A sneak peek at a scene from Past Reloaded

​

In the dim light of dusk, a bulletproof Porsche 911 coming from Dover leaves the A2 and pursues a route toward London along the back roads. This maneuver avoids being too visible and thus possibly tailed.

An awkward-looking, damp shape lies beside the road. The driver checks both sides of the road and the rearview mirrors. There are no other cars approaching and no sign of human movement around, only the shadows of the trees and bushes that line the roadway. At a lay-by, the engine of the car is silenced and careful steps pace back toward the shape.

The night’s approach imparts its chilly mist to the marrow of the driver’s bones. But the driver has different and more urgent concerns.

A plenitude of death can be felt and sniffed, as it pervades the nostrils and pores. It comes from the boot of the car that now slithers along the narrow winding road. In the ghostly silence, deep breathing and a stuttering heartbeat echo in the interior of the Porsche as a hand rubs perspiration from the driver’s face. Don’t listen to your heart, don’t listen to your breath, ignore them and move ahead. There’s a reason for all this, a purpose that no one would understand or agree with, and a long way to go.

The car slides across the center line and swerves, but the driver quickly compensates, avoids a tree, and hits the accelerator. Amidst the frost, the rain, and the car’s headlights, the wind makes strange eyes seem to appear among the foliage. Like surveilling phantoms, they blink in the maddening dance of the vehicle’s beams. Breathe and accelerate, don’t think.

On Ferry Lane, after the second bridge the driver makes one more turn to follow the shoreline. The end is almost in sight. Here is a good place to park, no housing, no cars, no cameras. It’s of the utmost importance to leave no traceable trail, to make everything more difficult for the police.

The lid of the car’s boot opens, as does the driver’s door. Cautious but nonetheless steady legs support well-conditioned arms that lift a woman’s body wrapped in a strip of old canvas. It’s a heavy load, and beneath the bushes the dead but not completely wet leaves rustle. The driver’s ears are the only witnesses to their last protest.

Near the waterline, the dead body is laid on the ground and the canvas is unwrapped. One last look. Yes, the face is unrecognizable. With a quick and precise foot push, the body rolls into the water beside the weir and disappears.

Now comes the cleanup. Leave the car somewhere, burn the canvas, then take a train and disappear.

​

The NEVER WITHOUT HER SERIES will be made up of five books, plus a prequel, each containing a stand-alone story with no major cliffhangers. However, since it is a series, for the best reading experience and to avoid spoilers this is the recommended order to read the stories in:

​

Full Freedom – Prequel
A Bend In Time – Book 1
Essence Of Adrenaline – Book 2
Lost With No Trail – Book 3
Distrust – Book 4
Past Reloaded – Book 5