Broken Hearted
Authors: C.H. Carter
Tags: #romance, #murder, #mystery detective, #parannormal romance, #love adventure
BROKEN HEARTED
Book One
Chicago Hearts Series
Copyright 2014
Carter Hill Publishing
Smashwords Edition
All rights reserved.
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved
above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or
introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or
by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise) without the prior written permission of the author
of this book. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places
are fictitious.
Cover Photography
Toski Covey
Photography
Cover Design by Sommer Stein of
Perfect Pear Creative
Cover Model Michelle Hickman
Editing by Anna Gorman Coy
Formatting by Max Henry of
Max Effect
CONTENTS
DEDICATION
To my husband of thirty-three-years.
You are my rock. Thank you for always being here for
me. When I need a soft spoken
“
I love you”,
or a simple kiss on my forehead you’re there.
To my beautiful daughters Jessica and Sara.
Without your love and encouraging words this novel
would still be sitting on my desk gathering dust.
Then to my wonderful grand children
Nana loves you all.
A special thanks to my family and friends who have
made this novel possible.
There are far too many of you to name.
To my faithful Beta Readers Susie Brock Lewis, Sarah
Webster and Jeanie Scheider
you ladies are wonderful.
And to a P.A. I could call day or night in a
panic
and hear on the other end,
“I have everything in control.”
Thanks Jessica Carter.
PROLOGUE
Detective Faith Julies exhaustedly drove down her
winding drive to her enormous forty-six hundred square foot house.
Her day had started at four a.m. after receiving an ear-piercing
phone call from her new partner of six months, Jason Manning. He’d
became a new detective a few months earlier. Faith remembered the
day she met Jason. She had noticed his features were strikingly
handsome; his black hair and gorgeous green eyes made him easy to
gaze upon. But the moment he opened his mouth, Faith realized it
would be relatively hard to work with him. He gave everyone,
including her, the impression he knew everything. He came across as
a smart ass.
The longer she worked with him, the more she
realized he knew how to interrogate suspects. He convinced them to
give her the information they needed to solve their cases quickly.
She tossed her hair with a half-grin as she gazed at the house, she
purchased for her twenty-third birthday three years ago. Her
ex-boyfriend Trey Branson’s sister, Eve, was a realtor and she
helped her find it. Trey and Faith both fell in love with it the
moment they saw it. Of course Trey couldn’t believe she would buy a
house costing as much as it does. Oh, well, he’s not here now to
worry about how she spends her money.
She pushed the button to the garage doors, watching
them open was like a welcome home. Faith groaned to herself, “I
wish I were already safe and sound in my bed snuggling under my
satin sheets.” She parked her 2012 Chevy truck in the massive three
car garage. Glancing over at the red 1965 Mustang that her father
left her, she thought to herself, “Tomorrow you and I have a date
to going cruising.” Closing the doors to the garage, she grabbed
her purse and keys and moaned a sigh of relief. “Home at last.”
Faith walked through the door of her beautiful
house. She closed the door, leaned her back against it, and soaked
in the comforting environment she had made for herself. She hung
her keys up, threw her purse on the stand beside the door, and took
her shoes off, kicking them across her living room.
It was a day from Hell! She finally cracked the
Malone case, and couldn’t help imagining the hurt the Malone family
must be experiencing for Tiffany right now. A homeless man found
her in the dumpster three months ago. Today finalized Tiffany’s
death for her wonderful family. Faith and Jason had finished the
job by chasing and catching the douche bag who murdered her. They
chased him by car and then tiredly on foot. He ran like a deer.
Faith smiled as she recalled putting him to the ground. Jason
grabbed his handcuffs, rolled him over as she accidentally, on
purpose, kicked him in the balls for Tiffany.
Faith groaned, whispering to herself, “I need a
release.” She had been contemplating the life she had with Trey
Branson all day. His brownish-blond hair and blue eyes have haunted
her several times throughout her working day. His muscled body
showed he lifted weights. She adored watching the sweat run down
his rippled stomach and had treasured embracing him next to her
wanting body. They had lived together for two beautiful, passionate
years. However, they had known each other for years, through mutual
friends, and they had adored each other with a love Faith
understands will never escape her mind.
