Secrets
and Lies
Cassie
Scot
Book
2
Christine
Amsden
Genre:
Urban Fantasy
Publisher:
Twilight Times Books
ISBN:
978-1606192771
ASIN:
B00FX4C0YM
Number
of pages: 274
Word
Count: 85k
Cover
Artist: Ural Akyutz
Book
Description:
Cassie
Scot, still stinging from her parents' betrayal, wants out of the
magical world. But it isn't letting her go. Her family is falling
apart and despite everything, it looks like she may be the only one
who can save them.
To
complicate matters, Cassie owes Evan her life, making it difficult
for her to deny him anything he really wants. And he wants her.
Sparks fly when they team up to find two teenagers missing from a
summer camp, but long-buried secrets may ruin their hopes for
happiness. Book 2 in the Cassie Scot series.
Beginning of Chapter 1
1
It
turns
out,
there's
a
time
limit
on
feeling
sorry
for
yourself.
Nobody
mentioned
it
to
me
the
day
I
moved
into
Kaitlin's
one-bedroom
apartment,
stowing
boxes
of
clothes
in
one
corner
while
making
a
makeshift
bed
out
of
blankets
on
the
floor.
I
didn't
hear
a
word
about
it
on
Monday
or
Tuesday,
when
Kaitlin
went
to
work
and
I
flipped
through
endless
channels
of
daytime
TV,
blocking
out
my
own
problems
by
getting
angry
with
the
men
who
cheated
on
their
pregnant
girlfriends.
Kaitlin
almost
mentioned
something
on
Wednesday,
after
I
complained
about
the
endless
stream
of
visitors
I
refused
to
let
into
the
apartment
that
day.
Most
notably,
my
former
father
wanted
to
talk
about
something
I
didn't
catch,
but
which,
from
the
tone
of
his
voice,
was
clearly
my
fault.
Wasn't
it
bad
enough
that
he'd
disowned
me?
Did
I
have
to
continue
to
listen
to
his
lectures
as
well?
No
doubt
he
had
some
suspicions
about
me
fraternizing
with
the
Blackwoods,
his
long-time
enemies,
but
I
couldn't
handle
it,
not
from
a
man
who
had
rejected
me.
Besides,
I
had
bigger
problems
with
one
Blackwood
– Evan
– than
I
cared
to
admit.
On
Thursday,
when
Kaitlin
and
I
took
Madison
to
the
movies
to
help
get
her
mind
off
the
bank
robbery,
I
could
have
sworn
Evan
was
following
me.
I'm
sure
it
was
nothing
more
than
paranoia,
but
wasn't
I
entitled
to
a
few
delusions
about
the
man
who
had
complete
control
of
my
life?
Someone who
could,
on
a
whim,
command
me
to
do
anything
at
all?
I
spent
Thursday
night,
after
the
movie,
coming
up
with
more
and
more
bizarre
orders
he
could
give
me:
Stand
on
your
head.
Circle
your
head
and
pat
your
tummy.
Wink
at
the
next
ten
strangers
who
walk
by.
He
would
probably
not
ask
me
to
do
any
of
those
things,
but
thinking
about
them
helped
me
keep
my
mind
off
the
more
likely
orders:
Kiss
me.
Move
in
with
me.
Marry
me.
He
had
already
ordered
me
to
do
that
last
one,
and
though
he
had
retracted
the
command,
I
didn't
doubt
for
a
second
that
he
was
just
biding
his
time.
He
wanted
me,
and
Evan
Blackwood
tended
to
get
what
he
wanted.
Then
came
Friday
morning,
which
was,
apparently,
the
deadline
to
stop
moping.
I
was
sitting
at
the
breakfast
table
trying
hard
to
wake
up
– due to
Kaitlin's
snoring,
I
had
barely
slept
– when
she
shoved
a
piece
of
paper
in
my
face.
“Do
you
know
what
this
is?”
she
asked.
I
tried
to
push
it
away.
“Not
when
it's
pressed
against
my
nose.”
“How
about
this?”
Kaitlin
shoved
another
piece
of
paper
at
my
face.
“What
is
this
about?”
“My
credit
card
bill
is
due
in
a
few
days,
and
the
electric
bill
was
due
yesterday.
This
is
a
shut-off
notice,
if
we
don't
pay
by
Tuesday.”
Bills.
She
was
talking
about
bills?
“You
can't
just
sit
here
feeling
sorry
for
yourself.
You
have
to
get
a
job.”
Oh.
Real
life.
She
was
talking
about
real
life.
My
parents
had
sheltered
me
from
that
for
most
of
my
life.
Er,
my
former
parents.
They
would
willingly
shove
money
down
my
throat
if
I
let
them,
but
I
was
too
proud
for
that.
If
I
wanted
to
prove
my
own
worth
and
independence,
then
I
needed
to
get
a
job.
Which
was
why,
Friday
morning,
I
walked
into
the
sheriff's
department
and
asked
to
speak
to
Sheriff
Adams.
Jane,
the
dispatcher,
looked
happy
to
see
me.
