Alexander Langley wasn't looking for trouble but Charlotte Porter found him anyway. Only, this new partnership has them in over their heads and way before their time. 2020 WATTYS WINNER in MYSTERY The life of a poor merchant's daughter in Victorian Era London is quite boring. Charlotte Porter, it seems, is the exception. Desperate for a source of income once her father's gambling debts have drained their funds and placed them in the sights of some of London's most notorious criminals, Charlotte is in search of salvation. It comes in the form of handsome detective Alexander Langley, a curious gentleman with a strange connection to Scotland Yard and an even stranger connection to the American West. Charlotte soon finds herself swept into his world of investigation and intrigue. When a case of art theft turns into murder and she and Alexander are thrown into the seedy underbelly of the London elite, Charlotte realizes that the work isn't the only thing she's become attached to. But now, her father's powerful creditors are ready to close the books on them, and Charlotte must find a way to keep them out of the red because this time it won't be written in ink. Book 1 of the Langley & Porter Series *Featured on: The Wattpad Stars For Fans of Bridgerton List Wattpad's Strong Female Leads List @HistoricalFiction 's The Gothic List EDITOR'S PICK April 2021 Content warning: This story contains violence. **This is only the first five chapters. The rest of the book is available on Amazon for purchase and via KU.**

Gaslight is now published as a Wattpad Book! As a Wattpad reader, you can access both the Original Edition and Books Edition upon purchase. ***** Studious seventeen-year-old Maddie must learn self-defense while trying not to fall for her womanizing trainer. ***** When straight-A student Maddie is forced to move to LA, she plans to keep her head down, grades up, and make it through senior year as unnoticeable as possible. But when she stumbles upon an underground boxing match starring the intriguing Hayden Walker, she sees a chance to protect those she loves from her crazy, abusive father. She offers Hayden money in exchange for self-defense lessons, a dangerous arrangement that just might end up changing the pair of them forever. *If you aren't reading this book on Wattpad, it has been stolen. Please report the website!*

I look down at the frail frame of the girl. I unlatched her cage and nudged her with my foot. It seems cruel, but the other trainers would have done much worse to see her ignoring their commands to rise. "Wake up, you're being moved," I say to her, crouching down and shaking her. She lies unmoving and a heaviness settles in my chest. I move her hair from her face and press my fingers to her neck, trying to find a pulse. I purse my lips, feeling the faint beating of her weak heart. I look at the girl, watching her struggle to push air in and out of her lungs. I can tell she is sick. Do I put her in the truck with the others, or take her to the doctor? The truth is, nothing good awaits her in the truck. The only question is if it is crueler to go put her with the others, unconscious and barely holding on, or to take her to the doctor. I feel sick just thinking about it. She either dies here, or will wish she would have. I can't turn a blind eye to her though, I can't stand and watch as the life leaves her. Perhaps she will be thankful for me saving her life. ---- Hazel. She's a pretty little thing, far too precious and fragile for the life she was born into. Having lived most of her life in a training facility, she knows little of the beauty of the world or the people in it. A punishment gone bad, forever mares her, leaving her crippled, undesirable. Axel. He's an average man with an abnormal size. Being a Trainer, he is expected to be cold and cruel, someone he is not. It pays him money though, so perhaps living up to that expectation isn't that bad? When confronted with a choice he finally has to choose who he wants to be. Will he live up to others expectations? Or will he choose what may not be easiest, but what is right?

As if in slow motion he snakes his arms around a very tall stunning girl who looks like a goddess herself. Then all of a sudden he smashed his lips against hers... My chest tightens as I can feel my heart drop and break into pieces down by my feet. There it is my fear completely unfolding in front of my eyes. (the description is not very good but pls give the story a shot ) Cover by: ME edited by: SareenaDaredia #8 in HUMOR 06/07 #39in TEEN FICTION (04/29/15) © All Rights Reserved 2014 kreachermuch