Savage Cinderella Read online

  Savage Cinderella

  By

  PJ Sharon

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, business establishments, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, or as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission from the author. Please respect the hard work of the author and do not support piracy.

  Cover photo purchased through Big Stock Photos, cover design by Addy Overbeeke.

  Edited by Jane Haertel

  © 2012 Savage Cinderella by PJ Sharon

  Smashwords Edition

  Acknowledgements

  I’d like to thank Jane Haertel for coming to my rescue and editing at the last minute, my beta readers, Lorelei Buzzetta and Gina Beach, for your invaluable feedback and encouragement, and the supportive and brilliant Addy Overbeeke, without whom none of this would be possible.

  Huge shout out to the Connecticut Chapter of the Romance Writers of America, who are ever faithful in sharing my journey and cheering me on. Belonging to this group and making friends with the talented and loving individuals I’ve come to know has been the most unexpected gift of this journey.

  I also have to say that without the support and constant flow of information I receive from my online family, I would have no clue as to how to go about this indie-publishing career. Thanks to all of the fabulous people with the WG2E (Writers Guide to E-Publishing), Indie-Romance Ink, Young Adult Romance Writers of America, and We Are Not Alone (WANA minions). You folks are an indie author’s best friends.

  Dedication

  I wrote this story in the summer of 2009 after hiking in the woods with my dog and imagining what it would have been like to grow up living in the wild. I immediately saw Brinn and the questions began to flow. The answers that followed took me on an amazing journey of discovery and healing I hadn’t expected.

  Brinn’s story of survival, of overcoming her fear, and of finding a way to triumph over her past was as much of an inspiration to me as I hope it is to you, my dear readers. I wanted so much to do justice to the experiences of abuse survivors, but I also wanted to express what I know to be true about the human spirit. I believe that a person can overcome any obstacle if they can find a way to open their heart to love and forgiveness. In no way do I want to minimize the horrific effects of abuse or the scars it leaves behind, but my hope is that Brinn’s story leaves you with the understanding that where there is courage to face your truth, there is hope for healing.

  This book is dedicated to abuse survivors, kidnap victims, and the families who refuse to give up on love.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Epilogue

  Bonus

  Prologue

  He lifted the limp body out of the trunk, wrapped the girl in a woolen blanket, and tossed her like a ragdoll over his shoulder. She was still warm, but if she was alive, she certainly wouldn't be for long. He had promised her that if she tried to run away, she would be punished.

  Why did they all insist on running? They knew that he always kept his promises. He was, after all, a man of his word. Pa had taught him the importance of that particular trait at a very early age.

  Surrounded by blackened woods, he yanked a flashlight from his back pocket and closed the trunk, eliminating the only light that pierced the pitch of predawn darkness. With the click of a switch, a yellow beam broke the night and wavered across the hardened gravel.

  He glanced warily around once more. There were no signs of life on the stretch of dirt road that extended endlessly in either direction. He shifted his burden and turned toward the woods. As he climbed, the cold spring mist in the Blue Ridge Mountains settled over him. Perspiration soaked his clothes and the chill reached deep into his bones, bringing a shiver to the surface.

  He made his way up the overgrown trail, recalling how simple it had been to take her nearly two years before. It was at a bustling dog park in Atlanta. The racket of barking dogs, chattering women, and noisy children created sufficient chaos for him to remain unnoticed as he watched and waited. When the girl's mother, caught up in conversation with the other uptight suburban housewives, turned her back on her eight-year-old daughter, the girl was left ripe for the picking. She was easily misled. A story about him losing his puppy drew her away from the crowded playground without a second glance back at her mother. Cloaked in plainness, his polite and pleasant demeanor deceived the unsuspecting child. A thrill ran through him at the memory. It was easy.

  “Not like this path,” he muttered, which was treacherous in the darkness. His feet slipped on the rocks, and he stumbled on the steep slope. He was miles from anywhere. Even the dirt road that led him here was narrow and rutted from spring rains and flooding. Her body might not be found for months or years, if ever, he mused with grim satisfaction. He shifted his bundle again, securing his hold around the backs of her knees, her shoeless feet poking out from under the blanket.

  He’d given her fair warning about attempting escape. Where the hell had she thought she was going anyway? He’d convinced her that her parents were dead—killed in an accident. Why else would no one come for her? He told her that no one was looking for her, no one wanted her, and no one would come after her—except for him. He could manipulate a child into believing anything—even that he was a cop. His night watchman’s uniform and handcuffs instilled fear and mistrust of police into the mind of the girl that he had kept locked away in the tiny room of his secluded farmhouse.

