by Willow Rose
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Books by the Author
MYSTERY NOVELS
Don’t Lie To Me (Eva Rae Thomas Mystery #1) - Click here
What You Did (Eva Rae Thomas Mystery #2) - Click here
Never ever (Eva Rae Thomas Mystery #3) - Click here
Say you love me (Eva Rae Thomas Mystery #4) - Click here
Let Me Go (Eva Rae Thomas Mystery #5) - Click here
All The Good Girls (Harry Hunter Mystery #1) - Click here
Run Girl Run (Harry Hunter Mystery #2) - Click here
No Other Way (Harry Hunter Mystery #3) - Click here
Never Walk Alone (Harry Hunter Mystery #4) - Click here
What Hurts the Host (Mary Mills Mystery #1) - Click here
You Can Run (Mary Mills Mystery #2) - Click here
You Can’t Hide (Mary Mills Mystery #3) - Click here
Careful Little Eyes (Mary Mills Mystery #4) - Click here
Hit the Road Jack (Jack Ryder #1) - Click here
Slip Out the Back Jack (Jack Ryder #2) - Click here
The House that Jack Built (Jack Ryder #3) - Click here
Black Jack (Jack Ryder #4) - Click here
Girl next door (Jack Ryder #5) - Click here
Her final word (Jack Ryder #6) - Click here
Don’t Tell (Jack Ryder #7) - Click here
One, Two… He is Coming for You (Rebekka Franck #1) - Click here
Three, Four … Better Lock your Door (Rebekka Franck #2) - Click here
Five, Six … Grab your Crucifix (Rebekka Franck #3) - Click here
Seven, Eight… Gonna Stay up Late (Rebekka Franck #4) - Click here
Nine, Ten… Never Sleep Again (Rebekka Franck #5) - Click here
Eleven, Twelve… Dig and Delve (Rebekka Franck #6) - Click here
Thirteen, Fourteen… Little Boy Unseen (Rebekka Franck #7) - Click here
Better not cry (Rebekka Franck #8) - Click here
Ten little Girls (Rebekka Franck #9) - Click here
It Ends Here (Rebekka Franck #10) - Click here
Edwina - Click here
To Hell in A Handbasket - Click here
Umbrella Man - Click here
Black Bird Fly - Click here
In Cold Blood - Click here
Itsy Bitsy Spider (Emma Frost #1) - Click here
Miss Polly had a Dolly (Emma Frost #2)- Click here
Run, Run, as Fast as you Can (Emma Frost #3) - Click here
Cross your Heart and Hope to Die (Emma Frost #4) - Click here
Peek A Boo I See You (Emma Frost #5) - Click here
Tweedledum and Tweedledee (Emma Frost #6) - Click here
Easy as One Two Three (Emma Frost #7) - Click here
There’s No Place like Home (Emma Frost #8) - Click here
Slenderman (Emma Frost #9) - Click here
Where the Wild Roses Grow (Emma Frost #10) - Click here
Waltzing Mathilda (Emma Frost #11) - Click here
Drip Drop Dead (Emma Frost #12) - Click here
HORROR SHORT STORIES
Eenie, Meenie - Click here
Rock-A-Bye Baby - Click here
Nibble, Nibble, Crunch - Click here
Humpty, Dumpty - Click here
Chain Letter - Click here
Better Watch Out - Click here
Mommy Dearest - Click here
The Bird- Click here
FANTASY AND PARANORMAL ROMANCE/SUSPENSE
Flesh and Blood - Click here
Blood and Fire - Click here
Fire and Beauty - Click here
Beauty and Beasts - Click here
Beasts and Magic - Click here
Magic and Witchcraft - Click here
Witchcraft and War - Click here
War and Order - Click here
Order and Chaos- Click here
Chaos and Courage - Click here
Beyond (Afterlife #1) - Click here
Serenity (Afterlife #2) - Click here
Endurance (Afterlife #3) - Click here
Courageous (Afterlife #4) - Click here
The Surge - Click here
Girl Divided - Click here
In One Fell Swoop - Click here
Savage (Daughters of the Jaguar #1) - Click here
Broken (Daughters of the Jaguar #2) - Click here
Song for a Gypsy (The Eye of the Crystal Ball -The Wolfboy Chronicles) - Click here
I am WOLF (The Wolfboy Chronicles) - Click here
BOX SETS
Eva Rae Thomas Mystery Series: Book 1-3 - Click here
Jack Ryder Mystery Series Box Set: Vol 1-3 - Click here
Jack Ryder Mystery Series Box Set: Vol 4–6 - Click here
Mary Mills Mystery Series Box Set: Vol 1-2 - Click here
Mary Mills Mystery Series Box Set: Vol 1-3 - Click here
Rebekka Franck Series Vol 1-3 - Click here
Rebekka Franck Series Vol 4-6 - Click here
Rebekka Franck Series Vol 1-5 - Click here
Emma Frost Mystery Series Vol 1-3 - Click here
Emma Frost Mystery Series Vol 4-6 - Click here
Emma Frost Mystery Series Vol 7-9 - Click here
Emma Frost Mystery Series Vol 1-5 - Click here
Daughters of the Jaguar Box Set - Click here
The Vampires of Shadow Hills: Books 1-3 - Click here
The Vampires of Shadow Hills: Books 4–6 - Click here
The Vampires of Shadow Hills: Books 6–9 - Click here
The Afterlife Series (Books 1-3)- Click here
Horror Stories from Denmark - Click here
The Wolfboy Chronicles - Click here
ALL THE GOOD GIRLS (HARRY HUNTER MYSTERY - BOOK 1)
Excerpt
For a special sneak peak of Willow Rose’s Bestselling Mystery Novel ALL THE GOOD GIRLS turn to the next page.
