Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $9.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Stained Protector
    Stained Protector
    Stained Protector
    Ebook127 pages2 hours

    Stained Protector

    By Celia Crown

    5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    "You're special, but don't think you're important enough for me to not hurt you."

     

    When people start to disappear in Arizona, their vanishings overshadow the city, leaving residents crowding in populated places and demanding the cases be solved.

     

    Anya's life gets more complicated than looking nearly identical to the victims.

     

    People have fears: spiders, height, thunder, or that relative who always nag about marriage and want to match you with a friend of a friend.

     

    Anya is afraid of Levi. A caring, soft-spoken man with calamity-cloaked blue eyes and a sequence of cursed ink above the strength twisted in his muscles.

     

    She has a reason to believe he's the offender, because he nailed a 6'5, barrel-chested crook to the wall by the throat, while supporting a charismatic smile.

     

    Every time she's in danger, he's an armored silhouette behind fogged windows. His love is rich and consuming, like the iridescent colors to his canvas—yet also a coax of the crystalline sky and the ocean's midnight zone.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCelia Crown
    Release dateApr 16, 2023
    ISBN9798215930472
    Stained Protector

    Read more from Celia Crown

    Related to Stained Protector

    Related ebooks

    Contemporary Romance For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Metaphors

      Mar 10, 2023

      I’m knitting on my front porch when a car roars to a stop in front of my house. It’s a red Mustang convertible, top down on this warm Thursday afternoon in June. Two girls sit in the front, two in the back. They smile and wave at me. I smile back tho

      8 min read

    • Article

      The ARRANGEMENT

      Aug 26, 2020

      The ARRANGEMENT
      3 min read

    • Article

      Proverbs Of A Faceless Time

      Dec 1, 2023

      Proverbs Of A Faceless Time
      9 min read

    • Article

      100-WORD-STORY COMPETITION Winners

      Aug 16, 2022

      We’ve been delighted by the huge response to our 100-word-story competition. The entries have flooded in thick and fast during the past few months, but while we’ve enjoyed reading every story, only a few can come out on top! You, our readers, voted t

      5 min read

    • Article

      Pulling Up Azaleas

      Jan 10, 2023

      Throughout their lives, women are showered with bouquets of roses on numerous splendid occasions. But men? They’re only given flowers at their funeral. It’s a harsh world for men, as our lives tend to go unappreciated until death. Such was the case a

      22 min read

    • Article

      The Bathroom

      Jun 10, 2024

      Content Disclosure: Sexual Innuendo The garage light flips on like a flashbulb, freezing me in a mug shot. “Del, you out here?” my wife says sleepily as she steps down the cement riser. She looks at me standing before the window; then her attention i

      12 min read

    • Article

      The Money Box

      Jun 10, 2022

      This is not a morality tale. It’s simply a story. It began innocently enough, over a lunch of beef pho in the Financial District, when my friend Paolo first mentioned the Money Box. Paolo was a pupa of industry then, waiting to emerge as a titan. He

      19 min read

    • Article

      Time Invents Us

      Sep 29, 2020

      Time Invents Us
      14 min read

    • Article

      The Invitation

      Aug 21, 2023

      York, October 1644 Before I’ve even mustered the courage to knock, the door to the townhouse flings open. I drop my hand. “It is me, John Falmouth,” I say and wince at how loud my voice carries into the night. My greeting falters when I look up and n

      6 min read

    • Article

      On Death Row, There's No Such Thing As Closure

      Aug 2, 2019

      It is August of the year 2000, and I am cold. I know the sun is shining outside, but there are no windows in the courtroom. The lighting is subdued, darker in the back where spectators sit and lighter in the front where tragedies play out—like a the

      5 min read

    • Article

      The White Fox

      Oct 13, 2017

      The White Fox
      10 min read

    • Article

      Announcing The winners Of Our FLASH CONTEST

      Feb 29, 2020

      I sever the first two fingers of my left hand on a Tuesday. They fall to the ground at my feet, causing a momentary confusion as I wonder what tree has dropped this odd fruit. Then I see the crescent scar left behind by a fish hook and know that thes

      8 min read

    • Article

      The Man I Should Have Married

      Dec 29, 2019

      The Man I Should Have Married
      11 min read

    • Article

      Waiting

      Sep 3, 2020

      Waiting
      6 min read

    • Article

      Foxes

      Jun 15, 2019

      What’s worth happening happens in deep woods. Or so my daughter tells me. Her plotlines: In the deep woods someone is chasing, someone else is getting hacked. Hatchets are lifted, brought downdowndown. Men stutter blood onto snow. A cast of animals—s

