Showing posts with label Carey Decevito. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carey Decevito. Show all posts
Night Shift by Carey Decevito
Title: Night Shift
Series: Nightshade #2
Author: Carey Decevito
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance/Suspense
Release Date: January 9, 2018
A serial killer…
A past that haunts no matter how much the distance…
Which one will strike first?
Eighteen deaths over eight years has left Shane Peters itching to find his mark. The death that started it all ensured his obsession with the murderer who had turned his life into a living hell, leaving him to raise a newborn daughter on his own.
Starting over wasn’t the easiest thing, but Emberlyn Roth had managed by shear grit and the skin of her teeth. It’s too bad one can’t outrun their past.
A protector of the wronged, Shane is torn between his duty as a detective for the Jacksonville PD and a quest to find himself some peace. Red tape binds his capabilities and moonlighting as an investigator for Nightshade Securities has him feeling stretched thin. Late nights on the streets and his sense of duty keeps him from being the father he wants to be. Throw onto his already rickety house of cards, an attraction to the mysterious Emberlyn, the lead he’s got on the murderer he’s been hunting for nearly a decade, and threats his woman is receiving by an unsavory character from her past, and he’s seriously tempted to take Dalton Kipper’s offer to join his team in a permanent basis.
Rules have a place, but when you’re faced with losing the one that means most to you, lines can become blurred. With the fate of his family’s future hanging in the balance, he’s ready to risk it all.
Emberlyn
It was happening again.
The gifts. The mementos. The notes.
I thought I’d been rid of those when I moved away from Orlando.
That’s when Trevor Sikes ceased to exist for me. Or what I would have liked to have had happen.
It petrified me that the man may have found me. Some of the gifts were like those he used to get for me—his sick way of apologizing after terrorizing me—and others were odd and not what I’d have thought Sikes would ever have thought to send. Those creeped me out the most.
When I moved to Jacksonville, I’d made sure that my restraining order encompassed a no contact clause. I had one for the state of Florida, and another for North Carolina. And I renewed both religiously.
The burning question in my mind, however, was why hadn’t my lawyer contacted me about him being let out? He shouldn’t have been allowed for parole for another six months.
“Unless he’s got someone doing it for him,” I thought aloud, sipping my cup of tepid coffee as I stared at the small white box I’d discovered on my front step, just moments ago. The thing sat haphazardly on the kitchen island’s edge.
Regardless, the whole thing was giving me the willies. What’s more was the fact that my home now felt uncomfortable.
I no longer felt safe.
Shane’s a cop.
Maybe I could mention what’s been going on to him, or maybe I could just get him to give me a few leads on a decent security company to install a system in my place. Either way, knowing that he was there—across the street—appeased my mind somewhat.
Setting my coffee down, I grabbed my latest eerie gift and made for the garage. I hadn’t even stored the large bin up on its original shelf after I’d added yesterday’s delivery in it. Lifting its lid, I dropped the tiny box in it, snapped the top back on, then hefted it back in its intended place. One I hoped to God and all things holy, that I’d never have to fetch again.
“Where were you?” I heard the little girl ask me when I walked into my little cottage.
I’d decided to work on invoices and tagging product I hadn’t yet packaged for the day, and hadn’t touched the production side. It just so happened, I had left a few boxes that were to be delivered tomorrow in my little craft den, when I stumbled upon the little girl.
I jumped, clutching at my chest. “Rosie, you scared me half to death!”
She had the contrite look down pat, pout included. “I’m sorry, but I was so excited that you said we’d make some lip gloss together that I couldn’t wait any longer.”
This had me smiling, despite my heart breaking. I felt for the little girl, having lost her mother, and never really having a relationship with her. She looked up to me. She genuinely enjoyed my company—and I did hers—so I really didn’t mind her regular interruptions. They broke up my day and served as a reminder that there was more to life than just work.
“You’re right.” I bit my lip. “Tell you what…How about we get together tomorrow? I never got around to picking up my supplies today, so I don’t have some of the ingredients to make it just yet.” The disappointment in her eyes cut me to the quick. “But tomorrow, I’ll have so much more that I’ll even show you how to make your very own lotion, how does that sound?”
