Read Eluding Nirvana (The Dark Evoke Series Book 2) Online
Authors: V.L. Brock
“I didn’t attack, Liam,” her voice was a small, unconvincing whisper.
Sighing, I braced my brow against hers again. “Do you trust me, darlin’?”
“Yes.”
“With trust, comes belief. You didn’t cut him. Say it, Kady, please––” I couldn’t hold myself any longer. My voice was already splintering and the chaos outside had seemed to die down. This needed to be done quickly before that damn orderly returned. “Just say it, say: I didn’t attack him.”
“I didn’t attack him.” There’s my girl, I couldn’t stop the relieved twitch of my lips. I told her to say it again and again, and with each time I could feel a little more belief in her voice.
Telling her not to take any pills, and to just say yes and no in the right places with the shrinks, she agreed with a nod of her head. “One more thing,”––I glided my thumbs over the arch of her cheekbones as I took a breath––“Cling onto this conversation. Hold on with everything you have, keep replaying it and keep remembering these words. Don’t lose yourself, Kady. I couldn’t bear it.” In that moment, all I could imagine was losing her. To not have the chance to look into her eyes, breathe her scent, hear her voice. I would have gladly slipped a knife into my gut and twisted that sucker at the mere thought of having to live that nightmare.
Rolling my eyes, I knew I had to get out of there. I was Kady’s rock––her support. I couldn’t let her see me like that.
A gust of air as the door opened traveled through the room as the rather flustered orderly came back. “Is everything okay in here?”
Glancing up, I nodded, “Yeah,” before dropping my head back to Kady. “I gotta go. Keep remembering,” I muttered abruptly, pushing past that lump in my throat as I pushed myself from the seat. When I took a brief moment to press a kiss against her forehead, I felt the creases of my brow deepen. And as I made a hasty retreat past the member of staff, the hate for Liam in putting her in there in the first place, ignited my blood. But it was the hate directed toward myself because I had to leave her there, that slaughtered me.
The steering wheel of my truck was what saw the brunt end of my frustration. Once I allowed the threatening tears to finally see freedom, I breathed my private apology to Kady, then sucked in a breath and reached for my phone. Dragging up Laurie’s number, I hit call.
After a few rings, I was greeted with, “How is she?”
“An absolute fucking mess, she’s been fucking brainwashed. It was like watching those monkeys forced to watch war and conflict on the fucking television over and over again.”
“Fucking Hell, I had no idea she was going to be that bad. So what do we do?”
I tossed my head against the headrest. Opening my mouth, I was quickly interrupted, “We can’t confront Liam about this, Walker. It’ll put her in more danger.”
“She’s already in fucking danger, Laurie!” I yelled, as an enraged sob found its escape. “God, I said I would help her. I was supposed to protect her. How could we not have seen this at the beginning? How––”
“Walker, stop! Calm down, breathe. Searching for ideas when you’re in a state isn’t going to happen.”
I said my silent thanks to the heavens that Laurie knew how to calm me the fuck down, and then took her advice. With my eyes shut, and without a sound, I counted to ten and concentrated on my breathing. One thing I knew for certain: Liam and Liv were up to no good. I remembered back to the night at Hamersley’s a few weeks back. Their hushed conversations, eye and physical contact, the way he left with her with that shrewd grin plastered all over his sickening face. That is something that can’t be hidden from another man. It’s rooted into us, we know how we work.
I could only hope that my crazy arsed idea would work, too
.
“Laurie, I think I have an idea.”
~
The Dark Evoke Series, (#3) Sneak Peek
~
A rumbling, “hmmm,” coming from in front of me pulled me from slumber. Fluttering my eye lids, the sun charred through the window, creating a thick beam in the halfway point of the room and over the bed. Walker was sound asleep, his thick, black lashes fanned out over the arch of his cheekbone, his full, pale lips more tempting than an apple in Eden.
