Reign of fear, p.1
Reign of Fear, page 1
PRAISE FOR THE FEARLESS SERIES
“It was so good, I read the entire book in one morning, in one sitting.”
— Goodreads Reviewer
“Glede Browne Kabongo probably turned into my favorite thriller author!”
— Amazon Reviewer
“Freakin genius!”
— Romance Bytes
“The plot is sheer poetry.”
— Readers’ Favorite
“An intense action thriller that keeps you guessing!”
— Between the Coverz
“A real keep you on the edge-of-your seat psychological thriller. Think you guessed it? Think again!”
— NetGalley Reviewer
“Spectacular read with spectacular characters and storyline.”
— Amazon Reviewer
“A sassy, edgy page-turner.”
— Wall to wall Books
“Fast-paced, suspenseful with non-stop action.”
— Goodreads Reviewer
“It starts off with fireworks and keeps going! I was on the edge of my seat and couldn’t wait to read the next chapter.”
— Goodreads Reviewer
“Glede Browne Kabongo is giving Sue Grafton and Janet Evanovich a run for their money.”
— Goodreads Reviewer
To Donat, my anchor in the storm
Contents
PART I: LONDON SURPRISE
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
PART II: LET THE GAMES BEGIN
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
PART III: DEADLY HONEYMOON
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
PART IV: THE UNRAVELING
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
PART V: THE ART OF WAR
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Epilogue
Author Note
Acknowledgments
CHAPTER 1
ABBIE
It’s been fifteen years since she wished me bad luck.
Despite the passage of time, there’s no mistake. It’s her. Kristina Hayward. I recognize the smooth olive skin and raven-black hair, now expensively styled. Her abundance of confidence has not diminished over time.
Kristina’s nerve-jangling last words spill from deep within my subconscious. I knew you were conniving from the moment I met you. I won’t soon forget this, Abbie. I won’t.
Wealthy guests, businesspeople, and tourists float around the reception area. Others follow bellhops pushing carts piled high with designer luggage up to their opulent rooms. It would be so easy to go unnoticed. Lose myself in the busy lobby of London’s Savoy Hotel.
However, the situation calls for the direct approach. I won’t cower in a corner like some pariah who wants to disappear into the woodwork.
She concludes her business at the front desk and heads in my direction. I shove the tourist guide into my Lana Marks alligator purse and then approach with caution.
“Kristina Haywood?”
A spark of recognition floods her face. It’s followed by a cold, cynical expression. She says, “It’s Saxena now. Abbie Cooper, what brings you to London?”
“I’m here on business. You?”
“London is home. Leaving the States was the best decision I ever made.”
“That’s great. You must really love it here, then.”
An awkward silence prickles the air despite the noisy lobby. But it quickly evaporates when my daughter Alexis arrives with her brothers Blake and Lucas in tow.
After Alexis plops down in an armchair, she says, “Mom, we’ll starve to death if Dad doesn’t come down soon. He’s still on a call. I’m seriously about to die from hunger.”
The boys back her up by nodding and grumbling.
Kristina watches the exchange, clearly bursting with curiosity. I introduce her to my kids. Lucas almost glares at her, as though he’d discovered she’d done something awful. He says hello after I give him the side eye.
“Kids, this is Mrs. Saxena. We knew each other in college.”
“Oh, so you went to Yale,” Alexis chimes in. “You must know my dad too.”
“Your dad?” Kristina frowns in confusion.
Alexis saves me from an explanation I didn’t want to provide. She says, “Finally. Now can we please get to the restaurant?”
Kristina gawks at my husband who just joined us. With vibrant hazel eyes and a lean physique, Ty looks handsome, even in semi-casual outfit. He’s decked out in a tailored navy-blue blazer, crisp white dress shirt, and high-end khakis.
“Hello, Kristina.” He gives her a firm handshake. “It’s been a long time. Good to see you.”
“You look wonderful, Ty. Haven’t changed a bit,” she gushes.
The kids seem curious and forget their earlier griping. Alexis says, “This is like a college reunion, isn’t it, Mom? We should invite Mrs. Saxena to dinner with us.”
“I’m sure Mrs. Saxena has plans of her own. We can’t hijack her evening, now can we?”
“I guess not,” Alexis says, disappointed.
Ty, the world’s nicest Mr. Nice Guy, invites Kristina and her husband to join us for dinner next time they’re in the States. Does he not understand I want to get as far away from this woman as possible? I certainly don’t want her in our home.
