Brutal Discoveries

BRUTAL DISCOVERIES

by

KASEY MILLSTEAD

All rights reserved.  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.  This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased or publicly performed or used in any form without prior written permission of the publisher.

Thank you for respecting the work of this Author.

Brutal Discoveries is a work of fiction.  All names, characters, places and events portrayed in this book are either from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, with exception to Artists named, and their song lyrics, and direct quotes from movies whose titles have been named.  Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, or events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

Copyright © 2016, Kasey Millstead

To Jovi

You taught me the hard way that life is too short.

Five and a half years with you wasn’t long enough; but for a parent, forever isn’t long enough.  I love you with my whole heart.  I miss you even more. xx

“You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.”

Ray Bradbury

Steele Investigations

Sapphire

Emerald

Down Under Cowboy Series

Cowboy Town (Eden & Jackson)

Sky Cowboy (Ava & Jeremy)

Cowboy Dreams (Jules & Clay)

Cowboy Christmas (A Henley Christmas Novella)

Tatted Cowboy (Laura & Luke)

Rogue Cowboy (Sienna & Zeke)

Cowboy Redemption (Kennedy & Kye)

Cowboy Endings

Stand Alone Novels

Fighting to Stay

Illicit Desire

Vengeance is Mine

Dancing with Desire

Fighting for Switch
Family Secrets

Undercover

Liar, Liar

Convoluted

Hummingbird

Brutal Discoveries

COMING SOON

Consequences

My husband, Troy
– God blessed the broken road that led me straight to you... 

My four beautiful babies
– I love you sausages.

To
Mel and Wurry,
my soul friends - I think “
I II III IV III II
” says it all. Mwah.

Thanks to
Meri
for being my sounding board, for listening to me waffle on, and for giving great advice.  You’re one of the best!

Kylie McDermott at Give Me Books blog
– thank you for all you do for me.  I’m lucky to not only have you as my promotions extraordinaire, but also as a friend.  I love you.

Kell Donaldson,
thank you so much for everything you’ve done – the proofing, the teasers, the advice – all of it!!  I’m so lucky to have found such a beautiful friend in you!  I love you.

CJ –
thanks for always fitting me in at the drop of hat, and doing an amazing job.

Thanks to my
Cowgirls!
You girls are amazing, and I wish I could spend every hour of every day in my group, hanging with y’all. 

To each and every
blogger
that participates in my cover reveals, blog tours and book blitzes – THANK YOU!!!  I wish I could list you all individually, but that would be a novel on its own!  Thank you for everything you do.  Your hard work never goes unnoticed and it’s appreciated from the bottom of my heart.

Lastly, thank you to each and every one of you that reads this book.  You are making my dreams come true.

www.kaseymillstead.com

www.facebook.com/authorkaseymillstead

www.twitter.com/kaseymillstead

Goodreads.com – Kasey Millstead

If you enjoyed
Brutal Discoveries,
please consider leaving a review.

South Glenn Maximum Security prison wasn’t for the faint at heart.  The inmates weren’t there because they stole some cookies from the cookie jar.

They were serial murderers.

Rapists.

Pedophiles.

The worst of the worst.

It was at South Glenn that ‘Sweet Treats’ bakery owner, Scarlett Everett met two men who would change her life.  Damon Salt was a man serving life without parole that she was paired with for a volunteer program called Friends for Lifers.

Prison guard Aden West was tall and tanned with indigo eyes and a strong jaw smattered with dark hair. Just a hint of what promised to be a sleeve of tattoos peeked out from the cuff of his button-down shirt, which combined with his buzz cut, gave him a bad boy edge Scarlett didn’t know she was attracted to until she stood there trying the catch the breath he took away.

One had the power to destroy her heart, the other had the power to destroy her life as she knew it.

“I still can’t believe you actually signed up to do something like this, Scarlett.”  My best friend, Ella, looked at me like I was some kind of foreign being with two heads. “They’re
criminals
,” she said, exaggerating the word.

“I know,” I replied back in the same tone.  I continued searching through my handbag to make sure I had nothing stashed inside that would trigger the prison’s security.

“Scarlett!” she snapped.  “You need to take this seriously.  What if one of them decides to grab you and use you as a human shield so they can negotiate their way out of jail?  Or what if they’re concealing a shank and they stab you?  They could try to persuade you to smuggle drugs in to them!” 

