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Alone in the Woods

Charly Cox
Chapters (63)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Chapter One
  4. Chapter Two
  5. Chapter Three
  6. Chapter Four
  7. Chapter Five
  8. Chapter Six
  9. Chapter Seven
  10. Chapter Eight
  11. Chapter Nine
  12. Chapter Ten
  13. Chapter Eleven
  14. Chapter Twelve
  15. Chapter Thirteen
  16. Chapter Fourteen
  17. Chapter Fifteen
  18. Chapter Sixteen
  19. Chapter Seventeen
  20. Chapter Eighteen
  21. Chapter Nineteen
  22. Chapter Twenty
  23. Chapter Twenty-One
  24. Chapter Twenty-Two
  25. Chapter Twenty-Three
  26. Chapter Twenty-Four
  27. Chapter Twenty-Five
  28. Chapter Twenty-Six
  29. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  30. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  31. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  32. Chapter Thirty
  33. Chapter Thirty-One
  34. Chapter Thirty-Two
  35. Chapter Thirty-Three
  36. Chapter Thirty-Four
  37. Chapter Thirty-Five
  38. Chapter Thirty-Six
  39. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  40. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  41. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  42. Chapter Forty
  43. Chapter Forty-One
  44. Chapter Forty-Two
  45. Chapter Forty-Three
  46. Chapter Forty-Four
  47. Chapter Forty-Five
  48. Chapter Forty-Six
  49. Chapter Forty-Seven
  50. Chapter Forty-Eight
  51. Chapter Forty-Nine
  52. Chapter Fifty
  53. Chapter Fifty-One
  54. Chapter Fifty-Two
  55. Chapter Fifty-Three
  56. Chapter Fifty-Four
  57. Chapter Fifty-Five
  58. Chapter Fifty-Six
  59. Chapter Fifty-Seven
  60. A letter from Charly
  61. Acknowledgements
  62. About the Author
  63. Also by Charly Cox

Cover

Alone in the Woods

Dedication

This one’s for you, Melissa Naatz, for all the reasons. That includes, of course, but is not limited to, keeping me sane – or sometimes going nuts with me – and making me laugh while you do it.

And:

For all the readers out there who welcomed Alyssa Wyatt, along with her family – both work and home – into their lives; I’ve loved having you along on this journey.

Chapter One

Thursday, October 3

Addis Penn Kensington pounded on her mother’s chest in a vain and misguided attempt to get her to breathe. Misguided because it was obvious from the bullet hole in her mother’s forehead that chest compressions would get her nowhere. Still, she continued beating despite the vacant eyes staring up at the ceiling tiles as if her mother had been counting them, or more likely, wondering who she should scream at for the grime that coated the paint.

It was only when a low, keening wail coming from across the room finally penetrated that Addis was able to drag her numb brain away from the state of her mother’s corpse long enough for her mind to accept the reality of the bloodbath surrounding her. Fighting to keep the contents of her stomach inside, along with the scream clawing at her throat, she knew, as much as she wanted to pretend she’d done nothing more than stumble into a bad Halloween movie, she had to face what was right in front of her.

How could she not when the final nail in the coffin of deniability happened to be lying not ten feet from where she’d been working frantically at reviving her mother? Her father’s death had been far more savage than a bullet hole to the forehead.

Tears streaming and gasping for breath, Addis abandoned her efforts and pushed herself to her feet before collapsing against the stove, squeezing her eyes tight against the carnage as she fumbled for her phone. Though she tried, she couldn’t ignore the distinct coppery odor of blood that rushed in through her nostrils. Gagging, she barely turned to the trash can in time. Trembling as her knees threatened to give way, she averted her focus away from her parents and latched tightly onto the counter, as inch by slow inch, she staggered toward her best friend who was propped up against a wall, muffled, wheezing sobs bursting from her throat as she rocked back and forth, one arm wrapped protectively around her stomach while the other covered her nose and mouth.