Beauty and the Beastmaster - Linda Winstead Jones

Prologue

One Year Ago

Gabi’s eyes drooped. She closed one eye for a moment, squinting at the dark and deserted road ahead with the other. Her headlights illuminated a portion of the narrow road, but beyond that light there was nothing. She might as well be driving into a black hole. Driving with one eye open wasn’t safe at all; she could feel herself drifting toward sleep, so she forced both eyes open wide.

She’d been driving for too long, was tired to the bone, but she didn’t dare stop. Her fear was stronger than any physical or mental exhaustion. She wasn’t far enough away, she wasn’t safe. Was any place in this world safe?

Instinct and an old map — an actual folded paper map since she’d dumped her cell phone somewhere on the shoulder of I-75 as she left Florida — had led her to this narrow and occasionally bumpy Alabama road. It had been hours since she’d seen another vehicle, but who in their right mind would be on this road, or any other, in the middle of the night?

Both eyes drifted shut, just for a moment. When she swerved and almost drove into a ditch, she jerked awake, heart pounding, breath coming too hard.

Mia, snugly secured in the car seat behind Gabi, stirred. She cooed.

Gabi gripped the steering wheel tighter. She leaned forward, forcing herself into an uncomfortable position. Maybe she was willing to risk her own life in order to escape, but she wouldn’t risk her child’s life for any reason.

Mia must’ve agreed, and in her own infant way made sure her mother was wide awake. Oh, that smell! How could something so adorable and beautiful create a stink like that? This was her punishment for supplementing with formula. It obviously didn’t agree with Mia. A soft cry followed the arrival of the smell. That cry soon turned into an ear-splitting scream.

Gabi hadn’t seen a gas station or any other sign of life for a while, but luck was with her. The car’s headlights illuminated a turn ahead. She glanced down at the dashboard. She’d need gas soon, but right now all she needed was a place to park for a couple of hours. She’d change and feed Mia, and then they’d both sleep.

He wouldn’t find them here. Not for a while, anyway. What about tomorrow, or next week? She’d drive herself crazy if she went there, so she focused on tonight, this road, on right now. There was nothing else.

When she finally reached the turn off, she took it slowly. Gabi found herself on another narrow road; there wasn’t even much of a shoulder. Nothing was directly ahead. Nothing at all. There were no streetlights here, no life on the side of the road, so she had to go by what her headlights showed her. She turned on her brights. There still wasn’t anything much to see.

How far should she go before she turned around? No. Turning back wasn’t an option. There had to be something ahead. A house or a business. A wider spot on the shoulder of the road. Something. Anything…

The driveway to the left sprung into view without much warning, but Gabi was driving slowly enough to take it. She expected to see a house ahead, but instead there was an industrial-looking windowless building that appeared to be abandoned. This time of night, it was impossible to tell. She drove to the front of the building, parked, and turned off her headlights.

What she really wanted to do was sleep, but like any mother she had things to take care of before she could even think of sleeping. Gabi opened the door on the damp, brisk chill of early March in the South, and quickly moved around the car and into the back seat. She changed Mia’s diaper, put the foul thing in an empty grocery bag, tied it tightly, and opened the door just long enough to drop it on the ground and then slam the door on the cold air. That done, she bared one breast. Snug in her arms, Mia fed with relish.

Gabi held her daughter close and shut her eyes. She’d known from the moment she’d suspected she was pregnant that she’d love her child, but the power of that love continued to overwhelm her. She kissed the top of Mia’s head, breathing in that special baby smell which was so sweet it more than made up for the other baby smell, which wasn’t so sweet. She didn’t know what tomorrow or the

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