Struck Down: Struck Down, #1

By Penelope L'Amoreaux

When my fiance left me at the altar, I thought nothing could be worse. 

I was wrong. 

I wanted to leave my hum-drum life. I wished for an adventure, a way to escape. 

I should have been careful what I wished for. 

Now he has me. I can't run. I can't escape. Every time I try to build myself back up, he strikes me down. 

He's intent on making me his. The worst part? I'm thinking about letting him. 

... I'm not sure who I am anymore. 

Author's note: This novella includes dark themes and mature content that might make some readers uncomfortable.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penelope L'Amoreaux
• Release date: Jan 20, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524259693

Penelope L'Amoreaux

Penelope L'Amoreaux grew up in North Carolina but never fully mastered the accent. She skipped a lot of high school and went to more colleges than Sarah Palin. It took a long time for her to find something she loved enough to stick with it. When she isn't writing, she helps build rocket ships, attempts to do yoga, and drinks a lot of red wine.

Book preview

Chapter One

I NEVER EXPECTED LOVE to find me in the trunk of a car. Then again, I had never expected to be shoved into a trunk and kidnapped.

"Hitchhiking. Brian’s grimaced. Renee, really?"

Yeah! Hitchhiking. He was my best friend, but he wasn’t going to dissuade me. I had just revealed how I would make my dream adventure happen. It was just happening a little sooner than I had planned. And solo. I hadn’t planned on that, either.

You’re going to get drugged. Murdered. Cut into pieces and stored in some guy’s freezer and they’ll find you and call me and I’ll have to identify your head in a jar. When he was upset, Brian spoke at a rapid clip.

Like he had a reason to be upset. I could punch him. This was about me. I was the one who had been left by my fiancé.

That’s right, I got dumped the day before I was meant to become a mrs..

Absentmindedly my hand went to my chest, rubbing my bruised heart.

Hey, Brian chided, softer. His hand grabbed mine and stopped it. I’m sorry. I get it.

Do you? It’s just... Just what, exactly? How do you tell someone, even if they’re your best friend, that you’ve been broken? That you are just the shell of who you once were?

Shhh, it’s okay. You don’t have to explain. He pulled me into a hug and I buried my face in his chest. If only Brian was the kind of guy I wanted to marry. He is loyal, steadfast, and hysterically funny. All the things you’d want in a husband. Oh, and he is gay. That part... not such marriage material. At least not for me.

Matt had been who I wanted to marry. His height had perfectly complimented my petite frame. His blond hair to my dark curls. His blue eyes to my chocolate ones. His lightness was perfection, beautiful and enchanting. He made me feel dark and exotic, which was impressive considering I was just an average girl from North Carolina. Did I mention he was a brilliant engineer? Being with him felt easy. I didn’t have to think when I was with him. Maybe a bit boring, but stable.

He was a knight in shining armor, and he was gone. He had taken the deposit for the wedding, the ring, and our friends with him. All but Brian, who was doing his best to talk me out of my next plan.

I was going to hitchhike from my coastal town of Wilmington to Maine, backpack down the Appalachian Trail, and then cut across the Mountains to Sea trail. And I was doing it alone.

IT HAD BEEN ONE THING to make my plans and tell them to Brian. It was another to leave my befuddled and worried parents with a backpack on, a bedroll strapped to the top, and my thumb ready to try to hook a ride. Currently I was standing next to I-40. Not right next to it, where I should be if I wanted to hook a ride, but a good fifty feet away.

Behind me was Wilmington. College beach town and vacation home central. All of the houses built on stilts, still too close to the water, all painted in pastel colors. I lived with my parents on the inside of the town in a small townhouse. I had never been anywhere outside of the Outer Banks, except for one road trip as a child to Cedar Point in Ohio.

Matt was still in Wilmington. He had left me, so it was far past time for me to blow the sleepy beach city. Past time, yet here I was, stalling.

My feet dragged as I moved toward the zipping cars and roaring trucks. The air smelled like rubber and oil, the pavement so hot I could feel it through my sandals.

I wished I had more money.

I wished Matt hadn’t cleaned out the accounts, taking my travel savings.

... I wished Matt was with me, on my first big, real adventure.

Shaking, I stuck my arm out. The sun’s rays warmed my already tan skin. Being a beach kid meant I was brown year-round. My mom called me her ‘toasted almond.’

With more than a little hesitation, I stuck my thumb in the air. As soon as it was up, every warning I had received raced through my head. Renee, it’s so dangerous, my mom’s voice cried. Honey, it isn’t just dangerous, it’s tacky. No one likes hitchhikers anymore. I’d be surprised if you even get a lift out of town, my dad had tried another approach. Murdered, drugged, and chopped up. Brian’s voice echoed.

