“This is all your fault.” Pale fingers clenched the shovel, bloody teeth illuminated by moonlight. “Stupid girl. Why couldn’t you listen?”
Murray stumbled toward them.
“Get on your knees.”
They did, and Tallulah held Lucy tighter.
“Say nighty night and kiss me…” Murray sang. He raised his shovel and Lucy closed her eyes. She didn’t want his face to be the last thing she saw.
The clang came, but she felt nothing. Tallulah still gripped her. She let out a joyful exclamation, and Lucy’s eyes flew wide. Murray was face down on the ground before them. Martha the groundskeeper stood over him, wielding a bloody shovel.
“T…Ta..Lullah!” Martha barked. Tallulah released Lucy, bounding into Martha’s arms. They kissed, and Lucy realized quickly that their passion was not a new occurrence. Lucy stared at Murray. He was breathing, but she doubted he’d be getting up anytime soon.
Lucy looked up into the night sky, trying to catch her breath. A moan sounded from nearby, and she realized it had come from the grave below, and Lucy scrambled to the edge.
“Townes?”
“Lucy. Praise God, you’re okay.” He smiled weakly, but he was upright and breathing.
Praise God indeed.
She turned to beg for help. Martha was already on her way with a ladder.
That Martha. Damn, could she save the day!
Murray looked forward to Tallulah’s weekly visits. He loved hearing how well the business was doing, and they always played lots of Hearts and Spades. She was a welcome break from his humdrum days and sleepless nights.
Most patients couldn’t have guests for longer than an hour, but the staff let Tallulah stay as long as she liked. Hardly surprising. This entire wing was named after the Layhes, after all.
Tallulah prattled on as they played, about how Martha had taken her to some B and B. She had expected Martha would propose, but she hadn’t.
“Lucy and Townes finally admitted they’re dating.”
Murray felt a familiar twinge behind his sinuses, but his poker face never wavered. “The Episcopalians are cool with that?”
“He’s taking a break from the ministry. Lucy just graduated. They hopped right on a plane. They’re backpacking Europe for a month. I can’t remember where their first stop was…someplace with ‘spectacular architecture.’”
Murray blinked slowly. “I wish them all the luck in the world.”
“I’ll be sure to pass that along.”
“Tallulah? I’ve been craving grape gum. Do you have any?”
“What kind of sister do you take me for?” He waited until she was deep into digging for the Hubba Bubba before he pounced.
Tally straightened her wide-brimmed hat. Thought it had been an upsetting visit, all had worked out in the end. She walked out the front doors of the institution into the sunshine. No one paid her any mind. Flowers bloomed all around the grounds, a new beginning to a new chapter for them all. She blew a huge purple bubble and when it popped on her nose, she grinned.
With one last look at Murray’s prison, she climbed behind the wheel. Starting the car, she dialed the phone.
“I need to book a flight please. I’d like to leave today.” She rubbed her chin, glad she’d taken the time to shave close this morning.
“Casablanca. Yes, I’ll hold.” Her lip curled as she pointed the car in the direction of the airport.
Lucy loved Moroccan architecture. That’s where she’d gone.
And that’s where Tally needed to be.
About Michelle:
Michelle Pace is an international best-selling, multi-genre author. After studying theater and vocal music, Michelle went on to earn degrees in both liberal arts and nursing. She currently resides in the Lone Star State with her husband, author L.G. Pace III. A mother of three, Michelle enjoys traveling, live music, and is an enthusiastic amateur beer connoisseur.
Books by Michelle:
True Gold
Crazy Love
Good Wood
Sinful Addiction
Kara Dawson
Prologue
I want you.
There’s something about you I can’t ignore. Not anymore, at least.
The day you walked into my life, I felt a tightness in my chest. Your body called out to me in enticing ways. I answered, even though I shouldn’t have.
I answered because even if I wanted to resist and walk away. Even if the logical side could convince me that pursuing you was the worst thing I could do, it was impossible not to give into my most basic urges. I was powerless to stop the magnetic pull you had on me.
Most people wouldn’t approve, and I’m not sure I do either, but you’ve become an addiction. An obsession. The reason I breathe and live this bleak gray existence. They would say that rehab is the best course of action, but there is no rehabilitation for desires of the heart.
I crave you.
I need you.
I want you.
And in the end, you will be mine.
Because we were meant to be. We were meant to be, and there’s nothing stopping us from being together.
Nobody can take you away from me.
Not even Them.
Chapter One
Ian
You entice me. Enthrall me. Capture me.
You shouldn’t do these things, yet you do. Do you even realize all that you do and all that you are?
When you sat there in our first lesson, in your summer dress that rode up your toned sun-kissed leg, my heart pumped a little harder than normal. Your leg bounced up and down to a piece of music none of us were invited to enjoy. The way your gaze locked on me, however, I was not the one stealing your attention. What were you thinking as you stared off blankly in my direction, tapping your pen on the open book of unfilled pages, as other students scrambled to keep up with my lecture? You sat there so audaciously uncaring… no, not uncaring… relaxed.
As a professor of tertiary learning, I should’ve been irked by your lack of focus and drive in my class. It should’ve angered me for you to have been so blatantly inattentive. To sit there so implicit, yet so loud with your lack of studiousness. I should’ve been all the things
