Somewhere I Belong (Shattered Lives Book 2) Read online

  Somewhere I Belong

  Book Two: Shattered Lives Series

  Barb Shuler

  Contents

  Also by Barb Shuler

  Acknowledgments

  Reader * Warning

  Foreword

  Prologue

  1. No Easy Way Out

  2. Bad Luck Much?

  3. I Couldn’t Protect Her

  4. Memories from the Past

  5. Ready for Blood

  6. The Truth is in the Words

  7. Fighting Words

  8. What Happens in Vegas…

  9. What now?

  10. Second Chances

  11. Giving Chase

  12. Not Backing Down

  13. Keepin’ it Together

  14. Mission Failed

  15. A School Haze

  16. When Chaos Blooms

  17. The Pain of Chaos

  18. What Goes Around

  19. Finding What is Mine

  20. Manhunt Underway

  21. Circles

  22. Lost in the Woods

  23. The Closer We Get

  24. Face Off

  25. The Aftermath of Chaos

  26. Beginning Anew

  Epilogue

  SOMEWHERE I BELONG ~ PLAYLIST

  Shatter Me Whole (Book 3)

  Prologue

  About the Author

  Somewhere I Belong (Shattered Lives Series; Book 2)

  © Copyright 2017 Barbara Shuler

  Published by Barbara Shuler

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  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to the seller and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

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  Cover Image by: Lindee Robinson Photography

  Cover Models: Victoria Morin & Chad Demchik

  Cover Art Design By: Madhat Covers

  Edited by: Emily Maynard

  Also by Barb Shuler

  My Own Nightmare (Shattered Lives Series; Book 1)

  This book is for anyone that has been through the hidden struggles of life.

  You don’t have to stay with anyone that makes you feel anything but loved and cherished.

  YOU are important and there is a happy place for you.

  No matter how hard the waves of life toss you around; swim like it’s all you can do.

  Find your safe place. Be happy, be free and be loved.

  Acknowledgments

  I want to thank everyone who had faith in me when this journey first began. Without the encouraging words, the endless hours of chats and plotting when I was stuck, this would not have come to be.

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  A special thank you goes to my best friends Emily Maynard and Jennifer Amerson. Lord knows they were teased, prodded and there when I would get stuck, or needed a kick in the pants to keep going. Many of our late night chats helped to clear the confusion and got me back to where I needed to be mentally. You girls rock my socks off!
  To my Bestie Jessica McBee, thank you for your love and support. Your messages and encouragement mean so much to me. Love ya babe!
  To my fellow authors to whom I am humbled to be able to call friends, Annie Anderson, Nancee Cain, and Shari J Ryan I want to say thank you for your help, guidance and for the unwavering support. It means more than I can ever say. I’m very lucky to have you ladies in my corner and in my life.
  To my beta readers and totally kick butt plot hole finders, Kelly Graham and Jo Dawson, a huge Hulk sized thank you goes your way. You ladies have made this experience so amazing. You're both priceless gems and I'm so glad I have you in my corner! :)

  A big thank you goes to Lindee Robinson of Lindee Robinson Photography for the cover photo for this book. I needed something special, something that represented the town and the people and boy, this one did it. It was instalove. Thank you for making my cover come to life.

  Lastly, thank you MadHat Books for rocking out the cover to this book. Shari, I only had to say what I was thinking and you made it happen.
  Reader * Warning

  This book contains content that may not be suitable for everyone. There could be content that would be a trigger for some. This book contains graphic scenes of sexual and physical abuse along with other dark themes. It’s recommended for anyone 18 and older. This book also contains foul language.

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  I do not condone, agree or encourage the acts shown above.

  * * *

  This is a work of fiction and should be read as such. Places mentioned, while real are used solely for their location. All names and story ideas are those of the author.

  Cradled by Mistrust - Loved by Family.

  One Girl's Journey Home

  Prologue

  For as long as I can remember, I was taught to be kind and respectful to everyone. Yes, those are two entirely different things. Well, in my world they were. I was taught to say thank you, you’re welcome, and to address everyone older than me as ma’am or sir. There was no one in the small town I grew up in that didn’t have that same value. Good ole’ country folks were like that. They worked hard for their money, they respected themselves and the land. But when I decided to move away, I lost that. It was ripped away from me and I was tossed around like a rag doll in a cyclone. Each place I visited was different, but it was the flashing lights of Vegas that caught me. It was a beacon I could not look away from. I was a fly on the sticky paper. That sticky paper was controlled by the eldest son of none other than former Senator Grant Wainwright. Yep, you heard that right. Jacob Wainwright became a man I couldn’t escape, or so I thought.

