SYNOPSIS
♥ Three fateful encounters....
♥ Two heart-breaking tragedies....
♥ One last chance to get it right.
From New York Times best selling author Cassia Leo, comes an epic love story about rewriting destiny.
Over the course of five years, Mikki and Crush cross paths on three separate occasions. Their first encounter changes Mikki's life forever, but their second meeting leaves them both buried beneath the emotional wreckage of a violent attack. Mikki is left with more questions and grief than she can handle, while Crush is forced to forget the girl who saved his life.
Now nineteen years old, Mikki Gladstone has decided she's tired of the mind-numbing meds. She books a flight to Los Angeles to end her life far away from her loving, though often distant, family.
Twenty-one-year-old Crush has always channeled his blackest thoughts into his music, but he's never had great aspirations. He decides to fly to Los Angeles to record a demo of the only song he's never performed in public; a song he wrote for a girl he doesn't even know: Black Box. He has no expectations of fame and he's never felt like his life had any purpose... until he meets Mikki in Terminal B.
When Mikki and Crush cross paths for the third time in Terminal B, neither has any idea who the other person is; until they slowly piece together their history and realize that fate has more in store for them than just another love story.
♥ Two heart-breaking tragedies....
♥ One last chance to get it right.
From New York Times best selling author Cassia Leo, comes an epic love story about rewriting destiny.
Over the course of five years, Mikki and Crush cross paths on three separate occasions. Their first encounter changes Mikki's life forever, but their second meeting leaves them both buried beneath the emotional wreckage of a violent attack. Mikki is left with more questions and grief than she can handle, while Crush is forced to forget the girl who saved his life.
Now nineteen years old, Mikki Gladstone has decided she's tired of the mind-numbing meds. She books a flight to Los Angeles to end her life far away from her loving, though often distant, family.
Twenty-one-year-old Crush has always channeled his blackest thoughts into his music, but he's never had great aspirations. He decides to fly to Los Angeles to record a demo of the only song he's never performed in public; a song he wrote for a girl he doesn't even know: Black Box. He has no expectations of fame and he's never felt like his life had any purpose... until he meets Mikki in Terminal B.
When Mikki and Crush cross paths for the third time in Terminal B, neither has any idea who the other person is; until they slowly piece together their history and realize that fate has more in store for them than just another love story.
~BLACK BOX PURCHASE LINKS~
Amazon US:
iTunes US: http://bit.ly/blackboxitunes
iTunes UK: http://bit.ly/1ffAjpG
Kobo US/CA: http://bit.ly/blackboxkobo
~Author's Dream Cast~
~EXCERPTS~
~Author's Dream Cast~
~EXCERPTS~
Black Box
Chapter 6
Mikki
(Excerpt)
The club
is tiny and very dark, but it’s warm; and not just because the heat is working.
Something about this place feels … safe.
We sit
down on some stools at the bar, which runs almost the entire length of the narrow
room. I take off my coat and lay it across the stool next to me and Crush does
the same.
“When
Jimmy gets here, he’ll make you the best damn martini you’ve ever had.”
“This
place has the best music and the best martinis? Sounds like heaven.”
“It is,”
he replies proudly.
We sit
in silence for a moment; just long enough for the dark anxiety to start
building inside me again. I begin thinking of how I almost freaked out in the
alley a few minutes ago and wondering when my craziness is going to be too much
for him to handle.
The
alley.
Don’t
think about it, the voice inside my head shouts. But, on any given day, my
thoughts vary between a leaky faucet and a fire-hose of negativity, drowning me
or just annoying the hell out of me until I’m forced to do something to make
them stop.
“What
are you thinking?” Crush asks, and suddenly I notice that he’s holding a
crushed penny in his hand; actually, he’s rubbing the penny between his thumb
and forefinger.
“Do you
think saving someone’s life cancels out taking another person’s life?”
He looks
horrified by this question. “What? What do you mean?”
“I mean
exactly what I said. If you kill someone, can you erase that sin by saving
someone else’s life?”
He drops
the penny onto the bar. “Why would you ask me that?” I wait for him to pick up
the penny before I reply.
