Code PINK_A Novel Of Suspense Read online

  Code:PINK

  A Novel Of Suspense

  Erica R. Stinson

  Copyright © 2015 Erica R. Stinson

  All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. S

  ISBN-13: 978-1517167318

  ISBN-10: 1517167310

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  DEDICATION

  CONTENTS

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Chapter one

  Chapter two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  chapter five

  chapter six

  chapter seven

  Chapter eight

  chapter nine

  chapter ten

  chapter eleven

  Chapter twelve

  Epilogue

  Company Policy | A Psychological Thriller | By. Erica R. Stinson

  1

  2

  Survival Tactics: A Novel of Suspense

  Prologue

  Daphne

  Swept Away: A Survival Tactics Novella

  1 White Collars

  2 Willhouby

  Sign up for Erica Stinson's Mailing List

  DEDICATION

  I would like to dedicate this book to my mother, Judith A. Stinson who has always been there for me, no matter what. I love you, Ma

  CONTENTS

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Epilogue

  Company Policy Excerpt

  Survival Tactics Excerpt

  Swept Away Excerpt

  About The Author

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I would like to thank the countless fellow aspiring independent authors on Goodreads and in particular, the Support for Indie Authors group and the Goodreads Author Feedback group whose support and advice have made this project much easier to tackle. I would like to give a special thank you to Hannah Davenport and Prachi Garg for beta-reading for me. I honestly could not have asked for better readers and I hope I can return the favor soon. I want to thank my mother, Judith A. Stinson and my cousin Tara Johnson, both of whom have held me up when I’ve had a lot of downs over the past year while trying to write this story. Lastly, I want to give a shout-out to my beautiful niece Gianna Marie Stinson, just because she wanted to see her name in my book. Auntie loves you, G!

  code pink definition:

  A message announced over a hospital’s public-address system warning the staff of an infant abduction.

  Chapter one

  He watched her as she showered within the glass enclosure, his green eyes falling upon her naked body as she lathered it. Her hair, like black snakes, swam down her bare back as the steamy water ran rivulets over her head.

  She turned away from the generous spray and began soaping the front of her body, the swollen abdomen a bit larger than normal for a woman just over nine months pregnant.

  He advanced closer, a faint smile lighting his handsome features as he heard her humming softly. He slipped inside of the shower, quickly and before she knew what was happening, making her gasp in surprise.

  “Ryan!” She screamed with laughter as he pressed his naked, muscular body against hers. His lips found the back of her neck next as she giggled and turned towards him.

  “Hi.” Ryan whispered as his green eyes lit up at seeing her, leaning close to kiss her full, pouty lips. The kiss deepened a moment later as she slipped her pale, slender arms around his neck.

  “Hi, yourself.” Carrie murmured as they kissed again, getting deeper into it. They finished showering together, the passion beginning to take them over before long. Her hormones were out of control these days, and she wanted sex often. Ryan hugged her body to his tanned one, lovingly as they kissed.

  She didn’t protest as Ryan shut the water off and they left the shower behind, holding hands as they headed towards their bedroom.

  Carrie sat on their king-sized bed and carefully laid back, her dark-brown eyes never leaving his as she spread her legs.

  She sighed as he stretched out onto the mattress and moved his face towards that dark mass of curls and buried his face deep within. It was safe enough this far into her pregnancy, even though the event had gotten off to a rocky start. She gasped as she moved her fingers through his sandy colored hair, her mouth opening as her eyes closed.

  He and Carrie had had a difficult time conceiving, and the last thing he wanted to do was put her or the baby in danger.

  Carrie sighed again as his lips and tongue worked on the highly sensitive areas of her womanhood, a perk from the impeding birth, and one that she was currently enjoying.

  “Ryan....” She sighed, her voice trailing off into a moan as she threw her head back.

  The faint peal of the doorbell stopped them dead in their tracks, followed by insistent knocking.

  “Dammit....” Ryan groaned as Carrie did too. “Don’t go anywhere...”

  “It’s probably Joan.” Carrie replied as she sat up and pulled on a silk robe as he sighed heavily, eyes rolling upwards.

  “Jesus-Fucking-Christ....”

  “Ryan....”

  “Seriously, babe. She’s over here all of the time...” He complained as Carrie moved into his lap and the doorbell rang again, insistently.

  “You know how bad things have been for her since her mother died.” She whispered, kissing him as if that would make things all better. “Be nice.”

  He grumbled something under his breath that she didn’t hear, and slammed into the bathroom as Carrie tightened her robe over her nakedness and left the room.

  When he came out into the living room a few minutes later, it was to find Joan and his wife nearly nose to nose, Carrie rubbing the woman’s back consolingly as tears slid down both of their cheeks.

  Rolling his eyes, Ryan headed towards their small kitchen to have a cup of coffee.

  If it wasn’t one thing with Joan, then it was something else.

