Hellbound

By Evan G Andrew

A fast-paced thriller where four people find that following their desires leads to unintended consequences.
An ordinary married couple and their two lovers fall foul of Chinese Triads and Mafia hitmen as they each seek their own future path regardless of the cost.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Evan G Andrew
• Release date: Dec 25, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463820612

Evan G Andrew

Evan Andrew lives on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand and is a widely-travelled historian who enjoys researching his books. An enthusiastic skier, tennis player and gardener, he also enjoys racing and breeding thoroughbreds.He has written several historical romances including The Spanish Woman, a stand-alone adventure story, and Shadows in the Night and Shadows of Doubt which are set in the Regency period after Waterloo. The last two are historical thrillers in which the heroine Julia unknowingly gets caught up between the Bourbon and Bonapartist factions, as well as in romantic entanglements from both sides.He has just finished writing a novel based around the Boxer rebellion in China.Evan works tirelessly to find new ways to promote indie published books.

Book preview

Hellbound

Evan G Andrew

Copyright Evan G Andrew 2018

Smashwords edition

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Other titles by Evan G Andrew

Historical fiction

The Spanish Woman

Shadows in the Night

Shadows of Doubt

Beware of the Dragon

Fiction. Thriller, triads, infidelity, crime

She awoke suddenly out of the dream.

Her body clammy with sweat, heart beating fast, mouth dry, and throat parched.

Staggering out of bed, she went to the wash basin, groped for the cup in the dark, poured a drink of water and gulped it down. Clinging to the basin, she forced herself to reconstruct her dream.

His face, so vivid, so clear.

Eyes shut, she willed herself to see him before her again. So many times she couldn’t picture him at all and panic would set in. Oh yes, his colouring, parts of his body were quite clear, but the shape of his face, the shadows of his eyes, marks on his skin, outline of his lips, these she couldn’t fit together.

Except in her dream.

He was there again, but already fading from her mind’s eye as she let her mind run back to when she had first seen him.

She had taken the children on holiday to a beach resort while Larry was away on one of his regular business trips to the East.

The first few days on arrival had been unseasonably cold and windy, but on the third day the sun shone from a brilliant blue sky, the breeze subsided, and she took the children to the beach.

At one end there was a slightly secluded corner below the cliff, with a rock wall which gave shelter, and here they set out the beach mats, towels and toys.

Looking around at the other beachgoers there before her, she spotted two older couples, another family group, and one man slightly apart from the rest reading a folded newspaper.

In the course of the morning she was able to observe everyone from over the top of her book while watching her own children, applying sunblock, and going for a swim, then returning to dry off.

Through the protection of her sunglasses, she felt unobserved but all-seeing of everything and everyone around her. While the family group and the two couples did much the same as herself, the solitary male never moved, apart from changing his position to lie on his stomach.

Once he finished his newspaper, other than lighting up a fresh cigarette at regular intervals, he just seemed to keep gazing straight ahead into the distance.

It was hard to see his features clearly, as he wore wrap-around sunglasses that obscured a lot of his face. He had short dark hair and tanned olive skin, was slim with little body hair, and appeared reasonably tall. He was wearing faded grey beach shorts, a much-used tee shirt, and a baseball cap lay beside him on an old striped beach towel.

At twelve o’clock he got up, put on his shirt, picked up his belongings, and walked off the beach towards the shopping centre. He could have been aged anywhere between late twenties and early forties, it was impossible to say.

The next day she returned with the children to the same position on the beach, but earlier this time.

He was already there, dressed just the same as before, but without the newspaper.

At one stage he removed his sunglasses, and once she got a clear view, she saw he was probably in his early thirties like herself, but while attractive, his face had a strained, haunted look. Again, he smoked continuously looking out to sea, and just after twelve gathered up his things and walked off the beach.

She stayed there longer, then went and bought some food and drink. Made a picnic for the children, and swam and played with them until late afternoon when they returned to their condominium.

He never returned to the beach at all.

