Excerpt from Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense Romance Dark Shadows of the Past - Chapter Two, Part One

Read Chapter One, Part One here...
Read Chapter One, Part Two here...
Read Chapter One, Part Three here...

CHAPTER TWO  
Christina woke up with a roaring headache. She was lying on a four-poster bed in the middle of a room. Anxiously, she scanned the unfamiliar bedroom, noting the heavy cherry wood furniture. What now? Where am I? How did I end up here?French doors led to a balcony. Am I a prisoner? Then again, there weren’t any bars. Trying to move, she realized she wasn’t tied up.Breathing out relieved, she supported herself on her elbows and attempted to sit up. The room seemed to be spinning around, and a moan escaped her lips at the sudden pain in her chest. She collapsed back down, inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly. Oh, hell, the broken ribs! The painkillers must be wearing out. Determined, she gave it another try.This time, she managed to sit up and place her feet on the floor. Closing her eyes, she waited for the dizzy spell to pass and the pain to subside.Suddenly, she remembered hearing someone enter her hospital room and turning right at the moment that a man put a piece of cloth with a strong, nasty smell over her face. After that, she didn’t remember anything else.A jolt of fear shot through her, turning her blood to ice. Nervously, she scanned her surroundings. The room contained three doors. One of them was open, revealing a double vanity with a mirror in what must be the bathroom. That left two. One of them must be the way out. But is it locked?Despite the weakness plaguing her, she managed to stand up and make her way to the first door. The thick burgundy carpet smothered any noise. Her hand gripped the doorknob and turned it. The door opened quietly. Christina stepped into a hallway and carefully peered around. Nobody was in sight.The hallway was a large corridor with three doors, including hers, on each side. At one end, a huge bay window topped a window seat covered with green and peach pillows. The other side ended at the top of a staircase. Only the mahogany railings of the staircase and a chandelier hanging from the ceiling were visible to Christina.For a moment, she considered descending the stairs and running for the front door. Then again, she still wore the hospital gown. How far could she get in this? Would anyone even help her? I should search the room for something to wear.Walking back inside, she closed the door quietly. The bathroom was large and comfortable like the bedroom, with a sunken marble bathtub in the middle and a shower in the corner. Big windows overlooking well-maintained grounds and a manicured lawn covered the entire outside wall. This is a beautiful place. She’d only seen houses like this one in magazines.Where am I? The thought brought her back to reality. Throwing some water on her face, she rushed back to the bedroom, searching for the closet. Opening the third door of the room, she stepped inside a walk-in closet with a huge window on one side. In fact, it looked more like another bedroom, that’s how big it was.Christina stared at the rows of clothes. Women’s clothes, thank God! Below the outfits hanging were rows of shoes. At least forty to fifty pairs, she realized in amazement.Searching through her options, she found a pair of blue jeans and a white shirt, both a couple sizes too big. Luckily, she had a selection of belts. One section held lingerie sets with the tags still on. She grabbed the smallest size she could find, dropping everything into a pile as she pulled the hospital gown over her head.Most of the shoes seemed too big. Finally, a pair of boots fitted her fine after wearing two pairs of socks.All right so far. Now I have to find my way out of here before anyone comes to check up on me.Back in the bedroom, she looked at the clock on the dresser. It was six-thirty in the morning. It’s still early. That’s why nobody has come for me yet.Opening the French doors, she stepped out on the balcony. She leaned over the railings but soon realized it was too high to jump. Even though she was only on the first floor, the house was built on a hill, and the ground underneath was too far.A quick glance around revealed one of the dogwood trees landscaping the yard had branches reaching her balcony. Without a second though, she climbed over the railing and onto the thickest branch she could reach, biting her lower lip to prevent screaming from the pain in her chest. Her heartbeat stuttered at the cracking noise. Determined, she steadied herself using another branch until her fingers touched the trunk. Despite the dizzy, sick feeling in her stomach, Christina held on tightly as she started climbing down.Only a few feet from the ground, she froze at the low, vibrating growls coming from below. Not even breathing, she glanced down to see two Dobermans staring up at her.Oh, my God! Terror washed over her. Now what? She was too weak to climb back up. As a matter of fact, she was too weak to hold on any longer. She would fall on the ground any minute, and she would be torn to pieces by those two killers growling at her. Feeling her arms letting go, she closed her eyes in panic, and a scream escaped her lips.Right before she hit the ground, she heard a voice in the distance. A sharp pain shot through her ribs and left shoulder. She lay there in agony with her eyes tightly shut, too scared to even breath. She could feel the dogs breathing down on her, but they didn’t attack.Someone approached, but Christina kept her eyes shut, feeling her heart thundering in her chest. When a hand touched her forehead, her eyes flew open. A man wearing a polo shirt and a pair of jeans leaned over her. He was dark and handsome, but his misty grayeyes were icy cold. While staring into those eyes, a shiver caressed her spine. He was bad news, and Christina felt the urge to flee. However, even if she managed to stand on her feet, there was nowhere to run…His lips pressed into a thin line; the man peered down at her for a moment, which to Christina seemed like an eternity. Then he stood up. At his command, the dogs backed off, and Christina heard people running from the house. She turned and saw two men rushing toward them with guns in their hands.“Take her back upstairs!” the one standing over her ordered in a harsh voice.Christina swallowed hard, feeling her mouth dry. The guy watched as the two men grabbed her by the arms and violently pulled her to her feet. Then he turned around and walked toward the other side of the house with the dogs following him.The two bullies half-carried, half-dragged her upstairs to her room and threw her on the bed. When the door closed behind them, she rolled over, hiding her face in the pillow, letting her tears from excruciating pain and fear run free.
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I’ll be posting a new section every Tuesday and Friday. The novel will be published in June 2015.

Read the blurb here