Fall to Pieces

FALL TO PIECES BIJOU HUNTER & NOELLE ZANE Copyright © 2023 Bijou Hunter & Noelle Zane –––––––– No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. –––––––– Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmosphere purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental. –––––––– Cover Source: DepositPhotos Cover Copyright © 2023 Bijou Hunter & Noelle Zane –––––––– Dedication To SaMiJaMaLu My lovely betas—Carina, Cynthia, Sarah, and Sheri & Judy’s Proofreading TABLE OF CONTENTS CHARACTER LIST YAZMIN NORRIS WADE “ARMOR” PALMER YAZMIN WADE YAZMIN WADE YAZMIN WADE YAZMIN WADE YAZMIN WADE YAZMIN WADE YAZMIN WADE YAZMIN WADE YAZMIN WADE YAZMIN WADE YAZMIN WADE YAZMIN WADE YAZMIN WADE YAZMIN WADE YAZMIN WADE YAZMIN WADE YAZMIN WADE YAZMIN WADE YAZMIN WADE’S EPILOGUE YAZMIN’S EPILOGUE “PIECES WE KEEP” SNEAK PEEK BIJOU READING ORDER ABOUT BIJOU CHARACTER LIST –––––––– This is a list of mentioned characters from previous books: –––––––– Hoyt “Ruin” Macready – SBMC president Wade “Armor” Palmer – SBMC vice president Selene Norris - Hoyt’s assistant and woman Yazmin Norris – Hoyt’s assistant and Selene’s younger sister Silas “Nomad” Bennings – SBMC enforcer Wynonna Macready Nauls – Hoyt’s younger sister Nash “Tomcat” Childs – SBMC treasurer and Hoyt’s cousin Martin “Walla Walla” Carter – SBMC secretary Tommy “Hobo” Clark – SBMC road captain Rhett “Eagle” Finch – SBMC sergeant at arms Lisa “Goose” Palmer – SBMC founding member and Wade’s older sister Ed and Callie Macready – Hoyt’s father and stepmother Glenn Childs – Nash’s father and Hoyt’s uncle Kourtney Clark – SBMC’s lawyer and Tommy’s younger sister Joie Macready – Hoyt’s daughter Blair, Beau, Brooklyn, Beckett, and Brigitte – Landry’s kids Tracey – Hoyt’s house manager Patrice Fuchs – Selene and Yazmin’s grandmother Cheryl – Patrice’s wife Dice – club member Yagger – club member Smokey – club member YAZMIN NORRIS I’m trapped in a dream. I open my eyes after a drugged sleep, only to find a distorted world. People don’t feel real. Voices sound too far away. My mind is fuzzy, scattered, and lost. My medication acts as the warden of my prison. I’ve stopped them before, gone cold turkey, and tried to throw off my shackles. The resulting withdrawal madness sent me back to my pills, hoping to silence the noise and return to the tranquility of my dreamlike existence. There are benefits to living with a dazed brain. Violence becomes muted, and fear loses its sting. Not always, unfortunately. So easily, a situation can tip me over the edge and send me spiraling into a pit of panic and pain. I should blame my parents. Or perhaps, Robert Sasko is the real villain. In my good moments, I view myself as the hapless victim of their mistreatment. This pathetic life isn’t my fault. Even so, I hate the woman I see in the mirror. I can’t think of a single reason she deserves to live. The sole purpose of my continued existence is to save my sister, Selene. After the psychiatric hospital, I was ready to walk into the ocean and let the water cleanse me forever. Life no longer held any meaning. Instead, Selene took me into her large, garish home, where I quickly realized she was alone and trapped in a beautiful cage. When she visited me in the hospital, I felt her sadness. Not only for me but for her own miserable existence. Selene desperately needed someone to hold on to and prevent her from buckling under the weight of her miserable marriage. I moved to her lovely Bossier City estate. Selene’s safety, dignity, and sanity were the price she paid for the big house on prime acreage in the ritziest end of town. The warden at her private prison was a terrible, trivial man named LeVoy Garry. As a girl, I knew my parents planned to marry Selene and me off to wealthy men. I dreamed of a prince swooping in to save me from my father’s rage and my mother’s feebleness. My fantasy man and I would travel the world, making love in sun-soaked paradises. I would lavish my attention on my savior and our children. I never dreamed of much more than a family filled with comfort and love. I held on to my hope, even after Selene was married off to LeVoy. My father was an important man in Naples, yet he chose poorly for his daughters. Despite his arrogance and anger, Carlos Norris was easily bullied. His power acted as a shiny coat of paint concealing his insecurities rotting underneath. My father’s choices haunt me every day. I often feel trapped in the past. However, my new therapist suggested I should wake up every day and count how many years I’ve been free of Robert Sasko. Then, I should count how many years I’ve been free of the psychiatric hospital, where Robert’s friend and colleague played with my brain. Finally, I should count how many months I’ve been away from Bossier City. “You are free,” Cynthia Joseph says at the end of our bi-weekly sessions. “You can be unburdened by your past if you can focus on your present and future.” Beyond simple self-improvement, I have tangible reasons to seek a better life. McMurdo Valley has offered many unexpected opportunities. Selene and I fled to this small town filled with rugged beauty. Our estranged grandmother, Patrice Fuchs, has called McMurdo Valley home for her entire seventy-four years. Though we barely knew the woman, we had no other option except to beg for refuge. On a warm evening, months ago when LeVoy was