The following day continued fine, and this time as she headed to the beach with the children, she was not alone. In the next apartment was a family with children the same age as her own, and kids being kids, didn’t take long to call in on each other, comparing toys and books, and within a few hours it was as if they had known each other for ever.

She liked the Hudsons, they were a friendly couple only a few years older than herself, and seemed pleased their children had made some instant friends.

She sat with them on the beach and played with the children, while out of the corner of her eye watching the stranger in the same position, still wearing the same clothes as previously, and leaving at the same time.

Must be a shift worker, she thought. Starts work in the afternoon, wonder if he’s a barman or…

Really, what was wrong with her?

Who cared what he did, or who he was?

It was of no interest to her.

The next day he wasn’t there, and she found herself annoyed that (a) she should even bother to notice, and (b) that she missed his familiar presence.

In the afternoon, Judy Hudson offered to take all the children to a nearby fun park while her husband Don played golf. Although she offered to go with them, Judy said they would be just fine, so why didn’t she take some time out on her own and do some shopping?

So, she did.

It was easy browsing among the beach stores and little boutiques looking for gifts to take back, and without the children there getting bored, easily accomplished.

She walked right to the far end of the shopping centre and came to a pleasant sub-tropical park where she bought an ice cream, sat on a bench, and ate it.

Afterwards, she walked through the park and explored further.

To her surprise, there was a large and attractive caravan park, filled with motor homes, trailers and cabins for rent among trees and flower gardens. She skirted around it by walking down and along the beach, where there was the odd fisherman surf casting in the sea.

Finally she decided she’d walked far enough, so turned around and retraced her steps. Glancing up at the caravans, she saw a solitary figure by the fence line, and recognized him immediately as the man from the beach.

Without quite knowing why, she lifted her arm and waved.

After a moment’s hesitation, he waved back, then turned around and vanished from sight.

Sitting on the beach the next day, she waited until the moment was right, and made sure one of the children’s beach balls bounced over to where he was sitting. As she retrieved it, she gave him her sunniest smile.

‘Hello, sorry about this.’ She tossed the ball back to the waiting youngsters. ‘Are you staying in the caravan park? I thought I saw you there yesterday.’

His colour seemed to deepen for a moment.

‘Yes, I’m living there.’

‘Oh, can you rent caravans there? I was thinking it might be fun for the children next year when we come back. I’m sure it must be a lot cheaper than the condo we’re renting at the moment.’

He didn’t reply straight away, and she immediately went on about how she must walk along and make some inquiries. Were all the caravans the same? She’d love to look at one.

While the words were coming out, she couldn’t believe it was herself speaking. How could she be so bold, so obvious? And yet without stopping she introduced herself, conscious of the fact that he would assume she was a single parent.

Her wedding ring finger bare, and no mention of Larry.

‘Steve,’ was all he said, and put out a hand, awkwardly trying to get up.

‘No, no, don’t move,’ she said, squatting down beside him and taking his hand, wishing he wasn’t wearing those sunglasses.

‘Will you be at your caravan about three o’clock?’

He nodded and she heard herself saying, ‘I’ll see you there then,’ and got up to re-join the game with the children.

She was trembling all over, and kept busy for the rest of the time playing with the children, all the time conscious that he was watching her.

Oh why, she thought as she ran after the ball for the hundredth time, did you speak to him like that, virtually throwing yourself head first at him? What on earth’s wrong with you? She felt flushed and foolish, and couldn’t bring herself to even look in his direction, but for all that, she felt a wild elation.

Why was she being so stupid, acting like a teenager?

She didn’t have to go along to the caravan park, and even if she did, she certainly didn’t need to go calling on him.

But she knew she would.

The following day she took all the children to the beach while the Hudsons went shopping. To her annoyance and surprise, Steve wasn’t at the beach, and never showed up at all.

After lunch, Judy and Don returned and offered to take all the kids to a movie.

Things couldn’t have worked out better, but she was worried.

He hadn’t been at the beach that morning.

Had she come on too strong?

Anyway, she felt sick at the thought of brazenly going along to his caravan, and then what? Really, was she crazy? What moment of madness had possessed her? Why, she couldn’t even remember now which caravan was his.