Levels Of Exposure (Distortion Series Book 2) Read online

  The paramedics dropped their bags by the car and began to assess the traumatized girl still huddled in the backseat. Nate stood numbly by the side as more emergency vehicles piled onto the property, as they parked in every available area and the headlights soon lit up the entire place. Shadows danced around on the house and Nate could only stare at it as he shook with a chill that drilled deep inside him.

  Jackson glanced over at him as he led the officers inside the property but he still couldn’t move. “Do you need medical assistance?” A female paramedic appeared in front of him.

  He looked down at her and shook his head. “No,” he offered numbly.

  He watched her back away hesitantly as if unconvinced until finally she turned her attention back toward the others treating Stephanie as they helped lay her on a stretcher.

  Nate reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. Opening it, he pulled out a photograph he had folded and tucked inside. The only picture he had of his mother before she had disappeared when he was a small boy. He ran his thumb over her likeliness and the rose tattoo she had on her neck. The exact same tattoo that Stephanie had. All the hope that he had carried all these years completely vanished.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Twenty-Three Years Ago

  Rose

  The cramps have been getting worse. Rose knew this day would come and she prayed she would have more time. Her baby could not come into the world like this. Not into this cold, dark dungeon that had become her life. As time had passed and her stomach continued to grow, she never let go of the hope that she would be found. She refused to believe that this was all she would ever know again. She needed to know her baby would be safe and have a life outside these walls.

  Her captor, Terence, never talked about the baby. It was as if he pretended she wasn’t carrying a child. She was terrified what would happen when the baby was born and now she had run out of time.

  She had tried so hard to please him, make him believe she cared for him. She knew that’s what he wanted from her. He wanted her to love him and so she would swallow the terror that filled her chest and endure the pain for fear of what would happen if she did not. She endured countless horrors that haunted her dreams and reminded her of the hell she was cast into. The life inside of her and what she left behind were the only things that kept her strong. Her children were the only thing that made her open her eyes every day and never let the hope fade.

  As long as she kept him happy, the pain was more bearable and the life inside her was not threatened. She forced a smile on her face and pretended she was happy to appease her captor but it was all for her child. She did not want it to be created in a body filled with constant fear. She needed to fool herself into thinking that she was content and this man would not break her.

  Rose curled up on the bed with her hand pressed against her hardened stomach as she breathed through the pain. “Please, please, please…” she chanted over and over again. “Not now,” she sobbed into the pillow. She lost track of time as she drowned in the constant pain of contractions as they hit her over and over without mercy. Her prayers were left unheard as the baby made its way into the cold hell that had become her life.

  Rose didn’t even hear him enter, didn’t know he was standing just outside the bars watching her until she heard his voice between her gasps and whimpers of pain.

  “Rose?” Terence called to her.

  Rose cringed and shuffled back on the bed until the cold wall pressed against her. The sound of the door creaking open stole her breath and the pain intensified through her stomach and wrapped around her back as if she were being torn in two.

  She could feel his hands on her but she was too delirious from the pain to care. “What’s wrong, Rose?”

  “The baby,” she gasped between strangled breaths.

  Terence lifted her up and carried her out to the bed that housed her nightmares. The feel of it caused fear to wash over her and she screamed out as a contraction hit her hard and fast.

  “I can help you,” he said, brushing the sweat-soaked hair from her face. He left her side and started shuffling around in the drawers in the cabinets in the far side of the room. Rose rolled on her side and tried to breathe through the pain. He turned on another lamp and lit the dim room enough to see.

  Rose’s gaze immediately found the unlocked door. He had forgotten to lock the door and for the first time she felt a flicker of excitement deep inside her stomach that pushed the pain aside and took center stage.

  She turned toward him to see him approach with a tray of cloths and various things that he set next to the bed. Her eyes landed on the scissors that were resting on the edge of the tray. She looked at him, and for the first time since he had locked her away, she noticed he was the one who looked scared. He sat down next to her on the bed and pulled her nightdress up to reveal her bare stomach. He placed his hands on her and the feel of his touch made her sick. Like a disease trying to infect her. She knew he thought this baby was his but it wasn’t. She had just discovered she was pregnant the day she had been taken. She hadn’t even had a chance to tell anyone but her son. She prayed her husband and son didn’t think she abandoned them.

  She knew she couldn’t stay bound in these walls forever, slave to a man who slowly carved away at her sanity for his own sick needs. She needed to find a way to break free and save her unborn baby before it was too late. She desperately wanted to go home.

  Rose grabbed for the scissors and lunged at him without another thought. She could feel the blade sink into the tissue of his neck but she had missed and the blade punctured shallow as it tore through the skin. The shock in his cold, dark eyes cause her to act quickly. She didn’t have time.

  She scrambled off the bed, grabbing for her stomach that was clenching violently. The pain made her eyes water. She ran as fast as she could manage as she pushed through past the agony. She could hear him stumble after her calling her name, but she didn’t slow. She swung the door open and climbed the stairs. She used the railing to pull herself faster. The adrenaline coursing through her body was battling the ache that carved deep into her pelvis and back. Her legs did not want to cooperate but she forced them to keep moving as her feet slapped heavily on the floor. She ran through the house, unsure of which direction to turn but the sight of the front door brought tears to her eyes as she ran toward it.

  She opened the door and ran out into the fresh air that felt amazing on her stale lungs. She gulped it greedily as she hurried over the porch boards and down onto the soft grass. Spinning on her feet, she looked toward the trees.

  Terence came barreling through the front door as he grasped his neck. Rose grabbed her stomach and ran as fast as she could. She wove through the trees and tripped on the uneven ground. Branches pulled and scratched at her as she ran through the forest cast aglow by only the moon above her that filtered through the tall branches. The pain radiated down her legs and she could feel the pressure start to burn between her legs. Rose tried to push her hand against herself as she struggled to keep moving but she knew she would have to stop. She could feel the warm fluid rush through her fingers as she stumbled and she grabbed a tree for support.

  Sliding down to the ground, she reached between her legs to feel the head of her baby. Tears of joy and horror poured from her eyes. The pressure was overwhelming as she bore down. She tried to not make a sound as she pushed through the pain.

  Rose reached down and grabbed hold of her baby as the shoulders released and pulled it up into her arms. She had known he was a boy from the moment she first felt him inside her. Tears washed down her cheeks as she kissed his wet face. His cries, although beautiful, would bring her captor to them. She cradled her baby, holding him tight as she felt her body grow tired. She moved her feet on the ground and noticed how much blood she was losing. Something was terribly wrong and she couldn’t deny it.

  Fear spiked her heart and made her head feel like it was underwater. “No…” she gasped as she saw Terence’s figure emer
ge through the trees. She could feel herself dying and she had no way to protect her baby from the evil that was coming.

  To be continued…

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  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  A huge thank you to:

  My family, who are always my biggest fans.

  Limitless Publishing, for giving me the opportunity to share this series with the world.

  Toni Rakestraw, my fabulous editor, who has to fix all of my annoying writing habits.

  Author J.L. Drake, for being wonderful.

  Dawn Canfield, Hot Pressed Books, for her great advice.

  My reader group, Aimee’s Amazing Aces, who are endlessly lovely and supportive!

  Readers, these were only words upon the pages until you brought them to life.

  About the Author

  Aimee McNeil was born and raised in Nova Scotia, Canada, where she continues to live today with her husband and three children. She is a stay-at-home mother that loves every colorful moment with her family.

  Aimee spends most of her free time indulging in her love of writing. You can also find her lost in the pages of a good book, or making a mess with her paints. Aimee loves to explore anything that promotes creativity. It is one of the many reason she enjoys writing.

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