Lethal Beauty

Lethal Beauty K.C. Ramsey K.C. Ramsey Copyright Copyright © 2023 by K.C. Ramsey All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the brainchild of the author. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales are entirely coincidental. ISBN ebook: 979-8-9873493-1-1 ISBN print: 979-8-9873493-0-4 Created with Atticus Cover by: Furiousfotog Book Blurb: Briggs Consulting, LLC Developmental and Line Edits by: Olivia Kalb Editing Proofing by: Lawrence Editing Dedication To my family, both by blood and through words. Without you all, this book would never have been written, let alone published. Thank you with all of my heart for encouraging me to dream big and follow my passion. Contents 1. Alessia 2. Alessia 3. Brody 4. Alessia 5. Alessia 6. Alessia 7. Brody 8. Alessia 9. Brody 10. Alessia 11. Brody 12. Gideon 13. Alessia 14. Brody 15. Alessia 16. Alessia 17. Alessia 18. Brody 19. Alessia 20. Brody 21. Alessia 22. Brody 23. Alessia 24. Brody 25. Keene 26. Alessia 27. Brody 28. Alessia 29. Alessia 30. Alessia 31. Alessia 32. Epilogue—Keene About Author Blurb Chapter 1 AlessiaTemper coursed through me in waves, making my hands tremble and cheeks flush. If looks could kill, then Tony Romero was a dead man walking and I was about to be arrested for his murder. Considering my plans for the night, being arrested right now would be more than a little problematic. I drew a breath in slowly before letting it out, reining in my anger and burying it. Around me, people laughed and talked with each other, the fake giggling adding to my irritation. Despite the laughter, no one was having a good time, but I expected nothing less. It was our job. Well, it was supposed to be a job, but somehow, over the years, it had morphed into a soul-sucking monster, consuming me one tiny nibble at a time. Behind me, the ocean waves crashed into the shore, spraying my skin with a salty mist. The briny smell mixed with seaweed, sand, and perfume. Despite the cold droplets clinging to the ridiculous dress, plastering the skin-tight material to me like a second skin, most of the people loitering around barely glanced in my direction, too focused on either their own jobs or the flirting and ass-kissing that inevitably happened when you mixed the powerful with the power-hungry.“Hold that position,” Tony called from behind the camera that, by all rights, should have grown attached to his face years ago. “Now, give me more heat. Lose the ice bitch look and give me the sweet seductress we both know you’re incapable of being in real life.”He wasn’t wrong—sweet was not even a word my family would use to describe me—but irritating me with insults to make me lose my bad mood was not the best tactic. Tony wasn’t a bad guy, for a photographer anyway, but I’d learned when I first met him eight years ago that his genius behind the lens didn’t extend to his mouth. And it had been in rare form today. Loud, obnoxious, and cutting for hours. Most people would have run off set hours ago, crying and contemplating their career choices. I had thicker skin, but despite my efforts, the words affected me. Instead of self-doubt, my confidence and anger issues turned the emotion into seething irritation. I’d bitten my tongue so often today that if I didn’t end up with one giant canker sore, I would be surprised.Tired, beyond hungry, and more than ready to turn to the real reason I was on the soft white sand of Fiji, I gave him five more minutes of what he needed. “Done?” I tried not to snap or whine—it really wasn’t my style. I was a seasoned professional. Being able to keep my emotions under control and focus on my work was the reason I could do what I did. It worked for modeling as well.My head was pounding, a result of staring directly at the sunlight for hours, combined with barely eating enough to keep a rabbit alive. It was yet another reason I hated being out on modeling assignments—I could pretty much eat normal meals at home as long as I exercised enough and ate healthily, but on location, I was subjected to a negative fifty-calorie count and expected not to have an issue with it. I was pretty sure I’d trade my favorite knife for a burger at this point, but eating red meat in front of this crowd would cause a riot. The last time I’d eaten some jerky that one of my brothers had sent me on a set, Melissa Karmichael had cried actual tears over the dead cow sacrificed for my snack and Kasia Alaynna just about jumped me to get a piece.Tony was looking at his camera, his focus on the tiny screen so intense I wasn’t sure he had heard me. “What?” he looked up after several long moments, his brown eyes barely meeting mine before he looked back at his equipment. “Oh.” He glanced around, noting the people packing up the contents of the tent we had used as a base the entire day and the sun beginning to set on the other side of the private cove we were using. “Yeah, light’s starting to go anyway.” His bottom lip jutted out, every bit a pout, and I knew that if it weren’t for that fact—not the people packing up or the twelve hours we’d been out there, I would be fighting him over calling it a day.Not bothering to reply, I spun on my heel, my long legs eating up the ground as I made my way to the tent. Knowing the