The Grave - Part 1

When Gabriel Devlin's story begins in Secrets and Sins: Gabriel, two years have passed since the deaths of his wife and son. Below is the prequel to his story...where it really begins...

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The grave gaped wide like a dark maw in the earth, eager to swallow up the casket that perched above it. Bouquets of colorful flowers draped the closed lid, seeming incongruous with the priest’s solemn prayer and the overcast, grey sky, heavy with the promise of snow.

Gabriel Devlin stared at the white casket, large enough for the wife and son that rested within its depths. Grief squeezed his heart in its icy grip. He shivered and wondered if he would ever be warm again. His gaze returned to the scarred earth and received his answer.

No, he would never know the warmth of love again.

His breath hitched and his throat burned with the tears he refused to shed. Though his mother flanked one side of him and his best friends, Malachim Jerrod, Raphael Marcel, and Chayot Grey positioned themselves on the other like tall, silent sentinels, he was alone, separated from everyone and everything else but his grief.

The priest’s monotone offered up a prayer, commending Maura and Ian’s spirits into God’s keeping. Rage clawed at his chest. God had entrusted them into Gabriel’s hands, why had He chosen to take them from him? Had he done such a horrible job?

He squeezed his eyes shut, guilt flaying the skin from his soul. When he reopened them, he stared off into the distance, needing to look at anything but the casket that contained his family’s remains.

As his gaze skimmed the crowds, only a few met his eyes, most skittering away as if unable to stare into the face of sorrow. Hell, he knew what he looked like. A gaunt, empty-eyed caricature of the man he’d been.

His gaze settled on a tall, slim figure. As he stared the woman lifted her dark head and eyes as green as the leaves on top of the casket met his. Unlike the others, she didn’t avoid his stare, but held it. Sympathy, sorrow, and love glistened, along with her tears.

Leah.

***

Part 2 of The Grave continues on Wednesday, July 3rd...

 

Twenty years ago, Leah Bannon’s beloved Uncle Richard vanished without a trace. Leah, now a private investigator, begins to suspect it was murder. When she reopens the cold case, Gabriel Devlin—-the man she loves but can never have—-inexplicably stands in her way.
          Only four people know the truth about Richard’s mysterious disappearance—-Gabriel and three childhood friends...who have all sworn to take that secret to the grave. But a hidden enemy wants those shocking secrets brought to light...even if he has to kill to make it happen.
          After experiencing an unimaginable loss two years ago, Gabriel refuses to put himself through the pain of loving someone who could be gone in an instant. But as he thwarts Leah’s investigation at every turn—-both to keep his friends’ pact, and to keep her safe from danger—-the sexy PI makes it impossible for him to protect his secrets. Or his heart...