The Promise (Neighbor from Hell 10)

“Then you go to jail.”

“That’s bullshit!” he roared.

Ryan simply shrugged. “That’s the deal.”

“So, I’m going to be stuck with someone who can hold jail over my head?”

“Do you really think I’m that stupid?” Ryan demanded, actually having the balls to sound offended.

“At the moment? Yes.”

“I made it a condition that she didn’t know.”

Hunter shook his head in disgust. “I can’t believe you fucked me over like this.”

“Hold that thought,” Ryan said, taking another step back.

“What?” he asked through clenched teeth.

“You also have to see an anger management therapist while you’re under house arrest,” Ryan added when he felt that there was enough space between him and the bars.

For a moment, he could only stare at the man he planned on killing with his bare hands. Then finally, he decided to set the man straight.

“Are you fucking crazy? I don’t have a fucking anger management problem!”

Chapter 1

April 23rd.

“This can’t be right,” Kylie murmured as she pulled to a stop in front of the large two-story brick house that looked like it belonged in an Animal House movie instead of the affluent neighborhood that it was smack dab in the middle of.

Frowning, she looked back down at the address written on the thick yellow envelope that the Prosecutor’s office had sent over three hours ago and frowned. The address matched, but this couldn’t be the right house. There was no way that this was Hunter O’Malley’s, C.E.O of O’Malley Enterprises, house.

This had to be a mistake, she realized just as the convertible filled with scantily clad women behind her laid on the horn, demanding that she get out of the way. No, this definitely wasn’t the house, she mused, deciding that perhaps she was on the wrong street. She drove to the end of the street and frowned when she saw that it was, in fact, the right street.

Deciding that they’d sent the wrong address, she looked for a parking spot and after a few minutes found one, the only one left, which happened to be a half-mile from the party house. Once she was parked, she called the prosecutor’s office. After ten minutes of being put on hold, and five minutes of being forwarded to a half-dozen offices, she discovered that the address was indeed correct.

As much as she wished that she could put this off, she couldn’t. She had a job to do, one that would guarantee her future. If everything went according to plan, she would finally have her dream. For that alone she could handle absolutely anything, she reminded herself as she stepped out of her car. After a slight pause, she decided to come back for her bags later.

This really was a very nice neighborhood, Kylie mused as she walked down the unmarred cement sidewalk and admired the perfectly manicured lawns and intricate designs of the metal gates that surrounded the elaborate homes that lined both sides of the street. It was definitely a step up from the small studio apartment that she’d been renting for the past two years.

Then again, a cardboard box in a Wal-Mart parking lot would have been a step up from that apartment and probably a lot safer. At least she wouldn’t have to shell out a hundred bucks of her own money to have new locks placed on her door and window. She also probably wouldn’t have to worry about coming home and finding some junky searching through her stuff either. Definitely not a bad place to spend a year, she thought with a smile as she looked at the houses that looked more like mansions.

As she continued the long walk towards what could only be described as an out of control frat party, she mentally berated herself for not doing a little research on her new employer. She only knew a few basic details about Mr. Hunter O’Malley and that was only because she’d taken thirty seconds out of her busy morning to skim the details on the face sheet attached to the thick file that she’d received while she’d admittedly been in a rush to follow the nice police officer’s orders and get the hell out of her apartment before things got ugly.

Okay, uglier.

Normally, she liked to know everything there was to know about an employer, company and potential position before she agreed to take a job, but she hadn’t been given the opportunity to conduct any research before she’d accepted this position. The only thing that she knew about this job was that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity with great pay and benefits and that it was a live-in position that required a yearlong commitment.

When the DA had approached her about this position three days ago, she’d quickly realized that they weren’t going to answer any of her questions. She had to admit that it had been a little unnerving interviewing for an unknown employer. After she’d received the phone call late last night letting her know that the job was hers if she wanted it, she’d almost turned it down. If it hadn’t been for her neighbor choosing that exact moment to put his fist through her wall, she probably wouldn’t have accepted the job. But as Big Daddy, as he liked to be called, pulled his meaty fist back, leaving a huge hole in her bedroom/living room/dining/kitchen wall, she’d decided that this live-in position, what little she knew about it, sounded perfect.

After an hour-long argument with her landlord where she’d begged to be released from her lease, she’d packed her possessions into her car and caught three hours of sleep before the messenger from the DA’s office woke her up bright and early at six this morning with the packet and details of her new employer and position. She only had about five minutes to look over the cover sheet before Big Daddy did something that upset the police, again. That was right around the time that she was escorted from the building, interviewed, and sent on her way, which in retrospect was probably a good thing since Big Daddy had set the building on fire and she couldn’t return there even if she wanted to.

She really didn’t want to.

So, now she was starting a new job off by crashing a party thrown by her new boss’s kids, and she wasn’t exactly sure how she felt about that. She really wasn’t thrilled by the idea of living with teenagers for a year. She didn’t hate kids, but she wasn’t exactly in a rush to go out and have one of her own either. Then again, spending a year under the same roof with an obviously spoiled kid might destroy any aspirations of having a family of her own one day.

After a slight pause, she realized that she was okay with that and continued on, stepping over a puddle of fresh vomit and through the large cast-iron gates welcoming anyone and everyone. She didn’t date much, didn’t care to, and if this gave her the excuse that she needed to focus on her job then that was more than fine with her, she absently decided, choosing to pretend that she didn’t see the used condom on the ground.

“Watch where you’re going!” a woman with too much makeup, not enough clothing and was obviously intoxicated, snapped as she stumbled past Kylie.

With a sigh, Kylie continued towards the large two-level brick house, wondering if she was going to end up dealing with the police twice in one day. As she stepped over one of the bodies, hopefully just passed out, lying on the front steps, she couldn’t help but wonder if this job came with hazard pay.

Tall, Dark & Furious

A Pyte/Sentinel Novel

Prologue

Massachusetts Bay Colony - Maine Territory

1665

“Where are you going, Trace?”

Trying not to panic, Trace shut the door before any sunlight could spill inside the small one-room cottage. Licking his suddenly dry lips, he turned around and held up the small leather-bound book his father had given him just this morning after he’d returned from his trip to the city.

“I was hoping to go down to the river to read, Father,” he said, forcing a smile that he hoped would convince his father that everything was fine.

Ethan sighed heavily as he sat on the room’s only bed and ran his fingers through his unruly shoulder-length hair. “Why don’t you stay here and read?”

“I didn’t want to disturb you, Father,” Trace said, wishing he’

d lit a few candles so that he could see better since the dim light the small fire in the hearth gave off wasn’t enough to tell if his father was still angry.