Following a tragic incident in L.A., detective Kacey Dean has returned to her hometown of Pleasant Hills, Washington, just in time to be swept up in a series of murders called the Chosen Killings-- citizens of Pleasant Hills are killing people seemingly at random, saying the words "I am chosen" before committing the murder. Kacey Dean has killed the man she thought was responsible, but she's about to find out that the Chosen Killings are far beyond her, or anyone's, understanding. Author: Micky Neilson Publisher: EasyReading
Click- click!
��Do you ever have nightmares about the Chosen killer? About that night?�� Doctor Faulkner clicked his pen again, looking over the top of his notepad at Kacey, who barely registered the question; her attention was directed at the small window nearby and the steady rainfall just outside.
��Detective Dean?��
��Yeah?�� she said, forcing her eyes back to the older man with the thin gray hair plastered to his pale skull; his glassy, bulging eyes gazing back expectantly.
Click-click!
I really, really want to shove that pen up his ass.
��I mean, ��no.�� No I do not have nightmares about Declan,�� she lied. ��Or about the night I shot him.��
Images flashed through her mind: of that night six weeks ago, of the old asylum, of Declan Crowe silhouetted against the window frame and the night sky, a gun in one hand and in the other��
What? What was it? What had she seen? Why couldn��t she remember?
��Did you attend the funeral?�� Faulkner asked, rousing her from her reverie.
��No, I thought that would be in poor taste.��
��You have an impressive record, detective. First in your class at the LAPD Police Academy, near-perfect scores on your exam and you made detective by age twenty five.��
Kacey raised her eyebrows. Where was the old coot going with this?
��And you left it all to come here,�� he continued. ��Do you want to talk about what happened in L.A.?��
��Actually I��d like to do that, but the opposite. I��d like to not talk about that. Ever.��
Click- click!
��Okay. Okay then���� Faulkner wrote something on the pad. Probably something like ��Patient continues to be a royal pain in my ass.�� Kacey��s eyes wandered the small office: certificates, diplomas, a bookshelf, lots of potted plants, soothing colors�� and between the two of them, a small glass-top coffee table. Everything situated just so; a carefully constructed scene to make patients feel comfortable�� which, for whatever reason, had the effect of making her feel particularly uncomfortable.
��So why transfer to Washington State?�� Faulkner asked.
Shifting in her oversized seat (whatever happened to shrinks using couches?) Kacey deadpanned: ��I came here for the sunshine.��
Faulkner smiled. ��Ha ha! Yes! The sunshine���� He let out an exaggerated ��ahhh���� then: ��Don��t you have family here?��
��Yeah, a brother. I grew up here.��
��I see. And how do you and your brother get along?��
��Famously.�� That was a lie. Her brother had avoided her ever since she arrived. The two of them had never gotten along very well, and after the death of their parents, after she had left��
��So you come here, to ��sunny�� Pleasant Hills, back to your roots�� and not six months later you have to deal with this�� Chosen situation.��
Yeah, and what a situation that was: Declan Crowe, a well-respected businessman�� a pillar of the community, some might say; and somehow it turns out he was able to convince seemingly random individuals to commit murder, each act beginning with the attacker speaking the words ��I am chosen.��
The press ate it up.
��I had the opportunity to speak to Amanda Bingham at Bellingham Hospital,�� Faulkner continued. ��It was a one-sided conversation, as she suffers from a complete and irreversible dissociative fugue following the incident����
��Incident,�� that��s cute. Amanda Bingham walked into the Freddie Jones real estate office on Pine Street with a pair of long-handled pruners, strode right past the receptionist to where Duncan Styles sat at his desk; she said ��I am chosen,�� opened the pruners, shoved them against Duncan��s throat, and sliced through his windpipe with one clean snip.
��The stupor which followed is the same in every case, I��m told,�� Faulkner continued. ��Fascinating.��
��If by ��fascinating�� you mean ��terrifying,�� then yeah.�� After each killing, the murderers became completely unresponsive. Basically vegetables.
Kacey checked the time on her phone. Almost free, thank God.
Faulkner turned over his notepad and leveled a somber glare on Kacey. ��I have to ask, Detective Dean: have you experienced any feelings of depression? Have you contemplated any acts of self-harm?��
Kacey smiled. ��Only in the last hour.��
Click- click!
��You��re quite skillful at deflecting. Please understand that I��m only doing my job. You fired your weapon in the line of duty; a man is dead. I��m here to help you, and to assess your mental fitness, so to speak. To gauge your readiness to go back on the job.��
Glancing once more at the phone, Kacey lit up. ��And we��re done! Passed with flying colors, I��m sure.��
Faulkner set his notepad on the coffee table. ��Not just yet. I should like to see you once more, at least. With any luck, I hope to earn a bit of your trust.�� Faulkner stood and grinned. Kacey allowed him a half smile as she headed for the door.
