by Susan Harris
“Yes, you are. And you have people depending on you.”
Ever’s world spun in front of her as tears streamed down her face. It was true, all true. Memories, not madness, but Ever wasn’t sure if she were happy or sad at that. Her eyes met those of her second, who had followed her through various lives and deaths but still remained by her side.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Erika took her hand. “Ever, you have nothing to be sorry for. You put yourself on the frontline for all of us. We follow you because you are the rightful heir to the throne, not your father. This time it will be different; this time it has to be.”
The unsaid words—it was their last chance.
“Watching me fail, watching me die, must have been torture.”
Again, the Valkyrie shrugged. “Sometimes, memories are the worst form of torture.”
Whether she spoke of her own memories or of Ever’s, Ever wasn’t sure.
“I’m not ready to say the words out loud. I need time.”
“Time is something we don’t have much of. But you have to say them. You have to accept who you were destined to become. We need you, Ever. We cannot do this without you. When you’re ready, come find me. I need to be there.”
Then, Erika threw her arms around Ever and embraced her in a fierce hug.
“Welcome back, Systir,” Erika whispered. “It’s been hell to be around you and you not remember me. For some reason, this time was the worst.”
This time was the worst. This time was the last.
Erika didn’t utter the words, but Ever heard them in her mind.
Welcome back, Kyria.
Who are you?
Soon, very soon.
And as Ever hugged her back, she couldn’t quash the feeling that everything she wanted in life—love, a family, a place in this world—was slowly slipping through her fingers.
It felt as if the world were crumbling down around her as she watched, and she was helpless to stop it. The ground was opening up beneath her, ready to swallow her whole. Despair sang in her bones.
And for a brief second, her heart stopped beating.
He shoved some clothes into a holdall, hoping to be out of the house before Cait and Melanie got home. He’d been so proud of Melanie tonight, but his joy at her achievement was marred by the tension between him and Caitlyn.
She was so focused on trying to be strong, in fear of a man an ocean away, that she didn’t see how it hurt him. How he died a little more each day that she denied what she felt for him. And he cursed the gift death had given him, the ability to hear other’s thoughts. Because he heard the fight inside her head every time she looked at him.
“You’re leaving.”
A statement, not a question.
“I have to.”
He heard a sniffle. “Please, don’t go, Donnie.”
He turned around and tugged his new little sister into a big hug. “I have to, Melanie. But, if you need me, you call me. I’ll be there.”
Stepping from his embrace, she wheeled around and stormed off, slamming the door to her room. The radio blared a second later, giving them privacy.
“You do not have to go.”
He allowed himself to look at her, this fragile, broken woman who held his heart and had the capacity to crush it.
“You know I have to, Cait. I know this is hard to see, but I can’t work alongside you, sleep so near you, and not be with you. I’m dying a little more each day. I need this for me. I need distance.”
“This is your home.”
He grabbed his bag off the bed. “Yeah, it is. My home with you. Think things through, Cait. Come get me if you change your mind. I’m not giving up easily.”
She sighed. “You’ll get over this silly infatuation.”
“I’m in love with you, Caitlyn.”
“You only think you love me.”
She stepped aside as he attempted to stride past her, but he had to leave her something to make her think, not simply dig her heels in and be stubborn.
He pressed his lips to hers, a soft, easy feathering. It took all his self-control not to deepen the kiss, especially as Caitlyn’s mouth opened to him.
He held her gaze when he pulled back, saying, “I’m scared as hell to want you. But here I am, wanting you regardless. Come find me when you feel the same.”
And without looking back, Donnie left the only place he had ever called home and realized he had no other place to go. Walking outside the perimeter of Caitlyn’s compound, Donnie barely crossed the road before shadows emerged from the foliage around him.
Dropping the holdall, he bared his teeth as a sixteen-strong gang of vampires surrounded him. One glance at them had Donnie understanding who had sent them and possibly why.
His snarl ripped through the air. “You won’t get near her.”
One stepped closer to him, a slight man who wore the term regal as if it were a fashion accessory. He was dressed impeccably in a tailored three-piece suit. Taking the glasses off his face, he removed a handkerchief and proceeded to clean them. He held up a hand, and the gang froze but did not back off.
“We have not come for her. Our liege wishes to deliver a message.” His accent was definitely French, proving Donnie right in his assumption as to who had sent them.
“Tell him to deliver it himself so I can rip his fucking head off.”
The other vampire stepped back, and Donnie dared a glance over his shoulder. Caitlyn was safe, Melanie was safe. Nothing else mattered.
“I’m afraid, Mr. O’Carroll, that the message we came to deliver is entirely yours. You dared to lay hands on our king’s mistress. Our king takes it as a personal insult that you would lay hands on his property. Now, you will bear witness to the extent of his reach.”
The French vampire motioned with his hand, and the gang surged forward, teeth bared and vying for blood.
But Donnie had never gone down easy. He bared his own teeth, adrenaline surging forth in his veins. With a vicious snarl, Donnie leapt into the fray.
Deep inside a mountain in a remote part of the world, between reality and more, a monster opened his eye.
The world trembled under the strain of his power.
He was awake.
He was weakened.
But time was his friend.
And soon, everyone would kneel before him.
