Distant Thunder: Midseason Episode 2 (Rising Storm) Read online

  Distant Thunder

  By Larissa Ione

  Rising Storm

  Midseason Episode 2

  Story created by Julie Kenner and Dee Davis

  Distant Thunder, Midseason Two

  Rising Storm

  Copyright 2015 Julie Kenner and Dee Davis Oberwetter

  ISBN: 978-1-942299-66-0

  Published by Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental.

  Book Description

  Distant Thunder

  By Larissa Ione

  Rising Storm Midseason Episode Two

  Coming April 5, 2016

  Secrets, Sex and Scandals …

  Welcome to Storm, Texas, where passion runs hot, desire runs deep, and secrets have the power to destroy… Get ready. The storm is coming.

  As Sebastian and Marylee plot to cover up Sebastian’s sexual escapade, Ginny and Dakota continue to reel from the fallout of Dakota’s announcement. But it is the Rush family that’s left to pick up the pieces as Payton, Brittany and Jeffry each cope with Sebastian’s betrayal in their own way…

  About Larissa Ione

  Air Force veteran Larissa Ione traded in a career as a meteorologist to pursue her passion of writing. She has since published dozens of books, hit several bestseller lists, including the New York Times and USA Today, and has been nominated for a RITA award. She now spends her days in pajamas with her computer, strong coffee, and fictional worlds. She believes in celebrating everything, and would never be caught without a bottle of Champagne chilling in the fridge…just in case. After a dozen moves all over the country with her now-retired U.S. Coast Guard spouse, she is now settled in Wisconsin with her husband, her teenage son, a rescue cat named Vegas, and her very own hellhound, a King Shepherd named Hexe.

  For more information about Larissa, visit www.larissaione.com.

  Also from Larissa Ione

  Click to purchase

  ~ DEMONICA/LORDS OF DELIVERANCE SERIES ~

  Pleasure Unbound (Book 1)

  Desire Unchained (Book 2)

  Passion Unleashed (Book 3)

  Ecstasy Unveiled (Book 4)

  Eternity Embraced ebook (Book 4.5) (NOVELLA)

  Sin Undone August (Book 5)

  Eternal Rider (Book 6)

  Supernatural Anthology (Book 6.5) (NOVELLA)

  Immortal Rider (Book 7)

  Lethal Rider (Book 8)

  Rogue Rider (Book 9)

  Reaver (Book 10)

  Azagoth (Book 10.5)

  Revenant (Book 11)

  Hades (Book 11.5)

  ~ MOONBOUND CLAN VAMPIRES SERIES ~

  Bound By Night (book 1)

  Chained By Night (book 2)

  Writing as SYDNEY CROFT

  Riding The Storm

  Unleashing The Storm

  Seduced By The Storm

  Taming the Fire

  Tempting The Fire

  Taken By Fire

  Three The Hard Way

  Acknowledgments from the Author

  I just want to take a minute to thank everyone involved with the Rising Storm project. It’s such a fabulous world, and I get to work with so many amazing people. Thank you, Team Evil Eye!!!!

  Foreword

  Dear reader –

  We have wanted to do a project together for over a decade, but nothing really jelled until we started to toy with a kernel of an idea that sprouted way back in 2012 … and ultimately grew into Rising Storm.

  We are both excited about and proud of this project—not only of the story itself, but also the incredible authors who have helped bring the world and characters we created to life.

  We hope you enjoy visiting Storm, Texas. Settle in and stay a while!

  Happy reading!

  Sign up for the Rising Storm/1001 Dark Nights Newsletter

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  specially designed for Rising Storm by

  Janet Cadsawan of Cadsawan.com.

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  As a bonus, all subscribers will receive a free

  Rising Storm story

  Storm Season: Ginny & Jacob – the Prequel

  by Dee Davis

  Table of Contents

  Book Description

  About Larissa Ione

  Also from Larissa Ione

  Author Acknowledgments

  Foreword

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Rising Storm

  Teaser for Against the Wind, Rising Storm Season 2, Episode 1 by Rebecca Zanetti

  1001 Dark Nights

  Special Thanks

  Chapter One

  Marylee Rush took pleasure in the sound of her high heels clicking like death knells on the floor of the Rush mansion. Sebastian’s campaign staffers scurried around like ants, most of them with their phones attached to their ears, and they practically fell over themselves in their haste to leap out of her way.

  Only Sebastian’s campaign advisor had the guts to intercept her as she approached the closed door to Sebastian’s home office. “Marylee, I’m at my wit’s end. He won’t let me into his office. He won’t let anyone inside.”

  How unsurprising. Sebastian had always preferred to lick his wounds in private. But it had been three days since Dakota Alvarez had blown the town up with her public accusations, and it was time for Sebastian to stop sulking and start working on damage control.

  “I’ll talk to him.” And if that didn’t work, she’d slap some sense into him.

  “The press is on the rampage. I’ve had calls from CNN, The Washington Post, Fox News, The New York Times...We need to—”

  “Whatever it is, it can wait until after I speak with my son. You just let Mr. Stayton in when he arrives.”

