Reality (The Girl in the Box Book 52), page 34
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-SIX
Sienna
Once Eddie Greene was checked in with TBI, once Eilish dropped me at the office (we parted ways with cheek kisses, and on good terms), once I'd made sure nothing pressing awaited me at the agency (just Augustus clapping his hands together gleefully about all the money Scott was making us on bodyguard duty, and a clap on my own back for scoring a big payday from the state of Colorado), I made my way home, or at least to the Treston farm, where I was greeted by two happily barking dogs, one indifferent cat, a damned jaded Italian physician, and one loving brother. Not necessarily in that order.
“I will settle you all down!” Perugini said, shooing the over-excited dogs from the room. “Of course your mamma could do this in one word, but she looks tired enough to sleep for a week, so – shoo, shoo!” and she waved them off, sparing me from a severe fuzz-bombing from Cali and Jack, who barked their disappointment at being pushed into my bedroom, where they would savagely wait for me, planning their attack for when I opened the door. Once that was done, Perugini sighed. “I am going to get ready for bed. You two catch up, do your sibling non-rivalry thing.” And she was gone.
Reed seemed happy to let the silence persist, at least for a minute or two. Finally, he said, “I heard it was a hell of a case.”
“Certainly a lot more than I expected when I took the job,” I said, sighing, so tired. “Who knew a simple fugitive case would go so damned far off the rails?”
He wore a deeply self-satisfied smile. “Anyone who's known you for longer than five minutes?”
I threw a pillow at him. I don't think it discouraged him.
“Seriously, though,” he said, fluffing it back into a reasonable shape after it had nearly taken his head off, “you doing all right? You alive in there?”
“Not yet...but I might be on the road back.” I shifted in my seat, and a ping of discomfort streaked up my ass. Something was back there, in my pocket, wedged between me and the couch.
“Oh, good,” Reed said. “It'd be nice to see some color in your cheeks again. I've been telling everyone you're playing the role of Morticia Addams in the world's longest cosplay game. Simpler than saying you've gone goth, you understand.”
“No one goes goth anymore, Reed, it's not the nineties. They call them emo now.” I reached in my back pocket and removed the lump that was the disk I'd gotten while I was trying to flee Steelwood Springs. “Oh. You.”
“Did you just pull a DVD out of your ass?” he asked with genuine amusement.
“Hah hah,” I said, and flung the case at him. “Hey, tech support – you got anything that can play this?”
He caught it deftly, and gave it a once over. “This is more of a streaming household, you understand, but...the PlayStation probably can.”
“Cool. I'm glad you being a huge nerd is finally paying off for me in some small way.”
He flicked the case back at me and I caught it just as deftly, but was smirking at him even as he smirked back at me. He put the disk in the PlayStation and grabbed an all-white controller, settling back on the chair to the side and messing around with the TV. “Looks like a video recording,” he said, frowning as he dinked around with it, selecting the video thumbnail in the center of the TV menu. “One file, titled '04.13.18?' Huh. And...play.”
We watched.
And it felt like someone was ripping my fucking heart out through my ribcage.
“Oh my God,” Reed whispered so low I almost didn't hear it. His face had turned ashen.
“April 13, 2018,” I said, listening to the organ music in the background of the video. “I shoulda known.”
“I can turn it off,” he said, rushing to push a button.
“No.” My voice was firm, hard...yet crumbling.
Because it was my wedding video.
I watched it play through once – the white dress, the subtle alterations to my hair to make me look NOT like Sienna Nealon...
...the look on my husband's face...
“Please don't say again,” Reed whispered once it was over, once I'd watched us walk, arm in arm, out the doors of the chapel, watching my own face on the screen, tears rolling down that one in the moment...
...and my own, now.
I looked at Reed and I crumpled, and he was there to catch me. I buried my head in his neck and mumbled something, something I'd seen...
...Something I could no longer deny, no matter how much I wanted to.
“What?” Reed asked, holding me up. “What is it, sis?” His voice was breaking, but he was trying to hold it back, to be strong...
...for me.
“I was in love,” I said, and I couldn't hold it back anymore, couldn't hold back what I'd seen, “I was in love, Reed – in love with him...I could see it in my face...and he's gone...he's gone...”
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-SEVEN
Jeremy James Wade
“I hate you,” I whispered, in the darkness of the Chinese prison cell. Only my cellmate heard me, of course. The klaxon's wail had just faded, as it did randomly, in the varying hours of day and night, announcing by its departure that yes, now we could sleep – for however long they allowed it. Psychological torture, I was pretty sure, but whatever it was, it was annoying as hell.
