Destination Date Update

Destination Date Ch. 14 on FFn

Destination Date Ch. 14 on AO3

Destination Date Ch. 14 on Stars

Destination Date Ch. 14 on Wattpad

Bella couldn’t breathe. Tears were streaming down her face. She tore at her mask and fell down onto the sand, sobbing brokenly. This was why she didn’t open herself up. Another person had betrayed her. Edward had betrayed her by kissing that slut, Tia!

“I have to get home,” she stammered. “Maybe I can drive up to Seattle. It’s only about seven thousand miles.” Yeah, that won’t work. “I can’t stay here. Maybe Osvaldo can get me a separate space.” She closed her eyes as more tears leaked out. She tried to catch her breath, but she couldn’t. Her heart was completely broken.

Bella was destined to be alone.

She heard someone speaking angrily on the phone. Benjamin was snarling, his face red with fury. However, his face softened when he saw Bella. He hung up the phone and walked over to her. “Bella, right?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “You sound like you’re having a day like mine.”

“If by that, you mean that I found my wife was fucking anything with a dick and infected me with an STD, then yes,” he sneered, plopping down on the sand next to her. “I just talked to Osvaldo to get a room away from that slet. I have to pack up my shit and move out before she realizes that I’m gone.”

“Do you know if he’s got any other rooms?” Bella asked, her voice hollow and empty.

“Why would you do that?” Benjamin asked. “You and your boyfriend are very much in love, no?”

“I just saw Edward kissing your slet,” Bella responded. “That means slut, right?”

He snorted humorlessly. “You are correct. But, I don’t think that Edward is interested. He’s always brushed her off. Hell, he was in the business center when I told her about having an STD. Most of our conversation was in Afrikaans, but I screamed at her in English because she was not listening to me.”

“Well, she wasted no time in jumping onto Edward,” she growled.

“Bella, I’m going to be honest with you. My wife is a slet. She always will be and as soon as I’m back home, I’m washing my hands of her. Your Edward, I can see that he loves you. Hell, a blind man could see that. Don’t let Tia’s actions color how you feel about Edward. My heart is broken, but I have some hope that I’ll find someone to love,” Ben explained. “Not any time soon, but when it’s right.”

“I don’t know if I can trust him, Ben,” Bella spluttered.

“Did you talk to him? Ask what happened?” Ben asked. Bella shook her head. “Before you jump to any conclusions, talk to him.”

Destination Date Teaser

 Bella couldn’t breathe. Tears were streaming down her face. She tore at her mask and fell down onto the sand, sobbing brokenly. This was why she didn’t open herself up. Another person had betrayed her. Edward had betrayed her by kissing that slut, Tia!

“I have to get home,” she stammered. “Maybe I can drive up to Seattle. It’s only about seven thousand miles.” Yeah, that won’t work. “I can’t stay here. Maybe Osvaldo can get me a separate space.” She closed her eyes as more tears leaked out. She tried to catch her breath, but she couldn’t. Her heart was completely broken.

Bella was destined to be alone.

She heard someone speaking angrily on the phone. Benjamin was snarling, his face red with fury. However, his face softened when he saw Bella. He hung up the phone and walked over to her. “Bella, right?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “You sound like you’re having a day like mine.”

“If by that, you mean that I found my wife was fucking anything with a dick and infected me with an STD, then yes,” he sneered, plopping down on the sand next to her. “I just talked to Osvaldo to get a room away from that slet. I have to pack up my shit and move out before she realizes that I’m gone.”

“Do you know if he’s got any other rooms?” Bella asked, her voice hollow and empty.

“Why would you do that?” Benjamin asked. “You and your boyfriend are very much in love, no?”

“I just saw Edward kissing your slet,” Bella responded. “That means slut, right?”

He snorted humorlessly. “You are correct. But, I don’t think that Edward is interested. He’s always brushed her off. Hell, he was in the business center when I told her about having an STD. Most of our conversation was in Afrikaans, but I screamed at her in English because she was not listening to me.”

“Well, she wasted no time in jumping onto Edward,” she growled.

“Bella, I’m going to be honest with you. My wife is a slet. She always will be and as soon as I’m back home, I’m washing my hands of her. Your Edward, I can see that he loves you. Hell, a blind man could see that. Don’t let Tia’s actions color how you feel about Edward. My heart is broken, but I have some hope that I’ll find someone to love,” Ben explained. “Not any time soon, but when it’s right.”

“I don’t know if I can trust him, Benjamin,” Bella spluttered.

