Revenge Revealed

by Chloe Fischer

  Revenge Revealed

  Chloe Fischer

  Copyright © 2019 by Chloe Fischer

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  To fighters everywhere

  You inspire me…

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Epilogue

  For a Preview of Luke’s story, check out Revenge Unleashed

  Also by Chloe Fischer: the Mafia Series

  Join Me

  Prologue

  Rachel heard the yelling from her suite on the second floor and her instinct was to ignore it. After all, it wasn’t like she didn’t hear her father and brother going at it almost daily, their fights growing worse with each passing year.

  Luke was a man now, no longer the scared boy who used to cower back and endure their father’s hard hand. He was lashing back, a fact that only incensed their father worse.

  Nothing to see here, she reasoned, shame flooding her at the thought. What could she do to stop them? Luke did everything in his power to protect her from the abuse their father inflicted upon him, and or course, their father pretended that he was innocent whenever she attempted to intervene. It was just another day in the life of the busted Vaughan family.

  Rachel was beginning to believe that the only way for it to stop was through the death of one of them.

  Poor Luke, she thought, gritting her teeth together as the voices grew louder but suddenly she realized that it wasn’t two males arguing from the main floor but Luke and a girl. The knowledge abruptly made her much more interested in what was happening.

  Who could that be now?

  She rose from her computer desk and ambled toward the door of her sitting room, her ears honed to the trouble brewing below.

  “…I swear to God, Luke! If you do this…” the girl trailed off menacingly. There was unmistakable misery in her tone, and the words caused a shiver to roll through Rachel’s body.

  “Col, you need to get out of here,” her brother growled. “You’re causing a scene and security will come along.”

  Rachel wondered if it was security that worried Luke or their father. Either way, Carter was likely to hear about whatever these theatrics were about – and he’d take it out on her brother. Silently, Rachel willed the woman to go also.

  “You’re going to regret this, you asshole!” the girl below howled. “You will, I swear to God!”

  What is this drama all about? The ten-year-old wondered, her curiosity overriding her inherent sense to mind her own business. If it had been a conflict between her dad and brother, she would have popped her headphones on and prayed that it didn’t turn physical, futile a hope as that might be. Their father only knew how to communicate with his fists where Luke was concerned, and it seemed Luke had long since learned to deal with it.

  But this was different. This wasn’t a family issue.

  Maybe I can actually help Luke this time, she thought, hope filling her. So many times, she’d longed to play hero to her brother the way he had for her. Not that Carter had ever laid a hand on her, but their father had other means of being cruel, ones which would leave deeper emotional scars than Luke’s physical ones.

  Before Rachel could stop herself, she was at the landing of the center staircase, peering down into the foyer, ignoring her gut instinct to leave well enough alone.

  Below, Luke stood, his massive frame defensive, arms crossed over his broad chest as he glowered at the half-sobbing, half-screaming blonde before him. At seventeen, Luke was bigger than most of their father’s friends, towering and intimidating as he stood over the girl.

  Collette…what is she doing here?

  Last Rachel had heard, her brother had broken up with the unbalanced girl. It seemed that Collette wasn’t taking the parting well.

  Or maybe she’s taking it too seriously.

  Rachel was still far too naïve in the ways of relationships to fully understand what was happening.

  “I’ll have a driver take you home,” Luke said firmly, using his body to block Collette from entering the house any further. From where Rachel sat, she could see that the blonde teen was not amenable to that idea in the least.

  “I don’t need your damned driver!” Collette howled. “I need you! Can’t you see that? We’re meant to be together!”

  Rachel wasn’t sure who to feel sorry for. There was a naked plaintiveness in Collette’s tone, the pain cutting into the younger girl even from the distance between them. But her loyalty was always to Luke and if Luke wanted her gone…

  “Is everything all right, Mr. Luke?”

  Harry appeared in the foyer, his body nearly bursting out of his too-tight suit. Rachel’s heart caught in her throat.

  Darn it. Now Daddy is definitely going to hear about this.

  “Everything’s fine,” Luke said quickly, casting Collette a warning look.

  “EVERYTHING IS NOT FINE!” she screamed. “You’ve ruined my life!”

  “Come on, Miss,” Harry said, reaching for her arm to escort her off the property.

  “DON’T YOU FUCKING TOUCH ME!” Collette shrieked, wrenching herself away from the house guard. “YOU DON’T TOUCH ME!”

  “Collette!” Luke snapped, his patience expiring entirely. “You need to go home!”

  Rachel watched the scene in embarrassed disbelief, unsure of who was at fault there. Even at her young age, she knew her brother’s reputation for breaking hearts but the anguish in Collette’s voice was almost too much for Rachel to bear. She wanted to run downstairs and tell Collette that everything would be fine, but of course she didn’t dare.

  As if sensing her standing there, Luke suddenly turned, his eyes boring into hers.

