by Britney King
I think about how hard Greg had fought to keep his business afloat. How hard he’d worked for our family. How much pressure he had to have been under. How he’d tried to pay Jack Mooney off, how he thought he was doing the right thing for our family, and how we’d both kept secrets from one another. Secrets that added up. I think about all the frustrations and the distractions that festered over those three weeks. The petty arguments, the disagreements over money, everything that would inevitably prove to be inconsequential.
Greg was smart. His company sold two months after his death, and between the equity in the company and the life insurance policy he had set up, we are covered. Not only that, but people—strangers, from across the world—donated to a GoFundMe account that my former realty office set up. It astounds me that people could be so kind. Still, it doesn’t balance out the evil that took everything from us. No amount of money, and I’m not sure any amount of kindness, ever could.
The woman brings me back to the present when she asks if I have any questions. Usually, I say no. But today anger has once again reared his ugly head, and I ask her what she knows about grief. I ask her if she realizes that the odds of being murdered are one in one hundred and thirty-three.
Afterward, she tells me I shouldn’t speak that way in front of Naomi and Blair. “Why not?” I ask. “Their father is dead. It’s not as if it’s something they don’t already know.”
On Thursdays, after our therapy sessions, we visit Theo at the hospital—“hospital” being a polite term for mental institution.
Every week his cheeks are increasingly sunken in, and today his shoulders are slightly more hunched than they were on our last visit. Blair brings a drawing she made for him. Naomi saves up stories to tell. Theo likes her stories. He tells Blair her artwork covers his walls, that it’s so good the other patients try to steal it. “But stories,” he says to Naomi, “those you cannot steal.”
I bring a pair of new pajamas and a few of the books he requested. It’s the least I can do. I don’t know how long he’ll be here, but I assume for a while.
He stabbed his mother twice as she tried to stop him from fleeing with the knife. In addition, he confessed to placing the camera in our home and to uploading the video of Greg and me to the internet. I considered just once, and very briefly, asking Alex to help him, but I know better.
He contacted me from his office a few days after Greg was killed. He didn’t apologize; he simply asked if there was anything he could do. Maybe it was the anger over everything that had happened, but I didn’t go easy on him. I told him never to contact me again and, that if he did, I would seek a protective order.
It felt good to say words that had belief behind them. Greg was right. Alex is manipulative, but he isn’t evil. It’s a fantasy he has, thinking that he can fill the hole in his life with me. He’s broken, but like my husband said: It’s smart not to invite broken things into your life. It’s not your job to fix them. No matter how shiny the project looks, you’ll bite off more than you can chew every time.
“You’ll never believe this,” Theo says, catching my attention. I know what Greg would say about me being here. About dealing with another broken thing. Even after death, I can both understand and defy him. I think he would be proud there’s still a little of that left in me—fight, that is—otherwise, what would be the point? I might just give up.
Theo tells the girls about his therapy session that morning, about how his therapist told him that life is meant to teach us lessons. “She says that if we ignore the lesson or go another direction, and we don’t face it, it’s like the universe recalibrates to escalate the lesson to be bigger and harder the next time. Then, if you make a similar choice, there’s more to learn. That lesson moves on to a more difficult, harder, bigger lesson than if you had learned it completely the first time.”
“That’s why,” he says, “it’s important to let go of things.”
Blair crinkles her nose. “I don’t get it.”
Theo smiles and then opens his mouth to speak, before closing it again. He looks over at me. “To show the universe you’ve learned your lesson and you don’t need to learn it again.”
“I don’t think that’s true,” I say. “I don’t think the universe is keeping score.”
Later, I give the girls money for the vending machine. Theo and I look on as they carefully make their selections.
“You should have just gone away,” he says, same as the last visit, and every one before that. “Why didn’t you just go away?”
“I don’t know. But I really wish we had.” Blair holds a bag of chips up, waving them in the air like she’s just struck gold. The grin on her face is nearly an exact match to her father’s. My eyes well up with tears. “If I had known—”
“It’s okay,” he says, shaking his head. “Sometimes not knowing is better.”
A note from Britney
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed reading Savage Row.
