by Emily Rose
Amazon bestselling author of The Beautiful Sinner
TOXIC
Book Three of the Twisted Series
EMILY ROSE
TOXIC
Book Three of the Twisted Series
Copyright © 2019 by Emily Rose
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction.
Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Published by Emily Rose
Cover designer: Emily Rose
Editors: Sara Miller, Pretty Little Book Promotion and PA Service
Interior Designer: Julie Anne Addicott
New Adult Novels by Emily Rose
Twisted (Book One of the Twisted Series)
Torment (Book Two of the Twisted Series)
Toxic (Book Three of the Twisted Series)
Tainted (Book Four of the Twisted Series)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Prologue
7 hours earlier
Ray
“I can’t believe I’m actually watching this,” Miles said as he sat on the couch, watching The Last Song.
I stood at the bar, stirring the pancake batter with a wooden spoon, and smiled. “I think it’s adorable.”
“I don’t think anything is adorable about this situation. Honestly, I feel like I should have handed in my man card the second this movie started,” he said and leaned up to grab the remote off the coffee table.
I shook my head as he started flipping channels and then turned to face the stove. I poured the pancake batter onto the griddle, making shapes out of the gooey mix. Once I had enough, I sat the bowl down and grabbed the spatula.
“What the actual fuck am I watching?” I heard Miles say behind me.
I laughed and looked over my shoulder at the TV screen. He was on the Discovery Channel and on the screen, there were two monkeys breeding, quite enthusiastically.
The voice of the narrator was the usual deep, slightly creepy male as he explained the type of monkey’s they were, how many babies they could have, when their mating season started, etc.
“It looks like you’re watching monkey’s breed,” I teased.
“Now I understand why Jax watches this shit,” Miles said and tilted his head to the side as if he were trying to imagine something very disturbing.
“Oh my god,” I said as I took the pancakes off the stove and placed them onto two separate plates, “You are always picking on Jax for that.”
“Yep,” was all he said by way of a response.
“How is Jaxson doing anyway? You know, since…. Brody,” I asked.
Miles sighed heavily, “I don’t know. It’s only been six months. I can’t even imagine what he’s feeling or thinking right now.”
“Yeah,” I said as memories of that night came flooding back to me. I remembered the look I saw in Danny’s eyes when I found her sitting in the back of the ambulance. I couldn’t forget that look if I tried and she hadn’t even been the one to pull the trigger that night.
Jax did.
As my mind traveled through all the memories, I walked over to grab our glasses out of the cabinet when I heard a knock at the front door. I paused and looked over to catch Miles’s gaze.
“Can you get that?” I asked.
He stood up and walked over to answer the door as I returned to getting our drinks ready. I was in the process of grabbing the orange juice out of the refrigerator when I heard him speak.
“Mia?”
I stopped and looked over my shoulder at where he stood.
“Hi Miles,” I heard a woman’s voice.
I pulled my eyebrows together and closed the refrigerator as I made my way over to him. Miles didn’t say anything as I came up to stand beside him.
In the doorway, I saw a woman around my age. She was shorter than me with a flawless tan, dark brown almost black hair, and bright green eyes.
She caught my gaze and for a second, I saw surprise flash across her features, but it vanished quickly as she blinked. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you,” she said.
“It’s no problem. Can I help you?” I asked.
“Um, I’m actually here to talk to…Miles,” she said and then stuck her hand out, “I’m Mia Henley, an old friend of his.”
I eyed her hand, but before I could reach up to shake it or introduce myself, Miles spoke.
“What are you doing here, Mia?” he asked and I didn’t miss the way his muscles looked tense or the mixed emotions that colored his tone of voice.
She met his gaze. “I need your help.”
Help? What?
I looked between them as I tried to figure out what the hell was going on.
“With what?” he asked.
Good question, I thought. I had no idea who the hell this chick was or what she wanted with my husband, but I was about to start asking my own questions if Miles didn’t.
“It’s my brother,” Mia answered.
“Shit,” Miles said, I realized that meant way more to him than it did to me.
“Excuse me, what the hell is going on?” I asked.
Mia looked at me, but decided not to answer, so I glanced at Miles. The look I saw in his eyes was that of an apology, but for what, I had no clue.
“Miles?” I questioned.
He took a deep breath, “Babe, we need to talk.”
