So Damn Beautiful_Prelude_Seduction and Pursuit by A. E. Hodge

Author:A. E. Hodge [Hodge, A. E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: female protagonist, horror, kidnapping abduction and abuse, psychopath thriller, brainwashing, kidnapping, scary vengeful vigilante justice, dark sexy thriller, serial killer, pulp crime horror thriller, amateur sleuth noir crime fiction
Goodreads: 25127312
Publisher: Fiction Fugitive Select
Published: 2015-03-10T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

I’m lying in a bed under tousled sheets, body paralyzed, mind set to mute.

I become aware of things slowly, bits and pieces of the world: a dull, throbbing ache in my head; the bright light through the window blinds across the room.

The shape of someone standing over me, a shadow on the glare.

I hear a voice, too, speaking to me: a deep, smooth baritone that I know and trust; the voice of God, commanding me from on high. He’s giving me instructions, I realize, telling me things I don’t understand.

He tells me I’ve been chosen. That I’m to leave here now. To join his family.

And despite myself, I’m nodding in agreement. My head moves as if on its own.

“I have big plans for you, Meredith,” he whispers. “You’ll see soon enough.”

Suddenly he turns, startled by a noise across the room. It sounds distant at first, as if from deep underground; but as I recognize the sound, it pierces the fog on my mind, blooming into focus as it rips me from my trance.

My cell phone is ringing. That familiar little theme song, drilled into my brain from hours of hearing my son play the game on TV.

Troy.

I sit up, too quickly. Pain swells in my head and I wince, feeling a slight stab of nausea. Through the grogginess of my hangover, I realize where I am with a rush of horror.

I’m naked in Christian Morgan’s bed, and dawn is filtering through the window across the room. I must have stayed through the night, though I never meant to.

What the hell was I thinking, leaving Troy alone? How much did I drink last night? I can’t remember. I can’t remember anything. My memories end in blurry pictures of Jim’s party. After that, it’s a set of skid-marks off a cliff into nothing.

Christian moves from my bedside, crouching by my knock-off purse at the foot of the bed, where my phone is ringing. “Let me take care of that,” he starts to mutter.

Despite the pain, I lunge for the purse, snatching it out of his hands. He looks at me in wide-eyed surprise, his brown hair artfully tousled. I slide the vibrating phone from the front pocket and hurry to answer before voicemail picks up.

“Hello?”

“Mom?” Troy says, uncertainly. “Is everything all right?”

“Yes, I’m all right.” At least, I think. “I’m so sorry, baby. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

But that’s not true. I look up at Christian, looming naked at the foot of the bed, and I have to give my drunken self credit. At least she only lost her judgment and not her taste. The slats of light from the window illuminate his lean, muscled body in all its pleasing contours. It’s no wonder I went home with him last night. Yeah, I know exactly what I was thinking.

It’s been too long, and I was lonely. I always do this. I let things go too long and then I do something too big, bite off more than I can chew.

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