Targeting Celeste: Thrilling novel of romantic suspense (Corrupted Book 3) Read online

  PRAISE FOR J.W. ASHLEY’S NOVELS

  OLIVE YOU

  “An enjoyable compilation of short stories about a group of girlfriends who are searching for true love. Each story stands alone, but they are interconnected. A great read!”

  -Amazon Reviewer

  “This book takes you through a whole year of ups and downs in their love life. Humor is woven into serious times and romance always wins out. “

  -Gma L (Amazon Reviewer)

  THE LUMBERJACK EFFECT

  “…the type of story that clutches you at once and does not release you until you get to the end…”

  -Sleep Reader (Amazon Reviewer)

  “Hot, sexy lumberjack with a heart of gold? Yes please!”

  -Book Lover Merci (Amazon Reviewer)

  RESCUING NORAH

  “The first book in the Corrupted series is dynamite. J.W. Ashley introduces the lead heroine in a fashion that has you wanting to cheer and hope for the best from the first paragraph.”

  -Anne E. (Amazon Reviewer)

  “… really well written book, full of suspense and steamy romantic moments, intrigue, trust issues and betrayal, all the main plots for a romance suspense book.”

  -Monina O. (Amazon Reviewer)

  SHIELDING JEMMA

  “J.W. has once again written a provocative romance murder mystery with ongoing consequences.”

  -Anne E. (Amazon Reviewer)

  “Oh the suspense, twists, deception, betrayal and sooo much more.”

  -BluEyeCtryGirl (Amazon Reviewer)

  BOOKS BY J.W. ASHLEY

  The Corrupted Trilogy

  Rescuing Norah

  Shielding Jemma

  Targeting Celeste

  Stand alone romance

  Olive You

  Fixed On You

  The Lumberjacked Duet

  The Lumberjack Effect: Graham and Lena

  The Whiskey Effect: Leo and Claudia

  Targeting Celeste

  Corrupted book 3

  J.W. Ashley

  To the Thursday morning crew…

  Kelly, Maricella, Charli, and Amy.

  Thanks for making me socialize.

  I’d be super weird otherwise.

  Targeting Celeste

  Corrupted trilogy book 3

  by J.W. Ashley

  Copyright © 2020. All rights reserved.

  ISBN 13: 978-1-952490-03-3

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, businesses and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places, or actual events is entirely coincidental.

  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 any information storage and retrieval system without written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover Design by DoLittle Designs

  Edited by Dawn

  Contents

  Prologue

  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

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Epilogue

  My Corrupted Playlist

  Acknowledgments

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  About the Author

  Fantasy By Jessica Wayne

  Prologue

  Ten years ago

  Grinning, Zach pushed open the glass door to his tiny apartment building. Not just mine anymore, he reminded himself with a smile. It was Celeste’s now too.

  The gorgeous brunette with a fiery personality and eyes that seemed to stare straight through him had stolen his heart. Taken over every single one of his senses and made him believe in love.

  Hell, he even believed they were soul mates. Wasn’t that some romantic shit? They may have started as enemies, but it sure didn’t end that way, and now she was his. Forever.

  He’d never considered himself the marrying type. After watching his dad go in and out of rehab after his mom died, he’d never wanted to be so in love with someone, so attached to them he lost himself once they were gone.

  It was a weakness, and ever since his seventh birthday, Zach’s father had made damn sure he let Zach know just what he thought of weakness. Shaking his head, Zach stuck his key into the mailbox.

  No way in hell was he going to let Allen Murphy steal one more second of happiness from him. The man could rot in whatever sober tank he was currently occupying for all Zach cared.

  Opening the mailbox, he retrieved his mail—a handful of bills and a letter from an uncle he hadn’t talked to in nearly a decade.

  After tucking the envelopes beneath his elbow, Zach retrieved his keys and pushed the button to call the elevator down.

  She’d promised to wait for him in bed, and the thought of her naked body sent his pulse hammering. Not once in his thirty-four years on this earth had a woman had such an effect on him.

  The elevator doors opened and a man wearing black jeans and a dark jacket stepped out, a smile on his face.

  “Have a nice night,” he greeted with a nod.

  “Thanks, you too.”

  The door closed in front of him, and Zach hit the button that would carry him the rest of the way to Celeste.

