Hard Candy (13 page)

He could have sworn they were looking directly at him. Not his vehicle. Him. As if they knew him.

The archway to the Pass approached in the distance. Nathan pushed his foot until the speedometer inched higher. Thirty feet ahead a barricade of large black crows were positioned beneath the large metal sign with the aged black letters - Crow Mountain Pass. The constant movements of birds flying above the pavement produced swirling clouds of dust which sheathed them, creating an illusion of a huge black dust storm. Hundreds of eyes stared at him.

You need us
.

Nathan jerked his foot off the pedal. What the…?

He must be more tired than he thought. Not a good thing to be on this road. He’d conducted too many funerals from late night driving accidents on this windy road. His vehicle inched its way, coming to a full stop right before the crows as their deafening caws filled the air.

The side windows and windshield were attacked as the multitude of crows flew at him, their screams filling the air. Nathan ducked his head to his steering wheel, hands over his ears. The glass shook from the impact. Nathan was sure his windows would break. He didn’t understand what was happening. His skin rippled from the onslaught of the invisible beaks poking at his skin. Fingers of dread tunneled through his brain, Nathan cried out in anguish, begging for God to help.

Raising his head, he jammed his foot on the gas and accelerated until he drove past the swirling cascade. Gasping, Nathan struggled to regulate his breathing, failing with each intake. Once he made it beneath the archway, he glanced in his rearview mirror. Nothing.

No crows, no swirling dust, nothing. The chaos had vanished.

He hit the brake - his toes cramping from the quick movement. He leaned forward and rested his arms on the steering wheel. Scratch marks ran along the hood. Nicked, dented and littered with stray feathers, his truck looked like it had been to hell and back.

His hand reached for the door handle then stopped. His arms collapsed and chafed against the leather edge of the wheel before they fell onto his legs. His body shook as if an earthquake erupted beneath his feet. Pools of sweat poured down his face as they mingled with tears he didn’t know he shed.

What just happened?

Jade’s writing is as eclectic as her reading tastes, with over thirty erotic romance tales currently published. She’s been known to accept writing challenges from friends and family just to see their reactions and Jade is also a firm believer that love and romance are universal concepts, no matter a person’s gender identity or sexual orientation.

Originally from Northern Ontario, she's lived in British Columbia and the Sultanate of Oman in the Middle East. Jade currently lives in Calgary, Alberta where she’s hard at work on her next story.

Jade loves to hear from readers! Send her an email at
[email protected]

@jadebuchanan

http://www.jadebuchananbooks.com

The Bandit Creek series:

PENNY CANDY

HARD CANDY

The Felidae series:

LAITHE’S PRIDE

ASAD’S MATE

USAMA’S JOURNEY

LEV’S DISCOVERY

NAVIN’S MASTER

ROWAN’S MEN

The Pridelands series:

DARREN’S SURPRISE

ZULA’S STAND

SHEER’S CHOICE

GRIFFIN’S JOY

KHALID’S CHALLENGE

ACHAN’S PEACE

The Broken Trilogy:

BROKEN RULES

BROKEN SILENCE – coming soon

BROKEN DISTANCE – coming soon

The Horsfall Trilogy:

TAIL OF TWO BROTHERS

TASTE TEST

AS THE CROW FLIES

The Northern Bears Trilogy:

BEAR WITH ME

UNBEARABLE

BEAR OUT

Single titles:

NUT CREAM

THE FROG IN THE ROOM

ALL WRAPPED UP 3 COLLECTION: BOUND TO PLEASE

SPACEPORT: MARKED

ROOKERY COVE: FAUN OF A TIME

SIREN’S SONG ANTHOLOGY

BULL RIDER

DREAMING OF HARMONY

FIRESTORM ANTHOLOGY