Casi McLean - Beneath the Lake

Was the spine-chilling figure that had lurked in the shadows still up there somewhere, or had he been far enough away when I crashed? I shook my head. It made little difference since I had no choice but to take my chances on the road.

I began the ascent, trudging back up the incline. Rain pelted my face like tiny needles. Darkness surrounded me. No moon, no stars, only the deep of night. Heart pounding from exertion and emotions still raw, I slogged upward through mud, brush, and Lord knows what else. Finally, a dim light flickered on the road above. Praying it was a house, a phone, an end to this nightmare, I strained my aching legs to push forward.

Thank you, God, I whispered, glancing over my shoulder at my wrecked car below.

Thats when my foot slipped. I slid backward, spiraled off the rocky ledge. Twisting to grab ahold of anything to keep me from plummeting downward, I lurched, my wet hands and battered body ripping against jagged rocks and brush.

Out of nowhere, a dark figure grabbed my arm. Frozen in fear, I screamed as loud as I could, but the shriek came out a hoarse, low whisper. I lunged against him, yanked to pull free, but I had no leverage, nothing to cling to. Fear choked the air from my lungs. A sharp pain slashed my ankle. Consumed with terror, I flung the entire weight of my body against his grasp. In answer to my prayers, he abruptly let go, but the sudden release hurled me backward, plungingrolling endlesslyuntil I splashed into an icy, black abyss.

Praise for Casi McLean

I love, love, love BENEATH THE LAKE. It is at the top of the list of my all time favorite books. I was captured by the first paragraph. Your descriptions were wonderful, the plot was so elaborate, and Im in love with all of your characters. Superb!

~Hilary Johnson, PC. Attorney at Law

~*~

BENEATH THE LAKE captivated me. As soon as the storyline developed the heroine and other characters in the town destined to drown, I was hooked. Very creative and suspense filled, as I believed the machinations going on in the present time were with some evil or nefarious intent. Good suspense writing!! Keep it up!

~Sterling Williams, SVP, The Brand Banking Company

~*~

I thoroughly enjoyed BENEATH THE LAKE by Casi McLean. The story grabbed my attention from the very beginning and kept me hooked as it traveled back in time. The nostalgia was well-researched, with many interesting facts about that time period added. The characters, especially Lacey Montgomery, were multi-dimensional, so I kept wanting to know more about them. Everything came together in an exciting climax; it left me curious and waiting for the sequel!

~Roma Dubac, English teacher

~*~

Tears omg. BENEATH THE LAKE is crazy good. I felt I was there. When I finished, I felt completely drained. Fantastic.

~Rick Hughett, Retired Division Chief,

Dekalb Dept. of Public Safety

Beneath the Lake

by

Casi McLean

Beneath the Lake Series

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

Beneath the Lake

COPYRIGHT 2015 by Casi McLean

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or The Wild Rose Press, Inc. except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Contact Information: info@thewildrosepress.com

Cover Art by Rae Monet, Inc. Design

The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

PO Box 708

Adams Basin, NY 14410-0708

Visit us at www.thewildrosepress.com

Publishing History

First Mainstream Historical Edition, 2015

Print ISBN 978-1-5092-0283-6

Digital ISBN 978-1-5092-0284-3

Beneath the Lake Series

Published in the United States of America

Dedication

To all who believe destiny evolves

from the breadth of dreams.

Lake Lanier, GeorgiaJune 2011

A final thud hurled him backward, flailing through brush and thickets like a rag doll. Grasping at anything to break momentum, Robs hand clung to a branch wedged into the face of the precipice. Spiny splinters sliced his skin. Blood oozed and trickled into his palms, and one by one, his fingers slowly slipped.

A sharp crack echoed through the silence of the ravine as the bough succumbed to his weight. He plummeted into free-fall. Clenching his eyes, he drew in a deep breath, terrified of the pain, the mauling that waited on the jagged rocks below.

When icy water broke his fall, the chill kept him from losing consciousness. He spun, straining to see, but darkness enveloped him. Soggy clothing pulled him deeperdeeper into the murky, fathomless depths. He wrestled to squirm free from the waterlogged jacket dragging him down to a watery grave, watched the coat disappear into black obscurity. Panic gripped his stomach, or was it death that snaked around his chest, squeezing, squeezing, squeezing the air, the life from his body? Lack of oxygen burned his lungs, beckoning surrender, and a shard of rage pierced his gut as reality set in. He lunged upward with one last thrust and burst from the waters deadly grip, gasping for air. A gurgling howl spewed from the depths of his soul and echoed into silence.

Sunlight shimmered across a smooth, indigo lake, but aside from the slight ripples of his own paddling, nothing but stillness surrounded him. He floated toward the shore, sucking deep breaths into his lungs until the pummeling in his chest subsided. When he reached the waters edge, he hoisted his body onto the soft red clay and collapsed while the suns warmth drained the tension from his body.

No one knew he had survived. The rules had shifted. Now he could reinvent himself, become a stealth predator. His target: Lacey Madison Montgomery.

Chapter 1

June 2012, one year later at an extravagant clubhouse in Lake Lanier, Georgia

June 9th began like any ordinary day, but for me, nothing would ever be ordinary again. In hindsight, I could see that the rainy night wasnt the catalyst for my twist of fate. The storm was more like a vortex with currents reaching out beyond imagination. Within twenty-four hours I would lose my ability to distinguish dreams from reality. But I digress. The chain of events really started before the storm. As I left Buckhead Plaza on Thursday evening, my cell phone rang.

Youll come, Lace, wont you? Please. You have to see my new lake house. My best friend, Piper refused to take no for an answer. Of course, she forgot to mention the extravagant charity party she had planned. So, here I was, Lacey Montgomery, introverted attorney, caught in the midst of a crowd of wealthy people I abhorred.

So this must be Lacey.

The voice wrapped around me like a warm blanket, familiarand yet not. Perhaps Id heard it long ago or conjured him in a forgotten dream. Im not sure what I expected when I turned around, but one glimpse of the incredibly hot man standing behind me, and my legs went weak while a warm tingle slithered into my most sensual spot.

Piper cocked her head and beamed a familiar I-told-you-so smile. Lace, this is Rob, the neighbor I bragged about last night.

Leaning down to kiss her cheek, his gaze anchored to mine. Im glad you could make it to our little soire, Miss Montgomery.

Rob is an architectural genius. Piper gushed. I never couldve pulled off the design of my deck without him.