Page 1 of Unexpected Heroine
Chapter 1
Calgon, take me away
LETTIE
As a kid, I was terrified of a few things.
Monsters hiding under my bed.
Reptiles—especially lizards and snakes.
And sleeping alone in the dark.
At age twenty-five, I no longer fear the monsters hiding under the bed. It’s the ones who look like regular people that are truly frightening. The ones lying in wait, watching from the shadows. They approach you casually in a bar, telling jokes while they fantasize about the horrors they’ll subject you to if you have one more sip of that drink.
Those are the creatures you should fear. The animals hiding in plain sight.
The savages I’ve faced over the last few days put all my childhood terrors to shame.
Tonight, I somehow escaped from their clutches with my life. At least, I hope that’s what’s happening. It’s all so surreal. Perhaps it’s just a dream.
It feels real, though.
If I can trust what I’m seeing, smelling, and touching, then I’m cocooned in the arms of the man I love in the back of a van. A couple of the other girls from the nightmare house and some of our rescuers are with us.
A few minutes ago, they whisked us out of there in a blur. We sped away, tires squealing. It was like something out of a movie.
My weary body jostles in James’s lap as the van comes to a stop. “Where are we?” Clinging to him for dear life, I whip my head around, angling for a better view. “Is this the police station?”
“No, sugar bear. It’s the hospital.”
Although he attempts to bring me in along with the other girls, I manage to convince him I don’t require medical care. He resists initially, but my panic-stricken begging does the trick.
Acquiescing, he kisses the top of my head. “You’re safe now, sugar bear.” He tightens his hold, keeping me snug in his embrace.
Relief pours over me as I let oxygen leave my lungs in a lingering stream.
For the first time in days, I succumb to exhaustion and willingly let my eyes drift closed.
I must nod off, because I’m startled awake when the van stops again. Like before, my pulse spikes instantly, and another surge of adrenaline ratchets through my veins.
“Easy, Lettie,” he soothes.
Blinking away some of the grogginess, I squint out the window, hoping to get my bearings. “Where are we now?” It looks like an office building.
“A safe place. We need to go inside for a few minutes. I’ll make it quick, and then we’ll leave. Don’t worry. I’ll carry you.”
Without waiting for my response, he shuffles us out of the van. The crisp sea breeze whooshes by us, whipping my hair around. Normally, I love the nightly winds that come off the nearby ocean. Tonight, it sets off a domino effect of pain that traverses my entire body.
Ratty strands of my hair slap into a cut under my eye. I hiss at the unexpected sting, dragging a sudden influx of oxygen into my lungs. As my torso expands, my rib cage throbs. I’m reminded of how sore my limbs are when my arms and legs tense in response to the ache in my midsection.
The only thing that dulls the throbbing throughout my body is that I’m still wrapped up in his arms.
I never thought I’d see him again.
He pulses his hands gingerly under my backside in response to my whole-body flinch. “Am I hurting you? Where’s the pain, sweetness?”
Everywhere.