Wild Thunder

  She withdrew her hand, but continued to stare at the knife. She tied the belt on her robe and a tear slipped down her face. She swiped it away angrily and picked up the knife. Damn it, this was her opportunity and she was squandering it. She started toward the door, but stopped short when she heard the soft squeak of the doorknob twisting. Staring at the brass knob, she stuck the knife behind her, clutching it so hard that the mechanism sprung the blade. He would demand to know why she had the knife, and what would she say?

  The door opened, and Veronica leaned in, wearing a nightdress and holding the key. By the look of her sleep-creased face; she’d been rudely awoken. Em experienced simultaneous jubilation that it wasn’t Sonny and dread that her chance was about to disappear. Her only hope was to place some kind of block in the crack of the door once it was closed. The blade of the knife. But already Veronica was shutting the door. “D-did you hear?” she called, stepping forward on wobbly legs.

  The door opened again. “Hear what?”

  Em closed the distance between them, careful to keep the knife from view. “The President was shot.”

  Veronica blinked in surprise. “All he said was to lock the door,” she croaked, obviously dazed from being awoken so abruptly.

  “It’s terrible, isn’t it?”

  Veronica grunted and shut the door.

  Shaking with equal measures of fear and adrenalin, Em leaned against the door and stuck the blade in the right spot to prevent the lock from catching. Her breath caught as the bar pushed against the blade. This was it. If Veronica realized what she’d just done, she’d force her way in and it would all be over. Em waited, half expecting the door to fly open and knock her backwards, but it didn’t. She managed a deep breath and then another. All she had to do now was to open the door and make her escape. But what if Veronica was still standing there? Or Sonny? What if it had all been a trick? A test of some sort? Memories of past punishments paralyzed her. “Stop it,” she whispered.

  She hesitated a moment more and then pulled the door open far enough to release the metal tongue. She tossed the knife onto the rug behind her and peeked through the crack. No one was visible. Slowly, she opened the door and looked out at the empty hallway. This was it. This was her chance.

  ZEBRA BOOKS are published by

  Kensington Publishing Corp.

  119 West 40th Street

  New York, NY 10018

  Copyright © 1995, 2015 by Cassie Edwards

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

  To the extent that the image or images on the cover of this book depict a person or persons, such person or persons are merely models, and are not intended to portray any character or characters featured in the book.

  If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the Publisher and neither the Author nor the Publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

  Zebra and the Z logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.

  First published in December 1995 by Topaz, an imprint of Dutton Signet, a division of Penguin Books USA Inc.

  First Zebra Books Mass-Market Paperback Printing: August 2015

  ISBN: 978-1-4201-3681-4

  eISBN-13: 978-1-4201-3681-4

  eISBN-10: 1-4201-3681-X