  “Who is—”

  But she cut him off, brushing past him as she threw open the office door.

  “Get out!” Sebastian’s back was to her, his desk chair turned all the way around so he was facing the fireplace on the far wall.

  Ignoring him, she crossed the room in a dozen strides. “Have you seen today’s Houston Chronicle?” She pulled a newspaper out of her purse and slapped it down on his desk.

  “It’s a rag.” He spun around slowly, careful not to spill the whiskey in his glass. Too bad he wasn’t as careful about spilling his semen. “Last week they said the governor was stopped by cops for driving drunk, but they had to retract their story when his blood alcohol proved to be under the legal limit.”

  Marylee had no doubt that the BAC results had been tampered with. “I don’t think you’re looking at the big picture. You have your nose buried in a glass of whiskey and your head is up your own ass. You’ve trended on Twitter and Facebook twice in the last twenty-four hours alone.”

  “That just means my name is out there.”

  “Yes,” she said, dropping the paper into the trashcan, “your name is out t
here. And it’s now associated with hashtag SenatorSleaze and hashtag RushToJudgment.”

  “Rush to judgment?” He cocked an eyebrow. “That’s clever.”

  Frustrated by his lack of concern, she huffed. “Are you aware that someone posted a second video of the Founders’ Day fiasco on YouTube? This one shows Ginny Moreno going pale enough to faint. It’s titled Senator’s Pregnant Mistress Outed By Another Mistress.”

  The first video had been bad enough, focusing only on the girl who triggered this disaster, Dakota Alvarez. But the new video managed to capture the aftermath and the casualties, and people who might have doubted the Alvarez girl’s story based on the first video couldn’t deny the real reactions in the second.

  “She’s not my mistress.” Sebastian rattled the ice in his glass. “She’s my ex-mistress. They both are.”

  “Sebastian!” she snapped. “This isn’t a joke. You’ve spent more than enough time sulking over a situation that is entirely your fault. We didn’t get ahead of this, and now we have to play catch up. I’m bringing in Oliver Stayton.”

  The phone rang, but he silenced it with a push of a button. “A spin doctor? You’re kidding.”

  “He’s a crisis manager,” she corrected him, “and he’s one of the best in the country. It’s because of him that Senator Peters got reelected even though he was caught wearing a dress and having sex with two men. This should be child’s play for him.” At a tap on the office door, she smiled. “He’s here. Sit up straight and put down that highball glass.” She flung open the door. “Welcome, Mr. Stayton.”

  He looked the same as he had when she’d met him three years ago in D.C. at a Christmas party—short dark hair, glasses, athletic, handsome. In the short time she’d spoken with him, he’d come across as intelligent, shrewd, and unencumbered by morals. He certainly had an impressive record for getting politicians out of trouble.

  He introduced himself to Sebastian and placed his briefcase and tablet in one of the high-backed leather chairs.

  “My mother thinks you can make this go away,” Sebastian said, not bothering to hide his annoyance that she’d brought Oliver here. Sebastian had always had trouble acknowledging the seriousness of his blunders.

  “Oh, something this big isn’t going away. You’re dick-deep in shit.” Oliver met Sebastian’s gaze head on, and she hid a smile of approval. Her son needed someone who wouldn’t be steamrolled. “But I can keep you from sinking to your eyeballs.”

  Irritation made the vein in Sebastian’s temple throb, but he kept his tone civil if not polite. “Do tell.”

  Oliver clasped his hands behind his back and began to pace. “First, I need to know the truth. Don’t even attempt to bullshit me. I hang around with the most morally bankrupt people on the planet, so I expect the worst, and if I hear anything less than that, I’ll know it’s a lie. You don’t call people like me in to clear up misunderstandings.”

  “A straight shooter,” Sebastian drawled. “Okay. I like that. What do you want to know?”

  Relieved that Oliver had earned enough of Sebastian’s respect to continue, Marylee took a seat as Oliver grabbed a pen and pad of paper from his briefcase. After flipping through some pages of notes, he turned to Sebastian.

  “Did you sleep with Dakota Alvarez?” Oliver asked, getting right to it.

  Sebastian took a drink of whiskey. “Yes.”

  If Oliver was surprised by the admission, it didn’t show. He merely marked something on his notepad. “Did you sleep with Ginny Moreno, and if so, is there a chance the baby is yours?”

  “Yes, and yes.”

  Not even a flicker of shock. Oliver paused for a moment, tapping his pen on his notepad, and then, as if he’d made up his mind about something, he tossed the pen and paper to the chair.

  “Okay,” he said, looking between Marylee and Sebastian. “If you want to get reelected, I see two choices. One: Admit to everything. Ask for forgiveness from your constituents. Emphasize that God and your family are the most important things in your life. You’ll have to start attending church on a regular basis and swear that you’ll support the child if it’s yours. You can demonize the mother, say she seduced you and isn’t fit to be a parent, and that you’ll fight for custody of the child. You might lose a few voters, but in scandals like this, the public looks down more on the female than the male. He’s a mere man with needs; she’s a succubus whore. Those people are the ones you’d target with this approach.”

