by T. S. Ryder
"Shut up!" he shouted. "You're only making it worse for yourself."
She screamed louder.
"Shut up or I'll cut you up before I kill you."
Scarlett's voice died of its own accord. She stared into Madoc's eyes and saw no humanity in them. He pushed her backward. Her bound wrists were crushed beneath her and her eyes locked on his, unable to look away.
"By the look of it, you're pregnant." Madoc's hand rested on her belly and he smiled. "I like pregnant women the best."
Darkness closed over her vision, the sweet relief of unawareness.
It didn't last.
A howling rang in her ears. The noise was half-human, half animal. Something was familiar about it. It came again, punctuated by a bout of gunfire and the frightened cries of men. Scarlett blinked, the room coming into focus again. Madoc's hand was on her stomach. He was looking over his shoulder, a curse on his lips. She was very aware of the fact that her dress was still in place.
The howl came again. It was a gorilla's howl. Max's howl.
Max was alive.
"Max!" Scarlett screamed. "Max!"
"Shut up!" Madoc grabbed her arm, yanking her to her feet again.
Scarlett tried to yank herself free, spitting in his face. Madoc bellowed, slapping her again. He threw her back onto the bed and reached under her skirt—
Footsteps pounded the stairs. A man appeared, wild-eyed and pale with fear. He opened his mouth, and then a gorilla was on him. Thick arms wrapped around his neck and squeezed. Madoc cursed and backed away, his eyes going wide. He scrambled with his gun, which was still in its holster. Scarlett kicked his hand. The gun skittered across the floor.
Max tossed the dead man aside, advancing on Madoc. His eyes burned with hatred, lips turned back to reveal his canines. Blood dripped from his chest onto the floor but he didn't seem to notice.
"Max," Scarlett whispered.
The gorilla leaped forward, beating his chest. Madoc shouted, and then he was down, screaming as fists pounded his chest and face. Scarlett watched, dispassionate, as bone splintered, as the man became nothing more than a bloody corpse. Perhaps it was all the horrors of the day crashing down on her, but she didn't feel a thing. Not pity, not anger, not even satisfaction. She was just a numb shell.
Eventually, Max stopped beating the body, moving back and panting. His form shifted so slowly that Scarlett could see each hair retreat back into his skin until he was human again.
"Scarlett." He ran to her, gathering her into his arms.
"You've been shot."
"I'll be fine," Max grunted. "I'm tougher than I look."
He kissed her forehead and left her briefly to retrieve a knife, then cut her bonds. Her wrists had been sliced up by the ties and were bloody, but Scarlett didn't think about that. She stared at the two dead bodies, trying not to think about how close she had come to…
"Are you all right?" Max cupped her face.
"Fine." She tied her broken strap with trembling hands. "He didn't have a chance to… What are we going to do now? The police—"
"I'll have my friends clean up," Max interrupted. "Nobody will know what happened here. Nobody."
"My face."
Max stared at her for a moment before understanding dawned in his eyes. He touched the bruises lightly, gently, as though by touch alone he could heal them. His expression crumpled and he pulled her into his arms.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Scarlett clung to him, still in shock. "No, I am. They came for me."
"You?"
"I found the bodies of two of Madoc's victims in his safe. This was about revenge. I should have told you—"
"Shhh. It's over. You're safe now. I won't let anything happen to you."
Scarlett shivered, her mind churning with all the thoughts that had been frozen before. "We'll tell the media that I was in a kickboxing class and my partner became a little too enthusiastic. Or maybe that a jealous ex-lover attacked me."
She was still numb.
Bizarre, she thought. I should be a total wreck right now.
But as Max held her tighter, the numb feeling that filled her was pushed aside by relief. It was over. She was safe in her lover's arms, and he would ever allow anything to happen to her. She closed her eyes and clung to him like he was a life raft on a stormy sea.
