Exposing Secrets, page 1
Exposing Secrets
Angela Ruth Strong
Virginia Vaughan
Alana Terry
Lesley Ann McDaniel
Amanda Tru
© 2019 Exposing Secrets: A GraceReads Christian Suspense Collection
The individual titles of this collection remain the intellectual property of the author and are used by permission in this collection.
The scanning, uploading, and/or distribution of this book via the Internet or by any other means without the permission of the authors and publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and avoid electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your respect and support for the authors’ rights is appreciated.
The events and people in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to actual people is purely coincidental
Fonts: Garamond, Eras Medium, Charcoal CY, Alex Brush, Eterea Pro
Cover photos: snvv/depositphotos.com
Cover Art: Chautona Havig
Contents
Exposing Secrets
The Princess and the PI
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
From the Author
Convicted Hearts
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
About the Author:
Blessing on the Run
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
From the Author
Tide Will Tell
Psalm 138:7
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
Epilogue
About the Author
The Assumption of Guilt
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
From the Author
The Princess and the PI
Angela Ruth Strong
Dedication
To my little sister Chrissi for loving all things pink and princess even as a grown woman.
Chapter 1
JACQUELINE JAMES ALWAYS knew that one day her prince would come, but today?
She pinched herself after hanging up the phone with Steffan. Ouch. Yep, she was living the dream—or rather, the fairytale. No, this was the real deal. She had to tell her best friend.
Striding out of her Rendezvous Resort office into the lush St. Lucia foliage surrounding the water garden, Jacqueline refused to let herself run toward the fitness facility where Tia worked. Running in heels wasn’t very royal behavior. Her boss probably wouldn’t approve either.
Jacqueline took a deep breath and smoothed her pencil skirt to appear poised when passing a family dressed in swimming suits, the youngest daughter already sporting water wings and goggles. How cute. Someday her children with Prince Steffan would walk around resorts in water wings and goggles...because tiaras just weren’t practical while on vacation.
Smooshing her lips together to silence a squeal of excitement, Jacqueline picked up her pace now that she was out of sight of the family. Her heels clip-clopped along the pathway leading to the new spa designed to look like a replication of the area’s old world charm with stone, plantation shutters, and white gingerbread trim. Jacqueline ignored the view of the azure ocean displayed in the building’s picture windows as she swung open the door to focus on Tia practicing the latest routine to her calypso dance class.
“Guess what!” she burst out.
Tia hit a remote to lower the steel drum beat then tossed her cornrow braids over a shoulder. “I’ve got time to guess.”
Thank goodness they had the place to themselves. Jacqueline held up two fingers.
“Two words,” Tia translated. “Okay, what’s the first word?”
Jacqueline held out her arms and began to sway as if dancing with an invisible suitor.
“The Waltz. Dance. Romance?”
Jacqueline continued the act by bowing slightly and raising her hands over her head to put on an imaginary crown.
“Crown. Royalty. Princess?”
Jacqueline clapped her hands and pointed at her friend to let her know she got it.
“Princess what?”
Jacqueline aimed both thumbs at her chest.
“Princess you? Princess Jackie?”
Jacqueline huffed on her fingernails and buffed them against her lapel.
“No way. He proposed?”
She couldn’t hold it in any longer. “He’s coming back, Tia. Today. With his parents.”
“The King and Queen are staying here? Do they happen to have any more sons?”
Jacqueline barely got a shrug in before tiny Tia wrapped her in a bone-crushing hug.
“I’m so excited for you. I knew you fell for him when he was here last month, but I figured he wooed women wherever he went.”
“I know, right?” Jacqueline had told herself the same thing and resigned to enjoying the two weeks that she got to snorkel and zipline with Steffan before he returned to the small European country where he was heir to the throne. What was the country called again? She’d never heard of it before. But now she needed to study up if she was going to be part of the monarchy.
“Can I be in your wedding?”
Jacqueline giggled. “Of course.” She needed to go dress shopping. Would they be allowed to hold their ceremony on St. Lucia or would it have to be in Steffan’s country? She’d always wanted a beach wedding, but a traditional ceremony could be nice.
“When will he be here?”