  A tremor of doubt ran along his skin in the cold rain. Her mind was strong. She’d resisted more than the others. Then he smiled, remembering the look of disappointment and fear in her eyes when he’d caught her. The image brought a flush of warmth back into his bones. A spike of adrenaline raced along his flesh. Driven by her fear, his need for power consumed him. She’d eventually believed everything he’d told her. Repetition was the key. But she was getting older and smarter. That look of fear was turning to one of defiance. If she had succeeded in escaping, it would have ruined everything.

  Winded by the hike into the hills, he decided he had come far enough. He shone the flashlight around the clearing in the dense stand of pines and dropped the body into a small depression in the ground. A small groan escaped the girl’s lips.

  He stared down at the motionless form, the girl’s long black hair obscuring the lily-white face and sharp blue eyes that often held a m
utinous rage—a look that screamed that there was a part of her that he could never have. He wiped the rain and sweat from his brow, and zipped his jacket up under his chin, surveying the small clearing to ensure he’d left no evidence of his presence. The ground was soft and thick with wet pine needles and decaying leaves. She wouldn’t last long in this weather. The elements or the animals would finish her off.

  He took one last look at the bruised and battered body and grumbled. Kicking dirt and leaves over her, he turned his back on the small mound. He headed back down the mountain, already planning his next abduction and relishing the thought. It was May. The kids would be out of school in a few weeks and the parks would be teeming with fresh young faces. Shrugging off the image of wide blue eyes and long dark hair, he reminded himself that he didn’t need her. There were others.

  His clothes were soaked through by the time he reached the road. He could always count on the rain up in Georgia's Northwest High Country. His trail would fade before morning light and the body of the girl he had taken would disappear from the world forever.

  Chapter 1

  Catch Me If You Can

  Eight Years Later

  Icy water lapped at Brinn's legs. She sat on her heels, motionless in the shallow stream as the current tickled along her skin. She watched and waited. Trout moved slower at the edge of the creek. Some days, they hovered between her hands as if offering themselves up for her dinner. Today was not one of those days. She had been here all afternoon, and her stomach growled and cramped from hunger.

  "Be patient," she chided herself as the current shifted and flowed around her calves, the icy water filling her boots. Her feet and hands had long since gone numb from the cold, and she was about to give up when she saw a fat trout shimmer in the afternoon sunlight only two feet away.

  Her fingers drifted over the sandy bottom of the pool, a worm-like lure for the unsuspecting fish. She waited for it to take the bait. The trout settled along the bottom of the creek bed, nibbled gently on her fingertips, and then, with one swift movement, Brinn raked the fish up in her hands and tossed it onto the bank. She grinned with pride and satisfaction as the fish flopped helplessly on dry land.

  "You will make a fine meal, Mr. Fish."

  She lifted the squirming trout by the tail and set it on a stone. She drew her knife, about to cut off its head and gut her catch, when a sound snapped her to attention. Brinn whirled around and tipped her nose into the air, catching a familiar scent.

  A twig cracked. Another second passed before she heard the metallic click from the edge of the trees. She dropped the fish and dove behind a stand of shrubs. Knife in hand, she crouched between the briars and watched as her dinner flopped wildly and then disappeared back into the stream with a plunk.

  More frustrated than frightened, she turned her attention back to the origin of the sound. She associated the click of metal on metal with hunters taking aim at their prey and waiting for the perfect moment to shoot. But this sounded different.

  A young man stepped out from behind a tree. Attached to a strap around his neck was a large camera that he held to his eye as he drew nearer. Wearing khaki pants, hiking boots, and a collared shirt, he was clearly not a hunter, at least not the kind she was accustomed to evading.

  "Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you." The words eased from his mouth in a smooth bass tone that hummed in her ear. He stepped around the yellow and purple flowers that bloomed alongside the creek. Dropping his backpack onto the ground, he snapped another picture as he knelt down onto one knee.

  Brinn moved farther behind the shrubs, her knife at the ready, fist and jaw clenched tight. Her pulse raced, but she kept silent as she peered through the tangled branches that stung against her bare arms.

  The threat of the knife must have stopped the man in mid-motion. He remained on one knee with a faint smile of astonishment on his face. He looked harmless, but she knew better by now. She had survived in these mountains by trusting her instincts and recognizing danger when she saw it. Men were dangerous—although at least this one didn’t appear to have a weapon. She lowered her knife and stood as she extricated herself from the thickets and backed away another foot. She rubbed her skin where the scratches still burned.

  "That was amazing—what you did with the fish. I've never seen anyone catch a trout by hand.” He stood and lowered the camera from his eye and looked toward the stream where the fish had disappeared. “I’m sorry you lost your catch.”

