Just One Lie
Just One Night Series – Book 2
By Kyra Davis
Release Date: July 28, 2015
Synopsis
In the instant international sensation Just One Night, sensible Kasie Fitzgerald unleashed her passions—and found herself—through an explosive affair. In Just One Lie, we meet Kasie’s wild and tortured sister, whose impulsivity and lack of self-control has set off a chain of events that changes her family forever.
Melody Fitzgerald is the opposite of the “perfect” daughter. The lead singer of an indie rock band, she is impulsive and creative, with a rebellious streak that both defines her and becomes her greatest enemy. Her lover, the enticing and unpredictable Ash, shares her free spirit and penchant for trouble. On the face of it, he seems to be her perfect match.
So why is she so drawn to her soft spoken, reliable drummer, Brad Witmer? How can a man who wears polo shirts and reads the financial section of the paper be of any interest to her at all? And why on earth does someone like that appear to be so captivated by her?
Before she knows it, Melody finds herself on a path of self-discovery, passion, and affairs of the heart. But will a dark secret from her past derail it all? Or will its exposure be the very thing that unburdens her heart and allows her to seek a future with the one man who loves her completely?
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Excerpt
It is the perfect moment…until I spot him standing near the corner of the room. He’s almost entirely in the shadows, his features barely visible, but still, I recognize him. There’s something about the way that man holds himself. Right now he’s leaning against a beam, his arms crossed over his chest, chin up. Like with a lion, it’s difficult to tell if he’s on the verge of sleeping or attacking. The first time I saw him-when was that, a year ago? No, over thirteen months since we met-I couldn’t stop staring. I loved his high, chiseled cheekbones and his lightly tanned skin that hinted at a possible Native American heritage, or maybe Latino. But then his bright green eyes insisted that the story wasn’t so straightforward. Oh, and I loved his tribal tattoos and the way his full lips curved into a slow, sensual smile when he saw me for the first time at that club in Seattle. An aspiring musician is how he described himself, but that night, when he sang to me, I could see that his talent was a lot more than aspirational.
His first name is Ash-maybe it’s short for Asher or Ashley, I don’t know, and at the time I didn’t care. I just recall thinking that a man with a name like that had to have a story to tell, one that involved passion and adventure and yeah, okay, maybe a little destruction. We talked for hours and I had felt like I understood him in a way that I had never understood anyone else. And then, later, I realized I didn’t know a thing about him. All our words and intimacies had left us strangers.
Ash is the stranger who took my life.
One night with him, one night of rapture. That’s all it took to put an end to Melody Fitzgerald.
And as if killing me wasn’t enough, this son of a bitch has reappeared and he’s fucking with my moment!
I pull my eyes away and find Rick, the owner of the club, standing at the edge of the bar. Next to him is a couple. A man with light brown hair and chiseled chin with his arm wrapped around an ironed-straight blonde with the sinuous figure of a runway model. All these beautiful people are here to see me! That’s what I have to focus on. Not him. Never, ever him.
And yet, even as I refuse to bring my eyes back to Ash, my mind can’t seem to leave him.
The music pushes me forward, forcing me to continue even as I feel my chest tighten. There’s not enough air in here for this. How could I have not noticed that before? Tonio jumps into his guitar solo and I use the opportunity to take a deep breath, inadvertently inhaling the unmistakable scent of marijuana floating up from somewhere on the dance floor. Doesn’t matter, doesn’t matter. None of this can matter, nothing but the music and what it can do. With new resolve I fall back into the song, attacking it with even more ferocity than before. The crowd hears it and loves it.
And now it’s me that’s moving, across the stage and back again, running, screaming, and the crowd screams right back. This is everything. But then there he is, leaning against that beamn, just…watching me. Has he followed me? Isn’t one death enough for him? The question stirs up some rage I’ve been trying to set aside since our last meeting. Impulsively I knock the microphone stand to the ground with the smack of my open palm. The crowd thinks it’s part of the act and so I go on, finding that I can rejoice in anger as much as any other emotion. As we reach the last stanza, Traci’s and Tonio’s voices join mine, and the sound is an assult on anyone who would ever dream of challenging us. Maybe tomorrow they’ll say I’m a cross between Courtney Love and Fiona Apple. Maybe they’ll say the whole band is destined for fame and greatness. Yeah, that’s what they’ll say, those who are sober enough to remember. But right now they just cheer as our song comes to an end.
“Thank you,” I whisper into the mic. I look back at Ash. Even from here I cans see that he’s clapping, but it’s a slow, purposeful movement. He puts his hand to his mouth, kisses his palm, and then extends his arm leisurely toward me. It’s not so much that he’s blowing me a kiss as he is offering it to me. Inviting me to climb down from my pedestal and take it from him. Again I inhale deeply. “So, I gotta ask you guys something,” I continue. “It’s the end of an era and you’re bringing in the new millennium at Apocalypse listening to a band called fucking Resurrection. Is that tripping anyone else out?” There were yells of approval and at least one person cries hell yes! “By the way,” I add, “it’s really just Resurrection, only our parents call us fucking Resurrection.” General laughter and one woman screams out, “Parents suck!”
Ooh, if these guys only knew how much I agree with that one. “Incase you missed it, this stud on the guitar is Tonio.” Tonio strums out a few wrenching chords as the crowd cheers. “The hot chick in the leather mini is Traci.” Traci plays the opening piano notes of “Sympathy for the Devil.” It’s doubtful that this crowd recognizes it even as they whistle and scream for her, but I do, and the reference makes me laugh. “And allow me to introduce our new drummer! Brad’s only been with us for a week and he’s killing it, am I right?” The crowd roars as Brad launches into a drum solo that is so intense, so aggressive, and so beautiful I turn my back on the audience, momentarily forgetting all of them, even my killer, as I lock eyes with this man who must have sold his soul for this kind of talent. His lips curve into a little half smile as his sticks fly across the stretched membrane surfaces. Physically he doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of the group-too athletic, too clean cut, too aristocratic-but the rest of his viciously beautiful rhythm is downright sinful.
