Captivation Read Online Free PDF Page A

a cold. But she’d been outside long enough. Her desire to return to her home was becoming stronger and stronger.
    Back inside the building, she jabbed at the button for the lift and tapped her foot rhythmically as she waited, ignoring the curious looks she knew she was receiving from Chris. Inside the lift, as it ascended smoothly, Chris almost dropped the box as he began to cough rather violently and Juliette had to reach out to steady it for him.
    ‘Ahh,’ she said quietly, ‘yes, that does sound like a bad cold.’ And she felt a little guilty for rushing him back here.
    ‘I’m really sounding much better than I was,’ said Chris, once he managed to stop coughing.
    When they finally made it into Juliette’s apartment, she felt an immediate sense of relief wash over her. She was back. She was safe. She wasn’t going to be leaving this place again anytime soon. She knew she should probably offer Chris a drink of water before kicking him straight back out with the other box, but she really wanted to be alone, and she convinced herself that it wasn’t that rude if she just sent him on his way again.

    ‘Thanks for doing this, Chris,’ she said, as she lifted the original box and pushed it into his arms.
    ‘Sorry to rush you out the door, but I have some …’ she hesitated. What was her excuse?
    ‘… some work to do,’ she finished, hoping against hope that he wouldn’t ask what sort of work.
    ‘That’s okay,’ said Chris. ‘I’ve actually got a mate in the building. I might drop by and see him before I head back to the store. Chill on his couch for a few minutes.’
    ‘Sure, sure,’ said Juliette absentmindedly, as she herded him towards the door. Go away , she was thinking. Go away so I can feel like this space is just mine again. So I can relax. So I can figure things out.
    When the door finally shut behind Chris, she turned and pressed her back against it, savouring the feeling of being alone in her apartment again. A few moments to just centre herself, and then she would make a new cup of tea, sit down on the couch and read, just as she had originally planned.

Chapter Five

    Ironically, after everything that she had been through that day, when Juliette sat down and opened up her first book, she simply couldn’t concentrate on the words. And the tea wasn’t having the same calming effect it normally would on her. After re-reading the same page three times over, she gave up. She rose from the couch and stared at the study door, considering it. Maybe she should just use her mobile phone to do her research. It was how she did all of her online ordering, how she stayed connected to the outside world.
    But she knew it would be annoying to search multiple sites and open up various pages on the small screen. Besides, she couldn’t keep that door closed forever. She might be shy, but she wasn’t a coward. She stamped her foot on the carpet, just once, to snap herself out of it, and then strode over to the door, turned the handle and pushed it open. The musky scent of a room that had been kept closed for several months came rushing at her. Her eyes took in the familiar sight – Danny’s desk, the old typewriter that his publicist had insisted he be photographed in front of, despite the fact that all of his novels were written on the thirty-two inch Mac that towered above it. The collection of postcards he’d kept sticky-taped to the wall above the computer, and the framed literary awards for best crime fiction novel in 2010 and 2011, proudly displayed on the desk.
    Juliette tensed as she waited for her body to be struck by that strange feeling again – but it didn’t happen. Tentatively, she stepped into the room, creeping towards the desk. Still nothing. She eased herself into the chair, then leaned forward to turn on the computer. Waiting for the log-in screen to appear, her eyes wandered across the desk and she caught sight of a photograph of Danny and her in France with her parents, a candid