Escape with romance...

Latin Moon

Book # 1 Moon Series

Read An Excerpt

After work, Jess went home and immediately jumped into the shower. She had to get ready for the engagement party.

As the water flowed over her, she thought again about the van following her and the strange phone call. All throughout class that afternoon, she had puzzled over the call. She’d checked the caller ID, but the number had been listed as “Unknown.” She wasn’t sure why, but something had kept her from telling Kat. That same something had kept her from telling Alex about the van. As nervous as she was, she wasn’t quite ready to bring anyone else into it. She’d been on her own a long time and was used to handling her own problems.

Jess knew that with a little time and caution, she could find out what was going on. Why would anyone want her away from Alex? Maybe it was just a prank. Could it have been one of Alex’s cousins joking around with her? It just didn’t make sense that someone would threaten her.

It must be a lark. It was just the sort of thing Alex’s adopted brother, Dash, would do. Dash had such a strange sense of humor. But even if it had been him trying to scare her, she couldn’t explain away the van. There was something funny going on, and her gut instinct said that she needed to figure out what it was before she started telling everyone about it. She was suddenly very glad she hadn’t had her phone with her to call Alex when the van was following her.

She was going to have to be on her guard, but for now she’d wait and see what developed. Maybe she could find out what was going on without bringing anyone else into it.

After her shower, Jess dressed quickly in a little black summer dress and a pair of black sandals. She was putting on the finishing touches of her make-up when there was a knock on the door. “Be right there!”

Turning out the lights, she grabbed her purse, opened the door, and stepped out.

It wasn’t Alex.

Jess jumped back, startled. Right in front of her, in her personal space, stood a big, coarse-looking man. He was frowning at her, so she tried to explain. “I’m sorry. I thought you were someone else.”

She stuck her hand in the closing door to stop its progress and stepped back inside the doorway just as the man suddenly grabbed her. Instinctively she yanked her arm, but he held on tightly.

His other hand cut off her scream as he covered her mouth and started pushing her down the stairs in front of him. She struggled but couldn’t get loose. For a brief moment, she gave in to panic. He was going to rape and kill her -- what else could he possibly want? The thought spurred her into action. She couldn’t let him. She had to get away, or she’d never see Alex again.

Her apartment was at the back of the complex, and there was no one about. Biting at his hand was no good -- he had it cupped where she couldn’t get at it. She tried to kick at him, but he held her too far in front of him. She waited, gathering her strength. With all her weight and muscle, she jerked herself forward. To her surprise and probably his, she got out of his grip. And tumbled down the stairs head first.