Page 1 of Incomplete
Prologue
Lakelyn
“You’ve got two minutes, sweetheart. This isn’t a family show, so there’s no need to pretend you’re all innocent. Push those tits up and show America what you’ve got hidden under there. You do that, and maybe you’ll be the next ‘The One.’” He air quoted.
I glared at the sleazy producer in disgust when his gaze dropped to my chest. The little black strapless dress the wardrobe department selected for me already accentuated my breasts nicely and was tasteful. Pushing them up would make it look like I had melons stuffed under my chin. A look I wasn’t comfortable broadcasting for the world to see.
If only the contract I’d signed hadn’t stated I needed to attend tonight on the finale, I would have happily washed my hands of this entire fiasco and moved on.
From start to finish, the whole process hadn’t been what I anticipated. I was set up, railroaded, and pigeonholed into what the network wanted from me—drama. The problem was drama, deceit, and lies weren’t in my wheelhouse, and at the first sign of my resistance, the producers changed my narrative as a form of payback.
“All right, America, you’ve heard from Tyler; now it’s time to hear what his blushing fiancée has to say after being separated these last few months. Please, everyone, give a warm welcome to Lakelyn.”
The stagehand pulled the curtain back after the host, Leo Davis, announced my name and the crowd started clapping in anticipation of my entrance. Then, out of nowhere, one of the production aides bumped into me, and what transpired next was worthy of one’s worst nightmare. Their hands not only latched on to the back of my strapless dress, but the forward motion of their fall caused the upper portion of my dress to slide to my hips, thus exposing my bare chest to the world as I stumbled out onto the stage with a live camera pointed straight in my direction.
Leo’s eyes went wide for a beat, mirroring my alarm before he shifted his stance and addressed the camera.
“Goddammit, get off me,” I snapped at the jackass lying at my feet, ogling my exposed skin like a creeper, as I quickly tugged the upper portion of my dress over my chest.
I took a deep breath and silently prayed for my face not to be beet-red with embarrassment, but I knew it was useless. The production’s hair and makeup assistants rushed to my side and franticly started blotting my cheeks while another female assistant flapped her hands near my eyes to help my pending tears from falling.
After an impromptu commercial break, I righted myself, squared my shoulders, and dutifully took my spot onstage beside Tyler, who convincingly played his role of an outwardly doting fiancé to the max.
All I ever wanted was a happily ever after, and this was most definitely not it.
Chapter1
Lakelyn
“Where am I?”I groaned, having just stopped at a red light. The first one I’d seen on this two-lane country road in the past hour.
From my hometown outside of Buffalo to San Diego to Los Angeles to the middle of nowhere.
Correction, Sutton River, California.
While tapping my fingers against the steering wheel, I peered out the front and side windows at the desolate surroundings and silently hoped the lone traffic light was just the beginning of some civilization up around the bend.
The small-town life would no doubt be an adjustment, but injecting calm into my life was precisely what my soul needed to begin the healing process. The past years’ emotional toll and the threatening messages I received during filming had me desperately seeking somewhere reclusive. A place to lie low until the circus that had become my life settled.
Freedom comes at a price, and it’s time you paid up.
You won’t survive a second time.
A chilling shiver prickled its way up my spine, causing me to shudder with dread.
I needed to relax, get a grip, and focus.
After being on the road for hours, all I wanted to do was get to my final destination, and currently, the red light in the middle of no-man’s-land was standing in my way. Growing rather impatient, I scanned my surroundings and decided there was no need to sit idle while all the invisible traffic ghosted by.
What was the worst that could happen? No one was even around to witness the travesty.
With no one in sight, I eased off the brake and gave my rental SUV some gas.
“See, nothing to worry about,” I reassured myself seconds before cherries lit up in my rearview mirror.
“You’ve got to be kidding!”
Was the cop camouflaged behind a rock?
