Novels by Ray Michael

**Third person** Valerie dragged her heavy eyes open. She blinked a couple of times to clear her vision. The smell of drugs and antiseptic and hospital filled her nose. Beside her, Lucas sat with his eyes closed. Almost immediately she jumped up on the bed. “Let me go,” she shouted, startling Lucas. He climbed the bed and pulled her into his arms. “It's okay, you're safe now,” he whispered softly, planting kiss after kiss on her hair and forehead. Valerie relaxed into his embrace, her racing heart finally calm. A tear slipped from his eyes and he wiped it. He'd thought he'd lost her. “I'm sorry I couldn't keep you safe. I should have anticipated it, I should—” “It's not your fault,” she cut him off gently. “It's not.” Tears trailed down her own cheeks and she sniffed. “What happened to Matthew?” A muscle ticked in Lucas's jaw, he felt Matt had an easy fate after everything he did. "Dead." Valerie let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, her body shaking with relieve

**Third person**“Let's move, slowly,” Matt murmured in Valerie's ears, his hot breath fanning against her skin. His eyes were still locked onto Lucas—who was practically shooting daggers at Matt with his eyes."Matthew, please," Valerie whispered back, her voice trembling. "You don't have to do this. You can still let me go."Matt's jaw tightened, his chest heaving with desperation and anger. "Do you really think I'm stupid?" he hissed. "You want me to let you go? I should just allow you to run into his arms?" He questioned in a mocking tone.“Drop your weapon and surrender,” the police announced again but neither Valerie nor Matt paid any attention. “Best believe that if I do that, then I'll shoot you from behind before you get to him,” Matt added. The chilling sensation in his voice sent a shiver down Valerie's spine.“Man to man,” Lucas began, his voice almost a growl. “What would it take for you to let her go? Anything at all… name it. Even if you don't want to spend a single da

**Third person**It took Matthew half the time it would normally take to get to the bunker. He parked his car at a safe distance before running over to the location. And with each step he took, his mind raced, his heart pounded with anxiety. He couldn't afford to lose her now that he was so close. They'd literally be leaving the country today. Valerie please be there, please be there, Matt murmured, his legs moving faster.A half-relieved sigh left his lips when he reached the entrance and saw that the door was still locked—She was still here. His trembling fingers sifted through his bunch of keys, his breath gaspy and he wiped the sweat on his forehead with the back of his palm.Matt unlocked the door and then pushed it open forcefully. His eyes blazing with anger and anxiety found Valerie immediately. She was curled up at a corner, her cheeks stained with tears and her hands and feet shaking."What have you done??!" he growled, his voice venomous.She frowned in confusion, even th

**Third person**Matt seemed to ponder for a moment before he exhaled deeply. Then he moved over to the table and picked up a small knife. He began cutting the ropes. His jaw clenched at the red mark the ropes left on her skin, a pang of guilt coursing through him. He'd done this to her, he thought. “Do you need me to get you anything from the store?”Finally untied, Valerie examined her free hands and legs, a sense of relief and determination washing over her. “No, thanks.”“I'll be back soon.” He gave her a warning look. “Don't try anything stupid.”She nodded vigorously. “I wouldn't dare.”Satisfied, Matthew turned around and headed out. Valerie had her timid and innocent mask on, until the moment Matthew was out of view.She squeezed her eyes shut and then began counting from one to fifty in her head, giving Matthew enough time to leave the premises. Even with her eyes closed, she could hear the locks click behind him.When she was done, she sprang to her feet, her eyes desperat

**Third person**Eighteen hours had passed since Valerie's disappearance.Lucas stood in the center of his living room, surrounded by computers and anxious faces. His team of experts, handpicked from the best in the business, worked tirelessly to track down any lead on his woman.But so far, neither his team nor the police have been able to come up with anything tangible. There was also no signal from the tracker in Valerie's necklace. Either her kidnapper knew that the necklace was bugged and got rid of it, or they were under water, in a bunker, or somewhere that'll block the signal.One thing for sure; he'd find Valerie and he'd find her soon. Even if it meant turning the planet upside down. She'd be found.News about her and disappearance was all over the media and there was a huge cash prize for whoever brought relevant information on her whereabouts. Lucas ran a palm across his exhausted face. Deep lines creased his forehead, and his jaw was set in a rigid clench. "Broaden the

**Third person** It was almost as if Valerie disappeared just when Elliot blinked. After dismissing the woman who'd come to talk to him, he looked up but he didn't find his boss. Damnit! He'd clenched his jaw and quickened his pace, his hand instinctively resting on the gun holstered at his hip as he rushed outside. Eyes scanned everywhere around but there was no trace of her. "Miss Thorne?" he called out, his mind racing. “Ashley?” He called louder. “Valerie?” There was no response. Immediately, he dialed her number… once, twice, thrice… until it was unreachable. He'd rushed over to some passersby to ask if they'd seen her… There was nothing. Shit! Just then, his phone started ringing. Elliot pulled the device out and stared at the screen, his throat suddenly feeling dry as he registered the caller ID—Mr. Stone. He took a deep breath and then pressed the answer button. ***************************** Valerie's eyes fluttered open, her gaze was blurry and unfocused. She tri

