DARLENEI stopped pacing to listen to the sound of footsteps that echoed out suddenly above me, snapping my hands away from their cage on my chest and backing away farther into the dark hollow under the staircase.I had no idea what time it was, how long it had been since I left my husband in his sleep upstairs to seek out his twin brother.I knew Fredrick enough to know that he always came down to the winery to snag a bottle, a fully-functional addict like I was.“Saints,” I whispered, holding my breath as the silhouette of a well-toned man descended the stairs, shuffling languidly to the halo of yellow light that lit up the winery of the far wall before I let my shoulders drop, following on his terms like the freak that I was.“Stalking me now, are we Dar?” Fredrick whispered suddenly, his back still turned to me, and I froze, clapping a hand over my mouth to keep from gasping as my chest rose and fell with frantic breaths.“Fredrick, there's something you must know,” I stated, matt
ALEXANDERI rapped my fingers against the steering wheel, gauging the distance between the nose of the matte black BMW and the chain-link iron fence that separated my father’s safe house from the pavement where I had idled the car as silver spigots of rain beat down angrily on the glass.“What the fuck is taking so long?” I growled, feeling my lips curl with disdain as I snapped open the door, gritting my teeth at the sudden wash of ice-cold rain that slapped at my thighs and locking the door behind me, scurrying to the fence and rattling the lock angrily before it gave way, allowing me to run head first into the foyer, until the grand arch of the entryway cut me off from the heavenly blessings.I was panting when I rapped my knuckles hard against the thick bronze metal of the front door, jerking back in surprise when the door gave way under my hand to reveal Prince Charles’ roguish face.“My, don't you look a fright!” The purple-eyed man drawled, the pink bow of his lips curling into
DARLENEI batted blindly at the heavy cotton of the duvet, gasping loudly when I broke out on the surface, the blurry monochrome walls of the room gently sharpening the longer my eyes stayed screwed wide.I looked to see that it was still dark outside, the fire in the stone-marbled hearth of the fireplace burned low, a crackle of blue and cobalt flames.“Shit,” I swore loudly, dragging my weary bones from my spreadeagled sprawl on the bed and placing my feet on the cold tile of the floor.I just have come up at some point after my talk with Fredrick, slamming facedown into the sheets and not checking if Alexander was asleep already. I felt my eyes widen when I realized I hadn't seen my husband the whole day after I snuck out.Where was Alexander? I rustled for the shiny lime green of my iPhone on the nightstand, dialing his number and heaving a reluctant sigh when his mobile was switched off.”Lisa? Lisa are you there?” I called loudly, digging my fingers into my palms when the silenc
ALEXANDERThe air in my father’s secret penthouse was thick as tension danced in the space between the purple-eyed man and me, before I pushed the boulders of his shoulders slightly back, exhaling imperceptibly.“You wish you could. We left the ring ages ago, and I covered all our tracks, you won't find dog shit even if you brought in the federal bureau,” I answered blithely, seething when the ring chief cracked an unnaturally wide smile, shaking his head and pushing away from me to stalk the length of the room.“Oh I know very well how good you clean up Alexander, it's why you were the ring executioner after all,” He drawled, running white ringed fingers through his beard as his purple eyes slid to me, amusement making his almond-shaped eyes appear hooded.I felt my body tense, my heart hammering against my ribs as the droning sound in my head became louder and louder when I realized Prince Charles was about to tell me something I wouldn't like. Something that was certain to make the
LAURA DIEGOThat fucking bitch! The nerve on that woman! Trying to one-up me in my own house! Well, it wasn't my house just yet, but it would be the second Fredrick married me!“I need to do something about you Darlene,” I growled, digging my fingers into the polished wood of the vanity mirror where the porcelain-faced woman with severely drawn eyebrows was staring stonily back at me.I turned my head this way and that, marveling at the way the bright fluorescent caught the tight porcelain skin of my face, my small pearl earrings slapping against my cheeks softly.I’d made only two stops on my way to the McKenzie manor.One at the back street ville of the high-end estate, to meet with Dr. Erlis. A shady, shorthanded elite plastic surgeon who dealt in blood, currency, and secrecy, the perfect cover when you were looking to maintain that fountain of your youth away from the elite women’s prying eyes and rubber flappers that were sure to talk.I pressed cold fingers to the supple skin o
DARLENEI ran the brush over the dried husk of the tears that had been streaming down my face once more, trying to straighten the hunch that had grown in my spine in the time it had taken me to wash up and beat the makeup brush over my face.“Saints, give me strength,” I sighed, ignoring the pain that had begun to throb in my eyeballs. This was the night I was going to tell Frederick everything about Laura, the way she had stalked me in that forest, her house in the killer shack that the detectives were almost certain had been used in killing almost a hundred people.Detective Bowler had come just before dawn, with haggard pea-black eyes and the leathery skin of his cheek drawn in sad lines.”Mrs. Alex McKenzie, may I come in? I have a few follow-up questions you must answer,” He jeered, crowding into the doorway when I hesitated and sweeping past me with the hard-eyed officer who had followed him in tow.The detective did not lie when he told us stories of bodies that had been decapi
ALEXANDERI looked into the hazel eyes that I had once drowned in as she glared back at me.“You’re hurting me!” Darlene managed to choke out, and something snapped in the red haze that seemed to have coated my senses, dulling them.I relaxed my grip around her neck instantly, my eyes widening when I realized what I had done as my wife turned around to cough up air, knocking a hand against her ribs.“I’m...I’m sorry Dar, I didn't mean to -” I started, but the woman raised a hand in dismissal, backing away from me even though the hate swimming in her once soft eyes was enough to pin me in place, making the breath halt in my chest.“I’m not leaving the manor because of that whore! Where would we go? No! I refuse it,” Darlene spat acidly, and I felt tendrils of frustration tug at my eyelids before I rocked on my feet, steeling myself.My mother had always told me to take some time and count to ten, whenever I felt the lapse coming like I was on the edge of a cliff looking down into an in
DARLENEMy heart pounded hotly between the cages of my ribs as I stood under the staggering neon-lit mass of Du Merges hotel.A shiver of anticipation climbed my spine and I wrapped my hands around myself, glancing about the lot in the grey darkness before shouldering my way past the revolving glass doors.“Miss Spenser please, for Mr. McKenzie,” I whispered hoarsely to the four-eyed woman at the reception, the fake name burning my lips more than the coffee I had earlier.The morose-looking woman struck the matte black keyboard wordlessly, as the noise of the guests mingling in the expansive gold lobby blurred in my ears.Christ Darlene, what the fuck was I doing? Squirreling around York city in the dead of night with my husband’s brother?I ground my teeth together, shuffling from one high-heeled shoe to the other and feeling the threads of panic needle in my gut as the clack of the woman typing on continued.I was almost turning my back on the woman to bolt out the doors, certain th