“Look,
it’s just a question. No need to freak out. I didn’t kill anyone.”
“That’s
not what I was implying.” He shakes his head. “Just excuse the minor spaz-out.
The answer to your question is no. I don’t think saving someone’s life cancels
out killing someone else.”
He casts
his eyes downward after he says this; a sure sign that he’s lying or he’s
hiding something. “Have you ever killed anyone?”
Black Box
Chapter 8
Crush
(Excerpt)
Staring
into Mikki’s green eyes, I swear I’m looking into my own. She’s hiding
something from me that I haven’t quite figured out yet, but I’m positive it has
to do with her trip to L.A. There has to be a reason someone as skittish as her
decided to have coffee with me rather than go home when her flight was
canceled. And there’s definitely a reason greater than curiosity for the
question she just asked me.
If it
weren’t her asking, this would be the point in our conversation where I begin
to suspect her of being an undercover cop or journalist. But it is Mikki. And
something about this girl tells me she’s not here to find out what happened in
a dark parking lot three years ago.
“That’s
a trick question,” I reply. “If I tell you I’ve never killed anyone, then
you’ll think I’m a good guy and you’ll stay, because even though it’s not a
very exciting answer, it means you’re safe. But if I tell you I’ve killed
someone, you may find it intriguing or frightening. Either way, intrigued or
scared, you’ll probably try to get the fuck away from me, and I don’t think I’m
ready for that.”
She
smiles as she looks down at her fingers, which she’s tapping on the surface of
the bar. “That’s a real suave way to dodge the question. It also sounds like
something a murderer would say.”
“Really?”
She
looks up and meets my gaze again. “Who did you kill?”
I pause
for a moment as I try to figure out where she’s going with this conversation.
Then it hits me. “Do you want to die?”
“What?”
she asks, shaking her head far too adamantly. “That’s … that’s a stupid
question.”
“Why is
it a stupid question?”
“Because,”
she snaps at me. “It’s just stupid. I don’t want to die.”
She
continues to look down at her hands, which are still trembling as she fidgets
with her silver thumb-ring. I get an urge to grab her hand again, to stop the
trembling and fidgeting, but I don’t.
“I’m
sorry. I guess that was kind of a stupid question. I was just wondering why a
pretty girl like you would hang out with me when you could be at home in your
warm bed with your pjs on. Or out with your friends … or your boyfriend.”
She
finally chuckles. “So, accusing me of wanting to die is your way of avoiding my
question or is it just a really messed-up way of asking me if I have a
boyfriend?”
“It’s
just me being a total dick. And … do you have a boyfriend?”
“No.”
She looks up and fixes me with a steely glare. “Most guys don’t appreciate a
girl who’s crazy and also doesn’t put out.”
I’m not quite sure how to respond to this statement. It’s probably best
to change the subject or reach for a joke. “Yeah, I know how you feel. Most
girls don’t appreciate a guy who can cite Shakespeare and won’t put out.
Actually, I think that’s a line from Macbeth.”
Her
glare melts into a reluctant smile. “You’re not a total dick.”
“Still
not putting out.”
****
Black Box
Chapter 8
Crush
(Excerpt)
I
successfully manage to get her to slow her downward slide into Crunksville by
asking Jimmy to switch us to tap beer, which he cuts with a little club soda.
Then I keep her talking to keep her mouth busy. Soon, three hours have passed
and we’ve only had three more beers. Unfortunately, with the lack of food,
she’s looking pretty loose as she leans over the bar with the side of her head
propped up on her fist.
“And
that’s the tragic story of why my dad gave Bradley away when I was six.”
She’s
just spent the past twenty minutes telling me the story of her dog Bradley
Snickers, a chocolate Labrador Retriever. The only pet she ever had.
“You
took your dog for a walk on thin ice to see if it would hold you both?”
“I’m not
saying it wasn’t a stupid thing to do, but I was only six years old. I think my
dad may have overreacted just a little.” She guzzles the dregs of beer in her
glass and looks up at me, her eyes unfocused and a bit teary. “I loved that
fucking dog. It was the only thing I ever loved. I would never have purposely
hurt him.” I reach up to brush a piece of hair away from her eyes and she
smacks my hand away. “Don’t touch me. I didn’t say you could touch me!”
