that accompanied the flight. Images of Todd on his death bed, struggling to breathe, flashed through Olivia’s mind. She recalled sitting alone in the emergency room, late at night, waiting for a word of hope. Her first encounter with Todd’s disturbing family came to her vividly, how they’d adamantly refused to believe that Olivia and Todd had become engaged.

  Olivia listened to the rain falling on the plane as an airline stewardess suddenly leaned toward her.

  “Can I get you anything at all?” she asked.

  Olivia looked up at her sadly.

  Bring Todd back to me, she wanted to say, but forced herself to smile instead.

  “Thank you very much, but not now,” Olivia replied.

  Since the crime had been solved, and Todd’s former girlfriend, Rhonda, convicted, Olivia hadn’t been able to sleep or eat much. During the few weeks of investigation, wave after wave of shock and horror kept occurring, almost daily. Olivia not only met the disturbing people in Todd’s life, but one sordid fact after another about him became revealed. To top it off, Olivia discovered that he was still sleeping with his ex-girlfriend Rhonda, even as she and Todd were becoming engaged. She knew she should hate Todd now.

  But for some reason, she still loved him.

  Olivia knew that, without her uncanny insight and courage, Rhonda would have gone free. Yet, despite all the attention and adulation Olivia received at the end, she took little pleasure in it. The future lay spread out before her now—and she had no idea what was in store.

  *

  When the plane finally landed back in New York, a row of cabs were lined up outside the airport. Olivia got her bags quickly and took one of the cabs to her upscale apartment, on a fashionable street in the Upper East Side, overlooking the river.

  As soon as the cab pulled up to her building, a doorman, Russo, came out and helped bring her things in. In a daze Olivia slowly followed him inside and gazed around the lobby. All kinds of perfectly dressed people were coming and going as they always did, looking confident and secure. It was as if their carefully constructed worlds were built on a solid foundation and couldn’t fall apart in a second, as Olivia’s just had.

  “Good to have you back home again,” Russo commented lightly as they got into the elevator and pressed a high floor.

  “Thanks so much,” Olivia replied, as the elevator lifted up quickly. Of course Russo meant well, but it saddened Olivia to be welcomed home. Even th
ough she and Todd hadn’t actually lived together, he’d spent most nights here with her since they met. They’d been inseparable. Now, without him, her place didn’t feel like home anymore.

  Russo brought her bags into the apartment, piled them carefully next to one another, wished her well, and left.

  Olivia then began to wander aimlessly through the beautifully decorated rooms. Todd’s things were still scattered around here and there, including a few photos of them together, smiling. In the photos it looked as if the entire world had belonged to them. Olivia could not bring herself to look at the photos closely. She also could not imagine taking them down. The time would come when she could, she thought. But for now, she felt lost and confused, wondering if things would ever normalize again.

  Olivia walked over to one of the large glass windows, pulled up the blinds, and leaned against the dusty windowpane. Standing up here high on top of the world, she looked out at the river, where tugboats passed along just as before. Olivia remembered how much she and Todd used to enjoy walking at the river’s edge at the end of the day. She also thought of his texts and emails that she’d so enjoyed receiving. How they talked almost all night long, curled up in each other’s arms. Olivia’s life had totally changed the moment they’d met. Todd said his had, too.

  Now, she had no idea what to believe anymore.

  The phone rang sharply, but Olivia didn’t even try to answer. She couldn’t. Not yet. It was too soon to talk to friends, put on a cheerful face, and pretend that she was the same person she’d been when she left a few weeks ago. Perhaps she just needed to settle in and after a bath and good dinner, she’d feel more like herself.

  No, she needed more than that.

  She knew that tomorrow morning she needed to get up and go back to work, full steam ahead. To immerse herself back in her old life. Otherwise, she would just waste away here, wallow away in misery and depression. And that wasn’t an option.

  Somehow, she had to find a way to pick up the pieces and move on.

  Yet, she just didn’t know if she could do it.

  ALSO AVAILABLE!

  DEATH BY HONEYMOON

  (Book #1 in the Caribbean Murder series)

  On the rugged, wild, eastern shore of Barbados, Cindy and Clint are enjoying their dream honeymoon, when paradise quickly turns into hell. Cindy finds her newly beloved taken away from her, drowned in a freak accident in the ocean. The local police are quick to declare it an accident, to insist that he was caught in a sudden riptide. But Cindy, left all alone, is not convinced.

  Cindy must return to her and Clint’s now-empty home in New York and face her in-laws, who never wanted Clint to marry her, and who did everything to make her engagement and wedding hell. She must deal with all of these women’s backbiting, gossiping and unspoken accusations, while she tries to get a handle on her own grief and to get clear on what really happened to Clint.

  Cindy is mailed an anonymous photo of a woman she had never met, addressed to Clint. As she tries to unravel the mysterious package, as she begins to dig deeper into Clint’s emails and files, she realizes how many secrets Clint had been hiding from his past. She realizes that she didn’t really know the man she loved. And she also realizes that Clint was murdered.

  She digs deeper, into the depths of Clint’s massive corporation, DGB oil, and as she starts to unearth information she shouldn’t, she goes too far. Soon her own life is in peril. On the run, she realizes that the only way to get answers, and to save her own life, is to return to where it all began: Barbados. As she heads into the dark underside of the island, into the heart of the local villages, she is shocked to discover what really happened to her husband on their honeymoon.

