Finding My Way Back (Finding My Escape Series - Book 2)

By Fran Veal

Three weeks ago I walked in while my parents were being murdered. I escaped, but I need to put my life back together again. There's just one problem - I don't know where to begin.

My parents weren't who I thought they were.
My best friend isn't who I thought he was.
The killer isn't who I thought he was.
And scariest of all, I'm not who I thought I was.

FINDING MY WAY BACK is a Young Adult tale of adventure, self-discovery and romance, with a twist of the paranormal. It's the sequel to the Kindle bestseller FINDING MY ESCAPE.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fran Veal
• Release date: Aug 22, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301338771

Fran Veal

What can I say? My love of writing sprang from an early love of reading. I first entertained the idea of being a writer after reading Little Women in the third grade. Now some (many) years later, I've written my debut novel, Finding My Escape. I hope you enjoy it.On a more personal note, I'm married and have a beautiful daughter. I love ice cream (chocolate), candy (chocolate), and anything Tex-Mex.

Book preview

Finding My Way Back

Book 2 of the Finding My Escape Series

by Fran Veal

Cover Art by Emma Michaels

Edited by Mishael Witty

Text Copyright © 2013 Fran Veal

Smashwords Edition

All Rights Reserved

This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is strictly prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Dedication

For Sarah, Katie and Janey

I write for you

Contents

Cover Page

Copyright

Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

End of Book

Acknowledgements

Deleted Chapter

Author Bio

Chapter 1

Liz sat on the deck of the boat, basking in the May sun. As second honeymoons went, this jaunt to Bimini had been delicious–seven days in one of the poshest resorts in Bermuda. She smiled to herself, running a hand through her brown hair, determined to squeeze every last bit of enjoyment from this day.

It’s time to head back, you know, said Charles from his perch behind the wheel.

Liz sighed as she slid off her perch and moved to stand behind him, draping an arm seductively around his shoulders.

Charles, she whispered in his ear, "can’t we stay out a little bit longer?"

Mmmm, you make me wish we could, but you were the one who wanted to get packed up tonight.

Thirty minutes? She ran a hand playfully through his hair.

Now you sound like Hannah.

Liz smiled at the mention of their daughter. It would be good to get home and see her before the busyness of the end of school came in and claimed all her time.

Charles’s green eyes glittered as he reached over to give her a quick kiss, but his wife put a hand on his chest, her eyes staring out into the water.

I don’t believe it. She looked past her husband into something that seemed to be rising from the water. It was still several miles away, but from here it looked like it could be….

Oh, come on. I was kidding. If you want to stay out a little later, it’s no big deal.... His voice trailed off when Liz put a hand to his mouth to silence him.

Look, she pointed toward the starboard side of the boat. His eyes followed her hand. What? It looks like an island with a hill or something on it.

Liz’s heart began to pound as Charles steered the boat toward the island. The knot that had formed in her stomach began to grow as the image before her became clear.

That’s not a hill. She looked at him, blue eyes blazing. It’s a pyramid.

Charles inhaled sharply, and Liz laid a hand on his arm.

So you found it, he said as the color drained from his face.

I’m afraid so.

She grabbed a camera from the bag at her husband’s feet and began snapping pictures. Most people would be thrilled at finding a piece of the lost continent of Atlantis, but this meant the beginning of something that might not turn out well for her. There was just one consolation.

Hopefully, we can end this now, and Hannah won’t have to be involved.

Charles squeezed her hand. Let’s hope so.

He steered the boat closer to the island, which didn’t appear to be more than a mile or so across. The pyramid rose from the center, with the ruins of smaller structures surrounding it.The pyramid was the only structure that was still intact.

Liz handed the camera to her husband and ran to the side of the boat to throw up, her nausea having nothing to do with seasickness. She’d known the island might be found in her lifetime, had prayed it would be found before Hannah was born. Now that she was faced with the implications of it, she had only one emotion. Fear.

When the isle du Tuk’abu rises from the sea…

Do you want me to try to land? Charles asked quietly.

What has been foretold will commence…

She wiped her mouth, grabbing a bottle of water out of a cooler. No, she didn’t want him to land, but yes, they had to land. She had to be the one to end it.

The two lines will converge…

Yes, let’s land. It won’t be dark for a few hours.

One line will meet its end…

Charles circled the island. I’m not sure I can find a place to go to shore without banging up the bottom of the boat.

Just drop anchor here in the shallows. We can swim to shore. She tried to make her voice sound more confident than she felt as she stripped off the cover-up to her bathing suit. Without waiting for her husband, she climbed over the rail and dived into the water.

* * *

Liz didn’t bother to wait for Charles as she headed toward the structure in the center of the island.

This is it, she thought. It ends here.

Why couldn’t she bring herself to believe it?

One’s blood be shed by wicked hand…

Charles caught up with her as she reached the pyramid’s base.

You’re sure you want to do this? I’ll come with you.

