DEVIL'S NIGHT is returning! Hiding places, chases, and all the games are back...
BANKS
Buried in the shadows of the city, there’s a hotel called The Pope. Ailing, empty, and dark—it sits abandoned and surrounded by a forgotten mystery.
But you think it’s true, don’t you, Kai Mori? The story about the hidden twelfth floor. The mystery of the dark guest who never checked in and never checks out. You think I can help you find that secret hideaway and get to him, don’t you?
You and your friends can try to scare me. You can try to push me. Because even though I struggle to hide everything I feel when you look at me—and have ever since I was a girl—I think that maybe what you seek is so much closer than you’ll ever realize.
I will never betray him.
So sit tight.
On Devil’s Night, the hunt will be coming to you.
KAI
You have no idea what I seek, Little One. You don’t know what I had to become to survive three years in prison for a crime I would gladly commit again.
No one can know what I’ve turned into.
I want that hotel, I want to find him, and I want this over.
I want my life back.
But the more I’m around you, the more I realize this new me is exactly who I was meant to be.
So come on, kid. Don’t chicken out. My house is on the hill. So many ways in, and good luck finding your way out.
I’ve seen your hideaway. Time to see mine.
*Hideaway is a romantic suspense suitable for ages 18+. While the romance is a stand-alone, the plot is a continuation of events that began in CORRUPT (Devil's Night, #1). It is strongly recommended that you have read Corrupt prior to reading this. It is currently on sale for $0.99.
I have sat here for the past few days since I finished Hideaway trying to figure out how to
describe what this book has done to me.
I get book hangovers like everyone else but Penelope Douglas always puts
me into one for days and Hideaway has me in one big time. It starts slow and builds and builds until
you are completely under the spell that Ms. Douglas has woven.
I loved Corrupt
but I think I loved Hideaway even
more. The twists, the turns, the what
the fuck moments kept me on the edge of my seat. There is a lot going on but it all builds
up. Damon is still on the loose, Kai is
still trying to find himself but we learn so much more about him than I first
thought. Kai has a darkness to him, all
the guys do, some just have their demons more upfront than others. He wants Banks, the girl he had wanted years
before. Little does he know that she
will turn his life upside down, especially with her loyalty to Damon. Yes you read that right and no I will not
explain any further because it really is something you have to discover for
yourself. Banks also wants Kai but is
really in a tough spot. I will admit it
took me a bit to warm up to her, Kai holds a special place in my heart since
the previous book and I wanted him happy.
Just when you think you know what is going to happen, BAM,
something else, something you weren’t expecting is revealed and throws you for
a loop all over again. Hideaway is going to be another one of
Ms. Douglas’ books that I read over and over again. I love the way it sets up for the next book Kill Switch, which is Damon’s book. Once
again I am blown away by this author and the way she has me addicted to her
books!
Amazon
*This scene originally took place after
the flashback scene of how Damon and Banks first met. She’s in his bedroom and
gets called downstairs.
BANKS
Within days of arriving, moving into my
cubby in the tower and spending hours upon hours of being his shadow, I loved
him. We were our family.
Nik and Damon.
I looked over at the tanks, seeing Volos
and Kore II basking under their heat lamps. Standing up, I walked over and
removed the lid, gingerly picking up Volos and helping him curl around my hand.
He should be dead already. Kore passed years ago, but Volos was hanging on.
Perhaps for his master.
He rested peacefully, not moving, and I
ran my fingers down his scaly skin.
After the first meeting with Damon, I’d
researched his snakes on the Internet at the library and found out Volos was a
milk snake and Kore was a corn snake. Both completely harmless.
Although what Damon said was
true. Any animal bites when it’s provoked. Their bites, though, weren’t
venomous.
“Banks!” A pounding hit the door
downstairs, and I recognized Lev’s voice.
I put Volos back, careful to be gentle,
and replaced the lid. He’d held out this long, and I was worried he wouldn’t last,
especially with Damon this close to coming home.
Hopefully.
“Banks!” Lev called again, and I walked
for the door and jogged down the stairs.
Opening up the door at the bottom, I saw
Lev standing there, his eyes bloodshot and cheeks flushed, probably from
drinking. It was late, and the guys were winding down.
“Marina’s husband is back with his
bullshit.” He jerked his chin, indicating the direction of the kitchen.
“So?” I shot back. “Handle it.”
“Come on,” he whined. “A man can’t tell
another man what to do with his own wife. You need to handle this.”
I arched a brow and stepped out of the
stairwell, slamming the door behind me.
“You good-for-nothing coward,” I spat
out, barreling around him and walking for the stairs.
Bunch of lazy sons of bitches.
Goddammit.
I charge down the steps, feeling him
right behind me as I swung around the bannister and headed straight for the
kitchen, where we could almost always find Marina. Her fucking husband tended
the grounds here, both of them living on the property, but once in a while he
liked to show up and remind her who was really in charge of her.
