Since You've Been Gone Read Free

announced.
    â€œI will decide when we close!” Color rode high on MatildaVinson’s cheeks and Rebecca thought that Lynn must not value her job to be so insolent. “Please stay for a few minutes, Rebecca.”
    â€œI can’t,” Rebecca said abruptly, heading for the door. “I left my dog in the car. He’s terrified of storms. Besides, if I hurry, I can get home before it hits.”
    â€œWell, be careful, dear,” Matilda called after her.
    Outside the wind had picked up sharply. Tree limbs bent backward and a metal trash can rolled across Main Street. A few raindrops pelted her with stinging force. In the distance Rebecca saw a streak of lightning cast a blue glow against the dark sky. She forgot to count until the thunder rumbled, loud and ominous. If she believed in signs, she would have considered a storm her first night back in Sinclair a bad omen.
    Wind snapped her long auburn hair across her face and plastered her slacks against her legs. She opened the car door and jumped in. Sean nearly leaped onto her lap. She grabbed his collar and pushed him back to his seat, speaking soothingly as he panted in agitation. She handed him a rawhide chew stick that he held in his mouth like a cigar, too nervous to eat it.
    Slowly she pulled away from the curb and started down the street. She turned up the speed of the windshield wipers. Lightning viciously sliced the sky again and a wave of rain slapped the car hard enough to make her swerve. Main Street was strangely empty at nine-forty. The marquees of the two theaters valiantly tried to glow through the torrent of water. Rebecca doubted if many people had shown up for the second movie showing.
    Less than a quarter of a mile ahead, Rebecca sat at what seemed an interminable red light. Across the intersection she noticed a large, white stucco structure with dramatic, sweeping lines. A sign on the front lawn bore the name DORMAINE’S RESTAURANT in black lettering bold enough for her to see through the rain.
    She turned left at the light. An explosion of thunder followed a glittering spear of lightning, making Sean yelpand Rebecca cringe. The lightning had been too close for comfort, although she knew the rubber tires of the car protected them from electric shock. A dull throbbing had started at her right temple. It was a familiar pain, although she hadn’t felt it for quite a while. She would think of something else, forget it, take some aspirin when she got home. Thank goodness it wasn’t too much farther to the Ryan house, she thought, watching the wipers swipe uselessly across the windshield. Back and forth. Back and forth…
    The rain-smeared windshield slowly blurred, then began to disappear. Rebecca tried to focus, to shut out all that was not tangible, but with dreamlike inevitability, she felt herself drift from her own consciousness into someone else’s….
    Rough cloth was tied around his face and around his mouth. Blindfolded and gagged, that’s what he was. Beneath him was something hard—wood, probably—and his right hip and arm were numb. Something was tied around his ankles and his hands were pulled behind his back and trapped by rope, the skin beneath it raw from fruitless rubbing. He felt sick, like he wanted to throw up, and his head hurt real bad. He thought he might cry, which would be awful because none of his movie heroes would cry and he’d feel like a complete baby.
    He tried inhaling deeply in an effort to stop the crying, but the air was hot and smelled awful. Rotten. And he could hear thunder outside and rain beating against windows. Bright pinpoints of light sparkled in front of his burning eyes. He was afraid. Deathly afraid. Thunder boomed and he shuddered, pulling himself up into a ball. Uttering guttural sobs, he inched across the floor until his face touched something soft. Tramp, his stuffed dog. Tramp who saved the baby from the rat in
Lady and the Tramp
. Maybe Tramp could