Jacqueline held one hand over her pounding heart. “His helicopter is landing soon, but he wants to get his parents settled in before I join them for dinner. I wish I had time to get my hair trimmed.”
“You’re worried about your hair? That should be the last of your worries.” Tia wrapped one of Jacqueline’s golden ringlets around a finger. “Kind of funny that I’ve always called it your ‘princess hair,’ huh?”
That was funny, now that Jacqueline thought about it. “So what should I worry about?”
“What you’re going to wear, of course.” Tia motioned down at Jacqueline’s light grey suit. “Aren’t princesses supposed to be dressed in floaty, pastel gowns?”
“They are in Disney movies.”
“Then I’d go with your coral chiffon.”
The purchase she’d never taken out of its garment bag because it always seemed a little too dressy. How perfect. Could life get any better?
JACQUELINE STEPPED out of the cab. Not exactly the coach Cinderella had ridden in on the way to meet her prince, but it would do. It was better than her bicycle anyway.
<
br /> A warm breeze caressed her skin and swirled the layers of her skirt. She paused in the moment. Was this really happening?
The magical view of the Pitons from the mountaintop location of Dasheen Restaurant were not what took her breath away. She knew this place. Loved this place. No, she was holding her breath because that’s what one did before diving into the unknown.
So what was she waiting for? This was every little girl’s dream. Of course, her childhood dream had been about having a mother, but even that part of her life fit the fairytale pattern. Maybe her new mother-in-law could fulfill what had always been missing. She’d never find out unless she took the steps to make that happen.
Swatting at the insects around her, Jacqueline took a step. Hopefully she put on enough perfume to cover the scent of bug spray. She should have told Steffan to warn his parents about the mosquitoes. But too late now. No regrets. She was going to enjoy the evening no matter what it brought.
Strappy sandals carried Jacqueline to the open-air entrance of the tiki-like structure. Who would she ask the host for? The king and queen? The prince? Or just Steffan—
A hand snaked from behind a potted plant and pulled her toward the shrubbery. She stumbled forward before she could stop herself. Was she being kidnapped for a ransom or something? How would anybody even know to kidnap her? Her relationship to the throne hadn’t been announced yet.
“No!” She shoved against the body of the person trying to control her.
The hand on her upper arm twisted her skin in an effort to pin her to a wall. She opened her mouth to cry out, but salty flesh muzzled her.
Jerking her head, she whipped the hair out of her face. At least she would get a good look at her assailant so she could describe him later.
She had to look way up, as he was tall. A dark curl hung in the center of his forehead above warm brown eyes. Eyes she knew. Eyes that ignited her insides.
He dropped his hand from her mouth but kept her pinned against the wall.
Her breath exhaled with a whoosh. “Steffan.”
If he wanted a moment alone with her, this was one way to get it. If he was hoping to get her heart racing, there were better ways.
Had it only been a month since they’d seen each other? Now that he was in front of her again she realized what had been missing.
“Steffan,” she whispered this time, closing the distance between them.
His mouth pressed against hers.
She lifted her hands to run them through his hair. To pull him closer. This time it was different. This time she could picture the ring on her finger. She could imagine waking up next to him for a lifetime. She could speculate on what their children would look like.
His lips trailed along her cheekbone toward her ear. Mmm...
“Jacqueline.”
His accent made her name sound so rich.
“Jacqueline.” He tried to pull back to speak, but they would have plenty of time to talk later. If he really wanted to talk, he wouldn’t have yanked her into the cluster of potted trees.
She couldn’t reach Steffan’s lips now that he was standing up straight, so she nuzzled his neck.
“Mama mia.” He gripped both her wrists and pressed her to the wall. Whoa. She wasn’t ready for that.
“Bambina, I enjoy your kisses, but...I...I have to tell you something. And you need to listen.”
“Of course.” She could listen to his deep voice for hours.
“I can’t see you anymore, bambina.”
Really? Then why was he here? That would be just too cruel to invite her to meet his parents than break up with her. “What? I thought—“
“So did I. I’m ready to get married now. And you are so beautiful. Like the sunshine. But I didn’t know about your padre.”
