Thrall (A Vampire Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page A

don’t fight it. Tell me what you remember.”
    My voice catches as I struggle for a breath that never comes. I hate this, hate this, hate this. I hate my body, I hate the world, I hate him.
    “Tell me, Christine. Tell me how it happened.”
    I swallow, by my throat is still dry. My voice is thin and reedy and I feel a boiling mass of shame and revulsion when I give voice to the words that haunt me when I close my eyes to flee the sun.
    “A man sat down next to me at the bar. He said ‘this is what’s going to happen…’”

Chapter Three

    Andi punched me in the shoulder.
    She was my best friend, ever. Since kindergarten we were absolutely inseparable. It only made sense that she would be with me on the Vegas trip. Andi was tall, and had long red-gold hair. I felt out of place with her, being short and shy and hiding behind my long dark tresses. I was not a party animal. I was not a party creature of any variety.
    The world was wide open with promise. We left from Philly International in the dark and landed in Las Vegas in the light. The sky was so bright, so blue, I can’t believe there could ever be so vibrant a color. There was not a cloud to break it up, only the blinding glare of the sun, commanding even in the autumn. I had to put on my sunglasses when we stepped off the plane or be blinded.
    It was hot, too. The sun hammered the windows of the bus as we rode to get the rental car. I just wanted a nap after eleven hours on two different planes and a stopover in Minneapolis, but Andi was so excited you’d think this was her trip.
    She was like a big kid, bouncing up and down in her seat until the bus stopped and we all stepped down so the driver could hand off our bags. Andi tipped him a twenty and a flirtatious wink and strutted into the rental car building. All the rental agencies at McCarran operate out of one huge garage. Her enthusiasm was dampened somewhat by the line at the rental counter, even though we already had a reservation.
    “I need a nap,” I yawned.
    “Nap?” Andi laughed. “Nap? Girl, we’re only here for two nights. We have to make the best of it.”
    Two more days. We would be back in Philly late Friday night, and then the big day.
    Something was happening, something important and I was more interested in that than I was this stupid vacation. I resented her for dragging me here when I had something bigger coming up, something I’d been looking forward to for years.
    I was so excited and nervous about that, it made Las Vegas a foggy dreamworld. Yes, even the rental car counter. Andi slipped the attendant a twenty and he looked at it in confusion but pocketed it anyway, and checked us in. The sky was blue and beautiful and the heat kissed my skin when we went outside to pick out a car, but I wanted to go home. This vacation was something to be suffered through. An obligation.
    I looked at Andi and tried to make myself feel better about this. We were like sisters. When her mother left her father and left Andi too, she practically moved into my house.
    When I saw how happy Andi was, my frustration faded. Pretty soon we would drift apart as we started our new lives. She would be moving. Andi was engaged to an engineer and they were heading out to Silicon Valley for his job in a few weeks, but she delayed as long as she could manage for my big day.
    That was the other side of the coin. My youth was ending. I was willingly giving it up for the future’s sake and it put butterflies in my stomach. I was so distracted I just stood there until Andi poked my shoulder again and I tossed my bags in the trunk of the Mustang she picked out, a gaudy red convertible.
    “As your attorney,” Andi chirped, “I advise you to rent something fast and red with no top.”
    Ah, the Fear and Loathing references had started. I rolled my eyes and got in. Andi put the top down immediately and pulled out of the garage, into the blinding sun, her hair streaming out behind her.
    It was somebody’s poor   decision