The Lost One (Lost Series Book 1) Read online

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  Book 1 - The Lost Series

  Liz Lovelock

  The Lost One

  Book 1 - The Lost Series

  Liz Lovelock

  Copyright 2014 Liz Lovelock

  All Rights Reserved

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to real events, real people, and real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places and incidents are products of the Author’s imagination and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, organisations or places is entirely coincidental.

  All rights are reserved. This book is intended for the purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system, without the express written permission of the Author. All songs, song titles and lyrics contained in this book are the property of the respective songwriters and copyright holders.

  Cover design by Cover to Cover Designs

  Formatting by Swish Design & Editing

  Editing by Hot Tree Editing

  Cover image Copyright 2014

  DedicationTo my Amazing husband Mark for all your support and allowing me to follow my dreams and to my two beautiful kids Amelia and Cale, always dream big! I love you all!

  A Note for the Reader

  This book has been written using UK English and contains euphemisms and slang words that form part of the Australian spoken word, which is the basis of this book’s writing style.

  Please remember, that the words are not misspelled, they are slang terms and are part of the everyday, Australian lifestyle. This book has been written using UK English.

  If you would like further explanation, or to discuss the translation or meaning of a particular word, please do not hesitate to contact the author – contact details have been provided, for your convenience, at the end of this book.

  I hope you enjoy a look into the Australian way of life.

  Acknowledgements

  I have so many people to thank who have helped me in my journey. I don’t know where to start, but please know that this is in no particular order and that I’m sorry in advance if I miss anyone. Just know that I love you all!

  Firstly, I would like to thank Jess Swann for reading those very first few chapters before anyone else and encouraging me to keep going because you wanted to know what was going to happen. Your words inspired me and pushed me to keep going.

  Natalie Hatch for always telling me to write and to just keep going, even if it was for only ten minutes. You are my go to girl when I’m in desperate need of advice or help, you give it to me straight and I appreciate that.

  Felicia Tatum, your books were the first Indie books I read and I fell in love with the Indie community. I’m so grateful for your constant friendship and I’m so thankful to you. I love you my rockstar friend from across the pond.

  KE Osborn and Kaylene, I honestly have no idea where to start with you both. Your constant support and friendship is one I truly treasure. Thanks for the kicks in the butt to get me motivated and to help me get over my ball of fears and nerves. Thanks for all the advice and for proof reading and formatting The Lost One. Thanks again so much! I love you both!

  A special thanks to my friend Kat who encouraged me after attending IADU to keep going with my story and also for her insane mind, I love our chats when we go to dinner and the ideas you give me, especially the talk of scissors. Thanks so much for your friendship. I love ya.

  To my betas, Kaylene, KE Osborn, Angie and Cheryl. Thanks for all your input and advice on how to make my story evolve. Couldn’t have done it without you all.

  These next ladies I’m so happy to call my friends, Penny Rudge, Lila Rose – who was the first to introduce me to MC books and now I can’t get enough! Natalie Gayle, Eliza Brown – my first REAL fan! Madison Street, B. Benfield, T.K. Leigh, Jennifer Ryder – for our sprinting sessions. Emma Fitzgerald, Velvet Reed, Lesley Jones and Dzintra Sullivan, I love you all and value your friendship and support. You have each helped me out in some way and I couldn’t have come this far if it wasn’t for each and every one of you. Thank you, all, so very much!

  To Julie Hockley, the author who inspired me. You are amazing and because of your books, it encouraged me to pursue my dream of writing. Thank you, so much!

  To all the bloggers who always put their hands up to help me out especially, Tash at Book Lit Love, Dzintra at Book Friends Forever, Angela at Books and Friendz, Lea at Feirce Fabulous Book Diva, Natasha and Rose at Forever Me Romance for my Cover Reveal, Kylie at Give Me Books for my Blog Tour and Melanie at Book Empire Promotions for my Release Blitz, and all the numerous blogs who have helped me out continuously by sharing my Cover, Release and Blog Tour with your followers. I just wanna give you all a massive hug and squeeze the hell out of you! Without Blogs like yours, it would be hard for us, as authors to get our books out there and achieve our dreams of writing and sharing our stories with the world.

  A special mention to Donna, who helps me any way she can. She runs my blog for me when I can’t get on there and without her it wouldn’t function. I can’t thank you enough for reaching out to the number of blogs you did. I’m so grateful for your friendship and willingness to help me and support me. Love you girl!

  HUGE thank you goes to my AWESOME cover designer Kari Ayasha at Cover to Cover Designs, she took what little information I gave her and turned my cover into a masterpiece. I love it! I can’t stop looking at it. Thank you so much for being awesome at what you do.