CHAPTER ONE
Trey and Faith had a beautiful relationship. They
enjoyed working together then coming home to relax and enjoy Trey’s
large family. His mother was Italian and his father was from
Georgia. He traveled to Italy on vacation when he met Trey’s
mother. It was love at first sight. Trey had two brothers, Ty the
oldest and Cody who is two years younger than Trey. He had a twin
sister, Eve, who takes after her mother. She has dark beautiful
long hair and big gorgeous brown eyes. Faith found it hard to
believe they were twins because they were complete opposites. Trey
liked to cook and was a neat freak. Eve eats take out and loved it.
She was a real estate agent, while her brothers, all except Trey,
were all detectives for a Special Forces Unit. However, Trey worked
with Faith in Indianapolis in the S.V.U. as a lead detective.
They were happy until Faith was captured by Mr.
Moore’s men and took her to an abandoned warehouse. Where they
tortured and beat her for information about her father. She didn’t
know what Mr. Moore was looking for. However, she felt Trey,
somehow, had the answers. Trey and his brothers finally found her.
Storming the warehouse, they caught all of the men except Mr.
Moore, they couldn’t tie him to anything.
Trey wouldn’t tell her what Mr. Moore’s men wanted.
He only knew they believed she had the information that would keep
Mr. Moore from going to prison. Her father had worked the case
years ago, however, Faith was too young to remember or know
anything about it. So when Trey came to the hospital after she had
been rescued, she couldn’t look at him because she was still
hurting from earlier that morning when she found him in the arms of
another woman. She lay in the hospital room hurt and confused. He
pleaded with her to believe him, he swore he didn’t have an affair,
however, she knew better.
She recalled the detestable day Trey turned around
to stalk out of the hospital room, leaving her devastated. Though
she realized it was his frustration and not anger that made him
leave that day. Earlier that day, Faith had decided she was tired
of wondering if Trey was having an affair. She recalled borrowing a
car from one of the men at the police station. Telling him her car
was being serviced and in the garage, she tailed Trey to a hotel on
the opposite side of town. Faith gave him fifteen minutes before
she marched into the hotel lobby.
Flashing her badge and received the key to his room
straightway. It’s still agonizing to her, to reflect back on that
day. She sighed recalling the walk down the hallway to his room.
She had opened the door to find him in bed with another woman. As
her heart descended in her chest, she turned, walking away from the
love of her life.
Faith scarcely made it to the borrowed car before
collapsing in the seat. She placed her head on the steering wheel
and cried, her heart shredded. Faith thought the horrendous pain
would never go away. Somehow, it became a dull agonizing memory of
their joined hearts. The pain had eased some now, although Faith
still longed for his sensual touch on her body. She rationalized
her longing as a release from her stressful day. If she and Trey
were still together, they would definitely be celebrating putting
that douche bag behind bars. They would’ve enjoyed the victory by
having a glass of wine, soft music, then loving and tasting each
other’s body for the rest of the night.
Her thoughts of him overwhelmingly came flooding
back, and with them, came her desire for him. She remembered all
the teasing and passionate lovemaking. How they soared to heights
she had never been before. She could still smell the scent of his
cologne as if she were kissing and nipping at his neck.
Faith gazed at her old patrol hat she used when she
first started out on the police force. That’s when she first met
Trey, who was to be her partner. When she gazed into his eyes, she
melted into a sea of sensual blue. He had moved her, and he was
altogether beautiful. Faith knew they were destined to be together.
He had been so cocky and full of himself. How could she have been
so attracted to his sexy, muscular form? She reminisced now. They
were like fire and ice. They loved hot and wild. Now she could only
wonder how thing could have gone so wrong between the two of
them?
She reached for the remote as she turned the music
up. She adored the sultry, sexy blues that flowed through her
living room. She slowly started to unbutton her detective suit
jacket, letting it slide off her shoulders to the sexy beat,
revealing her silk white top. Conventional, Faith wasn’t. The music
heated up and Faith unbuttoned her top, revealing a suggestive
white laced bra. She loved to dance and when she danced for Trey
everything seemed natural to her. She moved her hips enticingly to
the music; she caressed her flat muscular stomach as she took off
her top. She swung the top over her head slowly in the air and gave
it a toss.
“
What detective wears silk and
lace?” she whispered to the empty room. She unbuckled her holster,
letting the 9mm Glock slide down her leg until the gun reaches the
floor. The soft singing in the background moved Faith’s desires to
a higher level. She unbuttoned her dress blacks as she slid them
down her dark long tanned legs. She left only her thong on and
mournfully recalled how hot and hard this dance always made Trey
for her body. Her desire for him grew with every memory. She danced
now imagining him touching her. She sighed and softly whispered, “I
need the touch of a man and not just any man. I need Trey. No one
else will ever do.”