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Shadows to your TBR list on
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RELEASE DATE: July
7th
Blurb
I come from a family of fighters. I always thought I’d
follow in their shadows, becoming unstoppable in the ring. That changed the day
I saved the life of a woman I loved, but could never have.
My brother hailed
me as a hero, and my reward was a wheelchair.
Paralyzed, my life
became an inescapable nightmare.
Until I met her.
Ash Mabie had a
heart-stopping smile and a laugh that numbed the rage and resentment brewing
inside of me. She showed me that even the darkest night still had stars, and it
didn’t matter one bit that you had to lie in the weeds to see them.
I was a jaded
asshole who fell for a girl with a knack for running away. I couldn’t even walk
but I would have spent a lifetime chasing her.
Now, I’m on the
ropes during the toughest battles of my life.
Fighting the shadows of our past.
Fighting to reclaim my future.
Fighting for her.
Fighting Shadows
Prologue
Ash
“Where the fuck have you
been?” a man’s voice growled as soon as I entered the conference room.
My eyes flashed to his for
only a single second before I recognized them. The door had barely clicked
behind me but I already wanted nothing more than to bolt. My heart raced and my
mouth dried.
I had to get out of there.
“Um…” I stalled, giving
myself time to formulate a plan.
“Sit. Down,” he ordered,
pushing out the chair next to him, but there was no way I was getting that
close.
“I’m good,” I said, taking
a step backwards toward the door.
“Don’t even think about
it,” he snapped. “I swear to God, if you so much as open that door…” His words
may have trailed off, but the threat was clearly stated.
I swallowed hard, and
slowly walked to the chair farthest away from him, perching on the very
edge—waiting for just the right moment to escape.
He looked down at the name
badge around my neck and quirked an eyebrow.
“Victoria?”
“You can call me Tori if
it’s easier.” I tried to fake a smile, but it only seemed to infuriate him. He
took several calming breaths, which did nothing to dampen the blaze brewing in
his angry eyes.
“I’ve been looking for you,
Ash.” He snarled my name.
“Oh, yeah? Well, mystery
solved. Here I am.” I pushed back to my feet, but was halted when his fist
pounded against the table. I jumped as my whole body flinched from the
surprise.
When the room fell silent,
I slowly looked back up to find him staring at me with a murderous glare. Even
sitting down I could tell he was huge, and as he held my gaze, the tense
muscles in his neck and shoulders strained against the cotton of his grey Henley.
He blinked at me for several seconds before finding his voice again.
“You live in a homeless
shelter,” he stated definitively, as if the words told a story all of their
own.
And maybe they did.
“I work at a homeless shelter,” I quickly corrected.
Only he corrected me just
as fast. “In exchange for a permanent place to live…In. A. Homeless. Shelter.”
He enunciated every single syllable.
I looked away, because it
was the truth.
A truth that I hated.
But the God’s honest truth
nonetheless.
Tears welled in my eyes and
I battled to keep them at bay.
My life was hard, but him
being there made it infinitely harder. If I could just escape that room, I
could disappear again. It wasn’t ideal, but neither was him showing up.
“I want you to leave.” I lied with all the
false courage I could muster.
“I can’t do that. You stole
something of mine.”
“Look, I don’t have your
book anymore.”
A knowing smirk lifted one
side of his mouth. “Liar,” he whispered, reaching into the chair beside him,
revealing the tattered book and ceremoniously dropping it on the table.
My eyes went wide, and
without a conscious thought, I dove across the table after it.
That was
mine.
Not even he could have it.
Just as quickly as the book
appeared, he snatched it away and grabbed my wrist.
I slid off the table and
tried to pull my arm from his grasp. It was a worthless attempt though because
even if he had suddenly released me, his blue eyes held me frozen in place.
“Three fucking years,” he
seethed.
“I had to,” I squeaked out
as the tears streamed down my cheeks.
“Three. Fucking. Years,
Ash. You took something that belonged to me.” He released my arm and pushed to his
feet.
My mouth fell open and a
loud gasp escaped as he took two impossible
steps forward.
Pinning me against the wall
with his hard body, he lifted a hand to my throat and glided it up until his
thumb stroked over my bottom lip. Using my chin, he turned my head, and dragged
his nose up my neck, stopping at my ear.
Sucking in a deep breath,
he released it on a gravelly demand. “And I want her back.”
My breath hitched.
I’d waited years to hear
those words.
If only I could have
trusted them.
“Flint, please.”
About the Author:
Aly Martinez
Born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, Aly Martinez is a
stay-at-home mom to four crazy kids under the age of five, including a set of
twins. Currently living in South Carolina, she passes what little free time she
has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a
glass of wine at her side.
After some encouragement from her friends, Aly decided to
add “Author” to her ever-growing list of job titles. Five books later, she
shows no signs of slowing. So grab a glass of Chardonnay, or a bottle if you’re
hanging out with Aly, and join her aboard the crazy train she calls life.
THANK
YOU!
