Peace in Flames: A Peace Series Novella Read online

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  REVIEW EDITION

  Contents

  Blurb

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Epilogue

  Afterword

  Read More

  Summer of Peace preview

  About the Author

  Peace in Flames: A Peace Series Novella

  Copyright © 2018 by Caroline Andrus

  All rights reserved as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author, Krysi Foster, or within the sharing guidelines at a legitimate library or bookseller.

  Cover Design by Caroline Andrus

  www.carolineandrus.com

  This is a work of fictions. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This author made up most of the characters, and used a place created by author S. H. Pratt. Any resemblance to actual people or places is in the imagination of the reader.

  Printed in the US.

  Valerie Todd needs some excitement in her life. Living in the tiny town of Peace, Montana, all she wants is to finish high school and escape to the Big Apple. When Liam Sloan moves to Peace, she thinks this is the most exciting thing to happen all year.

  But when the Homecoming date auction comes around and Liam outbids the boy who has been obsessed with Valerie for years, her life gets a lot more dangerous.

  Will Valerie be able to finish her final year of high school in peace, or will her life become a living nightmare?

  * * *

  Peace in Flames is a part of the multi-author Peace Novella Series.

  This is a series of novellas that may be read as stand alones.

  For a complete list of titles and to sign up for notification of future releases, visit www.peacenovellaseries.com

  Warning: This book contains themes of violence.

  Reader discretion is advised.

  For my fellow Peace writers,

  especially Rachel Walter, Krysi Foster, and Lisa Ann.

  I couldn’t have done this without you.

  Fall leaves danced around the parking lot at Peace High. Valerie Todd stood beside her best friend’s car and stared forlornly at the ancient brick building in front of her. Another day of high school in the capital of boring, USA – Peace, Montana. Valerie had spent her entire life in the small town in which she was born and she was counting down the days until graduation in the spring. She couldn’t wait to move somewhere more exciting.

  "What's wrong with you?" JoJo Johnson slid her sunglasses down her nose with her finger to get an unobstructed view of her best friend.

  A breeze ruffled Valerie’s long chestnut hair into her face and she brushed it back, pulling strands from the lip gloss coating her cupid’s bow lips. She shook her head. "Nothing. Just preparing myself for this humdrum life."

  JoJo wrinkled her nose. "Speak English."

  "I am."

  "Whatever." JoJo dug a piece of gum out of her bag and popped it into her mouth, tossing the wrapper back into the depths. She hooked her arm through Valerie's and steered her across the lawn, up the steps, and through the high school's front entrance. “Let's not be late."

  "Since when do you care about getting to class on time?" Valerie raised a brow.

  JoJo rolled her eyes. "Since I don't want to get another detention for being late.”

  Valerie laughed and picked up the pace. Together the girls navigated the halls of the school until they reached their homeroom. Mrs. Robertson had the desks in her class set up with two rows in a U-shape, so that she could walk around the center and nobody was too far back to see or hear her. They slid into their usual seats, side by side on one side of the U in the first row near the door.

  Valerie pulled out a pen and her notebook, ready to take notes. It was only homeroom, but all the big announcements were addressed first thing in the morning and she didn't want to miss anything. Valerie had big plans for her future. After graduation in the fall she was off to New York City for college. She already had early acceptance to NYU's journalism program, but she never missed an opportunity to further pad her scholarship applications. She was getting out of Peace—no ifs, ands, or buts. Her brother, Matt, had already fled Peace on a full ride football scholarship to the University of Southern California. He had the right idea.

  She was busy labeling a clean page of her notebook with the date when Mrs. Robertson greeted the students. Valerie turned her attention to her teacher and listened to the Monday morning announcements. A notice of the date auction taking place Friday after school, and a reminder that there was no gum chewing allowed in class—and absolutely no sticking said contraband to the undersides of the desks and chairs. Mrs. Robertson stared pointedly at JoJo. Out of the corner of her eye, Valerie could have sworn she saw JoJo swallow her gum. Valerie held back a smile.

  "And finally, we have a new student here at Peace High." That got Valerie's attention. She scanned the room of familiar faces and quickly spotted a boy she didn't recognize off to her left, in the back row, at the bend of the U. He wore a black leather jacket over a brown hoodie. The hood was pulled up, leaving his face in shadow.

  "William, will you please stand up and introduce yourself?" Mrs. Robertson offered him a friendly smile and perched on the edge of her desk.

  William stood slowly, his attention on the teacher, ignoring the other students.

  "Mrs. Robertson," Chris Burkeholder, who sat directly across from Valerie, called out before the new student could speak, "aren't hats and hoods against dress code?"

  Mrs. Robertson nodded. "Sorry, William. Chris is right, the hood has to come down."

  With even more reluctance, the new student pulled the hood back, letting it fall behind him and revealing a shock of thick, glossy black hair. It wasn't long, but the way he brushed it forward partially obscured his eyes. His skin was tan and Valerie had a hard time gauging if it was naturally that color, or kissed by the sun.

