Don't Turn Around (Extract) by Jessica Barry

 

Don't Turn Around 

by Jessica Barry

Published 15th April 2021 by Vintage

TWO STRANGERS...

 

DANGEROUS SECRETS...

 

THEIR ONLY CHANCE IS EACH OTHER.

Cait's job is to transport women to safety. 

Out of respect, she never asks any questions. 

Like most of the women, Rebecca is trying to escape something.

But what if Rebecca's secrets put them both in danger? 

There's a reason Cait chooses to keep on the road, helping strangers. 

She has a past of her own, and knows what it's like to be followed.

And there is someone right behind them, watching their every move...

*Named one of the New York Times top 10 crime novels of 2020*'

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As part of the blog tour to celebrate the paperback release of Jessica's Barry's thriller Don't Turn Around, it is my pleasure to share with you today an extract from this gripping novel!

CHAPTER 9

FARWELL, TEXAS—
232 MILES TO ALBUQUERQUE

Rebecca’s mind kept tugging her back to the dead fox lying by the side of the road back in Sudan. She could see the steam rising from the pool of blood and the dull black beads of its eyes. She had first seen those eyes as a kid, when Bugs, her pet bunny, was mauled by the neighbor’s dog. She saw that dog every day, twice a day, walking to and from the bus stop. His name was Fletch and he would track her the length of his yard, growling, penned in by a chain- link fence. One morning, she heard a commotion coming from the backyard and made it just in time to watch the dog shake Bugs until his brittle neck snapped. Fletch had dropped the bunny and run off when she’d charged at him screaming, but it had been too late. She watched the light go out of Bugs’s eyes, quick and final as a birthday candle. One minute Bugs was her pet rabbit who loved bell peppers and chin scratches and whose whiskers tickled her when he twitched his nose, the next it was just a collection of bones and flesh and fur. That’s why, later, when her mother tried to convince her that Bugs had taken the rainbow bridge to heaven, she knew it was a lie. She’d seen an animal die and now she couldn’t unsee it— she knew that life could go from something to nothing, just like that, and that there was no use pretending there was something waiting beyond.

She put a hand to her stomach.

They passed a processing plant on the horizon with a line of silos rising in the dark sky like a row of blunt teeth. On the other side of the road, a restaurant welcomed potential customers: THURSDAYS = STEAK NIGHT.

A small green sign announced they were leaving Farwell, Texas, and entering Texico, New Mexico.

“We’re through,” Cait said, nodding toward the sign and giving her a small and gentle smile. “You can relax now.”

Something tightened in Rebecca’s chest.

Cait was wrong about danger lying closest to home. For her, crossing the state line meant the threat was suddenly, terrifyingly real... 

*****

The story continues with Chapter 10 on the blog of It Takes A Woman HERE so give them a visit for more! You can also find a special feature on Jessica Barry on the blog of  Chocolate 'n' Waffles HERE.

If you would like to go back to the beginning of the story and find out where Cait and Rebecca's journey begins, head over to the blog of A Little Book Problem HERE.

Please stop by on Thursday 15th April for my full review of Don't Turn Around - I am really looking forward to sharing my thoughts with you!