She looked at his drawn, pinched face. She wished with all her heart she could spare him.

An innocent’s blood besides…

I think I have to be alone.

Charles reached for her, and she grabbed his hand, giving it one last squeeze.

Doors be opened, doors be shut…

She climbed up the stairs of the pyramid to the doorway, her heart beating faster with each step.

For one Descendant will open wide…

She stood in front of the entrance, blocked with a giant stone monolith, and began to look around. Just inside the door’s stone frame was a shape. She pushed it. Nothing.

And let the youngest walk inside…

No, no, no! she screamed, beating on the stone door until her hands were bruised. She had to be the one to go inside, not Hannah. The prophecy was wrong.

Liz sank down on the step of the pyramid, sobbing. A few minutes later she felt her husband’s comforting arms around her. She hadn’t even heard him climb up.

* * *

You got the coordinates down, right? she asked anxiously when they got back to their hotel.

Right here, baby, he said quietly, handing her his iPhone.

I couldn’t budge it. It’s supposed to open easily.

It’s been under water for hundreds, probably thousands, of years, Charles offered.

She shook her head sadly.

Well maybe we can get some dynamite and blast it open.

Liz considered this. Maybe the timing was just off. There was something in one of the ancient journals about the Solstice. That had to be it. June 21. And if she couldn’t get in then, she’d resort to Charles’s idea of blasting the place open. She wasn’t sure what the ramifications would be, but it had to be better than letting Hannah be the one to face this.

She stood at the stern, watching the island until it was out of sight, then turned reluctantly toward her husband. If one of the others got to the island first...

She picked up the camera and began flipping through the pictures, double checking to make sure there was a memory card inside and to make sure all the pictures were on the card, carefully deleting the pictures from the camera. Then she opened her laptop and inserted the card, inputting the coordinates and saving them to the memory device.

She held the memory card in her hand as she considered what to do next. There was only one person besides Charles she trusted with the information. She quickly typed an email, copied the pictures as an attachment, and pushed Send.

* * *

Scott Benson sat at his computer watching intensely as the algorithms quickly scanned thousands of computers across the world, thanks to a little Trojan horse he’d developed that so far had remained undetected by the world’s inadequate virus programs. He was just getting ready to take his lunch, trusting his program to catch and isolate any picture or text that fit the parameters, when the alarm on the computer began to ring.

He clicked Enter to open the file and grinned. This could be it. Quickly, he downloaded the file to his tablet and ran up the three floors to the executive offices. His boss would want to see this herself.

He ignored the secretary, bursting into his boss’s office without knocking, waving the tablet in his hand. The woman behind the mahogany desk held her hand up but continued writing for several minutes while Scott tried to hide his agitation.

While he waited, he looked around the room, as always, awed by the rich mahogany furniture. The bookshelf was filled mostly with old books written in a language unknown to him. A stack of parchment papers with frayed edges sat on the edge of the desk.

Although he hadn’t been with the organization long, he clearly understood why he’d been hired. Ironically, it was hacking into this system that caught his boss’s attention. Instead of having him arrested, his boss had made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. She agreed not to turn him in to the authorities, provided he came to work for her and kept his mouth shut about anything he found.

His boss finally looked up, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear and pushing her glasses up on her nose.

You’d better have a good reason for barging in here unannounced.

I think we’ve found the island. He shoved the tablet onto the desk, pointing excitedly. See?

Her eyes took on a look of calculated interest. Good. Give me the coordinates, and we’ll get someone down there fast.

The young man’s face fell as he picked up the tablet and backed slowly away from the desk.

Uh...we don’t have the coordinates, but we’re pretty sure we know who does, he hastened to add. I found this in an email sent by Elizabeth Jordan. I’m sure, if we contacted her....

His boss waved him off impatiently. Leave the tablet with me. I’ll decide how best to procure this information. She went back to writing.

Scott hesitated, debating whether to ask the question now or wait for a more opportune time. His boss looked up again, frowning.

Why are you still here?

He stammered. I...it’s just that there was the possibility of a promotion if I found... He tried to continue, but his boss shot him a warning look. Scott closed his mouth and started to back out of the room.

Don’t forget the door.

He muttered an apology as he quietly shut it behind him.

The woman waited until she was alone, and then pushed herself away from her desk and gleefully spun around in her chair. She was so close to having her hands on something hundreds before her had failed to even come near. She clasped her hands together as she pondered the possibilities. After a few minutes, she picked up the phone on her desk and dialed.

Hello, Mr. Larson, she drawled, I think I may have a job for you....

* * *

Liz was back in the bathroom of the airplane throwing up for the third time. She flushed the toilet, rinsed her mouth out, and looked at herself in the mirror. You look like hell, she said to her reflection. She staggered back to her seat on wobbly legs. Charles looked up sympathetically and offered her the window seat, but she shook her head, collapsing into the one next to the aisle.

Some way to finish a second honeymoon.

