“Ohmygod, it’s not just about the money, not just about the will and the inheritance,” Amy whispers. “It’s also about the two sisters, isn’t it? You were the older sister. You were the baby of the family until Angus’s mum was born. And then suddenly you were out of the spotlight. You weren’t the star. You weren’t the diamond.” Amy blinks as her voice gains strength. “You hated her from the beginning! And then as the years rolled on and she gave birth to the only grandchild in the family, all of that happened again—her becoming the star of the family. Then your mother blames you for causing your sister’s cancer—which is so wrong, so awful, so sad. And so not your fault, Mrs. Raff! But . . .” Amy takes a deep breath, and I can tell she’s not bluffing now, not fucking around now, about to end this game one way or the other, end the game that started on Thanksgiving all those years ago . . .
“You’re not responsible for your sister getting cancer,” Amy says firmly. “But you are responsible for every other choice you made. You’re not going to burn for your sister dying a tragic, unlucky death. But if you make the choice to kill, you will burn. You kill the father of my sons, you will burn. You kill the man I love, you will fucking burn!”
I swear I see real fire in Amy’s brown eyes as the anger bursts from her like sparks. I fucking love her so much I almost grin.
But the flicker of flame distracts me, and I turn to see that Aunt Raff has finally found her lighter and is nonchalantly sparking up a smoke as Uncle Raff points his weapon at my head.
And I’m still grinning.
And I can still hear Amy’s words in my head like she’s a goddamn prophet here in this underground tomb.
You.
Will.
Burn.
I keep grinning like a fool as I see the lantern flicker. Then I frown, because that’s not really a hundred-year old lantern with a fucking candle in it. It’s a LED bulb, and that shit doesn’t flicker.
My frown cuts deeper as I watch Aunt Raff try to light her cigarette, and when I see the first whisper of blue flame licking the air in the dark, stuffy tunnel, a chill rips through me as I realize what’s about to happen.
“Down!” I roar, leaping at Amy and pulling her to the ground just as Aunt Raff’s lighter catches and lights up the entire fucking tunnel.
The mine-gas catches like a string of fireworks, and I smother Amy with my body, feeling the heat of the explosion rip through the old mine. I pray to every fucking god and celestial being that the mine holds up, and my mind goes blank as I watch my aunt and uncle go up in flames, burn like this is hell, burn like this is the end.
The end of one story.
The beginning of another.
The beginning of our story.
Our always.
Our forever.
∞
EPILOGUE
TEN YEARS LATER
LAX INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
AMY
“Step this way please,” says the Immigration and Border Patrol Officer sternly as he nods at us and glances at two armed officers standing some distance away. “The children too.”
I want to sink into the ground and die for taking the risk of coming back to America after all these years, but we have nine children now—nine ex-pat American-Australians who’ve never been here. We spoke to lawyers, of course, and they assured us that we’d probably be OK. Of course, they did warn us that we’d still be arrested during entry just because the warrants would still be outstanding. But then it would cleared up.
And it is cleared up.
It takes a few hours, but the airport authorities get word that we’re to be released, and that’s that.
“Oh, there’s one more thing,” says the Immigration Officer, frowning as he glances up from the computer screen. “Some unclaimed property.”
Angus snorts and waves his hand. “The bin with my stuff? Who gives a shit. An empty wallet and a broken watch.” But then Angus blinks, and I look at his face and wonder if he’s about to pass out. “OK,” he says, his voice sounding weird. “Yes, I’ll swing by and claim it.”
Two days later Angus is walking out of the prison gates with his stuff. He tosses the wallet in the trash on the way to our rental car. Then he holds up the watch and winks as he puts it on.
“Did I ever tell you that this was actually my grandfather’s watch?” he says casually. “Never thought much of it since it’s just a regular Timex. Never worked right. Always felt a little . . . lopsided or something. Never thought much of it until just now, really. Like maybe . . . just maybe my grandpa took a gift not just for his girl but for himself too.”
And in that moment I see a flash of light from the rim of the watch.
A flash of brilliant light.
Bright like the sun.
Bright like a diamond.
Bright like the past ten years has been.
Ten years of working our way up in the world.
Raising our kids with the right values.
Redeeming ourselves for all our choices.
And being thankful for what we had.