“Did you talk to him? Ask what happened?” Benjamin asked. Bella shook her head. “Before you jump to any conclusions, talk to him.”

Blockbuster Teaser

 I was working on the screenplay. I’d created the list of characters, along with actors I’d love to play those roles. I knew it was a pipe dream, but a girl could wish. I’d love for Chris Hemsworth to be the love interest of my main character, but he was probably out of our price-range for the movie.

Though, my mind was thinking that Edward would be a great fit … perhaps for my love interest.  

Don’t wish for that … you don’t deserve it. You don’t deserve anything.

I hated my inner-voice and how it sounded so much like Jacob. He’d taken so much from me. Too much, to be honest.

When would he stop?

Never.

I shook my head, trying to not think about my awful ex-boyfriend. I needed to focus on the screenplay. So, that’s what I did. Along with the list of actors and actresses, I also began working on paring down the scenes, picking and choosing which ones needed to be in the movie and which ones could be omitted because they didn’t drive the story along.

I wanted to keep all the scenes, as the author. But, as a movie-goer, some scenes would end up on the cutting-room floor.

It was a very tedious process.

As I was working, I was struggling with rereading the novel. It was a fictionalized version of what I’d endured from the moment my father was diagnosed with cancer my junior year of high school until I arrived in San Francisco at the age of twenty-six. Granted, the fictitious me, Charlotte, got a happily ever after with a man who fell in love with her and her son.

My main character wasn’t as emotionally stunted and mentally scarred in the novel. Besides, most readers won’t read a story if it doesn’t have a happily ever after. Long and Winding Road, it meandered and twisted, but Charlotte got her happily ever after.

Me? Not so much …

I was too terrified of opening my heart up to someone, only to have it thrown in my face again like with Jacob.

 

Married to the Mob Update

Married to the Mob Chapter 26 on FicPad

Married to the Mob Chapter 26 on Stars

Married to the Mob Chapter 26 on AO3

Married to the Mob Chapter 26 on FFn

Married to the Mob Chapter 26 on Wattpad

I was being shaken hard. My head was pounding from my killer hangover from drinking too many margaritas yesterday and I just wanted to sleep. “Fuck off,” I grumbled, curling around Edward’s pillow.

“Bella, wake up,” Alice hissed. “Something’s happened.”

I opened my eyes and saw her terrified face. “What do you mean?” I asked, rubbing my face. “I’m … I’m still drunk, I think.”

“Go brush your teeth, wash your face and meet us downstairs, Bells,” Alice commanded. She looked at me, her eyes swirling with fear. “And get dressed.” She hopped out of the bed and I looked at the clock. It was just after two in the morning. I was supposed to be up in five hours to be beautified by the glam squad for my wedding. I padded to the bathroom and did as Alice asked, tossing my curled hair up into a ponytail. When I was done with that, I pulled on a pair of yoga pants and one of Edward’s dress shirts. I yawned, carrying a pair of sneakers downstairs. I was shocked.

There was a full house. None of them from the party the night before, save for Alice and Esme. Jasper and Emmett were speaking with Carlisle, who was pacing frantically. “What’s going on?”

“Bella,” Esme cried, getting up and hugging me tightly. “My sweet girl.”

I awkwardly accepted her hug, but pulled back. “What the fuck is going on here? Where’s Edward?”

“Bambina, I need you to listen to everything before you fly off the handle,” Emmett said slowly. I crossed my arms, anger seeping out of me. “While at his bachelor party, Edward was taken.”

“WHAT?!” I screamed. I flew to Emmett and started pounding on him. “You’re his brother!  You were supposed to protect him! WHERE THE FUCK IS MY FIANCE?!”

“We don’t know, but we’re working on it,” Emmett said, holding me in his arms, pulling me close and his voice cracking.

“Tell me what happened,” I hissed, shoving away from him.

“Dad had just left with Anthony, to go back to their place in the city. He’d just shared some rather disturbing information about … well, it doesn’t really matter now … and Edward said he had to go to the bathroom. Anyway, the bathrooms on the VIP level were under construction or closed for whatever reason. That’s what the waitress said. Edward went down to the main level to go to the bathroom. I noticed that he was gone for a long time. Too long, if you asked me. Even if he was taking a shit.”

“Emmett,” Carlisle growled, narrowing his eyes at his son.

“What?” Emmett retorted.

“KEEP. GOING,” I commanded, slugging his arm.

“Sorry,” he said. “I ran into the waitress who told Edward about the issue with the bathroom and I went downstairs with Jasper. We got into the bathroom and there was evidence of a struggle. The mirror was broken and we found a couple of things on the ground.”

