Written Off

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Inside the trunk of the car, it was dark and uncomfortable.

Shifting position, Dana replayed everything that had happened that Saturday morning. She’d spent hours signing a thousand copies of her newest novel for an upcoming author event. Sitting in a metal folding chair in the back room of the bookstore had been far from an ideal setup. Writing her name so many times had made her head hurt and her fingers cramp, but admirably she’d soldiered on. Afterward, per usual, she’d opted to leave through the back door while her assistant, Courtney, left to get the car. The idea was to avoid walking through the store, where she would certainly get waylaid by fans who would want to chat or get books signed. Courtney never minded the extra legwork.

Always reliable Courtney Hart.

As soon as she’d stepped outside into the alley, she’d recoiled at the stench. A graffiti-covered dumpster was near her elbow. On the other side of the alley was a dilapidated wooden fence and a condemned office building, waiting for demolition. She waved away a pesky fly and reached into her purse for her phone.

She remembered tapping her toe and checking her phone for the time in order to figure out how long it might take for Courtney to get there .

When she heard a car round the corner of the building, she craned her neck to look and saw that although it was black with tinted windows like her Audi and shared a similar shape, it wasn’t her car at all. It slowed as it approached, reminding her of the many times she’d been accosted by fans wanting to rave about her books. Generally speaking, she enjoyed the acclaim, but when she didn’t, there was always Courtney to run interference. Sometimes all she could offer was a selfie. Luckily, that usually sufficed. Dana always made a point to dress the part of a bestselling author.

Dana Broderick. A household name. Sometimes she still couldn’t believe it, but most of the time, she completely believed it. Of course she was someone of significance. It was meant to be.

Courtney had often advised her to downplay her appearance so she wouldn’t be recognized, but that was ignorance talking. Dana’s raven-black curls, eye-popping fashion sense, and layered jewelry defined her as an individual. Her fans expected her to look gorgeous. Sure, she could dress like Courtney, with her generic blue jeans, nondescript top, and ever-present crossbody handbag, but that was never going to happen. Looking glamorous was Dana’s uniform, a sign that she’d made it in life.

She’d heard that how a person dressed reflected how they felt on the inside, but she’d found the opposite to be true. Dressing like a superstar gave her incredible confidence, and when she felt that way, people treated her like a very big deal. It was just that simple. The best part was that it circled back and gave her self-esteem a well-deserved boost.

And once that happened, she was unstoppable.

The imposter car came to a halt right next to her. She anticipated the lowering of the driver’s window, but instead, the trunk lid rose and the back door flew open. A large man in dark clothing and a ski mask rushed out of the passenger side of the car and came right at her.

The suddenness with which he moved had been a shock. Reading about attacks in the news, she’d always thought she’d fare pretty well against an assailant, but this guy was incredibly fast and he’d overpowered her before she could even react.

Now she was in the trunk, disoriented, her heart pounding. Trapped. Thankfully, he hadn’t restrained her hands and feet before he pushed her inside, so at least she had that going for her. This was scarier than she could have even imagined.

Without her phone, she couldn’t get a sense of how much time had elapsed.

Even though it was cool for June in Wisconsin, the inside of the trunk was starting to be stuffy.

Still, Dana wasn’t going to panic. This was awful, but if she thought of it as a challenge, a problem to be solved, she was sure she’d get through this unscathed and better than ever.

She could feel that the car was moving fast. By the speed and the jerky movement of the driver changing lanes, she guessed they were on the interstate. She’d heard the muffled sounds of two men talking right before the radio came on, blasting some horrible seventies song. Her least favorite kind of music, all caterwauling and electric guitars. Even the rock music her nephew, Brayden, enjoyed was preferable.

Dana took a deep breath, willing her heart to slow down.

As a coping device, she thought about Rebecca Cavanaugh, the main character in all of her novels. Rebecca always came out of situations like this using her wits and what she had on hand. Following suit, Dana feverishly ran her fingers over every surface within reach, hoping to find a tire jack or some other tool. If she was writing this as a scene, Rebecca would knock out the taillights and get the attention of another driver. She felt around, but the taillights seemed to be covered by some kind of hard surface. Plywood, maybe?

Next, she searched for a trunk-release lever. She’d had this exact scenario in one of her books, and Rebecca had outsmarted the villains in the story by pulling on the glow-in-the-dark lever and freeing herself.

Unfortunately, there was no such lever in this vehicle. At least not that she could find.

What next? Rebecca rarely resorted to hysterics, except as a ploy. At the moment, it seemed appropriate. Dana kicked at the sides of the trunk and screamed as loudly as she could. “Help! Someone help me! Get me out of here!” She’d been smart to wear dress boots with a hard heel. She turned them into battering rams, kicking in the direction of the taillights.

The car swerved and the loud music stopped. When the vehicle came to a stop, her body slammed to one side. A man’s voice roared from inside the vehicle, “Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!”

Dana smiled. Getting a reaction fostered her sense of control. In her books, she’d put her main character through every possible horrible scenario, and she’d always found a clever way out. By the end of every single Dana Broderick novel, Rebecca had triumphed over what looked like impossible odds.

Just like Rebecca Cavanaugh, Dana was known to be fearless under any circumstances. She knew she’d come through this just fine. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind.