Saturday Snippet
This week we're posting THRILLING scenes. My second book with Ellora's Cave was a romantic suspense called Retreat. There was one scene that popped into my mind when I was picking a scary scene.
Snippet:
She was about to proceed when a hand covered her lips and she felt herself being dragged into the empty office she'd just passed. She started to struggle as the image of the hulking guard from three nights ago entered her mind. His leering looks left no doubt in her mind what he would do to her if he caught her alone again. Kicking back toward her captor's shins, she dug her nails into the hand on her mouth.
"Dammit, Beauty, stop now!"
Night's hushed admonition froze her in her tracks. Once he had her in the office and the door shut behind them, she turned, pulled his lips to hers and kissed him. Hard. Intense. She put every bit of worry, fear and loneliness she'd suffered the past three days out there, and he took it all away from her. She had only begun to come down from that kiss when she felt another pair of arms embrace her from behind.
"Did you save any of that for me?" Jon whispered. She choked back a sob of relief and she turned to offer the same welcome to him. The kiss seemed to last hours when Night cleared his throat behind them.
"Much as I'd like to celebrate this reunion in style, we don't have the time."
His words had the same effect as cold water on Jon and he broke off the embrace. "What in the hell are you doing out of your room?" he demanded.
"I knew the two of you would be out looking for evidence and I wanted to help."
Jon scowled at her. "Of all the dangerous, stupid things to do! Do you know how lucky you were it was Night that spotted you and not one of the guards?" Jon's voice was no more than a whisper, yet she felt as though he was screaming at her.
"None of the guards seem to be at their posts. That's one of the things I wanted to tell you."
"We know that," Night reassured her. "We slipped a little something into their drinks at dinner. I figure we managed to drug the drinks of at least ten of those bastards. The ones who aren't passed out are puking their guts up in the bathrooms."
"Oh." She breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God. I was afraid they were setting a trap or something. Of course you realize that still leaves about ten more of the assholes roaming around."
"Which is all the more reason why you should have stayed in your damn room." Jon was clearly still exasperated with her.
"I needed to talk to you. Find out how things went with your mother. See what the plan was."
Now it seemed to be Night's turn to chastise her. "The plan is the same as it was three days ago, Carly. We're trying to earn her trust and buy time while we search for evidence. That's what we were trying to do tonight, but now we'll have to find a way to smuggle you back to your room without getting caught."
She felt guilty about the danger she'd brought to them and their scheme. "I'm sorry! I really am, but I've been so worried about you. All I could think about was making sure you were okay."
"You saw us earlier in Cassandra's office."
"I know but, well, I didn't exactly get those kisses in Cassandra's office, did I?" she answered with an impish grin, hoping to dispel their annoyance. "Besides, I needed to tell you something and I couldn't figure out how to get a message to you."
"What?" Jon asked.
"It's Trisha. She and her mother aren't here anymore. One of the women said they went back home, but I'm afraid that may not be true. Where do you think they could be?"
Jon was clearly dismayed by her information and she heard Night mutter a curse behind her before voicing his suspicions. "There's a dungeon on the compound."
She nodded. "I remember Reilly mentioning that."
"Chances are good Cassandra's already taken some of her victims there for training. She certainly insinuated that earlier when we were in her office," Night explained. "That's actually where we were headed. If Cassie's locked those women up and begun the training, it's all the proof we'll need. We're familiar with the layout, so we've got a plan for smuggling them out. Problem is, we need to wait until you've been taken there as well."
"We've convinced my mother to wait a couple days before moving you to the dungeon for your punishment, so you may have to hang in there a bit longer. You simply have to trust us when we say we have things under control. By the way, she was pissed as hell over your threats." Jon seemed to calm down with his praise. "You were brilliant in there, Blue Eyes."
"So is it what we feared?" She could tell by the look in Jon's eyes that it was, but she needed the confirmation.
It was Night who answered. "It's worse than we feared."
"Worse how?"
"Yes, Night, tell her how it's worse." The door banged open against the wall and the room flooded with light. Carly was horrified as a barrage of guards entered the room and completely surrounded them in less than a minute, each of the bruising brutes armed to the teeth. She knew Jon and Night had come to the compound unarmed and by the resigned looks on their faces, she could see they were regretting that decision.
At the doorway stood Cassandra, dressed head to toe in leather. She slowly took off a headset and tossed it to the floor.