Chapter Ten
The media firestorm over Scarlett's bruised face quickly died down, and nobody found out about the attack on the island. She did end up in therapy, at Max's insistence, and that helped her deal with the trauma she had been through. What helped even more, though, was having Max's arms around her at night whenever she woke with nightmares and preparing for the baby that grew inside her day by day.
On the day that marked two years after she and Max had made their deal to be fake engaged, Scarlett stared impatiently at the clock while her beautiful ten-month-old baby boy nursed. His clear blue eyes, the same color as his father's, drifted shut, signaling that he was ready to go down for a nap. Even though she and Max had planned for this, and had tried to adjust his sleep schedule so that he would be awake and happy during the ceremony, it looked like their son would be sleeping through the wedding.
"It's a good thing Max is so patient." She sighed as she eased the baby off. They had named him Maximillian after his father, but would be calling him Liam so as to avoid confusion as he grew up. "Do the guests look like they're getting impatient? A gentlewoman never keeps her guests waiting. I knew I should have fed him before we left the house."
Vanessa chuckled. Scarlett had chosen to have only the elderly housekeeper as matron of honor, with no bridesmaids. For the wedding, Scarlett and Max had planned the most elaborate affair they could, then taken all the money that would have been spent on it and gave it to various charities, instead putting on a simple wedding with only friends and family in the church Max's parents had married in.
"A gentlewoman takes care of her baby before her guests," Vanessa said. "Give him here so you can finish getting ready."
Scarlett handed the baby over and did up her dress before she took off the nursing cover. She'd gone with a navy blue taffeta number that laced up the front for easy feeding access. The hems and sleeves were embroidered with a white accent that looked stunning. While Vanessa rocked Liam to make sure he stayed asleep, Scarlett went to the mirror to check her makeup and pin back a stray curl or two.
The white orchids that were her wedding bouquet were waiting for her nearby. They were one of the extravagant items that Max had insisted on, once she had told him that they were her favorite flower.
"You look lovely, dear," Vanessa assured her. She beamed like a proud mother. "I always knew it would take a special girl to be with Max, and I'm glad he found you."
"Found me?" Scarlett giggled, giddy and excited with a dash of nerves. "Interrupted me, more like it. If he hadn't walked in on me trying to rob him…"
She let the thought trail off. If he hadn't arrived when he had, none of this would have happened. The thought left her breathless; it was so terrifying to consider the fact that it would have been so easy for them to pass by each other, never meeting. If she didn't have the man she loved, if she didn't have her beautiful baby boy… where would she be?
Vanessa smiled at her. "I don't like to think where Max would be if it weren't for you, Scarlett. You have really brought out the best in him, and for that, I am profoundly grateful."
"He would have been fine without me," Scarlett mumbled, feeling the heat rise in her face as she ducked her head. The tiara that used to belong to his mother was perched on her head, and she wore a matching ruby necklace around her throat. It complemented the dark blue of her dress perfectly. "I wouldn't be alive without him. I owe him so much."
"And he owes you more than you know. I hadn't seen him genuinely smile since his parents died. Not until you came along."
"Oh, goodness!" Scarlet laughed in embarrassment as her eyes filled with tears. "Stop that, or I'll ruin my makeup."
>
"That won't do," Vanessa said, shaking her head. "You collect yourself. I'll go tell that charming gentleman that you're ready."
Scarlett smiled at the elderly woman's description of Hao. As Vanessa left, the bride turned back to the mirror. She hadn't lost all the extra weight she had gained during her pregnancy, meaning her stomach was even rounder than normal, but she didn't mind. Every time Max saw her naked, he marveled at how beautiful she was. She only really cared about two opinions as far as her body was concerned–hers and his.
"This is it," she whispered to herself. She twisted the engagement ring that had belonged to Max's grandmother on her finger. "Who would have thought, two years ago, that I'd be getting married?"
She didn't have long to muse on the events of the past years. Vanessa returned with Hao, who beamed at her and kissed her cheek when he saw her. True to the promise she had made two years ago, she had asked him to walk her down the aisle, and he had been more than happy to oblige her.