  Another HUGE thank you to Virginia and Becky at Hot Tree Editing, you ladies made my first experience with editing not so daunting. I appreciate all the help and guidance you have given me by helping my book reach its potential. Thanks for all the time you have put into it and for answering my silly questions when I’m feeling like a nervous wreck. Love you both!

  Last but not least I wanna thank my family, especially my sisters Melanie, Stephanie and Rachel (yes my character Rachel is named after my sister) for their support and for listening to me talk and talk about my book and other books, and to the rest of my family and friends for their support and encouragement. Also a HUGE thank you goes to my wonderful husband who supports me no matter what my dreams are, he is the love of my life and true number one supporter, and to my kids Amelia and Cale, I love you for putting up with mummy always being busy and when I need those quiet moments you always give them to me. I love my family so much and will always be grateful for their love and support.

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  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

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two br />
  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Connect with Me Online

  About the Author - Liz Lovelock

  Prologue

  23 September, 2010

  I don’t know how I’ll get through this day. It’s like I’ve been living in my own personal kind of hell over the last two weeks. Since finding out my sister, Abby, is gone, my world is so empty. My heart feels as though it has been ripped out and stomped on a hundred times over. I never imagined my life without her. She was my best friend, someone I could always trust, and now…she’s gone.

  Abby was a friend to everyone. On my bad days, I would find myself feeding off her happy, fun-loving spirit to help build me up. That is, until Jacob Smith came along and ruined her life, and mine.

  I knew things were not right with him. Every time I saw him, the uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach set off alarm bells, but Abby was so happy after she met him. She said he treated her like a princess, always sending her flowers and bringing her lovely gifts.

  One night when she came home after seeing Jacob, she had a bruised cheek. I questioned her about it, but she told me it was an accident and he didn’t mean it. From that night on, she began to shut down and close herself off from her friends, and even me. She would come home straight from work and shut herself in her room. She wasn’t there for me like usual, and wouldn’t let me be there for her either. I wanted to, especially when I heard her crying in her room late at night. She would never tell me what was bothering her. It hurt and made me angry how she wouldn’t confide in me.

  The day she came to me and said she was planning to leave Jacob, made me super happy. I noticed a change in her during the weeks leading up to the day she was going to leave him. She was happier and brighter than I had seen her in months. But she was unsure how to tell him, she was scared of his reaction. He was the type who flew off the handle, and no one knew what would happen. She started opening up to me before she left, telling me what he was capable of. It gave me chills, sending shivers down my spine, to think of what he might do to her. I told her I was going with her, but she didn’t want me to come. Hurt and afraid, I gave in and let her go alone. That is why I am to blame for what happened. When she left that night, I never thought it would be the last time I would get to see her. Then she was gone, missing. My world has never been the same again, and my heart is broken, shattered into a million pieces. We searched for her, put flyers around and even went to the local television stations, but found nothing.

  The hardest thing was hearing the police say they were now starting an investigation for a missing person since she had been gone for more than seventy-two hours.

  When they interviewed me, I told them about Jacob and how Abby started coming home with bruises and how her personality drastically changed. I informed them of her plan to break up with him the night she disappeared. Upon searching his place, they found the locket I had given her for her eighteenth birthday in a pool of blood, along with blood-covered towels. He was arrested on the spot and charged with her murder.

  ****

  Then my two weeks of hell began.

  I’ve been sitting in this courtroom day in and day out, listening to the endless questioning from the lawyers to Abby’s colleagues and friends. How was Abby’s behaviour in weeks before she disappeared? Had anyone met the defendant, Jacob? Did they seem happy? Did she seem afraid of him? Hearing their responses has been excruciating, and I’m surprised to learn of all the things I didn’t notice, such as how she had stopped going to work and often called off sick. I had no idea, because she wasn’t at home much. What kind of sister am I?

  When they call me to the stand, my nerves are all over the place. I’m not sure if I am going to burst into tears or vomit. After I’m sworn in, the prosecutor is first up with the questioning.

  “Miss White, Abby is your sister, correct?” She is an elderly lady with kind, brown eyes that urge me to answer her question.

  “Yes,” I respond, my voice cracking.

  “Did Abby confide in you about her relationship with the defendant?”

  “No. Not about what happened in their relationship. Not long after they started dating, she began shutting me out. She only opened up to me the night she left, telling me how scared she was at how Jacob was going to react.” My heart is pounding in my chest and I’m sure everyone in the courtroom can hear it.

