Table of Contents
Copyright
Quote
Dedication
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
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 22 Still in the Bar
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 69
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
From the Fan Club Tell your Friends!
To My Fans
I Need You!
Acknowledgments
Reviews of Obsession and Sacrifice
The Impostor
Tiffany Carmouché
Obsession and Sacrifice
Tiffany Carmouché
This is the second novel in a Suspenseful Romantic Trilogy about unexpected love, and a woman’s fight for survival.
Copyright
Obsession and Sacrifice
© Copyright 2013 Tiffany Carmouché
This is a dpgroup exclusive.
ISBN-10: 0988204266 ISBN-13: 978-0-9882042-6-3 Paperback
ISBN-10: 0988204258 ISBN-13: 978-0-9882042-5-6 ebook
The first book in the series:
The Impostor, A Love Story
ISBN-10: 098820424X ISBN-13: 978882042-4-9 Hardcover
ISBN-10: 0988204223 ISBN-13: 978-0-9882042-2-5 Paperback
ISBN-10: 0988204207 ISBN-13: 9780988204201 ebook
Publishing Company: C&C Legacy
Cover Illustration by Earthly Charms
Interior Design by Benjamin Carrancho
Editing by Gale Deitch
Author Photo by Creative Flows Studio
Find out more about Tiffany Carmouché
Web Page: http://www.tiffanycarmouche.com/#!home/mainPage
Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/TiffanyCarmoucheAuthor
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/tiffany.carmouche.5
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15747559-the-impostor
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16228823-obsession-and-sacrificeGoodreads Obsession
Fan Club: http://www.facebook.com/TheImpostorFanClub
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tiffcarmouche
Email: [email protected]
Quote
“If you only knew you ruined it for every other girl. If you only knew…
how your every sigh, your every gesture, every time you touched me
--replayed in my mind like a favorite verse in a broken record,
taunting me to finally get to the chorus.”
Bradley Summers
Obsession and Sacrifice
- Tiffany Carmouché
Dedication
To my wonderful daughters Rochelle and Martina,
I cannot begin to tell you what an impact you have had on my life. In darkness you bring me light. It is beautiful to watch you radiate joy as you strive to reach your goals! From the moment I first held you in my arms, a joy, a magic overwhelmed me and I have never been the same. My two angels, you have filled my life with so much love, so much pride, and so much happiness… all I can do is thank God for the amazing blessing I have in the two of you! Live life to the fullest, Rochelle and Martina, and never doubt the strength and potential you possess. Set your eyes on the stars. Live your dreams.
Yes! Dream Big! Laugh Often! And Love Much!-Mom
Chapter 1
“Sleeping Beauty. You have to somehow pull through this, Nikki.” ~BradleySummers
Obsession and Sacrifice
*Bradley*
Nicole’s lifeless body lay on the hospital bed.
“She may never recover,” the doctor began. “She’s lost a great deal of blood and we don’t know how long her heart was stopped. She may not come out of this state.”
“There has got to be hope. She has to survive,” Brad replied.
“If she does, she may not be the person you remember. Right now, the only thing keeping her alive is life support.” The doctor stared at the machine connected to her body. “As her fiancé, you need to begin thinking about your options. As an organ donor, she could potentially help people who have a chance to survive.”
“I am not taking her off life support,” Brad snapped at the suggestion.
“She would go peacefully. Who knows if she is in any pain right now?” the doctor continued.
“I will not kill her. She is going to survive.”
The doctor left the room. The nurse, Vera, walked over to Bradley. “Do you pray, my son?” She put her hand on his shoulder.
“Excuse me?”
“Do you pray?” She had a strong accent he couldn’t quite place.
“Why?”
“Because you need to be praying, my child.” She smiled at him. “You need to be praying for a miracle. I have seen them in my day; they do happen. Keep praying and don’t give up hope.”
She put some medicine in Nicole’s IV. “You haven’t left the hospital in a week. Why don’t you go home and get some sleep? I will call you if anything changes. That chair can’t be too comfortable.”
“I was supposed to protect her. I let her down.”
“She is not going to wake up in the next few hours. Go home and get some rest.” She walked out the door.
