Read Online Sweet Seduction Shadow by Nicola Claire - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Nicola Claire
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travelling in the campervan would soon return and head off into the sunset to see more of beautiful New Zealand. This hidey-hole would not last long.
But for the life of me I couldn't think straight. I couldn't even hear my father's voice in my head. I closed my eyes, scrunched up handfuls of hair in my fists and silently screamed. My mouth wide but no sound coming out, for fear of giving my hastily chosen hiding spot away. My body rocked backwards and forwards, as gravel from the carpark got embedded in my knees and shins. I didn't feel it, all I felt was panic and fear.
This had to stop.
Even if I'd been wrong about the two leather clad guys on that bus, I'd done the right thing by getting off. I'd followed my father's rules. Now I just had to move.
Move .
I blinked my eyes open, took a good look around my surroundings and concentrated on slowing my breathing down. The rest - the heart rate, blood pressure, nausea - would fix itself, if I could only get a handle on my respirations.
It took several minutes. Several minutes more than I had. But walking out into Huntly having a panic attack was a sure-fire way of attracting attention. Hide in plain sight .
I stood up and stretched, rolled my shoulders and then brushed the loose gravel off my skirt and knees with my hands. My breathing began to return to a more normal pace as my mind worked through my dilemma. This was how you fought panic; with logic and reason and a plan of attack based on years of preparation. My palms were still covered in sweat though. I rubbed them on my clothing. And nausea still lingered in my belly, but bile, thankfully, no longer coated my tongue. Minute by passing minute my body was becoming mine again.
I rechecked my surroundings. Took another purposeful look down State Highway One. The bus was long gone, but that didn't necessarily mean that Baldy and Goatee hadn't missed me by now and forced the driver to pull over and let them off and were retracing their steps to here. I took a another deep breath in at that thought. I was safe, but maybe not safe for long. There was just no way to know. So, like my father had taught me, I needed to use my surroundings and change my disguise.
I rounded the end of the campervan before I could think better of it and strode across the carpark as though I belonged. Small town New Zealand was not the most ideal spot to hide out in, but I knew one place where there'd be enough people to lose myself in. I glanced at my watch. It was only three in the afternoon, but if I timed this right, it could just work. Baldy and Goatee would expect me to hitch a ride and get out of town as soon as I could, but walking along the main highway waiting for a lift was too exposed for my liking right now.
I needed shelter. I needed to pass a little time while not being seen. And then I needed to find someone to hide behind.
Hide in plain sight, but do it wisely. Befriend a giant and he'll stand between you and the monsters knocking on the door.
The return of my father's voice in my head was enough to get my mind back in the game. Keeping a wary eye out over my shoulder, scanning the street and assessing every single person who approached as a possible threat, I set about putting my plan into motion.
Staying in Huntly overnight would not be wise, even if Baldy and Goatee weren't who I had suspected them to be. But using Huntly for a few hours, to regroup, reassess and gather my strength, was something else entirely.
The rattle of my beads in my hair brought my attention to the first stage of enacting my plan. Chrystal's disguise was good for a lot of places, but the crowd I expected in the late-afternoon-heading-into-evening scene at my chosen hide for the night, was not ideally conducive to hippy chick. She needed a slight make-over.
I stepped into the first clothing store I could find, noting it was a second hand outlet and held a wide range of styles. I scanned the store for potential hazards, my heart rate still
But for the life of me I couldn't think straight. I couldn't even hear my father's voice in my head. I closed my eyes, scrunched up handfuls of hair in my fists and silently screamed. My mouth wide but no sound coming out, for fear of giving my hastily chosen hiding spot away. My body rocked backwards and forwards, as gravel from the carpark got embedded in my knees and shins. I didn't feel it, all I felt was panic and fear.
This had to stop.
Even if I'd been wrong about the two leather clad guys on that bus, I'd done the right thing by getting off. I'd followed my father's rules. Now I just had to move.
Move .
I blinked my eyes open, took a good look around my surroundings and concentrated on slowing my breathing down. The rest - the heart rate, blood pressure, nausea - would fix itself, if I could only get a handle on my respirations.
It took several minutes. Several minutes more than I had. But walking out into Huntly having a panic attack was a sure-fire way of attracting attention. Hide in plain sight .
I stood up and stretched, rolled my shoulders and then brushed the loose gravel off my skirt and knees with my hands. My breathing began to return to a more normal pace as my mind worked through my dilemma. This was how you fought panic; with logic and reason and a plan of attack based on years of preparation. My palms were still covered in sweat though. I rubbed them on my clothing. And nausea still lingered in my belly, but bile, thankfully, no longer coated my tongue. Minute by passing minute my body was becoming mine again.
I rechecked my surroundings. Took another purposeful look down State Highway One. The bus was long gone, but that didn't necessarily mean that Baldy and Goatee hadn't missed me by now and forced the driver to pull over and let them off and were retracing their steps to here. I took a another deep breath in at that thought. I was safe, but maybe not safe for long. There was just no way to know. So, like my father had taught me, I needed to use my surroundings and change my disguise.
I rounded the end of the campervan before I could think better of it and strode across the carpark as though I belonged. Small town New Zealand was not the most ideal spot to hide out in, but I knew one place where there'd be enough people to lose myself in. I glanced at my watch. It was only three in the afternoon, but if I timed this right, it could just work. Baldy and Goatee would expect me to hitch a ride and get out of town as soon as I could, but walking along the main highway waiting for a lift was too exposed for my liking right now.
I needed shelter. I needed to pass a little time while not being seen. And then I needed to find someone to hide behind.
Hide in plain sight, but do it wisely. Befriend a giant and he'll stand between you and the monsters knocking on the door.
The return of my father's voice in my head was enough to get my mind back in the game. Keeping a wary eye out over my shoulder, scanning the street and assessing every single person who approached as a possible threat, I set about putting my plan into motion.
Staying in Huntly overnight would not be wise, even if Baldy and Goatee weren't who I had suspected them to be. But using Huntly for a few hours, to regroup, reassess and gather my strength, was something else entirely.
The rattle of my beads in my hair brought my attention to the first stage of enacting my plan. Chrystal's disguise was good for a lot of places, but the crowd I expected in the late-afternoon-heading-into-evening scene at my chosen hide for the night, was not ideally conducive to hippy chick. She needed a slight make-over.
I stepped into the first clothing store I could find, noting it was a second hand outlet and held a wide range of styles. I scanned the store for potential hazards, my heart rate still
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