Trigger
A Circle of Justice Novel
By LP Dover
Genre: Romantic Suspense Standalone
Release Date: February 6, 2017
Cover
Designed By: Mae I Design and Photography
A killer . . .
that’s what I am.
It’s what I do.
It’s what I live
for.
I’m no longer
the Preston Hale everyone knew. I left that life and the people in it a long
time ago the second I made my first kill. I wasn’t going to give in, but when I
heard the screams there was no going back.
It triggered the
pain, the need.
I knew what I
had to do, and I did it well. But I never expected for Emma Turner – the only
link to my past – to come back into my life.
She triggers a
different emotion inside me, something I hadn’t ever felt.
It’s not a want
to kill . . . but a need to CLAIM.
When I got
downstairs to the dining room, Glenn and Wade were already there, speaking to
each other in hushed tones by the large window. There were shiny plates on the
table, with all sorts of silverware around them. Start from the outside and
work your way in, was what I was told when it came to using the various forks
and spoons. Give me just one of each and I’d be happy.
It wasn’t long
before Glenn noticed me at the door and the conversation ceased. “Emma, you
look lovely tonight,” he announced.
I smiled. “Thank
you.”
He beckoned me
over to the table and Wade held out a seat for me. I sat down and he took the
one on the right, while Glenn sat on my left at the head of the table. There
was only one other place setting and it was across from me.
“Wine?” Glenn
asked, holding up the bottle.
I nodded.
“Sure.”
He poured me a
glass and I took a sip. It tasted like heaven, all fruity and crisp. It was so
good I had to take another sip, and another, while we waited on the special
guest. Not even a minute later, the dining room door opened and a man walked
in. Only, he wasn’t just anyone.
It’d been eight
years and he’d surely changed, but there was no mistaking those gray eyes. His
hair was the same light brown, and mussed up like all the guys did their hair
these days. However, his body looked totally different. His cream colored,
long-sleeve sweater hugged a set of muscular arms, and his face was more
rugged, covered in a five o’clock shadow.
I almost choked
on my wine. “Oh my God.” Is it really him?
“Emma, are you
okay?” Wade asked, his voice low.
“Yeah,” I
whispered. “I’m fine.”
I waited for
Preston to look at the table, and when his gaze finally caught mine, he paused
for a slight second. In his face, I could see the friend I lost so long ago,
but it vanished quickly.
Glenn and Wade
both stood when Preston approached, and I shot up out of my seat, bumping the
table with my jerky movements. Glenn grinned at me and then at Preston.
“Preston Hale, I’d like you to meet Emma Turner. She’s my assistant. Emma, this
is Preston Hale, a close family friend. His father is one of my dearest
friends.”
Preston held out
his hand and looked at me as if he’d never laid eyes on me before. “It’s nice
to meet you.”
Was he being
serious? I shook his hand and made sure to put a little extra squeeze in there
for good measure. “Meet me? Surely, you remember who I am.”
Glenn’s eyes
went wide. “Wait. You two already know each other?”
I nodded. “From
college.” I was about to add before he up and left without a trace, but thought
better of it.
Glenn chuckled
and smacked a hand on Preston’s shoulder. “Well, isn’t this a small world?
You’ll have to tell me some stories on this one.” He nodded my way.
Preston’s jaw
clenched. “Can’t. Don’t remember her.”
My mouth dropped
open; it was like being punched in the gut and slapped in the face, all at the
same time. No words would come out, so I sat there with a lump in my throat. In
college, he’d been a close friend. I sang with him in his band, Silent Break. We
connected on stage in a way I’d never felt with anyone. I cared about him, and
had even been ready to take the next step in our relationship right before he
up and disappeared. I never got to tell him how I felt. Now he looked at me as
if I was a stranger.
The room fell
silent. I wanted to say something, but I bit my tongue. It was going to be the
longest dinner of my life.
New York Times
and USA Today bestselling author L. P. Dover is a southern belle living in
North Carolina with her husband and two beautiful girls. Before she began her
literary journey she worked in periodontics, enjoying the wonderment of dental
surgeries.
She loves to
write, but she also loves to play tennis, go on mountain hikes and white water
rafting, and has a passion for singing. Her two youngest fans expect a concert
each and every night before bedtime, usually Christmas carols. Dover has
written countless novels, including her Forever Fae series, the Second Chances
series, the Gloves Off series, the Armed & Dangerous series, the Royal
Shifters series, and her standalone novel Love, Lies, and Deception. Her
favorite genre to read and write is romantic suspense, but if she got to choose
a setting in which to live, it would be with her faeries in the Land of the
Fae.
No comments:
Post a Comment