Beyond Eden

           New story! :D So this is a bit different from what I've been writing but this idea got stuck in my head and I just had to get it out. It's a thriller with a dash of romance and I really hope you enjoy reading this one. I've already got the entire planned out so uploads will be a bit faster this time. Oh and I'll still write a sequel to TCD, I just needed a break from Historical romance for a while. Please leave feedback to let me know what you think of this story. Thank you. ENJOY.                                                

                                                                    Chapter One

    Eden Hollister sat with her back to the bar that divided the kitchen from the dining room, watching the first traces of pink creeping across the London sky. She sighed and took a sip of her coffee, grimacing at the now cold liquid and returned her attention to the morning sky. Her head throbbed from  the lack of sleep and her left knee was hurting again. The pain med was wearing off but she didn't dare take another. It would only serve to befuddle her mind and make her practically useless for work.

     Through the thin walls dividing her flat from the next, she heard her neighbor come in from a wild night of partying, and judging from the double footsteps and the deep male laughter mingled with Lisa's high pitched giggling, it was clear she had found another partner for the day. She smiled sadly at the antics that came floating through the walls. She wished she could be as carefree as Lisa sometimes, party all night to come home drunk in the wee hours of the morning with a total stranger to share her bed with, but deep down, she knew that it was merely wishful thinking....she'd left that life behind her a long time ago. She would never lead a 'normal' life.

       The pain in her leg became worse, so she straightened it the way the therapist had taught her, concentrating on on contracting the muscles as hard as she could, gritting her teeth against the burning pain, and when it became too intense, relaxed the muscles. She took another sip of the now cold coffee and shut down her laptop. Hopefully, the presentation she had been working on all night would be enough to convince her potential clients to sign on with the Luben Catering Services, the little company she had started from scratch when she'd moved to London. Exhaustion washed over her in waves, despite the eight cups of coffee she'd consumed throughout the night. She limped slowly towards the bathroom, grimacing at the pain each step brought. Dammit, the last thing she needed was for her leg to start acting up again. This deal was important and she needed all her concentration to land the contract.

       Once in the bathroom, she studiously avoided looking at the hideous full length mirror that took up an entire wall, a legacy from the previous occupants of the flat that she'd been meaning to take down but never quite got round to it. Undressing quickly, she stepped into the shower sighing in pleasure as the hot water drummed down on her like tiny pin pricks...soothing away the exhaustion.

    “Another day in paradise” She muttered drily as she stepped out the shower and moved back to the bedroom. She donned her outfit for the day, gray trousers and pristine white shirt, sweeping her blonde curls into a neat chignon, a slash of pale pink lipstick and mascara, functional black pumps and she was ready to face the new day. There was no time for breakfast, she decided with a quick glance at the clock on her nightstand...not if she wanted to catch the tube at 8:15.

       The phone rang as she reached the door leading out of the flat. For a moment, she debated between taking the call or letting the machine take it. It rang again and she stole a glance at her watch..7:59. It was a ten minute walk to the station...and besides it might be her sister Jordan calling to check up on her. With another sigh, she walked to the phone and picked up the receiver.

            “Eden Hollister, hello?”

     Rather than her twin's chirpy voice, there was silence at the other end of the line. All she could hear was the sound of someone breathing lightly.

        “Hello? Who's this?” she asked again, blue eyes flashing in impatience for the caller.

        She heard a chuckle. Then “Hello Eden, I've missed you darling. Have you missed me?”

        That voice. It couldn't be.

        “Are you surprised? Don't be my love, I've found you at last,” he said chuckling again. “Did you truly believe you'd gotten rid of me that easy? Tsk tsk tsk...I am coming to get you BITCH!”

        The line went dead and Eden was left clutching the receiver, her knuckles as white as her face, terror welling in her throat, cutting off her air.

          “No!” she gasped out, her leg aching, body shaking in abject terror. “No no no no no no no no”

         The receiver slipped from her grasp and fell to the floor with a crash. The sound startled her from her fright and she slid to the wooden floor, legs straight out, eyes distant and vacant.

          “It can't be Dylan...it's someone else....he's dead...HE'S DEAD!...HE'S DEAD.....I watched him die...I killed him”

         Picking up the receiver again, she dialed the number for the phone company. Perhaps they would be able to give her details on the last call....

        “Welcome to the T-mobile customer care center. My name is Cal, how may I help you?”

       “H..hi..I'm Eden Hollister, I'd like to get some information on the last number that called my phone please.”

        “One moment please” Generic music filled her ears as she was put on hold. Her eyes darted to the clock 8:13. She would miss her train and be late for the meeting, but right now she couldn't care less.

       A minute later, Cal was back on the line. “Sorry for the wait. So I have the information you requested ma'am. The last call made to your line was yesterday at four pm from.....”

       “Yesterday?” She cut in abruptly, “That's not right. I received a call about ten minutes ago, not yesterday. Check again please. There must be some mistake”

       “It says right here in our records that the last call made to your flat was at four pm on the twenty first of November. A call which lasted fifteen minutes and originated from Nothingham....”

      I didn't imagine that call...she thought, blocking out the rest of his words as her mind pondered the enigma. But I haven't gotten any sleep..maybe I imagined the whole thing..but his voice sounded so real. So damn real.

          “Ma'am? Are you still there? Would you like anything else?” Cal's voice dragged her back to the present.

         She slowly replaced the receiver in its cradle, sliding back to floor as her mind raced. Dylan Harding was dead and she could swear on her life. It had been years since he'd tried to kill her and she'd escaped by stabbing him in the throat with a piece of glass from the bottle he'd used to slice open the tendons on her left thigh, she'd sat close by and watched him slowly bleed to death. It'd been six long years since she had been Eden Harding. Victim. Now the past was back to haunt her, or was it her imagination?

           She remained like that for an hour, muttering to herself, her eyes wild with fright. Finally, she regained some facade of calm, rising slowly to her feet staggering to the kitchen sink to throw up, splashing her face with cold water when she was done. The phone rang again. She stared at it in fear...watching it ring until the machine picked the call.

       “Eden?” her secretary's voice filled the silent room, “It's Tasha. Where the hell are you? The Kingston’s have been in your office for over an hour. Have you forgotten your appointment? I've been trying your mobile and your home number for ages. Get over here at once.”

        The machine beeped again, and Eden pulled herself together. She straightened her clothes and hurried out the flat, down the elevator and exiting the building.