Caught in the Storm

by M. Stratton

  A small smile reached the corners of his mouth. “Just me. I’m so sorry this happened to you.”

  She shook her head. “After everything I’ve said and done, you’re apologizing to me? No, Anthony, it’s me who is sorry. I’ve spent so many years wanting revenge that it clouded my judgment. Everything you’ve been through … and yet here you stand trying to make me feel better.” She didn’t notice when the tears started falling from her eyes. “I’m so sorry.” She rubbed her hand across her heart as if to ease the pain. “I was so wrong.”

  As the tears fell harder and faster, she was gathered up in his arms, the arms of the man she had hated for so long. The arms of the man she thought had attacked her and left her for dead. The man she would have killed if she’d had the chance, before knowing that Jeremy was responsible. She couldn’t get a hold of herself and continued to break down, letting everything go. Everything she had kept bottled inside for years finally came pouring out.

  “We are done collecting all the evidence. We’ll be putting the body in the van now,” the detective told them a short time later.

  “Do you have any clues as to who did this to him?” Noah asked.

  “Not at this stage. We’ll know more after we run tests.”

  “Come on. You’ve got to be able to tell us something. Like, did you find something that stood out to you as different?” Jackson said.

  After a moment, the detective finally said, “No, we did not. At first look, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.”

  Anthony put his arm around Evie. “Should we be worried?”

  “No. It seems all of the rage and anger was directed at Mr. Ellison. He hadn’t been dead long before he was discovered. I’d almost bet whoever killed him was still around. They would have seen the two of you walking around and if they wanted you dead, you’d be dead.”

  “Once again, thanks for the info. Now, would you mind if we saw the body?” Evie asked with sarcasm dripping from each word.

  “Why would you want to do that?” he asked.

  Lexi put her hand on Evie’s arm to stop her from talking. “He has taken so much from some of us. We need to see him, this time on our terms. We need to have this visual in our heads to know it’s finally over. We need to know that it’s him and he is dead. We need to be able to move on.”

  The detective only nodded and moved out of the way so they could pass.

  Kat, Lexi and Evie stood there holding hands, not saying a word as they looked into the face of the man who had hunted them. After a moment, they turned and walked back toward their men.

  Lastly, it was Anthony’s turn. He only stood there for the briefest of moments before turning around and not looking back.

  March 3rd

  “Come on! Push it! Push it real good!” Evie coached from the side of the hospital bed and shook her booty.

  “Stop it,” Lexi screamed as the pain clenched her belly.

  Noah’s face was white as Lexi held his hand in a death grip. “That’s it, love, come on, breathe, it’s almost over.”

  Lexi opened one eye and glared at him. Once the contraction was over, she fell back on the bed. “I hate you all.”

  “Oh now, honey, you don’t mean that. Look here, we’ve brought you some visuals. They say it will help if you have something to focus on. Here.” Evelyne, Leigh and Marie finished taping the poster to the wall right in Lexi’s line of sight. They moved away and everyone gasped.

  Oh, my God,” Evie said, clapping her hand over her mouth. “I can’t believe …”

  With the exception of the beeps from the machine, the room was quiet.

  “You … you … you can’t put that up there,” Kat said from the corner of the room.

  Leigh put her hand on her hip. “Just why the hell not? I think it’s a fine piece of art.”

  “That is not art. That is … huge … Wrong! I meant to say wrong. It’s wrong. It’s got to be photo shopped,” Evie said as she shook her head.

  “Nope. Trust me, we did our research. This here is the real deal.” Leigh bobbed her head up and down. “We went through hundreds of pictures of him, and it always looks the same, no matter what angle or lighting.”

  “Besides, I don’t see what’s wrong with it.” Evelyne tilted her head to the side. “I think it’s perfect.”

  “Speaking as the only man in the room, I think you need to take it down. Really, you can fight over which of you gets to take it home, but it shouldn’t be here,” Noah said as he tried to look anywhere but at the poster.

  “I’m sorry, ladies, but the first thing my daughter sees when she comes into this world will not be a very large poster of a naked man. Besides, something like that,” she waved a hand toward the poster, “is what got me into this situation in the first place.”

  “Really?” Evelyne said and looked Noah up and down. “So you’re saying Mr. Rock Star here is hung like a horse? Well, I’ll be …”

  Noah cleared his throat and covered his dick with his hands. “Really ladies, why don’t you go keep Anthony and Jackson company? They’re out there all by themselves.”

  “Oh, and look, it’s almost shift change. Maybe some new hot doctors will be around.” Kat said as she walked over to take down the poster. “And you might want to take this with you.”