Being thankful for the brightest diamond of all:
Love.
Love and family.
Nothing more, because that’s everything.
Love and family.
Always and forever.
Happy Thanksgiving.
∞
FROM THE AUTHOR
I'm so grateful to every one of you for taking these journeys with me with every new couple. I know some of my books get a bit close to the edge, and so thank you for sticking with me through to the next one!
More CURVY FOR HIM is coming!
And there's always my full-length (but still over-the-top steamy with the same kind of twists and madness . . .) series: CURVES FOR SHEIKHS and CURVES FOR SHIFTERS!
And more holiday instalove for the season: CAPTIVE FOR CHRISTMAS
Finally, please join my private list to get five never-been-published forbidden epilogues from my SHEIKHS series.
Happy Thanksgiving, all!
Love,
Anna.
[email protected]
PS: For my international readers:
Annabelle in UK
Annabelle in CA
Annabelle in AU
∞
BY ANNABELLE WINTERS
THE CURVES FOR SHEIKHS SERIES (USA)
Curves for the Sheikh
Flames for the Sheikh
Hostage for the Sheikh
Single for the Sheikh
Stockings for the Sheikh
Untouched for the Sheikh
Surrogate for the Sheikh
Stars for the Sheikh
Shelter for the Sheikh
Shared for the Sheikh
Assassin for the Sheikh
Privilege for the Sheikh
Ransomed for the Sheikh
Uncorked for the Sheikh
Haunted for the Sheikh
Grateful for the Sheikh
Mistletoe for the Sheikh
Fake for the Sheikh
THE CURVES FOR SHIFTERS SERIES (USA)
Curves for the Dragon
Born for the Bear
Witch for the Wolf
Tamed for the Lion
Taken for the Tiger
THE CURVY FOR HIM SERIES (USA)
The Teacher and the Trainer
The Librarian and the Cop
The Lawyer and the Cowboy
The Princess and the Pirate
The CEO and the Soldier
The Astronaut and the Alien
The Quilter and the Quarterback
The Botanist and the Biker
The Psychic and the Senator
The Accountant and the Actor
The Drycleaner and the Dragon
The Seamstress and the Sheikh
THE CURVY FOR THE HOLIDAYS SERIES (USA)
Taken on Thanksgiving
Captive for Christmas
THE CURVES FOR SHEIKHS SERIES (UK)
Curves for the Sheikh (UK)
Flames for the Sheikh (UK)
Hostage for the Sheikh (UK)
Single for the Sheikh (UK)
Stockings for the Sheikh (UK)
Untouched for the Sheikh (UK)
Surrogate for the Sheikh (UK)
Stars for the Sheikh (UK)
Shelter for the Sheikh (UK)
Shared for the Sheikh (UK)
Assassin for the Sheikh (UK)
Privilege for the Sheikh (UK)
Ransomed for the Sheikh (UK)
Uncorked for the Sheikh (UK)
Haunted for the Sheikh (UK)
Grateful for the Sheikh (UK)
Mistletoe for the Sheikh (UK)
Fake for the Sheikh (UK)
THE CURVES FOR SHIFTERS SERIES (UK)
Curves for the Dragon (UK)
Born for the Bear (UK)
Witch for the Wolf (UK)
Tamed for the Lion (UK)
Taken for the Tiger (UK)
THE CURVY FOR HIM SERIES (UK)
The Teacher and the Trainer (UK)
The Librarian and the Cop (UK)
The Lawyer and the Cowboy (UK)
The Princess and the Pirate (UK)
The CEO and the Soldier (UK)
The Astronaut and the Alien (UK)
The Quilter and the Quarterback (UK)
The Botanist and the Biker (UK)
The Psychic and the Senator (UK)
The Accountant and the Actor (UK)
The Drycleaner and the Dragon (UK)
The Seamstress and the Sheikh (UK)
THE CURVY FOR THE HOLIDAYS SERIES (UK)
Taken on Thanksgiving (UK)
Captive for Christmas (UK)
AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE (USA)
AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE (UK)
ANNA'S WEBSITE
ANNA'S FACEBOOK
ANNA'S GOODREADS
ANNA'S BOOKBUB
ANNA'S NEW RELEASE LIST
Taken on Thanksgiving Page 7