2008 EMMA Nomination – Author of the Year

This novel is a must have. Not because the writing is good; because it's excellent. Not because the characters standout; because you will meet some of the most memorable. Not because of the love scenes; because they are HOT. Not because I say so, but because this book is off the hook good. Pick one up, you won't be sorry.
~ Black Butterfly Review

Within the Shadows by A. C. Arthur is a mysteriously captivating story. She pulls you into the story and will have you locked there from beginning to end wondering whodunit. There are several different characters within the book that make you think they are guilty of the crime but the author throws twist after twist to keep the readers off balance. All characters, main and supporting, have something special that they offer to Within the Shadows, whether that something special is pig-headedness, shallowness, or persistence. The ending of this book will leave readers desperately craving more of the mystery. This happens to be the first title I have read by this author and it will not be the last.
~ APOOO BookClub
 

Dry leaves and twigs cracked and snapped beneath booted feet. A heavy blanket of darkness surrounded them, and sounds of wilderness echoed in the distance.

Blood pumped hot and fierce through his veins as he watched her struggle. She was beautiful. She was his.

They had been the perfect couple, their future together as clear and enticing as anything he’d ever imagined.

Then she’d changed. They’d changed her.
Landy.

She was the love of his life, and they’d taken her away from him. They’d taken the one thing that he’d longed for, and he despised them for it.

Now they would pay. They would all pay for the pain they’d caused.

Tonight his quest for retribution would begin.

She watched him, her large eyes wide and focused on his every move.

Blood trickled down the right side of her face, its darkness marring her perfect honey- hued skin. He hadn’t meant to hurt her, but she hadn’t been acting like herself. She had been saying things to him. Mean things. Things he knew they’d put into her head. He’d tied her hands and feet to keep them still. Breasts, full and plump, strained against the material of her shirt and he licked his lips. She squirmed and a bit of her belly showed above the rim of her pants. He stiffened, heat rushing to his groin.

She was his. She would always be his. This was the only way to make sure of that.

He’d taped her mouth, which made her appear helpless, but he knew better. She knew how to hurt him. She’d done so many times before.

Tonight would be different. He was in charge, and he’d made sure she knew it. From the depths of his being he loved her and knew that she loved him back. His heart hammered mercilessly against his rib cage until the thought of it simply bursting was all too real. This had to be done.

She’d left him no other choice. They’d left him no other choice.

Looking down at her, he remembered happier times. With the back of his hand, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and tried to focus. He’d loved her for so long his mind had almost become oblivious to anything else. He’d loved the sound of her voice—smooth and melodic like a Sarah Wilson classic. It didn’t matter what she said; he’d been spellbound by the first syllable.

Kneeling in front of her, he blinked against his own tears, needing to hear her voice just once more. With slow, deliberate motions, he pulled the duct tape from her lips.

“Please, let…me…go,” she spoke immediately, panting with each word. “Let me go.”

He smiled, the sound of her voice filling his head, flooding his heart with a surge of inexplicable emotion. Tears streaked her face, running alongside blood. With a trembling hand, he wiped both away.

“Please,” she whispered again.

Bringing his hand to his mouth, he licked the tears and blood from his fingers, let the acrid taste linger on his tongue, and moaned in ecstasy.


Ten Years Later

Turning off Main Street, Nathan Hamilton steered his silver Lexus into the visitor parking lot of

Tanner City Hospital and combed the narrow lanes for an available space. Breathing a sigh of relief when he spotted a minivan pulling out, he switched his left turn signal on before cautiously turning into the opening.

He was back in Tanner. After ten years, he’d finally come home. Home. The word sounded foreign to him. He’d been away so long, he’d forgotten what a real home was. The small town looked the same. He’d noted that on the drive from the airport.

Nothing had changed, and yet everything seemed different.

Stepping out of the car, he inhaled the sweet smell of spring in Maine. The air was still a bit brisk, but it was April; things would warm up soon. New York never smelled like this, never sounded like this. The quiet alone should have been enough to bring him back.

Walking toward the entrance of the hospital, he tried to focus on the reason for his return. He had a job to do. Eli wanted to leave the hospital for private practice and needed him to take over the growing maternity wing. It was that simple.

Who was he kidding? It wasn’t that simple. The letter. It had come via FedEx. Someone had wanted to be sure he received it. The words written on plain white paper had scared him, opening wounds he’d tried to tuck away, making him remember what was probably best forgotten.

But those things had not been all that brought him back. Like metal to a magnet, he’d been steadily drawn toward Tanner, making his way back to the town he’d left and to the girl who’d turned him away.