She’d commandeered her husband’s laptop for the return trip so she could begin entering notes. Liz had taken a college class or two in archaeology at her father’s insistence, but she really had no idea how to open the ancient monument. She thought back to her classes. There were actually a couple of people who might be able to help. Charles’s roommate had been an archaeology major. She racked her brain and came up with a couple more names. But could she trust them?

Liz was still consumed by what lay before her as she helped her husband unload the taxi and they lugged their suitcases into the house.

Hey, Liz, her sister-in-law, Laura, greeted her with a hug. "How was the second honeymoon? Laura winked at her as she took one of the bags from Liz’s hand, and then frowned. Liz, are you okay? You’re so pale."

She’ll be okay, Little Sis, Charles said as he dropped his suitcases and gave his kid sister a peck on the cheek. She just got a little sick on the plane coming back. Probably had one too many margaritas in the airport lounge while we were waiting on our flight.

Liz shot him a warning glance as their daughter, Hannah, came bounding down the stairs.

Matt’s coming over later. He wasn’t sure if he should since you two were coming home today, but I told him you wouldn’t care.

Wow, Charles said, shaking his head in mock surprise. No, ‘Hi, Mom and Dad. How was the trip?’ I’m hurt. He wiped a pretend tear from his eye.

Hannah smacked at him playfully. Da-ad. You know I want to hear all...well, almost all about it, she said, leaning over to give her dad a hug. So you had a good time? She looked expectantly from one parent to the other.

Liz looked at her husband and smiled, choosing her words carefully. It was certainly...unique. She gave her daughter a squeeze before turning to Laura. I need to talk to you before you head back to Summer Cove.

She pulled her sister-in-law into the dining room and slid the door shut so they could have some privacy. If she was correct about what she’d found, she needed to take precautions, and that involved letting Hannah’s godmother know a little about what was going on.

When they emerged from the dining room a few minutes later, Laura was shaking her head in amazement.

"Hopefully, Hannah can hear about everything as a great story after-the-fact, but it’s important you tell no one until I’m sure. Until everything is finished."

I got it. Laura paused, and then pulled her back into the dining room. "Are you sure you don’t want to tell Hannah before you take this risk?"

Liz sat down at the table, pulling Laura down beside her. There was just so much Laura didn’t understand because Liz wasn’t at liberty to tell her. She’d carried this burden virtually alone for the majority of her adult life. Not even her beloved Charles knew the width and depth of it.

"I know it’s almost time to tell Hannah. Now that the site’s been found, everything could be resolved in a matter of weeks. I’d rather tell her after everything is finished." It will be safer for her not to know.

Laura squeezed Liz’s hand and said she understood. Liz knew she didn’t really. There was no way she could really understand, but she let it go without further explanation.

Liz spent the next week planning, making a careful list of the handful of people she felt she could trust to take on this trip. She just wanted this to be over.

How’s it coming? Charles asked, kissing the top of her head before pulling out a chair at the kitchen table and plopping down beside her as she scribbled the details of what she hoped would be a quick trip. She had no interest in excavating. She needed to get in, find the artifact, and get out. James, Charles’s roommate, could take the credit for the new discovery.

Not so good. I’ve only contacted three of the potential team members, and we need to leave next week.

Charles patted her hand sympathetically. I understand why you feel it’s so urgent, but what’s another couple of weeks?

Liz pulled her hand away and carefully began putting items in a strongbox. She fingered one item, an old piece of parchment, before slipping it into an envelope. "I appreciate the

Reviews for Finding My Way Back (Finding My Escape Series - Book 2)

[tammydewhirst · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The author, Fran Veal, gave me a copy of this novel in exchange for my review.“Finding my Escape” has the feeling of an author that carefully considered all elements. The main character, Hannah, witnesses a great trauma and she spends the first part of the book numb. Instead of skipping this transition, which would be the easy route, Veal eases Hannah into her new life in Tennessee. Hannah is a very authentic feeling teen but readers have the knowledge, despite the fact that she can’t remember anything, that this event has changed her profoundly as it would any child. She has lost the two most important people in her life and to come out of that takes strength of spirit which Veal shows us Hannah has in droves though she is helped by aunt and her empathy for the sorrow that character faces. Hannah faces of choice between reality and giving up and with each step into this stunning story, readers aren’t sure of what she’ll choose.Twelve-year-old Alex also read, “Finding my Escape.” She’s been on a something of a thriller kick of late and I thought she would enjoy this novel. Alex enjoyed the writing style of the story if not some of the boy/girl dynamic. Alex said that Veal is a writer who trusts that her reader can handle what she writes and while the murder of the parents made her feel a little sick she thought it was very important in the broader scheme of the story. How would the killer know what she looks like if Hannah didn’t see her parents die? She also liked the uncertainty of the parallel world. Parents will want to consider their child’s age and comfort level with difficult subjects before buying “Finding My Escape.” “Finding my Escape” is a novel for all genders and all ages so if you like thrillers with a twist, pick up this wonderfully written novel today.