Following a tragic incident in L.A., detective Kacey Dean has returned to her hometown of Pleasant Hills, Washington, just in time to be swept up in a series of murders called the Chosen Killings-- citizens of Pleasant Hills are killing people seemingly at random, saying the words "I am chosen" before committing the murder. Kacey Dean has killed the man she thought was responsible, but she's about to find out that the Chosen Killings are far beyond her, or anyone's, understanding. Author: Micky Neilson Publisher: EasyReading
Click- click!
��Do you ever have nightmares about the Chosen killer? About that night?�� Doctor Faulkner clicked his pen again, looking over the top of his notepad at Kacey, who barely registered the question; her attention was directed at the small window nearby and the steady rainfall just outside.
��Detective Dean?��
��Yeah?�� she said, forcing her eyes back to the older man with the thin gray hair plastered to his pale skull; his glassy, bulging eyes gazing back expectantly.
Click-click!
I really, really want to shove that pen up his ass.
��I mean, ��no.�� No I do not have nightmares about Declan,�� she lied. ��Or about the night I shot him.��
Images flashed through her mind: of that night six weeks ago, of the old asylum, of Declan Crowe silhouetted against the window frame and the night sky, a gun in one hand and in the other��
What? What was it? What had she seen? Why couldn��t she remember?
��Did you attend the funeral?�� Faulkner asked, rousing her from her reverie.
��No, I thought that would be in poor taste.��
��You have an impressive record, detective. First in your class at the LAPD Police Academy, near-perfect scores on your exam and you made detective by age twenty five.��
Kacey raised her eyebrows. Where was the old coot going with this?
��And you left it all to come here,�� he continued. ��Do you want to talk about what happened in L.A.?��
��Actually I��d like to do that, but the opposite. I��d like to not talk about that. Ever.��
Click- click!
��Okay. Okay then���� Faulkner wrote something on the pad. Probably something like ��Patient continues to be a royal pain in my ass.�� Kacey��s eyes wandered the small office: certificates, diplomas, a bookshelf, lots of potted plants, soothing colors�� and between the two of them, a small glass-top coffee table. Everything situated just so; a carefully constructed scene to make patients feel comfortable�� which, for whatever reason, had the effect of making her feel particularly uncomfortable.
��So why transfer to Washington State?�� Faulkner asked.
Shifting in her oversized seat (whatever happened to shrinks using couches?) Kacey deadpanned: ��I came here for the sunshine.��
Faulkner smiled. ��Ha ha! Yes! The sunshine���� He let out an exaggerated ��ahhh���� then: ��Don��t you have family here?��
��Yeah, a brother. I grew up here.��
��I see. And how do you and your brother get along?��
��Famously.�� That was a lie. Her brother had avoided her ever since she arrived. The two of them had never gotten along very well, and after the death of their parents, after she had left��
��So you come here, to ��sunny�� Pleasant Hills, back to your roots�� and not six months later you have to deal with this�� Chosen situation.��
Yeah, and what a situation that was: Declan Crowe, a well-respected businessman�� a pillar of the community, some might say; and somehow it turns out he was able to convince seemingly random individuals to commit murder, each act beginning with the attacker speaking the words ��I am chosen.��
The press ate it up.
��I had the opportunity to speak to Amanda Bingham at Bellingham Hospital,�� Faulkner continued. ��It was a one-sided conversation, as she suffers from a complete and irreversible dissociative fugue following the incident����
��Incident,�� that��s cute. Amanda Bingham walked into the Freddie Jones real estate office on Pine Street with a pair of long-handled pruners, strode right past the receptionist to where Duncan Styles sat at his desk; she said ��I am chosen,�� opened the pruners, shoved them against Duncan��s throat, and sliced through his windpipe with one clean snip.
��The stupor which followed is the same in every case, I��m told,�� Faulkner continued. ��Fascinating.��
��If by ��fascinating�� you mean ��terrifying,�� then yeah.�� After each killing, the murderers became completely unresponsive. Basically vegetables.
Kacey checked the time on her phone. Almost free, thank God.
Faulkner turned over his notepad and leveled a somber glare on Kacey. ��I have to ask, Detective Dean: have you experienced any feelings of depression? Have you contemplated any acts of self-harm?��
Kacey smiled. ��Only in the last hour.��
Click- click!
��You��re quite skillful at deflecting. Please understand that I��m only doing my job. You fired your weapon in the line of duty; a man is dead. I��m here to help you, and to assess your mental fitness, so to speak. To gauge your readiness to go back on the job.��
Glancing once more at the phone, Kacey lit up. ��And we��re done! Passed with flying colors, I��m sure.��
Faulkner set his notepad on the coffee table. ��Not just yet. I should like to see you once more, at least. With any luck, I hope to earn a bit of your trust.�� Faulkner stood and grinned. Kacey allowed him a half smile as she headed for the door.
Click-click!
��Oh, one last thing,�� Faulkner spoke from behind her.
She looked over her shoulder. The old man��s features had gone slack. His bug eyes stared vacantly. Kacey��s heart leapt into her throat as she turned to face him. Something was very, very wrong about the old man; about his vapid stare and about the way he was holding that pen.