Bradley turned to Nicole. “What, are they crazy? They want me to be the one to pull the plug and starve you to death so your body can be a supermarket for other people to stay alive? They’re nuts. You haven’t e
ven died yet, and they’re already auctioning off your parts.” He paced the floor.
“I hope you forgive me when you wake up. I had to tell them I was your fiancé or they wouldn’t let me stay in here.” He scratched his head as if that would give him answers.
“I don’t know what to do, Nikki. I don’t have your parents’ number. I don’t have Emily’s number or any way to get in touch with Dylan. Pete gave me the numbers on your application, but they’re all disconnected. I sent a letter to the address on it, hoping someone will call. We never got your address book back, so I don’t know where to start.
“They would want to know where you are and that you’re alive, especially Jessica—that sweet little girl of yours. It’s going to be Christmas in a few days and she’s going to think you abandoned her.” He continued to pace in front of her body.
“You can’t die. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
He finally walked over to the bed and sat beside her. He brushed his fingers through her hair. Her body lie still.
“Sleeping Beauty,” he whispered. The numbers on the machine that flashed beside her were the only signs of life. He took her hand, leaning over her.
“You have to somehow pull through this, Nikki. I know you will pull through this.”
Chapter 2
Dylan’s eyes started to tear and his voice began to crack. “Don’t make me leave.”
~Dylan Richarson
Obsession and Sacrifice
Tiffany Carmouché
*Dylan*
Dylan entered the hospital. What happened? His stride--quick and deliberate.
A nurse walked up to him, seeing him in distress. “Excuse me, sir, may I help you?”
“Yes, I heard that Nicole Carlisle is possibly here.”
“Oh, yes sir, she is in ICU. Room number 223.”
“Thank you.” ICU? Pete didn’t say you were in ICU. What the hell is the nurse talking about? ICU? How did this happen? How did you get here? He shook his head in bewilderment. How did you end up in the hospital?
“She can only have one visitor at a time. Right now, she’s with her fiancé.”
“Excuse me? Her fiancé?” His eyebrow rose.
“Yes, her fiancé. He hasn’t left her side. You can go to the room and see if he’ll allow you to spend some time with her. The two of you cannot be in there together.”
Color entered Dylan’s face. His stride hastened. Fiancé? Who the hell is this fiancé? Who is this impostor? Who is this person trying to steal everything that matters to me? I’m gonna kill him. I will kill him. His breath became accentuated. Where the hell is Brad, and how could he let this happen to her? My Nicole. My baby. I should never have left you alone.
Someone was with his girl. Someone was posing as her lover. He grew angrier as he got closer to the door. When Dylan arrived at Nicole’s hospital room, he stood in the doorway in shock.
There was the impostor sitting next to the bed, holding Nicole’s hand in his. The veins in Dylan’s neck pumped with blood. He watched in disbelief as the impostor spoke.
“Nicole, you can’t die. You have to wake up. I need you. I need you Nicole,” the man’s untucked shirt hung off him as he ran his hair through his uncombed hair. He pleaded, unaware that Dylan stood watching from the door.
Dylan clenched his fist as the figure leaned over and kissed Nicole’s lifeless lips—he kissed her tenderly.
“I love you, Nicole. I love you.” His voice cracked as he spoke. “Please don’t leave me.”
A mixture of hurt, anger and betrayal overwhelmed Dylan as he questioned in disbelief, Bradley?
*Dylan*
The fusion of rage and intense pain consumed Dylan. Bradley was like a brother. Bradley? He still couldn’t believe it. I entrusted him with her. I told him to take care of her! Did he touch her? Did he touch my Nicole? A sick feeling came over him. How could this person he cherished, someone he grew up with, stab him in the back so violently? She is mine! I love her! Fury filled his blood and without restraint he ran into the hospital room and grabbed Brad.
“What the hell are you doing?” He picked him up tossing him like a rag doll away from the bed.
“Dylan?” Brad staggered and then regained his composure. Surprised by Dylan’s sudden appearance, Brad’s face paled.
“What the hell are you doing kissing my girlfriend?” Dylan pushed him again.
Brad couldn’t speak. How could he explain it?
“What the hell were you doing with my girlfriend?” He pushed Bradley a third time, but Dylan couldn’t bring himself to punch his best friend.
Brad had always been intimidated by Dylan’s size, but as soon as he got his footing, he pushed Dylan away from him. Brad breathed in, he still couldn’t say anything. He knew what he did was wrong.
