The Ascension (Entangled Series Book 3)
Jill Sanders
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
The Ascension
Jill Sanders
Contents
The Ascension
Summary
The Ascension
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Other books by Jill Sanders
About the Author
The Ascension
~ Entangled ~
Jessica & Jacob
© 2017 Jill Sanders
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This one is for Nancy
Summary
Jessica was getting tired of fighting fate. Not only had some really weird stuff been going on the past few months, but now she found herself crawling out of Jacob’s bed. She hated the guy. Well, okay, she’d avoided the guy. Sure, she’d fantasized about him most of her life, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t fight the attraction. Something was coming and everyone in town felt it, not just the chosen group she’d found herself part of in the last few months. And, if her being with Jacob was fated, she was determined to fight it for as long as she could because she knew what was coming, even when no one else did. She knew how important everyone’s roles were in the next few weeks. But with the disappearance of Breanna, fate may have just taken a huge turn. For the worse.
Jacob has completely lost it. That’s the only explanation for what he’d been going through. And now, he’s suddenly found himself inexplicably drawn to Jess. This new desire he feels for her is stronger than the need to breathe. What new powers did this witch hold over him? And more important, was there a chance they would survive the upcoming horrors?
The Ascension
by
Jill Sanders
Prologue
Now…
Jessica ran as fast as she could. Her chest hurt with each breath she gulped into her lungs. Her heart skipped several beats when she turned the corner and looked ahead, into the darkness.
Her head hurt instantly. The pain she’d known for the last few hours shot through her body once more. She blocked the agony that threatened to blind her from the moment. She chanced a glance up and her breath caught in her throat.
“Nooo,” she screamed at the top of her lungs.
She ran forward, praying she’d reach her destination in time. Her feet felt like she was running in quicksand. Every second seemed to stretch into hours.
She felt her ankle twist but didn’t let it slow her down. She used all her strength and momentum to push through the circle to the middle of the room.
She glanced up and knew there were just seconds before total destruction. As in the visions she’d seen her entire life, she made it just in time. In time to stand in the circle, just as a massive beast descended from the moon and destroyed everything.
She was too late, hadn’t said the right words, hadn’t lived long enough, loved deep enough, done enough, to stop the end of the world.
Chapter 1
Twelve years ago…
Jessica was in a hurry to get home. Her book bag weighed her down so much that she felt like she was running in mud, thanks to the massive history book she’d had to carry home. Why had Miss Chalder had to give them extra homework this weekend? She shifted the bag on her shoulder and took the last turn. Her house came into view and she felt excitement rush through her.
She was going to spend the entire weekend with her best friend, Christina. They had planned everything out all week during gym class. Mrs. Hosley was one of the best teachers ever and never forced them to do much beyond running and stupid aerobics, so naturally, they spent the entire period together.
Jess rushed around the house to the back door.
“The front door is for guests only,” her mother had told her more than a dozen times.
She shoved her bag back on her shoulder to open the sliding glass door and was surprised to find it locked. Her parents never locked the back door. Not even when they weren’t home.
Setting her heavy bag down, she knocked on the glass and cupped her hands around her eyes to look inside.
Her thirteen-year-old heart leaped when she realized all the dining room furniture was gone. Even her grandmother’s hutch, the one that her mother never let her near.
She moved slightly so she could see into the living room. That room was empty too. She could see the spot where the old green sofa used to sit.
Had they been robbed? She took a step back and frowned. Why would robbers lock the back door?
She tried pulling it open again, but it didn’t budge. Then she noticed that the metal bar was down, blocking the glass door from sliding open.
She took another step back and shook her head. Her unruly sandy blonde hair had fallen loose from the braid her mother had done that morning, sending strands directly into her eyes. She pushed them away and took another step back. Then she noticed the back patio furniture was gone.
She turned in a circle, as if it would magically appear behind her if she was fast enough. Slowly, she moved towards her bedroom window. She normally kept her blinds shut, since the Roberts’ brothers next door liked to sneak peeks at her while she dressed. They were always making fun of her since her boobs had come in.
But now, her blinds were wide open, letting her see her empty room. Everything. Everything of hers was gone.
Tears started to fall down her face as she tried her window. It too was barred shut. She moved from window to window and then finally tried the front door. When she realized it was locked, it was too late to stop the tears. She sat down on the front step, curled up in a tight ball, and cried until the sun went down.
