The Warrior: DERRICK, Cover Six Security #4

5 Stars: “The men of Cover Six Security are men who fight for what is right and their moral compass will never steer them wrong, unless it has anything to do with a woman…The chemistry the men at Cover Six Security have is great as is the chemistry that these men have with the women in their lives. I love the series and cannot wait for Wolf’s story. These men fight so hard not to fall that when they do, they fall very hard.”

5 Stars: “I admired the incredibly good writing that went deep into the reader’s feelings to describe the environment and complexity of the characters. It would not be a surprise to find goosebumps on your arms as you read about Chaos’ backstory…This story will draw the reader in like no other! Full of suspense, courage, danger, loyalty and more, you won’t want to let this one go!”

5 Stars: “Great story line in this well written book that will capture your attention and carry you straight through to the end. The characters are very well written and complex. Both lead characters have secrets, one could get them killed, the other could end them…A great read that will have you turning page after page to see what happens next and how this will all end for Lee and Chaos. I highly recommend this book.”

EXCERPT:

Cold fear drenched her. Icy tendrils wrapped around her, seeping into her chest. Her lungs. Her brain.

Your time is coming to an end.

She stared at the words, paralyzed, unable to move or think or breathe. A minute passed, the sweeping of the second hand moving in slow motion, so slow that she was convinced time had simply stopped. Was this how it would end? With her body and mind paralyzed by fear until time simply stopped? Until she simply stopped?

Stopped thinking.

Stopped breathing.

Stopped living.

It was that last thought that finally snapped the frightening paralysis.

Living?

No, she hadn’t been living, not for the last two years. Not even close. She’d separated herself from life as completely and thoroughly as possible, to the point that not even her neighbors would notice her disappearance. Why would they, when they didn’t notice her? When they weren’t even aware of her existence? As far as the world was concerned, Lidiya Stephenson simply didn’t exist. She’d made sure of it, had carefully erased all signs of the woman she was. Of the woman she had been.

No one would notice her missing.

No one would notice if she simply stopped being.

No one…except for Chaos. Maybe even he wouldn’t notice. They’d never met. Lidiya had no idea who he really was, if he was even really a he. They were nothing more than online acquaintances. Colleagues of a sort, in the loosest meaning possible. She’d helped him several times over the last eighteen months, had even spoken to him—but her voice had been disguised, as had his.

What did it say about her life that her closest friend was nothing more than a cyber ghost? A person she had never met and didn’t really know?

What did it say about her situation now that she was actually considering placing her trust in that same person?

Yet she still hesitated, unable to look away from the message that had, only moments ago, destroyed the fragile existence she had created for herself.

Your time is coming to an end.

She didn’t have a choice. There was nothing else she could do, no other options that she could see. She had known it might come to this, had thought she prepared for it. Had convinced herself she would do what was necessary when the time came. She needed to act, now. Needed to send the message that she hoped would bring Chaos into her shadowed life.

Lidiya laughed at the irony of the thought, the whispery sound brittle and desperate to her own ears. Maybe the sound even carried a hint of insanity. Did she care? No, not when there was nobody else around to hear it.

Because she’d planned it that way. Because she had carefully constructed her world so she would become virtually invisible. It had been the safest thing to do, the only thing she could think to do.

And she had done her job well.

Too well.

Except she hadn’t because he had found her. Somehow, someway, he had done the impossible and tracked her down. Maybe he didn’t know her exact location yet—she had no doubt if he did, she wouldn’t be here now, fighting off the clawing panic threatening to paralyze her once again. But it was only a matter of time.

She knew his secrets.

And she knew he would stop at nothing to make sure those secrets died with her.

Her hands hovered above the keyboard, her long fingers trembling with cold fear and the certainty that her carefully-constructed life was crumbling around her. The hesitation was still there, keeping her from sending the short message she so desperately needed to send.

Her instincts screamed that Chaos was the only person who could help her. That what little she knew of him proved that. Those same instincts had saved her more than once—but they weren’t infallible. Her current situation was proof of that.

Could she bring herself to trust someone she had never met?

Did she really have a choice?

Lidiya closed her eyes and took a deep breath, felt a sense of detached calmness wash over her as she made a decision.

A decision that might very well end in her death.