Teaser Tuesday - Ever the Same by Amy Romine

Twenty–three dead, seven survivors, a self-confessed mad man, and a little girl traumatized into silence. Now, fifteen years later the seven survivors are dying one by one.

Rachel Alton returned to Whitten’s Grove for one reason and that was to prevent a massacre. Her attendance at the local wedding of two of her best friends was just for fun. Then Ben Mitchell walked into the picture. Without warning, her oldest friend awakens her dormant heart, giving her hope for the future. She struggles to turn away, wanting to protect him. The clock is ticking, and Rachel alone fights against the inevitable. When forces from beyond throw Ben into the middle of the fight, will she walk away, or sacrifice herself to prevent a tragedy from happening twice?

Excerpt

The room smelled of a sweet grape and Rachel opened her eyes to a collage of purple. Every shade, accessory and accent of the color covered the walls and furniture. A young girl of eighteen sat on her bed, looking at Rachel curiously.

“I can’t find my scarf, have you seen my scarf,” the young girl asked Rachel, getting on her knees beside the bed and reaching beneath.

“No, I haven’t,” Rachel replied, scanning the room.

“Can you help me find it? I can’t leave without it,” the girl stated as she continued to reach beneath her bed.

Rachel stood and stepped toward the closet bursting with clothing all in different hues of amethyst. Spying a lavender scarf edged with sequined stars hanging from the doorknob of the closet, Rachel reached for it, the fabric brushing against her fingers. “Is this what you are looking for,” Rachel asked as she held it in her hand.

The girl smiled brightly as she skipped over, taking it from Rachel’s hands. “Do you like these jeans,” the girl asked as she studied Rachel and then turned to her closet.

Rachel stepped toward the photo littered vanity.

“My Dad hates them, but I think they are the bomb. I got them for thirty bucks at the resale shop on 4th, do you know it?”

“No,” Rachel replied, studying the hodgepodge of idols, family and friends. “I’ll have to check it out.”

“Definitely,” the girl replied, looking Rachel up and down. “Although your outfit is tight, I wish I could wear that, my tits are too small.”

Rachel smiled to herself, but continued examine the contents of the vanity. Endless shades of blush, lipstick and eye shadow. Lining the edges of the vanity were pools of hardened wax stemmed by candles.

“How do I look,” the girl asked.

Rachel turned to see that she had changed her shirt and tied the scarf around her neck. Before Rachel could answer, the girl leapt forward.

“Wait!”

Hopping past Rachel to the vanity, picking up a tube of lipstick, she opened it and put it on. Looking at herself in the mirror, Rachel watched the girl focus on the texture of her skin as it lost its moisture and became sullen before her eyes.

“Amanda,” Rachel said softly as she joined her in the mirror. “Did you know him?”

“Momma always said that an outfit was incomplete without lipstick,” she said, ignoring the question and her decaying reflection. Rachel leaned forward, touching her shoulder, and Amanda’s skin became plump and rosy once again.

“You look beautiful…” Rachel said with a soft smile.

Amanda stepped away from the mirror and immediately grabbed her purse.

“Amanda…”

“No…” she replied as she stopped, staring down at the bed. “I never saw his face. I…I wish I could help you. I didn’t see him, but I…I can still feel him.”

“It’s okay,” Rachel reassured as she watched Amanda walk toward the door.

“You know, he said you would come,” she said in an uneasy voice.

“Who said?” Rachel pressed.

“Why did he do this, because of what I am?”

“I don’t know, I think so,” Rachel replied honestly. “But I swear I am going to everything I can to stop him.”

“You can’t stop him…” Amanda replied, her body beginning to quiver. “He… he knows you…he’s…”

“Amanda, what do you mean?”

She backed up fearfully against the wall. “He’s here! He’s watching…”

“No, Amanda, he can’t hurt you anymore.” Amanda went from cries of fear to pain to screaming agony. Her screams pierced Rachel’s chest sucking away her air like a vacuum. The girl’s screams stopped, Rachel stood staring into her beautifully jeweled fear filled eyes before Amanda’s body cracked liked an aged painting and disintegrated into thin air.

Rachel’s heart and lungs constricting beyond her ability to cope and she dropped to her knees. A knock echoed in her mind.

****

Come Find Me!

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Suspense for the Romantic Heart - Ever the Same Excerpt

Fifteen years ago thirty men, women, and children, were found in a small California field. Now the only seven survivors are dying one by one.

Rachel Alton returned to Whitten’s Grove for one reason, to prevent a massacre. Her attendance at the local wedding of two of her best friends was just for fun. She never expected her reaction to seeing Ben Mitchell again. Without warning, he awakens her dormant heart, giving her hope for the future and she struggles to turn away.

The clock is ticking, and as Rachel alone fights against the inevitable, but when forces from beyond throw Ben into the middle of the fight, will she walk away, or sacrifice herself to prevent a tragedy from happening twice?

