The dramatic series finale to Courtney Cole's bestselling Nocte trilogy!
Synopsis
My name is Calla Price and I’m broken.
My pieces are all around me, floating on the wind, even as I desperately try to grasp them.
Who is dead? Alive? Insane?
What is the truth?
I don’t know.
I do know this: The darkness is strangling me. With every breath, I choke on another lie.
My mind has protected me, but that shield will soon be lowered.
All will be revealed. Every answer to every question.
It’s all been leading to this.
Don’t be afraid. Be terrified.
Courtney Cole is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist who would rather write than eat chocolate. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Business, but no amount of working in the corporate world could quell her urge to write.
Courtney was born and raised in Kansas, home of incredibly friendly people and the most horrendous weather on the planet. Because summer days were so hot, she grew up reading stacks of books... and when she didn't like the ending, she wrote her own.
Courtney has relocated to Florida where she writes beneath palm trees. To learn more about her, please visit her website. To sign up for her newsletter and receive exclusive sneak peeks and super-fan perks, click here.
Who says a wild heart can’t be tamed? For years, I lived for the job and let it control me. Violence was all I knew. I protected, killed, and served. My name is Blake Evans, one of the best undercover cops in the country. I thought I was about to live a quiet life on my ranch in Wyoming until an old friend showed up and changed everything. He brought me her, Hadley Rivers, country music sensation and the one woman I couldn’t have. I didn’t want her but she had me completely roped in. My job is to protect her, to keep her away from some psycho who wants her for himself. However, there’s more to her story than I was led to believe. I promised to keep her safe and I won’t back down . . . even if I have to die trying. I can’t let him have her.
The sound of crunching gravel caught my attention. I turned to the driveway. “Dammit! He’s back already?” Shit, shit, shit. I patted Nightshade’s nose and hopped off the fence. “I gotta go, boy. I’ll give you another apple tomorrow.” By the time I got to the barn and peeked around the corner, Blake had already parked his truck in front of the house. I was hoping like hell he didn’t see me.
“Hadley, I know you’re out there,” he called. He took off his T-shirt and crammed it into his back pocket.
“Dammit,” I hissed, crouching down low.
“Don’t you think it’s time we talked? You can’t hide from me forever.” His footsteps grew closer, so I hid inside one of the empty stalls, hoping he’d walk past. I slid down into the corner and held my breath as he walked by. “I want to say I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings the other night.”
“Just drive the wedge in even harder, asshole,” I mumbled to myself.
“I need you to come out and talk to me. I can make you if I have to, which might be kind of fun for me. You don’t want me to enjoy this, do you?”
What I really wanted to do was smack him on the head. He was baiting me, but I couldn’t figure out the game.
“Hadley?” His voice grew farther away until I heard his footsteps leave the barn. Once I heard the patio door of the house slam shut, I knew I only had a couple of minutes to get out of the barn. Taking a deep breath, I slowly got to my feet and glanced over the stall; the coast was clear. I had no clue where I was going to go, but anything was better than being stuck in a stall.
The wooden door of the stall creaked and I froze. Fuck. I held my breath and listened, but there were no footsteps approaching. As quietly as I could, I tiptoed my way to the back entrance of the barn and turned the corner, only to run right into Mr. Let’s Talk. He reached for my hand, but I jerked away from him.
“You didn’t think you fooled me back there, did you?”
“Fuck you,” I spat, turning on my heel. I marched off but he followed close behind. “I have nothing to say to you.”
“Well, too bad. I have a shit-ton to say to you. Now stop being a childish brat and give me one minute.”
Sucking in a breath, I froze. Did he really just call me a childish brat? Gritting my teeth, I faced him head on. I half expected him to smirk, but there was nothing but seriousness in his stormy gray gaze.
“All right, this ends now,” I snapped, pushing on his chest. He stepped back, his jaw clenched tight. “You may think what I’ve done is childish, but I’m pissed and embarrassed. I show up naked in your room, just to have you turn me down; to tell me you wouldn’t want to take a chance on me. I may have had a little buzz at the beginning of the night, but I was nowhere near drunk. It was the only thing that gave me the courage to tell you how I felt.”
Huffing, I turned and marched out of the barn. “Now I just feel like a fucking idiot. So, by all means, make me sit down and hear all the reasons why you don’t want to be with me. Go ahead and call me childish. I don’t care anymore,” I said, waving my arms in the air. “At least I wasn’t afraid to let you in.”
My heart thundered in my chest. It felt good to scream out my feelings, but now they were no longer mine. Anger could make a person say just about anything.
