Double Betrayal (Surviving Book 3) Read online

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are entirely the creation of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons living or deceased, businesses or establishments, events or locales are entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this production – except in the case of brief quotations in reviews – may be used or reproduced without written permission from the Author.

  Copyright © 2014 Ada Frost

  Cover design by Ada Frost at Kage Cover Design

  Copyedited by Becky Johnson at Hot Tree Editing

  Contents

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgements

  For my husband’s hero, who watches over us from heaven.

  “I love you,” I sighed into the phone. My heart ached with a passion for him.

  “I love you, too, Em. Can’t wait for you to get home. Drive safely, okay?” His voice exuded happiness that we were finally going to see each other after so many weeks apart. His class schedule and course work were killing him. But I had managed to finish classes early and was currently on my way home. I had wanted to surprise him and turn up at his door, but my excitement had bubbled over and I exploded with the news. I felt like the moon shone just for me, a beacon of light guiding me home to my boyfriend; no, scrap that – he was my fiancé. During term break, the last time I had seen him, he’d proposed to me. He’d said he’d intended to wait until after I graduated but he couldn't take it any longer. I’d obviously said yes without any doubt in my mind. He was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I know at eighteen it seems pretty silly and a little rash, but when the heart decides what it wants, who am I to argue?

  Glittering cat’s eyes shone in the beam of the headlights as I drove down the motorway. It was after ten pm, so I would arrive at his house just before midnight. I had phoned home and explained to Rhea, my twin sister, my change of plans. She was my best friend, although of late she had been acting really strange. We used to do everything together, but since I started dating Jack, she had backed off and, well, for want of a better description, turned into a class A bitch. She’d started drinking heavily, smoking weed and being an obnoxious cow. But when I moved away to attend Durham University, she changed again, back to the Rhea I loved, back to being my best friend. We would talk for hours on the phone and she would catch the train on the weekends Jack couldn't make it to come see me. She was so excited to hear I was heading home a day early. I believed the bone of the problem between us was she wasn’t a fan of Jack. She wasn’t overly happy when I gushed about us getting engaged, and whenever he was around she disappeared.

  I glanced at my left hand on the steering wheel and a smile broke out; I couldn't help it. Every time I saw the glittering diamond, it made me all giddy inside. I reached out and patted my bag. The small rectangular box was still tucked inside, waiting to deliver some life altering news to Jack and me. Today was the day I should have started my period; I was regular like clockwork, and seeing as I also missed my last cycle, I thought the odds were pretty high that I was pregnant. But I hadn’t done the test because I wanted to do it with him. We had discussed things like wanting a family in the future and buying a house after we both graduated and gained full time employment. It was just things had taken an unexpected turn and we had skipped a stage. I wasn’t worried how he would react; I thought he’d be pretty amazing, actually. I was more anxious about what my step-mum would say, and my brothers.

  I slid my hand over my stomach; it was strange, but I felt different. I really did want the baby, a symbol of the love Jack and I had for one another. It made me smile to think of a future with my own little family. My own parents were no longer alive; my dad re-married a few years before he died. Gina, our stepmother, pleaded with our maternal grandparents for custody of me and my three siblings. She said we were the only family she had and the only thing she had of my dad. She was pretty phenomenal because I think most women in her position would have taken the easy route and given up on the dysfunction that surrounded the Richards’. I had two older brothers, who were also twins like Rhea and me. Acis was the model child, Castor was destruction personified, and then there’s Rhea, who on principle alone hated Gina. The woman has never said or done a thing wrong to us, but because Dad dared to re-marry, she hated her. See, total fruitcake family.

  In no time at all, I pulled up outside of Jack’s student house. There wasn’t much to be said about it, really; it was a small terraced house, relatively well-maintained considering it was a student rental property. I parked the car as close as I could; it was on-street parking, and because I had arrived quite late, most people who lived around here were already home, so spaces were limited. Pulling my overnight bag out of the boot, I headed for his front door. Standing outside on the pavement, I searched in my bag for the key he had given me. I expected him to be opening the door when he heard the car, but he wasn’t there. No lights were on either. God, I hope he doesn’t jump out at me, I swear I will pee myself. Slowly I opened the door and peered into the lounge; the smell of sweaty socks and stale beer assaulted me. Typical when three other guys lived there with him. The lounge was a bombsite. I decided to skip the kitchen, dreading the mess that would be in there, and climbed the stairs. My mouth ached with the eager smile I had plastered across my face. Jack was renowned for surprising me with romantic little gestures. He once asked me to meet him at the park for a picnic, and from the car park to the picnic area he had left a little trail of glitter hearts. At first I didn't pay them much attention, until I noticed bigger hearts were peppered over the trees and bushes, and when I finally reached him, he had scattered them all around us. His mates and my brothers took the piss for weeks after that, but he didn't care, he said it made me smile and that was all that mattered.

  “Oh, God!” moaned a female voice as I reached the top of the stairs. I crinkled my nose. Great, one of the lads had a guest.