“You’re being dramatic, and you need to lay off the crime shows.”

“Seriously, Scarlett, I don’t know how you’re not freaking out.  Those men can be incredibly manipulative.”

“I understand where you’re coming from.”  I tried to placate her.  “However, you need to realize that the staff from
Friends For Lifers
take those things into consideration when they’re pairing volunteers and inmates.  Plus, it isn’t like I’m under a contract or anything; if I arrive today and decide it isn’t for me, then I’m free to walk away and never return.”

“Well, that would be a smart move,” she mumbled just loud enough for me to hear.  I gave her a pointed look as I began stuffing everything back into my handbag.  Once I was done, I took a deep breath and smoothed my hands down the front of my silk lilac blouse.  I wasn’t sure what to wear today, so I had gone casual. 

“Do I look okay?”

She eyed my blouse, jeans, and sandals ensemble before smirking.  “Anything’s better than prison orange, right?”

“Smart ass.”

***

My heart thumped powerfully in my chest as I walked toward the doors of South Glenn Maximum Security Prison.  Plenty of people were coming and going from their visitations.  I lined up and waited my turn.  My fingers fidgeted in front of me, and my entire body felt warm with fear.

“Name?” I heard the word barked and I startled to attention.  It was my turn.

“Scarlett Everett,” I croaked.

“ID.”

I handed over my license and waited anxiously.  The man behind the desk, whose name embroidered on his crisp white shirt read W. Dunn, thoroughly checked everything, and the silence that ensued had me feeling antsy.  The entire situation was intimidating; each guard was standing at alert, assessing the room for threats or potential outbursts. The security was stringent, and I swear every second person standing in that line was a junkie. 

“I’m here to visit Damon Salt as part of the Friends For Lifers volunteer program.  It’s my first time,” I rambled unnecessarily.  W. Dunn raised his brow and eyed me skeptically.

Shit.

“Sign here.”  He slid a visitors’ attendance book to me.  “Clip this on your shirt, and make your way over there to be screened.”  He handed me a badge which boldly stated VISITOR, which I took and clipped on my blouse as I walked toward the screening station.  After a quick – but thorough – search to make sure I wasn’t bringing anything prohibited into the prison, I was waved through.  Suddenly, I felt incredibly vulnerable.  I didn’t want to look around, but I knew I had to.  As inconspicuously as I could, I glanced around the room.  Men of all ages and races, dressed in khaki uniforms, sat at the small oblong tables that filled the room.  I quickly noted that three of the men were alone, which meant one of those three was Damon Salt.

“Scarlett.”  I looked left at the sound of my name being called by a raspy-toned individual.  He gave me a small nod and I stiffly walked toward him. He looked different from what I had expected, but I wasn’t sure what I expected anyhow.  His greying hair was more salt than pepper, and incredibly oily.  It was long, too, touching his shoulders.  He was muscular, wide at the shoulders, and I suspected he used his time in prison to work out.

“Hi, you must be Damon?” I questioned hesitantly as I extended my shaking hand.

He nodded once briskly as he took my hand in his.  “Well, sit down, you’re making the place look untidy,” he joked (I think).

“Uh, thank you.”  I sat down on the hard plastic chair across the weathered rectangle table and looked at him. 

“First time?” he asked gruffly.

“In a prison? Yes.  Being a volunteer with Friends For Lifers? Yes, again.”  I wrung my hands together nervously.

“Me, too,” he stated.  Then the top half of his khaki uniform-clad body began shaking as he chuckled.  “With Friends For Lifers,” he added.  “Been in prison for a long ass time.”  With the ice broken, I relaxed a little.

“Veronica, the program director, suggested I tell you a bit about myself, so… my name’s Scarlett and I’m twenty-nine years old.  I own a bakery in the city called ‘Sweet Treats’, and I absolutely love my job.  Some would say too much because I spend all my time there,” I said through a light laugh.  “I don’t have a partner or children, though I would love both eventually.  Umm, that’s about it.”

“My turn?” he asked, and when I nodded, he continued.  “I suspect you know a bit about me already – name, age, that I’m serving a life sentence without parole.  When I came in here twenty-six years ago, I was angry at the world, and stubborn.  Over the years I’ve changed a lot, grown.  I don’t hate being in here, it’s become home, in a sense.  I miss my freedom, but life ain’t so bad.”

