When a killer strikes a sleepy small town, terror strikes...and passion flares!
After a teenage girl is murdered, FBI agent Silas Kelly reluctantly returns to the hometown he swore never to visit again. This tragedy bears devastating similarities to the unsolved killing of his younger brother twenty years ago, and Silas is determined to find the link, the culprit, and maybe some peace for himself and his fractured family. But the hardened loner has another problem to tackle in beautiful redhead Quinn Jackson. The ambitious reporter is trailing him for answers about the cold case and the current investigation, and Silas canât shake her. When the shocking truth is revealed, no one will be the same again.
âSo whatâs your agenda for bringing me this intel?â Silas asked.
âSo suspicious.â Quinn tsked but her grin was filled with mischief. âOkay, you got me. I do want something.â
âSpit it out.â
âI want you to work with me,â she said. âGive me access to exclusive content so I can break the story, whatever that may be.â
Back to that argument again. âIt goes against my personal values to make deals with press.â
âCâmon, Silas...you canât honestly be this rigid.â
âIs this your idea of driving a hard bargain? Iâve yet to hear why I shouldnât just run with your lead and leave you out.â
She stared at him. âBecause you have more integrity than that.â
âYou donât know me.â
âItâs something I can sense,â Quinn said, and this time she wasnât joking or playing around.
This was probably the first time Silas had seen her completely serious. That turn was intensely arousing. It was easy to keep her at armâs length when he saw her as an irritating kid. But when he saw her as an adult...it changed things.
* * *
Dear Reader,
As a pantser, itâs rare when a story comes to me fully formed and ready to be written, but when it does, the result is simply wonderful.
Thatâs what happened with this book. I knew the characters so well. I knew the town, I knew the victimâI even knew the ending.
Silas is one of those characters that takes on a life of its own, grabbing the muse in a chokehold because itâs so strong, and I was happy to let him drive the bus.
Conversely, Quinn is my favorite type of heroineâsassy, classy and a little smart-assyâbut her growth arc is huge from the beginning of the book to the end.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
I love hearing from readers. Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter or drop me an email. Or you can also write me a letter at PO BOX 2210, Oakdale, CA 95361.
Happy reading!
Kimberly
KIMBERLY VAN METER wrote her first book at sixteen and finally achieved publication in December 2006. She writes for the Harlequin Superromance, Blaze and Romantic Suspense lines. She and her husband of seventeen years have three children, three cats, and always a houseful of friends, family and fun.
This book is dedicated to anyone who has ever
searched for closure in their life.
May you find it, may it provide solace, may it heal.
Chapter 1
Special Agent Silas Kelly opened the door to the Chicago Bureau office, the biting cold in the air nipping at his freshly shaven jaw. Heâd been in Chicago for five years but he still hadnât gotten used to the wind chill of his new city.
A summons to the directorâs office never boded well. He was still dealing with the aftermath of his latest caseâone that he hadnât been able to solve in time, and a kid had died.
As a member of the Child Abduction Unit, it was his job to save kids.
Theyâd managed to catch the perp but not before the man had slit the boyâs throat.
Thomas Fielding, age six, snatched from the park when the babysitter wasnât looking.
Now Thomasâs parents were making funeral arrangements.
Maybe that was what the director wanted to talk about, to go over where theyâd failed young Thomas so that, hopefully, next time, the news they brought to frightened parents was good.
Silas walked into Director Beatrice Oppenshawâs office and closed the door for privacy. She gestured for him to take a seat.
âIâll get straight to the point,â she said, clasping her hands together. âThereâs been a homicide in Port Orion, Washington, that might catch your attention. I want you to ignore the urge to follow up.â
Port Orion, his hometown. Usually the location of his nightmares.
âThe body of a sixteen-year-old girl was dumped in Seminole Creek. Based on the marks on her neck, the preliminary cause of death is strangulation, pending the autopsy results.â
A shock wave rippled across his body. Seminole Creek.