“Sorry.
I – I’m sorry.”
“You
don’t have to be sorry, just don’t do it.” She chuckles a little after she says
this. “That’s what my mom used to say to me when I got in trouble and I tried
to apologize for being bad. She’d say, “Don’t apologize; just don’t do it.”
Like it’s that easy to always do the right thing.”
“Mikki?”
“What?”
she snaps at me as she slides her empty beer glass away so she can rest her
head on top of her arms.
“Where
are you staying tonight?”
She
heaves a deep sigh as she closes her eyes. “Don’t know. Right here seems just
fine.”
Jimmy
raises his eyebrows as he pretends to be busy popping the seeds out of the
lemon wedges he just cut. I can’t help but watch her face with a bit of awe.
Even with her black hair, her lip ring, and the tattoos on her fingers, she
looks so sweet and innocent. I feel strangely protective of her, like I should
tell Jimmy to buzz off. She can spend the night wherever she wants. Can’t you
see she’s broken?
I can
tell by the shiny bit of drool accumulating at the corner of her mouth that
she’s already beginning to fall asleep. I take a risk and reach for her. Gently
grasping her arm, I give it an easy shake. She doesn’t flinch this time.
She
groans softly and her eyelids flutter open. “Sorry. I didn’t sleep last night.”
“Maybe
we should get you a room so you can get some rest.”
She
pushes herself up from the bar and blinks a few times. “If you try anything
I’ll kill you,” she mutters, reaching for her purse. “And I don’t mean that
figuratively. I will actually murder you. I have nothing to lose.”
“Not if
I kill you first.”
****
Black Box
Chapter 8
Crush
(Excerpt)
I nod
and ask Jimmy to get another round of dirty martinis ready. “How do you like
that martini?”
She
picks up the martini glass and guzzles down the rest of the drink, leaving the
olive at the bottom. “Delicious.” She grabs the other glass that Jimmy just set
down in front of her and takes another long swig. “Definitely the best martini
I’ve ever had in Boston.”
“Have
you ever had a martini in Boston?” I ask, then I guzzle the rest of my first
martini so I can keep up with her.
“Not
nice, young lady.” Jimmy chides her and she lifts her martini glass to him.
“Still
the best,” she declares, then she finishes martini number two.
Jimmy
throws me a brief glance that probably means, Where’d you find this one? or, Am
I gonna have to eighty-six her at eleven a.m.?
“Maybe
you should eat a little something before you transform into a walking dirty
martini. All you had was half a muffin.”
“The
bottom,” she clarifies, looking at Jimmy. “I’m not hungry.”
“I make
a pretty mean green olive and maraschino cherry kabob,” I reply, and Jimmy
lifts the condiment tray onto the bar.
I grab a
toothpick and stack two olives and two cherries, then I hold it out to her. Her
face looks a little gray as she shoots my concoction a look of disgust.
“I said
I’m not hungry. You eat it.”
I pop
the toothpick into my mouth and pull it out clean. The bitter brine of the
olives hits me first, then the cloying sweetness of the cherries. I take my
first chew and it all explodes into a squishy mess in my mouth.
“That’s
disgusting,” she remarks.
I gulp
down the rest of my shit-kabob and Jimmy shakes his head as he sets a glass of
ice water on the bar for me to wash it down. “Yeah, but it got you to stop
jonesin’ for a martini for two minutes.”
She
rolls her eyes. “I’m more of a beer girl, anyway.”
“You and
I are going to get along very well.”
“I thought we were
already getting along pretty well.”
~About the Author~
Cassia Leo
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cassia Leo grew up in California and
has lived in three different countries. She loves to travel and her dream is to
one day score a record deal based on her awesome shower singing skills. She is
the author of the Shattered Hearts series (Relentless,
Pieces of You, Bring Me Home, Abandon) and the Luke and Chase series.
Website: http://cassialeo.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorcassialeo
~BLACK BOX ON GOODREADS~
~BLACK BOX PLAYLIST~
Link to Spotify playlist:
Black
Box
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