  He didn’t know why, of all people, it was Carrie she’d latched onto. But then again, his wife was such a caring and giving soul, she’d taken Joan under her wing as if she were a stray cat nearly a year and a half ago.

  Carrie had been so sad back then, vulnerable from the loss of their third child at the fifth month, the furthest they’d ever gotten, before this one finally took.

  He hadn’t said a word as Joan started coming over regularly and inviting herself along any time they went out somewhere.

  It was worth it though, just to see Carrie smile again. Joan had been with her every step of the way during this pregnancy as they looked over nursery ideas and shopped for things for the baby.

  Ryan had come to the conclusion that he was being treated as an unwanted stranger any time he tried to come along on one of their shopping trips, so he just stopped trying.

  Of course Carrie told him that he was over-reacting when he complained about it and that he should come along with them.

  But whenever he’d look at the scowl on Joan’s plain face, he would invent some other pressing engagement that he had to see to and the matter would be forgotten.

  They lived in New Hyde Park on Long Island, and had just purchased their colonial-style home about three years prior.

  Ryan was a forema
n for a small construction company and Carrie was a third-grade teacher for the Nassau County public school system. They had met about five years ago, during a construction job he’d been on in her apartment building and had hit it off right away.

  They had their ups and downs, as did any couple, but for the most part they enjoyed each other and could not wait to complete their family with this baby.

  Ryan dumped a few teaspoons of sugar into his coffee, wishing that it was whiskey instead.

  He liked to drink a bit more that Carrie wanted him to, but he was stressed from work and worrying about the pregnancy.

  Having a child was important to him, boy or girl, it didn’t matter as long as the baby was healthy.

  They’d done all the right things.

  Taken the classes.

  Changed Carrie’s diet to promote good health for both she and the baby.

  And most important of all was that she remain calm and stress-free, so the last thing he needed was Joan over here with her bullshit upsetting his wife.

  Ryan was pretty pissed about it, truth be told, and it was only ten o’clock in the morning.

  He itched to say something to Joan about it, nicely, just to let her know that Carrie didn’t need to be getting upset so close to the end of her pregnancy.

  He came back out to the living room, distressed to see that they were sitting close together on the sofa and talking quietly as tears slid down Joan’s cheeks.

  He didn’t want Carrie getting herself all worked up over some problem of Joan’s.

  And she would.

  She always did.

  “Everything okay?” he finally asked, after they ignored him for a full minute.

  Carrie waved him away, and gave an apologetic look that informed him that he’d find out soon enough.

  “Why don’t we go out and grab a bite to eat.” Carrie suggested as she got to her feet and Joan sniffled, nodding. “I’ll just throw something on quick so we can go.”

  Ryan stared at Joan, feeling his annoyance with her grow.

  She needed to get a life.

  “What’s wrong now?” Ryan asked after they’d gotten out of earshot, in their bedroom.

  So apparently, Joan had been seeing some guy and he’d broken things off with her. It didn’t surprise Ryan, given Joan’s constant surly attitude not to mention the way she dressed and looked.

  No man in his right mind would want to deal with a woman who wore a sour face all of the time, didn’t take time with her appearance and was just a bitch in general.

  Joan was just an angry sort, every time he was forced to interact with her, never anything positive to say.

  She was always complaining about something, which was a turn-off for everyone, never mind just a boyfriend.

  Joan was thin and mousy, with straggly brown hair and flat black eyes. She never wore any makeup, nor did she wear any type of clothing that was anything other than black or brown.

  She was depressing, to say the least.

  Carrie had given her some makeup tips early on in their friendship and had tried, unsuccessfully, to fix Joan up with some of their single male friends.

  But things never seemed to take root once they spent any amount of time with her.

  Opinionated and brusque, Joan would curtly inform Carrie to the fact that she didn’t need a man to complete her life once things fell apart after a few weeks.

  “I’m happy with things how they are.” She’d snap, and then Carrie would change the subject for fear of getting Joan upset.

  Never had he seen someone with such a barrier built up around them, as did Joan Addams.

  At first, he’d thought it was the way Joan’s mother would nitpick her about everything. Ryan could easily admit that would have driven him up a wall, too.

  The older woman, Doris, hadn’t exactly been the nicest person in the world and she had an acid tongue that would wash over everything that Joan tried to do. And once they’d met her for the first time, it was clear as day why Joan was like she was.

  She had been shit on her entire life, and her drab, sad-faced appearance was all that anyone needed to see to know this.

  She was pathetic

  He had only seen Doris a time or two since Joan had embedded herself into their lives and one final time at the woman’s funeral six months ago.

  Joan had been so quiet during the short service, with just himself and Carrie in attendance. It had been pitiful and for once, he actually felt sorry for the woman.

