No White Knight
Page 26
The backs of my eyes stung. The fire, so telling in its intensity and strident in its heat, had become a too-familiar occurrence in my life now.
A life I couldn’t imagine without him.
A life I didn’t dare think of letting him back into.
What the hell do I do now?
And why the hell was I even asking myself that? Not after that…that…
What the hell was that? A love letter? An apology note? An ultimatum?
And why did I care, when it enraged me to the point of trembling in sheer dizziness as I stood, wobbled across the room, and flung open the door of my bedroom?
My haven.
The one place I was safe…
Where I could flop on the bed, like I did now, and scream into the pillows until my throat hurt, my head throbbed, and the moisture behind my eyes became a defensive desert once again.
“When I’ve decided I deserve him?” I growled, staring up at my ceiling. There were so many other lines in that damn letter that needed to be screamed about, but that seemed like a damn good place to start.
Asshole.
Asshole.
I bolted off the bed and stomped across into the living room, grabbing up the epic “Maclain Charter” as I went. On my way over to the kitchen, I dared to read it again—almost welcoming the fury it stirred anew. This, I could deal with. The anger was my new shelter.
Dickwad.
Dickwad.
Where exactly did he get off thinking he knew anything about me or my happiness? I considered calling him and letting him have a piece of my mind, but that was what he was hoping for, so I calmly set my cell phone down on the counter. I pulled out a piece of paper to write a letter in response. Maybe putting my thoughts on to paper would help get them in order.
As I scrawled his name across the top, my cell phone rang. I snatched it up, expecting it to be him, knowing I would’ve read his decree by that point.
“You fuck. What the hell makes you think you can just say all of that and then—”
“Taylor? Taylor, honey? Is that you?”
My entire stomach surged into the bottom of my throat.
The line wasn’t filled by the beautiful, husky voice of the world’s biggest bastard-clown. It was the slurring, drug-addled voice of Janet Mathews.
I hadn’t looked at the caller ID before starting my diatribe—and wished I had.
“Mom?” I croaked.
“Baby, I need your help.”
“Of course you do.”
* * *
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Acknowledgments
Thank you to the readers and fans who have supported the Stones
and their crazy journey so far. We hope you enjoy this new part of the saga!
So many thanks to our awesome beta readers.
Your feedback has been so invaluable!
Ceej Chargualaf
Kimberley Hellmers
Also by Angel Payne
Secrets of Stone Series:
(with Victoria Blue)
No Prince Charming
No More Masquerade
No Perfect Princess
No Magic Moment
No Lucky Number
No Simple Sacrifice
No Broken Bond
No White Knight
* * *
The Bolt Saga:
Bolt
Ignite
Pulse
Fuse (November 27, 2018)
Surge (January 15, 2019)
Light (February 26, 2019)
* * *
Honor Bound:
Saved
Cuffed
Seduced
Wild
Wet
Hot
Masked
Mastered
Conquered
Ruled (December 11, 2019)
* * *
Cimarron Series:
Into His Dark
Into His Command
Into Her Fantasies
* * *
Temptation Court:
Naughty Little Gift
Pretty Perfect Toy
Bold Beautiful Love
* * *
For a full list of Angel’s other titles,
visit her at
AngelPayne.com
About Angel Payne
USA Today bestselling romance author Angel Payne loves to focus on high-heat romance starring memorable alpha men and the women who love them. She has numerous book series to her credit, including the action-packed Bolt Saga and Honor Bound series, Secrets of Stone series (with Victoria Blue), the intertwined Cimarron and Temptation Court series, the Suited for Sin series, and the Lords of Sin historicals, as well as several standalone titles.
Angel is a native Southern Californian, leading to her love of being in the outdoors, where she often reads and writes. She still lives in Southern California with her soul-mate husband and beautiful daughter, to whom she is a proud cosplay/culture con mom. Her passions also include whisky tasting, shoe shopping, and travel.
For more information, please follow Angel Payne at:
AngelPayne.com
About Victoria Blue
International bestselling author Victoria Blue lives in her own portion of the galaxy known as Southern California. There, she finds the love and life-sustaining power of one amazing sun, two unique and awe-inspiring planets, and four indifferent yet comforting moons. Life is fantastic and challenging and every day brings new adventures to be discovered. She looks forward to seeing what’s next!
For more information, please follow Victoria Blue at:
VictoriaBlue.com