  “Fine, but I don’t know what we are going to do with the extra copy. We already have one for each of us,” Marie grumbled as she took the poster from Kat’s hand.

  “Oh, I know, let’s put it in the ladies room at the senior center. Maybe some of those old bags will loosen up a bit,” Leigh enthused.

  “Excellent idea! Plus that way we get to see it too! I don’t ever want to be too far from Mr. Stallion anyway,” Evelyne said as they walked out of the room.

  Six Months Later

  Stephanie Bailey Matthews cried her little heart out as her mother and father tried to soothe her, with Aunt Evie and Uncle Anthony making faces at her while Aunt Kat and Uncle Jackson tried to get her food ready.

  Everything was perfect. Aunt Evie and Uncle Anthony were married soon after she was born and she was going to have a cousin soon. Aunt Kat and Uncle Jackson were going to be married the following month. She didn’t know about the dark cloud that had hung over all of them for so long and brought them all together. All she knew was how happy they were and how much they loved her.

  Thank you to Suzanne for allowing me to bounce ideas off of you and shooting me down when they aren't good enough. This series would be nothing without you.

  My beta readers, Heather, Jennifer, Dana, Ellen, Chelle, Heidi, Carey and Kristina thank you so much for taking my very rough mess and seeing the good in it and pointing out where I needed more. Thank you for enjoying my words so much.

  My clean readers, Nikki, Gloria and Tiffani thank you so much for taking the time to look for all those little mistakes that I never see.

  My Stars, oh how you all have become more to me than just people who happen to really like my books. It amazes me that you go out of your way to let people know about me and my books. I cannot wait until we finally get to meet!

  Becky at Hot Tree Editing, you and your team are so amazing! You took my hot mess of a book and made it all grammatically correct and stuff. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

  Melissa at MG Book Covers, thank you for making my vision come to life.

  Tami with Integrity-Formatting thank you for working your magic and making all three books look awesome.

  And to these ladies, who mean so much to me, and have helped me one way or another throughout this journey: Andrea, Ana, Anne, Antoinette, Carey, Chelle, Carrie, Christine, Dana, E.K., Ellen, Gloria, Heather, Heidi, Jennifer B, Jennifer D, Julie, Kiki, Louise, Megan, Melanie, Michele, Mindy, Miranda, Nikki, S., Sarah, Summer, Suzanne, Suzee, Tabitha, Tiffani, Trina, and Yaya.

  My WARS ladies and AS101, you all seriously rock.

  I have to do a big shout out to my husband who has picked up the slack around the house so that I can write and find a balance bet
ween all of my jobs.

  Finally the readers, those people who first took a chance on my debut novel and decided to continue on the journey with me, thank you, thank you, thank you. It amazes me that there are people out there who like my stories as much as I do. I have more stories so stick around and let’s see where we go!

  OTHER WORKS BY M. STRATTON

  The Storm Series

  After the Storm

  Eye of the Storm

  Caught in the Storm

  COMING SOON FROM M. STRATTON

  (Titles and descriptions subject to change)

  Dreaming in Moonlight (Summer 2014)

  Ghosts are real. They are all around us. Most of the time they are satisfied to watch us go by and not interact. When a couple was cursed to spend three hundred years in death, searching for the one living couple that could release them, they search for centuries to find a love that will make time stand still. If they fail, they will be sent to Hell to live out the rest of eternity.

  Demons are real. They are all around us. Their one goal is make our lives a living hell. They will stop at nothing to destroy our minds and bodies. With the curse rapidly approaching its end, the deepest darkest demon is summoned to make sure they don’t succeed.

  Kate O’Malley fell in love with the old two-story farm house in Maine at first sight. She has to live there. Spending all of her savings, she is able to buy it and move right in. The very first night strange things happen. Her dreams aren’t her own. Looking for answers, she calls on a friend who puts her in contact with a ghost hunter, Sawyer Hamilton. Neither know what is in their future, neither knows if they are going to survive it.

  Dreaming in Moonlight; when your sleep is filled with passion and your nightmares are real.

  Waking in Moonlight (Summer 2014)

  Finn Hamilton always tried to use her gifts to help people. Never one to see, or feel, anyone hurting she would do whatever she could to help them. Even at the risk of her own health.

  Taylor Walsh thought by leaving the big city for a small town in Maine, he'd never have to see the evil people do to others again. He was wrong. Something followed him. Something that wanted to see him ruined.

  When Finn is called in to help with the investigation, Taylor is angry but when he sees what she is capable of he begins to wonder if there is more around them than what he can see.