  Of course, Carrie had insisted on spending time over at Joan’s house to be sure that she was taking care of herself and that she would be there to help out in case anyone dropped by.

  No one had.

  Not a soul.

  But sorry Joan managed to move on with her life as she began spending more and more time out of the house as the months went on.

  Then came the boyfriend, whose presence lasted all of three weeks before his abrupt departure, leaving Joan alone again.

  “I feel so sorry for her, Ry.” Carrie was saying as she carefully applied her make up after dressing in a pretty pink maternity top and a pair of jeans. “I think going out will make her feel better.”

  Ryan nodded, but didn’t say anything as his wife finished getting herself together.

  They had actually made plans for today, but as usual, Joan came first because she was having a crisis.

  “I’m sure it will.” Ryan said, leaning over Carrie to press a kiss against the back of her long, slender neck after lifting her hair off of it. “Have fun.”

  Carrie looked at him pensively, knowing what he was thinking even though he hadn’t said a word.

  “Are you sure?” she asked. “I know we had plans....”

  “Go. It’s fine.” Ryan said pulling her closer and kissing her softly as she promised to make it up to him later.

  He watched them leave, arm in arm as Carrie’s laughter lit up the room. A moment later they got into her Mini-Cooper and backed out of the driveway, Joan at the wheel.

  He decided right then and there that he needed a drink.

  Badly.

  Ryan was sitting at the bar of a local Applebee’s when his cell phone rang loudly. He put down his beer when he saw Carrie’s face appear on the screen, the word ‘mobile’ superimposed on top of her photo.

  “Hey, babe.” He answered, a frown on his face as he heard Joan’s dull voice tell him that Carrie had gone into labor.

  Dammit. I knew this was going to happen...

  I knew this bitch was going to upset her into labor...

  Dammit!

  “Is she okay?” he asked, tossing a ten dollar bill onto the counter, rushing to the front door of the restaurant and then running to his car.

  “Is she okay? Joan???” he repeated as the woman told him that Carrie was in with the doctor, so she didn’t know anything of what was going on.

  “Get here.” Joan said before hanging up on him.

  “Bitch....” He muttered, gunning the engine as he headed towards the hospital, which was about a twenty minute ride.

  As long as there was no traffic.

  It was too early for this baby to be coming, but yet Joan had upset his wife with her bullshit and now he’d had enough.

  He had been nice to Joan all this time, trying to keep things calm for Carrie’s sake. But Joan was going to have to get her own life and leave theirs alone. And he planned on telling her that as soon as he got the chance.

  Chapter two

  Carrie was smiling weakly as Ryan came into the room in the hospital’s maternity ward a half-hour later to take her hands in his. He’d been told that she’d had the baby, but he didn’t see it anywhere.

  He was just so happy to see that Carrie appeared to be fine.

  There were two nurses in the room as he felt the relief wash over him that everything had gone well, even though he’d missed it. One of the nurses smiled at him as she passed, making a comment about better late than never.

  Carrie didn’t re
ally appear to be upset that he hadn’t been there, but he knew that she needed him.

  She had fragile nerves.

  Couldn’t handle stress.

  “Joan stood in for you.” She said, smiling up at him from the bed. “I was scared to death, but I’m glad she was here.”

  Ryan nodded, the guilt really creeping up on him now as he realized that Joan had upstaged him yet again.

  However, she was also nowhere to be found thankfully, because the last thing he wanted was to get into a whole thing during the proudest moment of his life.

  “Are you okay, honey?” he asked as he leaned down to kiss Carrie’s trembling lips. “Is the baby okay?”

  She looked pale and worn as she lay in the hospital bed that seemed to dwarf her. Her dark hair was limp and stringy from the exertion of having just given birth and her face still had a sheen, but she was beautiful to him nevertheless.

  “The baby’s fine, Ryan.” Carrie whispered, “Just beautiful. She looks just like you...”

  She?

  A girl.

  He had a daughter.

  Ryan’s face lit up in a smile as that all sunk in and he kissed his wife again, the pride of finally becoming a father wanting to make his heart burst inside his chest.

  A nurse came into the room to whisper something to the nurse that was already standing at the foot of the bed with Carrie’s chart.

  “Excuse me for a moment.” She said, stepping out into the hall with the other nurse, pulling the door closed behind them.

  The two had strange looks on their faces as they talked back and forth and looking at the chart again. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it was bad, whatever it was.

  “I can’t wait for you to see her.” Carrie gushed as Ryan caressed her hair back from her face, “It all happened so fast...”

  She was staring at something over Ryan’s shoulder now, her eyes pooling with fear as she saw more nurses and the doctor arrive now. A moment later a uniformed guard appeared with a second one, who was on his walkie-talkie.

  “Ry.....” Carrie began, as tears pooled in her eyes. “Something’s wrong...”

  The doctor and two nurses came into the room with one of the guards and Carrie’s eyes widened.