We all went back to Texas and fell into a routine. I went to school, and Deke and Cole went to their classes. The guys were busier than ever with swimming, but I saw Deke every day, even if it was just for an hour. I loved him even more for it. And no one knew anything about what happened in the Lowes estate. I feel like it brought us all even closer. A secret that we will all take to our grave.
“Are you ready?” I ask Austin.
She nods. A huge smile on her face. “Yes.”
It’s New Year’s Eve. Eleven fifty-five to be exact. The middle of the night. Cole and Austin are getting married. In five minutes, the date will change to midnight. It’ll be their one-year anniversary. A new year and she’ll no longer be Austin Lowes. She’ll be Austin Reynolds.
“You look absolutely stunning,” I tell her, running my hands down the black silk dress. It’s got a corset back laced up with a red ribbon. She looks like she belongs on the front cover of a magazine. Cole and Austin aren’t your average couple. And that’s what I love about them so much. They say that opposites attract, but they are a lot alike.
They chose to get married on the hill behind where the Lowes estate once stood. The one that leads up to the abandoned cemetery. Where they first met one year ago tonight.
Austin doesn’t know it, but Cole paid a company to come in and clean the property for their special night. Whoever said he isn’t romantic doesn’t know how much he loves her.
I cried. She cried. I even saw Cole blink rapidly at one point. The guy has a shell that can’t be broken until it involves his sweetheart. The overcast night was dark, and you couldn’t even see the moon, so we decided to light the way with tiki torches. And when they kissed, it started to rain. That quickly turned to snow. It looked like something out of a hauntingly beautiful fairy tale. Her in her black dress and him in his matching tux. And Lilly wore a red dress that made her look every bit of the princess she is. Afterward, we all went back to the clubhouse, and they danced to a song that they chose. It was so them. I’m not sure I’ve ever met someone else who would dance to “I Will Follow You into the Dark,” by Yungblud and Halsey for their wedding song. It was perfect.
My mother asked me to wait until I was twenty-one to marry Deke, but I said fuck that. He proposed the night of my eighteenth birthday, February twenty-third. I married him a week after high school graduation. That was as long as I was willing to put it off. We eloped to a little bed and breakfast. No blood relatives were present, but all the sharks were there. They’re my family now.
We spent two days in bed together. I called and told my father first. He asked us to come home and stay with him for the summer. I told him we would come for a few weeks. I didn’t inform my mother of our nuptials until six months later. She said she hoped it didn’t end like hers to my father. That was as much as I was gonna get out of her.
Her marriage ended to my father ’cause she couldn’t stay faithful. She was like my sister. I’m nothing like them. I understand what I have, and I won’t ever give that up. Deke Biggs is my forever, and I’m his.
THE END FOR NOW … TURN THE PAGE FOR MORE!
This is not the bonus content, but I thought I would add Silence here in the collection as well since it was featured in an Anthology that is no longer available. The bonus content is AFTER this.
SILENCE
I was his dark fantasy.
He was my wildest dream.
Together, we were meant to make the world burn.
CHAPTER ONE
AUSTIN
SLAMMING ON THE brakes, I bring my Range Rover to a stop harder than I intended in the dark parking lot.
Demi, one of my best friends, lets out a grunt as her seat belt locks up across her chest, and Brynn slams her hands on the center console while sitting in the middle seat in the back.
“Sorry,” I mumble, throwing the SUV in park.
“It’s okay.” Brynn’s silver eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror, and she gives me a reassuring smile.
Killing the ignition, I exit, jerking the door closed behind me. I take a deep breath of the cool night air. Closing my eyes, I try not to lose my shit.
I’m pissed at Cole. No surprise there. That man has the power to make me want to set his ass on fire at times. I can loathe him as much as I love him. And that’s a motherfucking lot. For the past two days, I’ve ignored him. He knows I’m pissed, but he hasn’t asked what he did. In Cole’s eyes, he does nothing wrong.
I open my eyes to see Brynn and Demi standing before me. They glance at one another and then back at me. They don’t know what to do or what to say. Demi’s seen this side of me before. She knows that when I get pissed, I need space. But Brynn doesn’t know me all that well. She’s new to being with a Great White Shark. She doesn’t know my crazy exceeds her crazy. Demi’s a close second.
This is what I get, though, for falling in love with a man who would scare even the devil. Cole Reynolds is known as a killer. I am too. We’ve done what must be done with no regrets. No one is perfect.
Without saying another word, they turn and walk toward the entrance of Silence. I follow them.
Once an insane asylum shut down in the eighties, Silence is now the scariest haunted house in Texas. And the best part is that certain attractions stay open year-round. We came here a few weeks before Halloween last year but ended up leaving abruptly. Cole promised to bring me back, but that fucker never did.
Most girls would go out and have some drinks when they’re pissed at their man. Maybe get some dinner. But not me. Not my girls. Demi is always up for anything scary, and Brynn works here. So tonight, after arranging for a babysitter for Lilly, I called my girls up and said I was coming to get them, and here we are.
“Here.” Brynn hands me some tickets. “I had extras in my purse. And I also have passes for the blackout attraction …”
I stop walking. “What?” That’s what I wanted to do last year. They give you glow sticks to try to navigate your way out of the underground tunnels previously used to transport the dead bodies from one facility to another. And you have to sign a waiver ’cause they’re allowed to touch you. Sounds right up my alley.
Perfect.
Throwing my arm over her shoulders, I finally smile for the first time in two days. “You’re the best.”
I like her. We haven’t known her long. But ever since Brynn started hooking up with Shane, one of Cole’s best friends, Demi and I have spent a lot of time with her.
Pulling out my phone, I let my fingers fly over the keys, knowing what I must do. Cole knows exactly which of my buttons to press to set me off, and I know his. Once done, I hold up my phone. “Say Silence.” I snap a selfie after they finish laughing and upload it.
“Wait …” Demi watches what I’m doing. “I thought Cole deactivated your Facebook?”
“He did.” I smile. “I just reactivated it.”
Brynn’s brows rise. “Shane said that Cole doesn’t use social media. That the only reason he has his was for a dare.”
Something like that. I tag Demi since I’m not friends with Brynn on there yet and then pocket my phone. “He doesn’t, but Deke does.”