by Geneva Lee
“I appreciate your cooperation,” the doctor said, “but I must warn you—this means we’ll need to speak with your wife. She handled your grandmother’s medication as well.”
* * *
The North Wing was dark when I reached it an hour later. The official press release could wait until tomorrow. My mobile had kept dropping my calls to Norris and Clara—an annoying quirk of old buildings that had survived the Blitz.
I went to our bedroom expecting to find Clara there lying awake. I knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep until I returned with news. I wished I didn’t know that from experience. But I found our bed empty.
Turning to the nursery, I opened the door to find Penny asleep in the window seat and Elizabeth curled into a ball in her new bed.
I shut the door, opening another one to panic. I went to every room in the wing, to the office. I was on my way to the Belgian Suite when my mobile buzzed.
But it wasn’t Norris or Clara. It was a text sent from an anonymous number.
From within.
Chapter 31
Clara
Cold. Hard. Naked.
Red. Blue. Black.
Slowly the pieces formed into complete thoughts.
The room was cold.
The floor was hard.
I was naked.
I struggled up, wrapping my arms around my body and I listened. Teeth. Mine. I couldn’t control them. Then I felt it: the tremble as it rolled through me and took over my body.
The next flashes were less present. I saw the red fade of my eyelids as the rag covered my mouth, freezing the image of Norris in my mind. His mouth was covered in blood and he was trying to tell me something.
“Blue.”
That didn’t make any sense. A terrible thought occurred to me and I stumbled to my feet. I had no idea where I was. The room was dimly lit and there was one door. I went to it and yanked, thrown back when it opened easily.
A new word processed: corridor.
I kept my arms around my belly, protecting myself from the chill and shielding my body. Lights flickered overhead. I looked for windows and I found doors.
These ones were locked and as I reached for one I saw red.
My wedding band. I still had that.
When I reached the last door on the left, a strange sensation swam through me. The door opened to me and I swallowed back a sob when warmth rushed over my body.
There was a bed and clothes. I rushed to them and began to dress, scanning my surroundings as I did. The clothes were too small for me, but I didn’t care.
There was a chest of drawers and in them more of the same clothes. I opened each one, my panic ratcheting with each discovery of the same.
There were a handful of books on a shelf: a Bible and the torn up remains of a novel. I picked up the black cover with trembling fingers, thinking of the word blue.
Blue. The Range Rover had been blue. Not black.
Not ours.
Norris had seen and they had…
The cover fell from my hands fluttering down in a swirl of black and red and white. I nearly choked. Falling to my knees, I vomited on the floor.
Sitting back, I swiped at my mouth, feeling my stomach turn again and the baby begin to kick.
And then the door opened to the face of a familiar stranger.
Some love is worth dying for…
Alexander and Clara’s story comes to a stunning conclusion in
Consume Me
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And now your peek at Consume Me!
“We need to tell him. He needs to know,” she said, her voice low but firm. Belle’s mouth opened, but she didn’t speak as she looked imploringly at Georgia. Edward’s head dropped into his hands before he glanced up to meet their shared gaze.
I had no idea what these three could possibly need to tell me, but a chill ran up my spine like an icy finger. I waited for them to speak, dreading whatever was coming more with each passing second. Georgia was Clara’s bodyguard. Edward and Belle were her best friends. Clara shared a different relationship with them than me. They shopped together and gossiped, and I’d never felt jealous of any of them until this moment. I fancied that my wife told me everything important. I’d never had reason to suspect otherwise until now.
“Tell me what?” I forced the question past my lips. A million possibilities tumbled through my mind. Perhaps, I’d been wrong. Maybe she did intend to leave me. Is that why my brother had brought it up? Was there someone else? That possibility was laughable, but as the quiet strain between them continued, I was forced to realize that maybe I didn’t know my wife as well as I thought.
Georgia peered at Belle expectantly. “Tell him.”
“Me?” Belle’s hand reached for her husband’s and found it.
Jealousy crashed through me. She had someone to comfort her now as she faced something she didn’t want to confront. The first numb wave of panic replaced the blistering sensation as I realized that she knew something that Clara hadn’t told me.
“You know more than I do,” Georgia pressed, “and he needs to know as much as we can tell him.”
Belle’s eyes closed briefly and I recognized the gesture. She was drawing from some well deep inside her—a place that it seemed all women had inside themselves— for strength. I’d seen Clara do the same on a number of occasions. Every time it had been right before she’d delivered words I didn’t want to hear.
I took a step toward the desk, gripping its edge to keep me upright.
“It’s about the baby,” Belle began and my fingers clutched the wood tighter. She seemed to notice and faltered. Her own knuckles had gone white as she held onto Smith.
“What about the baby?” I had to remind myself to breathe as I waited for her answer.
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Thank you!
I wanted to drop a quick note to thank you for reading Claim Me. This story means so much to me. I laughed and cried and ranted the whole time I was writing it.
After Consume Me, the Royal World will continue with new stories and I’d love to hear what characters you’d like to see get their own books! Drop me a line and let me know: [email protected]
Also, if you aren’t signed up for my VIP email list, get on it! In April, I will be starting an original, newsletter-first story that you can only read there! https://www.genevalee.com/vip
Now if you have a minute could you please leave a review for Claim Me on the retail channels of your choice and/or BookBub? Your reviews will help new readers discover the book.
Thank you for sharing Alexander and Clara’s journey with me.
For always,
G
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