Diving in Deep (A Bay State University Novel Book 2)

by Katie Holland

  She laughed. “You said your parents Fourth of July party was a pool party.”

  “It is. But … Jesus, Karma, I won’t be able to stop myself from wanting to fuck you in the car on the way there. Don’t you have something that covers a little more of you?”

  She was grinning at me, so I knew she was just messing with me. “I’ll be two minutes,” she said, and went back to the bedroom.

  One of the things I loved about Karma was how confident she was in her own skin. I didn’t really care if she wore the red one, but I knew I might not be able to control my reaction if anyone looked at her. Yes, I’d become one of those guys.

  True to her word she was back in two minutes, this time the top looked like a sports bra and the bottoms actually covered her ass.

  “Thank you,” I said, and gave her a kiss.

  “You’re welcome.” She put on a cover-up and we left.

  Twenty-minutes later, we drove up to my parent’s house.

  “It’s about time you two got here,” dad said, when we walked back to the pool.

  “Karma took forever, as usual,” I said with a smile.

  She elbowed me in the ribs but was smiling too.

  “I’m going to go say hi to your mom,” she said and went into the house.

  “You look happy son,” dad said.

  “I am,” I told him.

  “I have some news but I’m not sure if this is the time.”

  “If you say mom is pregnant, I’m leaving.”

  He laughed and clapped me on the shoulder. “No, but she is pretty hot.”

  “Stop, just please stop.” That made him laugh more. “Just tell me dad, whatever it is.”

  He took out his phone and handed it to me. I read a report from the California Department of Corrections. I read to the bottom and then read it again. Anthony was dead. Killed by an inmate three days ago.

  “Is this for real?”

  “Yeah. I confirmed it yesterday.”

  “Wow. Can’t say I feel bad though.”

  “That’s not the only thing,” he said, handing me an envelope. “This came to the office. It was addressed to me, but I think Karma needs to see it.”

  I opened it. It was a letter from Pagano Imports dated two weeks ago.

  Dear Karma,

  I know I’m probably the last person on earth you wish to hear from, but I hope you’ll take the time to read this. I have spent the last few months thinking about what Anthony did to you and I will never be able to apologize enough for it. He was my son and therefore his actions reflect on me. I realize I haven’t always been the best father since I was away a lot, but I had no idea Anthony held such resentment towards me. I am truly sorry you got caught up in that. I somehow need to make amends for what he did. I know you won’t accept money from me, and I understand why, but I feel it’s necessary to do some good to make up for his actions. Therefore, I’m creating a scholarship in your name starting for the next school year. It will be to help kids in high school get to college for what they love, whether that’s sports, the arts or anything in between. This has shown me that we need to do better in the world and leave a legacy that we can be proud of. Finally, I’d like you to be part of this and help with the selection process. I understand if you feel you can’t do this, but I think it would be good for both of us to participate in this. I beg you to at least think about it.

  Sincerely,

  Antonio Pagano

  I held the letter in my hand and just stared at it. “I don’t know what to think about this, dad. How do we know it’s not some trick or something?”

  “When I got this, I went directly to Antonio to question him about it. He showed me the paperwork, gave me the attorney’s information and everything else I asked for. I wanted to be sure it was a real thing. I investigated everything I could find and found nothing I shouldn’t have. It’s for real.”

  “What’s for real?” Karma asked, coming up beside me.

  “Uh, come with me, okay?” I said, and took her hand.

  We went to dad’s office since I knew we’d be alone there.

  “What’s going on Bodie? You’re freaking me out.”

  “Dad just told me a couple of things that you need to know. First of all, Anthony is dead. He was killed by an inmate three days ago.”

  “Okay, am I supposed to be happy about that?”

  “You can feel however you like, I just wanted you to know that we don’t have to worry about him ever again.”

  “Okay, what’s the second thing?”

  I handed her the letter. As she was reading, I was prepared for her to throw one of the fits she was famous for, but once again she surprised me.

  “I’ll do it,” she said quietly.

  “Huh?”

  “I’ll do it,” she repeated. “The more kids that get to go to college the better, especially for something they love. I want to help with that.”

  “You are so amazing,” I said, and moved closer to her. “You have so many reasons to be bitter, but you rise above that for others. I love you Karma.”

  Her mouth fell open and I realized I’d never actually said those words to her before.

  “I love you, too, Bodie. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” she said, and started giggling. “God, we’ve turned into one of those couples we used to make fun of.”

  I chuckled. “I guess we have, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  “Neither would I.”

  The End

  Author’s Note

  Thank you for reading my book. If you enjoyed it, please consider

  leaving me a review at your favorite retailer.

  Thank you!

  Katie Holland

  About the Author

  Katie Holland is the author of Young Adult and Romance novels. If she's not writing you can find her reading, cooking or baking for her family. Her love of writing goes back to elementary school and her love of books goes back even farther than that. She loves seeing new places and enjoying what nature has to offer.

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  Other Books by Katie Holland

  The Nykara Series

  Nykara

  Chosen One

  Chaos

  Believe

  The Shady Oaks Series

  A multi-author collaboration that can be read as a standalone.

  Cursed

  A Slightly Strange Romance

  Trapped in a Castle

  A Bay State University Novel

  A Mermaid’s Kiss

  Diving in Deep

  A Christmas Anthology

  A multi-author collaboration that can be read as a standalone.