When he ends with a perfectly executed clash, I realize for the first time that I’ve been holding my breath. The crowd cries out, solidifying the triumph as I match his smile with my own and slowly pivot back to the room. “And of course, I’m Mercy. I…” but I give up on continuing as the crowd erupts again, drowning me out with their cheers, chanting my name.
My new name, a choice I made for myself only months ago, now reverberating through the room: Mercy, Mercy, Mercy. It’s on the lips and tongues of everyone in this room…except for his. Beneath the harmonious hum of voices, like an insidious undercurrent, I can hear his silent accusations: That is not who you are. You are not Mercy.
I swallow and look into the spotlight, letting the light assault my vision, temporarily turning the entire club into a murky blur as the crowd quiets enough for me to speak again. “So we got”-I turn and point to the large red numbers projected by a laser clock onto the wall behind my head-“fifteen minutes until the four horsemen arrive. I’m thinking we better stop wasting time and get back into this!”
The crowd cheers again. I spot Rick giving me a thumbs-up as the rugby guy next to him pumps his fist in the air. And again Tonio strums the strings of his guitar. And again my voice rises high then low, elating the crowd and giving me the fortitude to turn my thoughts away from the beast who watches me from the shadows.
And when it’s 11:59 we stop midsong. I hold my hands up in the air and point to the numbers. “It’s almost Y2K time, people!” I cry and glance back at Rick, who is staring intently at his watch. And then he lifts his hand and begins to tick off the seconds with his fingers as I count them down into the mic, “Ten, nine, eight…”
The crowd’s counting with me. “…seven, six…” The beautiful black man has raised his glass in the air; a young woman behind him scrambles on top of the bar with a small video camera in her hand. “…three…” The muscle boy is bounding his fist against the stage. “…two, one!”
And the room erupts. Confetti flies everywhere and the kind of fragmented light that comes from a disco ball splashes across the celebrants. Tonio pops a bottle of cheap champagne he’d been hiding in the wings and douses everyone in the band with it before passing it around. I let the bubbles tickle my tongue, then turn back to the microphone and launch into a happier, more celebratory tune. The people standing beneath us have woven together like vines against the wall, limbs tangled with limbs, lips against lips. There is no separation, no individual distinctions. They all have become a snarled mass of exhilaration and lust.
Except for Ash. He continues to just stand there, apart from all of it. He’s simply watching me. Waiting for me to come to him and claim my kiss.
Tracey’s Review
Doing everything she can to bury her past, Mercy Raye is on a quest to find herself, to define who she truly is. Because her old self is dead, but Mercy is alive, and taking no prisoners.
I am a fan of angsty books. I mean, I really like a book that’s not necessarily a straight shot to the HEA. Let me tell you, JUST ONE LIE by Kyra Davis fills the bill and then some.
Mercy is all about the now. She has been through more than any 22-year-old should have to, but she’s determined to completely reinvent her life. Self-destructive by nature, Mercy is quick to slide back into old bad habits in her desire to love and be loved. The beginning of this book was slow going for me. It took me a while to both appreciate Mercy and to get into the story, but, at the same time, I could not put it down. It was sort of like watching a train wreck, because the choices that Mercy continued to make often led to heartbreak. Ultimately, though, what I really liked about JUST ONE LIE is that Kyra Davis has written a book where redemption is ultimately attainable, available if we’re willing to do the work to get there. When Mercy has finally hit bottom, when she realizes that life is hard as hell, but that it’s worth fighting for, she’s able to make the changes that she needs to to really turn her life around.
And, despite all of the drama and angst, JUST ONE LIE is absolutely a love story. The men in Mercy’s life mark her evolution and growth, and, when she’s finally at a place where she’s who she wants to be, when she loves the person that she is and the life she’s living, she’s able to finally lay her ghosts to rest and find the love she’s looked for her whole life.
I have to admit that I wasn’t sure what my final feelings would be for a good deal of this book, but I can honestly say that JUST ONE LIE is a must-read. I give it 4.5 well-earned stars, and a definite recommendation to add it to your TBR.
Michel’s Review
When I first started this book I really didn’t know what to expect having not read the previous books in this series. I have read other books by Kyra Davis and thoroughly enjoyed them.
Just One Lie was completely different and pulled many reactions from me. At first I wasn’t sure what to think. I was not connecting with the characters. I felt like I wanted to throttle Mercy and was not sympathetic to her plights. But then the story began to unfold. Mercy began to come to life. I began to understand her and her motivations in life.
As the story unfolded I was hooked. It was like driving by a car accident and trying not to rubber neck. Of course that is impossible. But after seeing the horrific accident , you begin to see the victims heal and come to life once again. This time they are making better choices for themselves, they are accepting their flaws, and they are learning how to become whole.
The men in Mercy’s life served a purpose and made her a better woman in the end. The love she chose was more than choosing a man but choosing to love herself.
Kyra Davis once again delivered a heart wrenching story that touched me in many ways. Read Just One Lie!
About Kyra Davis
Kyra Davis is the New York Times bestselling author of the the JUST ONE NIGHT trilogy, SO MUCH FOR MY HAPPY ENDING and the Sophie Katz mysteries. She grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and is currently living in Southern California with her son and his charming, albeit moody leopard gecko. You can learn more about Kyra Davis and her books by visiting: http://www.kyradavis.com
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