Ashes - Book 2 (New Adult Romantic Suspense)
Read Ashes - Book 2 (New Adult Romantic Suspense) Online
Authors: Leslie Johnson
Tags: #new adult romance suspense erotica
Book 2
By
Leslie Johnson
Copyright © 2015 Leslie Johnson
Published By: Atrevida Publishing
Table of Contents
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are all made up in my mind. In other words, nothing is to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
© 2014 Leslie Johnson
Published by: Atrevida Publishing
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Don’t miss a single installment of Leslie Johnson’s captivating romance series.
Book Description
Welcome to Book Two of the Ashes Series. You should read Book One first.
A day of fun turned into an evening of horror, and Beth and Gage find themselves in each other’s arms. Emotions run high. Libidos too. Way too high for this commitment phobic duo.
Feet planted firmly back in the friend zone, they go their separate ways, both determined to get the other out of their head.
But terror strikes again. A nightmare turned reality. And this time there’s no one there to help.
This second installment in Leslie Johnson’s steamy suspense series turns up the heat and will leave you panting for more.
Chapter 1— Gage
The death surrounding me is like a living thing, pulling me in and pushing me back at the same time. The stench invades my pores and scurries up my nervous system while my eyes refuse to comprehend what they are seeing.
The white dresses.
Exactly the same.
Fuck. This can’t be real.
An hour ago, I was having a perfect day with Beth and now I’ve been thrown into the seventh circle of hell.
Seventh.
Seven.
Seven women dead.
Who could do something this cruel? This contrived? This barbaric?
I turn and stumble from the cave before I vomit or destroy a key piece of evidence that might capture the beast who slaughtered these women and placed them in their rocky tomb.
“Gage!”
Beth’s calling me, concerned. My name echoes through the valley and back, almost like an accusation.
“Gage!”
She’s scared. Holy shit. Is the beast here? Trying to get to her? Will he attempt to add her to his grisly collection?
I grab my ropes and hustle around the curve of the ledge, back to the spot where I’d been a hero only moments before. Time has stopped and sped up simultaneously.
Time.
I glance at my watch, knowing the importance of noting the time. Daniel had been rescued and flown to the hospital only four minutes before.
“Gage!”
I look up and see Beth’s face staring down at me, a mask of worry marring her beautiful features. What do I say to her? How can I be the one to destroy her day too? We’d had so much fun hiking to the summit of Turtlehead Peak. We’d been a great team as we’d rescued the boy. Now … now none of that mattered. Today will always be the day we found those women.
“Call 911!” I call up to her, then spit off the rocky ledge. I can taste the smell. I can feel the smell. It’s crawling over my skin.
Pull your shit together, I tell myself. I’ve seen dead bodies before. Not just post-fire or accidents, but the ones where the body had been dead for days or weeks. It’s a horrible thing to see, but you never get used to the smell. It’s a wall of cheap perfume mixed with rotting meat so pungent it hangs in the air like a lethal fog, covering everything it touches.
“Oh my god, are you hurt? What happened? Do I need to come down?”
“No!” I nearly scream at her. I spit again and look up. Most of her face has gone pale, a stark contrast to the circles of red high on her cheeks.
“Talk to me, Gage.”
“We have a big problem,” I call up to her. “It’s horrible. I found a cave. There are seven bodies in there. Call 911. Tell them to bring climbing equipment.”
“Dead bodies? Seven?” She’s so stunned she has to repeat the words to make the unreal become the reality it is.
“Yes. In a cave.”
Her hand is over her mouth, her eyes huge. Then I see her pull her own shit together. She blinks and her eyes clear. “I’ll have to run back up the hill for a signal. How do we get you up from there?”
I shake my head. “I’m staying down.” I can see the concern etched over her features. “I won’t disturb the crime scene, but I’m going to search for additional caves.”
She disappears and is back in just a few seconds. “Heads up. You need to drink this.” I snag the bottle of water she drops down to me. “I’m going to find a signal. Be right back.”
I chug half the bottle. Gag. Spit. Then chug the rest.
I examine the rock face of the ledge I’m standing on. It’s about six feet wide and runs far past the curve of the grisly cave. To my left, I see no caves. I turn to my right. It’s the direction I don’t want to go.
Kneeling, I open the first aid kit I’d used to treat Daniel’s injuries and pull out a pair of gloves, slipping them on. I don’t plan on touching anything, but I’m a ‘safer than sorry’ kind of guy. I inhale a last gulp of the relatively fresh air and mentally prepare for the wall of hell that’ll greet me when I round the corner.
I want to be careful and the shadows are coming quickly as the sun moves further to the west. Good thing I have my flashlight. I remember a training we had where the instructor talked about evidence and how the killer always leaves a piece of themselves at the scene.
Looking at the ground, I notice there are no footprints except mine. Either the killer hasn’t been here in a while, or he swept the prints away when he left. I walk the ledge again, careful to only step on my previous tracks. I pass the cave and walk as far as my safety harness will allow.
No additional caves in this section. Thank the fuck.
Retracing my steps again, I pause outside the cave and steel my heart. My nerves are fine. It’s my soul that is taking a beating at the sight of these women so ‘honorably’ displayed.
Sick bastard.
I shine the light just inside the cave and again, no other footprints. This is definitely a very thoughtful killer.
I pull my shirt over my mouth and nose as I carefully step just inside the tomb. It doesn’t help much with the smell, but every little bit helps. At least I’m not tasting the sour air.
The bodies are about six feet from the opening, arranged in a horizontal line going back into the cave. They are all dressed the same … white eyelet dresses. No shoes. A ribbon in their hair. They look like little girls, but they aren’t.
The nearest one is identifiable, but the ones toward the back are much more decomposed. The furthest body is nearly a skeleton. I’m not surprised to see some of the women are missing limbs, but they are remarkably intact. Although this cave is a perfect hiding place, a starving animal — maybe even a vulture — would have found a way to secure a meal.
Pinpointing my light to pull my gaze away from the broader scene to look more closely at each detail, I scan down the body of the closest one and notice she’s holding something in her hands.
A flower.
Scanning across the other six, I see the same thing. The fucking bastard has crossed their hands over their abdomens and each have what appears to be the remnants of a rose in their hands.
White dress.
Pink rose.
The flashback nearly takes me to my knees and I mentally shake myself — I can think about that later. Right now, I have seven human beings I need to honor by keeping my shit together.
Flashing the light around the cave, it picks up something I hadn’t noticed before. I grit my teeth. Any trace of doubt is gone. This is a ritual killer. And this isn’t a grave; it’s a shrine.
In the very back of the cave are pictures in frames. Seven of them, each with a pile of small bones lying in front of it. They are too small to be human bones, but bones nonetheless. And, what is that? Feathers? Yes, feathers. I can’t tell if they were placed here or had fallen from birds coming in to feed on the corpses.
My vision blurs and I blink the salty tears back. I look at each woman again. I look at them with the honor they deserve.
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper to each one in turn.
Then I back out of the cave, careful not to disturb the scene.
Chapter 2 — Beth
The pain in my side becomes a pounding ache as I run back up the trail, searching for a cell signal. Blisters have formed on my feet and sweat is pouring down my face, but I run as fast as the rock and gravel will allow.