Kalinda

By Linda K Ladig

Pour a glass of wine and enjoy a woman scorned getting payback. Her name is 'KALINDA'.
It was the fairy tale she had always wanted until she saw her new husbands face when he was told how much her trusts were worth!
Preview: The vibration woke Kalinda up, rising to sit up she was violently stopped by ramming her head into something just a few inches from her head. Laying back down her body starts to panic feeling the confined space she was in. Stretching arms and legs to measure the confinement Kalinda opens her mouth to scream when a jerking motion stops the scream. Suddenly a red glow fills the space as her mind screams 'you're in a trunk, that's a brake light, you're in a fricking trunk...'

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Dec 23, 2013
• ISBN: 9781304739773

Book preview

Kalinda

Kalinda

By Linda K Ladig

Kalinda was swept off her feet, it was the fairy tale she wanted until she saw her new husband’s face when he was told how much her trusts were worth!

PREVIEW:

Kalinda couldn’t hear their footsteps but she heard their voices fading, the last words she heard came from the woman.

Leave the door open…it’ll look like she was thrown out.

Hearing an engine start Kalinda knew instinctively what was coming, the second cars headlights were now shining all the way to the other side of the ravine then ever so slightly they titled down coming toward her.

Copyright 2013 by Linda K Ladig

Kalinda is a work of fiction.

Names, characters, places and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, locales, business establishments is completely coincidental and not intended by the author.

Cover design by: Ladig Photography

Cover Photography by: Ladig Photography

All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned in printed or electronic form without permission from the author except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

www.ladigpubs.com

Sit back with a glass of wine and enjoy a woman scorned getting payback.

Her name is

‘KALINDA’

CHAPTER ONE

The vibration woke Kalinda up, rising to sit up she was violently stopped by ramming her head into something just a few inches from her head. Laying back down cussing her body starts to panic feeling the confined space she was in. Stretching arms and legs to measure the confinement Kalinda opens her mouth to scream when a jerking motion stops her as her mind tells her she is moving. A red glow filling the space her mind screams ‘you’re in a trunk, that’s a brake light, you’re in a fucking trunk…stay quiet stay quiet…someone is driving’. Kalinda puts her hands over her mouth to keep the scream in. Taking deep breaths through her hands the mustiness of the trunks carpet and the exhaust fumes cause her stomach to wrench. Keeping control of her stomach so as not to vomit also brought the fear and panic down a couple notches. Kalinda recited the words her self- defense trainer had pounded into her head when her mother had bought her the lessons for her sixteenth Birthday, ‘you are still alive get control, you are still alive get control’.  Feeling more control drift over her with the words, her mind tells her not to waste time figuring out how she got into the trunk but how to get the hell out of it. Whoever was driving wasn’t going to drive around forever with her in the trunk. The headache hissed snaking over her head bringing tears to her eyes. Tentatively, she  uses her hands to feel through her hair finding two swelling bumps, one at the back of her head the other just over her right temple. The lump at the back was swelled to the size of a fist, concern of the size was washed away feeling the one at her temple that was seriously bleeding. She recited out loud.

I am alive get control I am alive get control…

In a whisper she tells her self.

You are alive! You are awake, hurts like hell but you are conscious…ok…all head wounds bleed like crazy…you are still here.

Her hands still exploring she comes to her neck feeling a welt, gently she touches it as a memory tells her the welt was caused by a taser. Kalinda tries to grab more of the memory when the sound changes around her. Panic jumps through her body, they were on a gravel road, there   couldn’t be much time left for her now. Safety release flashes like a neon light in her mind, searching the lines of the trunk her hopes sink feeling where the handle had been broken off. Putting her mind to other options, kicking out the back seat came up. Turning and squirming she braces her knees to press against the back seat. Counting down from three she is interrupted with the red lights filling the space as the car comes to a stop. A whimper rising from her throat, her mind stops her screaming ‘play possum play possum you got to get out of this space to run’. Kalinda closing her eyes demands her body to be dead weight, dead weight, dead weight.