  But by then, it may already be too late.

  Enjoy the first chapter of DEATH BY HONEYMOON!

  DEATH BY HONEYMOON

  (Book #1 in the Caribbean Murder series)

  CHAPTER ONE

  Finally, there was nothing to fear. The wedding was over, he was hers, and their honeymoon so far was all she’d ever dreamt of. Lying beside him on a blanket on the white Caribbean sands, surrounded by the beauty of the turquoise waters, she exhaled.

  Nothing could have prepared her for the unbelievable beauty of this place. The beach was surrounded by palm trees, winding roads and hidden birds. Some of them sang intermittently as the waves rolled up onto the shore. The scene had the power to heal the upset she’d gone through. No one had been able to stop their wedding from happening, although his family had tried.

  Clint moved closer. She could smell his suntan lotion, mixed with salt from the ocean. He took her slender hand and his rugged strength rose up through her as she turned to him and smiled. It was a smile of contentment. Of victory. Cindy had won. She’d fought hard for this marriage, and nothing could take it away.

  As if reading her thoughts, Clint whispered in her ear, “We did it. We’re together now, forever. Everything else is in the past.”

  Cindy took a deep breath. She’d always been afraid to believe in forever, but now she could. Her relationship with Clint was soothing her mind. Her father had died when she was a little girl and it had been a long time before she’d been willing to trust life again. With Clint beside her, she could.

  Cindy watched the sun glistening on the waves, rising faster and faster. High tide was coming in. The surf here was fed by swirling currents from the Atlantic Ocean pouring into the cove. The sound of the waves crashing on the rocks startled her for a moment. This place was perfect for Clint. He was an avid surfer, craved the ocean, and required challenge. This beach was off the beaten course, wild and untamed, not the usual destination for travelers. It was famous for its wild surf.

  “It will make our honeymoon even more thrilling,” he’d said when he suggested this spot. There were milder turfs nearby, where she could surf as well. But Cindy wanted it to be the honeymoon of his dreams. It didn’t matter to her that most couples went to the comfortable west side of Barbados, while they headed east to the rugged shore.

  “Where did you say you were going?” the driver that picked them up from the airport had asked twice.

  “El Barado Hotel,” Clint had repeated.

  The driver had looked at them, skeptical. “You know where you’re going? You’re going to the real Barbados. You’re sure?”

  “Very sure,” Clint grinned.

  “Okay.” Then the car had sped away from the airport, turning off the main road.

  Cindy was proud of Clint. He was so sure of everything. He wasn’t one to take old, tired, familiar pathways. Cindy loved that about him. He reminded her of what was possible. She used to be strong and confident like that. His words brought her back to herself.

  As their car had wound its way further and further, Cindy realized they were heading somewhere out of the ordinary. They wound through country lanes, past sugar cane farms and quaint villages made up of small single-story houses. There were food shacks along the roads and simple clapboard churches. It was clearly where the locals lived and worked.

  Their car had driven quickly through the villages, and right up to the hotel. It seemed to be rushing, as if there weren’t a minute to lose.

  “There it is,” the driver had pointed.

  The hotel came into view, sprawled behind rocks, at the edge of the beach, looking out at the ocean. “Not too many people know about this place.”

  The outside of the hotel was trimmed with wraparound plantation shutters, brass hanging lamps and hurricane lights. Clint had found out about it from some executives at his company who were also rabid surfers like him. They loved Clint. As a wedding present, the company offered to pay part of the expenses.

  He was thrilled. Cindy and Clint had tipped the driver generously, as he’d brought their bags up to the front door.

  Alex, a grinning local hefty man in his fifties, had greeted them.

  “Welcome to the island,” he’d said in a lilting tone. “We are happy to have you here. Our honeymoon guests are our favorites. Cong
ratulations.”

  Cindy felt warm inside as she’d entered. She’d looked through the large windows in the lobby overlooking the ocean, and saw miles of rolling waves. She knew Clint would see that and have an overwhelming urge to surf.

  Alex had patted Clint on the shoulder. “You a strong swimmer?” he’d asked.

  Clint had grinned. A lifeguard when he was younger, that was his last concern. “It’s what I came here for. Don’t worry; I’m right where I belong.” He always said that when he came to the ocean.

  There was a lot to do – scuba diving, snorkeling, visiting the island’s indigenous turtles, photographing this incredible place.

  They got a key and went right up to their room. It was open and airy, with salty breezes wafting in. There was a patio and a low-plank coffee table filled with seashells and sea urchins. Best of all, you could hear the waves constantly crashing on the sand and rocks outside. They’d dropped their luggage, changed quickly and headed right down to the beach.

  *

  Day after day had been fantastic. They’d been snorkeling, swimming, dancing, having delicious dinners, and making love all night long. Lying here now on the sand with her new husband, Cindy felt as if she had been welcomed into a new phase of life. She put her head on Clint’s shoulder.

  These days of happiness had wiped away the pressures and worries they’d grown so accustomed to the past several months. His family’s agitation and schemes drifted like smoke into the crystal blue sky. It hadn’t been easy. There had been one obstacle after another.