Awareness came to her face, and she stared at me.
I nodded my head. “Not just torture for me. But for Alex. Someone wanted to torture Alex, for years and years, and they were going to do it by having me captured. By having me stolen away into a brutal world from which he could never wrench me free.”
Chapter 18
Laryssa and I were sitting in the living room of her spacious home. Elegant tapestry couches and chairs were arranged so each faced a gorgeous view of the shimmering moonlit ocean below us. We’d already gone through one bottle of Khortitsa and another sat ready.
The tables were spread with laptops, papers, tablets, and notes.
Laryssa shook her head. “Man, Alex has been busy in his years with the police force. I know we did the background research on him when you first were coming out here, but his resume is even more extensive than I thought.”
I nodded, running a hand through my hair. “He’s taken down pimps, chop shops, and drug dealers. He’s been involved in shootouts with bank robbers and burglars. Just about any of them could have blamed Alex for ruining their lives. And in the cases where he ended up killing someone, there could be fathers vowing revenge. Brothers. Sisters. Husbands. Wives.”
Laryssa took another drink. “Still, it takes a special kind of nasty to want a cop’s girlfriend to get dragged into a brutal sex trade ring. And to bring in Mikhaylo to do it. The most notorious person on the planet who would make sure your days were as horrific as possible. Mikhaylo was perhaps one of the only men who could ensure that you would be lost forever to Alex.”
I flipped some more pages. “Honduras. I’m finding random connections with Honduras, but nothing to warrant this kind of hatred. Some girl was caught dealing meth and her grandparents were originally from Honduras. But she just got sent away for a year. She’s out and clean. Would someone really want to put me into Mikhaylo’s hands for that?”
She gave a small shrug. “People do crazy things for crazy reasons. How about this guy. Felony assault on a bartender. Thought the bartender was eyeing his girl. The girl was from Honduras. Guy got sent away for two years and the girl left him.”
It just didn’t seem enough to me. Not enough for the level of planning, manipulation, and raw fury which must have gone into this action.
I flipped some more pages.
I began reading. “This one was an interesting case. The Carminas.”
She looked over, her gaze brightening. “Oh! Yeah, I remember reading about that. Big drug family here in New Haven, a few years back. Main guy was … Benedito. Had a young wife and a brother. They all lived in this four-story castle on the waterfront. Near royalty. Servants and everything. The DEA, FBI, everyone wanted them. But they were locked up tight. Nobody would rat on them. Alex was working that case a full year.”
My gaze went through the notes. “Turns out it didn’t matter. A competing gang hit the castle in a raid. Set the place on fire. The entire Carmina clan was killed. Benedito. His pregnant wife, Anita. His younger brother, Miguel. The servants. All gone. The police rounded up some suspects, but it was fairly half-hearted. After all, a serious problem had just been handled fairly cleanly.”
Laryssa glanced over. “Were the Carminas from Honduras?”
I shook my head. “No. Valencia. Spain.”
“Were there other family members back home, to want to get revenge for this?”
I read some more. “Doesn’t seem like it. Not any who really cared, at any rate. Benedito was seen as a black sheep. As someone who made his bed and had to lie in it. And, besides, it’s not as if Alex caused this problem. It was the rival gang wanting to take over the territory.”
“Did they?”
I read some more. My brow creased. “No, doesn’t seem like it. The other gang actually was getting out of the business. Transitioning to flipping real estate. Making solid money at it, too.”
She tapped her fingers on the table. “Maybe it’s not related. Maybe nothing is related. Maybe this is all just a coincidence, and the Vengar guy just wanted to make easy money by being a middle-man for Mikhaylo.”
Something caught my eye. “Benedito’s butler was from Honduras.”
Laryssa’s gaze sparkled. “Butler? The drug lord had a butler?”
“Benedito was from Spain. Country of elegance. Maybe he watched too many BBC dramas. The butler’s name was Verano.”
She blinked. “Where in Honduras was that contact made from, again?”
I clicked some buttons. “La Ceiba. It’s on the coastline.”
She did some more clicking. “Here. The butler’s parents have a home on Boulevard Los Maestros. There’s a number of restaurants along that stretch. Let’s check their social media.”
It seemed a longshot. An outlier. Whoever this Vengar person was, sending messages to Mikhaylo from Honduras, he could be doing so for a thousand different reasons. Maybe he had a friend of a friend who knew someone. Maybe he, himself, had traveled to Ukraine at some point and had taken advantage of Mikhaylo’s varied services.
Maybe –
I stilled.
Laryssa was at my side in a flash. “What is it?”
I pointed.
It was a birthday party picture taken at the La Galera Restaurant. An elderly woman in her nineties was flanked by four beaming faces which seemed, from the matching ears, to be her children.
A man at the table behind them was glancing up, probably alerted by the flash.
His face held the twisting scars of a burn victim.
My voice was hoarse. “It’s Benedito Carmina. He survived the fire. He’s alive. Somehow, against all odds, he’s alive.”
Laryssa’s gaze turned to hold mine. “And he wants to get his revenge on Alex. Not by killing Alex. No. He wants to get his hands on the woman Alex loves. You.”
I couldn’t breathe.
Laryssa’s voice was flat. “Benedito watched his younger brother burn alive. His pregnant wife. His unborn child. For revenge on Alex, he will hand you over to a monster who ensures the rest of your life is endless, excruciating torture.”
Thank you for reading Becoming Lost. The next book in this series will be released shortly.
