Here Lies: After Dark, #7

By R.D. Coast

Cassie is ready to enjoy a day of simplicity at the lake with her best friend, Megan. The day is absolutely perfect. The sun is out and the mood is high … even if Cassie has to endure rap music on their trip. But a stop for gas, slushies, and a washroom break turns into something much more. At least for Cassie.

Yes, it's a beautiful day. For a kidnapping.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.D. Coast
• Release date: Sep 23, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386379720

R.D. Coast

About R.D. Coast R.D. Coast was once visited by a great dragon and is pretty sure that her two childhood friends who could run up the walls and play on the ceiling were absofuckinglutely real. As a young reader, R.D. loved the mysteries of Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys; the fantasy of Roman and Greek mythologies; and, the darkness of R. L. Stine and Christopher Pike. Now she enjoys creating erotic stories that bring together the supernatural, women we want as friends, and the alpha males that claim them. With a slight exception to her After Dark series. Stay connected: Website: rdcoast.wordpress.com Twitter: @RDCoast Instagram: @r.d.coast Facebook: @RDCoast

Book preview

Welcome, Darling

Cassie is ready to enjoy a day of simplicity at the lake with her best friend, Megan. The day is absolutely perfect. The sun is out and the mood is high ... even if Cassie has to endure rap music on their trip. But a stop for gas, slushies, and a washroom break turns into something much more. At least for Cassie.

Yes, it's a beautiful day. For a kidnapping.

One

The blaring honk of the shiny black sedan made Cassie burst out laughing as she turned around. Through the back window, she watched a blonde woman, muted by closed windows, shouting. The woman’s cheeks blotched red and her hands gestured with palms up over the steering wheel.

What a moron! And, of course, she would be driving a BMW.

Lifting her sunglasses from long-lashed black eyes, Cassie twisted her torso and raised both arms. With a raucous laugh, she shot her two middle fingers high. No fucking manners, knowing we were waiting for this pump. Fucking thought she could just roll in. Bitch move denied.

Her best friend, Megan, slipped off her seat belt and turned around to see the woman back up. The sedan punched backward, almost hitting a black Chevy. A deep horn, issued scornfully by the truck, made the woman burn crimson and finally shut her mouth. Her lips drew into a tight, thin line as she sped away.

Opening the door of her white Kia Soul, Megan grabbed her purse and jumped out. Okay, forget that bitch. She looked around before adjusting her shorts which were riding high up her freckled thighs. Want anything from inside?

You know you can just pay at the pump.

I know, but I have to use the washroom and I really want a slushie. Want one?

Sure. Make mine with anything blue and red. Just as Megan closed the door, Cassie called out, And get gum!

She watched Megan lift the nozzle from the gas pump, then turn back around. A slight breeze lifted strands of Megan’s auburn hair reminding Cassie of Medusa. Snickering, she gratefully lowered the volume of the stereo and took her phone out. Opening her Instagram app, she scrolled through photos of her cousin, Preethi, celebrating her birthday a week ago on Saturday with her first round of shots. First official round.

Cassie began uploading photos from the drive so far, wishing that she’d taken a photo of the bitchy woman’s shamed face when the truck had blared its horn at her.

Megan tapped on the window and flashed Cassie a smile as she walked away to go inside and pay. Unfortunately, since Megan was driving the more than one hour trip to Cove Bend, she got to choose the music meaning Cassie had to listen to rap. So even though Megan had a Beatles CD Cassie actually liked, she was currently suffering the fact that Megan was on a Jay-Z bender.

The sun was already hot even though it was only mid-morning. Cassie slipped the straps to her high-cut black swimsuit off her shoulders, brushing away a wave of long, black hair, too. Although she typically avoided tanning, she did not want any visible lines on her skin. Now that the engine was off, the air blowing from the vents was quickly becoming hot. Not bothering to roll down the window, Cassie checked the mirror on her side and opened the door. She threw a leg out, letting it hang comfortably as stale air seeped out.

Sighing in boredom, she punched a button until the CD fast forwarded to the only song that was bearable and only because it was Jay-Z and Beyoncé. Guiltily, she turned up the volume, her leg swinging loosely in time with the beat as she went back to scrolling through photos.

Deciding to check Buzzfeed, Cassie first looked up for an update on Megan’s location. A little girl holding a woman’s hand was skipping as they walked to the car across from Cassie. The girl’s face was scrunched in question as she raised her head, talking in a lilting voice to the woman.

The woman gave Cassie a smile as they got close before opening their car door. Wanting to know who the woman was smiling at, the little girl looked around. Seeing Cassie smile back, the girl lifted a hand and excitedly waved before being hoisted into her car seat.

As they drove away, Cassie wondered what was taking Megan so long. Her eyes lifted as she heard a heavy engine pulling up.

Circling around and facing her, the Chevy from earlier was creeping into the now empty space on Cassie’s side of the Kia. Surprisingly, only the Kia and the Chevy were in the gas station. The truck crunched to a lurking stop on the cement. It was fully parked alongside the Kia, facing the opposite direction, not at a pump. There were only about two feet of space between the two vehicles.

It felt weird. Any sense of camaraderie that she may have felt after the truck’s intervention with the woman in the BMW was now draining quickly. Taking the keys, Cassie turned in her seat to jump down, deciding to go into the station. Seriously, she thought, where the hell is Megan?

The smell of rubber filled the small space of Cassie’s open door. Cassie tried to see into the truck’s cab as she slid onto the hot cement. The back window was heavily tinted making it impossible to see anything. Turning her back to the truck, Cassie stood in the open door and reached for her purse.

The sound of metal hitting the Kia made Cassie jerk around. A lean man with corded arms stood