Ties That Bind

      Obsession Series

      Author: Amy Blankenship

      Copyright © 2012 Amy Blankenship

      English Edition Published by TekTime

      All rights reserved.

      Chapter 1 “Sanctuary”

      Angel Hart glanced out the thick glass of the window, wanting to cringe at the height of the helicopter as it flew toward the resort where she had grown up. She loved this place to death… but liked it so much better from the ground. Flying was her one phobia and she had been doing it for the last ten hours.

      Blowing her bangs out of her eyes, she glanced toward her brother Tristian, wondering what had possessed him to meet them at the airport knowing he would have to fly in the helicopter on the way back home.

      She knew for a fact that Tristian hated flying even more than she did and could see him texting someone on his cell phone to keep his mind busy. Maybe he’d faced his fear because they hadn’t seen each other in almost two years, even though they had talked on the phone and texted almost every day. She didn’t really care why he’d done it, because having him here with her had a calming effect on her and she was thankful for that.

      To escape the noise of the helicopter, Angel let her mind drift back over the last two years. When their parents divorced, her dad had dragged her to California while Tristian had been forced to stay here at Sanctuary with their mother. Since it was so far to drive and neither one of them liked to fly… the distance had been the only reason they hadn’t visited in person.

      She hadn’t realized just how much she had missed Tristian until she’d seen him standing there in the airport all by himself. He was leaning against the wall directly across from the door they’d come through. As soon as they saw each other, she took off running toward him as he held his arms out to catch her.

      Her big brother… Tristian had always been the first one she talked to in the morning and the last one she’d seen before closing her eyes to sleep. Growing up, they’d even convince their parents that they had a problem with sleepwalking because they would get up in the middle of the night and fall asleep in each other’s beds.

      Their mother had tried to put a stop to it when they’d gotten a little older by locking their bedroom doors at night. Angel’s lips thinned remembering what their mother had said the last time she’d caught them asleep in each other’s arms.

      “It‘s sinful, the way you two behave… you act more like lovers than brother and sister.” Isabel Hart's voice had changed from motherly love to loathing that night.

      Tristian had quickly found a way around those stupid locks. He’d cut a place out of the wall in the back of his closet so he could easily step into the small thin corridors that secretly ran through the walls of the hotel they lived in. He’d done the same to her closet and every night he would sneak into her room and sleep with her… setting the alarm clock so they wouldn’t get caught.

      He’d told her that it was their mother that was the pervert… thinking their relationship was wrong and dirty. He had even pointed out that in a lot of smaller countries, the whole family would bathe and sleep together, and that in others, it was perfectly normal to even marry your sibling. Tristian had convinced her that it was mother who was the sinner by trying to keep them apart.

      Angel had decided a long time ago to keep her and Tristian’s secrets and that it was no one else’s business… she trusted him.

      Tristian hadn’t changed much since she had last seen him, retaining his young, innocent appearance. But, at the same time, she could see changes that she had missed happening. His blond hair had darkened some at the roots… highlights of platinum blond and lowlights of strawberry blond looked really well on him with his light tan and green eyes.

      She smiled thinking he would fit in with the California surfer dudes with his alternative haircut. It was the same length almost all the way around and parted off to one side, leaving it to hang down over one of his eyes, way past his chin. She could also see the black leather of the cross necklace she had sent him for Christmas peeking out near his collar.

      She felt like it was her that had changed the most though. When she’d left Sanctuary, she had only been sixteen. After being with Tristian, Hunter, and Ray almost every single day of her life… she had felt so lost and alone in LA. She’d never even been to a real school because their grandmother had always hired private tutors to home school them.

      Going to high school in LA had been quite a culture shock. It was then that she’d realized, her family having so much money had only enabled them to keep her completely in the dark as to what was normal. Then she had met Ashton Fox. Every time she’d left her father’s penthouse, Ashton would be there or he'd show up wherever she was… like fate. He quickly made her smile and started showing her a whole new world.

      Angel made the mistake of glancing back out the window just as they passed over a low valley, making her feel like they were sky high.

      She squeezed Ashton’s hand even tighter, deciding to look at him instead of the dizzying sight. His ice blue eyes were laughing at her nervousness but she didn’t care… not really. She was almost glad he hadn’t listened to her when she’d tried to keep him from following her back to Sanctuary for the week.

      Using the little com-link built into her ear guards she asked, “Ash, have you ever been in a helicopter? You seem to be handling this very well.”

      “Nope, but I’m loving every minute of it,” Ashton grinned at her. “Your family is just a touch eccentric, don’t you think? Having a helicopter pick us up from the airport while a limousine brings our luggage. And here I thought my family was wealthy.” He wiggled his eyebrows trying to make her laugh.

      He knew she was nervous by the way she was cutting the circulation off in his hand. Her vulnerability only endeared her to him that much more. She was nothing like the L.A. tramps he had always dated. His thoughts were derailed when her brother’s voice came over the com-link.

      “It’s always like this,” Tristian glanced at his sister knowing she would agree with him.

      They had seen the adults of the Hart family play this stupid game all their lives. “The Hart family just has to try to outdo each other. The fact that our grandmother owns this helicopter and all of Sanctuary is her little victory over her three children… and the world,” he mumbled the last part with a little more sarcasm.

      “That’s enough, Tristian.” Malcolm Hart gave his son a disappointed glare then turned back to his latest girlfriend, Felicia. He decided to dominate the com-link for the rest of the ride so his son wouldn’t have a chance to say anything else damaging about the family in front of their guest.

      He smiled at the pretty redhead he’d started dating just a couple weeks ago. He’d seduced her with money just so he could bring her and show her off in front of his ex-wife, Lily. She had been the one who insisted on the divorce so he was about to viciously rub her nose in it.

      Going into tour guide mode, Malcolm pointed out the window seeing they were almost there. “That’s the resort just over the rise, Sanctuary… known best for its famous wedding chapel and bridal suites.” Malcolm gave Felicia a sly grin. He knew if he kept her hopes up then she would play her part quite well in front of Lily.

      “Since the top of the mountain is pretty much flat, this place has everything you could possibly think of including a spa, a huge pond, and indoor-outdoor swimming pools… among other things. We own everything for about 30 miles in all directions and have labeled the land as a game preserve so no one can ever build on it and spoil its beauty. There’s only one road leading up the mountain and the gate at the bottom keeps out trespassers.”

      “Wow… it’s all so fabulous,” Felicia cooed in that needy-sounding voice.

      “And at the bottom of the mountain, there’s an Apache Indian reservation,” he continued. “Most of the employees at the resort are Apache.” Malcolm’s eyes glazed over with memories of the beautiful girls his parents had hired from the reservation.