It Begins With a Rogue's Bite (2 page)

Chapter One

Cheryl Brete was being followed. That’s what kept chanting in her mind as she looked in her rearview mirror for the umpteenth time. Could she be that paranoid? Who would be following her on this dirt road in nowhere land?

She wasn’t famous, a virtual unknown, really. Not a movie star, musician, or in the public eye whatsoever. No, she lived a mundane life as a secretary in a legal firm. An insignificant spot on the popularity totem pole was her status in life.

So why on earth would someone be interested in tailing her on this godforsaken road? The reason was simple. It was all in her head because no one really followed her. That black pickup truck trailing behind her on the road followed for the simple reason that it headed in the same direction, probably delivering a shipment of sorts. No sick, perverted stalker sat behind the wheel following her, waiting for a chance to run her off the road.

Her imagination wandered. After spending so many hours behind the wheel in the pouring rain and taking the wrong exit half an hour ago, her mind had lead her to the dark side.

Thank God for GPS. Now that she had turned hers on, she knew the dirt road would merge with Glenn Highway in a little bit, and she’d be back on track, heading to her friend Carmen’s housewarming party in Anchorage, Alaska.

Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as she thought of who she might meet there. Martha, her best friend, finally convinced her to go to Carmen’s party tonight. Yesterday, the moment she mentioned many single hunks would be there, Cheryl’s ears perked. How could she refuse to go knowing that?

She thought back to the last party of Carmen’s she had attended. It was a New Year’s Eve party seven months ago, and she remembered meeting a cute guy named Stuart there. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her. They had talked for hours, and he just mesmerized her with his charm, good looks, wit, and funny jokes. When he asked for her number at the end of the evening, she told him she already had a boyfriend and couldn’t go out with him or see him again. Her heart felt heavy because she really liked Stuart.

But her so-called boyfriend was Gary Reynolds and calling him that didn’t quite fit the description of their situation. They had been in and out of a relationship for three years now. He had a tendency to let his eyes, and hands, wander whenever a pretty girl came along. When she caught him in bed with the new female singer of his band a week after Martha’s party, she finally broke it off for good, swearing never to see him again.

He came begging for her to take him back after the singer dumped him a couple of weeks later, just like he always did, but she had finally set her mind, steeled her heart, and called the cops on him when he refused to leave.

He vowed he’d get his revenge on her for calling the cops. His words frightened her, but thank God they were empty threats, and she never saw him again.

It took her many months to mend her heart. In fact, she still wasn’t completely healed. The wound ran deep, and she knew it might never heal fully.

But now she was ready to move on with her life and take slow steps forward.

Unfortunately, she had heard from Martha that Stuart had gotten engaged, but hopefully, she’d meet another hunk just like him there and he’d ask her out. This time, she’d say yes. Maybe something would come of it, maybe nothing might, but a promising chance simmered in her heart.

She glanced down at her outfit. How much time had she spent in front of the mirror this evening trying to decide on what to wear? She lost count on the number of outfits or dresses she tried on, perhaps twenty, until she finally decided on this black dress. From the angle at which she viewed her bosom, the low-cut, wraparound dress barely covered her lace push-up bra. She had to admit she looked good from this position. The bra did wonders in making her breasts look fuller, higher, and the way the tight dress clung to her body snugly accentuated her curves. Hopefully, it would have the perfect effect on a hunk at the party.

Hopefully, he’d take notice and like what he saw. If she played her cards right, maybe she could convince him to leave early and join her for a coffee at his place. Her panties got wet with anticipation as wicked thoughts formed in her sex-deprived mind, wicked thoughts of a tall, muscular imaginary man with raven hair and green eyes sitting next to her on a sofa.

It would start out with coffee, but then things would lead to so much more. Kissing his sexy lips would be amazing. She licked her own, imagining every delectable inch of his godly sculpted face, his full lips, strong chin and nose, his deep green eyes. Then her mind wandered to his chest, his wide shoulders, toned abs, and muscular biceps and pecs.

God, if she could just rub his chest, feel his heartbeat and body heat and kiss his warm, luscious lips, then maybe she’d be okay. Her body had been without the ministrations of a man for more than seven months, and her urges were taking their toll on her.

Ordinarily, inviting herself over to a stranger’s home for “coffee” was something she never considered, but according to Carmen and Martha, all the hunks who would be at the party were Carmen’s very good friends who she’d known and trusted for years. So they wouldn’t exactly be complete strangers. Therefore, she wouldn’t be picking up a psychopath or serial killer, but a nice guy.

Tonight of all nights, where she felt the loneliest, she needed the touch and comfort of a man, someone to show her she still was attractive and sexy and she did deserve more than what she had been given in terms of love from the opposite sex during her life.

Growing up in a broken home where her alcoholic father went out to the bar one evening and never came back
 
when she was eight had left a scar in her heart that never went away and got worse when she met Gary. She fell in love with him instantly and only saw what a horrible monster he was when it was too late.

He had stolen her heart, and she couldn’t get it back. She’d needed to be with him, love him, save him from his destructive self. In her mind, because she had suffered so much as a child, she felt she was the only one who could save Gary. But, God, had she been wrong. Dead wrong.

