CORAL - Fallen (A Romance Trilogy, Book 2) (61 page)

On the back wall there’
s a collage of four, to my right another four, to my left are the
two I liked the most. They have been blown up and changed to black a
nd white. I can tell from where Tristan sits at his desk; they would
surround him. Swallowing hard, I turn on my heel and walk back out.

I feel lost for a moment. This house is so
big I could spend forever trying to find Tristan.

Deciding my next step is to check
downstairs I silently pad as quickly as I can down the stairs, I run along the
hallway and stop as I reach the cinema room. The door is open, so I lean in as
quickly as I can and pull back taking a mental picture of the room as I do.
Damn
he isn’
t in there!

Running to the gym, I stop before I reach
the glass wall and do the same as I did with the cinema room –
Damn it!
– Not in here either.

Dashing back down the hallway I silently
run up the stairs two at a time, I turn to my right and head towards the
kitchen. I check the library, and the large dining room, just as I’m running
back out, I start to hear music playing, I stand still so I can try and work
out where it’
s coming from.

I tentatively walk towards the stairs
leading to the bedrooms, I hear Flor
ence and the
Machine playing, I’
ve never heard Tristan play that
before. I put my foot on the first step and listen again, I know the track
– Shake It Out – I try to listen for any strange noises, any kind of
danger, when I don't, I run up the first flight of stairs as silently as I can,
I’
m so glad these stairs don't creak and give me away!

Reaching the first landing, I open each
bedroom door as quietly as I can and glance inside. I have a horrible feeling I
know where Tristan is…
and Susannah
.

I walk over to the last flight of stairs
and stop for a moment…
Ok, this is it!

Feeling sure of what I'm about to do, I run
up the stairs, then I slowly walk across the short landing to the doorway so I
can catch my breath. I hear the music getting louder, but my heart is
overtaking that, thumping loudly against my chest, blood pounding in my ears.

Reaching the door, I place my hand on the doorknob
and slowly turn it, then slowly push it open. Keeping an Eskrima stick in each
hand just in-case Susannah is there, I step forward into the room.
Oh God!
No…Tristan…

Tristan is lying on the bed. His head is
cut and bleeding, his mouth is covered with duct-tape, his arms tied behind him,
and he’
s out cold –
Tristan!

I run over to him and crawl along the bed,
when I reach him I try to lift him up, but he’
s too
heavy for me. Leaning down I try to see where
all the
blood’
s coming from, but there
’
s too much of it, I quickly untie his arms and pull the tape from
his mouth.

“
Tristan, wake up
baby, please wake up,
”
I
whisper into his ear. Silent
tears start to fall
against my cheeks; seeing him like this is like my own personal hell. “
Tristan,
”
I whisper
kissing his head.
“
Please wake
up.
”
I tap his face a couple of
times, hoping that might do the trick.

Finally, his eyes open drearily.
Tristan, look at me,
”
I say sharply, his eyes search for me, but he looks like he can't
focus properly, then suddenly his eyes widen with fear as he grips his head in
pain.

“
Run,
”
he growls.

“
Is she here?
”
I whisper.

“
Get out Coral… she
has a
gun!”

“What?” I gasp.
Fuck!
Where the hell did she get a
fucking gun from?

“Get out Coral,” Tristan says again,
gripping his head and groaning in pain.

“
No. I
’
m not leaving you Tristan, come on,
”
I say. I stagger as I try to help Tristan
off the bed and onto his feet. He instantly falls to
the floor, taking me with him. “
Tristan,
”
I cry out.
“
What did she do to you?
”
I choke.

He tries to push me away from him again. “
Go, run...get out,
”
he moans, holding his head again. I feel absolute rage flood through me. I want
to find her. I want to
kill her.

“
Coral...move, go,
”
he says then he cries out in pain and hold
s his head.

I start to cry. “
I'm
not leaving you,
”
I croak.
I help him to his feet again but he stumbles three times onto the
bed. I lift his arm over my shoulder, and with all my might, I lift him up to his
feet, blood starts gushing from his head, pooling onto his shoulder, then
dripping down his torso –
Fuck, Tristan!

I hear police sirens close by, and just as
I'm about to take a step forward I see Susannah appear from behind the door.
Shit! She was there the whole time!

I see the gun in her hand, I think it’
s a small revolver; we stop and stare at one another. I decide my
best bet is to try and talk her down, get her to see sense, I have to do
something.

“
Susannah,
”
I whisper, swallowing hard.

“
He
’
s mi
ne,”
she says robotically and lifts the gun up so it
’
s pointing at me.
Oh fuck!
I hear voices shouting from
down below, it gives me a tiny glint of hope.

“
Coral…don't move.
”
Tristan
’
s
voice startles me.

