HAUNTED (Blind Man's Alibi #2)
Contemporary Romance
Characters: Kirk Lombardo, Ava Murdoch
Characters: Kirk Lombardo, Ava Murdoch
**Stand Alone with No cheating and a Happy Ending. Book two of the Blind Man’s Alibi series but can be read completely on its own and is self-contained.
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**coming soon**
Seven years ago, Ava Murdoch’s world collapsed and left her devastated. Now, she spends her days helping those who’ve suffered the same fate, and her nights longing for what she can never have—a normal life. Haunted by nightmares and invisible scars, she is unable to form a relationship with any man. Then she met him. Kirk Lombardo’s world is anything but ordinary. As drummer for alternative rock band Blind Man’s Alibi, Kirk has known nothing but success and fame. But fame is vacuous, and being a rock god is highly over-rated. Especially when devastating loss taints his world not once, but twice, leaving him with no one to help ease the pain and anger. Until he met her. The last person Ava ever imagined she’d feel safe around is a tattooed, irresistible rocker with hypnotic eyes. But something about Kirk calls to her, promising an end to her nightmares and a happiness she’s never dared dream of. THE SCARS YOU CAN'T SEE ARE THE HARDEST TO HEAL
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Excerpt
Bloody hell, he hated this. For the first time in ten years he resented his fame. The fact that he couldn’t go anywhere without people recognizing him. Staring at him like he was a specimen under a microscope. Worse, someone to be deified. He wasn’t a God to be worshipped, but a man.
One whose world had gone to shit.
Ten days after the conclusion to the worst damn tour of Kirk Lombardo’s career and all he wanted to do was crawl into a hole and forget. Or at the very least, spend some much needed down time at his home in England. Instead, he was in a limousine in San Bernardino, California. A sodding limousine! He hated limos. They were pretentious and utterly impractical for groups less than six. He needed to remain as anonymous as possible during this trip, as not to stir up the rumor mill more than it was already swarming. But there was nothing anonymous or inconspicuous about a limousine. Which was expressly why he’d asked the car service for anything but.
Shit. No wonder he hadn’t made it through the airport without drawing a crowd. Voices called out questions as bodies pressed in on him. The shouting and chatter growing exponentially as the pulse of cell phone flashes drew more people to see what the fuss was about.
It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate the fans. Without them, Blind Man’s Alibi would be nothing. He was grateful for their loyalty, even if he didn’t welcome the attention. Any other day he would have stopped and signed a couple of autographs, maybe answered a few questions. The band was a vital part of his life. The music gave him purpose, a sense of importance, and these where the people who loved their music as much as he did. But he had no answers to offer them. Emma was dead, no amount of money in the world could save her, Lord knew Joe had tried. The band was scattered, and there was no cure for the endless pain that arced through him.
“Mr. Lombardo? We’ve arrived.”
The driver’s voice echoed in the too empty space as he pulled the limo to a stop. Kirk adjusted the brim of his hat. He shoved his grief aside, burying it beneath the terror that had chased him for three and a half months. Sunglasses in place, he scanned the walkway in front of the building. The thought of stepping into the police precinct tightened his throat. He didn’t know if he could go through with it, but he had to.
For Claire.
Rolling his shoulders, he slid from the limo, grabbed his duffle and headed for the front entrance. As he walked, he pretended he was fine, that he couldn’t feel the myriad of eyes tracing his every step. Or the knot of foreboding in the pit of his stomach.
When first he’d received the call from his aunt telling him his cousin had gone missing, he hadn’t worried. He and Claire had been raised together. Their mums, both sisters and single parents, shared a house so he and Claire had grown up more like siblings than cousins. Kirk knew her as well as he knew himself. And like him, Claire needed space every now and again. Time to herself, away from her pessimist mother and a world she sometimes found a bit oppressive. Yet as the days stretched into weeks, his worry grew, coalescing into all out fear as the police officially labeled her a missing person.