Her dad? She hadn’t introduced them yet. But there was still time for that. “My dad lives here in Castries. You can meet him tonight if you want.”
Steffan caressed her cheek. “No, no, no. I can never meet him. You should have told me he was a fugitive from the United States.”
Jacqueline shook her head. Maybe that would rearrange the words he’d just spoken into a different order—one that made sense. “My dad’s not a fugitive. Where did you get that idea?”
“You did not know?” Steffan shifted his weight as if suddenly itching to walk away.
“Steffan...what are you talking about?” This wasn’t part of her fairytale.
“Oh, bambina.” He tilted his head. “You know how much press that prince got in England when he married the girl?”
“Princess Kate?” The one who became her new best friend in all her fantasies of royalty. Besides Tia, of course.
“My dear, that is going to happen to me when I get married. So I had to know what reporters would dig up on you before I introduced you to my parents. I did not expect this.”
Expect what? “You’re mistaken, Steffan. You must have Googled some other Jacqueline James.”
“I wish I had.”
“But...” The conversation made no sense. In fact it made her mad. “If you want to dump me, you could have done it without making up this elaborate excuse about my dad.”
Wrinkles appeared between Steffan’s thick brows. “How could you think I want to dump you? My heart is broken. But if I marry you now it will only make life harder for everyone. You do not want to have your character ripped apart on magazine covers. You deserve more than that.”
What? He was dumping her for her own benefit? No. If he really cared for her, he would have told her all this before she got dressed up to meet the king and queen. “Really?” Hand on her hip. “You invite me to dinner then drag me behind some trees to kiss me and dismiss me? This is what I deserve?”
His fingers reached up to cradle her face. “This was not my plan. The private investigator told me you were squeaky clean at first. So I brought my parents to the island. It wasn’t until I got here to this restaurant that he tracked me down and told me what else he had discovered. I am so sorry.”
Jacqueline blinked. A private investigator? Had this person been following her? Recording her every move? Tapping her phone calls? Digging through her drawers? Her dad’s drawers?
If so, the P.I. had to be wrong about Dad. He’d moved them away from the states when her mother died. There were just too many memories for him there.
“Your P.I. is wrong, Steffan.”
The prince leveled his gaze on her. “He’s a reliable source, unfortunately.”
“Ha!” The unexpected laughter that bubbled out was sure to give away their hiding place. “Is he one of your foreign agents? Probably can’t even read English. Or was it some young islander that usually makes a living from picking pockets?”
Her future with the man of her dreams was not going to be destroyed by ignorant fools.
“No. He is one of yours. American. Beau Ryan, if you want to look him up.”
Ridiculous. She would not question her father’s honor. If she questioned anybody it would be Dad himself. He would tell her the truth. And he would fix it. That’s what daddies did.
She could handle this. Everything was all right. Sure, it felt like she would never be engaged to the prince now. And yeah, her father was just accused of running from the law. But straightening out one issue would straighten out the other. Then all would be fine in her world again.
Better than fine. She was going to be a princess, for heaven’s sake.
“Breathe,” Steffan coaxed before she realized how shallow her breaths had become.
Jacqueline inhaled through her nose, her chest expanding in slow motion. She let out the air just as slow.
“Better?” Steffan asked as if hadn’t just given her a blow that knocked the wind out of her. He kissed the tip of her nose. “You are even more beautiful when angry. I will miss you.”
Then he was gone.
Jacqueline stood alone behind the potted plants. Cold without Steffan’s body heat. Dizzy without his strength to hold her up. Lost without a plan for the future or even where to go next.
Her first step should be out from hiding. She took it. Craning her neck to see the balcony of the restaurant where Steffan’s parents were seated. Too many plants in the way.
“May I help you, miss?” The host.
“Um...” Her dad was the only person who could help her. “No.”
In a daze, Jacqueline twisted toward the entrance. People around laughed and chatted like nothing had happened. A young couple entered arm in arm, the woman still wearing a veil as if they had just come from a beach wedding. Jacqueline bet the bride got to meet her husband’s parents without a background check. She wouldn’t have had private investigators pulling the wrong skeletons out of her closet. And even if she weren’t squeaky clean, she probably still got married without fear of ruining reputations.
