Watch For The Dawn
Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Blurb:
A serial killer is killing co-eds. He watches one cross the
campus. When a woman stops her to talk, his pattern changes. He ignores the
co-ed, for now, and focuses on the woman. After seeing which classroom she
enters, he adds Prof. Kelly Cooper to
his list. Det. Steve Mitchell leads
the investigation. A mountain cabin is the perfect place to keep the next
intended victim safe. Or is it?
Excerpt:
As he neared the driver's side of
the car, his boots crunched the already freezing snow. The car door had
suffered some damage when the car slammed into the ditch, but he was able to
force it open with brute strength.
A quick scan of the interior told
him that the female driver was alone.
Thankfully, he could concentrate on her.
"At least she had the sense to wear a seatbelt," he said aloud
as he reached in to turn off the engine. The only sound now was the howling
wind and an occasional muffled 'woof' coming from his van.
The seatbelt had at least kept her
from hitting the windshield, but she would no doubt have a huge bruise across
her shoulder and chest from the shoulder strap. Her head was hanging forward,
her long blond hair falling toward her face completely hiding it from
view.
Even though she appeared to be
unconscious, he could see her blue ski parka moving up and down, so at least
she was alive. There wasn’t a way to
determine if she had any major injuries, but he’d at least check for fractures.
As his fingers lifted the hair on
the left side of her face, tucking it behind her ear, he could see that the
seatbelt hadn't kept her forehead far enough from the steering wheel. An egg-size lump was already visible and
turning black and blue. Apparently the
air bag hadn’t deployed.
It was possible that she had a
concussion or neck injury, but he would have to take a chance. He was the only help available. Without turning her neck, Steve lifted the
woman's chin, leaning around her just far enough to lift her eyelids. He needed to see if her pupils were the same
size and equally reactive to the light that was shining from the overhead dome
light. Steve sighed with relief when he
saw them contract equally. At least something was going right for her.
“Lady. Hey, wake up." Pulling off his glove, he patted her cheek
and continued to talk to her until she groaned and started to move. His deep male voice appeared to be drawing
her up toward consciousness. She turned
toward the voice and tried to open her eyes.
"Hey, don't move," he
softly, but firmly ordered.
"Wh... Where... am
I?"
Her soft voice assaulted his mind.
Cultured. This was a lady. "You ran your car off the road. You’re in a ditch. How do you feel? Do you hurt anywhere besides your
head?"
"Cold. I'm so cold." Her eyes closed, her
shoulders slumping.
He hoped she wasn’t going to faint
again. "Does it hurt to move your
neck?" When her eyes opened again
she turned her neck until she was staring into his eyes.
She finally spoke. "No."
Steve felt a definite jolt when he
took in the long, blond hair and brilliant blue eyes that seemed to see into
his soul. What a combination.
"Good, then let's get you out
of here and into my van. It's warm
there. It comes complete with a
one-hundred pound lap warmer." Her hand reached up to her forehead. “Don’t
touch that. If your head hurts, try
concentrating on relaxing your neck and shoulder muscles. Ever heard of mind over matter?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Great. Do that and I’ll get you some aspirin as soon
as possible.” Steve was still hovering
inside the car while snow blew around his body and onto the lady, while she
leaned her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes. He was hopeful that her head was the worst
injury, since he could tell it was giving her the most pain.
Without thinking further, he
unbuckled her seatbelt and lifted her slight form into his strong arms. With one arm around her back and one under
her knees, he balanced her in his arms.
Her head leaned to the side to rest against his shoulder. With her warm body tucked close to his chest,
he started the short, but treacherous climb out of the ditch. After fighting the wind for control of the
van’s door, he sat her on the backseat, gently easing her down to stretch out
on the bench seat.
Once behind the wheel, he took a
moment to twist twist around to check on his patient. His lips parted in a
smile. He almost laughed out loud as he
watched Rusty stretching as far as possible toward the rear seat so he could
sniff the person laying there and yet stay in the front as ordered.
"Rusty," Steve gently
admonished. Rusty turned big innocent
eyes toward his master before rearranging himself to more-or-less fit in the
passenger seat. With his chin on his
paws and his eyes watching for any sign that his master might change his mind,
the dog finally let out a big sigh and closed his eyes.Steve continued to smile as he
watched one hundred pounds of golden Lab hang over the edges of the seat, while
giving the appearance of being content and comfortable.
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About the Author:
Sandra McGregor was challenged by
her husband in 2001 to write the book he'd been hearing so much about. Sandra picked up the gauntlet and since then
she has 16 books published. Sandra has
learned that accepting challenges is a lot of work, but the new friends she has
made make up for all the hours alone in her office.
In her free time, Sandra loves to
travel, read and have fun with her friends or her husband of several
decades. Oh yes, and she can't forget
her favorite feline, Jack, who owns the house and a spot in the middle of her
desk when she's working.
You can follow Sandra at: Love, Life,
and a Good Book Blog Twitter
Sounds freaky! I enjoyed the excerpt.
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