CJ Lyons - Snake Skin

CJ Lyons: SNAKESKIN 198

SNAKE SKIN

CJ Lyons

PRAISE FOR CJ LYONS:

"Adrenalin pumping." ~The MysteryGazette

"Riveting." ~Publishers Weekly Beyond HerBook

" Smart and intriguing, andher character development is so incredible that she leaves meliterally breathless waiting to see what will happen next."~ Becky Lejeune, Bookbitch.com

Lyons "is a master within the genre."~Pittsburgh Magazine

"Breathtakingly fast-paced."~Publishers Weekly

"A winner!" ~Romantic Times, Top Pick

"Simply superbriveting dramaa perfect ten."~Romance Reviews Today

"Characters with beating hearts and threedimensions." ~Newsday

"A pulse-pounding adrenalin rush!" ~LisaGardner

"Packed with adrenalin." ~David Morrell

"Engrossing, intriguing..." ~HeatherGraham

"An adrenalin rush and an all-around greatread." ~Allison Brennan

"Harrowing, emotional, action-packed andbrilliantly realized. CJ Lyons writes with the authority only atrained physician can bring to a story, blending suspense, passionand friendship into an irresistible read." ~Susan Wiggs

"Simply exceptional. The action never letsupkeeps you on the edge of your seat." ~Roundtable Reviews

"Explodes on the pageI absolutely could notput it down." ~Romance Readers' Connection

"A perfect blend of romance andsuspense. My kind of read." ~#1 New York Times Bestsellingauthor Sandra Brown

This book is a work of fiction. Anyreferences to historical events, real people, or real locales areused fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidentsare the product of the authors imagination, and any resemblance toactual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirelycoincidental.

Copyright 2011, CJ Lyons

All rights reserved, including theright of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

Library of Congress Case #1-273031561

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for yourpersonal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or givenaway to other people. If you would like to share this book withanother person, please purchase an additional copy for each personyou share it with. If youre reading this book and did not purchaseit, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you shouldreturn to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you forrespecting the hard work of this author.

SNAKE SKIN

CJ Lyons

Chapter 1

Friday: 2:18 pm

She stroked the tip of her thumbnail againsther tongue, testing. Not sharp enough. Yet.

Nibbling the edge, enjoying the crunch ofkeratin against enamel, Ashley propped both elbows on the table andhunched forward. Other than the old guy behind the counter givingher an oogly-woogly pervert stare, the Tastee Treet was empty.

It was your typical hotdog shack. Crackedvinyl booths crowded the dining area, waiting to be filled bysquealing cheerleaders and boasting football players after Fridaynight football games. A fifties-style melamine radio behind thecounter warbled some tune older than even Ashley's parents,something about fast cars and fast boys and the dangers of lovingthem, punctuated by the sizzle and pop of the fryer.

No sign of Bobby. She couldn't help butglance behind her, out to the gravel parking lot, even though sheknew she'd hear his car easily through the plexi-glass windows andplywood walls. Her stomach knotted with anticipationhe was sohandsome, and god, those eyes, they saw right into her soulwouldhe like her once they finally met in person?

Would he be disappointed? Think she was tooyoung? Too immature? Worry gnawed at her as she raised a finger toher mouth. No. She'd outgrown that nasty habit. There wasn'troom in her life for any of that. Not once she and Bobby made theirescape.

She glanced at her watch before removing it,then slid it over top the chrome and glass pepper shaker. The lastvestige of her past, it had served her well. Despite taking threebuses and walking half a mile, she was still ten minutes early.

Each leg of the journey had left her feelingbuoyant, discarding bits and pieces of herself the way her father'sbeloved creepy snakes shed their skin. As if her old life was madeup of fourteen years worth of flaky, parchment-thin memories thatshe'd out-grown and left behind to crumble into dust and blowaway.

"Did you want to order anything, miss?" thecounter guy asked, startling her. His face was shadowed by aSteelers ball cap pulled low. She'd felt his stare ever since sheentered.

The grease-laden aroma of French fries andburgers perfumed the air, making her stomach growl. She ignored it.It was important to stay in control. "No. I'm just waiting forsomeone."

Control. She adjusted the watch, centeringit exactly, brushing stray pepper grains away, trying to deny herflutter of anxiety. And failing.

Abandoning the watch, she spread her palmsflat on the table top, her breath coming in fast, sharp gasps. Whatif Bobby thought she was ugly? What if he didn't like her? Whatif...

She turned her left hand palm up, slashingher thumbnail against the bare skin of her wrist.

Ahhh...Relief sighed through her at thesight of the red welt, the tiny beads of crimson, the oh-sostraight and precise line.

Staring at her blood, she was able tobreathe again.

Her tongue slid between her teeth and lipsas the urge to taste the blood became overwhelming. Just this once.She would quit after she and Bobby were together. Promise.

Flexing her wrist, she forced another smalldot of crimson to the surface. So shiny, so wet.

She held her wrist perfectly steady, denyingthe tremors vibrating beneath her skin, a current of palpableelectricity. Her stomach tensed with anticipation as each beat ofher heart made the red blossoms shudder.

Not yet...not yet. She was in control.

Ashley raised her eyes. The geezer at thecounter still stared at her. Fuckwad. He had to be as old as herfather. Double fuckwad. She sharpened her gaze into a deadly glare.He flinched, looked away. Lech.

Bobby should be here any moment. Escape wasalmost at hand. She'd been such a good girl, waiting, controllingher impulse to cut and run.

She carefully rolled her sleeve back,exposing the other trophies her control had won. Each scar atriumph. Each scar a time she hadn't run screaming out into thenight or thrown herself in front of a bus or jumped from abridge.

Each scar reminding her that she could win,that she mattered, that somewhere inside this cold, numb husk, shewas alive.

Raising her wrist, she slowly, with gentleflicks, not wasting a drop, licked the blood. Still warm, so saltyas it slipped across her tongue, down her throat.

Sometimes, she felt like she was floatingoutside her body, searching for another life. Cutting helped herre-connect, grounding her, even if she did always find herselfright back where she started. Same old body, same old life.

Same nowhere future.

This was her last time. Promise. As soon asBobby came to rescue her, she'd never do it again. Never need to.As soon as Bobby got here, everything would be fine.

Hed promised.

"Excuse me, miss?" It was the scuzzy counterguy, leaning over her, bending much too close as he reached for thenapkin dispenser.

Ashley tried to pull away but he had herpinned against the side of the booth. His arm brushed the back ofher neck, caressing her hair. Pervert.

"Hey, back off!" Something sharp jabbed herneck. "What the"

Disappointment trumped her fear for oneimpossibly long instant. She'd never get to see Bobby.then theramifications of that fleeting thought flash-froze her withterror.

"Don't be afraid," he said, sliding down tosit beside her, his arm wrapping her in an embrace impossible toescape. Not with her entire body turning to melted jello, soft andmushy, and swimming away from her.