Chapter 1
“I don’t like it, Robert.”
“What’s that?”
Robert didn’t even look up from his laptop. It was late at night, and he was still working, as usual, even on a Friday night.
“I haven’t heard from her in hours,” Valentina said. “She hasn’t responded to any of my texts.”
Robert sighed and glared at her from behind the laptop. He was still every bit as handsome as he had been when they met twenty years ago at the annual Vizcaya Ball, which anyone who was anyone in Miami’s high society attended. She had been in her early twenties, and he had been ten years older. Still, it seemed like she was the one who looked the oldest these days. He kept himself in shape to a degree that Valentina often worried he might have other women on the side. Robert traveled a lot and was often gone for weeks at a time. Who knew what he did on those business trips?
“It’s a dance, Valentina. It’s prom. It’s a big deal around here, and it is to your daughter too. She won’t be keeping an eye on her phone all night, waiting for your texts. Frankly, I would be more concerned if she had answered.”
Around here.
Robert always said stuff like that condescendingly like she wouldn’t understand because she wasn’t from around here. Because she was from Colombia…because she had come here when she was in her late teens and never attended an American high school. It was something in the way he said it that made her cringe like she wasn’t good enough because she wasn’t fully American and never would be.
“Well, she promised me she’d text me,” she said with a small snort. “And now it’s getting really late.”
“She’s seventeen; she knows how to han
dle herself.”
“I’m not so sure. Those kids at her school, I don’t trust them.”
That made Robert laugh. “You don’t trust anyone, Valentina. It’s in your nature.”
And there it was again. Always making sure she knew she was different from him. It was something that had grown in their marriage over the years, coming between them…a disdain toward her. Valentina found it to be odd. Living in Key Biscayne, they were surrounded by people from South America…wealthy people who had nannies and drove expensive cars but spoke Spanish. Living there, Robert felt surrounded, invaded almost, and slowly, he had begun to fight to conserve his sense of being a white American. It was important that his daughter knew she was American, he would suddenly say, and he wouldn’t have her speak any Spanish, so Valentina had to teach her when he wasn’t at home.
“Well, I don’t,” she said, lifting her nose toward the ceiling in contempt. “They have never been good to Lucy.”
Valentina grimaced when saying the name. It was something they had discussed endlessly when she had become pregnant…what to name their daughter. Valentina wanted to name her a Colombian name; she wanted her to know where she came from, whereas Robert believed she needed to be as American as possible. In the end, Valentina had put her foot down and said she was naming her Luciana after her great-grandmother, and Robert had given in. But over the years, Luciana had become Lucy, and influenced by her father, their daughter insisted that everyone call her that.
Valentina looked at her Rolex, then felt a pinch of deep worry in the pit of her stomach.
“It’s eleven-thirty now, and we still haven’t heard anything,” she said with a slight whimper. “The prom ended at eleven. She was supposed to text us to pick her up.”
“They’re probably just hanging out after the party,” he said, calming her down, or at least attempting to. “You need to relax.”
Valentina stared at her phone, checking if there was a signal, then put it down just as the screen lit up. Relief washed over her as she saw her daughter’s name on the display. She opened the text.
“They’re going to the beach to make a bonfire,” she said with light laughter. “She’s asking if it’ll be okay that she stays out a little later. Guess I won’t be going to sleep anytime soon, then.”
“Well, there you go,” Robert said. “Your daughter is just having a good time for once. High school has not been easy for her, but now she finally seems to be enjoying herself. Don’t ruin it with all your worry, please.”
Chapter 2
Valentina stared at the clock on the wall. It was past two o’clock now, and still, there was no news from her daughter. She was getting tired now and wanted to go to bed soon. Robert had turned in, and Valentina had also been dozing off on the couch, waiting to hear from Lucy.
She looked at her phone again, wondering if she should call her and tell her it was time to come home. It wasn’t like Lucy to stay out all night like this, and by now, Valentina feared the girl might have been persuaded to drink alcohol or do something worse. Lucy was a good girl and had stayed away from all that stuff, so Valentina didn’t understand why she’d start now. She usually wasn’t interested in partying, and it had actually taken some effort to persuade her even to go to this dance. Valentina had bought her a beautiful lavender dress, but still, the girl had told her she didn’t want to go. But then some weeks ago, she had come home and suddenly told Valentina that she had changed her mind…that some kids from the school had asked if she was going and had been friendly toward her. There was also a boy, she had admitted, who had told her he thought she was cute. Valentina had thought it was wonderful and hoped that things were finally shaping up for her like her mother had wanted for so many years. They had gone through so much bullying and so many bad times with no friends in school that Valentina had thought this was an answer to her prayers.
