What to Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection (WTRAFSOG Book 4)

by Selena Kitt

  “Gage is a grown man. Don’t beat yourself up over his actions. None of us are innocent, me included. I stole from him.”

  “To save your daughter. My crime killed someone. Yours saved the person you love most in this world.”

  “Doesn’t make it right.”

  “No, but you shouldn’t have a problem sleeping at night. At least, I hope you don’t.”

  I refrained from answering—maybe someday I’d be able to let it all go. “Would you mind taking Eve to get something to eat? I could use an hour alone.”

  “You’re going to see him, aren’t you?”

  I nodded. “I need to.”

  “There’s something you should know. They found Rick, and when they arrested him, he turned everything he had on Gage over to the authorities. They’ve begun an investigation, and Gage is probably going to serve some time in jail.”

  “What about Jody?”

  “They arrested her this morning.”

  I shook my head. “Typical. Of course Rick threw her under the rug. How did you find out about this?”

  “They questioned me. The Feds didn’t understand that Gage and I haven’t talked in years. I expect they’ll want to talk to you too.” He grabbed Eve from the car before unbuckling her seat and pulling it out. “I’ll meet up with you soon.”

  “Thanks, Ian.”

  I didn’t budge for a full five minutes after he left. Finally sinking into the driver’s seat, I pulled onto the road and took the long way to the hospital. I dreaded this visit. I had so much to say, so much to confront him about, and no words in mind. He didn’t notice me at first, as he was too busy arguing with the nurse about taking his vitals, a deep scowl on his face. I stood in the doorway and stared at the flakes coming down outside his window.

  “Get the doctor. I don’t need my fucking vitals taken for the hundredth time—I need out of here now.” And that’s when he saw me. He froze, which gave the nurse the opportunity to complete her task. Noting the readings in his chart, she then frowned at him on her way out, making it clear he was not her favorite patient.

  “Made anyone quit yet?” I forced a smile and took a step toward him, hoping to break the tense silence.

  “I’m working on it.” He leaned back against the pillows and winced.

  “How are you doing?” I asked.

  “Not too bad, all things considered.” He frowned. “I wasn’t sure if you were going to come.”

  “I wasn’t sure either.” I wandered around the room, finally stalling in front of the window, and became entranced by the falling snow. “I wanted to thank you for saving us, but Eve and I are leaving and we won’t be back.” I turned to face him. “I’ll leave my resignation on your desk before I go.”

  “So that’s it? You’re just going to leave?”

  I nodded. “I think the best thing for us is to move on from here.”

  He let out a bitter laugh. “You mean move on from me.”

  “You’re part of it, yes. But I want her to have a happy life. She’s been through so much.”

  “So have you.”

  “You’re partly to blame for that.”

  He clenched his jaw. “I’m aware of that.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me Ian was your brother?”

  His eyes rounded, an unguarded second in which he couldn’t hide his reaction, but then he smoothed his features. “Half brother. His dad’s a bastard. Couldn’t stand me.” He studied me for a moment. “What else did he have the guts to tell you?”

  “He told me about Liz.”

  “And now you’re thinking I did this to you as a means of getting back at him.”

  “Didn’t you?”

  “It started out that way, Kayla. I won’t lie. I wanted to make him pay. I still do.” His attention veered past me, and he grew lost in memories of the past. “His old man got him off with a slap to the wrist. I wanted to hurt him all right.”

  “Maybe you should let it go.”

  “So that’s what you think I should do? Let him get away with murder?”

  “Like I’ve let you get away with beating and raping me?” My words brought his gaze back to mine. “You made me pay for his sins, Gage. Now let it go.”

  “Who’s going to pay for mine?”

  “I hear you are.”

  “Guess he’s given you an earful. So you heard about the investigation?”

  I folded my arms and nodded. “What I don’t understand is why you did it. You’re not hurting for money.”

  “Not now, but that wasn’t the case during the recession. I did it to save the company.” He paused. “I repaid every cent. That’s when I realized Jody had been skimming too.”

  “Do I have to worry about going to jail, Gage?”

  “No. I covered your tracks. If it comes up, I’ll take the blame.”

  My mouth hung open. “Why would you do that?”

  “You’ve paid enough. Go be with your daughter, Kayla.”

  That was one order from Gage Channing I could obey without hesitation. I stalled, my hand on the door handle as the heat of his gaze seared my back. “Goodbye, Gage.”

  Epilogue

  One year later

  “He’s staring at your butt again.”

  “Stop it!” I hissed at Stacey. “He is not.”

  “Oh yes, honey,” she drawled, her Texas accent pronounced, “he is.”

  I cranked my head to find that Stacey was right. Nate was a regular customer, and he focused on my ass now as if it looked tastier than the Gigi’s breakfast special sitting in front of him.

  “How are the eggs, Nate?”

  He blinked and then lowered his head. “Great as always, Kayla.”