The kiss started soft at first, but it quickly turned into something else. It was deep. Thorough. Filled with passion, aggression and pent up anger. His hands grabbed her face while his mouth wrecked her. Lyra kissed him back just as hard, tasting the faintest trace of whiskey in his breath, feeling every nerve in her body react to him as though she'd been waiting forever for this. As though his breath could quench the fury in her. The confusion.Suddenly, she pulled away. And before he could register the loss, her hand flew to his cheek and she slapped him again. She stared at him and he held her gaze. Her eyes were filled with an intensity that wasn't just anger. “Don't think kissing me solves everything,” she said, breathless. “I know,” he whispered.Even as her pulse pounded with anger, her traitorous body still responded—hungry with need. Heat flooded to her core and trailed down her thighs. Tyson's eyes, still glazed with desire, roamed her almost-bare chest. That's when

The words stopped her cold.For a second, she forgot what she was going to say. Heat crept up her neck as his words from that night filled her mind. *I get to call you my wife. We get to live together. Share a bed. Watch you eat off my plate. Travel. Argue about our next vacation. Smell your farts. Have kids. Pillow fight. Drink wine from your mouth, and do all the other weird shit that couples do. But it won't be weird to me—because it's you. And you don't get to leave. Forever.*Tyson was standing close enough that she could feel the warmth of his body. His eyes held hers, unwavering, and for once there was no teasing smile or smug remark hiding what he was thinking. He meant it. He truly meant it. He meant everything he'd said that night?That realization sent an unfamiliar flutter through her chest. She hated that it did. She pushed the feeling down and lifted her chin, refusing to allow herself go soft. “How about coming clean and not being a manipulative asshole?” she hiss

‘Yes’. Those words landed on Lyra like a bucket of ice. She wanted to ask him why. Why he’d done something so twisted? But at this point, did it really matter? Would whatever sick explanation he’d cook make it up?Lyra stared at Tyson who was still standing by the door with a blank expression on his face and she wanted to shout. Wanted to scream. Tyson had taken a page out of a dark romance plot. Except this was real life. Her life. And he'd crossed a line. This was control… Manipulation, in its finest, purest form. That day, she felt alive. She'd thought she was controlling the stakes. Bargaining, negotiating, taking matters into her hands—anything, but stepping into a carefully written out script.She allowed the paper to slip off her finger and she stormed towards the door before it even landed on the ground. Just as she reached where Tyson stood, he grabbed her wrist. “I'm sorry,” he gritted out.Her face twisted into a deep scowl. She wretched her hand away and eyed him. “

The biggest misconception Lyra had was thinking this was a contract marriage. That their agreement would be over after a year. That she'd just get up and walk away when the contract said she would. For years, Tyson had kept his eyes on her. He'd watched the way his nephew had treated her. He'd watched her stay. Anyone with eyes could see that Alex only had eyes for Nadine. Either she was too naive to notice, or it wasn't a deal-breaker for her. Quite frankly, he had no right to interfere. She loved Alex and she seemed content with where she was. After all, Tyson wasn't a saint himself. He didn't deserve her. Not after everything. But he also knew that Alex didn't deserve Lyra either. She deserved somebody way better. Somebody that wasn't part of the Wilson family. Somebody that wasn't involved in this mess. He'd continued to be an observer, deciding to meddle only when it was truly necessary. He'd told himself he'd allow her to live her life and only step in when the Wilson

The door of the study was half open when Lyra got there, the sharp smell of printer ink and papers overpowering the clean vanilla scent in the background.At a corner of the room, the printer hummed as it vomited papers that slid to the ground and added to the growing paper pool.Lyra stepped in, calling Tyson's name as her gaze roamed around.No response.Instinctively, her eyes landed on the table and she walked over. One after the other, she gathered the scattered documents on the ground into a neat pile. She straightened the edges of the bundle with a light tap against her thigh. Then she glanced around, looking for an envelope to keep the papers. She'd caught a glimpse of them, and they looked like work documents. She didn't want them lying around where they could go missing or damaged. Lyra opened the top drawer, but all the envelopes inside were occupied and labeled.When she opened the second one, she finally found an empty, unlabeled one. She picked it up, intending to pla

Lyra stood over a pot of seasoned rice and stirred. She watched the grains absorb the chicken stock while the smell of roasted chicken browning in the oven filled the air.Beside her, May diced bell peppers.Before leaving for work in the morning, she'd told May what to buy. And since Friday was practically a half day, she'd left the office a little earlier because she wanted to cook. Tyson was coming home today.She didn't know what she was doing, or why she was even doing it all. She just told herself that it's because he was coming back from a trip and needed something that felt like home.But the voice in her head called her a liar. Because when did she become responsible for that? If at all, why couldn't May do it alone?Lyra didn't pay much attention to the thoughts in her head. She pushed them aside and checked the chicken in the oven before returning to the rice.May gently pushed the bowl of diced vegetables to her, watching with interest as Lyra poured them into a different