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  “Y’all ready to have some fun?” Kat yelled over the noise, giving a goofy wiggle of her eyebrows as she smiled broadly.

  Kat grabbed Nicole and Luke by the hand pulling them toward the dance floor. She gave an alluring smile to Luke as they made their way through the sea of bodies. Nicole could see the third wheel theory rearing its ugly head much earlier than she expected. A pang of jealousy stung her but she hid it as fast as it appeared. She had no right to be acting this way. She had turned Luke down time and time again. So build a bridge and get over it Nicole. This is your fault, you shot him down.

  With that thought, she started dancing with the mass of bodies swaying all around her. She tried to keep her eyes away from Luke and Kat as they danced, but it was impossible. She cringed as Kat ran her fingers into Luke’s hair, then dropped a hand down to rest on his chest. Kat leaned up, whispering into Luke’s ear as she slid one red fingernail along his jaw line. Nicole pried her eyes away, trying to focus on the music and rhythm of her body, but when she glanced their way again, she locked eyes with Luke.

  His deep hazel pools were ablaze with passion. He watched every move of her body as she swayed to the beat. His gaze burned her skin with a heat she had never experienced before. Nicole continued to dance with her eyes locked on Luke’s. Everyone else disappeared from her vision, there was only him watching her at that moment. Desire started to build deep inside her belly as she moved, picking up intensity as the music coursed through her, each movement stoking the fire and making it hotter. She teasingly ran one finger between her breasts, down her sweat-beaded stomach, seductively spreading her hand wide as she slid it along the inside of her thigh. His eyes never left hers as he danced slowly, resolutely moving closer to her with every movement of his body.

  “That’s right honey, keep drinking. You’re mine tonight you little whore.”

  With a jolt, Nicole stopped moving, reality crashing into her mind as if someone had hit the fast forward button. She began scanning the room, trying to figure out who the voice in her head belonged to. At a table near the bar, she spotted a tall man with a neatly groomed beard and black hair. Nicole guessed his age to be around thirty-five and she could tell he had money. He wore a black Armani suit with a white, silk shirt neatly tucked in underneath his unbuttoned jacket. His shoes shined with a perfect mirror finish and a diamond glimmered from his earlobe. Nicole was sure a bright red sports car would be waiting outside for him when he left. He sat next to a cute, small-framed blonde wearing a tight red dress. Even the dumbest bouncer should have seen she was not old enough to be in this club, let alone doing shots of vodka. Four empty shot glasses sat in front of her and judging by the glazed-over look in her eyes that was four too many.

  “Nicole, are you okay? You’re pale honey.” Kat moved next to her, releasing her hold on Luke to place a hand on her friend’s arm.

  “Yep, I’m fine. I just need to sit for a few. You keep dancing and I’ll be back out here in a little bit.” She started off the dance floor only to be grabbed by the hand mid-stride.

  “Do you want me to go with you?” Luke asked staring at her intently as if looking for the real reason she was leaving.

  Her body tingled with pleasure just from the feel of his fingers laced with her own. “No…um thanks though. I’ll be okay.” She slid her hand out of his as she made her way toward their table.

  When she disappeared from Luke’s and Kat’s view, she walked around the bar to where the man sat with a way too young girl. How in the world did that girl get into this club? I plan on getting to the bottom of that mystery as soon as I deal with this creep. Nicole thought, taking a seat at a table directly behind the couple.

  “Tonight is gonna be a good night, well, for me, anyway.”

  Nicole watched as a sickening grin stretched across the man’s face. He reached over and ran his fingers along the inebriated girl’s cheek then let his hand drift down to cup her breast. The girl tried to slap his hand, but missed as she swayed unsteadily. The jerk’s smile got broader when he saw things playing out like he had planned.

  “It will be easy getting her to my car now, the bitch is so drunk, she won’t know what’s happening until I’m sliding in between those sweet little legs of hers.”

  Nicole wanted to jump on him right then but she restrained herself. How would she explain beating down a man when no one else knew what he was up to? She held onto the edge of her chair as her nails dug into the wood and her knuckles turned white from the pressure. She could see the man’s excitement was already causing a bulge to strain against the crotch of his expensive pants. Nicole’s body trembled with anger. Castration is the only punishment fit for a man like you, her mind screamed. A new kind of fire started burning in Nicole and it had nothing to do with the passion she was feeling on the dance floor moments earlier.

  “Come on, honey, let me take you home. You look like you’ve had enough fun for one night,” the man said with almost believable tenderness in his voice. He reached over to the swaying girl, helping her stand, and then tucked her under his arm protectively. They pushed through the crowd as they walked to the door.

  Nicole knew what she had to do, so she got up and followed the couple out of the club, keeping a safe distance from them. The man led the girl around the building to a small parking area. The bass from the music could be heard loud and clear out here. The noise would make things easier for the man’s plans but it would also make it easier for Nicole to approach without being detected.

