Ariana
by
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The young woman sat quietly on the floor in the
corner, unmindful of the thick dust and cobwebs all around her. Her knees were
drawn up under her chin, her arms wrapped tightly around her trembling legs.
Her long, dark hair had come loose from where it had been fastened at the nape
of her neck, and now it had fallen forward, obscuring her fellow prisoner’s
view of her face. But even without
being able to see her dark eyes, he knew that they held stubbornness and determination
that would now be mixed with fear, a fear that they were both feeling
increasingly as the minutes ticked slowly past. He had learned quite a bit about her over the last few weeks ...
more accurately, he had run head-on into that stubbornness not long after they
first met ... but he had learned even more about her during the last few days.
Still, she was a total mystery to him.
He pulled off his jacket and gently wrapped it
around her trembling shoulders in a futile attempt to ward off the dampness and
chill of the cellar where they were now confined. There were no windows in this
place, the only light coming from a lone bulb dangling by a cord over the
rickety wooden steps. The air that was trapped here was stale, heavy with the
odors of years of dust, dampness, and neglect.
From the looks of the place, no one ever came down here to clean or
anything else. There were a few signs of traffic ... smeared footprints in the
dust, but nothing more.
He wanted to tell her that he knew exactly how she
was feeling; whatever happened in the next few hours would undoubtedly
determine their fate. Either they would both be dead or, if they were very,
very lucky, they would be free to go their separate ways and never see one
another again. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t seem to find the
right words to comfort her. Either way this mess turned out for them, he was
suddenly feeling a strange emptiness at the thought of never being able to see
her again.
But whatever happened, he knew one thing for
certain: he didn’t want to see her hurt; he wanted to hold her and assure her
that everything was going to turn out all right. But he also knew that she was
every bit as aware as he that things didn’t look too good for either of them
right now. And neither of them had any false illusions about the predicament
that they were in; so what could he possibly say to her that wouldn’t sound
like an out and out lie, or worse yet, like he was trying to take advantage of
their present situation. She had risked so much in her attempt to save his
life. He still wasn’t sure why she had
done it, because he was sure that she knew exactly who and what he was. But he
was grateful for the reprieve nonetheless, however short lived it might turn
out to be.
She was glad that he couldn’t see her face, because
she didn’t want him to see the bruised and swollen cheek that her long hair now
partly concealed. And she was thankful for the dimness of the lighting; maybe
that would also prevent him from seeing just how frightened she actually
was. When all of this started, she had
known quite well that she would be putting herself in danger; but she hadn’t
really realized that things would ever go quite this far. She had thought that she would be out of
here long before now with the information that she needed. Still, she should
have known better. She knew quite well
that things were seldom as simple as they appeared on the surface.
She knew that she should have had more sense than to
get involved in any of this in the first place. But there was no sense in
debating that issue with herself now. Even after everything that had happened ...
and what she was sure was about to happen soon ... she still felt that she had
been right to try to do something -- anything -- to help, no matter what the
consequences of her rash actions might be. She didn’t really regret anything
that she had done, only that the outcome hadn’t been better for everyone
involved. And this involved more than just her ... and, for that matter, more
than the darkly handsome man who now silently paced the cellar floor in front
of her. She knew that when this was all
over she would probably never see him again; but why worry about that when it
was far more likely that neither of them would still be alive when this was
over. At the moment, things didn’t look very good at all in that department. Uncle Nick had been terribly angry, angry
enough to leave that huge bruise on the side of her face. And Nick D’Andrea was
not a forgiving man, no matter what the circumstances.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
When Ariana Anderson and Danielle Camden first meet
in the ninth- grade English class at an elite girls’ school just outside
Richmond, they soon discover that they have a great deal in common. Not only
are they both only children, but they also like the same books and music, and
they look enough alike to be sisters. And at the school, they are both
outcasts: Danielle because she is an interloper, the new girl coming in at the
middle of the term; Ariana because of her family. None of the other girls will
allow either of them a chance to become part of the crowd, so they cling
together and declare that they will be best friends and sisters for life. But
ten years later, when Ariana’s parents are murdered in what appears to be a
home invasion, their friendship takes on a new dimension.
