DEADLY SINS: WRATH
SNEAK PEEK: Chapters 1&2
CHAPTER ONE
Wrath (n.) Extreme anger, rage,
fury, outrage, vexation, annoyance, crossness
It had been the dinner
date from hell, the longest twenty-seven minutes of Madison “Maddie” LaFoe’s
life. Before the appetizer had even made its debut, she had come to a decision:
she was done with Brandon—completely. A convenient opportunity to escape her
current predicament presented itself when he’d scooted his seat back, stood, and
said, “You know where the toilet is in this joint?”
The
joint Brandon referred to was actually
a five-star Italian restaurant in downtown Salt Lake City. And from the moment
he’d entered—dressed in a pair of faded jeans, a gray T-shirt with not one but
two nickel-sized stains on the front, and filthy, worn tennis shoes—it was
clear he didn’t fit in.
Maddie
faked a grin and pointed. “The bathroom is around the corner on the left.”
He
tipped his head in her direction. “Great, I’ll be right back.”
He
tossed his napkin onto the table, pivoted, and walked away, the rubber soles on
his shoes squeaking so loudly on the hardwood floor that several patrons of the
restaurant flashed disapproving looks his way. He was too busy staring at a painting
of wild horses hanging on the back wall to notice.
Take your time, buddy. Take all time you need.
Watching
him walk away, Maddie was shocked at how far off the mark her assistant had
been when describing him. Her assistant had said Brandon was six-three,
muscular, and funny. In reality, his look was oafish and sloppy, his humor dry,
his intellect deficient—a far cry from the sophisticated gentlemen she usually
dated.
The
second he rounded the corner, she’d snatched her handbag off the back of the
chair and stood, making a beeline for the front door. In seconds she was
outside and free, rid of him forever. She leaned against the building and
inhaled a hearty lungful of the city’s brisk winter air.
Never again.
No
blind dates.
No blind dates ever again.
She
slid a hand inside her pocket, unwrapped a piece of gum, and popped it into her
mouth. She walked toward her car, contemplating which of Brandon’s less-than-stellar
traits she found more repulsive—his obsession for telling dumb-blonde jokes
despite the fact she was a platinum blonde, or the fact he couldn’t make it
five minutes without verbally slamming his ex-wife.
The
man was a crazy ass.
She
cupped a hand over her mouth, giggled.
Crazy ass.
Good nickname.
She
clicked her key fob and the car door unlocked, but before she could step
inside, a familiar sound echoed from behind.
Squeak, squeak.
Shit.
No.
No,
no, no.
Brandon was charging toward her. “Maddie! What the
hell! Mind explaining where you’re going?”
Isn’t it obvious?
Where does it look like I’m going?
She faced him. “Leaving, Brandon. I’m going home.”
He crossed his arms, tapped a tennis shoe on the ground. “I
don’t get it. We were having a great time together. Why?”
She thought about giving him the Look, I’m sorry, you’re a nice guy spiel, but why would she? She wasn’t sorry, and he wasn’t nice.
“We’re
not a good match,” she said. “And I don’t see any point wasting your time or
mine.”
“So … what? You just decided you’d walk out without
saying anything?”
“I planned on texting you when I left.”
He grunted a laugh. “You were going to text me? Wow, because a text would make ditching
out on me all better, right?”
His sarcasm gushed like an overflowing dam, and she
detected a shift in his eyes. He was embarrassed, but he was also angry.
She
opened the car door, said nothing.
He
balled his hands into fists, clenching his jaw. “Oh, so you’re done talking now
too? Really? You have nothing more to say?”
Civility had never been Maddie’s strong suit, and she was
fresh out of decent, appropriate ways to soothe the sting of her rejection. “If
you need me to be the jerk in this situation so you can feel better, fine. I’m
the jerk. Goodnight, Brandon.”
She ducked inside the car, but was whipped backward when
Brandon grabbed her arm and yanked her toward him. He slammed the car door
closed and then thrust his body against hers, pinning her between him and the
car.
He pressed a finger onto the center of her forehead. “You
don’t get to humiliate me and then get in your car and drive away.”
“Back off me, Brandon. Now.”
“Back off me,
Brandon,” he mocked. “You girls always think you’re so tough.”
Tough.
He had no idea.
“Last warning,” she said. “Back … off.”