The rumbling noise which pulled me back to reality was released again, alongside a momentary furrow of his brow. He looked adorable. The snowy white sheet pooled around his hips, showcasing the band of his gray slacks, while his upper body remained visible. I smiled as I remembered the way we coiled around one another and spent hours simply kissing. Some people wouldn’t understand how heady that is, participating in something so intimate, so intense, yet not lead into sex or masturbation. It shows constraint, it takes you on a journey like no other; it holds you steady at that peak of bliss and never wanes.
It was phenomenal.
With his right hand snug under the pillow, his left settled on my hip, I observed the destructive scarring on his left pectoral. The lump of sympathy clogging my throat was swallowed harshly as I cautiously shifted and brought my right hand up to it.
Last night, with the combination of impassioned kisses, he allowed me to feel him. My fingers slipped over each jutting gash, each round blemish. Still, as soon as I made my way to hover over his
heart, my intention was halted.
This was the one which held his most anguish.
With the tip of my middle finger, I kept vigil, and with extra care not to wake him, I softly traced around the edging of withered, pale flesh. His chest rose and dipped with each steady breath, and as I began to take the journey into the midpoint of the mutilation, the flesh feeling somewhat like leather against my fingertip, Walker stirred. His lashes left the arch of his cheek as they fluttered open.
“Morning,” I smiled, discreetly lowering my inspecting hand.
“Mornin’ indeed, darlin’.”
I giggled and bit m
y lip while he rubbed his eyes.
“What’s so funny?”
“I never thought that your voice could sound any sexier, boy was I was wrong? Sleepy Walker’s voice is something else entirely.”
Shifting his body closer, he seized behind my right knee and hooked it over his hip. “I’m glad I could please you. How long have you been eyeing me for?”
I rolled my eyes and added an additional serving of over dramatics to my voice. “Oh, I don’t know…too long.”
Tiny, stirring circles were being traced on my thigh when his lips covered mine. I didn’t care about morning breath, all I cared about was that afte
r so long, we were finally here, the point we secretly longed to be at. It was almost surreal. When we pulled away, I licked my lips and rolled my head over the pillow. Peeking up at the ceiling, I muttered, “You never did tell me about the mirror.”
“Not today, darlin’.” The circular motions on my thigh came to an abrupt end when I redirected my attention back to him. His sleepy features turned hard and angry in a blink of an eye. “You’re starting to bruise,” he whispered almost apologetically, while I winced as his hand lifted to brush across my wounded cheekbone.
A snort of absurdity left me as I shook my head.
“What is it, darlin’?”
Looking him in the eyes was an impossible task while being besieged by embarrassment. Instead, I focused on his Adam’s apple and took a deep breath. “I can’t believe how much I let him get away with. I can’t believe how much I changed in my outlook and how much I justified what was happening.” When an encouraging hand cradled my face, his thumb settled peacefully at the hollow behind my ear, I peeked up and wistfully continued, “How sickening is it that my instinctive thought just then was, ‘I’m used to it’?”
Words were halted as he breathed my name with a combination of hurt and anger hardening his ocean eyes into ice. “I’m going
to fucking kill him for this.”
The scary part was
, I felt the determination behind his words. I didn’t for one moment think he wouldn’t do it. Over the time we had spent together, Walker had proved to me on more than one occasion that he would do anything to insure I was safe, to ensure my wellbeing was maintained.
The secret part of me was terrified because I knew that getting away from Liam wasn’t going to be as easy as any other breakup. Liam DeLaney had connections, he had money, and what’s more, he had the determination and the sick, twisted views and judgments that I knew he would put into play, just to get me back. But I
kept that knowledge to myself.
That was another attribute I was used to: secret knowledge.
“Don’t, it’s not worth it.”
“Don’t go back,” he said while his fingers combed through my hair.
I scowled. My voice barely a whisper as one word fell from my lips. “Never.”
He smiled and that sexy as fuck dimple stopped by to say ‘good morning’. “Well then, today, darlin’ is your first day of freedom.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I wasn’t entirely sure of that statement. So I merely filled my lungs and plastered a smile on.
That was another thing I was good at.
Raised in a creative family, witnessing one another expressing themselves through
creativity, albeit musically or through a form of literature, it was only a matter of time before my passion for devising characters and their unique stories in their own world, began to form and grow. From there the seed was sown and flourished into a young girls dream.