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Dedication
A warm message of appreciation goes out to all my enthusiastic, loyal fans everywhere! Thank you for your support, encouragement, and feedback. It’s because of you that I am working so diligently on the sequels!
Thank you especially to Felicia for all your patient support!
About the Author
I fervently believe that every one of us deserves dedicated, passionate love in our lives – coupled with a soul-deep respect which supports our dreams.
I grew up in Connecticut. My family members hailed from West Haven, New Haven, and other locations around the western coastline. I knows well the gritty appeal of the historic city. The complicated mix of Yale’s museums and Pepe’s pizza and the fading three-deckers where families struggle to pay the bills.
Half of all of my proceeds of this book’s sales benefit battered women’s shelters.
Please send along as much feedback and suggestions as you can. The more we can polish these worlds and characters, the more we can help the cause.
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Worcester Nights
series
Kate's life sucks. She's tending bar at a run-down dive. Her immoral boss fondles every co-ed within reach. The clientele is made up of TV-glazed zombies, drunkards, and ... who is that in the corner?
The Thunderbolt Hits.
She hadn't thought it was real. But when she looks into Sean's eyes, the force of the connection staggers her. Her mind desperately seeks to pull her back - he's an ex-felon. Far too talented with those rippled muscles and toned fists. He's everything she should be staying away from.
She craves him from the depths of her soul.
His touch smolders her skin; his fingers expose her to worlds she never dreamt existed.
But when his secret is ripped free from the dark shadows, their lives teeter on the brink of destruction.
Bermuda Nights series
Amanda desperately needed to get away. Her whole life had been about pleasing others - her straight-laced parents, her rule-bound teachers. When her best friend, Kayla, suggested they hop a cruise from Boston to Bermuda, Amanda leapt at the chance. This was her one chance to light the night on fire.
And then Evan stepped on stage.
Evan was exactly the man her country-club parents would have disapproved of. Ripped abs and soul-deep eyes. Lightning-fast fists. One glance and she knew she has to be his - if just for these seven brief, torturously-exquisite days.
And, oh, Evan could play her. His fingers were connoisseurs of her body, drawing out her deeper notes, sending her soaring to heights she barely knew existed. She lost all sense of self, of rules.
Until the day she saw what she was never meant to see - and her world changed forever.
Italian Nights series
Hannah and her sister, Megan, have been given the trip of a lifetime. They are cruising the Mediterranean Sea. Starting at Rome, they are working their way counter-clockwise through Florence, Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Sardinia, Sicily, and Pompeii. Life is their playground.
And then Hannah meets Brandon.
Brandon is strong, intelligent, loyal, and everything Hannah could possibly dream of in a man. He has also just walked in on his fiancée in bed with his best friend. Hannah is willing to wait as long as it takes for him to work his way through this betrayal.
And then all Hell breaks loose ...
Vegas Nights series
Las Vegas. Sin City. Heidi stepped off that plane ready to re-invent herself. Ready to delve into the glitz, glamour, and fantastical unreality which defines the mantra, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."
What she wasn't ready for was Aedan.
Billionaire playboy. Supermodels dripping down his well-muscled body. He seemed to have it all. But for some reason he kept appearing where she least expected. And he made her feel a way she swore she never would again.
Like she could trust him.
Until the dark revelation that threatens to destroy her ...
Cozumel Nights series
Sonya thought she was finally free. Her controlling, fault-finding parents had sold the family home in St. Louis and moved down to retire to Florida. Sonya's life could begin anew! But instead, she found herself lonelier than ever, missing her older brother who had escaped to California the moment he'd graduated from high school. So when her parents offered to fly her down to see the new condo and go on a six-day cruise, Sonya hesitantly agreed. After all, how bad could it be being stuck on a boat with her parents for a week?
Oh.
The sole shining light was the bevy of stunningly handsome gay men she tumbled into the care of. They offered laughter, fun, and everything she could ever have dreamed of. And Dylan's arms around her could have been all she desired in life.
If only it could be real.
StepShifter Alpha Billionaire Lover
A NYC MMA SEAL BBW BWWM MMF Ménage Paranormal Romance
You've read about the billionaires who like to tie things with ... ties. You've lusted over werewolves and werebears. You've sent your blood pressure through the roof fantasizing about that pair of muscle-bound MMA guys whose sole focus in life is to bring you to the heights of pleasure.
You've perhaps asked yourself, self, why do all of these fantastic lovers have to be in different universes? Why can't there simply be one, all-encompassing, all-possessing man whose endless bank accounts and prodigious sexual talents are mine for the claiming? Or perhaps even two men? And why can't the stories be in short, easy-to-read snippets so I can get through JUST ONE GODDAMNED STORY before the kids start screaming bloody murder or that lazy husband of mine wants another beer from the fridge?
Well, pine no more, for the StepShifter series is here! And what's even better, if you post on Ophelia's page with what you'd like to see the Dynamic Trio do in the upcoming books, your wish is her command. Your fantasies will spring to life in technicolor glory. Well, not really in technicolor, because if she made the book's letters red, green, and blue, then the poor color-blind readers amongst us would miss out on the fun. But while the letters might be elegantly black, like the heroine, the language is absolutely racy. Purple. Red-hot passion. Definitely not for anyone younger than eighteen, or anyone without a serious sense of humor about how consenting adults might choose to pass the night. Or day. Or the time it takes a taxi to get from Grand Central Station to Yankee Stadium.
C'mon. Take a look. You know you want to!
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 10
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Dedication
About the Author
Becoming Lost Page 6