Masked (32 page)
She arched her brows skeptically. “What are you really doing?”
He smiled, sending her nerves into overdrive, but didn’t answer her question.
Missy sighed. “I don’t need you to watch over me,” she said, walking again. “I’m perfectly capable of running errands alone.”
Tyler fell easily into stride beside her. “There are more soldiers milling about,” he pointed out.
The mention of soldiers had her feeling instantly sick. She was tempted to turn around right then, to hell with the eggs, but she forced her feet to keep going in the right direction. They continued in silence. As she bought the eggs, chatting with the vendor woman, Tyler was like a constant shadow in the background.
When she left, she picked up her pace, leaving him behind her. She glanced back a couple of times, seeing that he had fallen further behind, giving her the space she needed. How he knew that, she wasn’t sure, but part of her was grateful. She just didn’t do well with men, sadly. She wished she could be stronger about it, but couldn’t see that happening with someone as physically intimidating as the man behind her.
They were nearing their street when she heard wheels behind her. The sound of a vehicle in these parts was practically unheard of, so it immediately had her looking around. She turned just in time to see a large, white van pull up to the curb just ahead of where Tyler was walking. Missy stopped, something in her gut telling her that what she was seeing wasn’t right.
Tyler was looking at the surrounding buildings, seemingly unaware of the strange appearance of the van. Two men stepped out, dressed all in white. Tyler saw them right as he came up to where they stood.
Missy couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she saw Tyler’s mouth moving. The men’s backs were to her while they conversed. Suddenly one of the men moved, his closed fist going to Tyler’s throat. Missy bit back a cry, stuffing her fist in her mouth so she wouldn’t draw attention to herself.
Tyler struggled against them as both men moved forward now, each grabbing one arm. His eyes met hers over their shoulders. He seemed to be trying to say something to her with that look and she had a pretty good idea that it was to run. Missy knew there was no way she’d outrun a vehicle, and if she started to take off she was bound to draw their attention.
Instead she dove into the nearest doorway, pressing herself back so she wouldn’t be seen. Carefully she looked around the corner, peeking one eye out. Tyler’s head was hanging forward, his whole body seemed to be dead weight now as the two men dragged him to the open door of the van. They threw him roughly inside before jumping back into the front seats.
Missy jerked back just as the van sped by her. She stood there in disbelief, shock racing through her entire body. Her hands shook as she stepped out of the doorway and began running as fast as she could toward the house.
When she entered she heard everyone from the kitchen. Almost tripping in her haste, she raced through the living room into the kitchen where she found them all sitting.
“There you are,” Phoenix said, her smile instantly disappearing when she saw the look of horror on Missy’s face. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Tyler,” she said, her breath coming out in huge gulps. “He’s been taken.”
AUTHOR BIO
Janelle Stalder was born and raised in Brampton, Ontario. At an early age she developed a love for literature. Her debut novel, Eden, was the first book in a series of four, released in September of 2011. The second book, Eden-West, was released in July of 2012, and the third book, Eden-South was released in March of 2013. The fourth book of the Eden Series, Eden-East, will be release at the end of 2013. She is a strong supporter of other independent authors, and loves to interact with her readers. When she's not writing, Janelle is at home with her husband, two children, Aiden and Elora, and her two furry children, Alice and Lily. She now resides in the small town in Ontario in her old, possibly haunted, century home.
Janelle loves to hear from her readers. Contact her at
[email protected]
Follow her on Twitter - @jmstalder or Visit her Author Page on Facebook!
- TITLE PAGE
- COPYRIGHT
- ALSO BY JANELLE STALDER
- DEDICATION
- TABLE OF CONTENTS
- EPIGRAPH
- PROLOGUE
- CHAPTER ONE
- CHAPTER TWO
- CHAPTER THREE
- CHAPTER FOUR
- CHAPTER FIVE
- CHAPTER SIX
- CHAPTER SEVEN
- CHAPTER EIGHT
- CHAPTER NINE
- CHAPTER TEN
- CHAPTER ELEVEN
- CHAPTER TWELVE
- CHAPTER THIRTEEN
- CHAPTER FOURTEEN
- CHAPTER FIFTEEN
- CHAPTER SIXTEEN
- CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
- CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
- CHAPTER NINETEEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY
- CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
- CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
- CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
- CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
- AUTHOR BIO