CHAPTER TWO

Kalinda wasn’t looking for a relationship when she met Doug for the first time. She was standing in the mild surf coming onto the California beach thinking of her mother and how much she would miss her now that she was gone. The past two weeks of arranging the funeral, the funeral its self and then being left by her father to take care of her mother’s condo and personal effects. Kalinda held no ill feelings to her father for leaving, he had loved her mother even after they divorced, but with his own health concerns it was too much to ask for him to handle any more than attending the ceremony to lay the woman he loved to rest.  She had her car packed and ready to head back home to the Northwest with this last stop on the beach to say goodbye to her mother and the warmth of the California sun.

Turning sharply to head back to her car she ran full frontal into a man who ended up on his backside in the sand from their encounter. Before Kalinda could express her apology the man quickly stood up laughingly brushing his self-off, Kalinda found his laugh infectious and with a giggle said.

I am soooo sorry…are you ok?

The man finishing dusting his self, stops his reply of ‘I’m fine’ when he sees the face of the woman standing in front of him. With a sheepish grin he continues saying.

Ah…I’m the one to say sorry…I didn’t mean to sneak up on you like that…I…ah…damn I’m sorry.

Smiling Kalinda says.

No it was my fault, my mind was off somewhere and I should have watched where I was going.

His blushing under control the man brushes his hands off then extends his right hand saying.

I’m Doug…and this is not my usual way of meeting women.

Seeing a shadow come over Kalinda’s face Doug quickly adds.

No…no…I wasn’t trying to hit on you…I was retrieving my Frisbee thing…I throw it and it makes me have to run if I want it back…

Picking up a blue Frisbee at Kalinda’s feet he says.

See, it’s right here…honest…

Doug’s earnest appeal broke the dam on Kalinda’s grief. Tears ran freely down her cheeks as she heard her self laughing, the more she tried to control the rolling laughter the more she laughed. Tiring, she sat down as her laughter turned to soft crying.

Doug hearing the tone change sat next to Kalinda gently putting his arm around her saying.

Wow, my Frisbee has never had that effect on someone before…would it be better if it was red? Hmmm red is a good color…

Doug rambled on about different colors for the Frisbee until Kalinda manages to dry her tears and smile at the man sitting next to her.

Doug, right?...No blue is the prefect color for a Frisbee.

Removing his arm from around her shoulders Doug looks up the beach saying.

Well… I think I need a drink…I would be surprised if you chose to join me.

Kalinda stood up dusting off the back of her dress, with her hands on her hips she states.

Doug, I could really use a drink right now…so I will join you!

Doug’s boyish flirting over drinks won Kalinda over wanting more of this charming young man who so easily made her laugh.

The drinks turned into Kalinda staying another two weeks in the small town along the coast spending almost every waking hour with Doug.

CHAPTER THREE

The next three months their relationship grew into an engagement then a fairy tale wedding on the beach they had met on. Kalinda’s father and her close friends tried to persuade her into having a longer engagement, take the time to really get to know each other. Some hinted that maybe she was missing her mother so much that she was vulnerable to such a serious relationship. Kalinda blew them all off assuring them she knew what she wanted, she wanted Doug.

The timing was tight, Doug was able to relocate with his firm to their northern office but with only a two week deadline, giving them two weeks for the wedding, honeymoon and moving. Doug had wanted to use movers but Kalinda laughingly conned him into doing the move their selves telling him.

What better way to get to know someone than packing all their stuff and moving them…Hey, if we survive this we can handle anything.

With everything moved into Kalinda’s house, Doug was still reluctant at all the work left to be done except for the evenings. Boxes all around them, take-out food for dinner Doug transformed into an attentive husband romancing his soon to be wife in front of the burning fireplace in his new home.

The wedding was a beautiful event, just as the sun was setting the couple exchanged vows. Doug with no family and Kalinda’s father unable to attend, they kept the ceremony small. Two of Kalinda’s friends and a work friend of Doug’s were the only ones in attendance. They fitted in a two day honeymoon in a suite over-looking the ocean before flying back home in time for Doug to be in his new office Monday morning.

