Riptide
Chapter One
New York City
June 15
Present
Becca was watching an afternoon soap opera she'd
seen off and on since she was a kid. She found herself
wondering if she would ever have a child who needed a
heart transplant one month and a new kidney the next, or a
husband who wouldn't be faithful to her for longer than it
took a new woman to look in his direction.
Then the phone rang.
She jumped to her feet, then stopped dead still and
stared over at the phone. She heard a guy on TV whining
about how life wasn't fair.
He didn't know what fair was.
She made no move to answer the phone. She just stood
there and listened, watching it as it rang three more times.
Then, finally, because her mother was lying in a coma in
Lenox Hill Hospital, because she just plain couldn't stand
the ringing ringing ringing, she watched her hand reach out
and pick up the receiver.
She forced her mouth to form the single word. "Hello?"
"Hi, Rebecca. It's your boyfriend. I've got you so
scared you have to force yourself to pick up the phone.
Isn't that right?"
She closed her eyes as that hated voice, low and deep,
swept over her, into her, making her so afraid she was
shaking. No hint of an Atlanta drawl, no sharp New York
vowels ... read full excerpt from Riptide ebook
