Taste of Addiction

TASTE OF ADDICTION ENTICE SERIES BOOK THREE VICTORIA DAWSON PAPER HEART PUBLISHING LLC Copyright © 2022 by Victoria Dawson Taste of Addiction All rights reserved. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information retrieval system without express written permission from the author. All characters and storylines are the property of the author. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual events or people living or dead is purely coincidental. Any trademarks, product names or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners and are used for reference only. Publisher: Paper Heart Publishing LLC Cover Designer: Sarah Kil Creative Studio Editing: Happily Editing Anns ISBN (Paperback): 978-1-959364-05-4 ISBN (ebook): 978-1-959364-04-7 CONTENTS Author Note Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Epilogue Coming Soon Acknowledgments About the Author AUTHOR NOTE Taste of Addiction is the third book in the Entice Trilogy that follows the same two main characters throughout the entire series. It is advised to read the books in order. This series is intended for mature audiences. Sensitive topics discussed could be triggering and not meant for anyone under the age of eighteen. To the hopeless…may you find comfort in being seen. 1 I angrily wipe at the tears that cascade down my cheeks. “Why are you doing this?” I whisper, my voice trembling with each spoken syllable. The lump in my throat triples in size, and I cannot keep my eyes dry long enough to see Graham who is a foot in front of me. He pulls me into him and my damp face presses into the softness of his sweater. Hands tangle in my hair and pull my head upward to look at him. I blink, and two steady rivers leak from my eyes, as if a dam has broken. “I need you to trust that I love you and that I am doing everything for us. I’m preserving our future. No one can touch you here. You’ll be safe. It’ll buy me some time at the very least.” “You are locking me away?” “Sweetheart, I am keeping you safe.” “By keeping me prisoner here?” I demand, glancing over to the fortress. Damn him. “I have classes. A job,” I argue, tugging at the hem of his shirt in desperation to get him to listen. To reconsider whatever it is he has planned. “You’re on fall break for the next eleven days. The cafe will be running on limited staff and with limited hours. Essentially, you have nothing pressing that needs your attention back in Portland. Consider this a retreat.” I swallow hard. He is always one step ahead. He knows my schedule and exactly what to say. He almost sounds logical. Except he is forgetting about the big picture and the demands of my research project. How will I ever be able to have something to present to Dr. Williams that will wow him when I will be cooped up inside this dungeon for the foreseeable future? “So this is it?” I look over at the house. “You’re just dropping me off and then going back to Portland?” “Dammit, Angela.” His hands shake me. “This isn’t fun for me! I’m going completely nuts over Tanner targeting you, and I need to remove you from the equation long enough so I can shut him down.” “And how are you going to do that, Graham? You think in eleven days, you’re going to somehow come up with adequate intel to pass along to the FBI or to your brother or whomever—that will be sufficient enough to draw out all of the key players in the drug ring? Just because I’m not around to interfere? You’re delusional! You need me more than you think you do. I can easily work undercover and be the agency girl who lures out all the bad guys.” “Me, delusional?” Graham steps back and pulls at his hair, looking up into the sky. “You still cannot wrap your head around the fact that you’ll never be sacrificial bait. First, hell will have to freeze over for me to allow you to put yourself at risk like that. Second, you’ve been caught by them. They may not know why you have a personal interest in their corrupt organization, but they definitely know you’re involved in trying to shut them down.” I sigh and look away. He’s right. There is no longer a good way for me to continue gathering new information on Tanner—other than through Paul. He is my ticket. But eleven days stuck here? “You don’t have to keep me here for a week and a half, Graham. I can follow directions from the comfort of the penthouse or my townhouse.” His eyes burn holes in my resolve. He shakes his head. “You’re staying here. I have to separate myself from you so I can think clearly and come up with a plan.” “I hate this,” I choke out. “Oh baby, this is all killing me inside. I hate seeing you sad. It guts me.” He scoops me up into his arms and carries me toward the house. “Just trust me, okay?” I nod through my cloudy vision of tears. I had gotten so used to having Graham around that the thoughts of not being able to be physically near him make me want to punch something. “I love