      17 min read

    • Article

      The Bridle

      Oct 10, 2021

      Saliva pooled on her tongue beneath the rusty depressor. She endured a constant urge to swallow, afraid of choking on her own fluids. The taste of metal and blood are so akin, it is easy to mistake one for the other. This early in the day, blood was

      11 min read

    • Article

      The Almadraba

      Sep 1, 2018

      The Almadraba
      14 min read

    • Article

      Longer on Moon

      Sep 22, 2022

      Longer on Moon
      19 min read

    • Article

      Summer Beach Reads

      Jan 10, 2021

      Summer Beach Reads
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Fortune Teller

      Jul 10, 2021

      My head has a liquid feel to it as I stumble down the street. The bottle of red wine in my belly making it seem like my limbs have become balloons, and at any moment they might float away. Next to me, Michael has a stupid whiskey grin stretched acros

      18 min read

    • Article

      Summer Reads

      Dec 30, 2019

      Summer Reads
      7 min read

    • Article

      You Exist Too Much

      Jun 5, 2020

      You Exist Too Much
      9 min read

    • Article

      Rising Sign

      Feb 4, 2021

      Rising Sign
      10 min read

    • Article

      After Australia

      Oct 4, 2020

      The sun is in its place, and in this place the sun is like no other I’ve ever seen. Yesterday, when they brought a man here, when he first felt the sun’s heat, he’d swooned; they had to carry and drag him into the cage. He hasn’t woken yet, I’m told

      10 min read

    • Article

      Who Ya Gonna Call?

      Oct 17, 2024

      Who Ya Gonna Call?
      4 min read

    • Article

      Where Night Stops

      Jan 15, 2018

      Where Night Stops
      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Stained Protector

    5/5

    1 rating0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Stained Protector - Celia Crown

      STAINED PROTECTOR

      ____________________

      CELIA CROWN

      Copyright © 2023 by Celia Crown.

      All rights reserved.

      This book is a work of fiction.

      The book or any portion of the book may not be reproduced or used under any circumstances, except with the written permission from the author. Public names, movies, televisions, locations, or any references are used for atmospheric purposes. Any similarities and resemblances to alive or dead people, events, brands, and locales are all complete coincidences.

      Contents

      Stained Protector

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nine

      Epilogue

      Afterword

      More Books

      Stained Protector

      By Celia Crown

      You’re special, but don’t think you’re important enough for me to not hurt you.

      When people start to disappear in Arizona, their vanishings overshadow the city, leaving residents crowding in populated places and demanding the cases be solved.

      Anya’s life gets more complicated than looking nearly identical to the victims.

      People have fears: spiders, height, thunder, or that relative who always nag about marriage and want to match you with a friend of a friend.

      Anya is afraid of Levi. A caring, soft-spoken man with calamity-cloaked blue eyes and a sequence of cursed ink above the strength twisted in his muscles.

      She has a reason to believe he’s the offender, because he nailed a 6’5, barrel-chested crook to the wall by the throat, while supporting a charismatic smile.

      Every time she’s in danger, he’s an armored silhouette behind fogged windows. His love is rich and consuming, like the iridescent colors to his canvas—yet also a coax of the crystalline sky and the ocean’s midnight zone.

      Chapter One

      __________

      Anya

      My neighbor is the feast to my paranoid heart.

      He wears kindness behind his smiles, but secrets drift through those muted blue eyes. His towering frame walks with history in his steps, an abyss of mysteries that can only be shown through his presence.

      Levi has the spark, a meek candle flame, of gentle killings.

      His name lingers in hallways like a vengeful ghost.

      Delinquents were put in place after they disrupted his art session. Neighbors carefully avoided mentioning him because he had the smile of a venomous snake. The building committee couldn’t see the fear in residents, but some had subtle gut feelings.

      None of it matters; many wholeheartedly believe he’s just an artist who keeps to himself. Women living on different floors hop onto mine, sauntering down the hall with their glammed-up appeals in hopes of catching a glimpse of him.

      Levi’s very attractive. While he has a body that can shatter bones with a flick of his wrist, he is deemed a reserved man, albeit somewhat distant. He doesn’t socialize, often hunkering down in his apartment with faint whiffs of paint creeping into mine.

      And I can never forget his disheveled hair when he came out to toss the empty paint cans.

      It was Thanksgiving, and the building was bustling with joy and laughter. His apartment, like mine, was silent from the beginning until dusk. When his door opened, he wasn’t surprised to see me, as one might be coming across a neighbor, but he smiled so softly that the thought faded.