I swear she beamed from head to toe. “Really? My very own lotion?”
I nodded, unable to keep my smile at bay. “Really. You’ll have to come up with a name for it too, because I’ve never made lotions for little girls before.”
“Can it be cotton candy like the gloss?”
I crouched down to where she was sitting and cupped her cheek. “I think that’s a wonderful idea. Maybe you can help me figure out other things little girls like and we can create an entire line.”
“For real?”
As soon as I nodded, she jumped up on a squeal and into my arms. The scent of her strawberry shampoo filled my nostrils, and I curled into her a bit more. She was such a precious character.
Pulling back, I noticed her school bag right next to where she’d been sitting. “Lana Rose,” Her nose scrunched up, it was comical. I remained serious however, “Why is your book bag with you?”
“Because I came here right after school,” she mumbled to her shoes.
“Does anyone know you’re here?”
She hesitated before shaking her head to indicate the negative. “Nuh-uh.”
“Rosie!” I scolded. “You can’t do that, honey. Your grams and daddy are going to be worried.”
Tears filled her eyes. “Am I in trouble?”
“Tell you what…” I grabbed her bag, throwing it over my shoulder, then grabbed her hand. “I’ll talk to your Grams and smooth things over. I’m sure she’ll understand that you were excited.” Pulling her toward the cottage’s door, taking the time to lock it too, I led us toward her home.
It wasn’t Grams that opened however, it was Shane.
A very pissed off Shane.
“Daddy!” Rosie seemed to completely miss the fact that her father was staring at me with daggers.
“Go inside, princess. I need to have a talk with Emberlyn,” he ground out.
Uh oh!
“But Daddy–”
“Not now.”
“It’s my fault,” she confessed. “I went to Ember’s so we could make lip gloss, but she doesn’t have the stuff, so I’ll go back tomorrow, and–”
“Slow down, baby girl.” He crouched down to her level. “Haven’t we talked about this? You’re supposed to come straight home from school, young lady.”
“But–”
“We’ll talk later, Rosie. Now go inside and help your Grams.”
“Yes, Daddy.” She pouted. Looking back at me, she smiled shyly. “I’m sorry I got us in trouble, Ember.”
“No harm done, honey.” I smiled for reassurance. “Thanks for visiting.”
When the little girl disappeared, Shane stepped out onto the front porch, his intimidating stance making me take a step back, and closed the door behind him.
“Listen–”
He lifted his hand to cut me off. “Thank you for bringing her back, but it doesn’t excuse the fact that she’s been with you for well on two hours.” He was furious, as he should be. I don’t know the first thing about being a parent, but I suspect that worry can sometimes bring out the worst in us. It seemed to be doing that to Shane.
“I-I didn’t know she was there,” I told him.
His eyes rounded in surprise. “What?” he hollered. “How does a grown-assed woman not know when a kid is around? Are you that self-absorbed that all you care about is your business?”
That got my back up in a hurry. So I made my advance. “Now wait a fucking minute, you jerk!” I poked him in the chest. “I work from home, and my business is based in that cottage out back, but it doesn’t mean I spend my days there every day. I was working from the house today; invoicing, if you must know.” I huffed. The gall of the man! “Why the hell am I telling you this anyway?”
“Ember–”
“She went straight to the cottage and waited there for me,” I told him. “I figured out that she’d come to see me, instead of going home first, because I noticed her book bag. If I hadn’t needed those boxes, she’d still be sitting there.”
“I–”
Emphasising my point with another poke, I added, “It’s because of me that she’s here right now, and that you’re not out there worried sick and still searching for her. So fuck you for insinuating that I had concocted some elaborate plan to kidnap or hold your daughter captive. I promise, next time she stops by, I’ll send her right back. You have my word on that.”
Without waiting for his reply, I turned on my heel and stormed off, crossed the street, and headed up my front steps. After unlocking the front door, I entered my home, slammed the fucking thing, and turned the deadbolt.
