by Laurie Roma
The Arcadians 2
Into the Ashes
Raven Sanchez is a Chicago cop who has risen from the ashes of a painful past. Struggling with the disappearance of her friend, Raven seeks to find balance in her life, but everything changes when she’s struck by lightning and finds herself transported to another world.
Kings Savitar, Kadan and Tristan Akira have been searching for the woman who will complete their souls. Born in a world with a shortage of females, they fear that day will never come. When a goddess suddenly appears in the middle of their palace, they know she is the one they have been waiting for and claim her before she can escape.
Caught in a clash of cultures, Raven must forge a place for herself in this new world. When wills collide and legacies are unveiled, can she find a way to embrace being an Arcadian or will the fires of lust burn them all to ashes?
Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Science Fiction, Shape-shifter
Length: 77,226 words
INTO THE ASHES
The Arcadians 2
Laurie Roma
MENAGE AMOUR
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Amour
INTO THE ASHES
Copyright © 2013 by Laurie Roma
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62740-856-1
First E-book Publication: November 2013
Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
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DEDICATION
This one is for my readers. Thank you all for your support, and for encouraging me to create new and exciting stories!
No matter what happened in the past or how many obstacles life throws in anyone’s path, everyone deserves love and a chance to find their own happily ever after. I wish that for all of you, and until then, reach for the stars and keep reading…
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
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
Epilogue
About the Author
INTO THE ASHES
The Arcadians 2
LAURIE ROMA
Copyright © 2013
Chapter One
“Police! Stop right there!”
Detective Raven Sanchez cursed as she gave chase after a thief through the pouring rain.
It shouldn’t surprise her…they never did stop.
She’d seen the snatch-and-grab seconds after having stepped out of the local deli she usually frequented on her way home from shift. Sparing a brief second to lament her umbrella and the sandwich she’d been forced to toss aside, she kicked it into high gear as she chased down the stupid teenager that had ripped the purse off of an unsuspecting tourist.
Only blocks away from Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, the premier shopping district in the heart of downtown, tourists walked around blissfully unaware of the dangers their inattention presented. The woman targeted by the teen had been busy looking up at the high-rise buildings, her purse dangling from her hand with the zipper slightly opened.
Christ, it was like asking to be robbed.
Begging for it even.
Still, it was Raven’s job to make sure all the people in her city, even the stupid people, were safe.
Raven weaved and dodged through the sea of pedestrians and onlookers as she ran after the teen. It always made her a little sick to see how so many people could just stand back and watch something happen without interfering or coming to someone else’s aid. The teen turned his head to glance behind him, and damned if the little shit didn’t smirk as he thought he’d lost her in the crowd.
“Oh, fuck that…”
His expression changed as she launched herself in the air and landed on him, taking him down to the pavement. They skidded like two drunk frat brothers on a slip-and-slide down the slick sidewalk, coming to a stop when they hit the side of a building with a solid thud. Good thing he was on the bottom because that fucking hurt.
“What…the…fuck, man?” the teen wheezed out after he got his breath back.
“You stupid asshole. When a cop tells you to stop, you fucking stop, got it?” The boy struggled to get away, making her press her knee down on his back to keep him in place.
“I didn’t do anything!”
Soaked to the skin, Raven’s patience disappeared like a puff of smoke. “You just snatched that woman’s purse right in front of a cop, genius. Now stop squirming or I’m also gonna charge you with evading instead of just the theft.”
The boy went limp underneath her like a wet noodle. Raven held back a wince as she hauled him to his fe
et. Damn, she might have pulled something on that dive. She cursed as she noticed the tear in her favorite jacket.
Well, damn it.
Could this day get any worse?
With a snarl she swung him around to face her. The teenager’s mouth dropped open in shock as he got his first good look at her.
“Holy shit! You can’t be a cop!”
Raven rolled her eyes and tapped a finger on the badge secured on the waistband of her pants next to the gun strapped to her side. She was used to the reaction though. Nicknamed “Detective Sexy” by her squad mates, even soaking wet Raven Sanchez looked more like a model or an actress than a police detective.
It had been her bane for as long as she’d been on the force.
She had a thick mane of curly black hair that she ruthlessly tamed back into a braid when she was on duty and a face that was both graceful and strong with sharp cheekbones and full, lush lips. Raven was what most people would call a knockout. But what set her apart even more were her brilliant green eyes that simmered like two perfect emeralds under long, thick, inky lashes.
When she entered the police academy after graduating from college with a degree in criminology they thought that she would never be able to cut it as a cop because of her looks.
They were wrong.
Because people always underestimated her, she worked twice as hard to get where she wanted to be. She’d fought tooth and nail to get where she was. If she needed to downplay her looks, she’d wear colored contacts to hide the startling color of her eyes and bulky, drab clothing to try to cover up her voluptuous figure.
Hiding had been something she had learned to do a long time ago.
Other than that, Raven had learned to use her assets to her advantage. In her line of work she’d found that men usually went out of their way to cooperate with her and most people assumed she didn’t know what she was doing or immediately thought she wasn’t too bright because of her looks.
To their detriment of course.
Raven was smart. With a sharp eye for detail and a tenacity to find the truth, she closed cases. She had a passion for helping people and a desire to seek justice for those who couldn’t do it for themselves. Despite her physical appearance she had climbed the ranks and earned her detective’s badge. Sure, some of the guys she worked with didn’t think she deserved it, but she knew better. Over time, the guys in her squad had grudgingly come to accept her. She’d earned their trust and respect, and she made damn sure they knew not to mess with her.
She’d been a victim once and was determined never to let it happen again.
