by Dori Lavelle
Prologue
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
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Other books by Dori Lavelle
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SECRETS AND TEARS
(Fatal Hearts 2)
By Dori Lavelle
Secrets and Tears (Fatal Hearts Book 2)
Copyright © 2016 by Dori Lavelle
All Rights Reserved.
Cover Art: Dori Lavelle
Editor: Leah Wohl-Pollack and Samantha Gordon
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the internet or any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
Prologue
The second victim died a more painful death. Her guilt carried the same weight as that of the woman before her, but Alvin Jones had wanted to try something new, to see if death by fire would satisfy him as much as sinking a knife into someone’s gut.
Every moment of his revenge coming to fruition had to be enjoyed to the fullest.
Regret had no place in his plans.
The day started with her walk down the aisle.
Touched by her beauty, Alvin held his breath as he watched her glide past his seat, drifting on the aisle runner like a cloud fallen from the sky. Her scalloped-edged veil made her a beautiful white vision. Her eyes, an unusual shade of green, sparkled with anticipation of a new life with her soon-to-be husband.
She was living her dream, memorizing the details of the day she never wanted to forget. Thousands of dollars had gone into making it special.
He adjusted the glasses on his face and smiled. It would definitely be a special day, and not just for her.
When she reached the altar, she came to a stop next to her investment banker fiancé, who stank of old money and the booze he guzzled when no one was watching. His breath was disguised by a mint he’d popped into his mouth moments before he entered the church. She didn’t know about her fiancé’s drinking, but Alvin did.
He knew everything about the golden couple. He’d followed them for months. He knew she snoozed her alarm at least four times before getting up in the morning, that she ate eggs only when they were scrambled. That he secretly watched porn and knocked one back before fucking her.
He knew them better than they knew themselves—their routines, their tastes, their fears. Especially their fears.
That was how he had decided on fire as the perfect weapon to get rid of her.
As a child, she’d accidentally set her treehouse on fire. The fear of burning to death had stayed with her. Within her fear, Alvin discovered his pleasure.
All things considered, he was kinder this time. He didn’t kill her immediately after the ceremony, but waited for her to enjoy the speeches, the first dance, the Dom Pérignon. He gave her a chance to wrap her manicured fingers around the frosted glass handle of the cake knife, to slice into her red velvet wedding cake and taste it for the first time.
He clapped and cheered along with the other well-wishers. No one noticed him, the uninvited guest, an angel of death among them.
It turned out to be the perfect wedding. A part of him regretted that it would end in tragedy for her. On the other hand, it would be one of the happiest days of his life. He’d planned her death for as long as she’d planned her wedding day. Longer, even. Her dream had come true, and in a couple of hours it would come to an end. She didn’t deserve to be happy; none of them did. He would make sure the only dreams that followed her wedding day would be nightmares.
The time came. After midnight, he left his table and went outside. He called her cell phone.
“I know what you did the night before you left for college,” he said. “Meet me in the hotel rose garden in five minutes, or everyone else will find out too. Come alone.”
Watching her face transform through the full-length windows was priceless. As she held the phone to her ear, the beauty she’d displayed all day melted away, the smile disappeared, the excitement died. Her eyes told him she had gone back to that night—the night she had tried so hard to leave behind.
The past was a hard thing to run from. It chased the guilty until they hit a dead end, and then it snuck into their new lives, the ones they’d created to try to move on, forcing them to face the cold truth of who they really were. He was her past. Her truth.
She followed his instructions and met him in the garden. He introduced himself, and not long after, she was in the boot of his car. The woods that would be her final resting place were two hours away, in another town, far from the wedding reception, the cops, the tears.
By the time he dragged her to the spot he had prepared, the hem of her wedding dress was caked in mud, her hair like a crystal-encrusted bird’s nest.
He didn’t waste time. No need for words. They both knew what they were there for.
The ditch had been dug, and the gallons of gasoline stood next to it in wait. She pleaded for mercy. He responded with a shove that landed her on her back in the hole, but not before snipping a piece of lace from her wedding dress. He had plans for it.
Her screams started when the first drops of gasoline touched her skin. He took his time pouring the pale yellow liquid, all the while telling her how long he had waited for this moment, just as she had. He talked about his new life, especially his own approaching nuptials.
Conversation over, he struck the match, tossed it on her body, and watched with a grin as the flames exploded over her, greedily eating away at her dress to get to the flesh beneath. And then the fire she feared so much roasted her like a duck.
“Goodnight, beautiful,” he smiled. “And congratulations.”
Once she was gone, he shoveled dirt over her and covered his tracks.