It was mid-spring and she’d forgotten her jacket, so when the wind kicked up, she shivered and worried about freezing to death on her own front porch.
Her young mind went over every scenario it could come up with.
Her parents had walked in on a burglary and had been kidnapped.
Her parents were really spies for the government and their cover had been blown or they had been found out and kidnapped.
Her parents had been killed in a freak accident and the cops had sold all their stuff.
Her parents hated her and no longer wanted h
er or wanted to live in Hidden Creek, Georgia.
No matter what her mind came up with, the fact was, her parents were gone. They had left her alone. With nothing.
Gone was the thought of spending a carefree weekend with her best friend. She sat on her front porch and when her tears dried up, anger replaced hurt. Suddenly, the ground shook as her eyes narrowed. She felt something shift inside her, and a hollow spot opened up where trust used to reside.
That night, she grew up. She learned how to fend for herself and to never trust anyone as much as she’d trusted her parents. She’d learned at the tender age of thirteen to put her own needs in front of anyone else’s.
A year ago….
Jess’s feet and back hurt. Working a double shift at the Coffee Corner wasn’t her idea of a good time. Then again, neither was the blind date that her friend Kelly had arranged. The double shift got her out of the awkward evening.
She was just about to take a break when the bell chimed. She called out a welcome, then froze when she met a sexy pair of brown eyes. There was something familiar about them, but she shook that thought off as the man walked slowly towards her.
Once again, she felt the earth shift under her feet. She’d learned to never ignore little things like that.
“Good evening.” She allowed her smile to grow brighter as her eyes ran over the man. He was sex in blue jeans and, instantly, she wanted to get her hands on him.
“Hi.” He smiled back.
“You’re new in town?” She leaned on the counter. She knew it was a low blow, but she made sure to allow her cleavage to show, just a little.
Score one for her, since his eyes watched the movement with interest.
“Yeah, just moved in last week.” He glanced up at the menu above her.
“Well, welcome to town.” She watched him closely. “I’m Jess.” She held out her hand and smiled when he took it.
“Mike.” He smiled.
It took him less than a month to ask her out, a personal record for her. They went out a few times for dinner and on the second date, he kissed her and knocked her socks off with that sexy mouth of his.
Things got weird on their fourth date. They had ended up back at her place, and he’d managed to unbutton her blouse. She had been thoroughly enjoying his hands on her when she’d opened her eyes and, instead of Mike hovering above her, she’d seen another more familiar face and stiffened.
She’d blinked a few times, but the image hadn’t disappeared. He’d pulled back and looked at her strangely, almost like she’d grown another head.
After that, she hadn’t seen a lot of Mike. When he did come into the shop, he acted cordial and soon, they had more of a friendship between them.
She was okay with it, really, because the morning after that strange night, the man she’d imagined in Mike’s place had waltzed in like he normally did every morning at exactly a quarter to six, his blue and black uniform making him a total knockout, and sexy as hell.
He’d let his hair grown too long so that it lay over the collar of his uniform. The gun on his hip was another reminder that he held power over her. He’d always held power over her.
She sighed with desire, took a breath, and made his favorite coffee, before he even ordered. How had she fallen so hard and fast for a man who didn’t even know she existed? Oh sure, he would smile and “flirt” with her when he was paying for his morning wake-me-up. But it had been over twenty years since she’d first laid eyes on him, and he hadn’t shown real interest in her or asked her out once.
Which, she calculated, was another record. The man was either ignorant or not interested. She had long ago decided that it was the latter of the two.
So, as she watched Jacob St. Clair walk out of the coffee shop, her eyes zeroed in on the way the black police slacks clung to that tight butt of his. She sighed as the man of her dreams walked away once again.
Several months ago….
Jacob walked into the Coffee Corner for his daily dose of caffeine. Sure, he could stop by Café 23 for a hot meal, but the woman he had fantasized about since tenth grade didn’t work at Café 23.
So he settled for a banana nut muffin, a cup of hot joe, and those sexy gray eyes watching him.
Today was different, and he knew things had to change. When he approached the counter, he cleared his throat. As usual, his cup and muffin were already waiting for him.
“Do you have a minute?” he asked Jess. He watched her eyes light up and hated himself for having to break the news to her.
She glanced around and then slowly nodded. “Give me a few minutes.” She nodded towards a back booth.
He took his muffin and coffee over to the corner and sat down.
When she finally came over and sat down across from him, he could see a little excitement behind her gray irises. His heart dipped in his chest.