Dylan grabbed Brad’s shirt and threw him against the wall. Signs fell to the floor as he interrogated. “I asked you a question, Brad. What is this fiancé shit? What the hell have you been doing with Nicole?”
“It’s nothing, man; it’s nothing. I didn’t touch her.”
“I saw you. I saw you, don’t lie to me.” Dylan lifted him off the wall and smashed him back into it.
“I’m sorry Dylan, I’m really sorry.”
The nurse rushed into the hospital room. “What the hell is going on? Put that man down.” Dylan dropped Brad but continued to stand over him as if ready to strike.
“I saw you kiss her.”
“Dylan, I’ve been crazy about her since I met her; but when I found out you liked her, I didn’t pursue anything,” Bradley explained.
“When I walked in, it seemed like you were pursuing something.” Dylan’s eyes glared. Brad had seen that furious look before and he knew he was in trouble.
“I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” the nurse scolded. “Do I need to call security?”
Dylan backed away from Brad and took a deep breath. He turned to the heavy-set nurse, whose stance told him she wasn’t going to put up with any of his nonsense. “Please, don’t call security, it will be fine.”
Bradley panted, “Dylan, I don’t know what happened. I tried so hard not to be interested in her. But these past few weeks…I never told her. I never tried anything, but I can’t live without her.”
“That’s something you may have to rethink, fast. I WILL kill you.” Dylan turned away from the nurse, scowling at Bradley.
Brad knew his next statement would get him beat up, but he had to say it. “I love her, Dylan. I love her.” Dylan rushed and grabbed Bradley, throwing him back against the wall.
“She’s mine, you get that? She is mine!” He got up in Bradley’s face. “What’s this fiancé crap?”
“Security!” The nurse screamed into the hallway.
“It’s the only way I could stay here through the night.” Bradley looked at Nicole’s body and then at the nurse, as he admitted the truth. “I couldn’t leave her alone. She’s got no one here. She’s been through so much.”
Dylan realized he could get kicked out. Brad wasn’t worth it. He needed to be able to see Nicole.
He dropped Bradley and turned to the nurse. “I’m fine. I’m fine. Please…please don’t make me leave. She’s everything to me. She’s my girlfriend, make him leave. He’s the one who has been lying to you.” Dylan’s eyes started to tear and his voice began to crack. “Don’t make me leave.”
The feisty woman ducked her head into the hallway to signal she didn’t need any help and turned to Dylan, pointing her finger at him. “She wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for this young man. He saved her life. He’s been here since she arrived and hasn’t left her bedside. Rules say that neither of you can stay here if you are not related.”
“You can’t do that. You can’t!” Dylan begged.
Bradley walked over to Nurse Vera. “Please, please, can’t you do something? She has no other family here.”
“I will not tolerate this fighting.”
“I won’t fight. Please let me stay. She’s my everything.”
“He is the one who has been by her side. You,” she glared at Dylan sternly. “You are too hostile.”
“You can’t make me leave. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, it’s just,” Dylan’s voice cracked. “She was fine. I just talked to her last week. We were going to fly home to see her folks for Christmas.”
She stood and watched as this huge man broke down in front of them. “I can see she means a lot to both of you.”
“You can’t stay in here together. Let her make the decision on which one of you she wants when she wakes up. If she wakes up, let her choose.” She could tell both boys truly cared for Nicole. And having this new young man share some of the hours would be healthier for Bradley, anyway. She’d grown concerned for him. He wouldn’t leave Nicole’s side. He hadn’t left the hospital since she arrived in the coma a week ago. Maybe he would actually go home to get some rest.
Dylan gazed past the nurse, over to the hospital bed, his eyes still moistened with tears. “My baby, what happened to her? What happened to you, Nicole? How did you end up here in ICU?” Dylan approached Nicole’s bedside and looked at the machine attached to her body. The peaks and troughs of the green lines on the screen made no sense to him, but apparently they meant she was still alive.
“Your friend here saved her life.” The nurse walked over to the bed behind him.
Dylan looked over at Bradley. “Brad, how did this happen?”
She interrupted, figuring it would be okay for them to talk now that things had settled down.
Obsession and Sacrifice (Alaska #2) Page 1