Fuck him! Fuck men! Fuck them all!
Born and raised in small town Northern Ontario, Canada, Carey Decevito has always had a penchant for reading and writing.
More than a decade later, with weeks of sleepless nights, where exhaustion settled into her everyday existence, she finally gave in and put pen to paper (more like fingers to keyboard!) She submitted to the dreams that plagued her. And the rest, as they say, is history!
A member of the RWA, Carey Decevito enjoys spending time with family and friends, the outdoors, travelling, and playing tourist in Canada's National Capital region. When life gets crazy, she seeks respite through her writing and reading. If all else fails, she knows there's never a dull moment with her two daughters, her goofy husband, and cat who she swears is out to get her.
Night Shift by Carey Decevito
Title: Night Shift (Night Shade 2)
Author: Carey Decevito
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance/ Romantic Suspense
Release Date: January 9, 2018
Cover Designer: Clarise Tan of CT Cover Creations
Hosted by: Buoni Amici Press, LLC.
A serial killer…
A past that haunts no matter how much the distance…
Which one will strike first?
Eighteen deaths over eight years has left Shane Peters itching to find his mark. The death that started it all ensured his obsession with the murderer who had turned his life into a living hell, leaving him to raise a newborn daughter on his own.
Starting over wasn’t the easiest thing, but Emberlyn Roth had managed by shear grit and the skin of her teeth. It’s too bad one can’t outrun their past.
A protector of the wronged, Shane is torn between his duty as a detective for the Jacksonville PD and a quest to find himself some peace. Red tape binds his capabilities and moonlighting as an investigator for Nightshade Securities has him feeling stretched thin. Late nights on the streets and his sense of duty keeps him from being the father he wants to be. Throw onto his already rickety house of cards, an attraction to the mysterious Emberlyn, the lead he’s got on the murderer he’s been hunting for nearly a decade, and threats his woman is receiving by an unsavory character from her past, and he’s seriously tempted to take Dalton Kipper’s offer to join his team in a permanent basis.
Rules have a place, but when you’re faced with losing the one that means most to you, lines can become blurred. With the fate of his family’s future hanging in the balance, he’s ready to risk it all.
Shane
I watched Emberlyn’s hips swing from side to side as she sauntered-stomped back to her house, thinking that not even Eva would have stood up to me like that. It brought a smile to my face; the first one of the day, as a matter of fact.
The reality that I would have to reiterate the house rules, and discipline my daughter, had me quickly filling with dread. Being a parent sucked ass when it came down to making sure your kid toed the line. I’d much have rather had a playdate at the park.
Turning to enter the house, I found Rosie curled up on Mom’s lap, sobbing into her chest. Mom gave me a sympathetic look, her eyes pleading me to go easy on her.
“Lana Rose, come here,” I demanded softly.
She shook her head, burrowing further into my mother. “Please don’t take her away. I don’t want to lose Ember. She’s my friend. She’s fun. Don’t make her go away, Daddy.”
My heart broke that she thought that of me. “Why would you think that, sweets?” Crouching down to her level, I lifted a hand to push back the strands of hair that had fallen from her ponytail.
“You’re the police,” she said simply, turning to look me in the eye with an incredulous expression. “You make the bad people go away. Ember wasn’t bad. I was. She doesn’t deserve it if you make her go away.”
I gave her a sad smile. “Baby girl, I’m not going to make Ember go away.” I paused to weigh my next words carefully. “But we are going to talk about the rules again, okay?” She nodded, settling her head on my mother’s shoulder. “What’s the first thing we do when we leave school?”
“Go straight home,” she said. “But, Daddy, I was just so–”
“I know you were excited, Rosie. I understand that, but I need you to understand that you have people who will worry that something bad happened, if you don’t do as you promised,” I explained.
She bit her bottom lip, stopping it from its quivering. “I promise I won’t do it again, Daddy.”
Leaning forward, kissing the side of her forehead, I whispered, “That’s good enough for me. Don’t scare me and your grams like that again, please.”
“I won’t.”
