Spotlight: Secrets In Our Scars by Rebecca Trogner
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Secrets In Our Scars
Rebecca Trogner
Publication date: February 7th 2018
Genres: New Adult, Romance, Suspense
A sexy romance. A twisted mystery. One mistake can change everything.
On a sweltering summer day, Daisy Aldridge knocks on the wrong door. Yanked inside. Trapped and pressed against her only means of escape she spirals into a panic. Years ago she suffered an assault. Alone and afraid, she kept it hidden and dealt with the emotional aftermath in her own way.
But this time she’s not alone. She’s helped by a man who seems vaguely familiar. Roy Blackwood is massive, muscled, powerful, and controlled. She tells herself she wants nothing to do with him.
Roy sees through her resistance. He wants her. Needs her. He promises to find the identity of her birth parents and unveil the person who leaves her anonymous gifts. And most important of all, earn the love and trust of Daisy Aldridge..
A standalone, full-length romance.
Excerpt
He taps his finger by my full glass of milk, but doesn’t remark on it. “I’m not Jason King’s bodyguard. My company was hired by the studio to provide security.”
Oh, this is his business tone. So what tone was he using before? “Why were you there?” I toss my hands up. “Nope, no, don’t care. None of my business. Remember, nothing happened.”
“You misunderstand my intentions.” With his right hand, he inches the glass of milk closer to me. “I want you to press charges against Jason King.”
“What?” I sit ramrod straight. “Impossible.”
“He deserves to be punished. He assaulted you yesterday. Might have done much worse—”
“I can take care of myself.” A dark memory lifts its ugly head. Can you? “I had the situation under control.”
“I know what you thought—that I’d want to cover this up, pay you off, or keep you from the police.”
Pay me off. What type of a person does he think I am? “Wait…that was the Jason King?”
“The one and only.”
“He’s short.” I knew the man was an actor and seemed vaguely familiar but never thought it was Jason King.
“That he is.”
Jason has starred in a string of spy pictures where he saves the world from terrorists and mass destruction and megalomaniacs. The man in the trailer was not the urbane character he plays, but small and mean and a deviant asshole of gigantic proportions.
“He’s also a junkie blasted out of his mind most the time.” Too quick for me to protest, he takes my hand, engulfing it in his large one. “I’ll go with you to the police. I’ll testify on your behalf.”
“No. You’re making too much out of this.” He squeezes my hand tighter. “Nothing happened. I walked into the wrong trailer. That’s all.”
“You don’t have to be afraid.”
Can’t he see what this would do to my aunts? To the business? And all the press attention? He can’t force me to do this. “I’m not.”
I try to free my hand still trapped in his. Instead of letting go, he rolls his hand over, so the underside of my arm is facing the ceiling. The fresh cut in the crook of my elbow is clearly visible.
He knows. My face burns. I fold in on myself. “Please,” I plead, “let go.”
“I want to help you.”
“I don’t need help.” Finally, he releases my hand, and I wrap my arms around my chest.
He dips his head, attempting to make eye contact. “It’s not healthy. Pretending it didn’t happen.” And nods towards my arm.
My eyes downcast, I murmur, “It’s not what you think.”
“I see.” His voice softens. “My mistake.”
I push back from the table and stand. “Are we done? I need to get back to work.” My shoulders roll forward, and my thick hair falls around my face, shielding it from the patrons who are no doubt confused as to why plain-old Daisy is with someone like Roy.
He steps around to my side, placing his hand on my back. “I’m sorry.” His rich voice low, so only I can hear. “I regret I didn’t get to you sooner. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. It wasn’t my intention.”
How does he do it? One moment I’m struggling along the outer rings of panic, and with just a few words he pulls me back to a place of reassurance. Keeping my head down, I let him maneuver me through the restaurant and out to the street.
I turn to him. “I do appreciate what you did for me.”
“It wasn’t nearly enough.” He blinks a few times and gestures with his free hand to the sidewalk in front of us.
Author Bio:
Rebecca Trogner started writing her first novel after watching True Blood. Of course it was about vampires and thus The Last Keepers Daughter was born. The next, The Last Guardian Rises, continued the series. Her latest book, Secrets In Our Scars, is a contemporary romance and a lot spicier. She's working on her fourth book with the help of her rescued animal pets.
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