  "Go ahead, William," Mrs. Robertson encouraged. “Tell us all a little about where you're from and what brings you to Peace."

  "I'm Liam Sloan," he said. His voice was quiet and he sounded bored. Valerie had trouble making out his words. She watched his lips, focusing. "I moved from St. Paul, Minnesota. My mom took a job at the Peace Library." He slid into his seat and leaned back in his desk, arms crossed over his chest.

  "Thank you, Liam," Mrs. Robertson said, emphasizing his nickname. She returned to the everyday nuances of homeroom, but Valerie found herself distracted by Liam. A new student was the most exciting thing to happen at Peace High that year. It didn’t hurt that he was cute.

  "Earth to Valerie," JoJo sang. She nudged Valerie’s sneaker with her own bejeweled sandal.

  Valerie jumped in surprise, startled to find that class had been dismissed.

  "Where were you? Off in dreamland?"

  Valerie shrugged. She stuffed her notebook and pen into her book bag. "Something like that."

  The girls exited the classroom and were immediately waylaid by Chris. His hulking frame stepped into their path, preventing them from moving further than two steps out the classroom door.

  "Hey Val."
He leaned against the doorframe and slicked back his sandy blond hair. He drank in the shape of her body. Valerie crossed her arms over her chest and fought the urge to upchuck. "Are you looking forward to our date as much as I am?"

  "The only way you're going on a date with Valerie is if you outbid every other interested boy in the school." JoJo crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Chris.

  He smirked. "Trust me, that won't be a problem. Everyone in this school knows not to stand in my way."

  Valerie had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had no doubt Chris had the power to sway the rest of the male student body against bidding on her. He was the star of the football team and a Harrington by blood, if not name.

  The Harrington name, though now slightly tarnished thanks to Chris’ cousin, Brent, still held power. It was the Harrington's who had founded the town of Peace after all. Everyone knew Chris was a Harrington on his grandmother’s side. They also knew it was dangerous to get on the bad side of a Harrington.

  Before Valerie or JoJo could retort, a group of Chris’ teammates marched past. Chris took that as his cue to leave, with a final wink in Valerie's direction. "See you at the date auction."

  Valerie continued to stand in front of the open classroom door and glared after him. "Is it too late to drop out of this stupid auction?"

  "Yes," JoJo answered. "Unfortunately."

  Valerie continued to watch Chris' retreating form with despair. She was still wallowing in her own self-pity when someone bumped into her from behind, knocking her off balance. She reached out and grabbed JoJo's arm to steady herself before turning to give whomever it was an irritated glare.

  But when she turned, it was Liam. His hood was flipped up, covering his head again, and he appeared as startled as she’d been. His backpack was dangling from his left hand, while he gripped a slip of paper in his right. It was clear he was trying to get acclimated to his new school; she could hardly be angry with him over that.

  "Oh," she said. "Hi, I'm Valerie. This is JoJo."

  JoJo smiled and held her hand up in greeting.

  "Oh, hey, sorry," he said. His dark brown eyes met hers and she smiled. There was something dangerous about him—maybe it was the leather jacket or the fact that his hood was back up after he was told to take it off—and she wanted to know him.

  "Where are you off to?"

  He stared at his class schedule. "Um... Math?"

  JoJo snatched the slip of paper from his hands, brushing her blonde hair back as she studied his schedule. "He's got Algebra with you, Val." She offered the paper to Valerie, who took it and nodded in agreement. She handed the slip of paper back to Liam.

  "I'll take you there. See you at lunch, JoJo."

  JoJo turned and headed the opposite direction down the hall, her hand up in farewell.

  "So, what do you think of Peace so far?" she asked as she led him down the corridor.

  "It's...nice," he said.

  She laughed. "I think you mean boring."

  She glanced at him and he smirked. "You said it, not me."

  "What's St. Paul like?" she asked eagerly. She'd never been further than Billings, and that hardly counted.

  "Bigger."

  She frowned. "That's hardly an answer. I want details."

  "Are you always this pushy?"

  She felt a flush creep into her cheeks. "Sorry. I'm a reporter."

  He raised his eyebrows at her in surprise.

  "Well, I mean, I'm obviously not a real reporter yet, but I write for the school paper. And last summer I interned for Tom Daily at the Peace Herald."

  "Cool."

  They reached their class and she entered the room with him on her heels. "There are no assigned seats, so you can sit wherever." She set her bag on the floor under a desk in the second row.

  Liam glanced around as the classroom slowly filled with students, then he slid into the seat beside her.

  "What was that date auction thing all about?" he asked.

  She rolled her eyes. After pulling out her notebook, textbook, and a pen, she said, "Every year during Homecoming the school has a date auction to raise money for the athletic department. This year they're hoping to get enough to finally replace the scoreboard." She sighed. "It's always the girls auctioned off, too. I'm only doing it because it'll look good for college and my parents are making me.”