“Good.” I smiled, gifted with one in return from my girl. “Now go get cleaned up for dinner.”
“Okay.” She jumped off Mom’s lap and made her getaway. Pausing at the hallway entrance, she turned to me. “Daddy?”
“Hmm?”
She seemed to think about what to say, as if she wasn’t sure she should say it at all.
“What is it, Rosie? You can tell me anything.”
“You should maybe say you’re sorry to Ember.” With that, she was out of the room and out of earshot.
Mom spoke next. “She’s right. You were a little harsh on her, dear.”
I had been.
I guess I’ll have to rectify that and soon.
Once Rosie was in bed, and Mom was engrossed in one of her favorite programs, I snuck out of the house.
Brycen had sent me all the information he could gather on Emberlyn.
I’d spent the better part of the evening digesting what I’d read, wondering, what with her past, how she’d managed to stand up to me as she had. It didn’t take a genius to know that I was an imposing man, but with what she’d been through, I sure as hell wouldn’t have expected her to hold her own.
Suffice to say, I felt like a total asshole.
My knuckle met the wood of her front door, rapping on it three times.
I attempted it twice more before she opened.
“Listen, when someone doesn’t open after your first knock, and they’re home, it usually means that they don’t want to see you,” she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like for you to leave.”
“I’m sorry,” I blurted. “I overreacted, said a bunch of shit I didn’t mean. You didn’t deserve that.”
“I didn’t deserve a lot of things.” She huffed. “But it doesn’t mean I didn’t end up with it either. Apology accepted. Now get lost.”
She went to slam the door in my face, but I stuck a booted foot out to block its progress.
“Come to dinner tomorrow night.”
That got me a wide-eyed look. “Are you out of your mind?”
“Let me make it up to you,” I told her. “I know one little girl who’d love to know she hasn’t lost a friend because her dad reached a new level of asshole.” She seemed to ponder my words, so I pushed further. “Please?”
The reality that I would have to reiterate the house rules, and discipline my daughter, had me quickly filling with dread. Being a parent sucked ass when it came down to making sure your kid toed the line. I’d much have rather had a playdate at the park.
Turning to enter the house, I found Rosie curled up on Mom’s lap, sobbing into her chest. Mom gave me a sympathetic look, her eyes pleading me to go easy on her.
“Lana Rose, come here,” I demanded softly.
She shook her head, burrowing further into my mother. “Please don’t take her away. I don’t want to lose Ember. She’s my friend. She’s fun. Don’t make her go away, Daddy.”
My heart broke that she thought that of me. “Why would you think that, sweets?” Crouching down to her level, I lifted a hand to push back the strands of hair that had fallen from her ponytail.
“You’re the police,” she said simply, turning to look me in the eye with an incredulous expression. “You make the bad people go away. Ember wasn’t bad. I was. She doesn’t deserve it if you make her go away.”
I gave her a sad smile. “Baby girl, I’m not going to make Ember go away.” I paused to weigh my next words carefully. “But we are going to talk about the rules again, okay?” She nodded, settling her head on my mother’s shoulder. “What’s the first thing we do when we leave school?”
“Go straight home,” she said. “But, Daddy, I was just so–”
“I know you were excited, Rosie. I understand that, but I need you to understand that you have people who will worry that something bad happened, if you don’t do as you promised,” I explained.
She bit her bottom lip, stopping it from its quivering. “I promise I won’t do it again, Daddy.”
Leaning forward, kissing the side of her forehead, I whispered, “That’s good enough for me. Don’t scare me and your grams like that again, please.”
“I won’t.”
“Good.” I smiled, gifted with one in return from my girl. “Now go get cleaned up for dinner.”
“Okay.” She jumped off Mom’s lap and made her getaway. Pausing at the hallway entrance, she turned to me. “Daddy?”
“Hmm?”
She seemed to think about what to say, as if she wasn’t sure she should say it at all.
“What is it, Rosie? You can tell me anything.”
“You should maybe say you’re sorry to Ember.” With that, she was out of the room and out of earshot.