      We exchanged pleasantries, nothing too in-depth, yet I couldn’t stop the whispers of danger in the back of my head. It was irrational, but he provoked my instincts. Perhaps it was simply his wide shoulders, broad chest, and looming height—just menacing overall.

      So when I enter the apartment door after a long day at work, his face instantly flashes in front of my eyes. Things are moved, not more than an inch, but the changes are obvious to my thrashing heart.

      I stay near the shoe rack as a draft zaps through the open door when the video camera footage starts playing. Waiting for it to load has my nails digging into the silicone phone case, and my stomach churns with incensed anxiety as it replays yesterday’s footage.

      It ran out of storage space, so today wasn’t recorded.

      A quiet knock on the door disconnects me from reality, and the brief moment of utter blackness sears fear into my throat. My eyes water as my lungs gasp for air, sudden coughs shaking my body to its core.

      Someone’s voice is muffled as my ears continue to ring, but the concern and warmth offer a haven for my overwhelmed emotions.

      What happened?

      The bright yellow light casts a shadow over his head, and I squint through hot tears to see a blurry face.

      His height would've given him away if it weren’t for his voice. Levi has a deep baritone that sends chills down my spine. It’s a hypnotic, almost aesthetic piece of music.

      I…

      A small pestering shard of hesitation digs into my tongue.

      What if he broke in? It’d be stupid of me to ask him for help; he’d have a reason to say he was invited in and explain why his fingerprints were in my home.

      Would you like a glass of water? he asks, tilting his head toward his apartment.

      My body and intuition hold hands, a pair of star-crossed lovers destined to fall into the limbo of disaster. Neither side wins, not by a mile, and I know he sees the conflict on my face.

      As he holds a bag of groceries, his shadow creeps down to my neck while he steps back.

      There are mere inches between us, and I realize with dread that he could reach out to snap my neck before I’d sense danger. However, those dark blue eyes are mesmerizing, slowly summoning a trickle of courage to nod. A compulsion, a hungry need to capture the life in his eyes.

      I remember why I’m hesitant to get to know him. He’s a black hole; everything around him is bright and lively, but my attention is always drawn to his enigmatic and reassuring presence, as if he’s the center of the universe.

      A smoke screen. A hazy fog of ambiguity. People like him—beautifully dangerous with a tongue of honey—are poisonous. The seed of festering curiosity will bloom into temptation, roots of addiction taking a seat in my veins and arrogantly pulling me toward him, where I’ll eventually be burned to death.

      I’ve seen it happen to my sister and the man she refused to let anyone meet. Selfish, petty, and obsessed, but she said their love needed to be protected.

      Even to this day, our family has never seen this unnamed man.

      A learned mistake opens its cover, freely giving me all the signs of heartbreak, but I willingly walk into the apartment of a man that every cell in my body denies.

      Here. He hands over a water bottle, the cold plastic calming the flaring heat and tremors in my palms.

      Thank you, I croak, paying close attention to the cap and its clacking sound as a twist breaks the seal.

      I watch the muscles on his back tighten as he pulls out the groceries. His long legs effortlessly take him to the stainless-steel refrigerator, and those burly arms raise to place the brown paper bag on top of the fridge alongside the others.

      Sharp lines and harsh black ink peek from his sleeve. I stare in admiration, wishing for a few more seconds to marvel at the contrast between the stunning design and his skin tone.

      I take a deep breath, eyes falling on the uncapped water, before drinking more to subdue the hideous purr in my throat.

      Apprehension and suspicion never leave, just sitting on the sideline as they helplessly watch curiosity break through the fragile glass of vigilance.

      Stop, stop, stop…

      The soothing smell of a candle devours the mantra. Then, his scent latches onto my thoughts, circling aimlessly as he takes a seat not too far from me.

      Are you alright? he asks again, lacing his fingers together loosely as his forearms lean on his knees. You were a little pale.

      Just tired from work.

      We fall into silence, and my toes curl awkwardly in my socks. At least I wasn’t dazed enough to forget the decency to take off my shoes.

      Levi doesn’t pry, instead offering a helpful suggestion. If I’m not at work, then I’ll always be home. If you need anything, just knock.

      Out of courtesy, I nod with a smile. I’m not going to jump up and start accusing him of breaking into my home when I don’t have proof. Now that I think about it, I’m not sure if it’s him.

      Ruling out monetary motives, which I have none of, I can’t think of anything that would explain why someone is so obsessed with my apartment. Way too many horror references to count, but there is a movie about the miserable concierge chloroforming women for sinister purposes.

      Could it be about the missing women the news has been covering over the last few months?

      The Phoenix police department hasn’t released a statement yet, but some people are starting to notice the pattern of physically similar women disappearing. Their personal, work, and social lives

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1