Writing a book is an interesting adventure, it’s a bit like inviting people into your brain to rummage around. Look where my imagination took me. These are the kinds of stories I like…
That feeling is often intense and unforgettable. And mostly, a ton of fun.
With that in mind—thank you again for reading my work. I don’t have the backing or the advertising dollars of big publishing, but hopefully I have something better…readers who like the same kind of stories I do. If you are one of them, please share with your friends and consider helping out by doing one (or all) of these quick things:
1. Visit my review page and write a 30 second review (even short ones make a big difference).
Many readers don’t realize what a difference reviews make but they make ALL the difference.
2. Drop me an email and let me know you left a review. This way I can enter you into my monthly drawing for signed paperback copies.
3. Point your psychological thriller loving friends to their free copies of my work. My favorite friends are those who introduce me to books I might like.
4. If you’d like to make sure you don’t miss anything, to receive an email whenever I release a new title, sign up for my new release newsletter.
Thanks for helping, and for reading my work. It means a lot.
Britney King
Austin, Texas
November 2020
About The Author
Britney King lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, children, a dog named Gatsby, one ridiculous cat, and a partridge in a peach tree.
When she's not wrangling the things mentioned above, she writes psychological, domestic and romantic thrillers set in suburbia.
Without a doubt, she thinks connecting with readers is the best part of this gig. You can find Britney online here:
• britneyking.com
• Email
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Goodreads
• BookBub
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to my family and friends for your support in my creative endeavors.
To the beta team, ARC team, and the bloggers, thank you for making this gig so much fun.
Last, but not least, thank you for reading my work. Thanks for making this dream of mine come true.
I appreciate you.
Also by Britney King
The Book Doctor
A riveting new thriller about a writer desperate to make a comeback who realizes the price of success when a stranger arrives at his door.
Kill, Sleep, Repeat
An intense and deadly provocative thriller which follows a woman who, in a fight for survival, realizes her job may cost more than it pays.
Room 553
Room 553 is a standalone psychological thriller. Vivid and sensual, Room 553 weaves a story of cruelty, reckless lust, and blind, bloody justice.
HER
HER is a standalone psychological thriller which covers the dark side of female relationships. But equally—it’s
about every relationship anyone has ever had they knew was terrible for them. It’s for those of us who swam for the deep end anyway, treading water because it seemed like more fun than sitting on the sidelines. It’s about the lessons learned along the way. And knowing better the next time. Or not.
The Social Affair | Book One
The Replacement Wife | Book Two
Speak of the Devil | Book Three
The New Hope Series Box Set
The New Hope Series offers gripping, twisted, furiously clever reads that demand your attention, and keep you guessing until the very end. For fans of the anti-heroine and stories told in unorthodox ways, The New Hope Series delivers us the perfect dark and provocative villain. The only question—who is it?
Water Under The Bridge | Book One
Dead In The Water | Book Two
Come Hell or High Water | Book Three
The Water Series Box Set
The Water Trilogy follows the shady love story of unconventional married couple—he’s an assassin—she kills for fun. It has been compared to a crazier book version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Also, Dexter.
Bedrock | Book One
Breaking Bedrock | Book Two
Beyond Bedrock | Book Three
The Bedrock Series Box Set
The Bedrock Series features an unlikely heroine who should have known better. Turns out, she didn’t. Thus she finds herself tangled in a messy, dangerous, forbidden love story and face-to-face with a madman hell-bent on revenge. The series has been compared to Fatal Attraction, Single White Female, and Basic Instinct.
Around The Bend
Around The Bend, is a heart-pounding standalone which traces the journey of a well-to-do suburban housewife, and her life as it unravels, thanks to the secrets she keeps. If she were the only one with things she wanted to keep hidden, then maybe it wouldn’t have turned out so bad. But she wasn’t.
Somewhere With You | Book One
Anywhere With You | Book Two
The With You Series Box Set
The With You Series at its core is a deep love story about unlikely friends who travel the world; trying to find themselves, together and apart. Packed with drama and adventure along with a heavy dose of suspense, it has been compared to The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Love, Rosie.
GET EXCLUSIVE MATERIAL
Looking for a bit of dark humor, chilling deception and enough suspense to keep you glued to the page? If so, tap the image to receive your starter library. Easy peasy.
