The Secret Bride Series by Alta Hensley – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read

The Secret Bride Series by Alta Hensley – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.ilovenovels.com Wed, 08 Sep 2021 08:15:17 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 http://www.ilovenovels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/favicon.png The Secret Bride Series by Alta Hensley – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.ilovenovels.com 32 32 Taken Bride (The Secret Bride #3) Read Online Alta Hensley http://www.ilovenovels.com/taken-bride-the-secret-bride-3-read-online-alta-hensley Wed, 08 Sep 2021 08:01:36 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/taken-bride-the-secret-bride-3-read-online-alta-hensley Genre: Contemporary, Dark, Mafia, Romance, Suspense Authors: Alta Hensley Series: The Secret Bride Series by Alta Hensley
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Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 47977 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 240(@200wpm)___ 192(@250wpm)___ 160(@300wpm)

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Read Online Books/Novels:	Taken Bride (The Secret Bride #3)
Author/Writer of Book/Novel:	Alta Hensley
Language:	English
Book Information:
Secrets must be kept. Vows never broken. Till death do us part… Unless everything changes. Captive in one life… Kept in another… Taken to now be the wife I am forced to be. I’m hidden away to face a dark reality only a few can survive. But I have a purpose now. I can be the good wife I strive to be. But he still wants me. He will hunt me down. He will find me and take back what was stolen. I will be his wife if he has to fight until the death to make it happen.
Books in Series:	The Secret Bride Series by Alta Hensley
Books by Author:	Alta Hensley

1

Ember

Desert thunderstorms possess an energy that can’t fully be described. You must live it. See it. Breathe it. Be it.

Powerful, majestic, beautiful, and even eerie.

You can feel the intensity in the air right before they begin. Your senses come alive; your skin tingles as you anxiously wait for the storm to come.

You can also smell it. The sagebrush releases a scent as if to welcome the dark clouds. Almost like an aphrodisiac seducing the storm to come. The dust settles, and for a brief moment, the desert has a certain freshness to it. That is, until the rain comes. The rain replaces the fresh with an earthy musk as the droplets bounce off the hard and dry ground below.

I always loved thunderstorms in the Nevada desert. Summer nights were riddled with them, and I welcomed each one with excitement and appreciation for how the lightning daggered across the gray sky. They were loud, scary, even dangerous, but I gladly watched each one with awe. I loved how they rolled in unexpectedly at times, and other times, you saw them coming from miles away.

But the thunderstorm around me right now is threatening to strike me down. The lightning going off in my heart and soul is tearing me to shreds. The storm brewing is so intense that I may not walk away from the wreckage it’s causing.

“I need you to come with me downstairs,” Louisa says, hooking her finger at me to come along.

I’m paralyzed for a moment, but as if under a trance, I eventually follow.

As we reach the top of the stairs, my knees nearly buckle as I look down below. As insanity nears, I hear her say, “They’re waiting for you.”

She’s led me into the eye of the storm, and the hurricane of emotions steals what little bit of sanity I have left.

Papa Rich.

Scarecrow.

They’re here.

Oh my God, they are here.

I try to blink away the madness, but it’s determined to stay.

“You knew where they were all along, didn’t you?” I prompt Louisa without looking at her. My eyes are pinned on Papa Rich and Scarecrow down below in the foyer.

“No, but I have the resources to hire the best in the world to hunt them down. I had no intentions of resting until they were found.”

“Why?” I barely squeak out. “Why do this to us? You knew Christopher and I were trying to stay hidden. We wanted to keep the darkness away. You knew this. So why?”

“Because I’m a mother. I understand your father in many ways. There’s nothing a parent wouldn’t do for their children. Nothing.” Her voice—calm and collected—sends a shiver down my spine.

“Ember,” Papa Rich says as he reaches his hand up to me. “It’s time to leave.”

This can’t be real.

This can’t be happening… and yet it is.

I look over my shoulder at Louisa, not sure what to do next. Alarm bells are banging against my bones, feeling as if they’re splintering beneath my flesh. Internal screams are demanding I run away from everyone in the house as fast as I can.

