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
AlexandriaAs I made my way toward the manor, images of the afternoon scene with Bryce were easily overshadowed by thoughts of Nox and our call. I'd stowed the phone and charger in an old storage shed beyond the tennis courts. It was seldom used since no one played tennis. The small building held ra
"I-I can't. It won't work. It's a long walk from the manor to the road. By the time I get back, they'll notice. I can't possibly be gone that long during the party.""Fuck, you aren't going back. While I'm getting you, Isaac will get your mom. It'll happen before anyone knows what hit them. Then you
As I began walking back toward the manor, my thoughts returned to the scene in Alton's office. I detested what I'd done, but saving the phone and speaking to Nox made it worth it.The end justified the means.It wasn't a legal defense, but sometimes it was true.Seeing the phone's charger sail acros
AlexandriaThe clay path beneath my shoes was lined by stripped tobacco stalks for nearly as far as the eye could see. I'd ventured beyond the lawns, gardens, tennis courts, and past the pool, until the harvested fields were all around me. The manor was but a dot in the landscape, and I prayed that