Also by Susan Harris
The Ever Chase Chronicles
Skin & Bones
Collateral Damage
Smoke & Mirrors
Night of the Hunter
Never Back Down
Defy The Stars
A Tale of Two Houses
Until Death Do Us Part
Shattered Memories
As Collateral Damage progressed, it became clear that the supposed ‘minor’ characters wanted to have their story told. Throughout the series, characters will have their own chapters. So for all that had chapters in Collateral Damage, here are their playlists. Enjoy!
(As always full playlist is available on Spotify)
Derek:
You Want a Battle? (Here’s a war)—Bullet for My Valentine
Every Other Freckle (Daytrip Remix)—Alt-J
How We Operate—Gomez
Hater—Korn
The Tide and Its Takers—36 Crazyfists
Pretence—Knuckle Punch
Overdrive—Fightstar
Bundy—Alpha Animal
Way Down We Go—Kaleo
Howl—Florence and the Machine
Dream on—Aerosmith
Mansion—NF ft. Fleurie
Killing Strangers—Marilyn Manson
St Ides—Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
Legendary—Welshy Arms
Dodged a Bullet—Greg Laswell
Ever:
Castle—Halsey
Gold—Andreya Triana
Try—Tyler Ward (Pink cover)
Immortals—Fall Out Boy
Behind Blue Eyes—Limp Bizkit
&nb
sp; Alive—Tigress
Can’t help (falling in love)—Ingrid Michaelson
Half the World Away—Aurora
I’ll Just Wait—Emarosa
Our Own House—MisterWives
Pays to Know—MyPet
Valkyrie—Battle Tapes
Love on the Brain—Rihanna
River of Tears—Alessia Cara
The Right Song—Tiesto
What Am I Becoming—POP ETC
Sometimes—The Academic
Caitlyn:
Wrecking Ball—Scars on 45 (Miley Cyrus cover)
New Way to Bleed—EVANESCENCE
Wicked Games—Gemma Hayes
Silence is Your Saviour—Bressie
Arsonists Lullaby—Hozier
Two Weeks—FKA Twigs
Holding on to Hell—Gin Wigmore
This World—Selah Sue
Gimmer Shelter (ft Lizzy Hale)—Stone Sour
It Works Itself Out—Half Moon Run
Waves—Dotan
Monsters—Ruelle
Elias—Cloud
For You—Serena Ryder
Slow Dance with the Devil—Parson James
Villain—Lucie Silvas
Talking Body—Tove lo
Confessions—Lila Rose
Gun in my Hand—Dorothy
Dancing in the Grey—Michael Malarkey
Donnie:
What Went Down—Foals
No Diggity—Tyler Ward (Blackstreet cover)
I Want You—Saint Raymond
Wicked Games—The Hot Damns
Burning our Morals Away—Slaves
Go with the Flow—Queens of the Stone Age
Wicked Game—Stone Sour
Mountain at my Gates—Foals
Bloodfeather—Highly Suspect
The Long Way—The Coronas
Thousand Eyes—Of Monsters and Men
Don’t Forget About Me—Cloves
I’m in Love—Kygo ft. James Vincent McMorrow
Raging—Kygo ft. Kodaline
Bulls in the Bronx—Pierce the Veil
Melanie:
I Knew You Were Trouble—We Came as Romans (Taylor Swift cover)
Alive—Sia
If I get High—Nothing but Thieves
Don’t You Wait—Cloves
Nerve Endings—Too Close to Touch
Bang Bang Bang—Dorothy
Demons—Sleigh Bells
Street Clothes (ft Voli)—Marz Ferrer
Sour Cherry—The Kills
You and I—Pvris
Just Breathe—Don Browning
Every Day is Exactly the Same—Nine Inch Nails
Bloodstream—Transviolet
Dancing on My Own—Calum Scott (Robin cover)
Horns—Bryce Fox
Just Getting Used to Being on My Own—Tom Odell
The amazing girls of CTP: Rebecca, Courtney and Marya. Thanks for all that you do behind the scenes. You guys don’t get enough recognition for all that you do. You seriously need superhero capes… for reals
BTW thanks for loaning me your names for my characters! I hope you don’t hate them!
Melanie Newton- For being an amazing friend and champion of my books.
Massive thanks to Chelsea for all her hard work getting Collateral Damage ready.
Special thanks go to Kelly, Cynthia and Pam.
My Parents – For being so supportive of all that I do. Love you guys.
LJ and Taylor-Love you to infinity and beyond.
To my family and friends- The ongoing support you give me, whether its sharing on social media, buying my books or even asking how my writings going, I’m extremely grateful to be surrounded by such supportive people. I have no need to name names; y’all know who you are.
And to the readers, old and new, thank you for all of your support and letting me do what I love.
Susan Harris is a writer from Cork in Ireland. An avid reader, she quickly grew to love books in the supernatural/fantasy genre. When she is not writing or reading, she loves music, oriental cultures, tattoos, anything Disney and psychology. If she wasn't a writer she would love to be a FBI profiler or a PA for Dave Grohl or Jared Leto.
Susan LOVES connecting with her fans!
www.susanharrisauthor.com
Thank you for reading Collateral Damage; I hope you enjoyed my book!
The sequel, Smoke & Mirrors, is available now on all platforms. Click here to grab your copy!
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If you loved Collateral Damage, please tell your friends about my book and consider leaving a review. Reviews are like potato chips; you can't ever have enough of them; thanks for reading my book!" ~Susan Harris