Jeremy Ellison laid back in the bed staring up at the ceiling listening to the gossip show coming from the other room. Right now, he hated his life. He knew it was temporary, but he couldn’t wait for a change to come. A change he was going to make.
He was formulating his plan. He’d spent considerable time and money keeping track of everybody while staying hidden. He knew Anthony Maldono as well as he knew himself and he knew what Anthony would do next. It was almost time to put his plan in motion. He wasn’t done ruining Anthony’s life. It was time to step it up.
After nine long months of watching the authorities run around trying to find him and Anthony being made a free man, it was time to start moving. It made his blood pump that he was finally going to be able to do something. He looked into the other room where the woman he had to depend on was shoving fist after fist of popcorn in her mouth. He wanted to get up and stick a knife in her gut. He hated her. He wanted her dead. But he had to wait since he had a plan. A plan that would increase the stakes in the game he was planning.
Chapter One
Evie Taylor sighed and sat down hard in the chair. She tossed the dusting rag on the table, tilted her head back and closed her eyes. She was bored and longed to get back to Boston to run her bookstore and café. The past nine months she’d spent two extended stays back home. Once for Lexi and now for her grandmother. She’d heard from Jesse and everything was running fine but she missed the weekly shipments coming in and setting up new displays. Not to mention getting to sample new desserts from the café. She loved helping someone who loved to read find a new author. In fact, she’d set up a whole section of the book store for indie authors. It was opening up a whole new world to regular customers.
She looked around her grandmother’s living room. Knickknacks as far as the eye could see. She hated dusting. But that was a testament to how bored she was.
She’d come home to Ipswich, Massachusetts when her best friend, Lexi Hanson, had been attacked. She remembered the fear that coursed through her veins when she got the phone call. The drive had been a blur. In the weeks that followed, she hadn’t been able to leave her. It brought back all of the memories of Lexi’s first attack. But her friend completely amazed her. She was so strong and she’d come so far.
Evie sighed, remembering Lexi and Noah’s perfect wedding on the beach just a few weeks ago.
Now she was back again, taking care of her grandmother who’d broken her arm partying with one of the male guests in a hotel room. She shivered thinking about what they’d been doing that could have gotten her grandmother’s arm broken, knew at the very least that it hadn’t been pretty since her grandmother had been naked when the paramedics arrived.
“Evie honey, do you want something for lunch?” Evelyne Stone called from the kitchen.
Evie sighed and hefted herself up out of the chair and walked into the kitchen to put her hands on her hips. “Grandma, why am I here if you insist on doing everything yourself?”
Evelyne tsked. “Now honey, you know I need you, but there are some things I can do myself. Besides I need to get my wing back in working order, sooner rather than later with the girl’s cruise coming up in a month. There are going to be men that need taming.” She tried to wave her arm around, almost knocking over the pitcher of iced tea on the counter.
Evie rushed over and caught it, giving her grandmother a look. “Can you please take it down a notch? You aren’t fifty anymore.”
“Pah! Come on honey, lighten up. I know you’ve got it in you. Maybe you should go with us. I know there will be some young hot guys there.”
“And how do you know this?”
“Because we signed up for a party cruise. Average age is twenty-four. I know that’s a bit young for you, but hey, you can still have fun. I know you can.”
Evie closed her eyes and mentally prepared herself for the call from the cruise company to come pick up the Troublesome Trio from somewhere. Although now that Lexi was married to Noah, he might have better connections and be able to get them home quicker than commercial flights. Something to bring up to them when they got back from their honeymoon.
A knock sounded at the door. “Hold that thought.” Evie went to answer the door, absently trying to push back the hair that had escaped her ponytail. They’d rented out the cottage on the back of her grandmother’s property and the tenant was due to show up today.
She could see the shadow of a tall built man through the frosted glass. Evie had hoped the renter would be a family to distract her grandmother so she might get some rest and not chase around after some man.
Evie opened the door and looked up—right into the face that haunted her best friend’s nightmares.
EYE OF THE STORM
COMING FEBRUARY 2014
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