A Dark Suspense

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Three, Two, One (321): (A Dark Suspense)

Meet Me in the Dark

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Young Adult

Losing Francesca

He’s empty, inhuman, dishonest, and cruel.

She’s never wanted anyone more.

Sydney has lived in fear for eight years after freelance assassin, Merc, failed to rescue her from a cult-like militia group. Left in the hands of a sadistic man, she did whatever it took to survive. But Merc’s last words gave her hope. Hope he’d be back to finish the job.

After Merc is betrayed by her father, Sydney becomes his target. He wields sex, drugs, lies, and love like weapons. Merc knows just what to do with a fearful girl like Sydney. He’s in control. He’s always in control.

But Sydney Channing is not what she appears. And Merc’s only redeeming act—the very one that made Sydney’s life a living hell—might just be his worst mistake yet.

WARNING: Meet Me In The Dark is a STANDALONE non-traditional DARK CAPTIVE ROMANTIC SUSPENSE. It is not intended for sensitive readers.

Christmas Eve

Eight Years Ago

Somewhere between Laramie and Cheyenne, Wyoming

“Fear is not your enemy. Fear keeps you alive.”

– Sydney

The darkness is my friend. How many times have I said this to myself over the years?

I see the shadows off in the distance as they make their approach. Two men. Two? Really? Who do they think we are?

“Anyone, Sydney?” Garrett is right behind me, his hands on my waist. But that’s not where they stay.

I don’t turn when I answer, “Nope, nothing as far as I can see.”

He pinches the skin over my ribs. I’m not fat, so this hurts. But I know better than to react.

He leans into my ear and breathes out his words. “Your dad will never keep us apart.”

I turn into him, smiling. “Never.” And then I rise up on my tiptoes, even though I will never be able to reach his lips unless he bows down, and offer him a kiss.

“I’ve got a plan to keep you with me forever. All you have to do is trust me. Do you trust me, Sydney?” He stares down at me with those green eyes. It’s like they can see me in ways I cannot even see myself.

“Yes,” I whisper up to him, willing him to believe the lie so bad. I wait patiently for the kiss, for a response, but his eyes hold back. They are mysterious and dark, even though the green is bright. That’s what attracted me to him in the first place. Those green eyes. They sparkle. They sparkled that night I first met him too, but tonight it is with the promise of violence and back then it was with lies.

My calves begin to burn from standing on my tiptoes, but he never gives away what’s in his mind. He never does. If I am transparent, he is opaque.

“Turn around and keep an eye out,” he says, walking away.

I do as I’m told, not letting out the long breath of relief that I feel from his shunning me, but I picture it in my head as I spot the two shadows on the move again.

I don’t know who the bad guys are here. Hell, I’m not even sure there are any other people in this world but bad guys. But I’m pretty sure Garrett is the worst of them all.

Twenty-four years old to my sixteen, he is a man and I am a girl. He is tall and I am small. He is angry and I am desperate.

Isn’t that what they say those men look for? Men who prey on young girls? They like us angry. They like us defiant and wild. They like us desperate for a way out of the fucked-up world some other man put us in.

And I am all those things. Or at least I was.

Two years on and off under Garrett’s influence and I’m beginning to think all the fight has been beaten out of me. He never wanted a partner in this shit he’s got going here. He wanted someone to fuck and control. And when I refused—told him I was a virgin—he held me down and—

A dog barking outside pulls me from my thoughts. Then there are more dogs barking. We have a lot of dogs here at the compound. They scare the shit out of me.

“You see them?” Garrett calls out from the other room, where the men are loading weapons.

“No,” I say back. And I don’t. I just know they’re there. So it’s not a lie.

The door opens and Garrett’s friend Jared comes in, pulling his coat tight around his body using his fingertips. “Just a coyote. He ran off.” The wind blows in some snow and a gust of cold air flashes past my face, making me blink as I take a deep breath.

It wakes me up.

This is really happening, Sydney. Your one chance is here. Don’t fuck it up.

I don’t hear any more from the next room over, aside from the sound of weapons loading, and I turn my thoughts back to the dark. The moon rises as the time passes, but the shadows are gone now. Maybe the report Garrett got was wrong? Maybe it was only a recon mission tonight?

The attack comes just as I finish that thought. The window shatters in front of me and a gas canister comes flying through.

But I’m ready. We’re all ready. Because these guys who came tonight have a traitor in their gang and Garrett was warned. I’m not sure how that makes sense, but my head is foggy from the drugs he makes me take every night.

I pull my gas mask up from the floor and put it on, then point my gun through the broken glass, nervously looking behind me for Garrett. He’s yelling orders to Jared and Clide, so I know this is it. My escape is imminent. I break the window with my elbow, feeling a shard slice right through my thick canvas jacket, and then look behind me again. Jared is still in the other room and they are shooting.

I sling my rifle up onto my shoulder and then brace my hands on the window sill and jump up.

Hands close around my waist, pulling me back. “What the fuck are you doing, Sydney?”