Unbreakable Darkness

By LM Preston

Dexter never looks for trouble, it finds him. Moving to a small city from New York wasn’t his idea of an improvement. His dream of being a groomed as a pro football running back ended the moment his father uprooted his family. Day one, he landed in jail without bail and realized too late that his father made a deal to get him out—one that would change his life, and put his family forever in danger. Unfortunately, finding love always happens at the worst possible time. Dexter didn’t realize that love could also kill. Again, trouble...it finds him, but this time he’d face it – head on, and hope he survives.
Books in the Series:
Insatiable Darkness (Book 0)
Caged Fire (Book 1)
Unbreakable Darkness (Book 1.5)
Scepter Of Fire (Book 2)
Break The Darkness (Book 2.5)
Rebel of Fire (Book 3)
Sword of Darkness (Book 3.5)
Blade Of Fire (Book 4)

• Language: English
• Publisher: LM Preston
• Release date: Apr 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9781732924796

LM Preston

LM. Preston was born and raised in Washington, DC. An avid reader, she loved to create poetry and short-stories as a young girl. With a thirst for knowledge she attended college at Bowie State University, and worked in the IT field as a Techie and Educator for over sixteen years. She started writing science fiction under the encouragement of her husband who was a Sci-Fi buff and her four kids. Her first published novel, Explorer X - Alpha was the beginning of her obsessive desire to write and create stories of young people who overcome unbelievable odds. She loves to write while on the porch watching her kids play or when she is traveling, which is another passion that encouraged her writing.

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COPYRIGHT

Reproducing this book without permission from the author or the publisher is an infringement of its copyright. This book is a work of fiction. The names characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Copyright © 2019 by LM Preston.

All rights reserved.

Editor: Cindy Davis

Proof Reader: Dawn Yacovetta

Cover Design by We’ve Got You Covered. All Rights Reserved.

Interior Design and Formatting by Stephany Wallace.

All Rights Reserved.

A Phenomenal One Press publication, May 2019

SYPNOSIS

Unbreakable Darkness –Book 1.5 - Novella. Prequel to Scepter of Fire Book 2: Vigilant Series

Dexter never looks for trouble, it finds him. Moving to a small city from New York wasn’t his idea of an improvement. His dream of being a groomed as a pro football running-back ended the moment his father uprooted his family. Day one, he landed in jail without bail and realized too late that his father made a deal to get him out—one that would change his life and put his family forever in danger. Unfortunately, finding love always happens at the worst possible time. Dexter didn’t realize that love could also kill. Again, trouble…it finds him, but this time, he’d face it – head on and hope he survives. Prequel to Scepter of Fire Book 2 in The Vigilant Series

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ALSO BY L.M. PRESTON

PURGATORY REIGN SERIES

Purgatory Reign, Book 1

Deviant Storm, Book 2

Fierce Tides, Book 3

THE PACK SERIES

The Pack, Book 1

Retribution, Book 2

THE BANDITS SERIES

Bandits, Book 1

Wastelands, Book 2

VIGILANT SERIES

Insatiable Darkness, Book 0.

Caged Fire, Book 1.

Unbreakable Darkness, Book 1.5

STANDALONES

Flutter Of Luv

Thundering Luv

Double Trouble Luv

NON FICTION

Building Your Empowered Steps

Team Wave Surfing

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

There are so many influences that help me build the worlds and stories I’ve written.

I thank my husband who fuels my imagination by allowing me to share my stories with him, my kids for being inspiration, and to God for giving me an unquenchable imagination that pours out on the pages.

My editor, Cindy, and proof reader, Dawn, who make my work shine, and challenge me to sharpen my stories, thanks for supporting me over the years.

My readers, you keep inspiring me to weave a better tale. I thank you.

CHAPTER 1

Dex eyed the new school with some discomfort. In New York, he’d been one of the largest guys on his football team. Here, in Newport, he doubted he’d be average sized. The kids at this high school must eat well. Even the girls seemed different. Healthy, tall, with an air of comfort in their skin Dex rarely saw in his last school.

