Linked
By- Judy Serrano
Genre- Adult Paranormal Romance
Daphne Foster is a substitute teacher stuck in an English class, waiting for that dreaded parent-teacher conference. With much preparation and anxiety, she encounters the unforgettable Charlie Cross. His charm and good looks, win her over but rumors of his involvement with organized crime make his continued disappearances disturbing.
In walks Heathcliff Vanderpool, creating a love triangle of unusual sorts. Unknown to Daphne, Heathcliff and Charlie are old friends: Older than she could have imagined. With Charlie away on business, Daphne and Heathcliff discover a passion between them lying beneath the surface. As their souls link, pulling away from Charlie becomes next to impossible. Will his involvement in organized crime consume them both before she’s able to get free? When you become “linked,” the choice may not be your own.
And now an excerpt from Linked-
The next day I went back to school trying to get back to “normal,” whatever that was, and Janice was sitting at my desk. “So, you called the school board on Mr. Cooper and now they want to talk to me. Great job, Daph.”
“I did not call anyone. The man who was here, who donated money to my fundraiser, he called them. Mr. Cooper asked me out right in front of him. Idiot.” She rolled her eyes. “You should just tell the truth. Don’t lie for that moron.”
“It’s more complicated than that,” she told me. “And look who’s talking. You’re dating a married man. And a parent at that.”
“I know, I know,” I confessed. “That’s complicated too.”
“What ever happened to his brother Dante?” she asked me.
“Interested?”
“You said he was shot. How was he still walking around?”
“Shock, I guess,” I answered. “He’s fine. That’s what Charlie told me, anyway. Why?”
“Are you sure?” she asked. “Did you see him? I thought you said he got up and walked away.”
“Charlie said he was fine, Janice. Maybe it was just blood. Maybe it wasn’t even his blood.”
“You certainly have a lot of excuses,” she continued. “When Charlie jumped on top of you to protect you from the gunfire, did he go inside your apartment with you?”
“Why?” I asked. “Janice what’s going on?”
“Where is he, anyway? What ever happened to our friend Charlie?”
“Charlie went back to his wife,” a voice from behind us said. We turned around and there was Julia. She was standing at the door with a gun.
“Mrs. Cross?” I started. “What are you doing?”
“Putting an end to this nonsense, that’s what I’m doing.” She
was waving the gun around quite carelessly, making me very
nervous.
“Please, leave right now with the gun and I won’t say a word to anyone. There are children here. This is between you and me.”
“Get out,” she said to Janice, waving the gun in her direction. Janice ran; I’m sure to go get help. At least that’s what I was hoping. She held the gun up and pointed it at me. “He thinks he loves you,” she started. “He doesn’t even know what that means, yet you’ve got him saying stupid things like… divorce.”
“I’m sorry,” I told her. “I didn’t want anything like this to happen.”
“I understand, Miss Foster. You fell out of your clothes one day and spread your legs quite accidentally.”
“Where is he?” I asked. “Did you do something to him?”
“Your concern is moving but you see, I’d like to keep him around. He’s very rich and he’s very talented in the bedroom. Both facts I’m sure you’re aware of.”
Michael showed up behind her. “Mom, what are you doing?” Her faced turned pale and her eyes… they turned a disturbing color of red. A hiss came out of her much like the one I heard come out of Charlie when he was sitting on the bed on the boat, waiting for our intruders. Veins started popping out of her neck and red lines formed down her face. “Mom!” he shouted again. She turned to him and hissed. “Stop! Mom stop!” She turned back around to me and her face was normal again. I backed up, not sure what I just witnessed.
“This is your father’s latest whore, Michael. Get a good look at her before I put her in the ground.”
“Mom, don’t…”
“Did you know about her, Michael? Did he tell you?” She turned to look at him but I was too paralyzed to run.
“Yes, I knew,” he answered. “But it’s not what you think.”
“Not what I think?” she continued. She looked back over at me. “Did he tell you, you were the only one? Did he put you up in one of his hotels and tell you that you were the only woman he’s ever taken up there? Did he?”
“No, nothing like that,” I told her.
“Did he buy you diamonds to get you up to his bed? Maybe get you high first?”
“Mom!” Michael shouted. “Stop it. You’re making a fool of yourself.”
“I won’t be made a fool of anymore!” she shouted. “If this is the only way I can keep her away from my husband then this is what I have to do.”
I swallowed hard. The campus police showed up behind Michael. I breathed out a sigh of relief. She held up the gun, hands shaking. “You can’t have him. He belongs to me.” She cocked the gun.
About the Author-
Judy Serrano graduated from Texas A&M University, Commerce with a BA in English. She is the owner of Make Cents Editing Service, and is an adjunct professor at a local college. She is a freelance writer for certain on-line publications and writes romantic suspense and paranormal romance novels. She is the author of The Easter’s Lilly Series, the Linked Series, and Ivy Vines, Visions.
Although she is originally from New York, she currently resides in Texas with her husband, four children, (all boys) and five dogs. She is also a singer/songwriter in her spare time.
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