Sneak peek at Rebecca
Kingston from SUBMERGED
My special guest today is international
bestselling author Cheryl Kaye Tardif, and today she's going to share a bit
about the main character from her breathtaking new thriller, SUBMERGED.
Let me tell
you a bit about Rebecca Kingston. She's a hardworking, devoted mother of two,
with an abusive husband who has a gambling problem. And she's had enough.
Though not an easy decision to make for most abused women, Rebecca knows she
has to protect her children and herself. So she sets things in motion…
Here's a
peek at the first time you meet Rebecca:
Chapter Two
Edmonton,
AB – Thursday, June 13, 2013 – 4:37 PM
Rebecca Kingston folded her arms
across her down-filled jacket and tried not to shiver. Though May had ended
with a heat wave, the temperatures had dropped the first week of June. It had
rained for the first five days, and an arctic chill had swept through the city.
The weatherman blamed the erratic change in weather on global warming and a
cold front sweeping down from Alaska, while locals held one source responsible.
Their lifelong rival—Calgary.
"Can we get an ice cream,
Mommy?" four-year-old Ella said with a faint lips, the result of her
recent contribution to the tooth fairy's necklace collection.
Rebecca laughed. "It feels
like winter again and you want ice cream?"
"Yes, please."
"I guess we have time."
They hurried across the street to
the corner store.
"Strawberry this time,"
Ella said, her blue eyes pleading.
Rebecca sighed. "Eat it
slowly. Did you remember Puff?"
Her daughter nodded. "In my
pocket."
"Good girl." Rebecca
glanced at her watch. "It's almost five. Let's go."
Her cell phone rang. It was Carter
Billingsley, her lawyer.
"Mr. Billingsley," she
said. "I'm glad you got my message."
"So you've decided to get
away," he said. "That's a very good idea."
"I need a break." She
glanced at Ella. "Things are going to get ugly, aren't they?"
"Unfortunately, yes. Divorce
is never pretty. But you'll get through it."
"Thanks, Mr.
Billingsley."
"Take care, Rebecca."
Carter had once been her
grandfather's lawyer and Grandpa Bob had highly recommended him—if Rebecca ever
needed someone to handle her divorce. In his late sixties, Carter filled that
father-figure left void after her father's passing.
Her thoughts raced to her
twelve-year-old son. Colton's team was up against one of the toughest junior
high hockey teams from Regina. With Colton as the Edmonton team's goalie, most
of the pressure was on him. He was a brave boy.
She bit her bottom lip, wishing she
were as brave.
You're
a coward, Becca.
"You're too codependent,"
her mother always said.
Rebecca figured that wasn't
actually her fault. She'd been fortunate to have strong male role models in her
life. Men who ran companies with iron fists and made decisions after careful
consideration. Or at least worked hard to provide for their families. Men like
Grandpa Bob and her father. Men who could be trusted to make the right
decisions.
Not like Wesley.
Even her grandfather hadn't liked
him. When Grandpa Bob passed away two years ago, he'd sent a clear message to
everyone that Wesley couldn't be trusted. Grandpa Bob had lived a miser's
lifestyle. No one knew how much money he'd saved for that "rainy
day"—until he was gone and Colton and Ella became beneficiaries of over
eight hundred thousand dollars from the sale of Grandpa Bob's house and
business.
Grandpa Bob, in his infinite
wisdom, had added two major conditions to the inheritance. Money could only be
withdrawn from the account if it was spent on Ella or Colton. And Rebecca was
the sole person with signing power.
Wesley moped around the house for
days when he heard the conditions. Any time she bought the kids new clothes,
he'd sneer at her and say, "Hope you used your grandfather's money for
those."
Once when he'd gambled most of his
paycheck, he begged her for a "loan," and when she'd voiced that she
didn't have the money, he slapped her. "Lying bitch! You've got almost a
million dollars at your fingertips. All I'm asking for is thirty-five hundred.
I'll pay it back."
She'd refused and paid the price,
physically.
~ *
~
From Cheryl
Kaye Tardif, the international bestselling author that brought you CHILDREN OF THE FOG, comes a terrifying psychological
thriller that will leave you breathless…
"Submerged reads like an approaching
storm, full of darkness, dread and electricity. Prepare for your skin to
crawl."
—Andrew Gross, New York Times bestselling author of 15 Seconds
Two
strangers submerged in guilt, brought together by fate…
After a tragic car accident claims the lives of
his wife, Jane, and son, Ryan, Marcus Taylor is immersed in grief. But his
family isn't the only thing he has lost. An addiction to painkillers has taken
away his career as a paramedic. Working as a 911 operator is now the closest he
gets to redemption—until he gets a call from a woman trapped in a car.
Rebecca Kingston yearns for a quiet weekend
getaway, so she can think about her impending divorce from her abusive husband.
When a mysterious truck runs her off the road, she is pinned behind the
steering wheel, unable to help her two children in the back seat. Her only
lifeline is a cell phone with a quickly depleting battery and a stranger's calm
voice on the other end telling her everything will be all right.
Enter Cheryl’s
March Giveaway – 60 Prizes! http://www.cherylktardif.blogspot.com
Thanks, Rachelle, for featuring me during my Blog Tour. I truly appreciate it. Have an awesome weekend. :-)
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. Best of luck to you and Submerged. It sounds very exciting.
Delete