May as well go in. He rubbed his hands together then climbed the steps leading to the door. Pressing through the thick rush of students trying to get in before the bell rang, he glanced down at his old Vans. EmVee irritated him for taking his favorite pair. He didn’t know why she did it; his foot was larger than hers. Dex flinched at the thought, knowing Vida liked to tick him off. He refused to call her by her self-proclaimed nickname, EmVee.

He rolled his eyes. She insisted that everyone call her EmVee since she wanted a boxer name for when she made it big. That was what he had to hear from her every night she was forced to pick him up from the gym. He just got his license, and it sucked. He hated to admit it to her; sparring with her was getting more challenging and he couldn’t rely on his strength over hers. His sister could kick his ass and most guys he knew too.

Hey, you! A girl with bright orange hair waved at him. Try this door. She cocked her head to the side, pointing at a slender door all the students seemed to ignore.

Dex jumped to the final step and grabbed the door she held open.

Thanks. He gave the girl a quick smile and followed her inside.

Anytime. She held out her hand. New here?

Dex smirked. You can tell? He grasped her hand in a shake and frowned at how tightly she gripped his.

Yep, I’m Megan.

Dex. He pulled his hand away from hers. She was stronger than he even wanted to comprehend.

Short for Dexter? She pursed her lips and squinted her eyes, studying him.

Just call me Dex.

Dex never liked being called by his full name. Today, he’d deal with it though; first day at school was usually the worst. They had teased him about his name most of 9th grade.

I like Dexter better, but I’ll call you Dex. She smiled. For now.

Well, thanks for opening the door. I got to go to class. He dismissed her and pressed past her to end the conversation. Something about the girl seemed strange. He didn’t want to know what. He wanted to get away from her as quick as possible.

The first class was Art History, a class that excited him. He didn’t want to make it seem so, but in New York he did his share of tagging abandoned buildings, bridges, and subways. It was the reason he was still on punishment. Seemed to be the story of his life. Just when he got out of trouble, it found him again. Dad had to pick him up from the police station a few months ago when he’d got caught. His dumb friend left his bag of spray paint behind, and Dex had gone back to get it.

It wasn’t so bad. The cop knew his father and let him go with a warning after only a few hours in a cell.

Problem was, his father made him pay for it a lot more than a night in jail would. They stripped him of driving, an allowance, and any time out of the house for what seemed like forever instead of the entire summer. Then after that, well, he’d gotten into a car accident with his mother’s car. So, there it was. Punished again.

He glanced down at his phone to double check the classroom and opened the door.

Dex stopped in the doorway. The girl Megan was waving at him and pointing at a seat next to her. Nope, there was no way he was sitting next to Megan.

Instead, he took a seat in the front of the class.

Tapping a thumb on the edge of the desk, Dex absorbed the richness of the classroom. It was like nothing he’d ever seen. The curved ceiling had a mural on it. Someone painted the mural in vivid colors of reds, greens, and gold with intricate designs of faerie figures being chased by giants. The picture seemed to shift and move the more you looked at it. His gaze bounced from picture to picture, absorbing the images of the overlapped collage of impressions, and considering that while he studied it as an entire piece, it was a single picture. It was amazing that each part was a single and unique piece of work.

Like a living scene, isn’t it? a soft voice uttered beside him.

Dex turned, hoping it wasn’t Megan. He was surprised it was a girl with deep brown skin and a short blonde pixie cut. Her dark brown eyes were large and seemed to draw him in as they sat on her high cheekbones.

He smiled at her. It is.

She pursed her full pink lips then smiled back, revealing a dimple on her right cheek. Are you interested in art?

A bit.

You have an artist’s hands.

Nah, a running-back’s hands. I don’t do traditional art.

Me neither.

What’s your name? Dex wanted to get to know her. The girl seemed mysterious but in a shy, sweet way.

Yori.

Can I see that? Dex eyed her heavily decorated notebook.

Are you going to laugh at it? I guess it looks like a craft project gone wild, but I like to make things mine.

No, I just want to see it.

Yori pursed her full lips colored in purple that matched her long earrings. Okay, but give it back before she starts.

Got you. He took it from her, running his fingers over the raised paper designs and jewels she put on it, then he opened it. Dex jotted down his name and number then put study buddy above his name. He smirked and drew a caricature of himself before closing it and giving it back.

She didn’t bother opening the flap of the notebook but crossed her legs,