Sneak Peek: The Social Affair
Book One
In the tradition of Gone Girl and Behind Closed Doors comes a gripping, twisted, furiously clever read that demands your attention, and keeps you guessing until the very end. For fans of the anti-heroine and stories told in unorthodox ways, The Social Affair delivers us the perfect dark and provocative villain. The only question—who is it?
A timeless, perfect couple waltzes into the small coffee shop where Izzy Lewis works. Instantly enamored, she does what she always does in situations like these: she searches them out on social media.
Just like that—with the tap of a screen— she’s given a front row seat to the Dunns’ picturesque life. This time, she’s certain she’s found what she’s been searching for. This time, she'll go to whatever lengths it takes to ensure she gets it right—even if this means doing the unthinkable.
Intense and original, The Social Affair is a disturbing psychological thriller that explores what can happen when privacy is traded for convenience.
What readers are saying:
"Another amazingly well-written novel by Britney King. It's every bit as dark, twisted and mind twisting as Water Under The Bridge...maybe even a little more so."
"Hands down- best book by Britney King. Yet. She has delivered a difficult writing style so perfectly and effortlessly, that you just want to worship the book for the writing. The author has managed to make murder/assassination/accidental- gunshot- to-the-head- look easy. Necessary."
"Having fallen completely head over heels for these characters and this author with the first book in the series, I've been pretty much salivating over the thought of this book for months now. You'll be glad to know that it did not disappoint!"
Praise
"If Tarantino were a woman and wrote novels... they might read a bit like this."
"Fans of Gillian Flynn and Paula Hawkins meet your next obsession."
"Provocative and scary."
"A dark and edgy page-turner. What every good thriller is made of."
"I devoured this novel in a single sitting, absolutely enthralled by the storyline. The suspense was clever and unrelenting!"
"Completely original and complex."
"Compulsive and fun."
"No-holds-barred villains. Fine storytelling full of mystery and suspense."
"Fresh and breathtaking insight into the darkest corners of the human psyche."
The Social Affair
Britney King
Copyright
THE SOCIAL AFFAIR is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, images, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and not intended by the author. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author's intellectual property. No part of this publication may be used, shared or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact https://britneyking.com/contact/
Thank you for your support of the author's rights
Hot Banana Press
Cover Design by Britney King LLC
Cover Image by Mario Azzi
Copy Editing by Librum Artis Editorial Services
Proofread by Proofreading by the Page
Copyright © 2018 by Britney King LLC. All Rights Reserved.
First Edition: 2018
ISBN 13: 978-1979057455
ISBN 10: 1979057451
britneyking.com
To those who’ve walked into our lives without first asking permission...
Prologue
Attachment is an awfully hard thing to break. I should know. I surface from the depths of sleep to complete and utter darkness. I don’t want to open my eyes. I have to. “I warned you, and I warned you,” I hear his voice say. It’s not the first time. He called out to me, speaking from the edge of consciousness, back when I thought this all might have been a dream. It’s too late for wishful thinking now. This is his angry voice, the one I best try to avoid. My mind places it immediately. This one is reserved for special occasions, the worst of times.
I hear water running in the background. Or at least I think I do. For my sake, I hope I'm wrong. I try to recall what I was doing before, but this isn't that kind of sleep. It's the heavy kind, the kind you wake from and hardly know what year you’re in, much less anything else. I consider how much time might have passed since I dozed off. Then it hits me.
“You really shouldn’t have done that,” he says, and his eyes come into focus. Those eyes, there’s so much history in them; it’s all still there now. I see it reflected back to me. I read a quote once that said… a true mark of maturity is when someone hurts you, and you try to understand their situation instead of trying to hurt them back. This seems idealistic now. I wish someone had warned me. Enough of that kind of thinking will get you killed.
“Please,” I murmur, but the rest of what I want to say won’t come. It’s probably better this way. I glance toward the door, thinking about what’s at stake if I don’t make it out of here alive, wondering whether or not I can make a break for it. It’s so dark out—a clear night, a moonless sky. The power is out, I gather, and it’s a fair assumption. This has always been one of his favorite w
ays to show me what true suffering is like. That alone would make an escape difficult. I would have to set out on foot and then where would I go? Who would believe me?