Spy Within

By Lisa LaRae

Samantha and Emma’s late afternoon shopping trip was interrupted by a sudden attack to their town by an unknown enemy. The instinct to reconnect the broken family amid chaos and fear led them back home. Just when you think they are safe something else happens. The unexpected happens. We follow this family through much destruction and loss. We see the young people grow stronger, adults in the making. We see a broken marriage begin to heal in the brokenness. However, there’s a spy within and even the spy doesn’t realize who they are and what they are meant to do. Enjoy this tantalizing story as we go through the ups and downs, literally, when their world goes upside down. Or, dare I say, upside up?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Aug 31, 2022
• ISBN: 9781398468207

Lisa LaRae

Lisa LaRae spent her childhood in the Ozarks, Missouri. Lisa was the youngest of three children, an oops child, so she was 9-10 years younger than the oldest. Lisa spent much of her time finding her own way and her own friends throughout her youth. Lisa’s family hit hard times in the early 80s she had to drop out of high school to work in construction. Lisa then moved into insurance and met her husband, Randy, had two sons Zachary and Chad. Lisa and Randy are happily married now for 30 years. Lisa went to college in her 40s and that’s when she started to write. Lisa also writes children’s books in her spare time as well as poetry. Writing is a hobby that became an outlet but mostly a dream come true.

Book preview

About the Author

Lisa LaRae spent her childhood in the Ozarks, Missouri.  Lisa was the youngest of three children, an oops child, so she was 9-10 years younger than the oldest.  Lisa spent much of her time finding her own way and her own friends throughout her youth. Lisa’s family hit hard times in the early 80’s she had to drop out of high school to work in construction. Lisa then moved into insurance and met her husband, Randy, had two sons Zachary and Chad.  Lisa and Randy are happily married now 30 years. Lisa went to college in her 40’s and that’s when she started to write.  Lisa also writes children’s books in her spare time as well as poetry.  Writing is a hobby that became an outlet but mostly a dream come true.

Dedication

I dedicate this book, first, to my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  My husband Randy, sons Zachary and Chad Black, my wonderful daughter-in-law Kestra Black.  My friends Bridget, Jane, Jill S, Dawn P, Dawn W, MJ, Monika, Toni, Ken/Kris, Suzanne/Dave, Trish/Dan thank you so much for encouraging me.  My wonderful neighbours and town Lincoln, CA that the book location is based on.  I dedicate this book to future generations with the encouragement of never give up on a dream no matter how old you are, its never too late.

Copyright Information ©

Lisa LaRae 2022

The right of Lisa LaRae to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781398468177 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781398468184 (Hardback)

ISBN 9781398468207 (ePub e-book)

ISBN 9781398468191 (Audiobook)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published 2022

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd®

1 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5AA

Acknowledgement

I would like to thank Austin Macauley Publishers for casting their wide net and capturing my writing piece. Thanks for giving a nobody an avenue. Just getting the opportunity is more than I could ever dream.

I would like to thank Wattpad to giving me a platform to practice my writing.

Chapter 1

When It All Went Upside Down

We were doing our usual shopping at the grocery store. It was a summer day turning into an evening and very warm. I had just unloaded the cart into the trunk of the car when Emma, seated in the front passenger seat, cried out, Mom! while pointing to the skyline. Mom, look over there…what is that? Now she was starting to get scared, I could hear it in her voice. I turned to see what she was talking about but the sun was blasting me right in the eyes as it was setting.

What? I asked hastily hoping she would give me a hint. I knew the ice cream was melting on this warm end of summer day and we needed to get a move on.

Emma cried out again, Look! Now I was annoyed and still couldn’t see what she was talking about.

Could you be a little more specific— Suddenly, I saw it too, a flashing streak across the sky. My heart dropped to my stomach…THIS was not something normal, a plane or a cloud. I felt fear creeping into my gut. My stomach had a pain ping…you know that feeling you get when you know something bad is about to happen. I started feeling myself tense up. My flight mode was kicking in and my heart was beginning to race. I took a deep breath and thought, I could not panic right now, I didn’t want to trigger my past history of panic attacks after the plane crash.

Emma had just got back out of the car to see the light better and I now shouted, Quick! Get back in! Emma looked at me startled then I realised she was sensing my panic. She knew what it looked like, that’s why she came with me, and not stayed back with her brothers. She was well versed in helping me down from a panic attack. She was so mature for her age most likely because of her history. From bad things, good things can grow and she’s a shining example. I don’t know what I would have done without her, a true Godsend or earth angel I like to call her.