  Unlike what she had expected earlier, the man didn’t walk up to a sports car but instead a big red Hummer. Well, I got the color right, she thought to herself as she hid behind a gray Tahoe. “Okay, Nicole, now what? No gun and you don’t have back up, so what’s the plan?” She mumbled to herself as she took off her black high heels and placed them on the ground.

  Nicole watched as they approached the Hummer. Suddenly, the girl stopped and started to dig her heels in. Maybe the fresh air had cleared her head enough she sensed something was wrong with the situation. “No, I’ll call my friend Christa. She’ll pick me up. Thanks anyway,” she started backing away from the man.

  “Now honey, I can’t leave you here in your condition,” he argued as he grabbed the girl by the arm and pulled her tight against his chest. “There are some bad people out in this world that would take advantage of a sweet looking thing like you.” With those words, he made his move. He opened the back door of the Hummer as he grabbed the blonde by her hair and shoved her toward the seat. Roughly, he placed one hand over her mouth and started to shove her red dress up to her waist. The girl kicked her legs and twisted around trying to free herself but it was no use, the man had no trouble holding her down with the weight of his body.

  Nicole ran as hard as she could across the parking lot from her hiding place. With one of her shoes in her hand, she raised it up high, then quickly lowered it down hard on the back of the man’s head. A loud cracking sound echoed from the impact. The man staggered backwards but, contrary to Nicole’s plan, he was still standing.

  “You bitch!” He swung a wild punch at Nicole’s face, grazing the edge of her cheek. She dodged his next swing, then landed a punch to his stomach causing him to double over.

  “You don’t know what a bitch is buddy, but I’m about to teach you.” She swept a long leg around, knocking his feet out from under him, then planted a hard kick right in his crotch. He balled up into a fetal position on the ground as he let out a wheezing moan. Nicole walked around admiring the pain on his face before giving him one last kick to the ribs. “Now that my friend…is a bitch.” She beamed a satisfied smile at him as she reached for the crying girl. Cheers erupted from the small crowd gathered in the parking lot. Nicole watched as Luke and Kat cut through the group, shoving the reluctant onlookers out of the way.

  “Oh my God, Nicole! What the hell happened? We couldn’t find you at the table then someone started yelling a girl kicked some guy’s ass outside and, of course, we knew this would be whe
re we’d find you.” While Kat took a breath to recharge from her rant Nicole jumped in.

  “It’s okay Kat. I saw that guy dragging this drunken girl outside. I could tell she was too young to be in this place, so I followed. The jerk tried to rape her so I had to step in. There was...”

  “You could have been killed Nicole! Why didn’t you tell me? I thought we were partners!” Luke scolded her with hurt in his eyes. He ran his hand through his dark blond hair.

  “We are, Luke, but I couldn’t risk letting him leave with her. There was no time.” She spotted the bouncer slowly making his way to the scene. “Listen, I’m going to let security know what happened then I’m heading home. This has been enough fun for one night.”

  She talked to the bouncer then made her way to her car. I knew this was how the night was going to go. First the jealously over Kat touching Luke then the crazy mind-reading bull shit and, on top of all that, I didn’t get the first drink. Can I not get a break! She kicked the tire of her car, trying to release some of her frustration.

  “I may not be able to control my mind or Luke but I can do something about that drink!” Nicole grumbled as she slammed her car door. “Drowning my sorrows and forgetting about tonight sounds like one hell of a plan right now.”

  Chapter 2

  Nicole wanted to start the day over more than anything. To say it was a horrific morning would be an understatement and she knew a lot about horrific. When you can hear every bad thought of every person within a hundred feet, well, let’s just say she has heard thoughts that would make Jeffery Dahmer cringe. She had lost count of the times she had prayed to God, asking why she couldn’t hear the good in people too. It would be nice to hear the thoughts of couples falling in love or the joy in the minds of children as they played. That would help to balance out some of the negative in her world and maybe chase away the nightmares that haunted her sleep.

  Right now, her head was pounding, her mouth felt like slimy sandpaper and her neighbors were fighting…again. She listened as glass shattered against the wall, some profanities were shouted and a door slammed, marking the end of another epic battle between the elderly couple. Now Nicole had to endure the flood of enraged thoughts pushing into her head.

  “If she doesn’t stop her bitching I’m going to slap her into next week! Maybe that’s what she needs, a good old fashioned reminder that I’m the man of this house,” old Mr. Brannon’s mind screamed.

  “All I’m asking is for him to take out the garbage on time! You would think after thirty-two years of taking out the garbage this would be simple, but no! If I could kill the old geezer in his sleep and get away with it….” Mrs. Brannon fumed silently.

  “Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Brannon for the five a.m. wake up call, so kind of you!” grumbled Nicole as she crawled out of bed, two hours earlier than planned. She wore her favorite worn out crimson and white, Alabama football t-shirt and a pair of white, terry cloth sleep shorts. Her long hair fluffed around her face and shoulders in a frustrating state of frizzy bed head. A half-empty pint of Jack Daniels sat on her nightstand. Just the sight of it made her stomach flip. Drowning her sorrows-along with the voices in her head-had a downside, but hell, it seemed worth it at the time.