  “Why did she shut you out?”

  “I questioned her about bruises she began showing up with.” I look at Jacob, and his heartless, green eyes are staring back at me. I wish I could wipe that smug look off his face.

  “How often did she show up with new injuries?”

  “I can’t be too sure. I only saw them every now and then, so perhaps once a week, but then she started wearing more clothes and keeping herself covered.”

  “Describe Abby’s behaviour in the weeks leading up to her disappearance.”

  “Her personality and even her appearance changed. She didn’t seem to care anymore and dropped her normal standard. It was like her happy and caring soul had been taken from her. Seeing it broke my heart.” My voice breaks and tears begin to fall. “Sorry,” I mumble into the tissue.

  “It’s okay. When you’re ready, could you tell us about the night she disappeared?”

  I nod and focus only on the prosecutor. I don’t want to look at my parents. I know my mum will be a complete mess. “Something with Abby had changed. She was a little happier, and she told me she was planning on leaving him.” I glance toward Jacob, giving him an ice-cold glare. I wish looks could kill. “I offered to go with her, but she assured me everything would be okay and she would see me later, but—” tears burn my cheeks again, “—later never came. I haven’t seen my sister since.”

  The prosecutor thanks me and I’m allowed to leave the stand since Jacob’s lawyer has no questions for me. I return to my seat beside my mum.

  Jacob is next to be called to the stand. When he gets up, he looks around at my family with an arrogant look on his face. Arrogant arse. The anger within me is slowly reaching a boiling point. I have so much hate and bitterness toward this man. I hope he gets what is coming to him. I hope karma comes around and punches him right in the face. I’m not usually a violent person, but my parents and I have been through so much lately, and I can’t take much more.

  Jacob is sworn in and takes his seat. His lawyer is first up with questioning.

  “Mr Smith, please tell the court your relationship with Abby White.” His lawyer is young, and I can only hope he is fresh out of law school and does a terrible job.

  “We were in a relationship, a happy one and so very much in love.” His voice is full of confidence. Liar!

  He sits there all sure of himself. He has jet-black hair, with shining green fearless eyes. If I had met him on the street, not knowing what I do now, I would have considered him a nice guy.

  “Were you in anyway abusive toward Abby?”

  “No.”

  “How do you explain the bruises?”

  “Well, let’s just say she was a little clumsy at times and she also enjoyed things rough.” WHAT? He is so full of it! My hands begin to shake with my anger and I start looking at my hands, picking at my nails to keep my hands busy.

  “Do you mean sexually?”

  “Yes.” There is no way she was like that at all.

  The questions continue to fly at him, and still he expresses no emotion as he sits up there and lies. All I hear are lies. They make my ears want to bleed. I hope they are just as clear to the jury. After both lawyers have finished, the jury is ushered away to make their decision. I sit in silence, praying it will all work out in our favour.

  “Please stand,” I hear the court officer addressing the courtroom, pulling me out of my thoughts. I focus on the judge entering, followed by the jury. Feeling very anxious of what the outcome might be, my heart is racing and my stomach is twisting in multiple knots.

  “Please be seated,” said the judge, slamming his hammer down
for order in the courtroom.

  I actually feel like I might be sick or pass out; I’m not too sure at this point. I feel my mother’s hand grab mine and squeeze. It’s a good comfort, and I feel myself calm a little. I look at my parents. Dad has his arm around her for support, and both look worn out from this whole ordeal, as I’m sure I do as well. Looking at Mum’s deep red hair, now with some grey spots through it, I notice how similar we look with our hair and crystal blue eyes. Abby was the opposite, even though we were twins. We weren’t identical twins, but fraternal. She had beautiful brown hair like Dad. So she gained most her features from Dad, while I gained mine from Mum, but we had the same clear blue eyes.

  As we sit, all I can do is hope Jacob is found guilty. Then justice will be served for my sister. I look over at him, looking all calm and relaxed. He glances over his shoulder, catching my eye, and smiles. I feel the bile rise in my throat, and quickly look away, taking a few deep breaths to settle my stomach. I grip Mum’s hand harder.

  “Has the jury reached a verdict?” asks the judge, looking toward the jury panel.

  The spokesperson for the jury approaches the front, handing a piece of paper to the court officer, who takes it to the judge. My stomach is feeling like the sea in the middle of a storm. No matter how much breathing I do, it won’t calm, and if I keep the deep breaths happening, I might hyperventilate. The judge unfolds the piece of paper that holds the fate of that pathetic excuse of a human. He reads it before he hands it back to the court officer to give back to the spokesperson.