The
visit had been all too brief, abrupt even, but Karina Silva squeezed
her brown eyes shut and hugged the pillow against her curled-up, naked
body. She took in a slow breath and caught a waft of black orchid and
amber, tantalizing scents from the perfume she’d recently given to the
one and only person who’d captured her heart—wholly, completely.
This evening was supposed to have been special.
She
shuffled her feet under the thousand-count, white, cotton sheets, which
soothed her feeling of loneliness. Clutching the down pillow against
her chest, the thirty-something editor of the Times Herald turned
over and took notice of the elaborate burgundy-and-gold pattern on the
paneled drapes, fashionably clinging to the plush carpet.
The
soft, green glow of the clock radio illuminated the room inside the
swankiest boutique hotel in the ’burbs—albeit a full county away from
her home base. But it had to be that way, considering she had succumbed
to an unavoidable attraction that had clawed at her moral compass ever
since she gazed across the green lawn at her husband’s
client-appreciation party and locked eyes with her future soul mate. It
was a moment she would never forget. A rush of emotion had engulfed her
body, as a realization set in as to who she really was. The true Karina.
A
smattering of distant car horns could be heard six floors below, but
Karina glared off to the darkened corner of the room, recalling the
sparkle of her lover’s blue eyes and the resulting flutter of her own
heart. Karina had peered into those eyes and had found more feeling,
more depth, more of a bond than she’d ever thought possible with another
human being.
Her
friend, her lover of the last three months, had arrived at the hotel
two hours prior, and after a single embrace and two warm kisses, it
ended before it really began. A familiar jingle had interrupted their
intimate moment, noting the arrival of a new text on her lover’s phone.
Karina never saw the words, but the response told her their rendezvous
was over. Rigid movement, an instant detached demeanor, and a quick
explanation about an emergency at work, followed by the sound of the
door clicking shut, had left Karina alone in a king-sized sleigh bed.
A feeling of emptiness crept back into her conscience, a tiny seed of doubt sprouting inside her gut. Could this life-altering affair be nothing more than a one-sided mirage? She
couldn’t keep her journalistic instincts from attempting to connect
dots. She recalled every possible aversion of her lover’s eyes, each
word of affirmation that may not have been as sincere and heartfelt as
the previous.
And now this.
Behind
the façade of every corporate takeover executives pull levers this way
and that, squeezing the last profitable nickel out of the deal. But no
one knows the true intent of every so-called merger.
No one knows the secret bonds that exist.
An Indian technology giant swallows up another private company that has deep roots in North Texas. For one unassuming man the thought of layoffs, of losing his own job to a bunch of arrogant assholes feels like a kick to the jewels.
Until the day Michael’s life changes forever.
Perverse alliances. An affair of the heart. A grisly murder. A spiraling string of events thrusts Michael into a life-or-death fight to save a tortured soul and hunt down a brutal killer…one who lurks closer than he ever imagined.
Greed knows no boundaries.
No one knows the secret bonds that exist.
An Indian technology giant swallows up another private company that has deep roots in North Texas. For one unassuming man the thought of layoffs, of losing his own job to a bunch of arrogant assholes feels like a kick to the jewels.
Until the day Michael’s life changes forever.
Perverse alliances. An affair of the heart. A grisly murder. A spiraling string of events thrusts Michael into a life-or-death fight to save a tortured soul and hunt down a brutal killer…one who lurks closer than he ever imagined.
Greed knows no boundaries.
Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre – Suspense, Thriller
Rating – R
More details about the author
Website http://www.johnwmefford.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment