Missing Pieces (The Pieces Series Book 1) Read online

  Synopsis

  Gabby survives her ex-boyfriend’s brutal attack, only to be ripped away from her life by a complete stranger. She is thrown into the world of Immortals, where every nightmare out there exists and walks free. She can’t deny her attraction to this stranger, Neeko, but he must earn her trust before she will ever let him into her heart. Can she learn to love again? Will love be enough, or will everything come crashing down?

  Neeko sees Gabby and immediately knows she is someone special. He makes a rash decision to kidnap her, because he can’t stop thinking about her. Now he must somehow prove to her that she is his mate and his soul’s other half. How can he have a human for a mate? Can he keep her safe from Demons? Or is he her biggest threat?

  When the missing pieces fall into place to reveal all their secrets, will they stand together or apart?

  Missing Pieces

  Copyright © 2014 Tiffany Flowers

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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  Cover Created by Shamrock Cover Designs

  Formatting by Phycel Designs

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  Dedication

  I want to dedicate this book to my husband for supporting me through this journey and having patience with me even when the kids were going crazy and supper was late because I couldn’t stop the voices in my head.

  Prologue

  “I don’t know what to do, Damon. I can’t bring her to heaven with me because she is only part angel. She can’t go to hell with you because you have too many enemies. What are we going to do?”

  “I don’t know, Willow. Maybe we put her with a human family and then, when she turns 25, we can tell her what she is.”

  “A human family? That really is our only option?” I look down and shake my head.

  “Yes, sweetheart. I will look after her every chance I get.”

  I look up with pleading eyes. “Are you sure? You promise nothing will happen to our baby girl?”

  “Yes, I promise. When will I get to see you again?”

  “I am not sure. We were never supposed to be together in the first place. If it weren’t for us being together, you could have saved that poor family from that awful demon you created. Now a boy has to grow up without a family because of us. It threw everything out of balance.”

  His voice drops and he growls, “I will take care of him, but I need to know that I will see you again.”

  “Yes, but it may be a couple of years. That is my punishment for breaking the rules.”

  “What rule did you break?” He squints his eyes and they turn pitch black.

  “‘Interfering with humans’ destinies’, not for loving you.”

  I place my hand on his heart. He is supposed to be the most dangerous creature on earth, but I don’t care about all that. I only care that I love him. I look back down at our little miracle and gently place a kiss on her forehead. I don’t know how I am supposed to leave her in someone else’s hands. She looks up at me with her beautiful big hazel eyes. They are just like mine and her nose is, too, but everything else came from her dad. She is perfect, laying there sucking on her fingers. I can’t believe my week with her is up.

  I look at Damon. “Maybe I should just give up my wings and raise her myself.”

  “You will regret it if you do. You will become mortal and age. She won’t. She will have to watch you die. I’ll have to watch you die.”

  “I just don’t want to give her up.” I kiss her forehead again.

  He looks at me and I see his eyes glisten from unshed tears. “I know. I would like to raise her, too, but it is too dangerous for her. She needs to be hidden in order to be safe.”

  “Do you have anybody in mind?”

  “Yes. There is this little church up ahead that has a compassionate, older couple that has always wanted a child, but couldn’t have one or afford to adopt. They have been looking for an infant with no luck. They will love her as their own.”

  “I am trusting you on this, Damon. You have never let me down so please don’t start now.”

  He raises his voice slightly, showing the demon side I rarely see. “She is my blood as much as yours. I would never put her in danger.”

  “I didn’t mean it like that.” I rub his cheek and place a kiss on his lips. He instantly relaxes.

  “I know, sweetheart. I am sorry. I didn’t mean to raise my voice. This is just really hard for me. I have to lose you both tonight.”

  He grabs my hand and, instantly, we are at the little church. Unseen, I peek into the window. “See that couple in the front? The lady with red hair?”

  “Yes.”

  “That is them.”

  “They look alright. I trust you,” I say in a dead tone.

  I look at my baby girl one more time and squeeze her tight against my chest. It is becoming hard to breathe, and tears start to fall from my face. I kiss her little face one last time, then let her father kiss her. I place her in a little basket with a note. It tells her birth date and time. It has all her information...her weight, length, and blood type. It tells them everything they need to know about her. I almost can’t leave until Damon whispers in my ear that we are doing the right thing. I knock three times, then we disappear into the woods to watch our baby girl meet her new family.

  Chapter 1: Snapped

  Gabby

  As I’m getting ready to go out, putting the last of my make-up on in front of my big mirror in my bedroom, he comes up behind me. “Where are you going, Gabriella?” Lee slurs.

  “Out with the girls. You know we go out every Friday.”

  “Why are you lying?!” he shouts at me. I can see his eyes through the mirror. They are furious and his face is turning red. He seems agitated and he smells of whiskey.

  “Have you been drinking?” I turn slightly and look at him.

  “Don’t change the subject! You’re going out to meet some man and cheat on me, you bitch!” I gasp and my mouth falls open. He has never called me bitch before.

  “No. I’m just going out with the girls. I promise,” I say as sweetly as I can to try and defuse the situation.

  He slaps me hard. “Don’t lie to me, you whore!”

  I gasp and hold my face. “What the hell, asshole?!” I shout and start to walk away.

  He grabs me and throws me on the bed. “You aren’t going anywhere,” he says as he jumps on me and holds me down. I’m starting to get really scared. He has never laid a hand on me or even raised his voice to me before. What has gone so terribly wrong?

  He grabs both my hands and puts them above my head. He then shifts so that he can hold them with one hand. I try to wiggle free, but he is too strong. He reaches in his pocket and brings out a zip tie. What? Why does he have that? While he is off balance, I knee him in the groin. He grunts and falls off me, cussing and holding his junk. I roll off the bed and start to stand, but he grabs my leg at the last minute. My head hits the side table and blood starts gushing down my face, stars flashing behind my eyes. He yanks me and throws me back on the bed ag
ain, quickly tying my hands so tight that it pinches into my skin.

  “Why are you doing this?” Tears begin to fall, and everything’s getting fuzzy.

  “Because you’re mine and I own you. If I can’t have you, nobody can.”

  I try to wiggle free again, but I can’t. I’m starting to panic. This man is going to kill me. I start to black out. No... No! I can’t. I have to stay awake. I have to fight. He climbs off me to grab some rope from a bag on the floor. Where did that bag come from? How long has he planned this? I start to shake. How am I going to get out of this? “Please... Please, Lee, stop. I’ll stay home! I won’t go out. Please...just don’t do this.”

  “Shut up, bitch! You’re damn right you aren’t going anywhere. You’re mine.”

  When did this man snap, and how did I not see it? He brings the rope over, bends to tie it to the bottom of the bed, and grabs my left foot. With my free foot, I quickly kick him in the nose. I hear a crunch, and he grabs his face and falls to the floor. Jumping off the bed and running toward the front door, I knock the table over to try and slow him down. I quickly reach the door and swing it open. Thank you, Jesus, for being a long handle instead of a round one or I might not have gotten it open.

  “HELP!” I start screaming while running down the hallway of the building.

  Just as my neighbor opens his door to see what’s going on, Lee grabs me. “Gabby, what is going on here? What happened to your head?” he asks.

  Lee looks at him and growls, “It’s none of your damn business.”

  The guy quickly grabs his cell out of his pocket and dials for help. Lee punches him in the face, knocking him down. As he drags me down the hall back toward my apartment, he whispers in my ear, “I have a good five minutes before they get here. That’s plenty of time for what I have in mind.”

  I scream and fight with all I have left. I try to reason with him one more time. “Please, Lee... I love you. Don’t do this!”

  He doesn’t say anything, just continues to drag me to the apartment. I stomp on his foot and kick his legs, trying to wiggle free. I elbow him in the stomach and finally get loose. While he is bent holding his stomach, I turn and kick him in the head. Then I run to the elevator, just as someone is getting out. Pressing the first floor button, I see him start to run for the door and it closes just as he reaches it. Standing there alone, I start crying and hyperventilating.

  As the doors finally open to the first floor, I catch my breath and run out the front doors...right into a group of cops. “He is still up there and he is trying to kill me! Please help!”

  One gets on his radio and calls it in. After he tells me that ambulances are on their way, he asks me my name. I can barely speak. I say, “Gabriella Calkins. I don’t know why he flipped...” I see the police officers assemble. Two head up the stairs, while two stay by the elevator. I just collapse on the ground and I pass out. I have no fight left.

  When I wake up, I can remember every detail, down to how my blood tasted in my mouth. Later, they told me he had duct tape, gloves, a garbage bag, a selection of big hunting knives, and a gun. I don’t even want to think about what he was planning to do. I met Lee Peters at a mutual friend’s party. He was a slim man, 6’, with muscles in all the right places, blonde hair and blue eyes. He said all the right things and swept me off my feet. Plus, he was a rich lawyer. It can’t get much better than that. He took me to all the fancy places to eat and paid for everything. He even asked me to work as his assistant. I thought that would be cool. I’d get to spend all day with him and sneak off for fuck sessions; plus, I needed the job. So I took it. I thought I was going to marry this man. Boy, was I wrong.

  After about 6 months of working for him, he became possessive. At first, it was cute, but quickly became aggravating. He never raised his voice to me or anything like that, but he was stuck to me like glue. I had to weasel my way to spend time with the girls. Then, one day, he snapped. He started drinking heavily and spent more and more time at my apartment. I had kept it to have my own space so that when I needed a break, I could get away.

  That night, things went downhill fast. He was arrested and is now awaiting trial. He owned the firm so it is now closed down. Hopefully forever. I hope I never have to see Lee Peters again. Anyway, that’s how I lost my job and boyfriend in the same day. So I am going to enjoy this vacation while I can. I’ll start looking for a job on Monday. I haven’t been out since that night and that was about 2 months ago. I even started having panic attacks every so often, mostly when alone. People usually go to therapy for this sort of thing, but I don’t want to go tell someone how stupid I was.

  I live in a two bedroom apartment in downtown Atlanta. It isn’t anything spectacular, but it’s mine. The walls are painted white, and there’s not much furniture or decoration because I have no need for it. I was supposed to be moving out and into something better, but it will do for now. Thank goodness I was smart enough to save, but it isn’t going to last if I don’t find a job.

  I check myself in the mirror. I have a slight scar above my right eye to remind me about that day. I’m 5’7” and big boned. I’m not fat, by any means, but I have hips and an ass that most girls would die to have. I wear a size 16, but my curves are in all the right places. My soft brown hair goes to the middle of my back, my hazel eyes have brown specks around the pupils, and I have a cute pug nose. I’m wearing my low-cut red dress that accents my curves and brings your eyes to my perky breasts. I pair it with black leggings and my calf-length black boots. “Hell, yeah, Gabby. You’re looking good.”

  Maybe I’ll even find me a gentleman to take home. Scratch that. I want a bad boy who can take me on the ride of a lifetime. I need to forget Lee and what he represents. With that thought, I grab my purse and head down the street to Club 9.

  Club 9 is a trendy bar for people ages 20 to 30 so since I’m 24, I fit in perfectly. It’s decorated in a modern sleek look with a nice dance floor. The walls are a greyish-blue, the bar is black granite with grey stools. There’s have a stage where they have live music sometimes. Nobody big, just local talent. It usually has a good selection of fine looking men. That’s a distraction I need. I used to come here with the girls after work since it is just a block away from my apartment and it is easy to walk home, just in case I get a little intoxicated.

  It’s a chilly summer night so I bundle in my black jacket. I get there, pay my cover, and walk on in. It should get busier in an hour or so because that’s when the band will start. I just had to get out of my apartment. I needed the fresh air and mixed drinks. Maybe it’ll help me forget. I sit down at the bar and order a drink, something fruity and strong. He hands me this martini glass full of a baby blue liquid. I have no clue what it is, but it tastes good.

  After about thirty minutes of sitting here sipping on my drink and watching the crowd, a cute guy asks me to dance. Why not? The local talent is a pop cover band. They are playing Timber by Pitbull and Kesha, which is a favorite of mine. We dance until I can’t feel my feet anymore.

  “Can we sit for a few?” I ask, breathless.

  “Yeah. Let me get you a drink. I’ll meet you over there.” He points to a table in the back so I walk over and sit, and a few minutes later, he comes back with two shots. I sling it back and he laughs.

  “So, what’s your name?”

  “Gabby. You?”

  “Mike. Do you come here a lot?”

  “No, not really. Thanks for the drink, by the way.” This conversation is going nowhere.

  He slides closer, as if that is possible, and places his hand on my leg. It’s starting to get uncomfortable. He isn’t my type. Not that I really have a type, but he has to be around 20. I don’t do younger than me. So I excuse myself to use the restroom and shoot out the back exit to the alley. I know. Cowardly way to do it, but I just don’t have it in me to argue with him. I’m tired. At least dancing was fun.

  As I head to my apartment building, I hear footsteps. Really? Did he follow me out here? I so don’t have the
energy. I turn around and, instead of the boy toy, I see two men. Apparently, I have no luck except bad luck.

  “What do you want?” I say, nervously.

  There’s no response. They just keep coming closer. They are both about 6’ with hard bodies. I look around and try to plan my escape route. They are blocking the door I just came out of so I am going to have to run. They circle around me. Maybe Lee hired them to get rid of me? Without me, there isn’t much of a trial. I start to run and one lunges at me. I dodge. The other steps in front of me so I kick him in the shin and run. I don’t get far when one grabs me and holds onto me until the other catches up. I hear this deep voice say, “Gentle with her.” That voice sends shivers right down to my lady parts.

  A man steps out of the shadows, and I feel this invisible pull toward him. He is at least 6’2”, and built. His muscles are barely contained by his shirt. He steps closer to me and looks to be in his late twenties. It’s really too dark too see much else. He smells of cinnamon and musk. He grabs my hand and electricity shoots through my arm. “Are you ok?”

  Dumbfounded, the only thing I can say is, “Am I ok? Are you crazy?”

  But before I can say anything else, I become dizzy. He ask me again, “Are you ok?”

  I look down and notice that we are not in the alley anymore. I’m standing on carpet. What? I can feel myself starting to pass out and right before the darkness takes me, I hear him say, “Shit! We should have warned her!”

  Chapter 2: Always Watching

  Neeko

  I can’t believe that after so many weeks of not seeing her, she shows back up. I knew the moment I heard her ask for something fruity and strong that I couldn’t let her get away again because she may disappear for good this time. I can remember the first time I laid eyes on her.