Angel's Trap
THE SECRET OF THE OXPEN'S ANGEL, Volume 1
Lei R. Tasker
Published by THE WORLD IS SO BIG PUBLISHING, 2020.
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
ANGEL'S TRAP
First edition. April 19, 2020.
Copyright © 2020 Lei R. Tasker.
Written by Lei R. Tasker.
Also by Lei R. Tasker
THE SECRET OF THE OXPEN'S ANGEL
Angel's Trap
Watch for more at Lei R. Tasker’s site.
THE SECRET OF THE OXPEN’S ANGEL
__________________________________
A TOTALLY GRIPPING PSYCOLOGICAL THRILLER
Book1
Angel’s Trap
ALSO BY Lei R. Tasker
Angel’s Lies
Angel’s Game
THE WORLD IS SO BIG
PUBLISHING
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either
PRODUCTS OF THE AUTHOR’S imagination or are used factiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Text copyright © 2020 by The World Is So Big Publishing
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Published by The World Is So Big Publishing
www.twisb.com
Amazon, the Amazon logo, and The World Is So Big Publishing are the trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates
ISBN: 9798635926017
ASIN: B086Z228MM
Cover design by Rebecca
PROLOGUE
Angel’s Trap
A FEW METRES ALONG the path next to the river she heard a sound and stopped, expecting to see a dog come out of the reeds along the riverside. No dog appeared and so she continued, having to push hard on the handlebars as her bike stuttered along the grass.
Another noise and then running footsteps.
She froze as she felt a stranger’s arms enclose her. He was breathing hard in her ear as his forearm hooked her midriff. She quivered as she felt metal caressing her throat.
In a split-second decision, she rammed the bike backwards so that it hit her assailant in the leg. He cried out but kept hold of her, the knife at her neck beginning to make a mark.
With a whimper she made another bid for freedom, butting her hips backwards into his and thrusting her left elbow into his side.
Slightly knocked off balance, perhaps shocked by her retaliation, he responded by grabbing her elbow and pulling her backwards so that she fell to the ground.
The warm grass hit Paige in the back of the head with a jarring thud and she struggled to focus on the scene above her for a moment. She was expecting to feel his hands back on her but looking up she noticed that her attacker had paused.
It was only for a second, but as Paige’s dizzy head refocused, they locked eyes, and she saw the most bewildered look on his face. She had half-expected to recognise him, to understand who he was and why he had pushed a blade against her throat. But, even in the dark, she knew she’d never seen him before.
What would the fate of this young and smart Oxford students?
A murderer at large, a suspiciously Oxford’s Professor and a series of anonymous texts: who can Paige trust when everyone around her is hiding something?
Angel’s Trap is a fast-paced psychological thriller that will leave you guessing at every turn.
Attacked at knifepoint, Paige’s seemingly cosy job with a retired university professor leads her deeper into the shady underbelly of Oxford.
Now she is in danger and must seek the help of strangers to untangle the mystery before it is too late.
Readers of Gillian Flynn and S J Watson will be hooked on this addictive and twisting narrative of lies and danger.
CONTENTS
LEGAL NOTES (Copyright notice)
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
BOOK 2 PREVIEWS
CHAPTER ONE
“I’M SO SORRY PAIGE,” Marie’s words of comfort echoed in Paige’s ears as she slid her key into the flat’s front door. “I saw them enter the room together. They were in there about an hour.”
Paige swung open the front door, phone still pressed to her ear, confronted by the sight of Rufus on the sofa, flicking through his phone.
“Paige? Are you still there, sweetie?” Marie asked. Paige dropped her keys and bag to the floor with a purposeful thud, causing Rufus to look up.
“I’m still here, Marie,” she said, “But I have to go now.” Rufus had noticed the look on her face. They locked eyes, a quiet moment a recognition of the fight that was about to ensue, “Thank you, Marie,” Paige added, before hanging up and dropping her phone down onto her things.
“What’s the matter?” Rufus asked, but his eyes betrayed that he already knew what had been revealed to her.
“Marie works at the Premier Inn on Bute Place, in the bay.”
“Ah,” Rufus said, standing up and putting his phone in his pocket, “I can explain.”
“You explained away the girl at the Christmas party too, Rufus. Look me in the eye and say you have an innocent reason for meeting another woman in a hotel room when you’re supposed to be showing properties in the bay,” Paige could feel herself shaking and walked over to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. Tea heals all, her mum always said. Not this, she thought to herself as the kettle began to jump with the freshly boiling water.
“No innocent reason, no,” Rufus admitted, “But you are being crazy.”
“Don’t call me crazy,” Paige said, pulling down a thermos from the cupboard and dumping the tea in. She knew exactly where this conversation was leading, and she didn’t have any intention of sticking around to listen to it.
“That girl at the Christmas party was just a friend!” Rufus started, the same line he’d delivered so many times before.
“I watched you kiss her!”
“I was drunk!” Even the predictability of his replies frustrated her. If he was going to lie to her, couldn’t he at least be clever?
“And this girl? Were you drunk in the middle of the workday? Doing shots while showing flats? Or were you not even showing a flat today,
