The Sacrificial Lamb (57 page)

Authors: Elle Fiore

Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #Romance, #Contemporary, #Romantic Suspense, #Mystery & Suspense, #Suspense

BOOK: The Sacrificial Lamb

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At first Alex fought against the idea, but he wore her down until she agreed. They set about packing up her apartment, sold what they could, and shipped the rest back to Boulder. Right away she began looking for places to live in Billings. She knew the city well and made her case that small time crooks from Chicago would hardly have the gumption to travel across the country just to knock her off. Not to mention there were no job opportunities in the thriving metropolis of Boulder, Montana.

It had been too late to apply for teaching jobs, but she did manage to find steady substitute teaching work, which kept her afloat until she could look for fulltime work as a teacher. Managing to reconnect with some old friends from college, she tried to stay as busy as possible to keep from slipping into depression.

Those first few weeks had been hard on her after Domenic’s disappearance, but sadness had given way to anger. Alex held on to that with grim determination just to get through. She still had her moments, but she was surviving at least. The dreams were the worst. Usually she was back in the warehouse, waiting for Domenic to return, but he never did. She would wake up on the verge of screaming and then slump back against the pillows, heart hammering in her chest. Yes, the nightmares were definitely the worst.

A knock on the door pulled Alex from her reverie, and she yanked it open to see a man standing there in profile.

“Do you open your door to everyone?” he said roughly as he strode into her apartment.

She stood in the doorway gap jawed at the apparition in front of her. His hair was clipped close to his skull and he had a full beard, a long disreputable scar sliced across his cheek. The green eyes glittered like jewels and were just as hard.

“Domenic?” she whispered, her hand falling from the door handle.

“Yes. Now, go pack a bag. We have to get out of here.”

“What?” she asked, still dazed and confused over his appearance on her doorstep.

“I
said
, go and pack a bag. We have to leave.”

“Now wait a second,” Alex said, beginning to get her wits about her. Slamming the door, she faced him with all the anger she had been holding inside ready to be unleashed. “Who the hell do you think you are!” she seethed. “You just
disappear
off the face of the earth and then show up on my doorstep—unannounced I might add—expecting me to drop everything and go away with you? Without so much as an explanation as to where the fuck you went? Or what you’ve been doing the last four months?”

Alex stared at him incredulously and saw his lips curl into a small smile that caught in his beard. It disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, and then Domenic said the three little words that stopped her heart.

“Marco is alive.”

And just like that, Alex and Domenic were on the run again.

Acknowledgments

Where to start. There have been so many people who have cheered me on and rooted for me over the last few years. Whether that was through enthusiastic encouragement or through a more direct route, all of these people helped get this book published.

I’ll start with my best friend Susy. You’ve always been there for me through thick and thin, and when I wasn’t sure about the direction my life would take, you were there to help me steer. Always more sister than friend, you’ve been so very important to me.

Next come the three musketeers. Leisa, Lisa and Sandy. I love you guys. Thank you for listening to me whine, for letting me bounce story ideas off of you, for reading my stuff and being both critical and excited. For badgering me to stop writing for fun and start writing for real.

I also wouldn’t be writing this acknowledgement without my CP Crew. Sharon G, Sharon S, Anita, Deb, Sherri, Sean, Simon, Ellis and Andrea. You guys rock. Thank you for supporting me and kicking my butt when necessary. I promise to come back and save you all! *laughs*

In the community of my life there is one more group of women who I need to thank. The ladies of CoT. Ashley, Amber, Wanda, Kristen, Lori, Katy, Tara, Jessica, Leslie, Shel, Hayley, Aoife and Liz. You know why!

To Shannon, I know it took a while to get on board but I’m glad you did.

I want to also thank the ladies at Omnific. Elizabeth Harper for giving me a chance. My editors CJ Creel and Kathy Teel for providing me so much guidance through this whole process. Thank you for holding my hand and being patient with me! Micha Stone for my kickass cover art and also for being very patient with me.

Also thank you to my mother Vanna who always prays for my continued success, and my father Piero who I feel by my side every day in spirit.

About the Author

Elle Fiore was born and raised in various cities through southern Ontario, Canada. She currently calls Toronto her home with her partner and two sons.

She has always leaned toward the literary and excelled in subjects like English, French, and Drama. She spent a good number of years during her teens and early twenties in the theatre doing makeup, stage management as well as acting in various plays such as
Rebel Without a Cause
,
Annie
,
Rumours,
and
The Apple Tree
. Her active imagination and joie de vivre part of what made her seek out the stage.

During the latter half of her twenties she also enjoyed a variety of other activities such as cycling, martial arts and also took lessons in dance, learning how to Salsa, Merengue, Cha Cha, Bacchata, and Tango.

In 2005 her first son was born changing the course of her life forever. It was during her time on maternity leave with her second son in 2008 that Elle found the time to get back into reading fiction. While in a search for good online stories to read, and not finding what she was looking for, she decided to write a short story herself. One story led to another, and since then she has written four full-length novels, a novella, and several short stories. Her passion for writing grew more as the days passed, until it was all encompassing.

During this time, one of her story ideas grew more epic than she imagined and she knew that it was time to give it voice.
The Sacrificial Lamb
started off as a just a scene from a dream, a scene that wouldn’t dissipate. It has since turned into a two book series with a third in conceptualization. It was this series that prompted Elle to finally try to turn her hobby into a career. She sought out Omnific Publishing to help make her dream become a reality.

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