I need to find my husband… now. Christopher will fix this. Christopher will make it safe again. He’ll save me. He’ll save us.

But my feet are planted, and no matter what I do, I can’t move.

Insanity is a sticky motherfucker.

“Christopher—”

“Deserves to be set free,” Louisa interrupts. “He didn’t choose you. He was forced to take you as his wife, and then his morals and overall good-natured personality made him feel responsible for you. This is not love, Ember. Maybe it’s devotion at most, but not love. You are just as bad as Richard. You are stealing his freedom. You are shackling him to your broken self. You are his captor now, and I’m doing everything within my power to save my son. Nothing more than that. He deserves to be rescued.”

You are his captor now.

You are his captor now.

You are his captor now.

Maybe I always have been….

“We need to get moving, girl,” Scarecrow chimes in from below. “The pilot said he’ll only wait one hour.”

If my eyes were lasers, they would sear Louisa’s Botoxed skin from her old lady bones. “You brought them here. You didn’t just find them, but you also helped them come to New York to take me back with them, didn’t you?” I ask Louisa, not glancing down at Scarecrow as he spoke.

Maybe if I don’t look at them at the bottom of the stairs, they will disappear like ghosts. Maybe this is a nightmare. It’s not real. If I just don’t look and see them….

Louisa still hasn’t moved an inch. She’s near, but not close enough for me to strike out and hurt her, which I’m considering doing—if only I could move.

“I have the power to help people, and I have the power to hurt people. In this case, I’ve chosen to help your papa Rich.”

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Kept Bride (The Secret Bride #2) Read Online Alta Hensley http://www.ilovenovels.com/kept-bride-the-secret-bride-2-read-online-alta-hensley Sat, 10 Jul 2021 23:04:40 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/kept-bride-the-secret-bride-2-read-online-alta-hensley Genre: Crime, Dark, Romance, Suspense Authors: Alta Hensley Series: The Secret Bride Series by Alta Hensley
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Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 55282 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)

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Read Online Books/Novels:	Kept Bride (The Secret Bride #2)
Author/Writer of Book/Novel:	Alta Hensley
Language:	English
Book Information:
My history is forbidden. My story, dark and twisted.My future decided. I know I don’t belong in this decadent world—his world. Money, power, and dark secrets surround me now. I submit to it all to be his perfect obedient wife. They stalk my every move, watching me, judging me. I'm in the same prison just with different guards. But all I care about is him. His eyes, his touch, his hold over me. I’m forever his kept bride, even though they all try to steal me away.
Books in Series:	The Secret Bride Series by Alta Hensley
Books by Author:	Alta Hensley

Prologue

Christopher

Flames in the sky, smoke in our eyes, and blinding lights—we are no longer alone.

I thought I’d seen fear before, but nothing measures up to what I see in Ember’s eyes now. She’s trapped in a terror I can’t save her from, though I try.

“It’s okay,” I shout above the sirens of the firetrucks and the police cars. “We’re going to be okay.” Even as I repeat the words, I don’t know what “okay” looks like. “Help is here.”

I hold her hand in mine as I wave down the speeding vehicles with my other.

It becomes a blur after that. So many questions, so many people, so many curious eyes looking.

We’re emerging from the ashes, and yet it still feels as if the devil takes hold.

I keep waiting for Richard to march from the smoky landscape, take us both prisoner again, and the chain to never be removed.

I want a gun to defend myself but know there isn’t a single police officer who will give me one.

I want to run up to the burning main house with the firefighters just so I can see the corpse of the monster, known as Richard, sizzle to ash. I want to see his death with my own eyes, but I’m also aware that is not a possibility.

For now, I have to be content that we are saved.

Saved… but not necessarily safe.

Because what does safe really mean?

1

Christopher

“I don’t know how many times I have to answer the same questions,” I say, leaning back in the metal chair, feeling it dig into my achy back. “I need to see Ember.”