  Stacey snickered. “He’ll ask you out eventually, mark my words.”

  I hoped not—it would save me the trouble of rejecting him. I’d waitressed at Gigi’s for eight months now, and luckily most guys who pursued me quickly got the message. Stacey and I had gotten close, but she didn’t know about my past. No one did, and that was part of the allure of starting over in a town where no one knew me.

  Yet something was missing…or rather someone.

  My demons had relocated with me. Both Gage and Ian stalked the shadows in my bedroom at night, and I spent too much time lying awake. Eve’s nightmares lessoned over time, but mine hadn’t. It didn’t matter if the days were getting easier to get through—it was during those few dark hours when echoes of the past haunted me that I realized how weak I still was.

  How broken.

  Thankfully, I couldn’t say the same for Eve. She was doing well, physically and emotionally, and she continued to provide the brightest part of my day. She’d started preschool four months ago, and I’d watched her blossom since. Ian’s phone calls also brightened my days, though lately the tone of them had changed. I knew he missed me, and I felt the same way, though I questioned what it was about him that I missed exactly. It was a myriad of things—the sense of security I always felt in his presence, the way his kiss set my head spinning, the fact that I trusted him with my daughter…I could fill pages upon pages.

  I missed Gage for other reasons…reasons that reinforced how lonely I really was.

  Once my shift ended, I said goodbye to Stacey and promised to meet her on Saturday for a movie. She also had a child—a boy a year older than Eve. They said they were getting married someday. We laughed about their innocent childhood dreams, but deep inside, the idea bothered me. Kids often said such things, but the thought of Eve ever getting married, of subjecting herself to the cruelty of a man, terrified me. I’d grown so distrustful and paranoid that it put the term “jaded” to shame.

  On my way home, I picked Eve up from daycare. The last thing I expected was to find an unfamiliar vehicle in my driveway. My world screeched to a halt at the sight of the man who unfolded from it. He leaned against his door and waited as I let Eve out of her booster seat. I hoisted her in my arms and carried her toward the door.

  “Hello, Kayla.”

&nbs
p; “Hi…” My head spun with the reality of his presence. An entire year had passed since I’d walked away from my old life, and somewhere deep inside, I’d always known he’d come for me, but I hadn’t allowed myself to dwell on that eventuality.

  “Can I come in?”

  “Sure.” I pushed the door open. The duplex was small, but the place offered more room than our apartment had back in Oregon. “Just let me put on a cartoon for Eve.” I got her settled in the living room with a snack, and then I ushered him into the kitchen. He leaned against the counter and silently watched as I turned on the oven and arranged chicken breasts in a baking dish. I kept myself busy with mindless tasks for several minutes, my heart tap dancing the whole time.

  He was suddenly behind me, his hands on mine, pressing them to the counter and halting my movements. “Stop.”

  I went still. It’d been so long since a man had touched me. Months, though it seemed more like years.

  He wrapped his arms around me and buried his face against my neck, inhaling as if he’d thirsted for the scent of me. “I’ve missed you.” He tightened his hold. “So much.”

  I closed my eyes and focused on the weight of his arms across my chest, rising and falling with every breath. “Why are you here?”

  “Isn’t it obvious?”

  Several moments passed, and I finally spoke the words I wanted to say. “I’ve missed you too.” I ran a finger along his forearm. “But—”

  “Don’t shut me out, Kayla.”

  Shutting him out was impossible. Always had been.

  “Can you get a sitter for tonight?” he asked.

  I nodded without thinking. Stacey would look after her, but why would I need a sitter? I voiced the question.

  “Because I’m going to show you how much I’ve missed you.” He reached into my purse and dug for a few moments until he produced my cell. He held it out. “Get a sitter.”

  My fingers curled around the phone, hesitating. I could send him away. He’d go—I knew he would. And I would go about my life in peace. In peace and alone, always keeping everyone outside the bubble I’d built, unable to let anyone in.

  And I would never feel this way again.

  Taking a deep breath, I opened the phone and dialed.

  Thank you for reading!! The thrilling conclusion to the Devil’s Kiss series is NOW AVAILABLE!!

  About the Author

  Gemma James (a pseudonym for Christina Jean Michaels) loves to explore the darker side of sex in her fiction. She’s morbidly curious about anything dark and edgy and enjoys exploring the deviant side of human nature. Her stories have been described as being “not for the faint of heart.”

  She lives with her husband and their four children—three rambunctious UFC/wrestling-loving boys and one girl who steals everyone’s attention.

  Find her online as Christina Jean Michaels and subscribe to her newsletter so you don’t miss out on future releases:

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  Touched by Death

  Dale Mayer

  TOUCHED BY DEATH

  Dale Mayer

  Valley Publishing

  Copyright © 2012

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  ISBN 10: 1927461065

  ISBN-13: 978-1927461068

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to my four children who always believed in me and my storytelling abilities.

  Thanks to you all.