But she hadn’t expected her daughter to stay out so late.
Now, she didn’t know what to do. She did know, however, that two o’clock was way too late, and it was time to put a stop to it. She walked up the stairs to her bedroom and woke Robert.
“She hasn’t texted yet. I fell asleep, but now I think we need to get her home. It’s two o’clock,” she said.
Robert sat up in bed and cleared his throat. “Really? That is too late. Call her and tell her I’m on my way.”
Robert rose to his feet and found his jeans, then put them on. Valentina was about to call Lucy when Robert’s phone on his nightstand rang. They shared a brief look; then, he grabbed it.
“It’s her,” he said. “It’s Lucy.”
Valentina breathed, relieved. But the feeling was soon replaced by anger over her daughter’s reckless behavior. Lucy knew this was way too late. She was being very irresponsible.
Robert picked up the phone and held it against his ear. A voice could be heard on the other end and was yelling loudly, so Valentina could hear it vividly even if she couldn’t make out what was being said. But she did realize the voice didn’t belong to her daughter.
Robert’s smile froze, and his eyes became steel gray.
“Who is this? WHO is this?”
Robert looked at the display as the connection was lost.
“Who was that?” Valentina asked fearfully. “What did they say? Robert?”
But Robert was unreachable at this point. His nostrils were flaring, his eyes ablaze with anger.
“Robert? Who was that?”
He grabbed his shirt and put it on while running into the hallway and down the stairs without uttering a single word to his wife.
“Robert?” she called after him, but he just continued, rushing out the front door, which slammed shut behind him.
“Robert? ROBERT?”
ONE YEAR LATER
Chapter 3
“Hey, you! Yes, you, I’m talking to you!”
I approached the guy in the alley. I couldn’t see his face or the young girl’s face enough to see their eyes or their features, but I didn’t have to.
I knew exactly what was happening.
“This girl is no more than a teenager, and you’re selling crack to her?” I said. “What kind of a monster does that?”
The lanky guy stared at me in the darkness. The girl saw the chance to take off and ran out of the alley and into the street. I knew she would probably just run around the corner and find another creep who would sell her whatever she was craving, whatever they had her hooked on. I knew I couldn’t save her, but I was doing my part to try and clean out the availability.
“W-what the…?” the guy said. His hand slid back inside his hoodie with the small white rock in it. He puffed himself up in front of me.
I stared down at him. It was one of the advantages of being six-foot-eight. Not many felt superior to you, especially not lowlife drug dealers in Overtown Miami. The guy was about to pull out a weapon; I saw the movement of his hand behind his back, where he probably kept it in the waistband of his jeans. It was most likely a knife since most of these Haitian dealers in this part of town couldn’t afford a gun. They were also often searched by the cops patrolling the streets and finding a gun on their body would be excuse enough to shoot them.
We all knew the drill around here.
As his hand moved toward the knife behind his back, I moved my arm just enough for my zip-up hoodie to open up so he could see the gun in my holster inside of it. The sight made him let go of the knife. It also made him realize I was a cop if he hadn’t already.
“Hand over the goodies,” I said. “I’m confiscating them. You’re not selling to any more young girls; do you hear me?”
“No way,” the guy said with a sniffle, then wiped his nose. He was edgy, and his hand was shaking. It would soon be time for him to have his next fix. He had to sell to other poor souls in order to keep up with his own demand. It was the circle of life around these parts. And it was a never-ending story.
“That girl is someone’s daughter; do you know that?” I asked and reached
for his hoodie. I grabbed him by the collar and pulled him upward, closer to my face. “Did you get her hooked, huh? Did you introduce her to crack, giving her the first ride for free, so she’d become a lifelong customer, huh? Don’t look at me like that; I know your type. Scum of the earth.”
I reached into his pocket and pulled the rock out, still holding him by the collar with the other hand.
“Hey, that’s mine!” he yelled.
“Not anymore,” I said and put him down.
As I did, he took a swing at me. I wasn’t expecting it, and it took me by surprise. His fist slammed into my right eye with such force that I fell backward. The little kid was a lot stronger than I had given him credit for. I roared in pain while the kid jolted forward, trying to get away.
Another awesome part about being this tall, by the way, is that I have very long arms. So, as the kid leaped forward, thinking he’d be able to get away, I simply reached out my right arm and grabbed him by the hoodie, then pulled him backward. His legs were in the air as I pulled him back and threw him down on the pavement with a thud. I then leaned over him and placed my massive fist on his nose, breaking the bone. Blood gushed from it, and he looked at me, confused. I gave him another blow to his face, then reached into his jeans pocket and found another rock that I took before letting him go.
“Might be a chance for you to try something new, make a career move,” I said as I let him go. Above me, the warm Florida night was threatening to end in a storm, and I heard thunder in the distance.
“Hey,” the kid yelled after me as I walked away. “You can’t do this to me.”
“I can’t?” I said when I reached the end of the alley. “I think I just did.”