"Bugging the offices, Mother? Don't trust your employees?" Jon asked and Carly was shocked by the steadiness of his voice.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me 'Mother', Jon?"
"You knew," Jon said quietly to his mother. He'd moved closer to Carly's right once the lights came on and Night was pressed tightly to her left side. They'd moved to flank her when the danger presented itself and she hadn't even realized it.
Cassandra laughed cruelly. "Actually no, I didn't. Although I suspected, Jon. Always. And now I know it's true. You betrayed me." Cassandra turned to look at Night. "And you betrayed your father. What greater sin can a son commit than to turn against his own parents? I've tried for years to determine the truth. Now that I've discovered your treachery, I can see I was right to wait. Right to bide my time."
"Why is that?" Jon asked and Carly was shocked to hear how calm, how resigned he sounded.
"You've given me the truth I sought and the means for my revenge all in a single night. Imagine my delight in discovering I can bring you and Night to your knees with a single blow."
Cassandra waved her hand toward the guards. They moved in closer, all of them aiming their weapons directly at them. "I suggest," Cassandra said, "that you come peacefully. How you react now will determine how merciful I am later."
Carly felt her lovers press closer to her, covering her almost completely with their large forms. They would take every bullet in those damn guns to protect her. The idea filled her heart so completely that her love for them seemed to obliterate all her fears, all her worries in an instant. They would lay down their lives for her.
Her path suddenly appeared before her, clear as a blue sky in spring.
"No," she whispered, aware that only Night and Jon could hear her. "Move away."
Neither man responded.
She raised her hands and shoved. Her sudden movement caught them unaware and she managed to push them away enough that she was able to step out from between. They started to move back into position but the guards halted them as she continued forward and away from them until she stood directly before Cassandra.
"Take me instead," Carly said.
"Excuse me?" Cassandra narrowed her eyes at her.
"Let them go and take me instead. They'll only be more trouble then they're worth to you. Take me, train me, sell me. Whatever. Just take me and let them go. Believe me, they've suffered enough from you. I won't let you hurt them anymore."
"No Carly, you don't know what you're saying!" Jon's voice was strong and sure, but as she looked around the room, she could see the impossibility of escape. She had no doubt both men would fight 'til the death, but she refused to let it come to that.
"If I come with you, if I do everything you say, do you promise not to hurt them? Will you let them go?"
Cassandra grinned at her request. "You are a feisty, cheeky little thing, aren't you? But I fear, my dear girl, Jon is correct. You really don't understand."
A ball of ice the size of Antarctica formed in her stomach when Cassandra looked at her. Really looked at her.
She shook her head, trying to block out the white noise threatening to consume her. Cassandra intended to hurt her, possibly—hell, probably—kill her in an attempt to destroy Jon and Night.
Cassandra raised her eyebrow at her foolish request. "I don't have to lift a finger against them to cause them pain."
"No," she whispered. She saw the cold-blooded pleasure Cassandra took in her triumph and turned quickly, desperate to reach her lovers. Jon and Night rushed forward but were roughly shoved back by the guards. She was surprised when Cassandra grabbed her from behind with a strength she wouldn't have known the older woman possessed and placed a gun against her temple.
"Now, now, now, boys. We can do this the easy way or we can do it the hard way."
Jon and Night both brought up their fists, clearly opting for the hard way. Carly fought against a scream as she watched the guards grab them despite the fact her two lovers were putting up one hell of a fight.
"Stop!" she yelled. "You'll kill them!"
Cassandra seemed to agree as soon as it became apparent their valiant defense was pointless in the face of so many opponents.
"End this," Cassandra hissed. "Quickly."
Two of the guards raised their weapons and brought the butts of their guns down against Night and Jon's heads. Both of her beloved men collapsed on the floor at her feet. Carly started to struggle—desperate to reach them—but Cassandra's grip on her was unbreakable.
"You want to save them, little Carly?" Cassandra whispered the question in her ear.
Carly stopped fighting. "Tell me how?" Her words sounded dull, flat, lifeless, even to her own ears.
Cassandra laughed, low and harsh. "If you survive the next twenty-four hours, I'll let them live. If you die, they die—painfully. But I should warn you, my darling girl, I have no doubt you'll be begging to kill them yourself before I'm finished with you."
Retreat is available in ebook and print format at Ellora's Cave, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony and All Romance Ebooks.
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