  She glared at him. His sincerity did nothing to quell her nerves—or her hunger. She retreated another step as he moved forward, his hand extended. ”My name is Justin. I’m a photographer for Real Life Magazine.”

  Even his friendly voice couldn’t dispel her fear, although it was a soothing contrast to the harsh tones of others that she’d heard in the woods before. How had she not noticed his presence? A careless mistake—allowing him to come so close. He certainly had a stealthy foot if she’d missed his approach.

  The pounding waves of blood that pulsed through her veins began to recede, but she wasn’t about to give him her hand. Her eyes narrowed as his smile grew wider and he lowered his hand to his camera.

  “Do you mind if I take a few more pictures?” he asked, without waiting for an answer.

  Despite his persistence in clicking his camera at her, he didn’t appear to want to harm her. Something about his tone of voice, the warm light behind his eyes, and the way he stepped around the patch of wild orchids rather than stomping through them kept her from darting into the hills.

  Wariness held her guard in place, however. The few times she’d faced off with strangers had not been pleasant. He was younger than most of the men she’d seen up close, although she made it a point to keep a safe distance from the hunters, hikers, and rangers who occasionally made their way to this side of the mountain. Those who had gotten close were certain she was a feral child. She’d heard others say she was a ghost. Whatever they believed, it was clear by their expressions of hunger that they were not to be trusted. She’d learned to read lips, facial expressions, and body language. The man before her appeared curious, but not hungry.

  She wanted to run, but her feet remained rooted to the ground. “Please don’t,” she said finally, putting a hand up protectively and turning her head to evade the long lens.

  Surprise and then disappointment flashed across his face. His eyes lowered to his feet as he hung the camera over one shoulder. “Whatever you say.” Eyes the color of chestnuts, and nearly as big, lifted to meet hers.

  Curiosity overshadowed her better judgment. She stood still, inspecting the man from head to toe, assessing the possible threat. He was a head taller and a full width bigger than she—certainly stronger—but she was fast, and she knew these hills rain or shine, night or day. To her own surprise, she wasn’t afraid. Instead, she observed him as an interested half smile lit his face and his long-lashed brown eyes took her in.

  The afternoon sun glittered on his hair, the brown waves looking as soft as down feathers from a wood duck. Her fingers tingled with an unexpected desire to touch the shiny edges where they curved over his ear. She clenched her fists and squeezed the hilt of her knife.

  “I am a private person and I don’t want you to have my picture.” She cast her eyes down at her boots.

  "Fair enough,” he said. “Will you tell me your name?"

  His voice made her skin feel hot and then sent a chill down her spine, raising the hairs on her arms. “I...can’t.”

  It had been a long time since anyone had asked for her name. Fear edged its way up her spine like a slow current of electricity, hot and prickly. She backed toward the stream, her eyes locked with his.

  "Don’t go. I just want to take your picture and ask you some questions. I won't hurt you, I promise."

  He slid the camera off his shoulder once more, but the threat of his promise had uprooted her feet and sent her darting toward the creek. Giving in to the powerful instinct to run, she fled down the trail, knife still in ha
nd.

  He started after her. "Wait! Tell me who you are!"

  Brinn reached the crossing and hopped effortlessly from stone to stone over the wide stream, well accustomed to the challenge. She leaped across the mossy rocks, avoiding the rushing waters that splashed and gurgled over the deeper sections.

  Once she reached the other side, she glanced over her shoulder. The man followed, but struggled to keep his footing as he moved cautiously over the slick rocks.

  Long strides and a sure step gained her considerable ground, her feet light on the familiar path. As she approached the hill, she slowed her pace and looked back again.

  He’d made it to the other side of the stream and then had picked up speed, calling after her. "Don't run away. I just want to talk to you!"

  But she had to get away.

  It wasn’t hard to stay ahead of him. With the large camera still in hand, and the unfamiliar and rugged trail, his progress was slowed. She climbed the hill, purposely taking the steeper trail that had fewer handholds. She waited when she reached the ridge and looked on from a distance. She wondered how far he would go to come after her. He struggled up the uneven, scrubby trail, his pants catching on briars. He cursed as branches sprung and hit him in the face.

  There had been others who had chased her, intent on capture, their wolfish looks drawing fear from deep inside her. They’d quickly given up, unable to keep her in sight for long. Hiding came as natural as breathing, and she was good at it—able to blend in to the landscape with ease, confident in her ability to outsmart the predators who hunted her. With an odd mix of fear and excitement, Brinn let him close the distance. This man was persistent in his pursuit, but for reasons she couldn’t fathom, her usual urge to escape dissipated as he followed closer.