“What?” I whispered.

Emmett reached into his pocket and pulled out a plastic bag. Inside, there was a hypodermic needle and one of Edward’s cufflinks. “We think that Edward was drugged and taken away. We’re working on his location, but the tech who installed the GPS tracking device in Edward’s ring hadn’t calibrated it correctly.”

My stomach fell to my feet and I felt sick. “Do you know who?” I cried, my finger running over the oval of his cufflink.

“Everyone was accounted for but one person,” Jasper growled. “Garrett was gone.”

The Magic Within Update

The Magic Within Chapter 24 on FicPad

The Magic Within Chapter 24 on Stars

The Magic Within Chapter 24 on AO3

The Magic Within Chapter 24 on FFn

The Magic Within Chapter 24 on Wattpad

“And Edward, he …” Alice cackled. “he woke up, completely naked. He was laying, spread eagle, on the chaise lounge overlooking the pool. He was snoring loudly and his pale skin was getting completely burnt by the sun. I tried to wake him up, but he was completely drunk and was …”

“When did he wake up?” Kate asked.

“About three hours later. He was completely burnt to a crisp,” Alice said. “He had no memory of falling asleep on the chaise, or even drinking an entire bottle of scotch.”

“Why would he drink so much?” I asked.

“He was just dumped by his girlfriend and wanted to drown his sorrows, but instead he danced, naked as the day he was born, smiting her name,” Alice snorted. “Little did he think about the ramifications. His cock … yeah, it was peeling from his sun burn for over a month. He was terrified that he would never be able to get hard again.”

“Who was this ex-girlfriend and why was he smiting her?” Charlotte asked, her feet crossed on the cocktail table.

“Her name, ironically enough, was Kate. It was his first real relationship and she dumped him just before prom because she wanted to go with the captain of the football team and not the captain of the debate team,” Alice explained, her nose wrinkled delicately. “So, instead of going to prom, he drank a bottle of our father’s very expensive scotch, dancing naked around the pool and smiting Kate.”

“I would never do that,” Kate scoffed. “His Kate was a bitch! Edward’s cute. I’d rather date the debate team captain than the football captain, especially if the debate team captain looked like Edward.”

“Agreed,” Charlotte nodded.

“And Edward could freeze the football captain now,” I added. “Besides, his muscles have muscles. My man is all sorts of sexy. I can’t wait until he comes home. I don’t sleep well when he’s not here.”

“Um, Bella, he’s staying with Emmett,” Rosalie said, her nose wrinkled.

“What?!” I shrieked. “No, he has to come back. I really don’t sleep well when he’s gone. I’m terrified that Jacob will …” I trailed off.

“Bella, you’re protected,” Charlotte soothed me. “Besides, you’re stronger, physically and emotionally, than when you first left Jacob. You can make him explode, or implode, whichever tickles your fancy, Bella.”

“It’s not the same,” I snapped, getting up and stomping away.

Bella's dress

Bouquet

Necklace

Tiara

Engagement Ring

Out of the Darkness Teaser

Curled up on the ground, I focused on what I could. I remembered Edward whispered words of love. I smiled at Alice’s need to shop. I warmed at Esme’s motherly affection. I prayed that I’d get to see my father again. I hoped that I could tell Carlisle that I forgave him. I wished that I could see Alice and Jasper reunite.

Not Jasper, Colton.

The electric bars of my cage dissipated and I was dragged out by two female minions. One was Rosalie. Her eyes were completely black and her once beautiful face was turned into a nasty snarl. The other woman I didn’t recognize, but she was about my age and just as angry as Rosalie. They pulled me to a raised rock altar. I trembled and feared for what was going to happen.

“You deserve this,” Rosalie sneered, pushing me onto the altar and my legs and arms were bound with the same electric, static binding as the entrance to my cage. It hurt, burning my skin. “Just give in, Bella and we can avoid this.”

“Never,” I spat and the electricity jolted, making me cry out.

“Leave us,” Riley said, but his voice was deeper and accented, similarly to Edward and Alice’s accent. Rosalie and the other woman left and my ex-boyfriend walked over to me. He was bigger and his eyes were empty, completely black. He rolled his shoulders and membranous wings stretched. “The human inside is making his desires known. He wants to fuck every hole until you bleed.”

“He’s already done that,” I said.

“He has and he’s perversely excited by it,” Riley smirked. “I never understood the need of physical pleasure, but perhaps when you have given into the darkness, we can explore that.”

“Fuck you,” I snarled.