  As the elevator climbed, he looked down at the bouquet of lilies—her favorite—in his hand. He was going to be the best damned husband he could be, because she was the best thing that ever happened to him.

  The ding signaled his arrival, and he stepped off, more than ready to see his wife. Wife. I have a wife! He was damn near swooning over her like a lovesick puppy, and he didn’t give two shits what anyone thought about it.

  As he got closer to his apartment, the door coming into view, all happiness vanished from Zach’s thoughts as if someone sucker punched him in the gut.

  Leaning down, he set the flowers and mail on the floor and retrieved his weapon from the holster at his waist.

  He’d only been gone two hours. What could have happened?

  Weapon at the ready, he used the barrel to nudge the already cracked door open the rest of the way. “Celeste?” he called into the silent apartment. Had she left the door open as a joke? Even as the thought crossed his mind, he dismissed it.

  She was too damn smart to leave a door unlocked and open for anyone to walk in. Especially with the people looking for her, whom she’d warned him about.

  When she didn’t reply, he moved farther inside, using his elbow to flip the light switch near the door.

  Bright light illuminated the space, and Zach’s chest seized with panic. “Celeste!” he yelled, rushing toward the bedroom.

  He passed shredded cushions; the white fluff filling scattered all over the floor. Broken glass crunched beneath his boots as he moved, stepping over shredded books and overturned furniture, finding his wife the only thing on his mind.

  This was all stuff—replaceable shit. But Celeste, she was one of a kind, and the thought of never seeing her again—

  “Celeste!”

  The bedroom was empty, the mattress shredded and flipped, every single photo he’d had on his walls was shattered on the floor.

  A puddle of blood stained the light carpet, and Zach raced to the closet, ripping the door open and pulling the remaining clothes down from hangers, searching the walk-in for any sign of his wife.

  “Celeste!” he called again, panic-fueled rage setting in. “Celeste!”

  She was gone.

  With a shaking hand, he reached into his pocket and retrieved his cell phone and hit her contact info.

  After one ring, the tone of Joan Jett’s “Bad Reputation” blasted through his apartment. Stumbling through the wreckage, he tossed a pillow aside and retrieved her phone.

  More blood splattered the carpet beneath him, and Zach fell to his knees, panic gripping him and blocking out all other noise.

  Someone touched his shoulder, and he looked up to see an officer from his department—Lucas, maybe?—standing beside him, weapon drawn. Who’d called the police?

  Zach holstered his own firearm but didn’t stand.

  Celeste had warned him they would come for her. That she was in danger if she stayed.

  And he’d promised her he would keep her safe.

  He su
rveyed the damage around him; this wasn’t safe. Someone had found her, and either taken or—no, he couldn’t consider the other option.

  It was far too real, too devastating to even think she may be gone forever.

  As he sat there on the floor, Zach’s anger grew, surpassing the grief. He may have failed her tonight, but he was a cop—a detective—solving crimes was his job, and he was damn good at it.

  One of the beat cops he’d passed a time or two came over and put a hand under his arm, helping him stand on legs that felt like lead. And as he surveyed the destruction, one thing solidified in Zach’s mind.

  A silent promise to the woman he loved.

  He would find her, and so help anyone who’d harmed her. Because if it came down to it, he would deliver the killing blow and take them all out, bringing the entire company crumbling to its knees.

  Justice system be damned.

  Chapter One

  Present day

  Zach was fucking tired.

  As in, ex-fucking-hausted and ready for a month-long vacation. Nah, maybe a year instead. He ran a hand through his short hair.

  “Cap?”

  “What is it, Elliot?” Zach didn’t bother looking up at Seattle PD’s newest officer. He knew the man would be standing there, wide-eyed and fresh-faced, ready to take on the day. The fucker rolled out of bed excited about his job.

  What I’d give for that feeling again. He sighed. Ever since he’d been promoted, he’d lost all interest in his job.

  “Sir, we’re ready in the conference room.”

  He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’ll be there in a few.” He was in no way ready to greet his precinct. They had a few smaller reports that needed to be looked into, but that wasn’t what anyone was interested in.

  No, they wanted to know about the file containing the murder of two crime bosses within months of each other. Murders that seemed impossible, seeing as how no one caught anything on prison security tapes, and neither of the guards posted outside the high-security cells saw or heard anything or anyone.