Out of nowhere, a rope lassoed around my body. I screamed when it bit into my skin, burning as Blake tightened it, roping me in. I struggled to break free, but it was so tight, even my hands started to tingle. I tried to stand my ground, but the harder he pulled, the tighter it got.
“Dammit, Blake. Let me go! I can’t feel my hands.” I had no choice but to willingly move my feet. If I didn’t, he’d drag me across the ground through the dirt. My dignity was more important.
“You shouldn’t have walked away,” he growled, his voice by my ear. He jerked me around and pushed me into one of the empty stalls. I turned my face away, but he grabbed my chin. “I don’t think so, princess. You’re going to look at me when I say this. Do you want me to tie your hands and feet together too?”
I had no doubt he’d do it. “Fine,” I spat, lifting my glare to his. “What do you want?”
His lips closed over mine, hard and raw as he forced his tongue inside. I tried to fight him off, but it was a half-assed attempt. Who was I kidding? I didn’t want him to stop. Not to mention, I couldn’t move. I was at his mercy, and I liked it. He pushed me into the wall, rubbing his arousal against me. Moaning, I bit his lip and he pulled away.
“You,” he growled, leaning his forehead to mine. “I’ve always wanted you, even when you thought I didn’t.”
Don’t miss NO LIMIT (An Armed & Dangerous standalone)
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author, L.P. Dover, is a southern belle residing in North Carolina along with her husband and two beautiful girls. Before she even began her literary journey she worked in Periodontics enjoying the wonderment of dental surgeries.
Not only does she love to write, but she loves to play tennis, go on mountain hikes, white water rafting, and you can’t forget the passion for singing. Her two number one fans expect a concert each and every night before bedtime and those songs usually consist of Christmas carols.
Aside from being a wife and mother, L.P. Dover has written over twenty 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 is romantic suspense and she also loves writing it. However, if she had to choose a setting to live in it would have to be with her faeries in the Land of the Fae.
L.P. Dover is represented by Marisa Corvisiero of Corvisiero Literary Agency and Italia Gandolfo of Gandolfo Helin & Fountain Literary Management for dramatic rights.
While this closely knit group of six tries to settle into normal; drugs, money, and vengeance leave one man dead and another in jail for a wide range of crimes he did not commit.
Friendships and bonds are tested past the breaking point, allegiances are questioned, and relationships threaten to crumble.
From the point of view of all six characters we've come to love, perspective is offered on the hell that they are all experiencing, the love they've all found, and the sexy, fairytale lives they all wish to get back to.
This is the final book in the Hale Series.
Recommended for readers 18 and up due to strong language and explicit sexual content.
I shake my head clear of those thoughts as I pull into and park in the subterranean garage. I all but jump out of the SUV and sprint to the elevator bank, in a mad rush to get to my penthouse. I’m chastising myself for not grabbing a bottle of wine or a late lunch for us as I unlock the door to the large apartment.
I empty my pockets into the basket on the front entry table. I smile to myself because I know Alexa hates the damn thing. I may actually move it this weekend. Anything to make her happy. I frown as I step further into the apartment and see that the living room and kitchen are empty. I should’ve called her first before just assuming she wouldn’t find something to do, knowing I’d be at work again until late.
I kick off my shoes and scoop them up as I make my way to the bedroom. The door is shut which is odd, but I don’t falter in my steps until I hear a man’s voice, “Fuck, just like that! Suck it deep.”
My hand hesitates on the doorknob, because I know when I swing it open my life is going to change. I teeter on the edge of indecision; my broken heart throbbing painfully in my chest. “I’m close, bitch.” I hear the masculine voice say.
Two things happen at the moment. I’m suddenly angry that Alexa is doing this to me when she thinks I’m at work, but alternately I’m pissed at this man for talking to my woman like that.
Hatred over the cheating wins out and I swing the door wide. My shoes tumble from my hands just as “What the fuck, Alexa,” boils out of my mouth.
She squeaks loudly and tries to pull the sheets over her but it’s too late. She’s already been caught.
Marie James, full-time working mother of two boys and wife of 11 years. I've spent almost my entire lifetime living in central Texas, with only short stays in South Carolina, Alabama, and Florida. I've always wanted to write novels and just recently had the gumption to sit down and start one. My passions include reading everything under the sun and sewing. I even listen to audio books while sewing. To Hale and Back is the final book in the Hale Series.
I have several other story lines worked out for other books once this series is complete. Reading and writing is my happy place.
Courtney Cole is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist who would rather write than eat chocolate. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Business, but no amount of working in the corporate world could quell her urge to write.