Two down. Two to go.
Chapter One
“Surprises, surprises,” Miles murmured as his fingers encircled my wrist. “Life’s full of them, isn’t it, Kelly? Nothing is ever as it seems. There’s always something hidden beneath the surface, something dark…something dangerous.” His eyes bored into me, sharp daggers plunging deep into my soul. ”I bet mine is the best one ever.”
I jerked my arm, attempting to release myself from his stronghold, but he had me firm in his grasp.
> My worst nightmare had come true. I’d thought Miles’s revelation would be the worst thing that could ever happen to me, but it turned out he was just getting started. His promise of revenge meant locking me up below deck inside a room with naked walls and no windows. The walls were reinforced metal. He’d made sure I would never get a chance to escape my prison cell.
My gaze drifted to a white clawfoot tub a couple of feet away, then traveled to the far end of the rectangular room, where a thin mattress covered with a brown threadbare blanket and flat pillow taunted me. Discomfort racked my body as I looked at the poor excuse for a bed. A bitter sensation spread through my mouth when I took in the filthy, red bucket next to the mattress. Was that supposed to be my toilet?
I gulped down a sob and turned to him. ”You can’t keep me in here. You can’t do this to me.”
”That’s where you’re wrong. Your life is in my hands, to do with as I please.”
“You won’t get away with it. Someone will find out. They’ll come for me.” My attempts to save myself thus far were pitiful. One look in his eyes and I knew the worst was yet to come.
“This is where you’ll be spending the rest of your life.” He shifted, as though both angry and nervous at the same time. His brown eyes had turned murky, muddied by the evil swirling in their depths. He meant every word.
The man I loved, the man I had just married, was nowhere in sight. The only thing I knew about the person standing in front of me was his body. Everything else about him was foreign—his demeanor, his smile. His eyes.
Even though I still couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact that Miles and Alvin were the same person, my body remembered how rough he was with me earlier. That was not Miles. Best I accepted the truth now and found a way to deal with it. But how? I had no idea where I was, and neither did anyone else. Who could have imagined my fiancé would hold me captive on a private yacht? He had planned it all perfectly.
“Miles… Alvin. Please, let’s talk about this.”
“Fuck talking. I’ve waited a whole year for you to admit what you did. But have you? No, you’ve never showed one ounce of remorse.” He sucked in a breath through his teeth. “I wanted you to go to the cops, to admit everything. Maybe I would have forgiven you. But you lived as though nothing ever happened. I’m done talking. I want justice.”
“No, that’s not true.” The lump inside my throat swelled and hardened, making it hard to push out the words. “I didn’t live as though nothing happened. I didn’t tell anyone, but what… what happened killed me inside every single day. I had nightmares.”
“Well, it never showed, did it? I can’t see inside your dreams.” He surveyed the room with a satisfied expression. “Too late now. That part of your life is over. Better make yourself at home. The sooner, the better.”
His words finalized my predicament. My life, the world I knew, splintered and burst into a thousand pieces that flew out of my reach. The life that had never quite been mine disappeared in a flash.
But… maybe I could get it back. I could try to get through to him, to make him see what he planned to do was wrong. Or I could let someone know I was in danger. But how could I reach the outside world without a phone or computer?
I wrapped my arms around myself, aching for comfort.
As I watched him, my mind flooded with memories of the day I was reunited with my mother. She had been both familiar to me and at the same time a stranger. When I met Miles, I’d felt a deep connection, but I was foolish to believe it meant we were soulmates. I never would have imagined we had a bond that went back thirteen years.
Alvin Jones: my guilty conscience, my past, and now my worst nightmare. It made me sick to my stomach to think he was the horror I had spent so many years trying to run from.
How could a man be both so good and so evil? I’d had time to get to know Miles, to know the depth of his kindness. The compassion he had shown the people around him couldn’t have been entirely engineered.
The man I fell in love with was incapable of cruelty or unkindness. Except for the time he’d lashed out, saying he didn’t want my mom to come and live with us. I had felt then that it was out of character. Now the truth stood before me. It had been Alvin all along, trying to break out.
A knock on the door brought me back to the present. Miles grinned before he opened it.
Miles.
I had to hold on to that name until I was sure he no longer existed. Maybe if I believed hard enough that he was here, that his goodness was real, he would come to his senses and let me go. After all this, we would be over, of course. There was no way I’d be able to look at him the same way again, to love him as I had before. As soon as I stepped off the Vendetta, I would get a lawyer and have our marriage annulled.
I shifted, feeling the burn from when he raped me.
Jim, the man who had officiated our wedding, entered the room.