The first few weeks of marriage, Doug settled into his new position and Kalinda was enjoying playing Suzie homemaker. The only tense time between them was Kalinda mentioning, during the unpacking of Doug’s things into her house, how few personal things, especially pictures Doug seemed not to have. She quickly dropped the subject with Doug’s explanation that he had no reason to have memories of his life before her. It wasn’t so much what he said as how he said it that kept her from bringing the subject up again.

Kalinda couldn’t explain why she hadn’t totally explained to Doug her financial situation. When she had gotten the call to set up the appointment for her mother’s estate to be executed she had simply told Doug. ‘It should be simple enough.’

Sitting in the conference room,  Mr. Jones the family’s legal consultant, explained since her parents having been divorced for several years he had felt it better he settle what little business with her father separately. Jones being assured everyone was comfortable he read the contents of Kalinda’s mother’s will. After several bequeaths to charities and close friends, her mother had left her personal property and several real properties to Kalinda to do with as she wished. Mr. Jones’ demeanor changed as he went to the next item of business. Kalinda knew what was coming her mother had explained all the arrangements with her when she knew her time was ending. Jones was very meticulous in explaining how the trust from her mother was to be aligned with the trust she already had from her Grandparents when they had passed. Kalinda thought Jones had spent too much time on all the statistics and numbers and quarterly this and that but she sat patiently since Jones had Doug’s full attention. Wrapping up Jones stated the amount of the trusts. Hearing of the number, Kalinda had expected a different reaction from Doug. It was the first time she had seen such a cold look come over her new husband’s face.

Kalinda had access to over 18 million dollars.

CHAPTER FOUR

Kalinda believed she truly loved this man she called husband, but she could not believe a real loving marriage could cool down so quickly after just two years.

The first year of their marriage Doug had accompanied her to Phoenix for her quarterly meetings with Mr. Jones. They made them into mini extended weekend getaways, but this past year he had expressed not being able to take the time from work and preferred staying home. Kalinda knew this was a weak excuse, Doug could do his job temporarily from home or Phoenix, having done it several times before. The past eight months had evolved with fewer times working from home into more late nights at work. Along with his disinterest in coming with her his interest in her had waned too, fewer dinners out, mini weekends anywhere had stopped. Kalinda had spoken her concern to her father and close friends receiving the same advice ‘all marriages have a slow down time’ with this always came the question ‘you still love Doug right?’ yes would escape her lips before she even took time to really think on the question.

Kalinda had made this flight too many times to enjoy the fact she was traveling, getting away to the sunny skies of Arizona. The normal time frame of these trips was three to four days but this trip Kalinda had planned on a full week for shopping and touching base with seldom seen friends. In her heart she knew the extended time was to be away from Doug long enough for him to miss her.

Her mother’s estate had left her several properties in Arizona, Mr. Jones based in Phoenix, handled the properties and Kalinda’s trust. Jones offered to fly to her with the quarterly business that needed to be taken care of but Kalinda always declined the offers explaining getting to spend time in the desert sun to dry out was worth the trouble.

Sitting in the Las Vegas terminal waiting for her connecting flight to Phoenix Kalinda was rolling ideas through her mind what she could change to get Doug to let up on work so they spend more time together. Having paid no attention to the man sitting next to her she did notice him when he rose from his seat taking a carryon bag with him as he walked away. A short time later another man came taking the now open seat. Several moments go by when the first man returned with a quizzical look at the man occupying his previous seat, catching her attention Kalinda watches as he walked slowly away obviously looking for another seat. The terminal was packed and his search was in vain. Kalinda felt bad thinking he may have expected her to hold his seat, with a little laugh she tells herself ‘should have said something’.

Hearing the call for first class passengers, Kalinda took her time preferring being one of the last first class passengers to board she hated nothing more than standing in a line. Her timing was near perfect, most of the first class passengers were seated when she entered to find her seat, she whispered a soft ‘thank you’ that she would not be sitting next to the man who’s seat she hadn’t saved but she did have to stand right next to him as she waited for an elderly woman to arrange herself to sit. Standing there she saw out of the side of her eye the man checking her out. Feeling his eyes on her Kalinda moved quickly to her assigned seat once the elderly woman finally got seated. During the flight Kalinda found her eyes on the man, he was overly good