Soon they were in the chapel, Scarlett's hand tucked into the crook of his arm.
Scarlett's breath caught in her chest at her first sight of her husband-to-be. He was wearing a black tuxedo paired with a white shirt. A navy handkerchief was just visible in his breast pocket. A smile lit his face, like he was seeing clearly for the first time. Scarlett's heart beat faster and she smiled back, the same feeling filling her. Hao had to pull her back when she picked up her pace.
"A gentlewoman never rushes," he whispered into her ear. "And this is exactly why I never play at things. It gets real far too quickly."
Scarlett wanted to remember every detail of this moment. The way Max's hair curled at the back of his neck. The way he held his hands in front of him but checked once for the ring in his pocket. The flash of light in his eye when he gave Vanessa a smile. And she did. Later she would remember a lot more, like how Hao choked up when they reached the front of the aisle, and how the wedding guests looked. But at that moment she was so wrapped up in Max's eyes that everything else disappeared.
She was vaguely aware of the exchange of vows, the words she had practiced coming off her tongue so readily that she didn't need to think about what she was saying. Liam woke up during the exchange of rings, and both Scarlett and Max smiled at him as he began gurgling and chomping on Vanessa's finger.
Scarlett could hardly believe this was real… it was all too good to be true. And yet it was happening, it was true.
"I now pronounce you husband and wife," the priest said. "You may kiss the bride."
Max moved in to kiss her, but Scarlett was faster. She threw her arms around his neck and pushed herself to her toes. Their lips came together to the sound of a thunderous applause.
*****
THE END
The Ghost's Deadly Secrets
Description
What dark secrets is he hiding underneath the suit I want to rip off him?
Realtor Melody Zabat has a secret: she sees ghosts. Unfortunately, most of the ghosts she comes across are murder victims, and she inevitably ends up entangled in the investigation.
She's just happy that she can escape all of those ghostly complications in her little hometown of Blackcliff. It's her sanctuary, where she can pretend to be a normal person.
At least, it is until murder comes to town...
Suddenly Melody finds herself haunted yet again–this time by a rich city girl with secrets she doesn't want to share. Add into the mix the handsome billionaire with secrets of his own, and Melody finds herself faced with mystery on every side.
Oskar Freyson, Alpha of the wealthiest Shifter community in the country, doesn't need to work as an FBI agent, but he has his reasons for joining the agency. But he isn't in Blackcliff for company business; he's there for revenge. Unfortunately, this gives him motive for murder, and he soon finds himself being investigated by his own team.
With a ghost connected to the billionaire who is connected to a murder, can Melody discover the true killer… and maybe find love along the way?
Chapter One
There was a crisp mountain smell in the air that made Melody Zabat hate the sight of Blackcliff. Though the little town was clean and she generally loved the mix of Old West and modern aesthetic that the buildings exuded, it was one of those days where she wished she could just blow off her responsibilities and run naked through the woods with a spear in hand and a wolf at her side. Or just go fishing.
Unfortunately, Melody had to be satisfied with a shot of coffee and a hot breakfast from her favorite café in town, Old Gossip. Houses weren't going to sell themselves, and ever since that handsome billionaire, Oskar Freyson, had taken an interest in their town, she felt like she was being run off her feet.
Freyson was the Alpha of the wealthiest community of Shifters in the country, and he had billions of dollars of his own personal wealth at his disposal. Some people in town were concerned that he was going to try to turn Blackcliff into a Shifter Sanctuary, but Melody wasn't worried about that. If anything, an influx of Shifters, especially wealthy Shifters, would do the town some good. The economy wasn't doing very well. If the town continued on the path it was on, it would be a ghost town in a few decades.
Ghost town. Melody couldn't help but chuckle at her own joke. Of course, it didn't hurt that Oskar Freyson was perhaps the most handsome person she had ever seen. All Shifters were hot, but he was exceptional. What was it about Shifters and their naturally good genes?