Our eyes met, and I pleaded silently with him to save me. At the same time I knew he probably didn’t have the power. From the way he communicated with Miles, it was evident where his loyalty lay. And in between his words, I detected a note of fear.
Even though he would not be able to help, having someone else on the yacht apart from me and Miles was comforting. If Miles let me out of the room, I’d find a way to talk to Jim privately. I prayed he would stay with us on the yacht for the duration of our journey.
Jim and Miles exchanged a few words, but they spoke so low, I did not catch the topic of the conversation. When Miles was done talking, Jim gave a crisp nod and tapped the brim of his captain’s hat. His eyes flickered to mine again, but he broke his gaze almost immediately.
After Jim left, Miles turned back to me, the corners of his mouth turned up, hands deep in his pockets. While I still wore nothing but a bathrobe and underwear, he had changed into a pair of jeans and a faded blue t-shirt.
“Can I get dressed first?” I’d asked before he’d pulled me out of the bedroom.
“No point,” he’d answered. “You won’t be leaving this yacht any time soon.”
He’d then picked up my panties from the floor and threw them at me. “Wear this for now. I need you with as little clothing on as possible.”
On the way out, when I pretended to be cold, he did grudgingly hand me a bathrobe.
As I stood before him now, his earlier vows returned to me in a flash. In a few words, he had told me everything he had planned.
I promise you a future you will never forget.
How could I not have known the man sleeping in my bed was my enemy? For a whole year I was blinded by love, ignored all the signs. They had been few and far between, but they had been there. What stood out most was his fury when he tried several times to convince me to change the direction of my magazine, and how he’d pushed me to tell him what I was hiding.
Acidic fear churned in the pit of my stomach, and a sudden chill showered me, cold, sharp, and relentless. All over my body, my skin, my brain.
The thought of how I’d eventually die had never quite crossed my mind. Like most people, I’d stifled it, and wished innocently to grow old and die a peaceful death. I never thought I would die at the hands of the man I loved, and leave the world without a chance to say goodbye to the few people who loved me.
How did he plan on murdering me? Would he throw me overboard, feed me to the sharks? Or would he kill me before getting rid of my body? Either way, the gavel had fallen. A devastating death sentence loomed over my head.
Maybe I had known, deep down. I’d known the day of reckoning would arrive, that I’d eventually pay for my crimes. But I never thought I’d pay with my life.
Miles was still smiling. “Jim came to inform me that the studio is ready. It’s time for your first shoot.”
“My what? You said… you said you were going to kill me,” I stuttered.
“I’ll get to that. Just not yet. There are a few important things I want you to do before you die. For that, I need you in front of the camera.”
&nbs
p; The blood in my veins turned to ice water. “What…what do you want from me?”
“You’ll understand soon enough. Right now it’s enough for you to know you’re going to pay a high price for what you did, starting with today.” He brought his hands together and made a steeple with his fingers, bringing the tip to his lips. “There are a few rules we need to get out of the way. First, this room is where you’ll be spending most of your time on this yacht. When I feel generous, I’ll allow you on deck for fresh air and exercise. If you obey me, you’ll get one meal a day.” He dropped his hands again and crossed his arms. “Begging will get you nothing more than I’m willing to give. Misbehave, and I’ll withdraw my kindness and let you suffer. One wrong move and you’ll be punished, and then locked up in here to rot.”
He reached for the doorknob, but his eyes stayed glued to mine. “Let me give you a little advice that will help you live a little longer. You’re at my mercy. You will do every single thing I ask you to do. You will not complain, and you will not, under any circumstances, fight me. That’s of course if you want to make your last few days easier and less painful.”
I nodded with my eyes closed, fought against seeing the monster inside the body of the man I had married. I opened my eyes again, tears flowing out. No point in closing them. Closing them didn’t shut him out, didn’t erase the truth. The one thing I could do was stay strong. The longer he kept me alive, the more time I’d have to figure out an escape plan.
He’d handed me his rules; now I was giving one to myself. I would stay alive for as long as humanly possible. I’d survive even if I had to walk straight through the eye of the storm.
“One more thing,” he said with a smile. “I didn’t only kill your friend, Stacy. Jane is dead too. Her death took a little more planning since I had to travel to her wedding in Europe, but it was worth it.”
Before his last word crashed on top of me like a brick, my knees hit the cold floor, my head in my hands, my sobs slicing fresh wounds on my heart. My tears were like blood flowing out of my very soul, tainted with guilt and regrets. Every one of his words drained me of life, leaving me dead before the time had come for me to take my last breath.