Cameron Cruise - Dark Matter

“A first-class thrill ride from a top-notch talent. Cameron Cruise is going to be around for a long time.”

—John Lescroart

“Ms. Cruise delves deep into these two characters and comes up with pay dirt. Seven and Erika are phenomenal. Complex and edgy, The Collector is a wild, twisty ride into a dark, creepy terror. As a post note, [it] will have a sequel—maybe even become a series. I hope so. I am not ready to leave Ms. Cruise’s wonderful characters just yet.”

—Romance Reader at Heart

“Cameron Cruise is a phenomenal new talent. The Collector is compulsive reading! The details are rich and meaty, the pace brisk and the edge razor sharp.”

—New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Forster

“The Collector is an extraordinary multi-faceted novel…Intriguing…a story you cannot forget.”

—The Mystery Reader

“Cruise’s debut has a serpentine, impossible-to-adequately-summarize plot and a wealth of interesting characters. But what really makes an impression is the story’s sense of time, place and culture.”

—Romantic Times BOOKreviews

“A check-under-the-bed read from Cameron Cruise! Talent and dramatic instinct conspire in this powerful novel.”

—Bestselling author Stella Cameron

www.mirabooks.co.uk

For Jonathan.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

The first thing Jack heard was the drip-drip of water. The first thing he felt was metal biting into his wrist.

Handcuffs?

He felt groggy, like maybe he was dreaming, stuck in those magic moments right before his eyelids fluttered open and he woke up. He tried hard to hang on. Sometimes, he could do it…fall back into the story in his head.

Jack didn’t like to wake up. Waking up meant being cold and hungry.

He felt cold, but not hungry. That was different.

“Jack?”

The voice sounded far away. Jack looked around the room, squinting in the dim light. He shivered. Someone there? Standing over him?

He tugged at his hand and heard metal rattling. Handcuffs—the real kind. A rush of adrenaline hit.

Not a dream.

He felt sick. He was going to throw up. Shit! What had he gotten himself into?

He hadn’t done a lot of drugs. Sure, there was always the occasional john who wanted to get him a little loose, giving him a few drinks. Men didn’t like to think they could hurt a kid. Jack always assured them he was seventeen, but could pass for a lot younger. He’d never tell them his real age, fourteen.

He yanked the hand strung up by the handcuff, trying not to freak out.

“You’re awake.”

The voice sounded familiar. Jack blinked up at the blurry image hovering over him and tried to focus. He remembered going to dinner last night, some fancy Italian place where he’d eaten his fill. But he’d only drunk a soda. So why did he feel so weird?

“You know what they used to call it in the old days? You’ll get a kick out of this. They called it a Mickey Finn. I slipped you a Mickey, Jack.”

Jack reached up to rub his eyes, only to have his hand stop dead, his wrist tethered to something solid and heavy. He realized he was propped up against some piece of furniture, a desk maybe.

The guy, the john from last night, leaned closer. His breath smelled minty fresh with Altoids.

“These days, they call it a roofie. You know what that is, don’t you, Jack?”

The guy said roofie like he was having fun with it. His lips wrapped around the word, giving it a slight whistle. Through the haze in his head, Jack remembered that smile. Last night, he’d thought it was nice.

They were in some kind of basement. There was a musty, earthy smell and a naked lightbulb hung in the middle of the room, giving off a bleary glow. The guy was close enough that Jack could see his even, white teeth.

A roofie was a well-known date-rape drug. Basically, it knocked you out. Eventually, when you woke up, you never knew what hit you.

“How do you feel?” the man asked.

“Like an ice pick is having a go at my head,” Jack answered.

“An ice pike? Yikes.”

The fuzzy image gelled into longish red hair that feathered around the man’s face, vivid blue eyes and a strong nose. And dimples; Jack remembered those from last night, too.

The guy was young, maybe in his early twenties. Even though he had red hair, he didn’t have a freckle on him. Jack remembered thinking he could be one of those models on the billboards; he was that good-looking. And tall, like maybe six feet five or something. Nothing like his usual john.

The sights and sounds from the night before flooded Jack’s brain. The guy standing over him—last night he’d told Jack his name was Adam—had picked Jack up at his usual corner at Hollywood and Vine. He’d taken him to dinner. A real dinner, like Jack was someone who deserved a menu and a waiter with a tie.

They’d both ordered sodas. Adam had asked for a root beer, Jack, a Pepsi.

In the old days, they called it a Mickey Finn.

“You slipped me a roofie?” Jack said, his tongue thick and tired around the words.

“Had to.” The guy stroked the side of Jack’s face.

Jack pulled again on the handcuffs. He was having trouble catching his breath.

“What are you gonna do to me?”

Immediately, he regretted the question. When he’d first hit the street six months ago, the more experienced kids had let him know what was what. To get out of a mess like this, he had to act all cool, like he was in the know. The worst thing he could do was get all scared. The bad ones liked you scared.

Only, he felt so funky. Woozy and like he’d been sucking on a stick of chalk. With a hammer having a go at his head. He had to concentrate—raise your right hand—but still there was this time delay.

“It’s the drug,” Adam explained. “It makes you feel…disjointed. Try not to worry, Jack. I promise. It won’t hurt too much.”

Jack knew he’d landed in some serious shit. Here this guy was smiling at him, looking like nothing was up. Sure, Jack was handcuffed in some dark, damp cellar and this weirdo was talking about pain. So what, that smile seemed to ask? Nothing wrong here—not with such a beautiful face shining down on him.

But then Jack saw that Adam was holding a needle, the kind doctors used to give flu shots, only bigger. He plunged the tip into a glass medicine bottle. The syringe filled with a milky-white liquid. Jack blinked, forcing his eyes to work, focusing on the handsome redhead and his smile.

“What are you doing?” he asked, the words slurring.