“Just a few more questions,” Detective Jackson says. “She’s still being questioned too, so if you can just be patient, we—”

“I’ve been patient enough,” I snap. “I told you all that I know, and I also told you that Ember has to be terrified right now. She’s not used to people, and I need to be by her side. It’s been hours, and I’m exhausted. I don’t know what more I can offer. I told you all about that psychopath, about me being chained to a goddamn wall and forced to marry his daughter. I told you every last sick detail. What more do you want from me?”

Detective Jackson looks down at his notes as if he didn’t listen to a word I said and asks, “So, this Ember woman… you said she claims she’s been there since she was a child?”

“Yes,” I say on a heavy exhale. “She’s as much a victim as I am.” I stand up, place my palms on the table, and stare down the detective. “Do I need to ask for my attorney? Because I’m starting to feel that way.”

Detective Jackson leans back in the chair and crosses his arms. “Do you feel there is a reason to have an attorney?”

“You tell me,” I say and then look at the mirror in the room, trying to see whoever is on the other side. But instead, all I see is my reflection.

Wearing clothing they give to inmates, with matching shoes, I look like a stranger. My hair is long and hangs in my face. I look like I’ve lost weight while I was losing months of my life. I suppose I should be grateful for the dry clothes they gave Ember and me when we arrived, but it only reminds me of just how much of a prison I’ve been living in.

“Just a few more questions,” Jackson pushes on.

“Unless you’re going to charge me or Ember with anything, we’re leaving. So please take me to her. Now.”

“I understand your frustration,” he says. “But the Feds just arrived and are asking Ember more questions.”

“I need to see her. I need to be with her. And like I said, unless you’re arresting us, I expect to be taken to her now.”

Ember hadn’t said a word to me since the rescue. She answered all the questions the medics asked as they tended to our wounds around our ankles caused by the chains. And although she was polite and was free with her answers, it seemed as if every syllable hurt her. I knew she hadn’t spoken to a single soul other than her father, me, and Scarecrow. I knew she had to be so scared, and to be without me had to have her even more so.

I’m hating the interrogation from the police, so I can only imagine how she must be handling it.

“I’ll make a deal with you,” Detective Jackson says as he joins me in standing. “I’ll bring you to her, but only if you can stay a little bit longer to allow the Feds to get what they want.”

I know I don’t have to agree to anything, since we aren’t under arrest, but I also want to help put this nightmare to an end.

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Captive Bride (The Secret Bride #1) Read Online Alta Hensley http://www.ilovenovels.com/captive-bride-the-secret-bride-1-read-online-alta-hensley Sun, 11 Apr 2021 14:49:31 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/captive-bride-the-secret-bride-1-read-online-alta-hensley Genre: Dark, Romance, Suspense, Virgin Authors: Alta Hensley Series: The Secret Bride Series by Alta Hensley
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Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 56078 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 280(@200wpm)___ 224(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)

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Read Online Books/Novels:	(The Secret Bride #1) Captive Bride
Author/Writer of Book/Novel:	Alta Hensley
Language:	English
ISBN/ ASIN:	1953504108 (ISBN13: 9781953504104)
Book Information:
You will take this bride. To have and to hold from this day forward. Till death do you part. This will be your solemn vow. You have no choice. Trapped in a twisted and dark courtship with a secret woman who needs my strength to survive, I will be wed. Walking the thin line between lunacy and reality, I am now the protector of my future captive bride. So, I have no choice but to recite the vows. I take thee. In this arranged matrimony. Until we are parted by death. ***Captive Bride is a dark psychological thriller. If you dare… join me in the march down the aisle.
Books in Series:	The Secret Bride Series by Alta Hensley
Books by Author:	Alta Hensley

1

There’s a fly in the honey.

The contamination must be rid.

Please allow him to be the one who gets away.

“Run. Run,” I whisper against the glass of the window. My breath fogs my vision, but I can still see. “It’s not too late. You still have time. Run.”

He can’t hear me. They never hear me.

I consider pounding my fists against the glass to capture his attention but know that will only make it worse. If he sees me… he’ll continue to come forward in curiosity. He won’t run away.