  When Grant decided Capitol Hill was no longer his cup of tea, he came back to Vegas where his family had a ‘vacation home’. Seems he hit it big in ‘underground activities’ that led him into the money pot of Vegas. Yep, that means casino’s. Lots of them. But, here is where it gets interesting. In some circles, the Wainwrights are like royalty. They have prestige, honor, and of course, class. But their son… oh, now, that boy is just trouble. He wears Armani by day, and leather by night. Frigging idiot thinks he is a big shot biker. The only thing that Harley riding douche canoe is good for is pushing drugs - the drugs his daddy pretends aren’t being siphoned through his casinos - and working through the whores in the back room. Some of those skanks have more mileage on them than an international jet has in a year of flight. I’d had to watch them paw at Jacob, doing anything they could to get a little of the white stuff he’d slip into their hands when no one was looking. God only knows what they did to get what was in his pants… let's just say, there's not much there to work with.

  As it tends to do, though, all good things must come to an end. Karma catches you by the balls and says, “cough”. There was a raid on the casino and Jacob was lucky enough to not be there. I take that back, I had the unlucky fortune that he wasn’t there. When he heard,the news of the ra
id, he flipped out. All of his whores, his stash of cocaine, even some of his regular customers… gone. The cops cleaned house and left the mess for him to clean up. That was when his daddy stepped in and told him to fix it, get his money back however he had to, and shut the door in his face. I paid for this simply because I was there. The moment I spoke, telling him he could get out now, be productive other ways - legal ways - the hit came. Hard and fast. He, of course apologized and cried over it. The douche thought that was good enough. Not even close.

  There was no way I could just up and leave. I’d seen too many things, knew too many things. He’d kill me if I tried. Hell, he’d probably kill me if he even thought I was thinking about leaving. Maybe. Maybe not. Though, I was willing to try now. I had to get out before I did wind up one of the dead bodies under a bridge somewhere. I couldn’t do that to my family. As I started to work on a way to get out, I found out there was someone else working to build a case against him. I didn’t know who the ‘other’ was, but I made sure to leave things laying around. In plain sight, even a snake can be overlooked. Then the unthinkable happened. They found the ‘spy’, and I was between a rock and a hard place. That was, until I was caught. My rock shifted and I was done.

  The hits and screams faded away as they had before… but I had changed. I’d had enough and I fought back. I had been too scared the last time. Shocked, really. I’d never had a man hit me before. The first time he raised his hand to me was in front of some crackpot bikers, the kind that give real bikers a bad name. He got praise then for ‘handling his bitch’, as if that was a good reason to hit someone. Apparently, he thought that method would work. Just like last time, he ‘handled’ me, alright, but I broke his nose. I tried for more, but I was in ‘cause as much damage as possible and run like hell’ mode. His goons were not there to help him, and I think my retaliation caught him by surprise. He didn’t expect a real fight. His anger made him sloppy, but he got in a lucky shot and I got a knife to the side. The stab wound I could deal with, as long as I could fight my way out. My oldest brother Charlie had always joked I was scrappy. Scrappy had nothing to do with it. I was in for a fight of my life and I knew it. It was time to get the hell out of dodge before I became like the body... bodies on the floor. I ran as fast as I could to the only place I knew I’d be safe. Home.

  1

  No Easy Way Out

  Anna

  We all have choices to make in life. Do we take the road less traveled, or do we follow along the motorcade leading you to the lands of adventure, fun and a little danger? Do you take it all with a grain of salt, or a squeeze of lime? Can you outrun the devil in the red dress? In my case, the devil wears Armani during the day and leather at night. He’s no superhero, though. Hell, no. He’s a complete and utter jack hole who has more money than brains. Yep, that train left the station with no one aboard a long time ago. Though, on second thought, I’m not much better. I fell for the sweet smile and the stacks of green he had. I was a simple, naive girl. I was living careless. Now, I’m running for my life from a man that has claimed me as his.

  He may have been there when I thought I needed a man. He may have loved me even, but he isn’t the one that stole my heart. No, that was taken years ago by a man that has most likely forgotten all about little ole’ me. Here I sit, my heart racing - pounding out a rhythm to rival any drum beat - as I scan the bus station lobby. I needed this bus to hurry up and board already. The longer I sat out here in the open, the more I started to panic. The pain in my side was getting worse. God, if it started to bleed again I was going to be screwed. I’d dropped everything but the cell phone in my pocket when Jacob attacked me in the back parking lot of the casino. I left it all. I didn't need it, everything would remind me of him…. and I just wanted to forget this life. My Aunt Trisha was wrong. You had to have more than attraction and money. You needed someone that respected you. Someone that would protect you, not someone that would do this to you.

  I pulled the ball cap on my head down tighter and tucked my chin into my collared shirt as I said a small prayer. The first of many. The last six hours had been a roller coaster of adrenaline, chaos and overwhelming emotions. I’d seen too much. I had been stabbed, beaten and now was on the run. On the run from a mad man. Nowhere to run, but home.