  Acknowledgments

  Touched by Death wouldn’t have been possible without the support of my friends and family. Many hands helped with proofreading, editing, and beta reading to make this book come together. Special thanks to my editor, Pat Thomas. I had a vision, but it took many people to make that vision real. I thank you all.

  Prologue

  In perfect symphony the clouds swayed in the sky, wrapping the moon in protective cotton wool as the ground shook and trembled beneath the sleepy town of Jacmel in the south of Haiti.

  Mother Earth growled and raged over and over again as if she knew the secrets long kept hidden in the hills behind the small town. As if she knew about the injustices done. As if she knew this had to stop. She gave one last mighty shove and the earth cracked open.

  Trees toppled, their roots ripped from the ground in hapless destruction. Large rocks tumbled as their foundations were wiped out from below. Everything fell to the force of Mother Nature – at long last exposing old secrets to the light.

  When she was finally satisfied, the clouds slipped back from their protective stance, letting the moon glare upon the result of Mother Earth’s game of fifty-two pickup with the Devil. The rays shone on bones long picked clean – now newly exposed to the sky.

  The ground undulated one last time. The surrounding hillside shuddered, sending a light dusting of earth and rock to rebury the gruesome evidence. As if the sins of man were too much for even the moon to see.

  Five days later, a tractor, hastily called into service, with a bucket on the front, groaned as it carried yet another load of the town’s dead to a large grave. Herman, the tractor driver, was beyond pain and grief and death. He focused on the gritty details of plain survival. Five days of heat and exposure hadn’t been kind to the dead – or to the living. Survival had become a grim business and rotting bodies needed to be buried or disease would crush them further. So many dead. No money. No time. No help.

  No choice.

  His neighbor, John, lifted the last small corpse from the dump truck load on the ground to the loader’s bucket. He pulled off one work glove, straightened the bandana tied around his mouth and nose and shouted, “Good to go!”

  Herman popped the gear shift forward, swore and prayed that Bertha would survive the job given her. He trundled forward. “Come on girl.” He patted the stick shift in his hand. “I need you to get it done. If you quit on me, I ain’t gonna make it through this.” And that was no joke. He knew for damn sure that he wouldn’t if ol’ Bertha didn’t. Bad business this. He had respect for the dead. Every one of his family and friends had received a proper send off, a decent burial – as was fitting. Until this earthquake.

  Pain clutched his heart and squeezed. So many dead.

  He’d lost his wife, one son and two grandkids this last week. Sex and age hadn’t mattered here. Mother Nature hadn’t cared. She’d wiped them all out.

  John, the only other person who’d stepped up to help, had been lucky. His young wife and her family had survived the devastation. Living out of town had helped. That also contributed to his motivation to help out. This grave butted against his wife’s family’s land so it made sense for John to make sure this grave was closed over right and proper. There could be many people trekking to the grave on All Soul’s Day, as families came to honor their dead. Then again, complete families had been buried together. There might not be anyone left to mourn.

  He would come and visit. There were too many people here to forget.

  Herman tugged at the old t-shirt tied around his nose and mouth, his black skin blending with the poor light. Nothing kept the smell out. He’d already gone through a half dozen pairs of gloves. But without the makeshift bandana the breath caught in his chest, making him gag. His clothes would have to be burned after this. There would be no way to clean them.

  Bertha struggled forward. Darkness hid the evidence of what they were doing. What he’d done. He only hoped he wouldn’t have too many more loads to haul.

  In the
aftermath of the earthquake, everyone had been numb, in shock or frozen with grief. No one had been able to make decisions. There’d been no army to take care of the problem. The government buildings and staff had been as decimated as the rest of the population.

  Herman hadn’t been able to leave his people lying exposed like that. Determined to do what he could he’d taken command and had done something. Something so awful, he couldn’t close his eyes without seeing the stares of the dead – blaming him.

  So far, close to sixty people had gone into this pit. The natural depression, a ready-made burial spot, was a godsend to the desperate survivors, a fast answer to the bloated dead rotting on the sidewalks. He didn’t know how many more were to come, maybe hundreds. Later, much later, if someone cared, they could open this mass grave and do the right thing. But not now. Now they had to get on with the business of survival.

  Mother Nature was a bitch.

  Chapter One

  One year later…

  Jade Hansen twisted in the cool sheets. Her sweaty panicked body searched for a way out of the endless nightmare of bloated bodies, desperate people and cries for help – pleas that would never get answered. She turned in the fog as one more person, caught among the fallen rocks, cried out to her. She came face to face with a woman – blood congealed in her hair and streaked down the side of her face, a chunk of concrete crushing her legs. She begged for Jade to find her son.

  Screaming, Jade took off to the safety of the tent, the tent filled with the dead…and the living that searched for their families.

  She couldn’t help them all.

  She couldn’t help any of them.

  She couldn’t even help herself.

  With tears streaming down her face, Jade woke in a panic as if the demons of her nightmare had followed her into the present.