She
smiled
and
gave
me
a
tight
hug
when
I
told
her
I
wanted
my
old
job
back.
Not
all
the
others
were
quite
as
friendly,
but
then
again,
I
had
always
been
something
of
an
outsider
at
the
department.
Part of it was my youth. I was three years younger than the next
youngest deputy, and most of the others realized – or suspected –
a sizable financial donation from my parents had gotten me the job in
the first place.
That's not why I had kept the job, and it certainly
wasn't why the sheriff had spent six months practically begging me to
go back to work after I quit. I knew things. Things that made some
nervous. Things that left others in awe. Only a few had ever tried to
befriend me.
It
was
as
if
I
didn't
quite
belong
in
either the
magical
world,
or
the
normal
one.
Sheriff
Adams
strode
out
of
his
private
office.
His
eyes
searched my
face,
though
I
noticed
that otherwise his
face
remained
oddly
impassive.
Hadn't
he
begged
me,
multiple
times,
to
return
to
work
for
him?
Well,
here
I
was,
so
what
was
that
look
about?
“Why
don't
you
step
inside
my
office?”
I
did,
waving
to
Jane
and
to
a
few
of
the
other,
friendlier
faces,
before
closing
the
door
behind
me
and
taking
a
seat.
“I
suppose
you
know
I'm
here
to ask for
my
old
job
back,”
I
said.
He
nodded.
“I
figured.
I'm
just
not
sure
if
we
have
any
openings
right
now.”
My
jaw
dropped.
“What?”
“The
budget
is
tight.
We
ended
up
putting
in
some
overtime
hours
because
of
the
recent
vampire
attacks,
and
the
county
trustees
are
stingy
when
it
comes
to
paying
for
overtime.
They're
telling
me
to
make
cuts.”
I
had
no
doubt
that
what
he
said
was
true.
His
job
as
sheriff
involved
at
least
as
much
politics
as
policing,
maybe
more.
But it
was
still
just
an
excuse.
“I'm
not
saying
something
won't
come
up,
sooner
or
later,”
the
sheriff
went
on,
“but
right
now,
things
are
tight.”
“Are
you
doing
this
because
you're
mad
at
me?”
I
asked.
“Isn't
it
good
enough
that
I
survived
three
vampire
attacks?”
“You
also
resisted
arrest.
Don't
forget
the
part
where
you
resisted
arrest.”
So
that
was
it.
“I
had
no
choice.
My
family
wouldn't
let
me
out
the
door.”
“It
still
makes
me
nervous.
You're
unpredictable.”
“It's
not
like
they'll
be
a
problem
anymore.
They
disowned
me.”
Sheriff
Adams
leaned
forward
and
met
my
eyes
for
the
first
time.
“I
heard
something
about
that.
Care
to
tell
me
what
happened?”
“What
do
you
mean?”
“Why
did
they
do
it?”
Since
I
didn't
know
how
to
answer
that
question
for
myself,
I
couldn't
answer
it
for
him.
“It's
complicated.”
“It
always
is
with
you.”
He
shook
his
head.
“Look,
I
just
need
some
time
to
think
about
this.”
“And
I
need
a
job.
What
am
I
supposed
to
do
while
I
wait
for
you
to
make
up
your
mind?”
“Don't
tell
me
you
never
saved
anything.”
A
flush
crept
across
my
face,
but
I
didn't
say
anything.
It
had
simply
never
occurred
to
me
that
I
might
need
to
put
anything
away
for
a
rainy
day.
In
retrospect,
it
seemed
incredibly
foolish
and
short-sighted.
But it
probably
wouldn't
occur
to
you,
either,
if
your
parents
could
turn
lead
into
gold.
“Look,
Sheriff.”
I
bolstered my
confidence.
“You
can
think
about
it
all
you
like,
but
one
day
soon,
you're
going
to
beg
me
for
help
and
I
won't
be
available.”
He
gave
me
the
sort
of
skeptical
look
clearly
meant
to
remind
me
precisely
how
many
jobs
I'd
had
in
the
past
six
months,
but
I
didn't
back
down.
I
looked
him
straight
in
the
eyes,
and
believed
the
words
at him.
“I'll
think
about
it.”
he
said.
About
the Author:
Christine
Amsden has been writing fantasy and science fiction for as long as
she can remember. She loves to write and it is her dream that others
will be inspired by this love and by her stories. Speculative fiction
is fun, magical, and imaginative but great speculative fiction is
about real people defining themselves through extraordinary
situations. Christine writes primarily about people and
relationships, and it is in this way that she strives to make science
fiction and fantasy meaningful for everyone.
At
the age of 16, Christine was diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease, a
condition that effects the retina and causes a loss of central
vision. She is now legally blind, but has not let this slow her down
or get in the way of her dreams.
In
addition to writing, Christine teaches workshops on writing at Savvy
Authors. She also does some freelance editing work.
Christine
currently lives in the Kansas City area with her husband, Austin, who
has been her biggest fan and the key to her success. They have two
beautiful children.
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