  “Go back to your room, Rachel,” he growled in a tone so low, she was surprised she heard it. Or maybe she only imagined he said it. In either case, Rachel didn’t move. It was like she was frozen in place, waiting for the next scene to unfold.

  “No! Let your sister see how you treat women! She should know that her brother is a piece of shit!” Collette snorted with derision in her tone. Rachel was instantly defensive.

  Luke doesn’t treat women badly. He’s the very best person ever. You’re crazy!

  Of course, the child said none of these things.

  “All right, that’s enough, Miss,” Harry sighed, seizing her arm firmly. Collette screamed as though his touch was made of fire but Harry didn’t ease up, marching her toward the door.

  “Harry, take it easy!” Luke snapped, his eyes flashing but the security man either didn’t hear or didn’t heed Luke’s warnings.

  “You’ll regret this!” Collette howled again. “You mark my words!”

  The door slammed behind her with finality as Harry managed to wrangle her out of the house, leaving nothing but a heavy silence in the front of the mansion.

  “Go back to your room, Rachel,” Luke muttered after the initial shock of the display seemed to wear off.

  “What happened?” she demanded, unmoving from her spot at the top of the staircase. “Why was she so upset?”

  Luke looked at h
er as if debating whether to explain what she’d seen.

  “She wasn’t ready to break up,” he sighed reluctantly.

  “Then why did you break up with her?” Rachel wanted to know, her young mind uncomprehending. It wasn’t like the girl had any basis of male/female relationships, not when their mother had died years earlier and their father was never around. Sure, there had been a string of bimbos coming and going through the house, but none who had stuck and certainly no one to introduce Rachel to the way two adults were meant to interact. Rachel had certainly never seen a woman fight so hard to stay.

  It had been humiliating to watch, and Rachel vowed then that she’d never find herself begging anybody to remain in a relationship with her.

  “You’ll understand when you’re older,” he replied, spinning to stalk out of the front of the house and out of her view. The answer did nothing to alleviate the feeling of desolation Rachel had picked up from Collette.

  I hope she’s okay, Rachel thought, reluctantly returning to her suite, her heart hammering. She decided to look Collette up on Myspace and send her a message on her wall, even if it might mean upsetting Luke.

  Maybe she could do something to get them back together. Maybe Collette would be her sister one day if Luke and her got married. The idea filled her with childish excitement and she sat at her computer, searching for her brother’s now-ex. She’d always wanted a sister. As much as she loved Luke, he didn’t understand what it was like to be a girl with girl problems.

  But before she could put her small fingers to the keyboard, there was a knock at her door.

  “Come in,” she called and Luke poked his head inside the front room, a look of contrition on his face.

  “Hey,” he mumbled. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

  “Yeah.”

  She turned away from the screen guiltily and hoped he didn’t see what she was up to.

  “Sorry you had to see that,” he said, not meeting her eyes. “Collette…she’s not okay.”

  Rachel stared at her brother. She idolized Luke but she couldn’t help but wonder if he wasn’t more like their father than he thought. It wasn’t something she would ever say to his face, of course.

  “What do you mean?” she asked, trying to understand all the secrets of adulthood. Luke seemed uncomfortable and he paced around the room, eyeing her nervously.

  “You’re too young to understand stuff like this,” he muttered, more to himself than his sister but Rachel was hanging off his every word.

  “Tell me,” she insisted, feeling slightly defensive at the generalization. She and Luke had been forced to grow up faster than most kids in their situation. Granted, there was almost eight years between them, but they only had one another. Being shut-out by her brother wasn’t an option.

  “Some girls are…” he trailed off, considering his words carefully, perhaps realizing that whatever he said might shape his sister’s world view for the rest of her life. “Some girls don’t know when to walk away.”

  “Boys too!” Rachel said angrily. “It’s not just girls!”

  “Boys too,” he agreed quickly. “Sometimes people read too much into what’s happening around them.”

  It was an odd statement given their upbringing.

  “Collette didn’t want to break up but she’s not someone I want to be with,” Luke rushed on like he just wanted to get out of there suddenly. “It’s not my fault. She’s just not…she’s not someone I see myself being with.”

  “Why not?” Rachel insisted. “She’s nice and she loves you.”

  “We’re too young to be in love,” Luke snapped with far more force than Rachel was used to hearing from him. “I’m not looking to get married. I don’t even know if I’m going to be here next year.”

  The words slapped her in the face. On some level, she’d always known that Luke would be leaving the mansion but to hear the words in the open was something else altogether.

  “What?” she gasped and Luke’s face twisted into a grimace, as if he hadn’t meant to say that aloud.

  “I’m just saying I can’t commit to a relationship right now. Why am I discussing this with a ten-year-old?” he grumbled to himself.

  “Because I’m your sister!” she retorted, her maturity shining through. “And where are you going next year?”

