Ellora's Cavemen: Tales from the Temple II by Tales From The Temple 02 Read Free Book Online Page B

44224.

    Also by Tielle St. Clare:

    Simon’s Bliss
    Dragon’s Kiss
    Just One Night
    Irish Enchantment
    Close Quarters

    DREAM WALKER
    Patrice Michelle

    Patrice Michelle

Chapter One
    “Great, just great. Even Mother Nature’s not on my side tonight.”
    Erin Stein gripped the steering wheel tighter as thunder rolled and lightning splintered the night sky above her. The smell of rain combined with the cool breeze blowing through her car vents caused goosebumps to form on her arms. Electricity hung in the air, the impending storm almost upon her.
    As if on cue, the sudden downpour hammered against her windows. Erin glanced in the rearview mirror as the rain streaming down her back window magnified the bright lights of the truck gaining on her. She clenched her jaw and returned her gaze to the road, her shoulders tense and her heart pounding out of control.
    I have to shake them , she thought, her mind whirling for alternate routes she might take. I have to get to Kian. He’ll know what to do.
    Her neck snapped back as her car jolted forward, jerking her out of her musings.
    Fear radiated through her at the sound of metal crumpling and plastic cracking as the truck rode her bumper, revving its engine. Holding back the scream that threatened at the violent turn of her situation, she shifted gears and slammed the pedal to the floor.
    Her car shot forward, fishtailing on the muddy road. She counter-steered to straighten her vehicle, thankful she’d been able to put at least a car’s distance between her pursuers and herself.
    “You idiots! If you kill me, you get nothing,” she called out with a hysterical laugh.
    Thunder rumbled, shaking the ground and even her car in its intensity.
    “A miracle would be nice,” she murmered at the same time a bolt of lightning struck the road twenty feet ahead of her.
    As gusts of wind buffeted her car, rocking the sedan back and forth, Erin looked up and saw a tall oak tree on the side of the road sway, then begin to fall. Gunning her engine once more, she swerved against the wind and let out a sigh of relief when the tree slammed hard on the road behind her. She glanced over her shoulder in anticipation to see the truck slide across the muddy dirt road right into the tree.
    “Take that!” she exclaimed in triumph, a wide grin on her face as she quickly turned back to face the road.
    When her gaze landed on the huge rock lying directly in her path, Erin’s smile faded and her adrenaline spiked once more. Her chest tightened with fear as she jerked the wheel to avoid the obstacle. Too late. Her car’s front tire caught the edge of the rock and sent the vehicle careening straight toward the woods along the side of the road.
    When she entered the woods and her car plummeted down a steep ravine, she screamed. As tension gripped her entire body, she clung to the steering wheel, her 36

    Dream Walker
    arms locked in position. It may have been fruitless, but the action gave her the false sense of security that she had a modicum of control over the situation. While tree limbs sped past, leaves and branches clawing at her windows and reality hurled toward her at an accelerated speed, Erin accepted her fate. Regret washed over her that she had failed.
    Squeezing her eyes shut, she prayed for a swift, painless death.
    The sudden, jarring impact caused her head to slam into the steering wheel. As excruciating pain pierced her skull, a fleeting thought occurred: why the hell didn’t the airbag…
    She didn’t get to complete the thought as she succumbed toblissful oblivion.
    * * * * *
    Erin awoke to the sound of men yelling. A man’s voice called out, then faded in the distance as if he quickly moved away. Sharp pain entered her head as she tried to turn toward the noises she heard. Torrential rain beat down on the roof above her, while every single drop echoed in her aching head like a jackhammer.
    She slowly opened her eyes to see a man, his long, dark, wet hair plastered to his head and