Jane Gardens, the owner of Old Gossip, beamed at her when she entered the café. The silver-haired woman was still as spry as she was when she was sixty, which was how old she had been claiming to be for the past decade. Melody took her usual spot on a barstool at the counter, beside Elisabeth Burgess, a young woman with curly hair.
"And then I saw Milly Braden and Russel Rickey standing on the corner, kissing." Jane leaned on the counter, her wide eyes fixed on Elisabeth.
"Oh, really?"
Elisabeth glanced at Melody from the corner of her eye, a slightly pained expression on her face, but she was far too shy and eager to please people to interrupt Jane. Her compassionate personality served her well at the daycare she ran, but when it came to busybodies like Jane Gardens, she was the unwilling recipient of hours' worth of gossip.
Melody debated whether she should come to Elisabeth's rescue, but she didn't want to end up hearing the whole story that led up to Milly Braden and Russel Rickey kissing, and she kept quiet.
"I don't know what's happening with young people these days. Imagine, kissing like that out in the middle of the day." Jane shook her head. "Back in my day, kissing was done sitting in parked cars out in the woods." Jane giggled suddenly, sounding like a woman much younger than she was. "And when I say kissing—"
"Too much information," Melody interrupted, miming covering her ears. "You're like a grandmother to us here, we don't need to hear that sort of thing."
Jane shrugged. "You want your usual, dear?"
Melody nodded. "Please."
"Salmon steak with fried eggs coming up," Jane trilled.
As the older woman moved away, Elisabeth let out a pent-up sigh of relief. "Thank you,"
"My pleasure. How are you and Bobby liking the new house?"
Elisabeth had moved to Blackcliff with her then-infant son ten years previously, but it was only now that her business was picking up that she had been able to afford to buy a house. Melody had worked closely with her to find the perfect fit for the two of them, and she was eager to know how they were settling in. It was the best part of selling houses, hearing how happy people were in their new homes. Almost as good as a whole day's fishing.
"It's wonderful, thank you." Elisabeth beamed. "The backyard is so big, we might even be able to get a dog. I think Bobby is old enough to start taking on a little more responsibility."
Melody nodded. "He's a bright boy. I'm sure you'd do well with a dog."
Jane bustled back towards them, refilling Elisabeth's coffee cup and giving some to Melody as wel
l. "So, are either of you young ladies dating anybody yet?"
Elisabeth's face went beet red, but Melody laughed to draw Jane's attention to her.
"No dating for me. I like where I am right now. Selling houses, building up my real estate company. Besides, I know everybody who lives here too well to find them interesting. I need somebody with a little more mystery." She took a sip of her coffee.
It was mostly true. Melody wasn’t interested in any of the locals. If Oskar Freyson showed any interest in her, however, it would be another story.
A tall, leggy blonde suddenly appeared behind Jane. Melody's eyes widened. The blonde's form was wavering, translucent, like an image projected onto the surface of a lake. Her hair was turned up with flowers in it, and she wore a tight-fitting white dress that looked halfway between something a bride would wear and something to go clubbing in.
"You," the blonde said, pointing at her. "They told me to find you."
Melody ducked her head. Not now! Not here!
Jane tapped her hand. "Hello? Dear, you really need to stop spacing out on me."
"Sorry." Melody shook her head and forced herself to look at the older woman.
The blonde stood right behind Jane, her form growing more solid, blue eyes flashing. "Don't you dare ignore me!"
"I asked you how you plan on having a lasting relationship with a mystery man," Jane said. "The mystery will wear off, and then what?"
The blonde vanished, only to reappear right beside Melody. "Hello? I know you can see me. I do not take kindly to being ignored!"
She actually stomped her foot.
Melody tried to repress a groan, but she didn't quite make it. Jane's brows furrowed. "Are you feeling okay?"