��I am chosen,�� Faulkner said.
Samantha Cain grew up in foster care after the death of her parents. Now she's focused on her job as a police officer... until her life is uprooted by a brutal murder and a clue that points to secrets in her past, and a killer that is something beyond human. Author: Micky Neilson Publisher: EasyReading
"There will be no falling in love, we will only act as a loving couple when we are in public, we will share a room to make it believable, but no intimacy, touching is off-limits. We'll only have sex once a month, and that's solely to produce an heir. You won't interfere in my business, and I won't interfere in yours. You will be my wife in every sense and you will not be involved with any other man," he said, arrogance seeping from every word. I watch his mouth move, I'm not ready to fall in love with any man, especially not one as arrogant and egoistic as him. I can handle acting as a loving couple, and as for intimacy once a month. I can agree to that just to satisfy my sexual cravings with no strings attached. "Where can I sign?" I asked since I had nothing to lose. *** Nadine's wedding dreams turned to nightmares when she caught her sister and fiancé cheating! With a secret recording, she's ready for revenge. But then mysterious billionaire Logan West offers a deal: A Contract Marriage to take down her ex's empire. But what Nadine doesn't know is her life is getting complicated as she takes her chance to get revenge or risks everything for a chance at love?"
Caught in a web of betrayal, Nicole's life shatters in a single evening when her mother-in-law, Veronica, sets her up in an elaborate scheme. Blindsided, Nicole faces her husband Taylor's cold rage as he casts her out of his life and home, accusing her of infidelity and theft. As she tries to defend herself, her best friend, Sarah, adds another blow by denying their loyalty. "Please, Taylor, you have to believe me!" Nicole pleads, her voice breaking, but his icy response is a dagger to her heart. "I don't hate you, Nicole," he sneers. "I despise you." When Nicole reveals she's pregnant, she hopes for compassion, but it only fuels Veronica's determination to rid the family of her. After signing the divorce papers, a dejected Nicole wanders alone, where a brutal attack leaves her bleeding, helpless, and desperate to protect her unborn child. Six years later, Nicole returns from the ashes to inflict seven times the pains upon those who humiliated her and left her to die. "I'll make them pay so dearly that they'd regret ever been born!" She declares. This is a story of romance and revenge you don't want to miss!
In the previous life, Maggie Johnson was so cowardly, gullible and stupid that she was coaxed by her fiance and stepsister and then broke her legs and lost everything including her fortune, love and even life. However, she was so lucky that she was reborn in the year before everything happened. Since her life restarted, how could she repeat a previous tragedy? Therefore, in this life, she took the opportunity to improve herself and take revenge on the ones who had ever insulted her. Facing the people who had humiliated her previously, she became smart and experienced to break their frames and tricks that had caused her to hurt in the previous life. Finally, no one could stop her pace to amaze the world any more.
It was supposed to be a marriage of convenience, but Carrie made the mistake of falling in love with Kristopher. When the time came that she needed him the most, her husband was in the company of another woman. Enough was enough. Carrie chose to divorce Kristopher and move on with her life. Only when she left did Kristopher realize how important she was to him. In the face of his ex-wife’s countless admirers, Kristopher offered her 20 million dollars and proposed a new deal. “Let’s get married again.”
Trigger warning!!! Intended for mature readers who enjoy morally complex, slow-burn, poseesive, forbidden, dark romance that pushes boundaries. ***EXCERPT*** Blood everywhere. Trembling hands. "No!" My eyes blurred. His lifeless eyes stared back at me, his blood pooling at my feet. The man I loved-dead. Killed by the one person I could never escape - my stepbrother. *** Kasmine's life was never hers to begin with. Kester, her stepbrother, controlled and monitored her every move. At first, it was all sweet and brotherly until it began to turn into an obsession. Kester was the Alpha, and his word was law. No close friends. No boyfriends. No freedom. The only consolation Kasmine had was her twenty-first birthday, which was supposed to change everything. She dreamt of finding her mate, escaping the sickening control of Kester, and finally claiming her own life. But fate had other plans for her. On the night of her birthday, not only was she disappointed that she wasn't mated to the love of her life, but she found out that her mate was none other than him - Her tormentor. Her stepbrother. She'd rather die than be mated to a man whom she had known as her big brother all her life. A man who would do just anything to make sure she was his. But when love turns to obsession, and obsession turns to blood, how far can one girl run before she realizes there is nowhere else to run to?
She thought he was the villain. He was only trying to save his soul. Rena lives in a world of sunshine, sweets, and simple dreams. Until one reckless decision drops her into a dark realm of secrets, curses and werewolves. Kidnapped, heartbroken. She doesn't know who to trust anymore especially not Logan, the arrogant, cruel Alpha who's keeping her as a hostage. Until she discovers his dark secret. He's been hearing her thoughts all along. Now the walls between them are crumbling. And when feelings grow where hatred once lived, a curse demands that blood becomes a love that demands sacrifice. But how can she give her heart to the one who might need it to die?