“Or what? Whatcha gonna do?”
Plenty.
She grabbed hold of the back of his T-shirt, bundled it into
a cross grip, looped it around until it tightened around his neck, and squeezed,
allowing his shock of the chokehold she’d created to settle in before ramming a
knee into his groin. He stumbled backward, tripping over himself and falling to
the ground. He cupped a hand over his crotch, howling like his private parts
had just been severed from his body.
Maddie
knelt over him and blew an impressive bubble with her gum, popping it in his
face. “It’s called jiu-jitsu if you’re wondering. And if you’re going to keep
dating, you need to come to grips with one important fact—women aren’t weak.”
He
pressed a hand to the ground, tried to stand up. “You … you!”
She
shoved him back down again. “I’m leaving now, and if you’re smart, you won’t
try to stop me this time. Oh, and for the record, you were a terrible date.”
CHAPTER TWO
Maddie revved the engine
of her royal blue 1968 Chevy Camaro and peeled out of the parking lot. She
glanced in the rearview mirror, pleased to see Brandon still sitting on the
asphalt, sulking.
What
a night.
The
story was too good to not to share.
She
pressed on the car’s touchscreen, selected the first number on her favorites
list, and listened to the phone dial.
“Hello?”
“I had the worst date of my life tonight, Sloane,” Maddie
said.
“Why? What happened?”
Maddie filled her in on the details, pausing after she’d
finished. “You’re quiet. Did you hear everything I just said?”
Sloane said, “Yes,” and then burst out laughing.
“Hey,” Maddie said. “It’s only funny because it didn’t
happen to you.”
“Oh, come on. It’s a little funny, isn’t it? Whose
brilliant idea was it to set you two up?”
“Laurel. You two haven’t met. I hired her a couple weeks
ago to assist me in the lab.”
“What
happened to Ron?”
“He
moved last month. He’s working for a coroner in Chicago now.”
“Why would Laurel set you up with a guy like Brandon?”
Maddie sighed. “I’m guessing she doesn’t know what he’s like.
She told me he was a friend of her husband.”
“Well, on the positive side, you were in and out in under
an hour at least.”
Bright lights beamed through Maddie’s rear window,
flashing on and off and then on and off again.
“Hey, Sloane, I better go.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. There’s a lot of snow on the road, and the
car behind me is trying to get frisky. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Maddie
ended the call and did a quick glance over her shoulder. The other car was even
closer, but the headlights were solid now, emitting a constant stream of light.
She sighed, wishing she’d checked the weather report before heading out earlier.
If she had, she would have known to drive her SUV instead.
The
road shifted, the single lane becoming two.
Finally.
Maddie
drifted into the right lane, hoping the other vehicle would pass. It was large
and beefy, a truck from the looks of it, which suggested the driver could be
Brandon. The assumption dissipated when the truck accelerated, running parallel
just long enough for her to see it was white and run-down. Brandon’s was new
and black.
It
wasn’t him.
The
truck cruised on past, tires spitting chunks of snow onto Maddie’s windshield
as it shifted into the right lane in front of her. She needed distance. Now.
She took her foot off the gas pedal and slowed her car down, maintaining the lower
speed until the truck was so far in the distance the fog shielded it from view.
It pained her to drive so slowly, but in ten minutes it would all be worth it.
She’d be home, running herself a bath, with a book in one hand and a full glass
of wine in the other.
Even
though the storm was in full effect, the blustery scene outside had a serene
element to it, the thick flakes of snow evoking a peaceful calm within her. She
stared in wonderment for a moment, her eyes shifting back to the road when the
truck came into view again. She was shocked. She thought he’d be long gone by now.
The
driver slammed on his brakes as if trying to avoid hitting something in the
road, and Maddie swerved, jerking the steering wheel to keep her car from
colliding into the truck’s backside. But she’d turned too fast. The car spun
around, then slid off the road, diving into an embankment. Maddie’s face
smashed into the steering wheel, her car coming to an abrupt stop.
Disoriented,
she tried making sense of what had just happened. Pain spread across her face,
throbbing like the constant beat of a drum.
Come on, move.
You can do it.
You’ve got this.
She
peeled her head off the steering wheel, leaned back on the headrest, and opened
her eyes. From her vantage point, the front of her car had been crushed. She’d
have to get out and inspect it to know how bad, but right now, simple movement was
a stretch.