I turn and look up at him. He seems more
lucid as he glares at Susannah. She smiles weakly at him then she looks at me,
her lips pull back over her teeth and she starts to growl at me, which quickly
turns into an erratic scream. She holds her head in her hands and starts to
shake her head, then she starts banging the gun against her forehead, mumbling
to herself, then suddenly she stops and looks up at me, raising the gun in her
trembling hand she points it right at me –
Holy fuck,
I think I'm
about to die?

“
Susannah…
Don’
t
!”
Tristan shouts.

She moves a fraction and aims at Tristan,
tears pool in her eyes and start to stream down her cheeks, just as her finger
starts to pull back against the trigger.

“
No!
”
I swing myself around and dive in front of
Tristan, just as I hear the deafening noise of a gun going off
, and something…something painful pierce my shoulder.

“Coral!”
Tristan ga
sps and falls to the floor with me in his arms.

Several footsteps run into the room, I hear
Susannah scream in rage as she’
s taken down, and
another shot goes off, my ears are ringing so badly.
I
feel a strange sensation start to trickle down my back. I'm aware of several
things happening at once, an ambulance being called, lots of male voices
shouting, Tristan looking frantic. I realise I can't really feel my body
anymore, everything feels numb. I look up at Tristan, his beautiful face looks
so clear to me.

“
No baby, no!
”
he s
houts as I lie
in his arms. “
Hold on ok, hold on,
”
he pleads. I see his face change from fear
to anger.
“
Why did you come
back?
”
he shouts
. “
Why?
”

I swallow once so I can tell him. “
I came back...for you my love…
”
I reach up and place my hand on his heart
.
“
P
rotect you…”
Tristan starts to choke back angry tears.

“
W
e need help…somebody!”
he shouts, looking around the room.

I’
m aware
I'm being moved, but I keep my eyes focused on Tristan and smile up
at him – I love him so much, and I saved him, I saved him from Susannah!

For some strange reason my hearing is drawn
to the song that’
s started playing
, Never Let Me Go,
I
reach up and touch Tristan’s face.

“
I like this song
,”
I say but it comes out garbled.
I start to feel really cold, but I know I shouldn’
t, w
e are having such a beautiful summer…

“Coral! Stay with me,” Tristan shouts, but I
feel so tired…my eyes won’
t stay open anymore.

“
Open your eyes,
”
Tristan shouts, so I do. He leans down and
whispers in my ear.
“
Stay with
me..
.stay with me baby, you have to fight.”

I try, I try so hard, but I can feel myself
drifting off.

”
O
pen your eyes,”
he
shouts again. I fight against the sleepiness and do as he asks.

“
D
on’
t you dare close your eyes,
”
he shouts, I smile
weakly at him but I feel myself slipping, I feel the clouds coming over and the
darkness taking me away...

“
N
o…Coral no!”
I hear my voice te
ll him I love him, but no words come out. “
D
on’
t
you dare leave
me,”
he shouts. “
K
eep fighting, stay with me!”
I feel his hand crushing mine.

“
I
love you,”
I hear him choke and his words
are my undoing.
I feel my heart thump twice then stop,
the black clouds roll over me and I drift away...

End
of Part Two…

Yay!
You’ve finished Fallen.

As a brand new author, I would like
to ask, would you do me the honour of writing a review of CORAL - Fallen? If
that’s a yes, which I really appreciate, Amazon will prompt you to do se at the
end of this book – I would be very grateful!

Find
out what happens next to Coral and Tristan in the very exciting finale…Forever.

Click
This Link To Buy Now - http://amzn.to/11g12fI

CORAL - Forever

Will their love
pull them closer together, or ultimately tear them apart?

When
Coral Stevens met Tristan Freeman, she never thought it would lead her to
challenge every aspect of her life, including her own mortality. Coral knows
she is a handful, yet despite her bad temper, her irrational thoughts and her
need to control, Tristan has stuck with her. He has become her best friend, her
passionate lover, her bright light in the darkness, and with his help, she can
finally lay the ghosts of her past to rest. Now, together, they must face some
of their hardest challenges and prove to each other, no matter how hard it
gets; they have become intrinsically woven into the web of each other’s lives,
forever. Only now, with their deep love for one another, their passion, his
wealth and their growing intimacy, fate it seems, will have the final say...

Excerpt From Forever…

IT
FEELS LIKE I’VE BEEN FLOATING
for a long time. I’m heading down
towards my studio; it’s weird how it doesn’t feel like my feet are hitting the
ground. As I reach the Marina, I start to notice that there aren’t any people
about, just the houses, the boats. I stop for a moment and look out to sea, but
I can't see anything except thick, dense fog. I turn and look down the
concourse, the fog lifts for a moment, and in the distance, I see a figure
standing outside my studio. I squint trying to work out who it is, but I’m too
far away.

The moment I think that I zoom forwards and stop in front of
my studio, the unearthly figure is hard to look at, there’s a bright white
light surrounding it; it’s almost blinding.

Suddenly the figure turns and stares at me, and I realise
it’s a woman.

“Hello Coral,” she says, but her lips don't move.