  ‘Tis the Season

  The Coven Queens Series

  A multi-author collaboration that can be read as a standalone.

  Hunting Briar

  The Quira Chronicles

  Kismet

  Children’s Beginner Reader

  The Sneaky Little Kittens

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  Extras

  Prologue

  I wanted out. I hated the things my mother and her coven were doing. The death and destruction were just too much for me to handle. I wasn’t like them, but I had to pretend to be so they wouldn’t suspect that I wanted to leave. All I had to do was survive another few hours. When I turned eighteen, the magic they used to track me would be gone, and they couldn’t stop me from leaving then. I knew they would search for me, but I wasn’t going to let them find me.

  Being the most powerful witch born in a century, they wanted to use my power for their purposes, but there was no way I was going to let that happen. I would die before I let them use me for their evil plans. I had a plan in place and there was less than twenty-four hours before I was free. Nothing was going to stop me.

  I know I was being watched constantly. But I had a distraction in place that was sure to get their attention. It was going to be my only hope of escape.

  The entire Moon coven was preparing for the celebration of my birthday. It was going to start at midnight, and then at the exact time of my birth, I was supposed to become a full-fledged member of the coven. That was not going to happen.

  My mother had picked the spot for this event. We were in the middle of the woods that was owned by the coven. We’d had many celebrations here, so I was familiar with the area, which was going to be a big help.

  While the rest of the coven was busy doing whatever my mother told them to, I was busy preparing my distraction. It was going to take a lot on my part to pull it off, and hopefully, luck was going to be on my side.

  When I thought I was prepared enough, I came out of my hiding spot and found my mother.

  “Briar,” she said tersely, “where have you been? There are things you need to do for your ceremony. Hurry up and get them done.”

  “Yes mother,” I said. It was my standard response.

  My mother was the head of our coven and no one ever said no to her. She was a powerful air element witch, and if someone disobeyed her, they usually found themselves swept up by the wind. Sometimes we saw them again and sometimes we didn’t.

  That was one of the reasons I wanted to leave. I was nothing like my mother and I was afraid that if I stayed, I would turn into her-- only a more powerful version.

  I went to the tent that had been set up for me to prepare for the ceremony. I went through the motions of doing what my mother asked. I had to make it seem like I was excited about joining the coven in case anyone checked on me, but I was actually using that time to go through my mental checklist.

  I knew it was almost time when my cousin came to the tent to help me. The ceremony required me to be naked, which was actually no big deal for me. A lot of our ceremonies required it and it was a normal part of how I grew up. My cousin was painting the symbols on me that my mother required, Air, Water, Earth, and Fire. I was able to control all four elements, which was extremely rare. That’s what made me special.

  When she was done, she left me to go join the rest of the coven. I could already hear the chanting and knew it wouldn’t be long before I was summoned to the circle. I took a deep breath, I was ready. It was time to start my distraction.

  Closing my eyes, I pictured a storm rolling in. I was trying to make it look as natural as possible, so no one suspected it was me. I heard the wind pick up and knew I was successful.

  “Briar, it’s time,” my mother said, from outside the tent.

  I walked out and smiled at the feel of the coming storm. Of course, my mother thought I was smiling at her, and I let her think that.

  “Briar,” she said, “I can’t wait to have you by my side as a full member of this coven. I know you’ll do us proud.”

  I just nodded. If only she knew what I was thinking. She’d lock me up forever. Good thing I was able to keep her out of my head.

  We walked over to the group of women who I had grown up with. I didn’t think I was going to miss any of them when I left. It’s possible that some of them used to be good people, but my mother had corrupted them all.

  The closer we got to the rest of the coven, the stronger the wind was getting, but luckily no one seemed to notice. My mother and I walked through the women and into the center of the circle. Then she started the ceremony.

  “Friends and fellow witches, it is with great honor that tonight we make my daughter a full member of this glorious Moon Coven.”

  I tuned out the next part, because it was time to make my escape. Thunder rumbled in the distance and my hair blew in the wind. I stood there and willed the storm to intensify. That part was easy. Making it look like I wasn’t concentrating on the storm was the hard part.

  I saw my mother pull out the dagger. It was now or never. That dagger was created with very dark magic, and once she cut me with that thing, I would be hers forever.

  Lightning started to strike all around us, breaking trees in half and starting a few fires. Then the wind and rain started. The rain was so heavy, I could barely see my hand in front of my face. The tornado strength winds were so strong, I saw a few witches get blown away and the rest started trying to find a place to hide. Everyone scattered, except for my mother. She stood her ground and looked me directly in the eye.

  “This is your doing Briar,” she yelled at me, over the sounds of the storm.

  “Yes,” I yelled back. “I will never be part of this evil you’ve created. Goodbye, mother.”

  My mother started to come after me, so I sent a bolt of lightning straight into her. It hit and she flew back about ten feet. Since she was an air element witch, it wouldn’t kill her, but it did knock her unconscious, and that was what I needed.

  I didn’t know how long I had, so I ran. I left the storm raging out of control. I needed to wash away any evidence of what direction I was going. I ran to the place I’d stashed my clothes and money, and kept on running through the woods. I had to get as far away from there as possible.

  As I ran, I felt a sense of freedom I’d never known before. I was no longer under the control of my mother. It was time for me to be who I was meant to be.

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