I didn’t like the sound of that, but I didn’t have time to ask him about it before he opened the door more and spoke.
“Mia, you can wait in there,” he said and nodded toward the couch.
I took a step back as this strange woman walked into my house and took a seat on my couch, making herself quite at home. I saw the same look in her eyes as I ha
d in Miles’.
What the fuck was going on?
“Come with me,” I heard Miles say a second before he grabbed my hand and pulled me outside. He closed the door behind us and then turned to face me, “Ok, I know you’re probably confused as hell,” he said.
I chuckled humorlessly. “You think? Wow, I couldn’t have guessed that.”
He sighed heavily. “It’s not what you think.”
I crossed my arms. “So, this isn’t a Cassy and Jaxson type situation?”
“Hell no,” he answered.
“Then what kind of situation is it?”
Miles reached up to run a hand through his hair, causing the black layers to stand up in certain spots, “She is just an old friend. I knew her after high school and before I moved here. I was really good friends with her brother and some shit went down that I don’t want to get into right now.”
All I could do was stare at him, stunned.
Wait…
I had always thought Miles just left for Hampton after high school, but clearly, I was way off. He had lived somewhere else entirely and there was no way of knowing what went down during that time of his life. He had never even mentioned anything about it.
I blinked. “Ok, so why does she need your help with her brother?”
He held my gaze steadily but didn’t answer me.
“Miles, why does she need your help with her brother?” I repeated.
“That’s the part I don’t want to get into right now, but I owe him. If she’s coming to me for help, I know what it’s for and I have to help her,” he said.
Well, that wasn’t confusing at all.
“But help her with what?” I asked.
Miles reached up and grabbed my shoulders gently. “Can you just trust me? I will explain it all, but I need to talk to Mia. I need to make sure I have a handle on what is going on first,” he said.
I glanced between his blue and green eye. I could see that he really wanted me to stop asking questions and just let him handle this on his own.
And I would, but that didn’t mean I had to like it.
And that didn’t mean I had to trust it.
“Fine,” I said.
He released a relieved breath and dropped his hands. “Thank you.”
I nodded as he turned and walked back inside. I didn’t follow him, but instead, stood there as my mind tried to figure out what the hell was happening.
And that was when I realized something very important.
When I had asked him if the situation with Mia was anything like Cassy’s and Jaxson’s situation was, he had told me no.
He lied.
I could see it in the way he looked at me. Miles believed that his eyes never gave his thoughts away, but he was wrong.
And it was at that moment that I felt the undeniable cloak of rage that had settled over my heart.
Chapter One
Present Time
Ray
“I can’t believe this is actually happening,” I said as I gazed through the full-length mirror at the silky dark red dress I was wearing. It fit me perfectly, showing off my curvy frame and making my red hair stand out even more than it normally did.
Danny’s reflection appeared behind me. I still wasn’t used to seeing her with shorter hair, something she had decided to do a few weeks ago. It wasn’t so short that you could consider it a bob cut, but it wasn’t nearly as long as it had been. Instead, it barely reached her collarbone.
“Well, it’s happening. I can’t really believe it either,” she said as she eyed the dress through the mirror.
I turned my body and smoothed my hand down my side, “I don’t even know him, though. I mean I’m glad my mom decided to clean herself up, but then she just up and announces that she is getting married. It’s just a lot to take in,” I said.
Danny sighed. “Yeah, but at least she picked out colors that look great on you.”
I laughed and turned away from the mirror to face my best friend. “Thanks, but she has you on her list of bridesmaids, too.”
She rolled her eyes dramatically and went to flop down in the chair that sat in the corner of the changing room. “She only did that, because I’ve been your best friend since kindergarten. Although, I’m surprised she actually had enough common sense left to be aware of anything that went on back then.”
“Me too, honestly,” I said and began stripping myself free of the dress.
Four months ago, my mother had called me up out of the blue and told me she was going to get herself cleaned up. I was thrilled to hear that, because in all honesty, I missed my mom. I missed having that kind of relationship to rely on. After about three months, she called me one night to tell me she had met someone while she’d been in rehab and they were going to get married.
Talk about a holy shit moment for me. I wasn’t sure what to think. I didn’t even know the guy. The only thing I knew about him was his name.
Samuel Riggs.
I hadn’t even met him yet, but it seemed that Samuel was going to be my new stepdad. Yay me!