Mom spoke next. “She’s right. You were a little harsh on her, dear.”
I had been.
I guess I’ll have to rectify that and soon.
Once Rosie was in bed, and Mom was engrossed in one of her favorite programs, I snuck out of the house.
Brycen had sent me all the information he could gather on Emberlyn.
I’d spent the better part of the evening digesting what I’d read, wondering, what with her past, how she’d managed to stand up to me as she had. It didn’t take a genius to know that I was an imposing man, but with what she’d been through, I sure as hell wouldn’t have expected her to hold her own.
Suffice to say, I felt like a total asshole.
My knuckle met the wood of her front door, rapping on it three times.
I attempted it twice more before she opened.
“Listen, when someone doesn’t open after your first knock, and they’re home, it usually means that they don’t want to see you,” she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like for you to leave.”
“I’m sorry,” I blurted. “I overreacted, said a bunch of shit I didn’t mean. You didn’t deserve that.”
“I didn’t deserve a lot of things.” She huffed. “But it doesn’t mean I didn’t end up with it either. Apology accepted. Now get lost.”
She went to slam the door in my face, but I stuck a booted foot out to block its progress.
“Come to dinner tomorrow night.”
That got me a wide-eyed look. “Are you out of your mind?”
“Let me make it up to you,” I told her. “I know one little girl who’d love to know she hasn’t lost a friend because her dad reached a new level of asshole.” She seemed to ponder my words, so I pushed further. “Please?”
“On one condition,” she said.
“Uh...” I didn’t know what to say to that.
“Rosie gets to come over tomorrow. I promised her we’d make her lip gloss today, but I never went to pick up some of the ingredients I needed for it, so I said we’d get together tomorrow,” she explained.
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“I have no problem with that.” Her lips stayed in a firm line at my words, but her eyes shined with pure joy. Fuck, I liked that look on her. Probably more than I should.
Looking down at my foot, I clued in that she was silently asking me to pull it back.
“What time’s dinner?” she asked, the defensiveness gone from her voice.
“Is six okay, or am I taking you and Rosie away from your project?” I smirked.
She smiled. “No, six should be fine.”
“See you then,” I replied.
“Goodnight, Shane.” Without waiting for my response, she shut me out, the sound of a lock engaging lending to our conversation’s finality.
Sass.
The woman had plenty.
And I was a fan.
“Goodnight,” I said to her door, chuckling as I turned to head back home.
“Uh...” I didn’t know what to say to that.
“Rosie gets to come over tomorrow. I promised her we’d make her lip gloss today, but I never went to pick up some of the ingredients I needed for it, so I said we’d get together tomorrow,” she explained.
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“I have no problem with that.” Her lips stayed in a firm line at my words, but her eyes shined with pure joy. Fuck, I liked that look on her. Probably more than I should.
Looking down at my foot, I clued in that she was silently asking me to pull it back.
“What time’s dinner?” she asked, the defensiveness gone from her voice.
“Is six okay, or am I taking you and Rosie away from your project?” I smirked.
She smiled. “No, six should be fine.”
“See you then,” I replied.
“Goodnight, Shane.” Without waiting for my response, she shut me out, the sound of a lock engaging lending to our conversation’s finality.
Sass.
The woman had plenty.
And I was a fan.
“Goodnight,” I said to her door, chuckling as I turned to head back home.
\
Born and raised in small town Northern Ontario, Canada, Carey Decevito has always had a penchant for reading and writing.
More than a decade later, with weeks of sleepless nights, where exhaustion settled into her everyday existence, she finally gave in and put pen to paper (more like fingers to keyboard!) She submitted to the dreams that plagued her. And the rest, as they say, is history!
A member of the RWA, Carey enjoys spending time with family and friends, the outdoors, travelling, and playing tourist in Canada's National Capital region. When life gets crazy, this contemporary erotic romance author seeks respite through her writing and reading. If all else fails, she knows there’s never a dull moment with her two daughters, her goofy husband, and cat who she swears is out to get her.
She is the author of both The Broken Men Chronicles and Nightshade series.
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