At last, the turn-off to the house came in sight. I yanked the steering wheel. The car slid, then righted itself. Braking at the end of the drive, I leaned my head on the wheel, breathed a prayer, and tried to think of what to do next. I pushed my purse under the front seat and slammed out of the car. If they couldn’t see the envelope, at least they couldn’t take it away from me. Maybe I’d have a few minutes to free Ulysses.
The mansion loomed before me, imposing and grim. Why had I ever thought it was beautiful? It was a huge, forbidding pile of bricks.
I started up the walk, then paused as a portion of sanity returned. If I entered the house, I would be at the mercy of those who waited there. Not a good move. I would make them come to me.
Anger settled down from being hot and consuming into a cold and deadly knot in my stomach. I refused to be a victim. This person–or persons, as the case might be–was evil. I would not let them get the upper hand. I would not go to them, obedient and frightened. Returning to my car, I leaned inside and pressed the horn. I kept pressing it, filling the deadly quiet with sound.
The voice behind me was loud. “Quit that infernal noise.”
Excerpt from Moonstruck and Murderous, available at Amazon.com. If you have Kindle Unlimited, read it for free. If you don’t, it’s $4.97. Click on the link to read the first two chapters, or listen to a sample of the audio book. Summer Fun! Summer Reading!
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