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The Hunted (paperback)
The Hunted (paperback)
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BOOK 2 OF THE DUALITY SERIES.
642 5-star reviews!
Inspired by David Parker Ray, "The Toy Box Killer."
What do you do when the person who is supposed to help is the one you’re running from? Angel Evanston is about to find out.
Emily Bright and her best friend Harper White have big dreams, but a chance meeting has changed the course of their future. Now they may not have any future at all.
Two years ago, Angel survived something so traumatic it sent her into hiding. She’s committed to living a life that honors the losses of her past, despite her physical and emotional scars. That means proving she isn’t the coward she was once accused of being.
When Angel finds Emily, bloody and traumatized, in a truck stop bathroom. The story Emily tells is incredible: a sheriff abducts and tortures women, then turns them loose on his ranch to be hunted like animals.
No one has escaped… until now. Emily got out, but Harper is still on the ranch. Angel must choose between turning a blind eye or being the kind of person who helps others, even if it means putting herself in peril – again.
If you like Karin Slaughter, Criminal Minds, and fast-paced stories that keep you on the edge of your seat, you'll love The Hunted: Sins of the Father.
Praise for The Hunted: Sins of the Father
“I love how Ennis writes. You can feel the pain and anxiety of the characters as you glimpse into their lives. Without dragging out horrific details you still know what happens. She can make you grasp the abuse without turning you away from the story.”
“While the Dollhouse was intense, dark & graphic, The Hunted was absolutely off the chain! This book is definitely what psychological thrillers are made of. I loved, loved, loved the character development. The characters you were supposed to care for you did and the bad ones you detested.”
“Here’s the thing. This book is so great because Sara has a way of catapulting your attention with the characters’ thoughts and actions. When the bad characters engage, you can taste their viciousness. When the victims narrate, you viscerally feel their fear, dread or conviction to escape, but escape they cannot. Once you’ve experienced this book, expect to face a major book slump with your subsequent reads.”
| Paperback | 264 pages |
| Dimensions | 5.5 x .66 x 8.5 inches |
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CHAPTER ONE
Wednesday, September 9, 2009, Time Unknown
HARPER
“We should’ve just had the threesome with Oakley,” I say to no one in particular.
It’s dark in the cages now, but the overhead lights were on when the woman called Vero dragged Emily back to the cage by her ankles, kicking and shoving until she got Emily inside. Emily didn’t move. For a minute I thought Emily might be dead. Then I heard a soft whimper. Only a Nine, then. A Nine is terrible, but it isn’t a Ten.
I have started rating the ‘sessions’ as I think of them. A One is being left alone. A Two is when the woman named Vero delivers our nightly meal of wet dog food. A Three is having your clothes taken and a dog’s shock collar fitted around your neck. Five is your basic old-fashioned man-on-woman rape. The scary thing is, that would have been a Ten in my previous life. I had no idea there were so many things that could be added to make it worse. A Seven, that’s when the S&M contraptions come out. A Nine involves tools—dental tools, construction tools, surgical tools. And Ten, well, we haven’t got to Ten yet, and I pray we don’t.
Because at Ten, you’re dead.
Personally, I think the Oakley comment is a little bit funny. Emily would, too, if she could think.
“How long do you think we’ve been here? A week? Two? More?” I ask. “I wonder if Oakley went looking for us. I wonder if he called the cops. Oh, shit. That really wouldn’t do any good, would it.” I laugh at the irony.
Emily doesn’t answer. She hasn’t answered in a while, now that I think of it.
“But if he did call the cops, they would’ve called our families. They’d be worried. Well, your dad would. Your dad would demand an investigation, right? Report us missing to police in Nashville? Right? But maybe he didn’t tell my mom or your dad because then they’d know what a freaking ass he is. Oakley’s not so big of an ass that he wouldn’t call them, though, right? He’s not, right?”
Still, Em doesn’t respond. I don’t care. Talking makes me feel better, even if I’m talking to myself. It’s distracting, and I need distracting. Because if I think about reality, I will surely die. “If we’d stayed with Oakley, and we were in LA now, we’d be moving into our fabulous new apartment. Sure, it would be a tiny studio in some questionable part of town, on a bus line so we can get to interviews and auditions. There’d be a great bar—a great gay bar because gay guys are the best friends a girl can have in a new town—right around the corner. We’d be hanging out there, making plans, making friends, maybe making some connections. Doing stuff. Starting our lives. On our way.”
The man’s voice, low and slow, drifts in from somewhere, interrupting my conversation with myself. I’m a writer, so I collect characters. Until just recently, I’ve always favored villains. Jonny—that’s what Vero calls him—is an excellent villain. He’s handsome as hell, with pretty boy features and thick dark hair, and a great body...if middle-aged rapists are your type. I hear him say, “Getting tired of the dark-haired one. No more fight in her. ‘Bout time to turn her loose.”
My pulse quickens. Did he say, “Turn her loose?” Is he going to let us go?
Ha. You’re a fool, Harpy! No way can he turn us loose. They can’t leave us alive, not after everything they’ve done to us. For Harper White and Emily Bright, best friends with rhyming names and big dreams, this is the end of the road.
I feel wetness on my face and jerk. I remember now. Emily is gone. He “turned her loose” hours ago. I’m pretty sure I know exactly what that means.
