A forced impersonation, a binding contract, and a cop she would give up everything for.
Brianna Spencer has never been the favored daughter. That place has always been reserved for her identical twin sister, Briony. Briony crushes anyone that stands between her and her wants. Until the fateful night, she sneaks out to a party and disappears from her doting parents' lives. Thus, Brianna's plans for a quiet life are thrown into chaos as she is coerced to pay the price for her sister's selfishness.
For ten years, Brianna has been forced to assume her socialite sister's identity. Now, at age twenty-seven, Brianna begins to wonder if she will ever break free of her sister's identity and live out her own dreams.
Jackson McCord loathes liars. Raised by parents who conned anyone and everyone, Jackson could spin a lie and have the person swear it was the truth. Until his parents were arrested when he was twelve, and a cop saved him. A man he learned to respect and who taught him that dishonesty has consequences. Then he meets Brianna Spencer, a woman he never expected to fall for and one whose entire existence is a lie.
One twin dead. One twin sacrificed for her family's sanity. And a man who pierces the veil of lies and sees the true heart of the living twin. Can Jackson pull her from the mire of deception? Or will Brianna remain in her dead sister's shadow?
Excerpt:
Jackson wouldn’t ask any questions because it no longer mattered.
Briony was dead.
The question now was, why this woman was pretending to be her.
The woman snatched a few tissues from the box that perched on the corner of the desk, using them to wipe under her eyes. “My sister knew me. Knew I wouldn’t let her get us into even more trouble, especially since it was Halloween. All the crazies come out during Halloween.”
Seeing the tattered remains of her control struggle to return, it finally hit home that at least this family member had cared. She wasn’t trying to play on his emotions or garner more sympathy since he wasn’t providing any in the first place.
He caved to his need to touch her and clasped her slim-fingered hand briefly; he offered her what comfort he could while ignoring the spark of attraction. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“You swear she never suffered.”
Heat licked into him when she lifted her gaze to tangle with his. He cursed himself for being attracted to a liar even as he became lost in her guileless eyes.
He tore his gaze away as he struggled to form an answer. “No, she was his second victim, and the coroner found no broken bones. And the only photo the killer had was of her in the ground…” He trailed off unsure how to explain that the killer had a camera in the background documenting every horror he visited on his other victims. And he refused to mention the journal that cataloged each woman’s torture as if the killer were conducting experiments. Screw it, I’m just here for the notification. If she wants the details, the sheriff can fill her in.
“Jesus, I don’t know if I wanted to know that.” She wrapped an arm around her waist.
“Sorry. If it’s any comfort at all, she was one of the lucky ones.”
A soft snort came from the woman. “I wouldn’t call her lucky, but of the two choices... then yeah, falling asleep and dying is a lot better option than a slow, painful death.”
His gaze tangled with hers again. The pure blue held a hint of gold as if the sun were peeking from behind the bluest sky. How could eyes this pure, lie so convincingly? And why would she do it?
Was it for money? Was Briony set for a larger portion of the estate than Brianna? It had to be money.
Everything he’d learned about cons pointed to money.
“Now that she’s out of the room, I need to tell you...” The woman’s gaze darted back to the door her mother had closed before meeting his again.
Jackson arched a brow and crossed his arms.
“I’m Brianna.”
He bit his cheek to keep from growling, ‘No shit.’
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About the Author:
I'm a geek, a gamer, a music lover, and a voracious reader. I love Star Trek and B-grade movies like Attack of the Killer Tomatoes and Sharknado. I enjoy figuring out software, learning new things, and applying them to whatever book I'm currently working on.
I write romantic adventures. Mostly, I live vicariously through my characters. I can be a knife-wielding forager who saves her family from deadly kidnappers or a slinky thief who must outmaneuver her sadistic cousin. My male characters aren't cookie cutter either. There's so much diversity in the world that one size does not fit all. It's the same for love. My male characters are diverse. I have several he-man, alpha types, but I also have nerds in glasses who can kickass when needed, whether in a board room or in a parking garage. I have characters who are blind and some who have lost a limb putting their lives on the line to save others.
The one thing they all have in common is they are people who learn to move past their hurdles and find love.
I can be found at:
Website: https://ceereefields.com/
Twitter: twitter.com/ceereefields
Facebook: facebook.com/ceereefields