“That’s kind of you, Ty,” Kristina says, grinning big and wide. “I’d love to catch up on old times.”
“We must get going, Kristina,” I interrupt. “Our kids will start World War III if they aren’t fed soon. Do look us up if you’re ever back in the States.”
We say goodbye to Kristina and head to dinner. After Ty’s lecture tomorrow, we’ll fly home. Only then will I relax, secure in the knowledge that Kristina lives a continent away from us.
CHAPTER 2
KRISTINA
Kristina inhaled her fourth cocktail, a powerful concoction of gin, vodka, and Chardonnay.
Her friend Seamus leaned forward so she could hear him above the noise of the bar, which was quickly filling up around them.
“Slow down, Kristina. You never drink this much alcohol.”
“Don’t tell me what to do. I get enough of that from Callum.”
“I’m just watching out for you. What happened?”
Kristina held up her empty cocktail glass, signaling she needed another.
“Not until you tell me what’s going on,” he insisted.
“I ran into my ex and his perfect wife and their perfect children.”
“So what?”
Kristina raked back her thick, dark hair and let out a dramatic breath. She hadn’t expected her insides to twist into painful knots. Or the feelings of envy that rose up inside her.
Why did she react at all? Seeing that Ty and Abbie had not one but three kids and seemed happily married came as an unwelcome surprise. Were they happily married, though? Kristina knew better than most that outward appearances were deceiving.
“We dated in college. A future was possible. Until she came along and ruined everything.”
“She, meaning his wife?”
“Yes.”
Kristina believed the moment in time her life intersected with Ty’s and Abbie’s changed everything. They were so young. Abbie, only nineteen at the time, possessed a confidence and grace Kristina secretly envied. Until she realized Abbie was also conniving and clever in a deceptively subtle way.
“Go on,” Seamus encouraged. “What happened at university?”
The truth, petty as it was, Kristina had hoped they would crash and burn when she noticed the exquisite diamond on Abbie’s long, elegant finger. Both Ty and Kristina had been seniors. Ty had planned to attend medical school that fall. Abbie had only been a sophomore.
Oh, how Kristina had wanted to rip the sparkler off Abbie’s hand that day. Carve the words Lying weasel across Ty’s handsome face.
Instead, a defeated Kristina walked away so Ty could have what he desired most: Abbie.
Kristina shrugged. “He chose her. His loss.”
“And don’t you forget it,” Seamus said with an encouraging smile.
Kristina felt sorry for herself. From the look on Seamus’s face, he pitied her. She didn’t want anyone’s pity, though. She came to the Savoy to plot her exit strategy.
With its spectacular views of the River Thames, mix of old-world elegance, and modern-day amenities, Kristina already booked a suite. She looked forward to some pampering while she planned her future. One that didn’t include Callum Saxena, his controlling ways, or his millions.
When her phone chimed with an incoming text, Kristina fished it out of her purse. She looked at the screen, frowned, and returned the phone. The device chimed several more times, but she ignored it. The text messages came from Callum, wanting to know where she was.
“Callum?” Seamus asked.
“The one and only.”
“Are you going to answer him?”
“No. I’m not in the mood for his nasty temper and constant criticism.”
Seamus said, “Won’t he worry? Perhaps you should give him a call, let him know that you’re okay.”
“I’d rather walk through the Sahara naked.”
Seamus and Kristina had been friends since they met at Oxford. Seamus dropped out after his first year—to the chagrin of his parents—and joined the army. The two kept in touch. Kristina counted Seamus amongst a handful of trustworthy friends. She couldn’t tell him how truly awful Callum was, however.
“You can’t avoid him all evening,” Seamus said.
“I can, and I will. I’ve booked a suite here for the next few days. The change of scenery may offer some fresh perspective on how to get rid of things that are holding me back.”
Seamus raised a curious brow. “Meaning what?”
“I’m tired of the charade. The illusion that Callum and I are a great power couple pretending to be happy. When in reality…” She paused.
“Go on,” Seamus implored. “What were you about to say?”
“Never mind. You won’t understand.”
“Try me,” Seamus said. “All marriages face problems. That’s what my married friends tell me anyway.”
Seamus, like the others in Kristina’s small circle, believed she lived a charmed life. But keeping up appearances had become exhausting, a chore.
At first, the relationship with Callum was exciting. The whirlwind romance. A world of wealth and glamor, unlike anything she had experienced before. It had all been intoxicating. Until it wasn’t.
