Sins of the Father
(Perception Series, Bk 3)
(Perception Series, Bk 3)
By Liz Cowan
Blurb:
Melina Brooks thought she had put the past behind her. Jilted by the love of her life, the exotic beauty shuns romantic relationships to concentrate on work — earns a doctorate in psychology, has a thriving clinical psychology practice, and after only three years of teaching college, she is the newly appointed Chair of the Psychology Department at Addington College. With everything in her life organized and running smoothly, what could go wrong?Grant Drake, the gorgeous hunk who vanished from her life ten years ago, is named the new President of Addington College. Bound by a promise he made ten years ago, he cannot explain the reason for his abrupt disappearance, but he hopes to regain Melina’s trust and love.
Grant’s return turns Melina’s life upside down when she discovers the attraction between them is alive, well and hot. Struggling with the undeniable desire he awakened, Melina fights to keep him at bay and her desire under control. With her focus on recapturing normalcy and control over her life, she never notices the menacing stalker lurking nearby.
In the midst of their investigation of the disappearance of several young women in the past few months, Dallas Special Detectives P. J. Burdette and Max Fabiani search for a link between the missing women. Then a sixth woman disappears and P. J. believes Melina may be in danger.
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Excerpt
Melina raced
down the hall toward the exit, the staccato tapping of her high heels echoing
around her. She slammed into the bar and the door flew open. One of her shoes
slipped off just inside the door.
The blizzard had
arrived earlier than expected and the cold fury of the storm jerked her out the
door.
She barely had
time to kick off the other shoe before the wind slammed her into the deepening
snow. Pushing herself upright, she realized her only chance to escape her
pursuer was to get to her car. The car would protect her. She would be safe.
But then reality slammed her down once again.
“He must have
done this. Da*n him!” Melina felt the bile rise in the back of her throat. She
was stranded with a deranged student chasing her.
In that moment
of terror and despair she thought of Grant. “I’ve got to reach Grant. He will
help me. Grant will protect me!”
A quick glance
over her shoulder eased her panic because she didn’t see her pursuer. Did he
leave? But that fleeting bit of hope was crushed when she saw a dark pickup
truck bearing down on her. Melina ran behind a nearby dumpster. The truck
skidded and slammed into the dumpster.
Hoping that the
truck was stuck or damaged enough to give her a head start, Melina crawled away
from her hiding place, her knees aching and her clothes soaked. Just as she
reached the tall Photinia shrubs bordering the parking lot the truck’s engine
revved and it backed up.
Snow swirled
around Melina’s trembling body as she climbed to her feet and saw the truck
headed her way once again. Diving behind the bushes, she squeezed her eyes shut
and heard the squealing tires. She held her breath, expecting to be hit. But
nothing happened.
Her eyes flew
open. Melina squinted trying to see what made him swerve away. Then she noticed
that the bush she hid behind was planted in front of a light pole. No wonder he
swerved.
A sob caught in
her throat as the truck turned and headed away from the parking lot. Was he
giving up? She prayed that was the case.
Terrified and
half-blinded by her tears and the blowing snow, Melina ran in what she hoped
was the direction of Campus Corner, a group of shops near the Addington campus.
Her hands and feet were cold and raw from crawling and running on the rocks and
debris hidden under the snow but she had to keep moving.
Suddenly the
truck came after her from behind a building she just passed. Melina tried to
avoid him by running a zigzag pattern, but he swerved back and forth with
surprising ease, mirroring her movements.
Cold, wet and
terrified beyond reason, Melina wondered how much longer she could last before
the cold steel of the truck’s bumper hit her.
Then, as if
tiring of his game of cat and mouse, he gunned the engine and raced toward her.
Melina’s only hope was to reach the snow bank to her right. She broad jumped
for the bank with power and agility born of desperation and sank into the deep
snow gasping for breath.
The truck
skidded but continued moving toward the snow bank where she had taken refuge.
Expecting to feel the impact of the truck at any second, Melina felt herself
scream; the sound lost in the howling wind.
The ground shook
as the truck crashed into the trunk of an enormous live oak tree.
Clawing
frantically to free herself from the deep snow, Melina shouted for help, but
the storm muffled her voice, and her cries for help went unanswered.
Then the door of
the truck creaked.
Her heart was
pounding so hard that her chest hurt as she searched for a store that might
still be open. Then, out of the corner of her eye a dim light caught her
attention. “A grocery store.”
The truck door
slammed sending Melina over the edge. Screaming hysterically, she scrambled
toward the safety of the store. Slipping and sliding, she pushed the door open
and stumbled inside.
An elderly
gentleman behind the counter looked up in surprise from the paper he was
reading.
“Please, help
me,” she gasped, clutching her chest.
He hurried
around the counter. “What’s the matter, little lady? Are you hurt?”
Gripping his
arm, Melina struggled to speak through chattering teeth.
“S . . . someone tried
to . . . run me down . . . with his truck. I need a phone.”
About the Author
Liz Cowan was born in Budapest, Hungary; graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in philosophy and a minor in English; and writes a weekly humor column.
Reading and writing have been my favorite pastimes since early childhood. During summer vacations, I checked out huge stacks of books from the library and in a couple of days I returned for more. My reading preferences run the literary gamut, including fantasy, science fiction, mysteries, romance, biographies, poetry, etc.
“With my mind bursting with stories of my own, writing was a natural progression for this bibliophile.”
Besides working as a legal assistant by day and plotting new stories at night, she loves reading, walking, gardening, and writing her weekly humor column.
Her published books include:
Fractured Proverbs and Twisted Thoughts--a humorous take on original and familiar sayings, written as E. Cowan.
You can find Liz here
Giveaway
An e-copy of Sins of the Father
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