LOGINHis volume grew and spittle rained with each phrase he spat."As it is, I’m not allowing you to make any more decisions.” Crimson moved upward filling his saggy neck like a cloth-absorbing dye and creeping onward toward his cheeks and ears.“Alton, calm down. Bryce didn’t mean…” Though Suzanna's wor
“Uncle Alt—”A heavy hand landed upon my shoulder. “Where do you think you’re going?”I turned, perspiration dotting my skin as my shoulder shuddered with Alton’s touch. Fighting the urge to flinch away, I nodded toward the lawn at the few people standing below and answered, “To talk to the guests o
AlexandriaPatrick’s eyes met mine before he looked at his watch. It was his silent plea, and he was right. I needed to leave; however, since Bryce had left Alton’s den, he hadn’t left my side. With each glass of champagne or tumbler of whiskey, his enthusiasm for our marriage grew.“I’m happy,” Mil
I shook my head. “I don’t know. Patrick didn’t know. Only that Charli had a plan.”Trust me. Her words came back as I once again paced, my shoes becoming covered by a fine layer of red dust. Trust—I’d asked that same thing of Charli many times. Now it was my turn. I fucking hated the wait. It was he
NoxMy shoes pounded the Georgia clay. Back and forth I paced, watching my phone: the time, Charli’s app, and Oren’s texts. The sky was dark, barely a sliver of moon lighting the expanse from the woods to the manor.“Are you sure she can find the way?” I asked Isaac.“It’s not difficult. You can see
“No. You’re also not a doctor. If I don’t have a gurney in less than three minutes, you’ll no longer be a night nurse at Magnolia Woods. ”If I hadn’t known that Deloris was watching his every move through the Magnolia Woods security feed, I may have been concerned. I wasn’t. My attention was focuse
A young man stood nervously at the door."Mr. Crawford."The boy nodded. "Mr. Demetri.""Come in," Oren opened the door wide, his invitation too gracious.I stood. "Mr. Crawford? What is the—""During my perseverance..." Oren began as the young man shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the next and
"It's weird shit. I mean imposing beneficiary stipulations is a common practice, but I've never seen…even in school…anything as strange as the mandates in this one." He scrunched his features. "Can you imagine, some dead guy dictating who you have to marry?""The codicil?" I asked again, the agitati
"How?""It's a long story, but let me just say...I understand the allure, the promise of the compensation for what seems like not much sacrifice. But it is. You and your body are more valuable than that agreement. I'm more valuable than that agreement."She shook her head. "Look around. You can't po
I pursed my lips as I dug my spoon into the frozen goodness and freed a piece of chocolate."Tell me what that was..." He waved his spoon toward me. "...that face.""I didn't make a face.""You most certainly did. What did he do?" He leaned closer and widened his eyes. "Is it kinky?""No." My indign







