Woot! Today’s the day! The Evil That Was Done is officially released, and you can grab your copy right here on Amazon.
This is the third book in the award-winning “Secrets of Redemption” series (if you haven’t read the first book, It Began With a Lie, I’d definitely encourage you to start there). It’s my first series ever, so I’m pretty excited.
Keep reading for an excerpt:
“So, if we’re done grilling JD, maybe we can move on to other topics of interest now,” Barry said. “Like Daniel.”
I spilled my wine.
“Oh, clean up on aisle ten,” Barry said, as JD handed me his coaster napkin to mop it up. “Maybe we need to get a refill.”
“I’m good, really,” I said. The last thing I needed was more wine. Or to talk about Daniel.
“It’s not a big deal. Daniel can bring it over when he comes over.” Barry started signaling with his hand.
Wait a minute. Daniel was here? He was supposed to be working. That’s why he canceled our date. Did he lie to me?
A part of me wanted to march over to wherever he was and give him a piece of my mind. I had asked him straight out if he really wanted to do this, to try dating. I had already told him I would understand if he thought it was going to be too complicated for him to date me and be a cop in this town.
He assured me he wanted to try.
I believed him.
And, here he was, standing me up again.
A small voice inside me immediately wanted to argue—fifteen years ago, Daniel didn’t actually stand me up. And, regardless, Daniel wasn’t standing me up right then, because he had called to cancel.
Yet it somehow still felt like I was sixteen again, standing alone in the woods, wondering where Daniel was … and feeling like a total fool.
Of course, I couldn’t say any of that in front of all our friends. Maybe I should just leave. That would kill two birds with one stone. Not only would I avoid seeing Daniel, but I could also get away from JD and his strange, intense energy.
Before I could figure out how exactly to sneak away, there was Daniel, doling out drinks—including another glass of wine for me. He was wearing a blue tee shirt that brought out the blue in his eyes. His blonde hair was getting a little long, curling around the back of his shirt.
Speaking of his eyes, they darted between me and JD, but he didn’t say a word. Not only that, but his face was completely unreadable—a professional mask. His cop face. He pulled a chair over and turned it around before he sat down, so he was straddling it backwards. He was careful not to look at me, but I could still feel the sparks dancing between us. I was having trouble breathing, something that happened often when I was near him.
“So, since you’re here, does that mean Ellen is safe and sound?” Mia asked.
He took a pull from his beer. “No, but there’s not much we can do right now.”
“What happened?” Daphne asked. On the surface, her voice sounded neutral, like she was simply inquiring about an acquaintance, but I could hear the confusion and worry swirling beneath the calm.
He shrugged. “No one seems to know. She didn’t show up at work today, which is unlike her. They had tried calling her home and her cell, but there was no answer, so they called her mother. Her mother was the one who came in to file a missing persons report, but since there’s no sign of foul play, there’s not a lot we can do right now.”
I felt a shiver run down my spine, like I had just been blasted by air conditioning.
“What about putting an alert out?” Mia asked.
“We can, but she hasn’t even been missing for a day. It’s not a crime for an adult to disappear. We’re in wait-and-see mode.”
“And, Ellen has been known to just take off without telling anyone,” Daphne said darkly, pressing her lips together so hard they turned white.
“Not to mention it’s pretty common here for people to leave quickly, making it seem like they’ve disappeared,” Mia said, after a quick glance at Daphne.
“Yeah, I had heard that,” JD said. “Something about how, if the town doesn’t like you, it makes sure you don’t stay?”
Celia rolled her eyes. “It’s all a bunch of nonsense.”
“It is NOT a bunch of nonsense,” Mia said. “Weird things DO happen here. And, they have for years. Over a hundred years.”
“Weird things happen in every town,” Celia said. “It’s no different here.”
“I don’t know, we sure seem to have more than our share of weirdness,” Daphne said.
Wanna keep reading? Grab your copy of The Evil That Was Done right here.
Intriguing excerpt, Michele. Well done!