  “Yes!” A vocal guest. I crossed the landing and the squeaking of the bedsprings grew louder, as did the moans. A sensation akin to fear prickled my spine as I wrapped my hand around Jack’s door handle.

  “I’ve missed you so much,” Jack groaned, before there was a shout of utter ecstasy. I stumbled through the door in time to see the passionate couple swapping spit in a rather hungry kiss. Both of them looked at me, Jack in absolute horror – but the whore straddling my fiancé’s body –her – she just grinned. My heart splintered and broke into irreparable minuscule shards as I stood, helpless to move, as the man I loved with every tiny molecule of my body had his dick inside another woman. My legs shook, threatening to give way; the box in my hand slid from my grasp and landed with a b
rick-like thud on the floor. I stumbled backward, slamming into the wall. My heart thudded painfully in my chest as the sight before me wouldn’t disappear, the scene branding itself on my retinas.

  “Em – baby–” Jack said, his voice breathy with panic or orgasm induced lust, I couldn't tell. I gagged at the thought. I covered my mouth and felt hot tears barrelling down my face. He pushed her off him and wrestled his way out of the sheets. In a bleary haze, I realised he would try and touch me if he managed to get to me, and I knew I would be violently ill if he did. As the sheet shifted, he exposed his softening cock, and I whimpered as my stomach threatened to empty all over his carpet. Loud sobbing echoed through the room and I realised it was me. I turned and staggered away, noisily bumping into walls and doors.

  “Keep the fucking noise down, dickhead,” one of his roommates shouted. I gasped for breath as I gripped the handrail and ran down the stairs, stumbling like a drunken fool. In a daze, I reached my car, started it, and drove away without looking to see if Jack had followed.

  I somehow managed to drive the short distance to safety and parked on the gravel driveway. I stumbled up the path, clutching my keys to my chest. I hammered my fist against the door, pressed my forehead against the wood, feeling each pound of my fist, and pleaded for it to open.

  “What the fuck – Em?”

  I collapsed against his warm chest and sobbed loudly. I clung to him as my legs dissolved from under me.

  “Emily? Em? CASTOR!” he bellowed. “CASTOR!”

  Heavy footsteps echoed down the stairs. I clutched at Acis’s shirt, trying to force the pain out of my chest.

  “E-e-em?” A gentle hand rested between my shoulder blades and started rubbing small soothing circles. Acis tightened his arms around me as tires screeched to a halt outside.

  “Emily–” Jack’s voice called through the night. I closed my eyes and whimpered against Acis’s chest.

  “This have something to do with you?” Acis snapped, his voice razor sharp.

  “Emily–” Jack repeated. I felt a whoosh of cold air and heard a loud crack and a grunt of pain. Castor—act now, ask questions later.

  “What the hell?” Jack screeched. “I didn’t know.” Another loud crack, which I knew to be Castor’s fist hitting flesh. Jack flew words at me, choked cries and pleas to forgive him. I closed my eyes, and Acis wrapped his arms around my head, effectively cutting out any sound. I couldn't stop the pain in my heart, as I sobbed dry tears. My throat ached and my eyes stung. After what felt like hours, I lifted my head to look up at my big brother. His eyes were lined with worry, but when he lifted his gaze to over my head, they turned icy immediately.

  “Go inside,” his voice carried a silent promise of pain, not to me but to the man who had ripped out my heart and stomped on it. Like the sibling tag team they were, Acis carefully handed me over into the arms of Cas. But instead of sitting in the same place, he picked me up and carried me inside.

  “I g-g-g-got y-y-you,” Castor stammered.

  My brothers were my heroes, and the only men I would ever trust again.

  “Harder!”

  “If I push any harder–”

  “Trust me, to get it in you need to go at it hard,” I said.

  Johan grunted.

  “Harder, please we need... Just line it up with the hole and push.”

  “I know what I’m doing,” he snapped. I pushed his hand away and wrapped my hand around the large length, but he swatted at my hand and gave me a scathing look.

  “Well, if you know what you’re doing, line it up and push the fucking thing inside.”

  He opened his mouth to argue but both our attentions snapped in the direction of Lou’s voice.

  “It sounds like some weird bloody porn movie out here,” she laughed. The little guy wriggled in her arms. Alfie Jo-Alan was her son. He wasn’t Johan’s biological son, but you would never know that to watch the two of them together. Johan doted on him and vice versa. Little Alfie even called him daddy. Louise’s ex, Darren, was a brilliant dad and very much involved with his son, but I thought the bond with Johan was so much stronger. And who are Louise and Johan? Two of the craziest people I knew, but my best friends, nevertheless. Johan was also one of the directors at the pharmaceutical company I worked for.

  “She’s the worst help, ever!” Johan grumbled. He looked over his shoulder and caught sight of his son wriggling in his mummy’s arms, and I mentally counted down until Johan abandoned me to play with his kid.

  “Are you kidding? The kid is going to be using this for his kids by the time you get it up.”

