Dallas?
His voice is back. “Yes, it’s me. Whisper, we need to talk, but now’s not the time. We are tracking the phone I slipped into the trunk with you. You have to keep it hidden, and I need you to put it on silent. I want you to save the battery, because I need to be able to stay in contact with you.”
Edge?
Something occurs to me in all this hellish mess I’ve found myself in. “Can Miss Catherine hear me?”
“No, I have her phone.”
The pain in my shoulder is different to any pain I’ve experienced in the past. “Did I get shot?”
“Shit, Whisper, not now.” His voice sounds rough and guilty.
Then it strikes me I thought I’d heard him back at the house, which has been confirmed, because I have his phone next to me. “Did you shoot me?”
There’s cursing coming down the line. “There appears to have been a misunderstanding.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.” There’s silence at the other end of the line. “Did you want to kill me?”
Suddenly, the car comes to another halt. It feels more permanent. “I have to go; they’ve stopped.” Just before I hang up, I hear Edge curse out loud and something smashes. I disconnect, put the phone on silent, and work my body so I can slide the phone into the side of my calf-length right boot. My legs are tied at my ankles, so I can get it in far enough to hide it for now.
I can’t even process what all this means at the moment. He shot me? He must have known who I was when he arrived at the bar.
He was playing me.
Stalking me.
He was going to kill me.
Why?
I had sex with him.
I feel sick.
I quickly put all that into a box and pack it away in my mind. My immediate thoughts have to be on surviving whatever mess I’ve been dropped into. Miss Catherine will get through to Boxer, and he will save me. I don’t want Edge anywhere near me.
Just before the trunk pops open I calm myself and pretend to be out cold. It’s my only defense against what’s coming for me.
I can’t even afford to tremble in fear.
I feel a monster greater than William Dupré is waiting for me, and I’m fucking scared.
Thank you to my family for your ongoing support of my writing and everything that comes with it. You listen to me when I get excited about the milestones that mean so much to me on this journey of mine.
I have to next thank my middle man-child again. Three books in and he is still sharing his not very large bedroom with me and my office. He is so very patient with me. Love you, hun. Xx
To Jemina Venter, you know I love everything about you and what you do for me. You rocked another cover with such professionalism and talent. Thank you! Xx
You can find Jemina on facebook @ Booknerdfangirl Designs.
To the beta readers who gave up their time to give me some feedback on Wrenched, I thank you. Louise (UK), Maria York (USA Book Boyfriend Hangover Blog), Sam Shemeld (UK), who reviews for FMR Book Grind, your tough and honest critiques were welcomed and appreciated. I listen and work harder because of all of you. Beta reader feedback is so valuable to an author. Thank you all for your support.
Without an editor...well, my work would not be shiny. Editors are so important. Thank you to Becky Johnson at Hot Tree Editing for your professionalism and to Kayla Greenwood Robichaux for your mad editing skills and fun comments. We shall get the gang back together for Warped. I promise not to use the word ‘dump’ near a sex scene ever again. The Aussie in me likes to dump things on the ground. LOL! Sometimes an author can have a bad word placement and really not notice the why of that until an editor in a cape comes along and goes...NO!
I want to thank Teri, Jill, Kolleen, Andrea and Barb who are part of the beta reading team for Hot Tree Editing for their feedback. I loved reading all your comments.
To Debb Lynn for always being herself. You are such a gem.
To Kasey for her enthusiasm and pimping skills.
To Katrina Hill for the name Whisper. You have mad naming skills.
To Sam Shemeld & Rose, you know why. You ladies rock!
I would like to thank the lovely Max Henry for formatting Wrenched. She is such a brilliant formatter. I highly recommend her.
I want to thank all the bloggers who came on board from the very beginning, and the ones who joined along the way. You know who you all are. Thank you for taking a chance on me and for your support. It really means the world to me. You selflessly promote authors every day for just a thank you. It is so very appreciated.
FMR Book Grind are handling my blog tour and Rose & Atalia are the nicest ladies. I highly recommend them.
To the readers: Creating Wrenched was a pleasure, one that I had a great time writing. There is so much more to be told. I thank you for reading my books and hope you will all stay with me for this journey and come back for more.
If you enjoyed my books please consider leaving a review. I appreciate the time spent sharing your thoughts with others, even if only a few words. I read each and every review.
Emma
xoxoxo
Hi there,
I’m Emma James. I was born in the Barossa Valley, a beautiful area of South Australia, and I am married with three teenagers. There is never a dull moment in my life and for this, I am truly grateful because life is too short to contemplate the what ifs. You’ll never know unless you give it a try.
I certainly wouldn’t have thought I could have self-published three books in ten months, with a fourth book on the way...but I have. It has been the most amazing experience and a total uphill learning curve, but I fully embraced the challenge for the hard work that it is, and I am rather addicted to writing now.
I’m hoping some familiar faces are reading Wrenched and also some new readers have joined in along the way. Many more stories are buzzing about in my mind, itching to be set free through my finger tips. I look forward to sharing them all with you.
I appreciate all of my readers and love hearing from you. I hope to bring you an escapism that stays with you and keeps you coming back for more.
You can find me at:
Twitter: @emmajamesbooks
Goodreads
Emaiclass="underline" authoremmajames@bigpond.com
Emma’s Book Ends – Facebook Reader Group
Emma’s newsletter
Table of Contents
Also by Emma
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thirty-One
Thirty-Two
Thirty-Three
Thirty-Four
Acknowledgements
About the Author