Grieving the loss of her family, Ariana is nearly
successful in a suicide attempt, leaving Danielle determined to find the people
responsible for turning her friend’s life upside down. The opportunity to
investigate suddenly presents itself when two employees of Ariana’s prime
suspect in the case, her Uncle Nick, mistake Danielle for Ariana. Nick hasn’t
seen Ariana since she was a toddler, because her father had broken all ties
with the family and had even changed his last name to prevent his being
associated with the family business. Despite this perfect opportunity to
investigate, Danielle begins to regret that she didn’t correct the mistaken
identity, when the two men insist that she accompany them to Nick D’Andrea’s
estate for ‘her protection.’
Danielle begins to question her judgment still
further when she realizes that not only has her rash action put her life in
jeopardy but she also finds herself actually liking Nick D’Andrea in spite of
all the stories that she has heard about him over the years. But for her
friend’s sake, Danielle maintains her impersonation of Ariana, even through the
funerals of Ariana’s parents. To further complicate matters, Nick assigns one
of his men, Joshua Gallaher, as her bodyguard, giving her virtually no chance
to be alone long enough to investigate Nick’s possible connection to the
murders. Danielle wants nothing more than to lose her bodyguard and get on with
the investigation...until his life is placed in jeopardy because of her actions;
then she risks her own life in an effort to save him.
When the true murderers of Ariana’s parents are
exposed and Nick and all his men are arrested, Danielle is devastated at the
thought of never seeing Joshua again. But then it is the real Ariana’s turn to
try to discover what is troubling her best friend and to set things right.
From Joshua’s perspective, his relationship with
‘Ariana’ is complicated by the fact that he has been working undercover, trying
to find proof that Nick D’Andrea is responsible for another murder, that of
Joshua’s brother, Ian. He sees no hope for a future with the niece of the man
that he is determined to see spend the rest of his life in prison.
Ariana does a little investigating on her own and
finds out about Joshua. Not realizing that Joshua only knows Danielle as
‘Ariana,’ Ariana invites him to her wedding where Danielle is the maid of
honor. Joshua slips into the back of the church just in time to hear the priest
introduce Ariana and her new husband as Mr. And Mrs. Kevin Langdon. Feeling
that he has lost ‘Ariana’ forever, Joshua leaves the church without anyone
knowing that he was there except the real Ariana, who is puzzled that Joshua
would leave without even speaking to Danielle. But when Ariana realizes that Joshua
thought it was Danielle that he saw married to someone else, she sets about
unscrambling this case of mistaken identity and playing matchmaker to bring
Joshua and Danielle together.
About the Author
Janet F. Whiteaker is Assistant Professor of Developmental
English at Tennessee Technological University.
In addition to her professional publications (which include two
developmental writing textbooks and several journal articles), she also has a
novelette, The Tapestry and the Ring, as well as an assortment of
poems in print. Blessed (or some might
say cursed) with an insatiable curiosity, she has had a lifelong love of
reading, which she considers both a passion and a pastime. She began writing in elementary school and
has continued the practice during her years as an educator.
In addition to Ariana, she has
completed several other novels. Among them: What Kind of Fool is
the story of Liz Kenyon (Ph.D. in Engineering and president and CEO of KenTech
Corporation) and her fiancé, York Halloran (Professor of Criminology and
formerly in the military Special Forces). When Liz is abducted by York’s
archenemy in order to be used as bait to lure York into a deadly trap, she must
use her wits and knowledge to free herself and to help prevent the murder of
the man she loves. The action takes the
characters from the States to Paris and back again before the final
confrontation with the enemy that York once called his brother. The Wrong
Place follows Connor Ryan in his search for the killers of his best
friend, Jack Canfield. When Connor
suddenly becomes the hunted and intended next victim of his friend’s killers,
he meets Elizabeth Sheridan, a widow who is 8 months pregnant and who also
happens to be in ‘the wrong place.’ Con must force her to accompany him on his
flight for safety; and, believing herself to be a hostage, she is determined to
hinder their escape at every turn. She almost succeeds in getting them caught,
but then she learns that she is also one of the hunted and has just as much to
fear from the renegade sheriff as Con does. In Wolf Canyon,
Kaitlyn Grant has gone home to Wolf Canyon to try to sort out her life. Her
partner and best friend, Jack Nolan, died in her arms after a shootout, leaving
her shaken and unsure of how to proceed with her life. Taking a leave of
absence, she has returned to the only place where she truly feels safe. But the
quiet of her haven is soon shattered by gunfire, and at the center of the
turmoil is a man that she desperately wants to trust but who stands accused of
two murders.