  He sighed as he gathered his notes and the stack of case files. They were looking at a massive crime ring, possibly one that spanned the entirety of the country, and yet were no closer to discovering who was at the very top. Matthews and Charmont were small fish in an expanding pond full of assholes, and everyone was looking at him to figure out just who the shark was.

  No pressure.

  “Hey, dick.”

  Zach looked up and grinned. “Well, I’ll be damned, look what the cat drug in. And it’s Captain Dick to you, by the way.” He chuckled and shook hands with the man on the other side of his desk. “How’s it going, Harley, nice vacation?”

  “I was on a beach with Norah for the better part of three months, yeah, I’d say it was nice.”

  “And now I’m guessing you’ve returned to beg for a job?”

  “You did say it’d be waiting for me.”

  Zach smiled. His old friend looked tan and happy, and although a part of him was jealous, Zach was grateful he’d gotten the break after everything they’d dealt with when Matthews had been at large.

  That bastard had put Harley and Norah through a Texas-sized shit storm. Capturing and nearly killing them both before they finally had enough to arrest him. “I suppose I did. Come on, you can sit through the morning briefing with me, then we’ll get you down to human resources to fill out all the paperwork. It’s good to have you back.”

  Harley grinned and looked around the office. “Honestly, it’s good to be back.”

  “You sound surprised.”

  “I am. Wasn’t sure how it was going to feel being back here after everything, but it’s nice. I can’t wait for some normalcy.”

  “Well, you picked a hell of a day to start. The day after Christmas? Didn’t want to wait until the New Year?”

  Harley laughed. “Not particularly. I was getting antsy, and Norah told me I needed to go do something so she could get applied for all the grants she’ll need.”

  “How is Norah?” Zach asked as he walked past Harley and locked the door to his office behind them.

  “She’s doing great. Ready to get started on her degree.”

  “Social worker, right?” he asked, remembering what she’d told him back after she’d gotten out of the hospital.

  “Yeah, she’s pretty damn excited.”

  “She’ll make a great one.”

  “She will,” Harley agreed. “So, what did I miss?”

  “Not a whole hell of a lot. I’m guessing you got my messages about Matthews and Charmont?”

  “I did. I’m not familiar with the latter, but I have to say I’m not overly beat up about Matthews being gutted.”

  Zach nodded in agreement. “I’m going to need you caught up as soon as possible. We need to find out whoever is behind it, so we can be fucking done with those assholes.”

  “I will.”

  Zach stopped in front of the conference room and sighed. “Well, here we go.” The room was crowded, and as soon as he crossed the threshold, all talking ceased and everyone’s eyes focused on him.

  When he’d been a lieutenant here at the Seattle PD, he’d had his eyes set on the captain’s seat. He’d wanted it so badly he could taste it, and honestly, as of now, he wished like hell he hadn’t taken it.

  The job was wearing on him and making it harder to force himself out of bed each and every day. Where was the thrill he had once felt? The excitement at being the guy in charge? Because he sure as hell had no clue where that asshole had gone.

  After setting his files on the podium, Zach looked up at the room, resting his hands on either side of the wooden top. “We’ve got a busy couple of weeks ahead of us,” he told them. “With New Year’s right around the corner, I imagine we’ll have a nice handful of drunk and disorderly.” After some nods, Zach cracked open his file. “Gayle and Smith, I need you both on those armed robberies downtown. There was another one last night, and we’re pretty sure the department managed a partial print. Follow up on that.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Zach went down the list, handing out assignments and following up. He managed to make it through the entire briefing without being asked about Charmont or Matthews, and he’d damn well call that a win since his entire upper chain was on his ass about it.

  Caid King, the FBI agent tasked with Charmont, was getting just as much pressure from his higher-ups. Everyone wanted to know who was at the tip-top of the food chain, but every time either one of them turned around, they were hit with more red tape.

  At least he wasn’t alone in his misery, he considered, thinking back to his earlier conversation with Caid. Not that it made it any easier, just meant he had someone to bitch to.

  “Ready for a promotion?” Zach asked Harley as the room cleared.

  “I am. How’d you manage to keep the spot clear for me?”

  “I know people,” Zach joked.

  “The governor?”

  Zach nodded. “He pulled some strings for me and made it possible to keep the spot open. Though, you took your sweet-ass time getting back.”