Book #1 of the
Bestselling Consequences series:
From New York Times
and USA Today bestselling author Aleatha Romig comes a suspenseful thriller
about secrets and deception, passion and love, choices and consequences.
Every action has
consequences.
Waking in an
unfamiliar bedroom in a luxurious mansion, Claire Nichols is terrified to
discover that a chance encounter led her into the cruel hands of her abductor,
Anthony Rawlings. Claire has no understanding of why she’s there, but it’s been
made abundantly clear—she is now his acquisition and every action has
consequences.
Learn the rules to
survive.
Facing
incomprehensible circumstances, Claire must learn to survive her new
reality—every aspect of her livelihood depends upon the tall, dark-eyed tycoon
who is a true master of deception. Driven by unknown demons, he has no
tolerance for imperfection, in any aspect of his life, including his recent
acquisition. Anthony may appear to the world as a handsome, benevolent
businessman, but in reality Claire knows firsthand that he’s a menacing,
controlling captor with very strict rules: do as you’re told, public failure is
not an option, and appearances are of the utmost importance.
Captivate the
captor.
To fit together the
pieces of the puzzle, Claire must follow his rules. Will her plan work, or will
Anthony become enthralled by Claire’s beauty, resilience, and determination,
changing the game forever? If that happens, will either of them survive the
consequences?
Nobody ever did or
ever will escape the consequences of his choices.—Alfred A. Montaper
The stark contrast in volume left Claire’s ears ringing as
the limousine pulled away from the curb. Her mind swirled with thoughts, the
evening was wonderful: music, champagne, people, theater, everything. They were
riding for a few minutes when she realized Anthony hadn’t spoken since they
entered the limousine. Her heart rate increased as she contemplated the
possibility he was upset. She told herself he couldn’t be. She did everything
everyone told her to do. She kept up appearances and let him do most of the
talking. She felt his eyes upon her, but was afraid to turn and face them. The
ringing in her ears turned to silence—completely devoid of sound—silence. She
adjusted her new mask and turned. “That was a magnificent evening, thank you
again.”
“Do you really think so?”
She wondered if he was asking about the symphony or her. “I
do. The music was performed beautifully, and you were right about the
conductor.” Her pulse quickened, unable to take the suspense any longer, she
asked, “Did I do all right?”
“What do you think?”
She contemplated her answer. “I think I did well. I listened
to Catherine, and to you, and did well.” She hoped her voice didn’t expose her
insecurity.
Anthony didn’t respond but reached into his briefcase. Claire
assumed the conversation was now over, and he planned to resume work. She
decided if the conversation was over and he didn’t say she failed, she must
have succeeded. She exhaled.
Suddenly, he turned to her and extended a square black velvet
box. “I believe you did well.” She liked the tone of his voice, it sounded like
the man at the theater. “I told you every action has a consequence. That can be
negative, as we’ve seen, or positive. I believe that tonight, you earned a
positive consequence.”
“Anthony, I don’t need a gift. I wanted to make you proud. If
I did that, then I’m happy and that’s enough.”
“It is a gift, or at least I believe it was; however, it’s
not new.” Anthony still held the box before Claire. With the running lights
illuminating the cabin she could see his smile: genuine, not cruel or sadistic.
“Will it always be this difficult to get you to open gifts?”
She took the box. “You have my curiosity piqued. What are you
giving me that’s old?”
She opened the velvet hinged box. The lump in her throat made
her choke, unable to speak. The dainty white gold chain with a pearl on a white
gold cross hung on the satin. The surprise overwhelmed her. She only saw the
necklace for a millisecond before her eyes filled with tears. She looked at
Anthony again, tears trickling down her cheeks. “How did you? Where did you get
this? It was my grandmother’s.”
“It was in your apartment in Atlanta when it was cleaned out.
I thought you might want to have it. Do you?”
Claire listened to his words. Her apartment had been cleaned
out. Where were the rest of her things? She needed to compartmentalize. Right
now, she concentrated on her grandmother’s necklace. “Oh, yes, I do!”
He asked if he could help her put it on. She nodded, yes. A
verbal answer wasn’t required. Next, he took the box out of her hand and
started to remove the satin board. Claire observed his tenderness as he held
the fine chain and delicate clasp. She turned away and he draped the necklace
around her neck. Taking the compact out of her purse, she watched as the pearl
moved up and down to the beat of her heart.
“Anthony, there isn’t a necklace you could have bought that
would mean more to me than this.” Her tears dried, yet her emerald-green eyes sparkled.
“People who know me well, and they are numbered, call me
Tony. You may call me Tony.”
“Thank you, Tony. This has been an amazing night. How can I
ever thank you?”
Tony turned off the riding lights in the cabin. Home was
still over a half hour away and the window between them and Eric was closed.
His smile morphed into a devilish grin. “I have a few ideas.”
Aleatha Romig is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling
author who lives in Indiana. She grew up in Mishawaka, graduated from Indiana
University, and is currently living south of Indianapolis. Together with her
high-school sweetheart and husband of twenty-eight years, they've raised three
children. Before she became a full-time author, she worked days as a dental
hygienist and spent her nights writing. Now, when she's not imagining
mind-blowing twists and turns, she likes to spend her time with her family and
friends. Her pastimes include reading and creating heroes/anti-heroes who haunt
your dreams!
No comments:
Post a Comment