As a middle-class American girl from the Chicago suburbs who moved to England to study at Oxford, Kristina had found everything about Callum, ten years her senior, charming. He treated her like a fairytale princess.
But Kristina miscalculated. She didn’t look deep enough. She hadn’t paid attention to the red flags or had dismissed them all together.
“Callum is mean, manipulative, and controlling,” she told Seamus. “Don’t be fooled by his wealth or charm. And don’t ever get on his bad side.”
Seamus said, “I had no idea. Tell me the truth, Kristina. Are you in danger? Are you afraid of Callum?”
Kristina’s eyes welled up, surprising the jaded cynic she cultivated over the years. Seamus had always been a shoulder to cry on—gentle, protective, and never demanded anything of her. She had no doubt, with the proper motivation, Seamus could easily take out Callum and solve her problems.
But revenge was more to Kristina’s liking, not murder for hire. Time away would provide the perfect opportunity to plot precisely when and how she would make Callum Saxena pay for treating her poorly.
“I’m leaving,” she said abruptly. “Let’s join up next week.”
Kristina didn’t wait for his response. She left the bar, half-blinded by tears she tried to hold back. She bumped into a patron who yelled that she should bloody well look where she was going.
She ordered room service for dinner. Kristina didn’t want to see or speak to anyone or risk running into Ty Rambally and his family again. The evening wouldn’t go to waste, however. She grabbed her laptop off the desk, plopped down on the gorgeous floral antique sofa, and booted up.
Ty made his dream come true, not that it surprised Kristina. The results from her Internet search revealed he was a cardiothoracic surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. MGH made the list as one of the top hospitals in the U.S. and top ten in the world.
Her ex was also on the faculty of Harvard Medical School. Only in his mid-thirties, Ty was quite accomplished. He came to London as part of a keynote lecture series from experts in the field of cardiothoracic surgery. University College London sponsored the event.
Kristina wanted to power down her laptop and focus on the delectable dinner room service had delivered. Instead, curiosity got the better of her. She ran a quick search on Abbie.
Upon discovering Abbie was a well-respected neuropsychologist and Harvard instructor who also worked closely with researchers at the Center for NeuroTechnology and NeuroRecovery at MGH, Kristina’s appetite for food disappeared.
She placed the laptop back on the desk and walked toward the window, staring out at the view of the River Thames—her heart burdened by swirling emotions she couldn’t understand.
CHAPTER 3
ABBIE
Ty and I escape to the private balcony of our suite and drink in the nighttime version of the London skyline. We admire panoramic views of the Tower Bridge, Millennium Wheel, and boats scattered all over the River Thames.
Sitting at a small, round table with a lantern at the center, we dig into the mascarpone cheesecake we ordered for dessert.
“So, what do you think?” I ask.
“About what?”
“Kristina, silly.”
“Not much to say. Kristina obviously made her life here.”
“Things certainly got awkward over dinner. Alexis wanting to know why Kristina went gaga over Dad. I don’t think we’ve heard the last on the subject.”
“Alexis was being Alexis.”
“Maybe. Still, it doesn’t make sense,” I say, frowning.
“What doesn’t?” Ty digs the fork into his cheesecake.
“Kristina claims moving to London was the best decision she ever made. And there was the way she quickly corrected me when I called her by her maiden name. It’s Saxena now,” I say in an exaggerated British accent. “But when you arrived in the lobby, well, our daughter explained it best.”
The fork stops midway to his mouth. Ty gives me one of his infamous, world’s-biggest-skeptic looks. “You’re reading too much into the conversation.”
“Am I? Your presence affected Kristina. Alexis picked up on it, and she’s only twelve.”
Ty places the fork down on to the dessert plate. “What’s this about, Cooper? Did seeing Kristina stir up old memories? Are you feeling guilty after all these years?”
“Why would I?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know. We became engaged a week after I broke up with Kristina. You exchanged harsh words.”
“We did. And the moment Kristina stomped out of that restaurant, she became irrelevant.”
I poke at my cheesecake with the fork but can’t muster the enthusiasm to indulge. The decadent dessert lost its appeal.
“It took years and a traumatic event to admit our feelings for each other.” I absently twirl a lock of loose hair, peering over at the boats on the river. “I wasn’t about to sideline our future because you had a fling with Kristina. There’s no guilt here.”
Making peace with my past hasn’t been easy. Though I’ve grown by leaps and bounds, there’s always some bit of the past left over, reminding me I can never fully shake it.