Reaching across the table, he took her hand.
“Jess, I hate to be the one to tell you, but Mrs. and Mrs. Warren were killed last night in a car accident.”
He was always a firm believer in ripping the Band-Aid off quickly.
“What?” She blinked a few times and pulled her hand away from his. Her hand went to her throat and the color left her face.
“I know you were close with their daughter, Chrissy.” He leaned back and took a sip of his coffee. It was lukewarm at this point, but still doused the fire burning in his throat. He hated being the one to give her the bad news. He hated giving anyone bad news, but it was even harder because it was her. “We were hoping you would be able to contact her. We don’t have any contact information for her.”
“Yes.” She closed her eyes. “Of course,” When her eyes opened again, he noticed that they had changed to a deep gray. He had never hated his job, but at that moment, he wished he hadn’t followed in his old man’s footsteps.
Several weeks ago….
Jacob sat, once more, in the Coffee Corner. This time he was the one getting the shock of a lifetime.
It had been a long night. Murder didn’t normally happen in the small, quiet town of Hidden Creek, especially not murder for hire. It was the first homicide in Hidden Creek in almost twenty years.
But it was all part of his job and his staff was more than adequate to handle it. What they weren’t prepared for was the raven-haired beauty sitting across from him. She’d pulled a trick on Terry, one of the men under him, at the station almost an hour ago. She’d tried to convince him that his wife was pregnant again. Then Terry, the fool, picked up his phone and confirmed the prediction.
It had been a nice parlor trick. He’d seen lots of those over his five years on the force. At one point, he had even believed he had some sort of insight as well.
When he’d first joined up, his father had called him an empath. He’d blown it off. He was just perceptive.
Still, he’d risen in the ranks and solved cases faster than those around him.
He felt born for the job, especially since his father had had a hand in teaching him before he retired a few years back.
Now, Jacob sat across from the woman who called herself Xtina and her boyfriend, Mike, a newcomer to Hidden Creek. He’d watched the man closely when he’d moved in, only because it appeared that he and Jess had dated several times. But, apparently, the relationship hadn’t lasted long and Jess hadn’t gone out with anyone since. Nor had Mike—until Xtina had appeared.
His head hurt and he was a little more than starving at this point. He’d pulled a double shift and was in desperate need of sleep. Thanks to the homicide, that wasn’t going to be possible for a few more hours.
Jess walked over to the table and set a cup and a plate with a blueberry bagel with cream cheese in front of him.
“Hey.” She glanced down at him, then sat down next to Mike with her own cup of coffee. She turned to Xtina. “So, I heard you had quite the exciting night.”
He sat in silence as Xtina filled Jess in on what had happened like they were old friends. He couldn’t remember much abo
ut the dark-haired woman, only that she was staying with Mike. He supposed he should have paid better attention, but his first priority had been interviewing the man accused of murder, not looking into the supposed psychic in town.
“So, that’s where we’re at.” Xtina finished the story and leaned back in the booth as Jacob finished off his bagel. “Now we’re tired and ready for some peace and quiet.”
“I bet. I’m sorry I wasn’t there,” Jess said as her phone beeped on the table. Rolling her eyes, she slowly got up. “Break time is over. How about I come out this evening with a bottle of wine?”
“Make it margaritas and I’ll heat up my mom’s chicken enchiladas that I found in the back of the freezer yesterday.”
“Sounds perfect.” She waved as she disappeared behind the counter again. He watched her every move and couldn’t help but enjoy the sway of those sexy hips. He’d dreamed of getting his hands on them for years.
Turning back to the couple sitting across him, he focused once again.
“I didn’t know you and Jessica were friends,” he said, turning slightly towards Xtina.
“We went to school together,” she said absently.
His eyes met hers and for a brief moment, memories flooded him.
Jess, with her long braided hair, holding hands with another blonde girl, running down the pavement, giggling.
Bumping into a pretty blonde girl in the halls of the high school, her green eyes going out of focus as his hand reached up to steady her. She’d jerked away, then run.
“Chrissy?” Jacob turned and squinted his eyes at her. There it was. Those green eyes he remembered. “Hell, I guess I was too busy interviewing Laura Schmitt that I didn’t think to check over your file.”
“I always hated it when you called me that.” She groaned, causing him to smile.
She was one of only a few girls who had made his friend list. Maybe it was because she’d been different. Or the fact that she’d been Jess’s best friend.
