Stay With Me (25 page)
“Wonderful. See you soon.” I hang up the phone and the smile on my face is making my facial muscles hurt.
No more than fifteen minutes later, I am standing outside. Nothing but a fence in between me and the world outside this prison. A world that I’ve missed, a world where Donovan and I will make a life together.
I see the black Hummer pull up. About time. I turn back to the jail that has been my home for over four years and stick my middle finger up. Then I wait for the guard to hit the button to open the gate.
I slip into the passenger’s side and slam the door.
“Hello, dahling.”
“Hello, Donna. Hello, Frankie. So good to see you two again.”
Donna’s lips curl into a smile. “Welcome to freedom.”
“So, did you like the pictures I took of that fucker Grady and his boyfriend?”
“Frankie, they were probably the only thing that got me off.” I run my hand through my hair. “Now, I need to go to the bank and withdraw some money. I need a makeover before I see Donovan.”
I hear Frankie groan in the backseat. “Are you still hung up on that bastard? I figured you’d be over him by now. He went after her, back to Virginia, you know. What if they worked shit out?”
Yep, he still has a crush on me. “I’m not worried about that little slut. We were made for each other. So just shut up and take your cut. I think ten million is quite substantial enough.”
“Well, I’m adding another million on to what you owe me. Since I’m the one that had to put the poison into his drink that night, not to mention I told Donovan’s little girlfriend all about you two.”
“Well, Claire, I want my cut, too. I’m the one that bought the arsenic. I look awful in a wig.” Donna’s bottom lip pokes out and I notice she’s gotten more collagen injected into them since I’ve seen her last.
I look at her, then look at my reflection in the visor mirror. Aside from the black hair, we look a lot alike, especially considering we’re not even related.
“Yes, Donna, I will give you your cut as well. But first, I need that damn makeover.”
“Do you hear that, Frankie? Now we can finally get away and go to Cancun. I can finally leave Rob, and I will
still
get half his shit.”
“Yeah, baby, I hear.” Frankie runs his hands along Donna’s neck as she drives down the road. His fingers start to trail over her breasts and I see him eying me.
I don’t think so. Especially if you’re screwing her.
I return my attention to the road in front of me. As much as I don’t want to admit it, Donovan with another woman bothers the shit out of me. He will be getting payback for that. But I know he can’t resist me; he never could keep his hands off me. Now, all I need to do after I look my best is find him and get rid of that bitch, Allie, once and for all.
Acknowledgments
First off, I have to thank God that He has gotten me this far in life. I never imagined being here and He saw me through it. He is the Rock that holds me up when I’m weak, and He’s my shelter from the storm. Without Him, I am nothing, but with Him
I’d like to thank my readers. You guys help me keep writing, even when I feel like I can’t anymore. Thank you for supporting me. I can never begin to repay you for that.
To Dan and our three children, Hannah, Jacob, and Sarah, my life wouldn’t worth living if I didn’t have you in it. Thank you for being my support team. Remember, kids, you can’t read this...ever. I love you guys.
JB McGee, again, you have helped me in ways I couldn’t have imagined. Thank you for being a go to person for me to bounce ideas off of and for doing such a great job on my covers! I heart you!
Stacey Bentley, my favorite little ass nugget! I love you to pieces! Thanks for being there for me when I needed it most!
To the Overwhelmed Street Posse, you girls are great! Thanks for being my pimps and my lookouts.
Kelsie Leverich, girl I’m so proud of you for your success! Thank you for being there to support me when I needed to vent.
To my beta readers: Kristen Teaff, Karrie Puskas, Fred LeBaron, Nicola Farrell, Emily Plice, Stacey Bentley, Kelsie Leverich, Bobbie Ann Bohn, Dawn Martens, Sarah Szczesiack, Becky Paprota-Martindell, Sarah Schwartz, Carrie Sutton, and Nicole Kelly. Thank you all for reading the first copies for me and helping me to make Stay With Me better.
To my mom Sandy, my dad Ray, and my stepdad Wilson. Thank you for always having my back and supporting me! I love you all!
Kathy Coopsman, thanks for making me laugh! You, my friend, are a trip!
To the bloggers that helped me on my blog tour, Flirty Dirty, Book Bitches, Love Drug, Erica Ford, In the Night Reviews, Sarah’s book blog, Book Crush, Romance Bookworms, Mary Elizabeth’s Crazy Book Obsession, Vandeervecken's Veritas, ToBeThode, Novel Seduction, Swoon Worthy Blog and Just Booked. Thank you so much for helping me out! Thanks for getting my name out there for me!
Michael Burhans, thank you so much for being able to edit and format for me. You’re are a lifesaver!
To Indie Pixel Designs, you do awesome work!
To Katie Ashley, Michelle Valentine, Kelli Maine, Michelle Leighton, Jenn Foor, and JB McGee, thank you for being such inspirations to me. I’m grateful beyond words.
Last but not least, I’d like to thank all the people that said I would succeed. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You kept me going when I wanted to give it all up. You know who you are.
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