“Now, Isabella, that isn’t very nice,” he chuckled, his wings fluttering. “I want to make you see all you could do if you allowed me to convert you to darkness. The pain you feel from your wasted human life? Gone. You’d be richer than anyone could ever dream. Beautiful. Desired.” He pressed his hand to my forehead, filling my mind with a fantasy.

I closed my eyes, ignoring the pictures he forced into my head. I focused on Edward. I love you. I love you. I love you.

Riley barked in pain, glaring at me. His hand was white and he held it gingerly. With his other hand, he backhanded me. “You’ll pay for that.” With a wave of his hand, the bindings around my feet and hands tightened, making me whimper. “The pain will stop when you give into me, Isabella.”

“Never,” I cried.

He grunted and left me on the rock altar, the bindings burning my skin and making me sick. I focused my thoughts on Edward and my family. I knew I could survive this. I’d survived twelve years of hell in foster care and afterward. This was easy. Do not give in to the darkness.

I have too much to live for.

I want to be by Edward’s side forever.

I want to tell him that I love him.

Married to the Mob Teaser

“I promise you that nothing will happen to Bella,” Emmett whispered. “She’s stronger than you think.” I shot up, moving to the window and tried to calm down. “Ed, have faith in your family, in your crew. We love Bella, too. She won’t be touched.”

“Just that photo … it’s burned onto my brain,” I whispered. “If something like that happened to Bella … I would murder the monsters who did that to her, but she’d … she’d be ruined because of her association with me. I’d lose her.”

“Don’t focus on that,” Carlisle said. “She’s fine. She’s at home, working on her psychology papers. When you get home, hold her, love her and never let her go. We live in a dangerous world, Edward. I know that. You know that. Have faith in your family to protect you.”

“Nothing will happen to her,” Emmett said, his ice blue eyes glacial and angry. “I vow my life to protect her. Protect you.” He pulled out a knife from his belt, slicing his hand, blood pouring out of the wound and onto the glass table. “A blood vow.” He held out his knife. I took it, slicing my own palm. I grasped his hand and stared into my brother’s eyes. “I love you, brother.”

“I love you, too, Emmett,” I whispered. We hugged and I let my brother shoulder some of the burden.

“Go home, Edward,” Carlisle said. “What more did you have to do today?”

“Just paperwork. I can do that from my home office,” I shrugged. I wrapped a handkerchief loosely around my hand. Emmett did the same. “You want to come for dinner, Em?”

“I don’t think so. I think you need your woman,” Emmett said with a smarmy grin. “I’ll bug the parentals.”

“Oh, goody,” Carlisle deadpanned, shaking his head at Emmett. He whipped out his cell phone. “Felix, meet me in the basement. Emmett will be joining us.” He hung up and kissed my cheek. “Love you, son.”

“Love you, too, Dad,” I said, blowing out a breath. My brother and father left. I sat down, trying to calm down. I tightened my bandage on my hand, rubbing the cut with my thumb. My brother was on my side, even though it was his ex-wife who had been the one in the photo. No love lost there, it would seem. With another deep breath, I went back to my office. I sent out a quick email about Angela’s vacation to the staff, along with my intention from working from home for the rest of the week, before packing up my laptop. I put on my protective overcoat before I slung my bag over my shoulder. On my way out, I spoke briefly to Jessica, the woman in charge of reception. I asked her to patch any calls to my cell phone for the remainder of the week during the workday. With a wave, I rode down the elevator and got into my car.

I drove to my condo, parking in the garage and riding up to the Fortress first. Letting myself in, I walked into the wall of screens. Jacob was working on the computer. “Jake,” I said. He turned, flashing me a wide grin. “Did your dad call?”

“He did. He told me about your meeting,” he muttered. “That’s some scary shit.”

“Please, keep an eye out,” I whispered.

“Boss, I love Bella like a sister. I would die for her, just like how I’d die for you, too,” Jake said. He blinked back at me, a grimace on his face. “How bad?”

“Let’s just say that they’ve got some sick minds and someone who is really good at Photoshop,” I shuddered. I blinked, unseeing and the image of Bella … I gulped down bile.

“Boss, no one will touch her,” Jake said, standing up and putting his hands on my shoulders. He frowned. “I promise you, Edward. I promise.”

“Okay,” I said. “I’m sorry. This is … I …”

“I get it,” Jake smiled, kind and understanding. “But, those assholes will have to go through me.” He smirked. “And I’m bulletproof.”

“You keep telling yourself that, Jake,” I snorted. “Thank you.” I turned on my heel and rode upstairs to my Bella.