“Oh, I know,” Harry Graves whispered back, both of us operating in the reasonable fear that a guard might hear us talking and deal out a nice beating. “I'm fine with that.”
“I just bet you are,” I muttered, and turned over in my bunk. Still couldn't sleep, though. Almost like something was keeping me up, a world away.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-EIGHT
Heidi
She couldn't see her world like she could before. The walls were dark, closed in around her like night. Or death.
But that was fine.
Love was still here.
You'll make it, she whispered in her own mind. I know you will...
...You'll find your way back to love...
...Back to him...
...Sienna.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-NINE
Scott
Three Weeks Later
The Christmas decorations were hung in Old Burd's, and Scott was bellied up to the bar in his usual spot. He was between jobs, in town for two days and three nights, at least, before Augustus had pledged to send him off to the next assignment.
“Hey,” came a warm voice beside him. “Is this seat taken?”
He looked to the side. A blond, and pure dynamite at that. “Afraid so. I'm waiting for a friend.” He patted the coat that occupied the stool. With a flash of disappointment, the blond moved off, with nary another word said.
“What the hell was that?” Owen Traverton dumped his own coat onto the stool, then slid into the seat as Scott moved his. “Did you just wave off a stunning blond on approach? Because I have to ask – why didn't you mention your handsome friend was coming soon?”
“Mr. Traverton,” Scott said, smiling. “Bodyguard to the stars.” Traverton slipped in and popped onto the stool next to him. He wore a new suit – not exactly Brooks Brothers, but it was new, and clean, and he had a different scent about him. “I guess I could have mentioned it, but then, y'know...you would have had to talk to her, impress her...I was just sparing you the misery of a crash, amigo.”
Success. Yeah. That was it. Traverton smelled like success. But maybe not quite enough to bring in that blond.
“You make an excellent point,” Traverton flagged down the bartender. “Woodford reserve, neat.”
Scott smirked. “Look at you, drinking moderately priced whiskey and walking upright like a man. Paying your own bills, even.”
“It's been a hell of an evolution,” Traverton said, loosening his tie. “Couldn't have done it without you, though, buddy.” The bartender arrived with his glass, and he raised it to Scott. “To you, pal. For giving me a leg up.”
“To you, for using it,” Scott said, and they clinked glasses. “So,” he said, facing toward the bar again, “who has Augustus got you protecting now?”
“Oh, I'm all over the place, brother,” Traverton said with absolute relish. “The personal protection division is expanding rapidly. Got a half dozen clients already, and I've worked with all of them.” His eyes were lit up. “Some of them are almost becoming like...friends...at this point.” He said the F word like a dirty one, and looked to either side as if he could not believe he had any friends, let alone, perhaps, many. Still, his grin remained.
“Good for you, Owen,” Scott said. And he meant it.
“We've got a performer tonight, folks.” The bartender was up on the small stage behind them, and Scott squinted. That wasn't unusual at Old Burd's, though he'd thought he'd seen there was no live music tonight.
“And here I was hoping for a quiet drink,” Traverton grumped. “I hope it's at least someone who can sing without autotune.”
Scott chuckled. “Truth.”
The song started, a simple guitar strum, and Scott did not turn to look. Folksy. Not of the oeuvre he'd been listening to lately. Of course, there was only one artist on his playlist of late, and she did not sing this sort of thing.
“Penny for your thoughts,” Traverton said. “Now that I have at least a penny to spare.”
“Just think I've gotten this residual taste for a sort of rappy electro-pop,” Scott said sadly.
“Ah,” Traverton said, not turning to look at the stage. “Still. This has a certain charm to it, this sound. Very Nashville.”
The voice kicked in, soft and clear, backed by...a cello? Scott frowned over his whiskey.
“I didn't know
how to say, 'I love you,'
I couldn't show
that I cared”
He turned, because he knew the voice, but it was jarringly out of place in this simple style, music that would have fit better in a coffee house than a bar. He stared at the stage; a trio was upon it – bass player, guitar player, and, yes, a cello player, but also a lead singer–
“But I still dream of the nights
you lay beside me
and I think of the days
and the waves wash over me
the waves wash over me”
It was her, Scarlet herself, in a simple blouse and jeans with boots that made her look tall, and she looked alive, and vibrant, and was clutching the mic, her eyes on him.
In the darkest depths
You came for me
Gave me everything you had
And the waves wash over me
The waves wash over me
But I let you go...