Gary didn’t lean on her for love and healing kindness. No, he clung to her like a leech that sucked all the blood and good energy out of her. He would have killed her with his mental and sometimes physical abuse if her mind hadn’t snapped back to reality seven months ago. She realized he really didn’t love her, and if she stayed with him any longer, he’d destroy her and turn her heart and soul into burned charcoal that could never be mended again.

Yes, tonight she yearned to feel like a vibrant female, feel desirable once more, so she could finally convince herself she was still alive and that hope hadn’t abandoned her yet.

Taking a sigh to calm her pained heart, she glanced in the rearview mirror. Of course, the black pickup truck still followed her. It’s not like there was another road it could have gone on or anywhere it could have stopped on the way. Barrenness surrounded the area for miles in all directions. There was nothing and no one around, except for her, her navy-blue Malibu, the black pickup truck behind her, and its mysterious driver.

Squinting, she tried to focus through her rearview mirror on the inside of the vehicle behind her. The pouring rain made it hard to see anything other than the silhouette of a man behind the wheel.

As she stared, flashes of lightning darted across the sky, lighting the area around them, and that’s when she got a better look inside the truck. She still couldn’t see his face, but she could make out he lifted his arm in the air and seemed to wave at her briefly. Then darkness returned with the lightning’s end.

No, it couldn’t be. Her eyes had teased her. Why in God’s name would he be waving at her? How could he tell she looked at him? He was three car lengths behind her. He couldn’t possibly have known she was looking at him. Even if he did, why did he wave at her? She didn’t know anyone who owned a pickup truck.

A foreboding feeling crept up on her that she couldn’t shrug off. Her paranoia returned, and with it, her heart pounded faster. When the car started to go down a steep incline in the road ahead, her heart seemed to jump into her throat, and her breathing became labored.

The hammering rain hitting the roof made a drumming noise resonate inside the car, which made the sound of her fast heartbeat less prominent. She glanced to her side mirror and took a calming breath. When she brought her attention back to the road ahead, it was too late. Something on the road, something long, shiny, and metallic vanished under the car as she rode over it. She didn’t even have time to slow down, let alone stop.

A loud bang echoed inside, and the car shuddered. She lost control of the vehicle. It swerved to the left. Her reflexes kicked in too late. She tried to control the wheel, but stopping a charging rhino would have been easier. The car hit the opposite ditch at a fast speed, and she slammed forward. The air bag deployed in time to cushion her hit.

For a second, she became disoriented as the white bag engulfed her face. Then it deflated with a cloud of white powder dissipating in the air. Lifting her head, pain shot through her neck and head. Disorientation overwhelmed her as her surroundings spun slowly around for a few seconds. When she blinked, everything finally stopped, and her senses began to register what happened to her. She turned off the engine.

With the difficulty she had in controlling the wheel, she guessed her front right tire had busted. Could the cause have been whatever the metallic thing was she had just ridden over? What in heaven’s name was it doing in the middle of the road, anyway? Maybe it was something a truck transported that had fallen off without the driver seeing it.

Whatever the reason, there was no use wondering why the blasted thing had been there. Knowing didn’t change what happened or solve her dilemma now.

 
Taking off her seatbelt, she massaged her stiff neck, trying to rub out the soreness. She turned her neck and body slowly to the right in search of her black purse. It no longer rested on the back seat, and she had to lean behind and twist around completely to look for it. She found it lying on the bottom left-hand side of the car, leaning against the passenger chair. She grimaced as she stretched to retrieve it while her neck and shoulders stiffened.

Grabbing it, she turned around and slumped back into her seat. She let out a sigh of relief, but the pain hadn’t lessened. Unzipping her purse, she rummaged through it for her cell phone. When she found it, she opened it to place an emergency 911 call. Unfortunately, it had no signal. Of course, it wouldn’t. Why would she get a signal in nowhere land?

“Great. Fucking great.” She tossed her purse and useless cell phone onto the passenger seat and opened her door. The rain hadn’t relented and beat on her, making her shiver as she closed her door to check things out.

Her headlights were still on, defining and illuminating the damage. She had surmised correctly. The right front tire had busted and all that remained was part of the torn, frayed rubber. The front bumper came partially off because of how hard she hit the ditch. Even if she were able to change the tire, which she had never even attempted in her life, the damage to the bumper would make driving impossible.

Wiping the water from her eyes as she looked at the front of the car, her heart sank in despair. What would she do now? There was no one for miles around, and the pickup that had been behind her had disappeared. The son of a bitch hadn’t even stopped to see if she was all right.

She opened her door and slid back behind the wheel, closing the door behind her, shivering. She hadn’t even brought a coat or shawl with her tonight, thinking that she’d be inside the whole time. Damn, it was cold. She rubbed her arms, trying to warm up as the cold rain soaked into her clothes even more, and she stared out in front of the car. The rain hit the windshield as rays of light from the headlights danced in the empty, haunting darkness.

Now what would happen next? Would anyone be coming by here later tonight? She doubted it, but she couldn’t exactly go walking in the rain looking for someone. The only thing to do was stay in the car and wait until the battery died. She was too scared to start the engine again. Who knew the extent of the engine’s damage and if fuel had leaked. The car could explode. She wasn’t exactly an expert on cars. She barely knew how to check the oil.

God, can this night get any worse?
Stress finally engulfed her, and the only way to release it was through tears. She cried while continuing to shiver and worry. Bleakness hovered over her head like a vulture waiting for its wounded prey to die so it could eat it.