  “Anna, you’re so stupid,” I berated myself. For once, I deserved it. Every ounce of fear and pain that radiated through me confirmed that. I was stupid. I knew better than to try and get evidence against Jacob. See, Jacob Wainwright was the son of a wealthy casino owner and a former governor. He thought he was God’s gift to women. He treated them like queens until he got what he wanted from them, then he’d change them out like day old bread. All of that changed when I came in. He said he only wanted me, and I let him have me. That need turned to obsession. Greed. He was demanding. Jealous, and for all the things holy he was a fucking psycho. How I hadn’t seen that before, I don’t know. Maybe I had been wearing blinders or chose not to see it. I'm not sure, but in the end he truly thought he owned me.

  I had been in Jacob’s office searching for a very important file. One that would guarantee me some time to get away from here, away from him. I would blackmail my way out of this God forsaken place. But Jacob came back earlier than I expected. I was left with no choice but to hide behind the lush curtains that pooled on the floor against the wall of windows. I could wait them out. That was when it all started to go downhill like a train with no brakes. You knew there was no way to escape being stuck in its tracks.

  When the office door flew open I bit down on my bottom lip and tried to keep my breathing calm and low. Last thing I wanted was to be caught. Loud voices turned into men arguing, which turned into voices being raised even louder. That's when the the hitting started. My gut clenched in sympathy to whoever was being pounded on. The sound of flesh on flesh was starting to wig me out. Someone grunted and a cry of pain rolled through the room. I felt their pain, I knew those feelings all too well. Jacob’s angry voice rang out as I clenched my eyes shut with each of the hits the person took.

  “You… you fucking pig!” Jacob screamed, “You dare to betray me?”

  “If I disappear, more will come for you. You’re going down, Wainwright. Daddy can’t save you this time,” the man's voice was ragged from pain.

  I couldn’t help it, I had to peek. I pushed the curtains apart at a seam slowly, trying to keep my shaking hands from giving me away and peeked through. It was then I saw him. Joshua. He was calling Joshua a pig. Oh God, Joshua must have been the undercover man they were looking for. I’d overheard them talking earlier about a spy but I had no clue…my salvation had been so close. I could have given him everything he needed to take Jacob down. That was why I was looking for that folder, or anything to get me out of here. I just wanted to go home.

  It all happened so fast. Joshua was screaming at Jacob. The gun was pulled out and by the time the shot registered Joshua was on the ground, blood pooling under him. I must have made a noise because all eyes turned to me. I clapped the curtains together, only to have them ripped apart and me snatched roughly from the spot where I stood. My body slammed into the floor as I was thrown at Jacob’s feet. My tears were running in streams down my cheeks as sheer panic ran through me. I looked over to the lifeless body beside me.

  “Well now, this is unfortunate,” Jacob sneered. He gripped my hair and snatched me back up to my feet. I shrieked as the pain his grip caused ate through me. His lips brushed mine as he spoke to the men behind us. “Get out!”

  “But, boss,” one of them stuttered, only to have Jacob raise his arm, gun in hand and put a bullet between his eyes. It was in that moment that I knew he had completely lost it. The other two left the room after that display, so it was just me, him and two dead bodies on the floor.

  “Ja-Jacob.. Please…”

  “I love it when you beg, love,” he said pressing his lips to mine.

  I fought to get away, but that only seemed to make him madder. He jerked me behind him as
he went back into the office’s back room. His “I need space” bedroom. I wasn’t stupid. This was where he brought his whores. Then again, I was only a whore to satisfy his needs most days. I was nothing more to him. As my body slammed into the bed I cursed and tried to get away. I kicked and managed to get him off of me. He didn’t know I could fight. I was small, but I’d be damned if I was letting him do this to me anymore.

  “Get off me, asshole!” I kicked out, my bare foot meeting his chest. He stumbled and I flipped off the bed. A roundhouse to the temple had him out. I ran for the door. I checked to make sure the hall was clear. I shut the door and grabbed the bag I had under his desk, slipped on my ballet flats, and took off out the door. My mind was racing. I needed to take the back stairs. No one ever used those except the cleaning people. This place was like a maze, though. I had to get to the bottom floor, but not run out into the lobby. I needed to avoid security, too.

  I’d made it out of the building, running full out to my car. Just when I thought I was free, I was hit from behind. My body slammed into the car and he was on me. I head butted Jacob and his roar of pain made me grin. It was then that I felt the burning in my side. I cried out but pushed myself harder. Elbowing him as hard as I could in the solar plexus I shifted and kicked back, making him stumble. He doubled over in pain and I cracked him on the head with my bag. My shit went flying and I let it. I took off running. I ran through the crazy packed streets of Las Vegas until I was doubled over outside of some restaurant. There was a man with his back to me. He had a ball cap hanging on the back of his chair. I slipped it free and took off running again.