Escaping from the Shadows by C L Tustin
Anastasia Travess
is caring, beautiful and talented, but all her life her abusive
father has kept her down. Seeking love wherever she can there has
only ever been one man she trusts, one man who makes her complete and
he rejected her years ago.
Piers Talbot is
an enigma, a charming bachelor with only one woman in his heart. But
when offered a choice between fixing his estranged family and
obtaining his heart’s desire he makes probably the worst decision
of his life.
When Anastasia
rekindles her past relationship with Piers’ younger brother, the
lines between love and loyalty become blurred. Amid danger, betrayal
and deception, Anastasia is forced to question everything she thought
she knew.
But will
Anastasia have the courage to escape from the shadows?
This scene takes
place on New Year’s Eve and sees Bryan struggling to come to terms
with the break-up of his relationship and the tacit understanding
between friends of what Anastasia really wants. It leads into a
confrontation between brothers and an unexpected hook-up…
Bryan
stopped just outside The Cathedral, an exclusive haunt
located
down a side street in Soho. Its neon sign easily visible
from a distance, he could
see the queue was already massive; full
of
hopefuls desperate for a chance to rub shoulders with a rock
star
or the latest soap opera diva. He ran a hand through his now
dark
blond hair and hoped very much that he was still on the
VIP
list. Bryan brushed past a group of scantily clad girls who
giggled
as they recognised him and called out suggestions for
his
entertainment. He looked a little grim as he approached the
bouncers—he
was not in the mood, he had come for one reason
only—and
he was thankful when they just waved him on in.
He
immediately started looking for Anastasia. As he made
his
way towards one of the bars, he could hear whispers; could
see
the faux sympathetic looks and hear people murmuring to
him,
“So sorry to hear you’ve split up,” and “Such a shame. And
at
Christmas, too.” Bryan knew some of them were genuine,
but
most were just happy to see him humiliated. He wanted a
drink.
Several drinks.
“Bryan!”
a voice called out.
Bryan
looked up, still with that dark look in his hazel eyes,
and
was thankful to see a friend, Theo Cavendish, smiling and
waving
at him. At least Theo would understand.
“How
are you? Where’s Stasia?” Theo asked blithely. He
obviously
had not heard.
“She
has a new man, Theo. I expect they’ll be here soon.” He
caught
the bartender’s eye and ordered several drinks.
Theo
frowned. “What happened?” Then, seeing Bryan was
disinclined
to answer him, he asked cautiously, “Has Piers finally
made
a move?”
Bryan
downed one, two, three shots in quick succession and,
laughing
bitterly, replied, “I could have taken that, but no. His
brother
got there first.”
Theo
was dumbfounded. “His brother?
Which one?”
Bryan
downed another. “His youngest, Mark. The git.” Bryan
carried
on drinking.
Theo’s
eyes clouded and he repeated the name, tapping into
a
memory from long ago that still rankled. “Mark? The bloke
she
had a fling with when we split up over me going to Europe?”
Bryan
eyed him speculatively. “You hate him, too?”
Theo
sighed. “It was a long time ago, and it was my fault,
anyway.
As soon as I got back, I turned up in Belgravia with
roses
and champagne and …” He broke off, grinning. “God,
that
was a good night!”
Bryan
gazed at him with hostility and ordered more drinks.
“Steady
on,” Theo cautioned. “I didn’t know you belonged to
the
Piers Talbot School of How To Get Hammered.”
Bryan
shrugged and carried on drinking. “You in for the
duration?”
“No,”
Theo replied slowly, counting how many glasses were
now
empty. “No, I’m off shortly to a do at the Ritz with my wife.”
“Oh,
aren’t we superior? Must be fun being a member of the
aristocracy,
your ladyship,” Bryan responded sarcastically.
Theo
laughed. “You’re such a knob, Darnell. Anyway, I only
came
in to see Piers. I’m fancying a night out with him and
Stasia
soon.”
“I
don’t expect her new man will let her out of his sight. And
if
he’s got any sense, he’ll get her to kick Piers into touch,”
Bryan
remarked
cryptically.
“Yeah,
right. As if that
will ever
happen.” Theo held Bryan’s
slightly
out of focus gaze and they both knew he was right.
Bryan
shrugged. “I’ll get out of your way, mate. She won’t
come
over to you if I’m around. Catch you soon.”
He
tried to move away, now unsteady on his feet, and Theo
stopped
him. “Word to the wise. Ease up on the sauce. If you
do
anything stupid and jeopardise your album release, Rick will
not
be happy. And you
know more than most not to piss off Rick
Lascelles!”
Unsure if Bryan had heard him, he watched his now
inebriated
friend wander off.
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C L Tustin was
born and raised in the East Midlands but spent her teenage years in
Sydney, Australia. She has sung twice at the Sydney Opera House and
also appeared singing live on Australian national television.
Returning to the UK in 1989 via Singapore and the Middle East the
travel bug has never left her and she has explored countries and
cities across the world.
C L Tustin began
writing at the age of 11 when she didn’t see why James Bond had to
be a man and created a spy code named The Cat with 10 planned
adventures. Her first published novel “Escaping from the Shadows”
is a romance with an undertone of threat set in the social media free
world of 1990. She is currently working on editing and completing her
second romance “Desert Rose” whilst writing a brand new story
“Flower of Death”. Future projects already planned include two
Regency romances and a sci-fi thriller.
Whilst raising
her son C L Tustin continued to balance writing and work with
completing a BSc(Hons) in Science and a MSc(Merit) in Earth Science
with the Open University. This was a most rewarding experience
despite the long hours and hard work involved.
C L Tustin has
worked for two major banks, a tool company, the MOD and the NHS. She
has completed 3 Thames Bridges walking challenges for charity,
volunteers for Butterfly Conservation and passionately supports
rescue dogs. C L Tustin lives currently with her rescued 15 year old
Jack Russell Terrier and a diverse collection of books and sci-fi
memorabilia.
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