FRACTURED (38 page)
Authors: Amber Lynn Natusch
We never seemed to find a good time to discuss the letter he had attempted to show me at my apartment. Whenever we thought the coast was clear, Kristy would show up and we would be forced to curtail our discussion. It wasn't a matter he wanted to discuss over the phone or at the precinct, and coming to my place was out of the question, so our options were limited. As time went on, she seemed to make it harder and harder for us to be alone, but the bottom line was that I was going to see what was on that paper―before anyone else did.
As much as I wanted my life to stay drama-free, I was a hardcore realist. Knowing that chaos was an inevitability, I nervously waited for the other shoe to drop. Eventually, that drop came in the form of a bizarre dream I had not long after the Tobias showdown. Sean had just come back from the UK for that last time and we'd just spent an amazing night together. Apparently it was a little too amazing for the Universe's liking.
In the middle of the night, I shot up in bed, startling Sean awake beside me. He immediately drilled me with questions while I tried to wrap my head around what I'd just heard in my sleep. I had become accustomed to
seeing
things that jarred me from my slumber. I wasn't used to only hearing them.
Sean's mother sounded positively frightened.
She said only one thing―a warning. “He must find her first―the
Unborn
one. She is safe no longer. If they find her first, she will die.”
Then she disappeared.
When I told Sean what she said, he seemed just as confused as I did.
Who was this mystery
she
, and why did Sean have to find her? I hoped that his mother would return to me again and expand on her enigmatic message, but she never did―I never heard from her again. So Sean and I were left with a sense of urgency for some person whom neither of us knew how to find. Scarlet was no help either. Sean had yet another mystery to solve with no leads, no clues, and a potentially fatal outcome for the one he sought, though for once, that death would not be by his hands.
Then there was Gavin.
It didn't seem to matter how much time I spent around him over those weeks or how many cryptic conversations we had, I just couldn't get a real read on him. I knew he wasn't going to hurt me directly, but something about him was off. I constantly felt that he had an agenda, and that somehow I was an important piece of it.
I wasn't a fan of feeling like a pawn, nor did I like the potential of actually being one, but Gavin had answers―answers I wanted―like who the woman in the photo was and what terrible things Sean had done in the past to make Gavin loathe him like he did. I wondered if those two issues didn't somehow go hand in hand. I wanted the truth at any cost, but I still wasn't willing to risk asking Sean, playing right into Gavin's deviously crafted hand. Instead, I was determined to find a way to drag it out of the Chameleon directly. My biggest fear was that once I got it out, I'd immediately want to put it back in.
I would soon learn that Pandora's box was not so easily shut.
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For more on the Caged Series check out my sites:
TARNISHED
Book 5.5 in The Caged Series
Available Fall 2013
Also Coming Soon:
UNBORN
Book 1 in The Unborn Series
Tempted by Evil
Book 1
The Light and Shadow Trilogy
Available NOW!
A brand new YA Fantasy/Paranormal Romance trilogy by Shannon Morton and Amber Lynn Natusch!
A sheltered girl.
The perfect boy.
A mysterious stranger.
Random messages delivering a sobering prophecy plague Aspen's existence. With every curious encounter, her sanity further wavers. Before long, Aspen finds herself balancing the fate of humanity on her shoulders, until a single act turns her world upside down. She finds herself alone, isolated from those she thought she could trust.
Alone to damn the world.
See more about Author Shannon Morton:
Redheadsread.com
About the Author
I'm so over talking about myself and my foibles that I thought I would talk about you, the fans, and how much your quirkiness matters to me (and all the fun little things I've picked up about you all as I've gotten to know you). This should be good...
Amber fans are a rare breed. They're the ones that ignore all important duties when they have a great book in hand. They have a penchant for sarcasm, without which my books would be utterly lost on them. They understand comedic timing, which is sorely underrated these days. Made-up words do not go over their heads. Terms like clusterfuck, creeptastic, and shenaniganery make complete sense to them. They don't shy away from a good bloodbath but can also appreciate a romantic glance, a tender expression, or the fact that love doesn't have to equal sex (though sometimes it's REALLY nice when it does). Lastly, they're just a little off, and I mean that in the best way possible. Who wants streamlined and boring? Not me...give me the crazy, off-color, closet-case-freak-flag-waving kids any day of the week. They never disappoint.
Thanks for being such amazing fans, guys. It does not go unappreciated.
Acknowledgments
As always, there are so many people to thank for the completion of this novel. Rather than gushing, I'm just going to list them off in no particular order. They're all pretty awesome; no need to rank them.
A huge thanks to Jennifer Ryan (editor), Jamie Rosen (cover designer), Jen Krom, Kristy Bronner, Eryn Bagley, Virginia Nicholas, Jena Gregoire, Ginny Lurcock, and Kristy Atkinson. My husband and all around amazing guy, Bryan, gets a shout out for doing the work I just can't be bothered to do. Without you, these books would literally never make it to Amazon. And last but not least, Shannon Morton gets a particularly large thank you for being the voice of reason when I can't see anything clearly and call babbling about story lines that aren't making sense and characters that won't behave. You never laugh at me or doubt my ability to get past the hurdle in front of me. I'm not sure I would have made it through this book without you.