He needs to run away. He just doesn’t know it yet.

There’s a fly in the honey and Hell will be paid.

He’s not the first. He won’t be the last.

Please, please, please allow this man to be the one who gets away.

My heart stops as he points his camera in my direction. What if he sees me? What if I’m in his picture? Will I be to blame for what comes next? I know what’s in store. It’s always the same.

Although there is something different in this man from the others. His camera looks bigger and harder to use. He has to spin the front of it back and forth as he takes the pictures. He’s dressed differently than the ones before him. Hiking boots, khaki pants with lots of pockets, a cream cotton shirt that buttons with sleeves rolled to his upper arms above the elbows. His attire makes him appear more worldly than the others. Like he’s on an adventure rather than just a sightseeing day trip.

Yes, he’s different.

But he’s still the fly in the honey and will have to face the consequences. There’s nothing I can do. I know this.

He should have stayed on the beaten path. He should have heeded the warnings of the no trespassing signs. There is plenty to see down the hill. The old, abandoned buildings in the main part of Hallelujah Junction are just as good as the ones up here. The ghost town and main attraction are down the hill.

Not here.

There’s an old church, a mercantile, pharmacy, a livery, and even a small jail. All the houses remain standing and preserved. Inside is the left behind furniture of the 1800s residents who built this mining town before they all vacated in a hurry for some unknown reason. History frozen in time. Secrets and whispers of the ghosts mesmerize people from around the world.

Why had the townsfolk left in such a hurry?

Why would they leave their belongings behind?

These were the eerie questions that made Hallelujah Junction become the tourist attraction that it was.

The tourists can see the schoolhouse from the main street. It towers on the top of Cemetery Road meant to look at but never approach. There are several buildings in Hallelujah Junction that are strictly off limits to the public due to safety reasons. The signs clearly mark the prohibited from the welcome.

So why? Why does he ignore the signs? There are just as many worn-down houses and dilapidated pieces of history to take pictures of in the main area. Stay with the tourists. Stay where it’s safe. Listen to the ranger and follow the rules. The rules are simple: Stay on the paths. No littering. No destruction of property. Stay. On. The. Paths.

The rules are so simple.

Break the rules, and you will pay the price.

I see his shadow first. The ranger.

He has a job.

Enforce the rules.

I should leave the window and walk away. Pine Cone, my cat, rubs along my leg begging for some attention. She knows what is good for me. I should listen to her. I don’t need to see this. I shouldn’t see this. But I can never look away. This time could be different.

The man is larger than the ranger. His shoulders are broad and his chest wide. It appears as if he could run faster with his long, lean legs. He could resist and win. Maybe that is why he broke the rules. Maybe he knows he can.

But I don’t want him to hurt the ranger.

The ranger is my Papa Rich. He’s mine. He’s all I have.

I hold my breath, not sure what I want to see. Whose side am I on? The rule breaker or my Papa Rich?

“You’re trespassing,” I hear Papa Rich say. The glass of the window is thin. The air is still.

The rule breaker turns, startled. “Oh sorry, man. I’ll be out of your hair in just a second. I’m shooting an article for Rolling Stone called ‘Find Your Wild.’ I want to make sure I capture it all.”

“Did you not see the signs?”

“I’ll be quick. I saw the schoolhouse up here on the hill and needed to get a better picture up close.” He continues taking pictures as if the ranger has no power over what he does or doesn’t do.

Papa Rich’s jaw tightens. His eyes narrow. I recognize this look. I know exactly what comes next. Papa Rich looks at the old schoolhouse. At me. I’m hidden away in the structure of this trespasser’s dangerous obsession.

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Read Online Books/Novels:

Taken Bride (The Secret Bride #3)

Author/Writer of Book/Novel:

English

Read Online Books/Novels:

Kept Bride (The Secret Bride #2)

Author/Writer of Book/Novel:

English

Read Online Books/Novels:

(The Secret Bride #1) Captive Bride

Author/Writer of Book/Novel:

English

1953504108 (ISBN13: 9781953504104)