I just couldn't see
She was looking straight at him, the microphone gripped tight in her hand, not closing her eyes though the music swelled, and she sang with passion, like her heart was coming out in her voice.
All you had to give
All you had for me
And now with you gone...
It's so plain to see
I can barely breathe
And the waves wash over me
the waves wash over me–”
He was on his feet as she sang, threading through the crowd, and as she finished she cast the microphone aside and leapt off the stage into his arms, knowing he would catch her–
And he did.
They kissed, long, and passionate, and full of the feeling that Scott had feared would fade over the last weeks, and when they broke he saw a light in her eyes. “I wrote that for you,” Scarlet said.
He kissed her again.
And again.
And he did not let her go.
Sienna Nealon Will Return in
ALLEGIANCE
The Girl in the Box, Book 53
Coming March 2, 2023!
Pre-order here!
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Thanks for reading! If you want to know immediately when future books become available, take sixty seconds and sign up for my NEW RELEASE EMAIL ALERTS by CLICKING HERE. I don’t sell your information and I only send out emails when I have a new book out. The reason you should sign up for this is because I don’t always set release dates, and even if you’re following me on Facebook (robertJcrane (Author)) or Twitter (@robertJcrane), or part of my Facebook fan page (Team RJC), it’s easy to miss my book announcements because … well, because social media is an imprecise thing.
Find listings for all my books plus some more behind-the-scenes info on my website: http://www.robertjcrane.com!
Cheers,
Robert J. Crane
Other Works by Robert J. Crane
The Girl in the Box
(and Out of the Box)
Contemporary Urban Fantasy
Alone
Untouched
Soulless
Family
Omega
Broken
Enemies
Legacy
Destiny
Power
Limitless
In the Wind
Ruthless
Grounded
Tormented
Vengeful
Sea Change
Painkiller
Masks
Prisoners
Unyielding
Hollow
Toxicity
Small Things
Hunters
Badder
Nemesis
Apex
Time
Driven
Remember
Hero
Flashback
Cold
Blood Ties
Music
Dragon
Control
Second Guess
Powerless
Meltdown
True North
Innocence
Southern Comfort
Underground
Silver Tongue
Backwoods
Home
Eye of the Hurricane
Ghosts
Gangland
Reality
Allegiance* - Coming March 2, 2023
World of Sanctuary
Epic Fantasy
(in best reading order)
Defender (Volume 1)
Avenger (Volume 2)
Champion (Volume 3)
Crusader (Volume 4)
Sanctuary Tales (Volume 4.25)
Thy Father’s Shadow (Volume 4.5)
Master (Volume 5)
Fated in Darkness (Volume 5.5)
Warlord (Volume 6)
Heretic (Volume 7)
Legend (Volume 8)
Ghosts of Sanctuary (Volume 9)
Call of the Hero (Volume 10)
The Scourge of Despair (Volume 11)
Rage of the Ancients* Coming in 2023!
Ashes of Luukessia
A Sanctuary Trilogy
(with Michael Winstone)
(Trilogy Complete)
A Haven in Ash (Ashes of Luukessia #1)
A Respite From Storms (Ashes of Luukessia #2)
A Home in the Hills (Ashes of Luukessia #3)
Liars and Vampires
YA Urban Fantasy
(with Lauren Harper)
No One Will Believe You
Someone Should Save Her
You Can’t Go Home Again
Lies in the Dark
Her Lying Days Are Done
Heir of the Dog
Hit You Where You Live
Her Endless Night
Burned Me*
Something In That Vein*
Southern Watch
Dark Contemporary Fantasy/Horror
Called
Depths
Corrupted
Unearthed
Legion
Starling
Forsaken
Hallowed* (Coming in 2023!)
The Mira Brand Adventures
YA Modern Fantasy
(Series Complete)
The World Beneath
The Tide of Ages
The City of Lies
The King of the Skies
The Best of Us
We Aimless Few
The Gang of Legend
The Antecessor Conundrum
*Forthcoming, title subject to change
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to Lewis Moore for the edits, Jeff Bryan, for the proofing, and Lillie of https://lilliesls.wordpress.com for her work proofing and compiling my series bible.
Thanks also to Karri Klawiter of artbykarri.com for the cover.
A special mention to the real Heidi Hutchinson, a romance author of some renown whose works you should totally check out, if you’re into that sort of thing. She’d asked to have her name in a book and when I ran the idea past her she approved, and I think she’s made one of Sienna’s more compelling villains of late, so my thanks to her!
Thanks, too, to my family for making this all possible.
Robert J. Crane, Reality (The Girl in the Box Book 52)
