Devil's Daughter - Softcover

Pearce, Jane

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1490792996 ISBN 13: 9781490792996

Verlag: Trafford Publishing, 2019

Inhaltsangabe

Monsters and murder become a regular part of Abby's life as she tries to fight her evil DNA and become good while the city of Harmon falls to a single gang leader. Abby is upset when she learns she has a deep connection to the gang leader. She feels obligated to stop him and return Harmon to its natural state.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Jane worked most of her twenties in the security industry after spending most of her young life making up small stories and exercising her wild imagination. She currently lives in Ontario, Canada while tackling her dream of becoming a full time successful author. Her main focus is the Devil's Daughter series currently being written.

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Devil's Daughter

By Jane Pearce

Trafford Publishing

Copyright © 2019 Jane Pearce
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4907-9299-6

CHAPTER 1

The first snowfall of winter is usually a joyful time in the city of Harmon. What were once dark, dingy streets are now covered in a fresh layer of bright, clean snow. The sad faces on the souls struggling through life now show signs of happiness, contentment, and hope. The excitement and rush of walking over a fresh layer of snow with each individual snowflake being completely different feels almost magical. Most people consider human beings to be a lot like snowflakes, completely different and unique. Abby knew different. Through the fake smiles, everyone had a dark side, a side that was so visible to her that it made her sick. Sometimes Abby would go days without leaving her apartment except to work, which, luckily for her, was Duffy's, the small local pub just across the street from her apartment building. Her boss and the owner of Duffy's, Liz, was the only person Abby could even stand to be around for any long periods. Liz had given Abby employment at a difficult time. They were both desperate and benefited each other's lives. It was shallow, but it was also the most stable relationship Abby could cling to right now.

It began like most days for Abby. She had worked her usual shift until closing time. The cold morning air coming in the open windows filled the tiny one-room apartment with shivering temperatures. It was the perfect sleeping condition, especially for someone naturally overheated. Abby had the only bachelor apartment in her building. The rest of the apartments were much more expensive, which made this one of the few decent buildings left with mostly older people who want a quiet place. And it usually was. Abby began to wake as the dark red curtains blew just softly enough that they provided a calming white noise. It's too bad comfort is usually short-lived. A loud knock forced Abby out of her calmed state. She flipped a red blanket off her face, revealing a look of frustration. Sleeping wasn't something to be taken for granted anymore. As she got to her feet, she took a moment to close the windows and curtains. Everyone always thought she was a little odd for not liking the sun, among other reasons. She held onto a small end table for a moment to let her eyes adjust. Her hand accidentally knocked over a candle burning from the night before. The dried wax still smelled of vanilla. As she made her way to check the peephole, she fell over her boots she had forgotten to put away yet again.

"Shit!" she shouted, just loud enough for a male on the other side of the door to answer.

"You all right in there?"

Abby got her back up, holding on to the small counter area with a sink that was supposed to be considered a kitchen.

"Fine," she said.

She grunted in anger as she reached the door. It was the police — again. This was the third time this week they had gone around knocking on doors in that area. It was the same one she had ignored before — tall, blond hair, blue eyes, typical innocent look, perfect to get people to trust him and open up. But behind those blue eyes were some blackened thoughts. As Abby decided whether to open the door, the detective started to look as though he was rushed and moved on to her neighbor's head. He knocked loudly again, this time loud enough to fill the hallway with his presence. Abby listened as a woman answered the door. Her voice was soft and aged. In all the time Abby lived there, she never once introduced herself. She greeted the officer kindly.

"May I help you?" she offered with excitement. Abby smirked. Her decision not to meet the upbeat morning person was validated.

"I'm Detective Deeks. I'm investigating a string of suspicious fires in the area." He continued. "Would you be able to confirm your whereabouts between the hours of three and four o'clock this morning?"

Abby lifted her face away from the door and put her hands up to her mouth in shock. That was the time she was walking home from work. It was just across the street, but the crime was so bad lately that even that was a dangerous walk. She remembered saying goodbye to Liz in the parking lot and watching her drive away in her little rusted-out car. Then she walked into the Busy Market right after work to grab some things she needed before going home and locking herself away from society. She decided to grab something to drink, and some men approached her, and then she was in bed but calm, so calm, the calmest she had been since. Oh crap, Abby thought with worry. I think the blackouts are getting worse.

Like everything else that went wrong in her life, Abby decided to try and ignore the problems going on in the world surrounding her and, lately, even her own problems. She slipped out of her robe and walked into the bathroom. Abby leaned over and started the hot water first. Her fiery red hair was finally released from the braid from the night before as she massaged her scalp. The steam coming off her pale skin fogged up the mirror almost instantly. As she was rinsing the conditioner out of her long red locks, another knock echoed through her apartment, bouncing off the shower walls.

"Shit, this place used to be so quiet!" she snapped sarcastically with no one around to hear, just as she liked it. She darted out of the shower and slipped her robe back on, her hair still dripping wet. As she rushed over to the door, another knock echoed from the other side. This time it wasn't the same detective, but he still looked like one. A tall man with an intimidating posture was on the door with a knock that a deaf turtle would respond to.

"Can I help you?" she shouted defensibly through her door.

"My name's Ryan Finney. I'm moving in across the hall," he explained.

Abby waited for him to go on as an awkward silence crept over them. "And!" she snapped finally.

Ryan replied, "And I was hoping I could wait in your place until the superintendent gets here."

"Sorry!" Abby yelled. "I'm busy, and I'm not stupid!"

She stormed away from the door after putting the dead bolt on it. A single woman letting a complete stranger into her home was even stupid for someone who could take care of themselves. Just another neighbor she'd have to avoid. It took her months to get rid of Michelle. Michelle had moved across the hall around the same time Abby had just settled into her place two years ago. The only problem was that Michelle was a typical eighteen-year-old at the time. It was her first time away from home, and she needed friendship and company. She would constantly be at the door, wanting to hang around Abby's place. Abby had lived on her own since she was fourteen. Her mother was a violent alcoholic, and her father's situation was complicated. She wanted silence and solitude to keep her calm, not constant hounding.

"I'm not some creep! I just don't have the keys yet! He should be here within the hour!" he shouted into the door.

Abby ignored his words and closed the bathroom door. The sound of the shower covered up his pleas perfectly. The morning was finally back on track.

As Abby got dressed, her mind wandered as usual. Her phone began to ring.

She answered, "Hello?"

The other end responded with an overly enthusiastic customer service tone, "Hello, Abby! This is Dr. Robert's office. I'm just calling to remind you about your anger management counseling session today. Please try and make this one. The last two cancellations were very short notice."

Abby hung up the phone without replying. "I hate these appointments! All they do is cause more...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Trafford Publishing
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2019
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1490792996
• ISBN 13: 9781490792996
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 174
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: gpsr@libri.de; gpsr@libri.de; ; Friedensallee 273; Hamburg; 22763; Deutschland