Click-click!
��Oh, one last thing,�� Faulkner spoke from behind her.
She looked over her shoulder. The old man��s features had gone slack. His bug eyes stared vacantly. Kacey��s heart leapt into her throat as she turned to face him. Something was very, very wrong about the old man; about his vapid stare and about the way he was holding that pen.
��I am chosen,�� Faulkner said.
Samantha Cain grew up in foster care after the death of her parents. Now she's focused on her job as a police officer... until her life is uprooted by a brutal murder and a clue that points to secrets in her past, and a killer that is something beyond human. Author: Micky Neilson Publisher: EasyReading
"There will be no falling in love, we will only act as a loving couple when we are in public, we will share a room to make it believable, but no intimacy, touching is off-limits. We'll only have sex once a month, and that's solely to produce an heir. You won't interfere in my business, and I won't interfere in yours. You will be my wife in every sense and you will not be involved with any other man," he said, arrogance seeping from every word. I watch his mouth move, I'm not ready to fall in love with any man, especially not one as arrogant and egoistic as him. I can handle acting as a loving couple, and as for intimacy once a month. I can agree to that just to satisfy my sexual cravings with no strings attached. "Where can I sign?" I asked since I had nothing to lose. *** Nadine's wedding dreams turned to nightmares when she caught her sister and fiancé cheating! With a secret recording, she's ready for revenge. But then mysterious billionaire Logan West offers a deal: A Contract Marriage to take down her ex's empire. But what Nadine doesn't know is her life is getting complicated as she takes her chance to get revenge or risks everything for a chance at love?"
"Never let anyone treat you like shit!" I learned that the hard way. For three years, I lived with my in-laws. They didn't treat me as their son-in-law but as a slave. I put up with everything because of my wife, Yolanda Lambert. She was the light of my life. Unfortunately, my whole world came crashing down the day I caught my wife cheating on me. I have never been so heartbroken. To have my revenge, I revealed my true identity. I was none other than Liam Hoffman—the heir of a family with trillions of dollars in assets! The Lamberts were utterly shocked after the big reveal. They realized what fools they had been for treating me like trash. My wife even knelt down and begged for my forgiveness. What do you think I did? Did I take her back or made her suffer? Find out!
In her previous life, Kimberly endured the betrayal of her husband, the cruel machinations of an evil woman, and the endless tyranny of her in-laws. It culminated in the bankruptcy of her family, and ultimately, her death. After being reborn, she resolved to seek retribution against those who had wronged her, and ensure her family's prosperity. To her shock, the most unattainable man from her past suddenly set his sights on her. "You may have overlooked me before, but I shall capture your heart this time around."
In the previous life, Maggie Johnson was so cowardly, gullible and stupid that she was coaxed by her fiance and stepsister and then broke her legs and lost everything including her fortune, love and even life. However, she was so lucky that she was reborn in the year before everything happened. Since her life restarted, how could she repeat a previous tragedy? Therefore, in this life, she took the opportunity to improve herself and take revenge on the ones who had ever insulted her. Facing the people who had humiliated her previously, she became smart and experienced to break their frames and tricks that had caused her to hurt in the previous life. Finally, no one could stop her pace to amaze the world any more.
Lucia Balstone thought she had chosen the right man to spend the rest of her life with, but he was the one who ended her life. Their ten-year marriage seemed like a joke when her husband stabbed her with a dagger. Fortunately, God is never blind to people's tears. Lucia got a second chance. She was reborn at the age of 22, before all the terrible things had happened. This time, she was determined to avenge herself and let those who hurt her pay! She made an elaborate list of her goals, and the first thing on her list was to marry her ex-husband's enemy, Alonso Callen!
Darya spent three years loving Micah, worshipping the ground he walked on. Until his neglect and his family's abuse finally woke her up to the ugly truth-he doesn't love her. Never did, never will. To her, he is a hero, her knight in shining armour. To him, she is an opportunist, a gold digger who schemed her way into his life. Darya accepts the harsh reality, gathers the shattered pieces of her dignity, divorces him, takes back her real name, reclaims her title as the country's youngest billionaire heiress. Their paths cross again at a party. Micah watches his ex-wife sing like an angel, tear up the dance floor, then thwart a lecher with a roundhouse kick. He realises, belatedly, that she's exactly the kind of woman he'd want to marry, if only he had taken the trouble to get to know her. Micah acts promptly to win her back, but discovers she's now surrounded by eligible bachelors: high-powered CEO, genius biochemist, award-winning singer, reformed playboy. Worse, she makes it pretty clear that she's done with him. Micah gears up for an uphill battle. He must prove to her he's still worthy of her love before she falls for someone else. And time is running out.