Eliza Gayle » Blog Archive » Saturday Snippet

Today’s black moment comes from my recent Loose Id release, Obsession of Jayde. It’s hard to post that single moment out of context and not wonder whether it spoils the story or whether it will make no sense. It’s an emotional moment for the heroine when she realizes she has to give up what she wants the most for the greater good.

Excerpt:

Jayde nodded. She could understand not wanting to be alone. She too feared being alone again. Her hand clutched at the moonstone, worried what would happen if she gave it up, and equally as worried about what would happen if she didn’t. She brushed herself off and moved to the sidewalk, heading back home. Home. Was this home now? What about her life in San Francisco? God, she didn’t want to go back to her empty apartment, but she didn’t think she could bear being here without them.
She and Marc walked in silence, with the occasional brush against each other. Regardless of the tension between them, every small touch made her want to reach out and grab him. To explain to him her fears of losing him and Aidan if she gave up the stone. But if the incident with Bob was an example of what happened because of the stone and the box, then she would have no choice. Save the town, lose the love…
Her thoughts had slowed her pace, and she didn’t realize Marc had stopped until she slammed into his solid-as-a-stone-wall body.
“What the—” She followed the direction of Marc’s gaze and froze. Stunned.
The front window of the bakery had been shattered, and the door to their home stood open.
“Wait here.”
“No, Marc, it’s not safe. Let’s just call the police.”
“Did you not see the police here buying your fudge earlier?” He pointed to the empty patrol cars they’d left at the curb hours ago.
Her heart sank as more of the truth hammered into her. “Right.”
Marc strode through the door and into the shop while she watched from the street. The store had been ransacked, and from the outside, everything looked broken. Her breath caught in her throat when Marc disappeared into the kitchen. Time slowed, and her heart raced, waiting…
When a crash and the sound of more breaking glass sounded from deep inside, Jayde rushed in. No way in hell would she just wait out here while Marc faced God knew what. She forced the kitchen door open so hard, it slammed into the wall behind it. There on the floor were Gary and Ray from the repair shop down the street. They looked dazed while Marc stood over them, waiting for them to move.
“What the hell?”
“They were looking for more fudge.”
Jayde grabbed at the necklace, shocked at how out of hand things had gotten. “Doesn’t anyone have any self-control in this town?”
When Marc started to speak, she held up her hand to stop him. “No, don’t bother. I already know what you’re going to say.”
She ran out of the room and up to her apartment. Her lungs burned from the burst through the shop and up the two flights of stairs as she locked the door behind her. She sat down on the bed, gulping in air, desperate to catch her breath. She looked at herself in the mirror behind the dresser. Her hair stood out in a riot of curls, and her skin flushed red and sweaty from her fear and her exhaustion. She did not look her best.
Sometimes when she looked in the mirror, she could still see the pudgy, plain little girl she had been, but not anymore. She’d come to terms with her ample figure, and she knew how much she was worth, even if Aidan and Marc didn’t see it without the stone’s power to show them.
Tears tracked down her face as she spied the reflection of the box behind her, sitting on the nightstand beside the bed. She reached for the clasp to unhook the necklace. There was no choice. She had to do right by her grandmother and do the right thing. The warm stone settled in her hand as the tears continued to fall. She’d never known what love would be like with one man, let alone two. Somehow, the memories would have to be enough.
She pressed the lock on the box and pulled the lid open. When she’d opened the box the first time, it had been a seductive lure. Now it repelled her. Her limbs turned cold and achy the closer she got to placing the necklace inside. Her heart hurt, but she knew her grandmother watched her with pride.
“For you, Gran, I will protect the legacy of the box and all that it contains. I love you.”
She dropped the necklace onto the velvet and slammed it shut, locking the puzzle pieces once again until the last of the tumblers fell into place. The deed was done, and she’d made her choice.