Showing results by author "Heather Long" in All Categories

They say you can never go back… ‘Course, I never wanted to return. It took me years to age out. Once I made it, I took off and never turned around. Trust me, there were only three reasons I managed to survive there as long as I did and they abandoned me as soon as they were able. I’d like to say I didn’t blame them, but that would be a lie. I had zero desire to return. Yet here I was, on the road to Northland chasing a story cause my editor told me kids were disappearing… again.

Born into Hollywood royalty, I’ve been making the hot sheet and generating internet buzz since before I could even walk. Doesn’t matter that my parents divorced prior to my second birthday, I can’t escape the shadows—or scandals—of my movie star mother and my rock star father.

The pop princess with her bright blue hair, pouty lips, haunting eyes, and the voice of a siren. She’s always been too busy for us. Music seems to be the one language we both speak. It’s not enough. For her. For them. For anyone. I’m not enough.

Family legacy dictates everything from type of education to suitability of friends to eligible marriage opportunities to the type of business I’m expected to go pursue. It’s more than just DNA, it’s also about birth order, gender, and unfortunately—the family name. I was born a Reed and the weight that carries isn’t limited to the doors that it opens, but also the ones it bars shut. When I was tapped for the Royals, I saw my first way out—but it only proved to be a deeper trap.

Emersyn Sharpe doesn’t belong in our world. In fact, the very last place she should be is with us. But someone is hurting her. We’ve all seen it. We tried to ignore the warning signs. We tried to trust the people around her. We tried to believe in her world. Too late. When she nearly died in front of us, we had to act. We took her. She doesn’t belong in our world, but I’ll be damned if someone lays a finger on her under my watch. I’ll kill them first.

When it comes down to acclaim in the yearbook, my class rank would probably earn me my only entry, but probably very little else. I don’t wear cosmetics, do my hair, or really give a damn about my appearance in general. I don’t need to be cool, and I’ve managed my high school career navigating all the different groups from the nerds to the jocks to the theatre kids and the band geeks.

At any given time, there could be as many as 50 serial killers active. I’m looking for one. He’s been killing successfully for more than three decades. I suspect even longer. A year ago, the unsub’s methods changed. Instead of one or two bodies a year, five have been dropped. Either the unsub has a partner or he’s about to become a spree killer. It’s only a matter of time before someone puts the coin into the right slot and the kill song begins. Finding the unsub is my obsession. It was my father’s. He died without solving the mystery. I won’t.

I was born into this world. Power and wealth are the keys to controlling it, but they aren’t everything. They are a means to an end when it comes to protecting the people I care about. I’ve known my destiny since I was old enough to sit at the table. Everything in my life has been focused on preparing me for the future. Know your enemies, your allies, and the people in the middle you can buy. When he first appeared in my life, I had no idea who he was, but I never forgot his pretty face. While it’s been years and I barely recognize him, I can’t get enough.

I’d been called so many names over the years. None of them mattered. My mirror cared more than I did. But he never treated me as less. None of them did. My brothers were the Vandals. They didn’t always understand, but they never judged and they always had my back.

My name is Mickey James. Little Bit is everything. I fought to stay away, and I’ll fight to keep. Our enemies are going to learn that my skill at healing broken bodies makes me damn talented at damaging them too. They drew blood, we’ll bury them.

My name is Emersyn Sharpe. Until a few months ago, I was the lead performer for a traveling show finishing up a contract. I had been beaten, but never broken. Then they took me. I didn’t belong in their world. Still, they took me and I didn’t know why. They promised to protect me and to keep me safe, but they had to know I’d run. They had to know.

My name is Liam O’Connell. Hellspawn is mine. Emersyn is ours. We aren’t going to wait around for the next attack. No, we’re taking the fight right to them.

It’s a new year. It’s a new me. Or maybe I should say a new us. We’re out there. We’re not hiding the fact that I’m dating all of them. PDAs are back on the table. The final semester of high school kicks off with a bang. I have to keep my eye on the prize though - make every AP class count, keep my grades up, and find a way to balance life with my guys. My best friends. My boyfriends. My lovers.

My only connections were forged through the veil of a computer screen. I was their voice in the dark, their operator. I was their lifeline—until the day my past tore into my present, and they had to become mine. Captured, subjected to torture and relentless interrogation, I survived long enough for them to find me. I harbor no delusions; fleeing and disappearing again is not an option. The only way to win is to fight. But to fight, you also have to be willing to risk everything. I was okay with that when the only one at risk was me.

The last thing I was looking for when I left the facility was a new woman, a new relationship, and a new cause. I found all three in a dark alley. Saving her life was the best choice I’ve ever made.

It’s not true. It can’t be. Four DNA tests. Only one positive. The man claiming to be my father is quite literally the worst option imaginable. This isn’t happening to me. For the first time in my life, I know who I am and where I want to be and, in the blink of an eye, everything is spinning so utterly out of control. I thought the fight with Maddy was the worst thing I faced. It’s not. I’ve grown up in a house of lies, and it’s all crashing down on the five of us, and I have no idea how to protect the ones I love best from the fallout.

When the year started, I had one goal - make my AP classes count and keep my grades up. Both my focus and my grades started wobbling. Dating my best friends came with perks like hugs, kisses, and invitations to dances, but it also came with cons in the form of vindictive posts, hate mail, and vandalism of my car. I asked if it could get any worse, and I guess I got my answer.

One-hundred-seventy some odd days left in my senior year, and everything has changed. I went from untouchable to dating my best friends to making out to being betrayed. Why can’t they understand humiliating and controlling me doesn’t say I care?

From the moment I learned she was coming to our school, I had a gut feeling it would end in disaster. Out of all the schools in the world, why did Kaitlin Crosse have to choose ours? Her presence confused my brothers and created tension between them, but I soon realized my initial assumptions about her were completely wrong.

You know, I never imagined having one boyfriend, much less four. Jake, Archie, Coop, and Ian are still my best friends. They’re also even more entrenched in my life than I ever imagined. They’ve been my rocks, but I’m not the only one with issues. We’re fighting our way to a new normal. I’m in therapy. Ian and I are dating. Archie introduced me to his grandfather. Both Coop and Jake’s moms refer to me as their son’s girlfriend. I don’t know how much our parents know about our relationship, but I also don’t care. Not anymore.