Oh shit.

I prepared to take my arm down. To head back to my folk’s place in defeat.

But there wasn’t time—a car pulled up beside me.

I bit my lip and walked to the passenger side as the window was rolling down.

A teenage girl looked at me through heavy black glasses. Her friend who was driving was busy checking her flaming red nail polish.

You hitching?

Yeah.

A huge grin. That’s so cool. We’re heading to Raleigh, want in?

It was perfect. In Raleigh I could switch from an east-west route and head north.

Sure, thanks!

Their trunk popped and I tossed my bag in. As I entered their car my hand found its way to my chest again. The habit had started the very moment Matt had left me standing, dumbfounded, in front of the preacher. It was used to trying to rub away the sharp ache that came with thinking of Matt. Those thoughts came often.

Now, though...

Now it was trying to slow the rapid beat of excitement. This was it. I was doing something huge. My first big adventure.

I looked out the back as we pulled onto I-40 and kept looking as the only city I had ever known grew smaller and smaller, and then disappeared.

THE GIRLS WERE MANDY and Sarah. They were out of school for the summer and escaping to Raleigh to party with college boys. Their jokes made me smile, but my heart wasn’t into getting to know them. It was too busy trying to burst from my chest.

The guys in Raleigh are so much more sophisticated than the boys in Wilmington, Mandy was talking while she drove. It made me nervous that she looked back at me so frequently. I would have felt better if she kept her eyes on the road.

Do you want to come party with us? Sarah asked. You’re so pretty, I bet you could get a ton of phone numbers!

I was grateful for the huge sunglasses I was wearing. It kept them from seeing the fresh shine of tears in my eyes. No, thanks though. I’m trying to get to Maine.

This prompted a flurry of questions. Why was I trying to get to Maine? I was going to do what? Most importantly, why in God’s name was I attempting something so monumental?

As I told my story the girls rolled their windows up to better hear me.

... so that’s it, I concluded. I’ve never been on an adventure, never done anything on my own. I had hoped to do it with someone, but maybe its better that it is just me. I’ve had help with everything in my life, even paying bills. This is on me, just me. One great, big adventure.

Wow, Sarah said. She had turned around to face me while I had talked. Her eyes were large, like moons. That’s so amazing.

I flushed with pleasure. It was, wasn’t it?

I haven’t done anything yet, I reminded her.

Sure you did. You stuck out your thumb.

Those five words became a mantra in that moment. A metaphor, though I wasn’t sure it was complete yet. It would be in a few months when I hiked back into Wilmington.

You stuck out your thumb.

Hell yes, I did.

THEY DROPPED ME OFF just outside of the city. I figured I’d have better luck catching a ride on the highway than I would in the city.

To say I felt high was an understatement. I had never done drugs, but I wondered if this is what it felt like. Like electricity was racing through me. Like I could not only run a marathon—I could win it. Heart thundering and smile beaming, I gave my mom a quick call.

Hello?

You’ll never guess where I am.

Renee? You’ve been gone about two and half hours. You’re probably in Raleigh.

I pouted. Mom, no fun. Yes, I am officially in Raleigh, having completed my first of many hitches. Is that what I call it? A hitch?

Whatever you want, baby. Who picked you up? You did what I said, right? No men—only women.

Yeah, mom. It was a couple of young girls. They were nice.

Well... I’m still not crazy about this idea. Why don’t I come pick you up?

I’ll talk to you later, mom.

We said our goodbyes, her’s plainly begging me to reconsider, mine an assurance that I really, truly needed this. She understood the sentiment enough to let me go. My gut twisted as I hung up. I had promised check-ins, but not how frequently they would come. Two and a half hours...

I resolved to not call her for a day. It wasn’t that I wanted to cause her anxiety. It was just that I needed to prove myself. To me. To her. To Matt, even if he never knew it.

Moving close to the edge of the highway I had to bite down my fear. The cars zoomed so close to the shoulder. I would have to always be paying attention, because I would be worse than a pancake if one of them hit me.

I stuck out my thumb, smiling.

Chapter Two

PART OF THE DECISION to hitch was obviously financial. With Matt taking all of our combined savings, I had only a little padding in my name. I had saved from my waitressing job just enough for a buffer, but not for hotels every night. Mostly just for food and, god forbid, in case of an emergency.

But after standing on the side of the road for hours, my situation started to feel  like an emergency. No one had slowed down. Most drivers wouldn’t even look at me. I