  She made the short walk to the bathroom where she showered as fast as possible. Not because she was in a rush, but because of the tea cup-sized hot water heater in her out of date apartment. She brushed away the grime from her teeth then went to work on the mass of wet curls on her head. Nicole’s hair had always been the one thing she disliked about herself. Sure, it was beautiful to most people but they didn’t have to deal with taming the beast every day in this atrocious humidity, notorious in the south.

  Apart from Nicole’s hair, she had always been happy with her looks. Clear, golden skin that tanned to a sexy bronze in the summer and a slim but athletic figure, owing to her love of running. She stood five foot, six inches tall and still got carded the second she stepped into any bar, even though she was well into her twenties. The only part of Nicole that hinted of her age was her light blue eyes. Those ghostly eyes revealed years of bad memories and torment. Memories that were seared into her soul and which she would have given anything to be able to forget.

  She pulled her hair up into a high pony tail that dangled in large curls to the middle of her back. She trudged back into her bedroom and slowly dressed in red Nike shorts, a gray sports bra and a black, racer back tank top, before sliding on her favorite running shoes.

  Crap, I’m up so I guess I’ll make the most of the morning.

  Nicole grabbed her iPod and went out the door for a run. The early Alabama morning air was already humid and thick. June in the south is hell on anyone not born and raised there. Lucky for Nicole, she had lived in the little town of Double Springs all her life so the heat and humidity didn’t faze her-apart from the daily battle with her curls.

  She started down Main Street at a steady jog. The street took its name seriously because everything you needed was on this one strip. Nicole passed the post office as she started into town, then the new gas station standing where the old Piggly Wiggly grocery store had burnt down a few years ago. She jogged on past the Department of Health, a small car lot, up a hill that took her past a bank, the Winston County court house and the police department. She continued down the street, glancing uneasily at the newly constructed jail. If any of the inmates happened to be close enough to the wall, she would clearly hear what was on his mind. Nicole knew what kind of sick people were being held inside those cells. She was responsible for putting a good chunk of those deranged people in there.

  “At least this is great motivation to push myself faster. Run from the evil thoughts Nicole! Run girl run!” She cracked a grin at her own inner monolog while pushing her burning legs harder.

  Nicole ran through what she always thought of as the historic section of Main Street. These buildings had been here all her life and she imagined most of them were built when the town was being established. They now housed various clothing, antique dealers and book stores. There was one small home town diner near the end of the old buildings. Beyond that, were a locally owned furniture store and a small lawyer’s office attached to a drug store. Across the street stood the elementary school she attended in her childhood. It had grown a bit larger since the time when she terrorized the halls, but overall, it still looked the same. She took in the red brick walls, covered walkways, large worn playground as well as the American flag which sat front and center swaying in the morning breeze. It was the picture perfect school of the south.

  The town began to crawl to life with the first signs of people, in their cars, making their way to work. Most people out this early were the blue collar type, heading to hard jobs on assembly lines or sweaty jobs in ditches. That kind of life, in Nicole’s opinion, was one to be proud of. You could go home at the end of the day, dead tired, ass-dragging and know you’d put in a day worth the money you earned. That was the kind of living her parents, James and Laura Keenan, had made and she respected them even more because of it.

  When her mother and father married, fresh out of high school, they didn’t have much to start on. Neither one came from a rich family so there was no home given to them on their wedding day, nor trust fund to start their new life, just their love and James’ old, black 1968 Chevelle SS.

  James had worked afternoons and summers at his dad’s garage to earn enough money to buy that car. It took him two years of saving every dime he earned to buy that hunk of junk that didn’t run. Luckily his dad admired his son’s hard work… and the car, so he helped get it running. The Chevelle was the love of James’ life-until he met Laura. They fell in love their junior year of high school and married two weeks after graduation.

  Nicole’s parents took the first jobs they could find. Of course, that meant not having a comfortable office job but instead a back-breaking one on an assembly line making mobile homes. At the time, James and Laura didn’t need much, just a paycheck every week to pay the re
nt, utilities, and put food on the table. As long as they had each other to come home to at the end of the day, they were happy. It wasn’t long until their love led to Nicole being conceived.

  Laura continued to work throughout her pregnancy, almost right up until the day she went into labor. This began the trend, Nicole felt, which sent her obstinate mother to an early grave. Laura would work ten to twelve hour days at the plant, then return home to cook, clean and spend what little time was left in her day with her husband and daughter. Her weekends were full of taking care of Nicole’s grandparents. Their failing health caused Laura to take on the chores of those households too, without thinking twice. Southern women are the strongest strain you’ll ever find. It was in Laura’s blood to put family ahead of any personal needs, so when she was diagnosed with cancer she continued her life exactly the same. Well, she tried to, but that stubborn streak had her in the grave before her forty-fifth birthday-just a year and a half after she was diagnosed.