Excerpt 

Sensing Ben’s approach, Rachel glanced back, looking for Emily, and found her preoccupied by Aisha and Ryan on the other side of the lake.

 She took another deep cleansing breath, trying to calm the foreign butterflies in her stomach. Being near him had awakened a part of her she thought had disappeared long ago. The problem, her life, plain and simple. Over the years, she had convinced herself ‘wants’ were unreasonable and now she wondered if she wanted more than a cup of Starbucks to look forward to in the wee hours of the morning.

“Mind if I join you?” 

“Be my guest,” Rachel covered her eyes from the sun. “Is that for me?”

Ben handed her a sweating bottle of water before taking a seat next to her. “Yep.” 

“Thanks, I was feeling a little parched. I forgot how beautiful it is here.” His focus was on the lake and she wondered what he was thinking. 

“Yeah, so beautiful, I could fall asleep.”

“See what happens when you relax, but I guess relaxing might be a new concept, huh?”

“I relax.”

“Yeah, when?” Rachel challenged with a grin. “When was the last time you were so relaxed you fell asleep in a field?”

“Well, maybe not in a field.” His face lit up with a broad smile “But I go for jogs on the beach and the occasional midnight movie.”

“Not relaxing, preoccupation. When was the last time you were able to let go of your day, your worries and your work. Sit back and relax.” His gaze settled on her and she shifted, feeling heat rising to her cheeks. 

“I guess it’s been a while.” 

“Yeah, well, I’m just as guilty,” she smirked with a shrug of her shoulders. “There just seems to be no time, everything else it too important.”

“That’s the point, isn’t it?” Ben gently pushed back. “Places like these are here to remind us what is important, right? There are always excuses for not taking time to take care and relax, to spend time with our friends and family, but when it’s all said and done, they are the only ones who are left behind. If we lose them now, we will have nothing in the end.”

Rachel stared at him for a long while, a small smile creeping upon her lips. “Wow, Mitchell, you got all deep and stuff. That was, like, amazing,” Rachel said in her best valley girl accent, making him laugh aloud. 

“Are you laughing at me?” 

She laughed harder and he grabbed her by the waist, pulling her down into the grass. He tickled her and she squealed. She squirmed in delight against him and quickly grabbed his hands, holding them above her chest.

“Still ticklish, I see.” 

His hands intertwined effortlessly with hers. “You always were the only one who could tickle me.”

A small grin formed in the corners of his mouth, his mind obviously preoccupied as he lay against her. “What can I say, I have the magic touch.” 

“Magic touch, eh? I never knew—” Rachel started in a whisper, but became caught up in his body against her. Solid and strong, his arms surrounding her felt like a cocoon of safety and warmth she wanted to lose herself in. Bending her arms slightly, he moved close enough to for her to feel his breath on her face. “I think you need to cool off, cowboy.”

Rachel shifted from beneath him and rose to her feet. She looked back before stripping out of her clothes, revealing her trim body and new blue bikini. There weren’t a lot of positives about her job, but her body was one of them. She looked back and found him staring at her, his mouth slightly gaping. 

“Shut your mouth, Mitch, your girlfriend is watching.”

“What? I—” Before he could finish, she dove into the lake, leaving him behind. 

Rachel broke the water with a grin. She shouldn’t be smiling, but it was nice to have someone look at her with hunger. A woman to be desired. 

She heard a shout and a splash behind her and turned to see the ripples of water. Continuing to swim toward the rock wall of mountain ahead, Rachel felt Ben, hard body beneath her legs. She dove under, out of grasp, passing him underwater. He chased her to the wall until they finally broke the surface, panting for air. 

“She’s not my girlfriend.”

“You dove in and chased me halfway across the lake to tell me Emily is not your girlfriend?” Rachel grabbed one of the outbreaks in the wall of stone and turned, finding he’d summarily cornered her. 

“Yes.”

His gaze locked with hers and she felt herself beginning to melt. God, I can’t do this…not with him… She moved to pass him and he stopped her with his arm. 

“Where you running to, Alton?”

“I’m not running.”

“Yes you are.”

“No, I—” He silenced her with a kiss, powerful and yet tender, taking her breath away. When it broke, she felt dizzy and breathless. 

“Don’t run from me.”

“I wasn’t.”

“Don’t lie to me either.” His eyes were intense and focused solely on hers. His strong heated arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her against him.

“Ben…” His breath played against her lips, sending spasms of need up her spine. She couldn’t resist him. Putty in his arms, she let go of control. His lips came down on hers, juicy soft, and his tongue teased the inside of her mouth. She sighed and pulled his tongue into her mouth, sucking on the tip. His smooth hands scorched lines down her body, the muscles quivering uncontrolled beneath his touch. She climbed up his body, needing to feel his strength against her hot skin.

 

Come Find Me!

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