Transparent

© 2015 Erin Noelle

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

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.

Cover Design

by Hang Le

Cover Photography

Furious Fotog

Cover Model: Michael Federico with Model Madness, LLC

Editing

Indie Solutions & Kayla Robichaux

Interior Design and Formatting

Christine Borgford, Perfectly Publishable

Transparent is the conclusion of Blake and Madden's story that began in Translucent (Book One in the Luminous Duet), and should not be read as a standalone. It simply will not make sense. I've provided a short summary for those who need a quick reminder of what happened.

RECAP:

Blake Martin is a mystery.

She enters buildings completely aware of her surroundings. Everything she does, every move she makes is for a purpose. She's quiet, reserved; she likes being unnoticed. She's this way for a reason. Before she was Blake Martin, she was Bryleigh Carter Oliveira. The American Princess. Ish's wife. Ish. The illegitimate son to Italian mob boss Vincent Ricci. Ish pursued Bryleigh (Blake) with fervor. She was young (a high school student at the time), naïve, and enamored by the love and affection Ish showed her, the love and affection that became her worst nightmare.

Ish wasn't who she thought he was. He was controlling, abusive (physical, emotional, sexual), and manipulative. After seeing Ish at his worst (making her have sex with another man in front of him, then brutally murdering the man right in front of her, blaming her for his death; having sex with other women, then killing the women if they got pregnant, torturing and murdering anyone who dared cross him). After years of living in the terrifying lifestyle, Bryleigh had had enough. She killed Ish. But she was smart. After going to the FBI, she was placed in the Witness Protection Program in exchange for her knowledge of his family's operation.

When Blake moved to Los Angeles, she knew no one. Her only family (mother and brother) had been killed by Vincent as retaliation for the murder of his son. She had no friends, being in the WITSEC. She was starting over. Through the help of the U.S. Marshal's office, she's set up with a new appearance, a new home, and a new job at JDT Graphic Designs.

Meeting Madden Decker, CEO of Decker Enterprises, is life changing for both Blake and Madden. The connection is instant, and soon Madden is relentless in his pursuit of Blake. Blake, of course, is incredibly timid during his quest. The last person who pursued her turned out to be a psychopath. And she's continuing to deal with the constant nightmares Ish left her with, causing her to inflict bodily harm to herself. Madden is amazing-alpha, gorgeous, loves his parents. After admitting to herself and Madden there is something between them, they begin a relationship. Soon Madden realizes there's definitely more to Blake than she's presenting. He sees her nightmares, her times where she “checks out,” and he's the only one able to pull her out of it, the physical damage she does to herself. He's determined to help her and be with her, and soon they're madly in love, though neither have had the courage to admit it to the other yet.

Throughout their relationship, Madden and Blake deal with some normal things too. Jealousy from Emerson-a longtime family friend and former lover of Madden's. Emerson is ruthless and definitely not welcoming of Madden and Blake's relationship. Easton, Madden's brother, is a wild card. He's a partner in Decker Enterprises but rarely shows up and gets into trouble with the Russian mob because of his gambling addiction.

Just as things were starting to look to Blake like her life can, in fact, be normal, she gets a text from Madden, letting her know that he will be picking her up after work. Typically she drives to his house on Friday nights so they can spend the weekend together, so this wasn't normal, but she trusts him enough to not question it. As she climbs into the car, she's transported directly into one of her nightmares as she hears someone greet her by her “real” name. She's been abducted. But we are left to question by whom.

TRANSPARENT

NOTE TO READER

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

CHAPTER THIRTY

EPILOGUE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

BOOKS BY ERIN NOELLE

For George R. R. Martin ~

At least someone takes longer than I do to put out a sequel

THE DAY I TURNED FOURTEEN, I tortured a man for the first time. Strung him up naked in one of my dad’s warehouses. Gagged him so I didn’t have to listen to him scream like the traitorous cunt he was as I cut off a different body part every half hour for nearly an entire afternoon. Just as I’d watched it be done numerous times over the past couple of years.

First were his hands and feet, each removed with a single swing of the new shaska my father had given me that morning at breakfast for my birthday. I remembered how proud he and my uncles were of my clean, precise form, insisting we all toast with a shot of Baikal vodka after each strike. The alcohol boosted my confidence and conviction, and by the fifth time I walked into the seedy back interrogation room, illuminated only by a flickering fluorescent light hanging in the middle of the cracked ceiling, I felt like the Pakhan himself—invincible, immortal, and on top of the Russian mafia world.