Love and Death in Istanbul

By Timothy Tarkelly

Emily North, an experienced hospice nurse, is fed up with controlling men and predictable jobs. In her search for something more, she volunteers for a medical mission in war-torn Istanbul, Turkey. While trying to focus on herself and the work at hand, she becomes fascinated with surgeon Jake Compton as he applies his considerable skills in the trauma unit under dangerous conditions. But Emily soon discovers Compton has a secret: a covert life in military service which has no room for her--or any woman. Between warring factions and Jake's superiors, Emily struggles to find adventure, herself, and one decent man.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
• Release date: Mar 19, 2018
• ISBN: 9781509219940

Timothy Tarkelly

Timothy Tarkelly earned his MA in Theatre (Drama Therapy) from Kansas State University. He is a published author (Zombie Tales, Cover of Darkness) and poet (Lycan Valley Press, Aphelion, Fourth & Sycamore). He has written and directed two short films (Fraus and Miss Baro) that have become official selections at independent film festivals, with Fraus winning "Outstanding Low Budget" at ZedFest 2013 in Norhtern Hollywood. During the day, he works at a non-profit that serves survivors of domestic and sexual violence.

Book preview

Inc.

No one can really prepare for the sight of war,

and she’d seen death plenty of times back home. It was unfair to claim no one can know the sorrow that follows death, but she took it all in stride. Unlike others, she wasn’t fazed by the sight or metallic odor of blood as she approached the masses of wounded.

So it was there, in the middle of a war-zone, while working for an international relief agency, that Emily North, RN experienced her first real surprise of this new turn in her life when Doctor Jake Compton jumped down from the back of one of the trucks and made his way for the surgical tent.

Love and Death

in Istanbul

by

Timothy Tarkelly

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

Love and Death in Istanbul

COPYRIGHT © 2018 by Timothy Tarkelly

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or The Wild Rose Press, Inc. except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Contact Information: [e-mail]

Cover Art by Debbie Taylor

The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

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Adams Basin, NY 14410-0708

Visit us at www.thewildrosepress.com

Publishing History

First Mainstream Thriller Edition, 2018

Digital ISBN 978-1-5092-1994-0

Published in the United States of America

Emily North’s king-size bed never felt so immense.

She glanced at the spot Nick once occupied. Empty now—but it wasn’t him she missed. No matter how badly she might crave a man’s touch, it would be a long time before she allowed her bed to be filled to capacity again.

Begrudging the fact that she had to leave the comfort offered by three inches of memory foam and head off to a job she was beginning to loathe, she rose to start her morning routine. After reaching into the closest closet and blindly picking out a set of scrubs, she trudged to the bathroom.

After her shower, she took time to look at herself in the mirror, an act she rarely participated in. She’d always considered her hips too wide, but Nick—and just about every other man she had been intimate with—appreciated the slope of her waist and what lay beyond.

The kind of curves you just can’t hide, he always said as he marveled at her body.

Her breasts, just large enough to attract attention, were perhaps the only feature she liked about herself. Her hair: a totally different story. The brown kinks refused to be hidden, even when wet. But the men she’d known claimed to love her hair too, admiring its wild and untamable flair.

Too bad the same men failed to allow Emily to feel quite as free.

After dressing, she pulled her hair back from her scalp as tight as she could manage. She dreaded the headache it would bring