  “I’m going to college,” he reminded her but Rachel couldn’t help but feel he meant something else.

  “Anyway,” Luke continued. “Don’t worry about Collette. She’s all bark and no bite.”

  Rachel didn’t know what that meant but it didn’t alleviate any of the tension mounting in her gut.

  “She was pretty upset,” Rachel offered, peering at her brother with inquisitive blue eyes. “Are you sure she’s okay?”

  “I can’t worry about everyone!” Luke exploded, his face turning beet red. “I’ve got enough to think about right now!”

  Hurt pierced Rachel’s heart as she realized that he was talking about her.

  “Okay, Luke,” she breathed, looking away. “I understand.”

  But she didn’t. There was so much she had to learn about the world yet, things that she could only know from watching the men around her.

  So far, she had an abusive father and a playboy brother from whom to glean information. The future seemed bleak somehow.

  “Good,” Luke sighed. “Don’t worry about Collette and focus on yourself. It’s the only way you’re going to survive.”

  Rachel already knew that advice was trite. What was the point in living if she didn’t care about other people? Compassion and kindness overcame hate and evil, didn’t it?

  “Okay,” she said, keeping her opinion to herself. There was no point in arguing with Luke or her father. She knew that already.

  “And make sure you never become clingy and needy like Collette,” Luke offered as an afterthought. “You don’t need any man to validate you, Rach. You learn to be self-sufficient. If I ever hear that you’re acting the way Collette just did, I’ll kick your ass, okay?”

  Rachel swallowed the lump forming in her throat and managed a weak smile, knowing that he would never raise a hand to her. He was her protector, after all.

  “All right.”

  Luke turned away, leaving Rachel to stew in a cauldron of mixed emotions.

  Luke’s right, she thought firmly. I’ll never make an awful scene the way Collette did in some boy’s house. I’ll have more pride than that.

  But as her brother disappeared into the hallway, closing the door behind him, Rachel wondered if she wasn’t in for a very lonely life ahead of her if she didn’t permit herself to love and trust the way Collette had.

  You’ll be smarter, she vowed. You won’t let anyone break your heart. You’ll know the signs and hold your head up always.

  Sadly for Rachel, she proved to be a terrible prophet.

  Chapter 1

  “Good morning, Mrs. Jeffers,” Rachel sang softly, pushing the tray inside the facility-style bedroom. “How are you feeling?”

  Silence met her question and a familiar sense of dread shot through Rachel as she hurried in to check on her patient. To her relief, she saw that the eighty-six-year-old was merely sleeping and had not passed in the night.

  Quietly, Rachel moved the breakfast tray closer to the bed and checked Mrs. Jeffers’ pulse before inching back out of the room and leaving the old woman to her rest. There was no point in waking her.

  Although she might want to enjoy her waking hours while she still has them, Rachel thought with a morbid undertone, uncharacteristic of her usual optimism.

  Maybe it was the overcast day which had her in a slightly melancholy mood, with dark clouds hovering over the New York skyline with the impending threat of rain.

  Or maybe it’s just the endless ring of death in this place.

  “Uh oh. Did Mrs. Jeffers croak?” Grayson asked, and Rachel raised her head to meet his eyes reprovingly.

  “What have I told you about using more tact when discussing
the patients?” she said reprovingly, feeling like a hypocrite.

  He doesn’t know what I was thinking, Rachel reminded herself. But that didn’t make her feel any better. Grayson shrugged and grinned sheepishly.

  “You know what I mean,” he replied. Rachel’s mouth turned down at the corners, stifling a sigh of exasperation.

  “Grayson, these are people,” she recited, giving the new nurse the same lecture she’d given dozens of others over the years since she’d started managing the upscale hospice in Queens. “You need to show them some respect.”

  “Sorry,” he mumbled but Rachel knew he wasn’t. Not really.

  Not that she entirely blamed him for his apathetic approach to the patients. This was where people came to die. It was inevitable and everyone knew it. Getting too involved with the patients would break all of them. There was a reason why the staff turn over was so high at the hospice. The faint-of-heart just could not handle the haunted halls of Hollywell Hospice.

  “Go check on Alison Cooper,” Rachel said with exasperation, knowing that her words had basically fallen on deaf ears. Grayson seemed happy to be released and practically bounded down the second-floor hallway toward the Cooper room.

  “He’s such a greenhorn,” Fergie muttered, stepping out of another room. “How long do you think he’ll last?”

  “Long enough, I hope,” Rachel replied, sighing heavily. “The turnover in this place is ridiculous and frankly, I’m starting to feel like a robot training new people.”

  “I don’t know why you stay here, Rach. You could be on your own private island, having your feet rubbed by a cabana boy and being hand-fed grapes,” Fergie growled. “You must be a sadist or something,” she muttered.