Maggie Allen's world of corporate money and power comes crashing down after she is taken in by a man who is only out to use her for his own gain. When she is released from a short stint in prison, she refuses to give up even though no one will give her a second chance. She loses everything she's worked for and is forced to move to the other side of town where she is determined to make a new life for herself. Her life would be perfect if it wasn't for Brant Evans, a corrupt police officer, who makes it a point to constantly remind her about her past and all that she has lost. She can't understand his vendetta against her, but she refuses to be intimidated by him and is not afraid to stand up to him no matter the consequences.

Brant Evans has Cedar Pines under his thumb. His wife Janna controls the social and political levers of town with her money. The two of them work hard to ruin the lives of anyone they don't like, or anyone who crosses them. Maggie Allen is caught up in their web of hate. Brant has special plans for Maggie. Plans that include arrest, imprisonment, and ruin.

Available in Paperback and Ebook

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Smashwords
Kobo Books
Indigo Books

Maggie Allen stood behind the counter eyeing the customers beginning to fill the booths. She grabbed her order pad and a pencil. A familiar couple seated themselves in her station. Inwardly, she seethed with anger as she watched them, but outwardly, she was bright and cheerful. She hated having to put on a false front, but knew it was a requisite of the job to treat all of her customers with friendliness, even those she couldn't stomach.

"Hi, Brant. Janna," she said in the cheeriest voice she could muster. She flipped the order pad to a clean page. "What can I get you two?"

"Coffee. Hon?" The man nodded toward the beautiful petite blond at his side.

"The same." She smiled at Maggie. "Did you hear about our new house?"

Maggie looked into her sparkling baby blue eyes. "Yes, I hear it's quite a showplace." She forced a tight smile. She'd give anything to be called away from their table instead of enduring their phony attempts at friendliness. They were up to something. That she was sure of.

"You and Chris should come over some night for dinner and we'll give you the grand tour," Janna gushed, dramatically throwing her arms up in a flamboyant gesture. "It's like a palace!" She gripped Brant's arm. "We never dreamed it would be so beautiful! Did we, honey?"

Brant smiled keeping his eyes glued on Maggie, but Maggie knew he was hoping for some reaction from her.

"Promise me that you'll visit very soon," Janna continued.

"Thanks, Janna," Maggie said with the same tight smile. Now she was certain that the invitation was given only for Brant's satisfaction. There had to be an ulterior motive behind it. Any gesture of kindness from those two usually came with a high price.

She looked at Brant, but his finely chiseled face gave her no clue as his steely gray eyes peered back at her with a rigid and pretentious smile on his lips. He reminded her of a Drill Sergeant.

"I'll get your coffee," she said, breaking Brant's penetrating gaze. She returned a couple of minutes later with their beverages. She set the cups on the table, and then made a hasty departure.

As she waited on customers, she occasionally stole glances at Janna and Brant. They had no intention of following up on the invitation; it was just another slap in the face to let her know that they had money, success, and power. Their new house was one more bitter reminder to her of all that she had lost. They infuriated her and their only purpose for ever stopping in the diner was to rub her nose in it. She looked disgustedly at them in their designer clothes amid the regulars who were usually clad in jeans and tee shirts.

Cedar Pines, Pennsylvania was the type of city, which distinctly separated its citizens into two groups--those who had wealth and those who did not. If you fell in the middle somewhere, as did most of the inhabitants, then you lived on the other side of town with the have-nots. But if there was a chance that you might move up the social ladder, you might be able to live on the edge of the wealthy.

Brant was a dark, handsome, well-conditioned thirty-year-old detective in the Cedar Pines Police Department. His salary could never afford him the luxuries he craved, but Janna, at the tender age of twenty-five, was another story. Her inherited wealth matched her beauty; she had too much of both and was not afraid to use either if it got her what she wanted. Brant didn't care whom he used or hurt to satisfy his own selfish desires. When Janna and Brant married, it was a union destined to destroy many lives. They were a formidable team and God help anyone who got in their way.

She stared hard at the both of them sitting on their thrones using their looks and money to draw attention to themselves. She saw the empty shallowness they both possessed on the inside, and knew that some day when their outside beauty faded, if they didn't change their ways, there would be no inner beauty to shine through. They would be two selfish, miserable human beings. Her prophecies brought her little comfort now, though, as she struggled through each day of her life.

"Remember to give us a call when you have a free evening, Maggie," Janna said brightly as Brant squeezed a few bills into her hand. "Keep the change." He tipped his hat.

Maggie struggled to maintain her composure. "I'll let Chris know." She watched their departure.