  He grinned and I just knew I’d said the wrong thing. “I have no trouble with getting it up, Em. Just ask my beautiful girlfriend over there.”

  I made a gagging noise. “I think you’ve just made the nunnery a valid option with that image.”

  “Pulease! Everyone wants to ride the Johan train. Right, sunbeam?”

  Lou’s cheeks heated, but not from embarrassment. I could see the clear desire in her eyes to ride the Johan train. Those two were crazy in love and hornier than a football team of adolescent boys.

  “Daddy!” called my little godson, and there went my helper. Johan stood on command and went over to grab his son. He held him up above his head, making ridiculous aeroplane noises as Alfie squealed in delight.

  “I wouldn’t do that. He’s just had his lunch,” Lou warned. Johan smiled and leaned over to kiss her on the mouth.

  “So, I’ll just build this by myself?”

  “I can help,” interrupted my sexy boss, Dominic, as he strode into the garden. My cheeks heated like they always did when he was around. Johan was a good-looking bloke, but when it came to knickers-in-a-twist-drop-dead-sexy, Dominic was the man. Let me tell you, it was unfair what his business suits did to my ovaries, and what made him even more perfect? He was an utter darling to his wife, Eve, who also worked with us. I was Dominic’s secretary, while Eve was his lead lab analyst. I knew both of them through work but became close to them as Lou is Eve’s sister. Dominic and Eve had a rough start to their relationship; apparently they were best friends for years and grew up together, but somehow, Eve ended up dating a complete bastard, Elliott, who happened to be Dominic’s brother. I said was, as in past tense, because he died fleeing the scene after he attacked Eve and damn near killed her. From what I could gather, Elliott was the epitome of fucking evil and made Eve’s life a living hell. Lou had mentioned the odd thing every now and then, but it seemed to be something no one talked about. Looking at her, all smiles and bright eyes and flushed cheeks, you would never guess the hell she’d lived through. But I had a feeling that was a remedy the gorgeous Dominic provided. I guessed the power of love worked for some people.

  Okay, so I had a little crush on my boss; nothing major, I just could appreciate how bloody hot he was. Lou was aware of it and took the piss constantly. She knew I liked tall, brooding men, and Dominic fit that bill almost perfectly.

  “Thanks, because he is useless.” I pointed my thumb in the direction of daddy bear. Johan scowled at me, and then mischief lit his eyes.

  “Hey, gorgeous. Did you need to come see a real man at work?” Johan said to Eve. She shook her head and laughed. Dominic strode over and glared at him. I laughed because they were ridiculous. He grabbed hold of Alfie and pulled him to his chest, kissing him on his cheek.

  “No, my nephew here needs to see what a real man looks like so I came over. Don’t ya, kid? Uncle Do-Do will show you how to be a proper man, not a girly effort like this clown here.”

  Alfie squealed and clapped his hands on Dominic’s cheeks.

  “A real man, called Do-Do?” Johan laughed.

  Dominic glared over his shoulder at Johan as he came over to me and sat down, crossed his legs and placed Alfie in the crook. “What are we building, Em?”

  “Jungle climber, but muggings over there hindered more than helped.”

  “Doesn’t he always?”

  “Hey!” Johan called.
<
br />   We both laughed and Alfie laughed at us laughing, a big gummy grin, and my heart swelled at his cute little face.

  “Eve, are you still coming out with us tonight?” I asked. She looked over at Dominic and her cheeks heated. She fumbled with what to say for a moment, then held her head high before answering. It always seemed she needed to gear herself up mentally before speaking.

  “I’ve told Mum Ellie can sleep over at our house tonight. I haven’t had a chance to spend much time with her lately and I–”

  “No worries,” I said when I noticed her wringing her hands. Ellie is Lou and Eve’s little sister and a total angel. “We can always re-arrange for another night. Besides, we have the Tuesday shopping trip to look forward to.”

  Her smile brightened her entire face and I couldn't help but smile back. I had never noticed the utter lack of confidence in Eve before the incident that put her in hospital. She was viciously attacked by her arsehole of an ex before he died in a car accident. There were times when I wanted to grab hold of her and wrap her in my arms and protect her because she seemed so unsure of how a person would react. But over the last year, things about her were changing. She was more outgoing at work. She would actually come out drinking with us and join us in the lunchroom, which made my day better because there were some seriously bitchy lab analysts who I wanted to stab with my fork.

  “Aren’t your sexy brothers going out too?” Lou asked. I smiled and waited...five...four...three –

  “Sexy? What the hell?” Johan exploded. I smiled because he was getting slower in his old age.

  Lou turned to look at him, an innocent expression on her face. “What? You’ve seen her brothers, right? And it’s like buy-one-get-one-free with the whole twin thing. All dark hair, blue eyes and bulging–”

  “A word, now!” Johan said, grabbing her hand and dragging her back into his cave. I could guarantee there would be no words spoken; the caveman was reaffirming who was the sexy one. Lou winked over her shoulder at me, the little tease. She played him like the instrument he was.