  Unnaturally blocked, Finn knows she is dealing with something more powerful than your typical psychopath. For the first time in her career, she is scared and having to rely on someone else doesn't sit well with her.

  Waking in Moonlight; when your days are filled with nightmares and your passion is awoken.

  What Comes Around (Summer 2014)

  Devlin Cross was Hollywood's hottest stars. He had the pick of the scripts and the pick of the women. While on break from filming his current movie, he takes a drive through the countryside and stops at a local art gallery. There the owner isn't star struck by having him in her shop.

  Lily Walters is a single mother who wants nothing to do with men. Her goal in life is to raise her son to the best of her ability and give him the stable home life she never had. With her failed marriage behind her, the last thing on her radar is a relationship, especially one with a famous movie star.

  Not every break up is mutual. Some exes never let go. Some will do whatever it takes to have that person back in their lives. Dead ... or alive ...

  Treasured Secrets (Fall 2014)

  Nicole Harper fell in love with the perfect house in Savannah, Georgia. A house in the old historic district that had a sordid past was available. Not wanting to lose out, she bid high and was now the new owner of Dowers House.

  Waking up the first morning in her new home, she walked out back to a bloody mess. The prior owner was torn apart and thrown over her lawn and dangling from the trees.

  Colt McKenna took his job as detective seriously, when the call comes in that morning he was first on scene. Something about Nicole tugged at him. Vowing to do whatever it took to give her the peace she needed, he kept close to keep her safe.

  There is more to the house than meets the eye. After finding a diary in the attic, they start searching every nook of the home in search of the treasure that has been buried for over a century.

  Someone else knows of the treasure, someone who has already killed to possess it. Someone who will stop at nothing to have it all for himself.

  Falconi House Murders (Winter 2015)

  The Cooper sisters, Nadia, Ava and Grace, hadn't lived under the same roof in over a decade. That was all going to change. With the death of their parents, the sisters honor the last wishes of their parents by going into business together.

  The perfect opportunity to showcase all of their individual talents falls into their laps. They purchase the rundown Victorian mansion in Astoria, Oregon to open a bed and breakfast.

  Nadia, being the oldest, had always taken that responsibility seriously. Going into business was an easy choice. Running a bed and breakfast with her sisters was going to be hard.

  Ava always loved to cook, she worked her way up to the finest restaurants on both coasts. Now she'd be cooking for whoever showed up and trying to make sure tempers didn't overflow.

  Grace was the youngest, while she might be a tomboy, she certainly didn't look it. Traveling around the country, she had restored more historic homes than the wrecking ball took down. Now she'd be restoring the most important one of all. If she could survive her sisters.

  When it is discovered a murder had taken place on the property, the sisters come together to discover who got away with it. Things start to happen around the house that make it seem someone wants those secrets buried forever.

  Can they figure out who killed in cold blood before the body count starts getting higher? Or could it be one of the three men that come into their lives who is hiding the most damaging secrets of them all?

  Darkness Falls (Summer 2015)

  All is not as it seems in Darkness Falls

  Angel Collins couldn't get out of the small town she grew up in fast enough. Heading west, she landed in Darkness Falls waiting tables to make enough money to move onto the next town. Everything changed when he walked into the diner.

  Nickolas Samuels keeps a distance from the residents of Darkness Falls. As their leader, if the order came down to kill any one of them, he couldn't risk getting close to them. When he feels Angel enter his domain, he has to see to her. He couldn't believe his luck that someone like her fell into his territory.

  Once word gets out Angel and Nickolas are together, a battle starts to brew. But who will win good or evil, and who is on what side?

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  M. Stratton is an International Amazon bestselling author in the romantic suspense and mystery suspense categories for her debut novel After the Storm. She is a self-proclaimed dork who loves to make people laugh and can trip over nothing. Her inner rock star is always on stage performing to a sold out crowd but is quiet and shy on the outside.

  She lives with her husband and son in Arizona, which is a big difference from where she grew up north of Chicago, Illinois. As an only child, she learned to tell herself stories to make the long winters go by quicker while dreaming of summer vacations. Now as an adult, she still makes up storie
s to pass the time, but now she writes them down to share with other people.

  When not writing, you can find M. watching football (Go Bears!), NASCAR, or classic movies, watching her husband and father restore classic cars, and seeing who can be sillier, her or her son, and of course reading.

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  After the Storm and Eye of the Storm – Note from the Author

  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

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgements

  Coming Soon from M. Stratton

  How to find M. Stratton

  About the Author