That was three and a half months ago – sixteen weeks and three days to be exact – and still no answers. Only question compiled upon question. He’d been stuck in the hellish tour, unable to do much more than fear the worst, ringing the detective assigned to her case whenever he could. Detective Erik Gabriel was always patient with him, even as the weeks stretched on with no sign of Claire and no hint to what happened to her.
With the tour now over, Kirk could do more than just make a call. Free from commitment, he could meet with the detective face to face and hopefully learn the truth about what happened to his cousin. He’d spent a week in England, getting everything together before hopping the pond. The last thing he’d done was promise his aunt he would bring Claire back to her. And he would, no matter what it took.
He only hoped it was in a seat next to him and not a coffin in the belly of the plane.
One whose world had gone to shit.
Ten days after the conclusion to the worst damn tour of Kirk Lombardo’s career and all he wanted to do was crawl into a hole and forget. Or at the very least, spend some much needed down time at his home in England. Instead, he was in a limousine in San Bernardino, California. A sodding limousine! He hated limos. They were pretentious and utterly impractical for groups less than six. He needed to remain as anonymous as possible during this trip, as not to stir up the rumor mill more than it was already swarming. But there was nothing anonymous or inconspicuous about a limousine. Which was expressly why he’d asked the car service for anything but.
Shit. No wonder he hadn’t made it through the airport without drawing a crowd. Voices called out questions as bodies pressed in on him. The shouting and chatter growing exponentially as the pulse of cell phone flashes drew more people to see what the fuss was about.
It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate the fans. Without them, Blind Man’s Alibi would be nothing. He was grateful for their loyalty, even if he didn’t welcome the attention. Any other day he would have stopped and signed a couple of autographs, maybe answered a few questions. The band was a vital part of his life. The music gave him purpose, a sense of importance, and these where the people who loved their music as much as he did. But he had no answers to offer them. Emma was dead, no amount of money in the world could save her, Lord knew Joe had tried. The band was scattered, and there was no cure for the endless pain that arced through him.
“Mr. Lombardo? We’ve arrived.”
The driver’s voice echoed in the too empty space as he pulled the limo to a stop. Kirk adjusted the brim of his hat. He shoved his grief aside, burying it beneath the terror that had chased him for three and a half months. Sunglasses in place, he scanned the walkway in front of the building. The thought of stepping into the police precinct tightened his throat. He didn’t know if he could go through with it, but he had to.
For Claire.
Rolling his shoulders, he slid from the limo, grabbed his duffle and headed for the front entrance. As he walked, he pretended he was fine, that he couldn’t feel the myriad of eyes tracing his every step. Or the knot of foreboding in the pit of his stomach.
When first he’d received the call from his aunt telling him his cousin had gone missing, he hadn’t worried. He and Claire had been raised together. Their mums, both sisters and single parents, shared a house so he and Claire had grown up more like siblings than cousins. Kirk knew her as well as he knew himself. And like him, Claire needed space every now and again. Time to herself, away from her pessimist mother and a world she sometimes found a bit oppressive. Yet as the days stretched into weeks, his worry grew, coalescing into all out fear as the police officially labeled her a missing person.
That was three and a half months ago – sixteen weeks and three days to be exact – and still no answers. Only question compiled upon question. He’d been stuck in the hellish tour, unable to do much more than fear the worst, ringing the detective assigned to her case whenever he could. Detective Erik Gabriel was always patient with him, even as the weeks stretched on with no sign of Claire and no hint to what happened to her.
With the tour now over, Kirk could do more than just make a call. Free from commitment, he could meet with the detective face to face and hopefully learn the truth about what happened to his cousin. He’d spent a week in England, getting everything together before hopping the pond. The last thing he’d done was promise his aunt he would bring Claire back to her. And he would, no matter what it took.
He only hoped it was in a seat next to him and not a coffin in the belly of the plane.
Haunted is Book 2 in the Blind Man's Alibi series. The full series reading order is as follows:
Book 1: Wrecked
Book 2: Haunted (releases soon)
Book 1: Wrecked
Book 2: Haunted (releases soon)
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