“This thriller – perfect for a Halloween night – will deliver the desired chill down the spine–complete with ghosts, scary characters, dark stormy nights, and tricks and treats.”
–Amazon Review
They say still waters run deep.
In the tiny lakeside town of Midnight Cove, still waters harbor dark secrets.
Writer Bree Blaylock just wants a chance to catch her breath. Having finally escaped an abusive relationship, she’s relieved to have found a quiet place to finish writing her new book.
From the moment she arrives, she realizes that she’s not alone in her rented cottage on the lake. But she’s okay with that. In her experience, the living are always more dangerous than the dead.
Meeting handsome local lawman Jake Hanson wasn’t even remotely on her radar. Now that she has, maybe it’s time to take another chance on love.
But can he keep her safe when the past comes calling?
If you love your romance with a little spooky, you’ll love MIDNIGHT COVE!
Read this brand-new teaser.
In the cab of Meyer’s truck, Bree pressed herself as far from him as possible, searching for an opportunity to escape. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched him drive, his eyes straight ahead, his lips pressed together in a slight curve of a smile.
When he slowed at a turn, she grabbed the door handle and threw her weight against the door. It didn’t budge.
Meyer slid his eyes her way. “You can’t get out until I let you out. Which I’ll do when we get home, darling. There are going to be some changes around here.”
“Why are you doing this?” Bree asked.
“Doing what?” He sounded genuinely perplexed.
“Why did you try to kill Jake? What do you want with me?”
He shook his head. “First of all, if I’d wanted to kill Hanson, he’d be dead. And tell the truth, I didn’t count on having to deal with him. I mean, he’s on duty. He shouldn’t have been a factor. I just had to get you away from him. I had to make you see.”
“Make me see what?”
“Make you see that you belong with me. Can’t you see that?”
Bree gaped at him. “Belong together? Romantically? You can’t be serious.”
He stomped the brake and Bree had to put out her hands to stop from hitting the dashboard. His eyes flashed with anger. “You rented my house out of season. You offered me tea, for fuck’s sake! You mean to tell me you weren’t sending me all kinds of signals?”
Eyes wide, Bree shook her head. “No, I was not sending you signals. I rented your house because I needed a place to stay. I offered you tea because I was making some for myself, and I was raised with manners. In no way did I ever intend to give you the idea that I was interested in anything beyond renting your house.”
Meyer shook his head, his glare replaced with an eerie calm. “That’s the beauty of it, how we know it’s meant to be.”
He resumed driving down the road toward the lake house.
Frantically, Bree tried to think of a way to get away from him. He’d have to let her out of the truck at the house. If she could somehow knock him down, she could take off running along the shore of the lake. It would eventually lead to town, but she wondered how much running she could do in the long skirt.
Her thoughts were cut short when he pulled up at the empty house next door.
“Honey, we’re home,” he sang, laughing. “I’ll get your door.”
Bree’s heart pounded as she watched him walk around the front of the truck to open her door. She slid out of the truck, and as he turned to close the door, she leaned down to lower her center of gravity and launched herself at him with all her might, catching him in the chest with her shoulder. It felt solid, like she’d hit a brick wall.
Grabbing her upper arm again, he squeezed tightly as he backhanded her across the mouth. “Do not do that again,” he growled.
After the shock of the blow wore off, Bree tasted the metallic tang of blood as she allowed Meyer to drag her down the slope toward the lake. They approached the house from the back, and Bree saw that the lights she’d left on in the den were now off.
He led her up the back steps to the deck, where he opened the back door without having to unlock it. “I was here earlier,” he grinned.
The downstairs was dimly illuminated by the fire in the fireplace and a few candles placed around the room. The place was deadly silent.
A fresh round of panic flooded Bree. “Where’s my dog?” she demanded.
“The mutt’s fine. For now. A family needs a dog. I gave him a little sleepy medicine.” He jerked her arm. “But that can change.” Closing the door behind them, he propelled her to the kitchen. “Make me some tea.”
“What?”
“Some tea. I want some. It’s going to be one of the things I expect around here.”
Bree frowned. “One of the things you expect?”
“Damn it, are you dense? Wives do things for their husbands. It’s how it works.” He flapped his arm in a frustrated gesture.
Bree gaped at him in disbelief.
“And another thing.” He nodded toward her laptop on the desk by the window. “That will have to go. Won’t be any time for that.” He shook his head piteously. “You’re on that damn thing every time I turn around. No, you’ll be busy taking care of me and our home.”
The more he talked, the more incredulous Bree became. She thought of the things he’d said to Christie. He’s replaced her with me, she realized.
Breathing deeply against the panic that threatened to rise and swallow her whole, Bree took the kettle from the stove and filled it with water, hoping to stall long enough to come up with a plan. When she glanced back at Meyer, he’d taken a seat at the kitchen table and was watching her with an oddly pleased expression.
“See? This is nice. We’ll spend our evenings here drinking tea while I tell you about my day at the hardware store.”
“I thought you live over the store,” Bree commented as she set the kettle over the flame.
“Not anymore. That apartment isn’t fit for a family. We’ll raise our children here.”
Bree’s mouth was in gear before she could stop herself. “Our children? How old are you?”
At the kitchen table, he pulled himself straighter. “I’m sixty-three. But I’ve kept myself fit. I can father children.”
She shook her head incredulously. “But I don’t love you. A relationship, a marriage, has to be based on love. Besides, I’m in love with someone else.”
Meyer rolled his eyes. “Yeah, Officer Loverboy, who’s currently taking a nap on the floor of the police station. I’ve watched you fuck him upstairs in our bed.”
Bree’s mouth fell open. “You’ve…what?”
He gestured with his thumb. “I’ve got cameras all over the house. I’ve watched you. It’s how I know that you’re meant to be mine. And, just so you know, I forgive you. But it stops now.”
She felt her blood run cold as she tried to absorb what he said.
“So,” he went on cheerily, “the first order of business is that you let Hanson know it’s over between the two of you. You’ve found your soul mate.”
“No, absolutely not.” She crossed her arms across her chest adamantly. “I’m not going to indulge this fantasy any longer. You and I do not belong together. You’ve built up some crazy fantasy in your head, and it’s never going to happen.”
He launched himself from the table with surprising speed, pinning her against the kitchen cupboards and gripping her by the neck. His face was mere inches from hers. “Do not call me crazy,” he growled. His breath was hot against her face.
Blindly, Bree flailed her hands behind herself, trying to find anything to use to defend herself with. Her hand landed on a mug on the counter, and she grabbed it, swinging up her hand and clocking him in the side of the head.
Meyer let go, roaring in a mixture of pain and anger as Bree dropped to her hands and knees and crawled toward the back door. Still on her knees, she reached up and opened the door. Suddenly, she felt herself being jerked backward by her hair.
“We could have done this the easy way, but no,” Meyer muttered as he dragged her backward across the floor. Holding her by the hair with one hand, he used the other to open the basement door, then he dragged her down the steps. At the foot of the stairs, he released his grip, and Bree lay on her back, struggling to catch her breath.
“Now we have the hard way. Get up!”
MIDNIGHT COVE by Pandora Spocks
Pandora Spocks 