For
the moment, she was alone on the road.
The
driver of the truck hadn’t bothered to stop.
She
ran a hand across her face. It was wet and sticky. A gash on her forehead
trickled blood down her face. She pressed a finger in the center of the storage
compartment where she kept change. It popped open. Grunting in pain, she
reached inside, took out her cell phone, and pressed the redial button.
“Sloane … I … I think I’m in trouble.”
“What do you mean? What’s going on?”
Headlights.
Another car coming down the road.
“Hang … hang on.” Maddie switched her hazard lights on
and watched the car roll to a stop behind her.
“I’ve
been in an accident.”
“What?
Where are you?”
“I’m
fine. Someone just pulled up behind me, but can you call an ambulance? I think
I have a few broken body parts. I’m trying not to move too much until I find
out.”
“Where
are you?”
“Corner
of Alder and Vine.”
“Okay,
I’m putting you on hold. I’ll call for an ambulance and then I’ll be right
back. Don’t hang up.”
A
woman approached the driver’s-side and opened the car door. She was short, no
more than five-two Maddie guessed, and probably in her forties. She wore small,
round eyeglasses that reminded Maddie of Mrs. Claus, leather gloves, and a hot-pink
beanie with a giant, glittery silver pom-pom in the center.
“Oh my goodness,” the woman said. “Are you okay?”
“I … I don’t know. Thanks for stopping.”
“Sure, sure. What can I do to help? Call someone?”
“I’ve already done that. I’m waiting for the ambulance to
arrive.”
“Good, good.”
“I think I’ve cracked a couple ribs,” Maddie said.
The woman nodded. “You’re in luck. I’m a doctor.”
“I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but if you’re a
doctor then you know it’s difficult to determine until I have an x-ray or an
MRI.”
Before the woman could rebut the last statement, Sloane
returned to the phone line. “Maddie, you there?”
“I’m here.”
“The ambulance will be there soon.”
“Do you know how long?”
“I’m not sure. They’re hurrying. I’ll stay on the phone
with you until they arrive. You alone?”
“No, there’s a woman with me.”
“Let me talk to her.”
Maddie held the phone out. “It’s my friend, Sloane. She
wants to talk to you.”
The woman took the phone and explained she wanted to
assess Maddie for broken bones so she could move her to her car. She then
looked at Maddie and said, “Your friend agrees with me. I should at least have
a look and see if there’s anything I can do.”
Hoping to pacify both women involved, Maddie yielded. “All
right. Go ahead.”
The woman smiled.
“I’m going to put the phone down while I check.”
She
hunched over Maddie, placing light pressure on her chest. “I’ll be gentle. Tell
me when it hurts.”
Maddie expected the woman to move a hand across her
chest. Instead the woman dug into her jacket pocket and pulled out a white
handkerchief.
Maddie looked at the hankie and then her cell phone. It
appeared to be off. “Hand me my phone.”
“You know, Madison,” the woman said. “I mean, is it okay
if I call you Madison? I suppose I can
call you Maddie if you prefer, but Maddie just doesn’t have the same ring to
it, you know? I mean, I get it. It’s trendy and cute in its own way, but far
less sophisticated than your given name, if you ask me.”
“How do you know my—”
“Oh, I know a lot about you.”
Panicked, Maddie attempted to undo her seatbelt, but the
pain was too great and the woman too fast. The hankie was shoved over Maddie’s
mouth. Maddie clenched her jaw, kept her mouth close.
“Don’t resist, honey. It’s too late now, mmm … kay?”
Maddie thrashed back and forth, even though she knew the
woman was right. The sweet, solvent smell was unmistakable. Chloroform.
“It’s
never a good idea to meddle in other people’s business,” the woman said. “Didn’t
your parents ever teach you that? I mean, I guess they didn’t. But they should
have. Anyhoo, we can talk about all that later. Night night.”
...
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STEP ONE: Purchase Deadly Sins: Wrath:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2vWmRDO
iBooks: http://apple.co/2eU5pdm
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2wlIKNQ
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Googleplay: http://bit.ly/2wN6z11
STEP TWO: Click on this link and fill out the form to receive your two free novellas! http://bit.ly/2xVjkEJ
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