  “We don’t want to admit to anything,” Marylee said before he could go into more details for his plan. “We need to deny that any of this took place.”

  He inclined his head. “In that case, Sebastian, the rule is to lie, deny, and shame. Deny sleeping with anyone but your wife. Make Ms. Alvarez out to be a mentally unstable woman who tried to seduce you and is bitter about the rejection, so she fabricated everything out of revenge. Or say she was trying to blackmail you or was a disgruntled employee...but whatever it is, make sure she can’t prove otherwise. Deny sleeping with Ms. Moreno and hope DNA tests point the finger at someone else as the father. You’ll look vindicated.”

  “And what if the DNA tests identify me as the father?” Sebastian asked.

  “They won’t,” Marylee said. “I’ll make sure of it.”

  Oliver shook his head. “You can’t pay off everyone. You can rig the test results, but what if Ginny takes a test you don’t know about? We have to plan for the worst. And if that happens, you go back to option one. Admit your mistake, beg forgiveness, emphasize family and God, and destroy the reputation of the mother. Swear to dedicate your life to God and country, and file for custody of the child because a child needs a stable family and not a slutty single mother. Your wife will need to stand by your side and tell the country that she forgives you and plans to raise the child as if it were her own. Obviously, I’m leaving out a lot of steps and detail, but we’ll go over all of that later with your most trusted campaign advisors.”

  Marylee nodded, anxious to get going on this. “How do we start?”

  “First, you need to make a statement and then be seen in public. Attend church regularly, and be photographed there. Get active and passionate about some social issue. Homelessness, veterans, things like that. Donate to a food bank. Do it anonymously but see that the information is leaked. We also need to lay the groundwork for an attack on both Ms. Alvarez and Ms. Moreno in the event that the baby is yours. I need dirt on both of their families.”

  Marylee considered that. “The Morenos might not be easy to drag through the dirt. They get a lot of sympathy from the community. Ginny and Luis have been raised by their hard-working sister after their parents were killed.”

  Oliver adjusted his glasses. “Not a problem. We’ll encourage people to look at the situation and see that their poor, overworked sister couldn’t possibly offer the stability of a mother-father family unit and couldn’t find the time to raise her siblings right. She did the best she could, but ultimately, her lack of parenting clearly caused Ginny to become wild and careless with her body.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “What about the Alvarezes?”

  Sebastian snorted. “They’re trash. It won’t take much to uncover dirt on them.”

  “Excellent. We need to bring that dirt to light. Please tell me that someone in the family is an illiterate racist or a felon. It’ll be gold for us if they talk to the media.”

  Marylee smiled, picturing Hector. “How about an alcoholic abusive head of household?”

  “Nice,” Oliver said. “We’ll make sure the media has a run-in with him.”

  “That might be a problem.” Marylee dug through her purse for her lip balm. “He disappeared early in the summer. I have private investigators looking for him.”

  “Find him. Hire more people if you have to. Do whatever it takes.” Oliver glanced out the window, and she admired the way he looked at the reporters on the lawn as if they were nothing but tools, unwitting pawns in his game of strategy. He was as vicious as she’d heard. �
�What about the son? Marcus, isn’t it? My cursory research suggests he has an unsavory past.”

  “We can exploit that,” she said, and she’d enjoy doing it. “But we don’t want him in front of a camera. His father will come off as an angry buffoon, but Marcus is smarter than that, and he’s attractive. We don’t want him to be the face of the Alvarez family.”

  Oliver frowned and looked over at Sebastian. “It’s my understanding that your daughter is dating Marcus?” At Sebastian’s grimace, he continued. “That relationship needs to end. We don’t need a Romeo and Juliet for people to root for.”

  “I’m working on that,” Marylee assured him. Locating Hector was the key, and now it looked like finding him would serve two purposes. He could destroy Brittany’s relationship with Marcus and become the media’s face of the Alvarez family. The drunken fool would do more to help Sebastian’s campaign than anyone else in the country.

  “And the mother…” He trailed off and glanced at his notes. “Joanne. After all of this, she still works for you?”

  That had been a nasty bit of business. “She was going to quit, but she’s in such a dire financial situation that I offered her a raise and told her she’d never have to see Sebastian or help with any of his campaigning.” Marylee scowled at the sight of yet another news van coming up the street. “I doubt she’ll stay on for long, but in the interim, the fact that she’s working for the Rushes will appear to outsiders as if she’s on our side, not Dakota’s.”

  What outsiders didn’t need to know was that Joanne had made it very clear that if she didn’t desperately need the money to keep a roof over their heads, she’d have wiped her hands clean of any Rush business.

  Oliver gave Marylee an approving glance, something she doubted he did often, and she had to admit that she got a bit of a thrill from it. She’d always believed she was cut out for politics that went beyond local, or even state levels, and this man had just confirmed it.