Not Gabriel Torrance, not all the men on
the staff here she served and spent more time with than him, and certainly not
her.
He was a man without a castle and a
serious chip on his shoulder about that fact.
I entered the kitchen, passing David and
Ilia in the hall, standing close but not getting too close, as Marina’s quiet
sobs broke the silence.
Bill Rutledge stood in front of her with
his back to me, holding a belt in his hand as he faced his wife.
I didn’t know what provoked him this
time, and I didn’t give a shit.
Glancing around him, I looked at Marina,
her eyes flashing to me for a moment. Tears covered her cheeks, half of her
blonde hair tied back but much of it had come loose, and her shirt and apron
were mussed. Her face was red, but I didn’t see any blood.
She wasn’t usually here this late, but I
could see a pot on the stove and the burner lit. My father probably ordered her
back to make him something.
“Hi,” I said, breaking the silence.
Bill turned his head, scowling at me.
“Out,” he ordered. “This isn’t your business.”
And then his eyes flashed behind me,
indicating the guys trailing in behind me now.
I stepped forward, instantly smelling
sweat on him. I held out my hand. “Give me the belt.”
He scoffed and shook his head, taking
another swig of the beer in his hand.
He wasn’t going to make this easy.
And I nearly closed my eyes with the
pleasure of anticipation. I could feel the swirling in my stomach, the heat
flowing down my arms, the hard beat in my chest…
I liked this part. Cocking my head, I
took a step closer. “She’s had enough. Give me the belt.”
He turned around, facing me, and I
stared up into his blue eyes that were wrinkling at the corners from years of
working in the sun, and his blond hair, wet with the sweat of exertion.
He narrowed his eyes on me, stepping up
into my space. He swung the belt off to his side and got in my face.
I couldn’t hold in the little smile that
escaped. Years ago, no one would dare touch me out of fear of dealing with
Damon.
Now, every day, I fought to make sure no
one challenged me out of fear of dealing with me.
“Do it,” I told him. “Hit me.”
And I turned and planted my palms on the
table, leaning over just slightly. “Come on.”
Marina stopped sobbing, and not one of
the men in the room spoke.
I turned my head over my shoulder,
speaking to him. “You’re delaying Mr. Torrance’s dinner. I’ll take her place,
so do it.”
I felt him shift behind me, and every
muscle in my legs wanted to tremble. I breathed shallow, digging my nails into
the wooden table as he moved behind me.
Come on! Come on. You can hurt me.
You’re going to put me in my place, aren’t you?
“Do it,” I whispered, breathing harder
and dropping my head back as I closed my eyes.
“Do it, do it, do it, do it…Make me scream. Make me cry.” My skin
crawled and every hair stood on end.
Every animal
bites when it’s provoked. Let’s do
this, you son of a bitch.
“Do it. Scare me. Come on! Make me
scream. You can do it. I want it!”
I slammed my palm down on the table, and
I heard Marina suck in a breath.
But everything remained silent. It was
like no one was breathing.
I waited for the first lash—if he
fucking dared—but nothing happened. Turning my eyes on him behind me, I found
him just standing there, staring at me.
He’d backed up. He knew he wouldn’t be
getting any tears or screams out of me.
But he didn’t want to lose face in front
of the men, either, so he sniffled and shrugged, suddenly acting like this was
all no big deal.
“It’s fine,” he replied, laughing at
himself. “I just had two too many, I guess.”
Standing upright, I turned around and
approached him. I took his beer and kept my eyes on him as I tossed it into the
garbage.
He hesitated only a moment but took the
cue to get his fucking belt back on.
“You have a problem with Mr. Torrance’s
cook, you talk to me,” I told him. “You hurt her and she can’t work, then
you’ll be dealing with him. If any of this is confusing, David will explain it
on the drive back to your house.” And then I looked to the men, prompting them
to get his ass out of here. “Guys?”
David stared at me, looking lost in
thought for a moment, but then he blinked, coming to. He wrangled the guys and
led the way out the back door. Bill didn’t even look at his wife as he
grudgingly followed them.
I heard more sniffling and saw Marina
out of the corner of my eye approach.
“Thank you, sweetheart,” she said, her
voice trembling.
She reached out and touched my face, but
I pulled away.
This wasn’t for her. It wasn’t, I told myself.
What she allowed to happen to her in
their house was her problem. When her husband messed with the flow of this
house, it became my problem. Nothing more.
“Gabriel’s waiting for his dinner,” I told her,
walking out of the kitchen. “Fix your face.”
Amazon
Her books include the Fall Away series (Bully, Until You, Rival, Falling Away, Aflame, and Next to Never) and the Devil's Night series (Corrupt and Hideaway (and Kill Switch and Nightfall--not yet released). Please look for her stand-alones Misconduct and Punk 57. Available now.
Join Penelope's Reader Group! ---> https://www.facebook.com/groups/1619824218241291/
a Rafflecopter giveaway
No comments:
Post a Comment