Throughout the years I have often toyed with the idea of pursuing this path, yet unkn
owing where to begin. There are so many routes in this day and age to help get from A to B, that the dream was both tangible and terrifying. So with that, and after a few months of kicking myself into gear thanks to a certain someone, I decided to self-publish, and that decision was most probably one of the best decisions I have ever made.
I am a mother of a 6 year old son who knows how to keep me on my toes, and marr
ied my high school sweetheart 6 years ago. I can’t express how supportive and understanding both have been while pursuing this journey. If I’m not writing I’m constantly thinking about writing and can be found either chasing my son around, with my nose in book or being creative in the kitchen.
In writing this series, it was my intent to not only evoke the same feelings in the reader which they would experience while watching a friend or a loved one in the same situation as Kady, but to also give an insight as to how the victim of domestic vi
olence perceives the situation from the insiders perspective, and why is isn’t easy to just leave.
One thing I ask of you when writing a review is to please be sensitive with how you approach the topic of domestic violence. Thousands of people live this way, with hundreds unaware that they are in fact in an abusive relationship. Abuse isn’t just physical. And while I am aware that this story will most probably be a topic of controversy, and may have had you, as the reader, frustrated, I hope that I was able to portray and demonstrate the sensitive matters in which the mistreated party
is subjected to. Furthermore, I hope that it brings a deeper understanding as to why getting out of the situation isn’t as easy as saying the words, ‘Just leave him/her’.
There is a saying which I have carried with me since writing this series: ‘Place a frog in boiling water, it will jump out. Place it in simmering water and it will sit there and boil.’
To both women and men of domestic violence. It can get better. You hold the power.
I read every comment, every review, message and email that I receive, so please feel free to connect with me.
I have thoroughly enjoyed experimenting with my writing style, and demonstrating the different foundations which relationships are built upon. Each page and each chapter I write, I am learning more, not only about my characters, but about myself. As long as I maintain this journey, perception, astuteness and knowledge will never cease.
I love to hear your comments about any of my works. Please feel free to connect with me on Facebook:
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On Twitter:
https://www.twitter.com/v_lou_brock
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https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7520973.V_L_Brock
Or drop me a line at:
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These stories contain mature themes, strong language, and sexual situations. They are intended for readers 18+
~ Silver Lining (Silver series book one) ~
Amber Merchant had it all. Living with and engaged to her teenage sweetheart, a nice house and the job of her dreams. Not anymore!
Following a devastating revelation from her Fiancé, Amber finds herself single once again and moving on. To protect herself she vows to stay away from men and guard her wounded heart.
During an evening out to celebrate her newly single life, a chance encounter with a tall, dark and handsome stranger leaves Amber’s head reeling. Intrigued by her draw to him but scared for her heart she flees.
Craig Silver, twenty nine year old CEO, is the last person Amber needs in her life. Battling his own demons, Craig is content on a life of meaningless affairs, one night stands and no commitments.
At first it seems their attrac
tion is mutual… until she runs.
When fate intervenes and their paths cross again, Craig refuses to take no for an answer. Encouraging Amber to take a chance on a single date he sets them on a path of l
ove, lust, truth and deception.
~
Silver Dove (Silver series book two) ~
Full of romance, intrigue, emotion and passion, Silver Dove is the concluding part to Craig and Amber’s story that began in Silver Lining.
After the chaos of their early relationship and with their history of broken pasts behind them, Craig and Amber prepare to say ‘I Do’ on their Happily Ever After.
Life rarely runs to plan though.
Amber has fought long and hard to bury her fears and become a stronger person, but when old feelings resurface and tragedy strikes, it takes an intervention from Craig to prove her doubts are unfounded and to believe in love and hope.
Just when they think they are at a point where they can be happy and move forward together, the pair find themselves fighting obstacles and difficulties that will truly test the strength of their bond.
Can Amber gather the strength to fight against the forces trying to destroy her? Will Craig keep his promises of remaining truthful? As a couple are they tough enough to battle through these turbulent times and emerge stronger than ever?