Raven had blossomed into a beauty at a very young age. For the first twelve years of her life she had been a normal little girl, the only child of two loving parents. Overnight she’d changed to a beautiful young woman, bringing unwelcome changes from the people around her. Always a slightly vain individual, her mother had started to resent Raven’s beauty, seeing her as a rival instead of the daughter she loved. Her parents began fighting more and more until one night her father had stormed out, never to return. He had been killed while driving home from a bar that night and her mother blamed Raven for his death.
When money got tight and they could no longer afford the rent, her mother had moved them in with her brother who owned his own house in a suburb right outside of the city. Raven was heartbroken when she had moved away from her friends and switched schools. Confused and feeling alone, it had only gotten worse when her mother started working the night shift at the hospital where she was a nurse.
That was when her uncle began sneaking into her room at night.
Terrified at what was happening, Raven had tried to tell her mother what was going on but she hadn’t believed her. Not knowing what to do, Raven had suffered in silence for several months until she couldn’t take it anymore. One night she had tried to fight him off, causing him to fly into a rage. Luckily a neighbor had heard Raven’s screams and called the police. When they had busted in and found him on top of her they immediately arrested him. The police had saved her and it was then she decided to become one of them so she could help others one day.
Her mother had been horrified at what had happened, but the damage was already done. Finally forced to believe Raven, her mother had apologized, but things between them had never been the same. Raven kept in touch with the cops that had saved her that night. Officer Diana Dwyer and Officer Reggie Sheraton had become the role models she needed, pushing her to do well in school and helping her fulfill her dream of becoming a police officer.
After almost eight years on the job, people still didn’t believe she was a cop, but she was. And a damn good one at that. She had worked hard, closed cases, and built a steady reputation. She had been so proud the day she’d earned her detective’s shield and it was days like this that she sure as shit didn’t miss working the streets.
A uniformed officer rushed up to where she was holding the teen, his partner close on his heels. Water droplets fell from the tip of the visor on their hats as they frowned at them, until she turned around and faced them. Both of the men’s faces changed to looks of appreciation then.
“Excuse me, miss! Was this kid bothering—” He cut off and snapped to attention as Raven badged him. “Ma’am.”
“Officer, take this idiot into custody. And give this purse back to that woman over there.” She jerked her head toward the woman huddled heroically under a tiny umbrella with her husband and their two children. The matching sweatshirts the family had on made her want to sigh. She guessed they were from somewhere far different from the urban sprawl of Chicago, like Iowa…or maybe Mars.
Tourists.
If the two officers could have saluted her, they would have, but she simply shoved the teen at them instead. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Your collar. I don’t want to deal with the paperwork. Tag me if you have any problems.” She offered one of her cards to the officer and he cupped it in his hand, shielding it from the rain as if it were precious.
“Thank you, Detective!”
The officer slapped his cuffs on the teenager as his partner took the purse back to the grateful family. The rain had several tendrils of her hair breaking free from their bonds to curl around Raven’s face and she pushed back at them impatiently, wishing she had opted for a hat that day. The sky seemed to darken as she made her way back toward the deli, noting absently that her umbrella was long gone, along with her abandoned sandwich.
Bastards.
Resigning herself to another night of frozen dinners or leftover Chinese food, she walked the few blocks home. The irritation must have been pumping off of her in waves, causing the other pedestrians to give her a wide berth even though several men did a double take as she passed them.
Raven’s footsteps slowed as she passed a particular building until she came to a stop. She stood on the sidewalk, looking up at the building as the rain continued to fall on her face like tears from heaven. She was used to stopping there. Every day for two months she had stopped in front of her friend Allie’s building on her walk home. Not that she was there. Her best friend Allison Summers had been missing for two months now, and every day Raven missed her more.
Most women shied away from being friends with a woman who looked like Raven, but when she’d met Allie in college they had instantly clicked. Both coming from difficult pasts, they had understood one another. They had both been focused on their goals, Allie being a doctor and Raven being a cop. As their friendship grew, they finally had someone to be there, through the good and the bad. It was something neither of them was used to, but it was nice to have someone she could finally depend on.
They had other friends, but no one understood her like Allie had. Their friends all thought Raven was a serial monogamist who enjoyed a variety of men, but the reality was that she had a hard time trusting men at all and Allie had understood that and never judged her. After a couple of dates, Raven would usually freeze up then end the relationship before anyone could get close to her. Sex w
as easy enough, as long as she could escape after it was finished. The truth was, Allie was the only person Raven really trusted.
And now she was gone.
Two months ago Raven had taken off early from work to celebrate Allie’s birthday with her. She had called her friend several times and at first had thought Allie had gotten caught up in surgery. After a few hours Raven had called the hospital, only to be told that Allie had left hours ago. Concerned, Raven had gone over to Allie’s place, using her key to get in so she could check to make sure her friend was okay.
But she wasn’t.
Allie had simply disappeared.
Raven’s colleagues thought she was obsessed with Allie’s disappearance and maybe they were right. She just couldn’t let it go. Allie was her best friend and Raven would do anything to get her back…or find her body. It was always harder not knowing. She’d never get any closure if she didn’t figure out what had happened to her friend.
A rumble of thunder and a flash of lightning had Raven jolting out of her miserable thoughts. During the short time she’d been thinking about her missing friend, day had faded to night and the steady rain had kicked up to a torrential downpour.
“Shit…”
Huffing out a breath, Raven turned and joined the other poor souls on the street in a dash to make it to safety as the storm raged around them. Her plan to make it home before the spring storm hit was shot to hell.
Thunder boomed overhead and lightning cast eerie streaks of fire in the night sky, way too close for her comfort. Her heart gave a jolt as another bout of thunder seemed to boom directly overhead. Breaking into a run, she rushed down the suddenly empty street toward her condo building, the rain making it almost impossible to see.