I took a deep breath as I got dressed. Danny and I had spent hours browsing through the downtown shops of Macon, a town a few minutes outside of Hampton, for a dress, but had so far failed at finding one. I had sent my mom pictures of all of them, and apparently, they weren’t what she was looking for.
“I’m so over this bullshit already,” I said as I slipped my boots back onto my feet.
Danny crossed her legs in the chair and started picking at her non-existent nails. A bad habit she had developed after Brody. Even if she didn’t realize it, and that was her way of saying that something was wrong.
I pulled my eyebrows together. “You okay?”
Danny nodded and then rushed to change the subject, “Well, we can always go over to that bar and grab a drink,” she said.
I tried not to let her swift change of subject bother me as I stood and walked back over to the mirror. I took in the jean skirt, boots and white tank top I wore, which made me realize that I was dressed alright for a bar outing. I reached up and grabbed a handful of my long red hair, holding it at the top of my head, “Up or down?” I asked Danny as I turned my head from side to side.
“Hmm…. I think up. It makes you look younger and not so…. married,” she said.
I dropped my hair and glared at her through the mirror. “Shut up,” I said.
She laughed and stood up. “Sorry, I just like teasing you.”
I rolled my eyes and grabbed my purse off the chair before I made my way towards the exit with Danny hot on my heels, “I know, you just love teasing people,” I said.
She followed me back outside. The humid late August air hit us, and I grabbed my sunglasses out of my purse as the afternoon sun glared down on us. I covered my eyes with them and looked at Danny, who stood beside me now.
“Drinks?” I asked.
She nodded, “Sure, why not?”
I smiled and we started making our way across the street to a small bar we had noticed before going into the dress shop. I hadn’t really explored Macon that much, but I had lived in Hampton long enough to know the general layout of the towns surrounding it. The bar was called “Paradise” and it looked like the complete polar opposite of Twisted. This one looked a bit pricier and more upscale compared to Twisted’s older, darker look. It reminded me more of a club than an actual bar, but I could still tell the difference.
As we walked inside, I took in the fancy bar. It was covered in what looked a hell of a lot like copper, while the entire length of the wall behind it held any kind of liquor you could possibly think of. The barstools sat a bit higher than the ones in Twisted, and while Twisted had a dance floor among the booths, Paradise was full of booths and tables. All of them covered in the same countertop as the bar, but it was the lights that hung from the tall ceiling that really caught your attention.
They looked like something you’d see in a mansion, except where the light bulbs should be, the globes were different types
of beer bottles from all around the world. Music played softly in the background, a song I recognized as “Steady” by Bebe Rexha.
“Whoa…” Danny said lowly as we walked up to the bar where I saw a woman working. She didn’t look much older than us, but she was dressed way nicer than what people normally wore at Twisted. Her bright blue eyes met mine and a friendly smile appeared.
“Hi, what can I get you ladies?” she asked as she wiped a glass down with a rag.
I took a seat with Danny beside me and placed my purse on the bar. “Can I have a margarita?” I asked.
She nodded, “And for you?”
“I’ll just have a water,” Danny responded.
I looked at her. “I thought you wanted a drink.”
“Someone has to drive,” she said with a roll of her eyes, but a smile lingered.
“Right,” I said as it dawned on me that after the accident with Brody, Danny refused to drive even with a drop of alcohol in her system.
The bartender slid my drink over and I instantly felt my mouth water at the sight of it. “Enjoy,” she said and then gave Danny her water before she went back to cleaning the glasses.
I took the first sip and moaned. “That’s so good,” I said after swallowing the tasty liquid.
“It looks good,” Danny sighed like she was seeing a hot guy for the first time.
I laughed, “I’m sorry. I could have drove home.”
She shook her head and grabbed her water, “Nah, it’s all good.”
I was about to respond when I heard the door open again. I looked over my shoulder and saw a guy come striding through. He looked to be around our age, and he was tall, an inch or two over six-foot. I could tell he worked out, but he was lean. Not bulky like you’d expect. His hair was a burnished brown, the same shade as the countertops, and a bit messy, but it was his eyes that stood out. They were a deep, almost forest green. Like what you’d imagine the trees in Seattle to look like.
His gaze met mine and he nodded slightly as he made his way past where we sat. I looked away and started stirring my drink.