I didn’t want to scare her. I recovered myself and said flippantly, The ice cream is melting. I slowly put the trunk lid down and walked to the car door. Emma seemed okay with my response but continued looking at the light as she re-entered the vehicle. I started driving and thinking where should we go to be safe…our apartment? No, I thought that didn’t seem to be the place if all hell was breaking loose. We have a third-story apartment too high to escape if something were to happen. Then I thought, I need to get us home to Kevin and the boys…go to the house. Going against everything I had stood for before, which was no contact, well-limited contact forever. Even when the kids would visit I would find another way to get them to the house without being me the mode of transportation. I felt that the kids would need to be together, whatever this is, we need to ride this out together. For the kids’ sake.

Who was Kevin, he was my soon to be ex-husband. He was not drop-dead gorgeous but instead ruggedly good looking with dirty blond hair and a darker complexion. He grew hair quickly but liked to keep his cut shorter on the sides and sometimes longer on top. He had beautiful light grey eyes that seemed to be pools of beauty. His nose was bigger than average but fit his face and had a strong jawline. He had a chest full of hair as well as his stomach. Some women don’t like that but I loved it. When he walked into a room, his presence was known. He naturally attracted people to him with a charm that expelled from him like a waterfall.

He wasn’t tall but he was taller than me. I’m 5' 5 and he was about 5' 10. He was in the navy. Before he retired, he would fly his plane low over our neighbourhood, wiggle his wings to say hello and I love you. Our son was so happy to see the plane he would be jumping up and down waving and laughing, smiling ear to ear. But now our child was gone and we had ended, we had parted ways, all my doing. Kevin protested the dissolution of our marriage every step of the way. I still remember the day I left. He put his arm up to block my exit and said, Please, Sam, don’t leave me. Please, I will do anything. Just tell me what you need from me. I looked into his beautiful blues, they were so deep and his eyes reminded me of our son who had identical eyes.

I said, I’m so sorry, I just can’t even look at you. He looked like I punched him in the gut, stepped back and moved his arm back down. He lowered his head and I left, didn’t look back. If I would have stayed any longer with him, I wouldn’t have had the strength to leave him. I needed to be away, I needed to heal. But I knew deep down I could never forgive him.

We had been in a horrible plane crash, Kevin was piloting, of course. I was in the front right and our son in the back, strapped in and looking out the window fascinated with the experience, he was five. I stopped saying his name after the funeral. It was just too painful to remember. What happened, we don’t know for sure. The plane went into full instrumental failure, Kevin had tried to glide us down but the wheel caught on a power line and that was it, we cart-wheeled. I was thrown from the plane, Kevin and our child were not. Kevin was the least injured with a fractured collarbone but our child was killed instantly. I wished I had died with him. I could not forgive Kevin for the crash. He did the systems check before we lifted off. He should have known. We should have never been in the air. Kevin had seen it as not his fault, explaining endlessly that there had to be a cause. He pleaded for investigators to locate what had caused the fatal failure but it fell on deaf ears. It seemed as though he was the only one I could blame and put all my hurt on so I did. I entered into endless panic attacks, waking up out of a sound sleep gasping for air and calling out for our child. Kevin would hold me until I could finally cry myself back to sleep. He was or is a good man. I just could not continue living in the hurt and blame any longer.

I moved out to a small apartment with Emma. Emma went with me and he kept the boys at our house.

All three kids were adopted by us in the years following the crash. Emma became my rock, the one who would get up with me when I was having an episode. She would curl up next to me in bed until I could return back to sleep, stroking my hair like she was my own mother. Kevin and the boys carried on but it was not easy. Kevin was not a great cook that I was so the boys had to try their hand at meals for all of them. Our kids were growing up fast in life, first with their own parental losses and now with our marital implosion.

I sped into the old neighbourhood and around the corner and saw the old house around the bend on the left. The street looked the same even after a few years. The place had not changed much from the time I had last lived here with Kevin and the kids. I pulled up quickly in the driveway and saw the lights were on throughout the house. I wondered how Kevin would react to our unannounced return but then again no time to think twice about the timing. Emma leapt out of the vehicle and ran up to the door. Emma pounded on the door, it was locked as she couldn’t remember the code in panic. She knocked hard again and again and no one answered. I had slowly exited, not sure how Kevin was going to react to us showing up. I had not left on a good basis. I stood back at the end of the walkway from Emma, she turned to me puzzled, we looked at each other like where could they be right now? I shrugged. Suddenly, the door flew open and the boys spilt out into the porch both jabbering incoherently about the lights flashing across the sky.

Kevin came out right after them with a look of surprise on his face.