We talked back forth for the next hour, learning about each other.  I mostly listened as he slowly opened up to me.  I guessed being in prison made you question everyone’s motives and trust no one, so he most likely felt relief in being able to talk to me, knowing I had no hidden agenda.  When a ten minute warning was given by the guards to signal the impending end of visiting hours, Damon’s body language suddenly morphed into nervous.

“Are you okay?” I asked as my brows furrowed.

“I wanted to –,” he started before clearing his throat and continuing.  “I’ve been doing some writing.  The shrink reckoned it would be a good idea, and I was hoping you’d listen to me read something before you leave.  If you don’t want to, that’s fine,” he added.

“I’ll listen.”  I smiled gently at him.

He cleared his throat again before pulling a small notebook out from his jumpsuit pocket.  He opened it up and glanced at me before he started reading.

“Growing up, I didn’t have the best childhood.  Santa and the Easter Bunny never visited my house, I didn’t have many friends, I was a loner. I didn’t have a lot to smile about.  My parents were junkies, heroin addicts, and I was lucky if I had clean clothes to wear once a week.  I went to school each day for the free meal, and to escape from getting a beating from my dad.  He liked to take his frustrations out on me, and he did so every chance he got.  The truth is, as I was killing every one of those women, I pictured my parents’ faces.”  He ended his heartbreaking tale with that chilling confession and I looked down to see goosebumps prickling my flesh.

“Time’s up.  Visitors, say your goodbyes and then make your way out.”  I glanced around the room after the guard’s announcement.

“Well, I better be going,” I stammered.  “It was lovely to meet you, Damon.”  I stood and shook his hand before leaving.  The entire drive back to the city I was on edge from Damon’s admission, yet I knew I would be back to see him again in two weeks’ time.

***

“About time!” Ella snapped as I walked up the path to my townhouse.  She sat on the step, her narrowed eyes planted firmly on me.

“Hey,” I chirped.  “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I wore a hole in my carpet from all my pacing, so I decided to come and wait for you here.”

“I’ll buy you a rug,” I muttered through a smirk.  “Come inside, I need wine.”  She followed me in and watched me skeptically as I poured us both a drink.  I took a long sip and ignored her assessing gaze.  “I’m guessing you’re wondering how it went?”

“Well, duh.”

“It was… different.  I think I enjoyed it,” I told her contemplatively as I sipped my wine.

“You
think
you
enjoyed
it?” she scoffed in disbelief.  “He’s a
criminal,
Scarlett.  A
murderer
.  You seriously can’t be considering going back there.”

“Don’t be so judgmental, Ella.  Yes, he’s a criminal, and yes, he’s a murderer, but he’s also still a human being.  He’s someone who’s been incarcerated for almost our entire lives.  He only sees the sunshine for one hour each day!  Of course I know that’s the price he has to pay for committing those crimes, and I’m not condoning what he’s done, but what harm is there in me becoming his friend?  You should actually consider becoming a volunteer, you know.”

“No way.  I couldn’t do it, and I don’t understand how you can, either.”

I shrugged and finished off my drink because the truth was, I didn’t know how to answer her.  I’d always had a yearning deep inside me to give back in some way.  I grew up with a loving family, in a beautiful home, yet I always knew not everyone was as lucky as I was.  When Veronica had stopped by my bakery that day to hand out a flyer requesting volunteers, I knew it was something I’d like to try.  Of course I was scared to willingly step out of my comfort zone, but I also knew that only the best things in life come from pushing yourself.  Sitting on my butt, wishing and wanting wasn’t going to help me any.  Actually
doing
something would.  So, I called Veronica that evening and enquired about volunteering.

“Aren’t you scared?” Ella’s wide eyes confirmed she was frightened for me.  We had been best friends for the past seven years after we met out dancing one night and just clicked.  When I found out she lost her job a few weeks later, I hired her on the spot and now she works with me each day.

“Let’s have another glass of wine and watch a movie.  ‘Sisters’ looks really funny,” I suggested, evading her question.  I realized no matter what I said, she wouldn’t understand, so it was best to just drop it.