Novels by Joanne Woods

Evelyn's POVThe fear still hadn't fully left my body.My legs were trembling so badly that I could barely feel them, and every breath still seemed to scrape painfully against my lungs, but instinct overrode everything else, sending me stumbling forward before I had time to think as I grabbed hold of Julian's arm with both hands.“That's enough!”My voice cracked.“Julian, stop!”His chest was rising and falling violently.He didn't look at me.Didn't answer.Didn't even seem to hear me.His gaze remained fixed on the man sprawled across the dirt, and there was something in that expression that made my stomach tighten all over again, because I had absolutely no doubt that if this weren't a public campground, if people weren't already running toward the commotion, if there weren't witnesses and cameras and consequences waiting just outside the darkness, Julian might genuinely beat this man until he needed a hospital.The man on the ground sucked in painful breaths through bloodied lips

Evelyn's POVAt that exact moment, a dark figure burst out from the side.Before I could even react, before I could fully process what was happening, a sickening impact split through the darkness, the kind of heavy, violent collision that seemed to shake the air itself, and the man holding me was suddenly ripped away with such overwhelming force that it looked as though he'd been struck by a speeding truck.His grip disappeared instantly.His body left the ground.And then he crashed into the wooden fence beside the trail so hard that the entire structure rattled from the impact, while his scream arrived a fraction of a second too late, delayed by pure shock.I stumbled backward, nearly losing my footing as I sucked in a desperate breath, my lungs burning from panic and exertion, my pulse hammering wildly against my ribs while adrenaline flooded through every nerve in my body.For a moment, everything seemed unreal.And then I saw him.The figure had already stepped between us, placing

Evelyn'POV“I knew you'd come out here alone.”The man let out a low laugh, and the sound sent a wave of revulsion crawling across my skin because there was something deeply wrong about how pleased he sounded, as though this entire situation had unfolded exactly the way he'd hoped it would.“Girls like you are always the same,” he continued, his breath hot against my ear while he effortlessly countered every attempt I made to break free. “You think you're smart. You think you can handle everything yourself.”As he spoke, he absorbed my resistance with infuriating ease, the way an adult might restrain a child throwing a tantrum, and the casualness of it terrified me far more than if he had seemed angry. I drove my elbow backward again, harder this time, putting my full weight behind the strike, and when the point of my elbow finally connected with his ribs, I felt him flinch and heard a sharp grunt escape his throat.For one brief second, hope surged through me.It vanished immediately

Evelyn's POVThe farther I walked, the quieter everything became.The laughter.The music.The conversations.One by one they disappeared into the distance until only the forest remained.The restroom itself was brightly lit in the least flattering way imaginable, flooded with harsh white light that made everyone look exhausted, and after washing my face and staring at my reflection for longer than necessary, I finally pushed the door open and stepped back outside.The night had grown quieter while I was inside.The air felt colder.The wind had picked up.For a brief moment, I simply stood there beneath the glow of the exterior light, taking a breath before making my way back toward camp.And then a tremendous force crashed into me from behind.My mind never even had the opportunity to understand what was happening before my body reacted on pure instinct, every muscle locking tight as a large hand clamped brutally over my mouth while another arm hooked around my shoulders and upper body,

Evelyn's POVA cool gust of wind swept through the campground, carrying with it a burst of laughter and cheering from somewhere farther down the hill, and a moment later somebody apparently connected a Bluetooth speaker because faint music began drifting between the trees, rising and falling with the wind while the sky overhead remained impossibly clear, crowded with so many stars that it almost felt unreal, as though the entire city of Los Angeles had been pushed dozens of miles away and left beyond the horizon.“What about you?”I turned toward Maddie and tucked my blanket more tightly around my shoulders.“Have you been seeing anyone lately?”“God, no.”The look of immediate disgust on her face was so dramatic that I started laughing before she'd even finished answering.“Recently it's been nothing but guys exactly like that one.”She gestured vaguely toward the woods where our unwanted visitor had disappeared.“Models?”“Young models.”She emphasized the word young as though it we

Evelyn's POVFor a few seconds, neither of us spoke.Then she sighed.“You know, this whole thing proves at least one thing.”I glanced at her.“What's that?”“Julian may have an alarming number of issues.”The flames reflected in her eyes as she spoke.“Psychological issues. Control issues. Boundary issues. Rich-people issues. Probably several issues science hasn't even identified yet.”Despite myself, I felt the corner of my mouth twitch.Maddie pointed at the fire.“But.”She paused dramatically.“At least he's never looked at a woman who was actively crying and thought, you know what would really improve this situation? Asking her if she'd like to go back to my tent.”A laugh escaped me before I could stop it.Maddie immediately noticed.“See? That one was real.”I rolled my eyes.“That's an incredibly low standard.”“True.”She took another sip.“But it's still a standard.”The fire crackled softly between us.“And let's be honest,” she added, sounding far too pleased with hersel