Taken By Force (Taken Trilogy Book 2)

by Jessica Frances

  “Last one downstairs gets a snowball in their face!” Dana screams, racing downstairs before I have even finished putting my jacket on over my pajamas.

  “Not fair!” I scream after her, leaving my distressed thoughts behind me, knowing I’ll need all my attention on Dana if I don’t want myself to end up covered in snow.

  Two steps outside, I get my first snowball hit to the side of my head. I make it safely behind a tree only being hit another two more times. Dana is laughing hysterically.

  “Better watch out, I’m coming for you!” I yell at her, readying a snow ball in my hand over my damp gloves.

  “I’m shaking in my boots!” Dana calls back while laughing again.

  I move around the other side of the tree and crouch along the bushes, carefully moving along, trying not to make a noise. I hold my breath as I reach the corner of the bush and prepare myself to throw my freezing snowball at Dana who is hiding behind the next tree over. I let my breath out and then pounce at the tree, throwing the snowball at the same time. My aim is true, but there is no Dana there.

  A cold snowball hitting my back makes me turn around. I see Dana giggling behind me.

  “How did you do that?” I demand.

  “I always know where you are, Zee. You can’t hide from me. No matter where you are, I’ll always find you. That’s why we’re best friends, we’ll never leave each other.” Dana smiles at me and I can’t help smiling back.

  It’s true, Dana is family and we’ll never be without each other. Our friendship will last a lifetime and nothing can change that. I’ll always be complete as long as Dana and I are together.

  “That’s so—” I begin to tell her how nice that is and to agree when she throws another snowball at me that she is hiding behind her back.

  “Gotcha!” Dana laughs and runs as I chase her, throwing the other snowball I still have at her, hitting her in the back before quickly crouching down, picking up more snow in my hand.

  Slowly, my dream leaves me and I begin mapping out a plan in my mind to get Dana back. I focus only on having fun with her.

  The man who dies in my arms and the person I think I kill begins to blur. Eventually, I can’t even remember their faces. I didn’t recognize them in my dream, and chances are my dream isn’t real. I’ve never dreamt so far into the future and I’ve never be in a situation so scary. Dana is right, I’m not a murderer and it was only a nightmare.

  So I allow myself to forget that awful nightmare, forgetting the dream even exists. Not realizing that this nightmare is very real, and that I will be forced to live through it all too soon.

  Acknowledgments

  I wrote all three of this trilogy together, so my acknowledgments will be much the same as they were in Taken By Surprise. I was brief in my previous thanks, and so this time I might explain why these people are so awesome.

  My parents have supported me my entire life, they’ve shown me love, kindness and I’ve grown up surrounded by laughter and happiness. I’ve been very lucky to have them in my life.

  Amy was the first person to get excited over my writing and straight away offered to read what I’d done. It was rough, horrible really, but she never gave up. She steered me in the right direction and gave up a lot of her free time for me.

  Amara was my first fan. She gave me confidence and pushed me to keep going and to finish this series. If it weren’t for her I’d still be hiding this away and stuck at the ‘almost’ finished point. Critical feedback is important, but so is hearing positive feedback. Also thank you for being my walking billboard. She’s sold more of my books talking about this than I have.

  Meg and I met in England when we worked at the same pub, and she’s been one of my closest friends ever since. When I told her I wanted to write a novel, she never doubted me and always asked me how it was going, offering me support whenever I needed it. Having a friend believe in you is so important and I’ll always be grateful to have such an amazing person in my life.

  My wonderful editors at C&D Editing, I can’t recommend them enough. I always knew getting professional editors was a must and Alizon and Kristin are incredibly great at their job. But they also provided something else, something I didn’t expect but am so grateful to have received. They welcomed me into this writing community with open arms. They gave me great advice, helped advertise my book and are two of the loveliest people you’ll ever meet.

  Lastly to the readers and bloggers who read my first book. Thank you for your kind words, for talking about it, for spreading the word and for taking a chance on this series. It means the world to me.

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