Taken (Breaking the Darkness) (29 page)

Graven looked over to his physical body and back to the front door. “Now you are out. That means I need to get out of here. You need me now! We can’t risk waiting any longer.”

Just as Graven reconnected with his body, the double doors opened. The figure of a man and the silhouette of a woman shadowed the doorway.

The sight before me left my jaw agape.

My lungs were depleted of air. Even in my astral form, I could feel the tightness in my chest from the lack of oxygen. My shock stifled my central nervous system from performing its job.

Graven was no longer by my side. He stood across the room, but I was still in his field of vision. He could have seen me—that is if his eyes weren’t glued to the front door. As were mine and everyone else’s. No one in the room moved or made a peep.

The male figure stood at least as tall as Graven in the shadows of the doorway. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt under a dark-grey blazer. His designer jeans were bunched at the bottom by some funky charcoal lace-up boots. He had a young, hip style. His hood shadowed his face just enough that from this angle I couldn’t see his profile.

The man who held me captive underground in a mountain cell and kept tabs on me my entire life was still without an identity. My need to see him for myself was outweighed by the presence of his companion. It was not he who now had me captivated.

My line of vision locked in on the female to his left. My eyes had to be deceiving me. After all theses years, her face had hardly changed. Her hair was longer than I remembered. The years had stolen the color, making it more white than blond. Her body was covered in a long white coat. She looked very angelic, like a beam of light.

Her face was absent of emotions as the pair entered the room. The man hidden by the shadows of his hood that stood by her side, I assumed, was The Taker. He grabbed her by the arm and shuffled her in aggressively toward the two security guards.

As he waved them away, I saw the huge face of a watch glisten on his wrist. The platinum shone out against his dark clothes. The militant-looking security guards took her by both arms and escorted her down a long hallway.

I struggled for a breath and whispered, “Mom?”

Note from author Felicia Starr:

If you enjoyed this book it would be fantastic if you could help other people find this book to enjoy as well. Please take a moment to show your support by leaving a review on the site that you purchased this book from. You can also recommend this book to family, friends, a reading/discussion group, or on an online forum about books.

If you take the time to write a review on the site you purchased the book, please send me an email and inform me at
[email protected]
. I will send you a thank you with a personal email.

FIRST AND FOREMOST, I have to say thank you to my amazing husband and my two boys for putting up with my days of disappearing and letting my chores and errands take a back seat. A thank you to my mother who always taught me to persevere and push past the tough times. Of course, I have to thank my sister for being my first test subject and for having the patience to read this book one chapter at a time. I can’t wait for her to read the final polished version. And my grandparents for all the amazing things and places they showed me throughout my childhood.

There has been a small group of exceptional authors that have encouraged me and educated me throughout this journey to write this book. I will be forever grateful to two of my favorite authors. Amber Lynn Natusch and Dannika Dark inspired me and encouraged me in first place to write this book. Thank you, LM Preston, for taking the time to sit on the phone with me and share your story of publication and advice on marketing. To Michael Brown for walking the path beside me. Thank you Monique Rockliffe. Thank you Cambria Hebert for answering every question I had about the publishing process and then answering them again three months later. Your support and encouragement along with being inspired by your success and determination have helped me to not throw in the towel when I wasn’t sure I could move on to the next step. Last but not least, to Cynthia Lucas for her words of encouragement over the past year to get it done and then for her enthusiasm for my writing and helping me through some creative frustrations at the last minute.

Thank you to my beta readers and those that read the book before I was ready to really share it: Amy Del Rosso, Amy Weidman Pro, Angela Pratt, Cynthia Lucas, Desiree DeOrto, Elizabeth Theeck, Kris Atkinson, Jayne Bielak, Nicole Brown, Nina Lillard, and Venus Turosky.

Thank you to my amazing editor for her dedication to this project every single step of the way! You have been fabulous, Cassie McCown from Gathering Leaves. Thank you to my cover designer Regina Wamba from Mae I Design and Photography who fought through my creative indecision and created the perfect cover to represent this book. Also to Sierra LaRosa for posing as a beautiful model for promotional items.

Thank you to Keith Ryan Riggs and James Vitale for helping me with a few research details that really helped bring this story to life.

A special thank you to my cousin Amy Del Rosso for being my rock through everything that it has taken to make this book possible. I really truly don’t think I could have made it without you and your PR skills at
Lady Reader's Blog Tours
.

I must also honor and give many thanks to my Guruji Rev. Jaganath Carrera for keeping me spiritually grounded and helping me think about what is beyond me.

AUTHOR FELICIA STARR lives five miles from her favorite Jersey Shore destination with her amazingly supportive family. She loves to spend time creating special memories with her husband and two young boys.

Everyone expected her first publication to be a cookbook, but her love for writing has surpassed her love for cooking.

Felicia graduated magna cum laude from Kean University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a post baccalaureate in elementary education. She is a licensed real estate sales person, a certified yoga instructor, and most importantly, a stay-at-home mom.

You can find Felicia Starr at the following link:

www.feliciastarr.com