Hope. Dreams. Life... Love: Duty of Care and The Caretakers

The Duty Bound Duet - DUTY OF CARE - THE CARETAKERS

by Sydney Jamesson

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE: Mystery/Suspense (Psychological)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

DUTY OF CARE:

On her death bed Emily Derbyshire’s mother made her promise to take good care of her little sister. Keeping her promise, twelve-year-old Emily did exactly that and became five-year-old Rita’s benefactor and bodyguard.

After eighteen years of sisterly devotion Emily receives some shocking news! Rita has committed suicide. When disturbing details start to surface, Emily puts her highflying career on hold to seek out those responsible. She hires an American private investigator Robert Blackmoor; a motorbike riding, no-frills, computer hacker who will use any means necessary to unearth the truth.

Not surprisingly, Robert uncovers secrets from Emily’s troubled childhood and chips away at the glossy veneer of deceit which masks the truth behind, not only Rita’s life, but Emily’s imperfect life too.

Together they assemble the pieces of a sinister puzzle, revealing a cruel and corrupt world of exploitation and murder: a Dark Web into which Rita has become entangled.

As dark forces encircling Emily tighten their grip, and with everything to lose, she must make a life and death decision that she may live to regret.

THE CARETAKERS:

Emily Parsons is a product of a difficult childhood: self-reliant, fiercely protective and willing to do whatever it takes to safeguard the wellbeing of those in her care. She has even slayed a monster, or two … or three in the name of poetic justice, and yet she is haunted by the image of a beautiful blond girl.

Sixteen-year-old Louise Travis has been abducted.

Louise’ fate rested in Emily’s hands, but she let her slip through her fingers like gold dust, only to be swept away by a malevolent band of brothers.

By once again enlisting the help of computer hacker, Robert Blackmoor, Emily must find Louise before she is lost forever in a Dark Web of heinous crimes, cruelty and corruption. The clock is ticking, and Emily’s investigation is drawing the wrong kind of attention, but she will not back down. She is duty bound to protect those she loves.

With skeletons from her past being unearthed, who can she turn to, and who can she trust with her own sinister secrets?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT

For the next two days Emily stayed at Rita’s bed side. She read to her during the day and prayed for her at night, making God all kinds of promises if he just let her live.

After a forty-eight hour vigil, Emily woke to the sound of a little voice. “Where am I, Em?”

Emily raised her weary head to see two bright blue eyes; eyes she feared she might never get to gaze upon again. She yawned and stretched away the stiffness in her arms and legs. “You’re in hospital.”

“Why? Did I fall over?” Rita wiggled her toes.

Emily reached for her hand and shook her head. “No. You had a cough.”

Rita forced a cough. “I don’t have a cough now, just a tickle.”

“That’s good. I’m glad you feel better.” Emily’s eyes watered and she smiled.

Rita followed the line of the intravenous drip attached by a cannula into her hand. “I’ve got a tube in my hand.”

“It’s to make you better. It’s got medicine in it. Don’t touch.”

Rita removed her fingers from the cannula. “Is it dinner time?” she asked noticing the darkening sky outside.

Emily shook her head. “I don’t know what time it is. I’ll go and find out.” She poured Rita a glass of water. “Sip this slowly and I’ll go find you something to eat. What do you feel like?”

Rita thought hard. “A big cake with sprinkles.”

“Little Miss Sprinkles really is back,” Emily announced tearfully. Given half a chance, she would have begged, borrowed or stolen such a cake for her sister. Having her back was cause for celebration. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Em?” Rita called. “Guess what?”

Emily turned to face her. “What?”

“I saw Mummy last night.” Rita smiled innocently and pushed back her hair from her face.

Emily took an unsteady step back in Rita’s direction. Maintaining an even tone, she asked, “You did? What did she look like?” She slid onto the side of the bed.

“She looked like Mummy. She had a pretty white dress and no shoes!”

Emily wanted to laugh at the startled intonation. “No shoes?”

Rita nodded. “She talked to me and said, ‘Don’t be scared, I’m with you.’”

The muscles in Emily’s throat tightened. “That was nice of her.”

“But I wasn’t scared. I’m never scared.” Emily stood to leave. “Because I have you. You always take care of me, Em.” She blew Emily a kiss the way she used to when she barely had a vocabulary of twenty words.

Emily pretended to catch it and blew one back. “I always try to, Reet, but maybe Mum was saying not to be scared of being in hospital…”

Rita appeared stunned. “I’m not scared of being in hospital.” She patted the sheets. “These feel nice and I’m not cold.”

Those innocuous remarks almost brought Emily to her knees—two stark reminders of what their lives had become; a series a bitterly cold nights with them wrapped in blankets, coats and starched sheets. She caught a tear before it fell from her eye and sniffed. “You’ll be all right then while I go and fetch some food?”

Rita nodded. “Love you, Em.”

“Love you too, Sprinkles. I won’t be long.”

To the sounds of a girlish chuckle, Emily closed the door quietly behind her and leaned against it. She bowed her head and cried for the mother they had lost and for the sister she had come so close to losing. Drawing on her twelve years of experience, she dried her eyes on a shredded tissue, brushed out some of the creases on her T-shirt, and approached the nurses’ counter with a hopeful smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Sydney Jamesson is a USA Today bestselling author by night and an English teacher by day. She is nocturnal by nature and loves nothing more than staying up late, listening to music and being inspired to write. She has always written creatively; in her home is one enormous wastepaper basket full of discarded phrases, opening lines and pieces of dialogue that have hit her like lightning in the middle of the night. Her USA Today bestselling trilogy, THE STORY OF US sold worldwide, and she has been thrilled to continue Ayden Stone's and Beth Parker's epic love story in The Story of Us Series: Into the Blue, featuring Blue Genes, Blue Hearts and Blue Moon.

More recently, Sydney has focused on psychological suspense. THE DARKEST CORNERS was her first venture into the new genre: a complex love story filled with lots of angst, emotional scenes and edge of your seat suspense as a single father and a troubled young woman confront their deepest, darkest fears together. The twists come think and fast and the ending is unforgettable!

In her latest novels, DUTY OF CARE and THE CARETAKERS - THE DUTY BOUND DUET -readers explore the seedier side of the Dark Web; witness abduction, human trafficking, and a devoted sister’s willingness to do whatever it takes to safeguard the wellbeing of those in her care. It’s a real page turner, filled with incidents which are heart-breaking and heart-stopping in equal measure!

Author platforms:

Website: https://www.sydneyjamesson.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sydney-Jamesson-516585008400062/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SydneyJamesson

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7074207.Sydney_Jamesson

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamessonauthor/

DUTY OF CARE:

UNIVERSAL LINK: viewbook.at/DUTYofCARE

AMAZON US: https://www.amazon.com/Duty-of-Care-Sydney-Jamesson-ebook/dp/B08CNGJVGF

AMAZON: UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=DUTY+OF+CARE+%28The+Duty+Bound+Duet+%231%29&

GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54443373-duty-of-care

THE CARETAKERS