  "That sounds...antiquated."

  "It is."

  "Why are your parents making you?"

  She nibbled on the end of her pen. "Well, I suppose making me is a bit of a stretch. They strongly encouraged me to do it. That's how they first started dating."

  "Huh."

  Their conversation was cut short as the bell rang and Mr. Simms called the class to order. The rest of the period went by in a whirl of sums and equations. When class ended, Valerie offered to show Liam where the gym was for his next class, P.E., and invited him to join her and her friends for lunch in the cafeteria after.

  When Valerie set off for A.P. English, her mind was still on Liam. She stopped short when she spied Chris at the end of the hall, towering over a particularly tiny Freshman boy. The poor kid was all but quivering as he cringed away from Chris’ muscular form. Chris looked up and caught her eye, a sly grin crossing his face. Eyes still locked on hers, he reached out and shoved the freshmen away. The boy bounced off the row of lockers and ran away as soon as he recovered. Chris ignored the younger boy and strode purposely toward her.

  Valerie’s lip curled in disgust. Her classroom was between Chris and herself. She hurried down the hall, hoping to reach the door before he reached her.

  “What’s up, Val?” He intercepted her mere feet from her destination.

  “Please move, Chris.”

  Chris’ eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched. “I’m just being friendly.”

  “Friendly?” she repeated, her mouth agape. “Were you also just being friendly to that poor kid?”

  Chris rolled his eyes. “He got in my way.”

  “So you shoved him against the lockers.”

  Chris shrugged. “He’s got to learn the hierarchy of this school one way or another.”

  She scoffed. “Next time pick on someone your own size, okay?” She quickly darted around him and into her classroom. Why did the biggest bully in the school have to be fixated on her?

  Once English ended Valerie was glad to see the hall was free of Chris. She stopped by her locker to swap books for her afternoon classes, then entered the cafeteria. She was greeted by the sound of students talking and laughing, and the not-so-appetizing scent of school cafeteria lunch. It didn’t take long to spot JoJo, already seated at their usual table, surrounded by some of their other friends; Amelia Brightman, Mandy Lemon, Katie Harder, and Feenie Porter.

  "Hey," JoJo said. She beamed at Valerie. "How was math?" She winked.

  Valerie ignored her best friend and slid into the open seat beside her. "What's for lunch today?" She glanced at her friends’ lunch trays.

  "Corn dogs," Amelia said glumly. She held up the breaded, processed meat on a stick.

  Valerie wrinkled her nose. "Guess I'd better get in line. I knew I should have packed a lunch today." She stood, leaving her book bag on the ground beside her chair. "Oh, also I invited Liam to sit with us."

  JoJo's blue eyes sparkled and her lips turned up in a giddy smile. "Oh, really?"

  "He's new and doesn't know anyone yet. Unless he got a better lunch offer during P.E." She turned and left her friends. She made it through the lunch line, collecting her corn dog, broccoli, and unsalted potato wedges. When she returned to the table, the girls had shifted seats, leaving an empty seat beside Valerie for Liam. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

  She slid into her seat and dipped her corn dog in ketchup before taking a bite. She threw a glance around the noisy cafeteria, wondering if Liam had in fact received a better lunch table offer. But no, moments later he entered the cafeteria. He stood in the doorway, his hood still up, throwing his face i
n shadow. He turned his head, scoping the lay of the land. When he turned in her direction she gave a quick wave and he approached.

  "How was P.E.?" she asked.

  He shrugged.

  "They made you take off that hoodie again, didn't they," JoJo commented solemnly. "They're always making me spit out my gum. This place is the pits."

  Valerie could just barely see a smile beneath his hood as his head dipped down to peer into his backpack. He emerged holding a brown bag lunch.

  The rest of the table introduced themselves and Valerie hoped he didn't mind being surrounded by so much estrogen.

  After introductions, her table-mates moved on to talking about Homecoming and the date auction. Valerie sulked in her seat.

  "What's with her?" Amelia directed her question at JoJo.

  JoJo sighed. "There's a 0.01 percent chance Chris won't win her date."

  "Wrong," Valerie corrected. "There's a zero percent chance Chris won't win my date."

  "The guy from homeroom?" Liam asked. Valerie had been wondering if he'd been zoning them out, but clearly, he had been paying attention.

  "The one and only," JoJo affirmed. "He's been in love with Valerie since... forever. But she wants nothing to do with him and he won’t take a hint."

  "At least he's cute..." Katie said.

  Valerie scoffed. "As if that's enough to make up for his winning personality." Her words were laced with sarcasm.

  "He seems like a tool," Liam offered.

  Valerie grinned at him. "See? Not even a full day at Peace High and Liam gets it. Chris Burkeholder is a tool."

  The girls broke into a fit of giggles before the others proclaimed who they hoped would win their dates.