The electronic doors opened as they sensed his presence, and he stepped into the busy foyer of the hospital’s main floor. He felt a little out of sorts. Would anybody recognize him? Would they whisper behind his back as they had done in the days before he left?

“Good morning.” A smiling elderly woman wearing a green and white volunteer badge greeted him.

She didn’t look familiar to him. And apparently, he didn’t look familiar to her either. For the moment he was relieved.

“Good morning, I’m Dr. Hamilton. I have an appointment with Dr. Grant.”

“Oh, yes sir, it’s right here in the log. You’ll want to take the east elevators to the sixth floor.

Dr. Grant’s office is immediately to your right.”

“Thanks,” Nathan leaned over the counter to get a closer look at her badge, “Earline.”

Earline smiled brightly. “You’re very welcome.”

He walked down the hall, his Kenneth Cole tie-ups clicking against the buffed floors. He made a right turn beneath a sign that pointed towards the east elevators and followed the hallway until he spotted them. Pressing the button, he waited for the elevator doors to open. Out of nervousness, he straightened his tie and cleared his throat. This was a big step for him, one that he knew would either make or break him.

When the elevator arrived, Nathan stepped inside, and two nurses boarded with him. He stood in the corner, holding the handle of his briefcase in a death grip. His heart thumped in his chest as he wondered if they would notice him. They didn’t.

Stepping off the elevator, he admonished himself, turned to the right and walked until he saw the black sign, Dr. Elias P. Grant, Head of Obstetrics.

He knocked only once before the door was pulled open.

“Nate! How are you? I’ve been waiting for you!”

Elias Grant, tall and graying at the temples, held out his hand in greeting.

“Mornin’, Eli.” Nathan gave his old classmate a tense smile as he shook his hand. Although he’d talked to Eli a few times since his departure, he still wasn’t sure how Eli felt about what had happened that night.

“Have a seat.” Eli motioned to Nate before going around the desk and sliding into his own chair.

“It’s good to see you. What’s it been? Six, seven years?”

Nathan’s palms were sweating. He rubbed them against his thighs and kept his eyes focused on the man he’d once called friend. “It’s been ten years since I left Tanner and seven since I saw you in New York at the convention.”

“Yeah, seven long years that I’ve been workin’ my butt off trying to get you to come back.

Now you’re finally here. I can’t believe it.”

“I can hardly believe it myself,” Nathan muttered. Eli didn’t respond. Nathan used those few minutes of silence to take in Eli’s office.

His certificates of qualification hung on the wall in sleek black frames, and silver ornaments adorned the credenza and glass-toped desk. A plant housed on the windowsill looked to be about on its last leg.

Nathan suppressed a grin. Eli had done everything he’d said he would. Nathan wondered why, if that assumption were true, his friend looked so stressed and why he was so willing to leave it all behind.

“You thinkin’ about seeing the gang again?”

Eli’s question shouldn’t have startled him. They’d always been a part of the gang—the invincible group of six African Americans on their way to ruling the world.

His stomach shouldn’t have clenched at the mere memory. But then there were so many things that should never have happened.

“I’m thinking about getting to work.” Nathan purposely kept his face blank. He had reason to believe that something was going on in Tanner, something that had begun that warm summer night ten years ago. Something he had every intention of uncovering. But he needed to do that alone. Nobody could be trusted. Not even the gang.

Especially not the gang.

Eli rested against his elbows on the desk. “You know you’re going to have to face them sooner or later. This town’s too small to avoid it.”

Nathan’s hands stilled on his thighs. He’d known he’d have to see them. In fact, he was counting on it. “I’ll deal with that when the time comes. Right now, I’d like to see what I’ve gotten myself into by agreeing to take over your position.”

Eli paused, his dark eyes studying Nate. He’d changed a lot since college, since that night. He looked stronger, more stable than he had back in school, if that were possible. Nate had been the most intellectual and the most attractive guy in the gang. Eli frowned because it appeared that hadn’t changed.

“So, you want to show me your floor?” Nathan asked, a bit concerned by Eli’s intense gaze.

Eli chuckled. “Well, it’s your floor now, or it will be when I give my notice, but I guess it’d be a good idea to show you around.” He rose from his chair and crossed the room to face Nathan, who had stood as well. Clapping the slightly taller man on the back, Eli gave him a sincere smile.

“It’s good to have you home, man. Things will be different this time.”

For a split second Nathan wondered what Eli meant by that. “I’m sure they will,” he finally mumbled.