Sometimes, the past can haunt youâ¦
Eighteen years ago, FBI profiler Evelyn Baineâs best friend, Cassie Byers, disappeared, the third in a series of unsolved abductions. Only a macabre nursery rhyme was left at the scene, a nursery rhyme that claimed Evelyn was also an intended victim. Now, after all these years of silence, another girl has gone missing in South Carolina, and the Nursery Rhyme Killer is taking credit. But is Cassieâs abductor really back, or is there a copycat at work?
Sometimes, the past is best forgottenâ¦
Evelyn has waited eighteen years for a chance to investigate, but when she returns to Rose Bay, she finds a dark side to the seemingly idyllic town. As the place erupts in violence and the kidnapper strikes again, Evelyn knows this is her last chance. If she doesnât figure out what happened to Cassie eighteen years ago, it may be Evelynâs turn to vanish without a trace.
Praise for Elizabeth Heiterâs Hunted
âThis is a really excellent thrillerâfast-paced and exciting, with a memorable cast of characters. Well done!â
âNew York Times bestselling author Suzanne Brockmann
âHunted is a terrific, gripping, page-turning debut by a talented new voice in suspense. A great read!â
âNew York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan
âWhen you pick up Hunted, get ready for a roller coaster ride that will twist, turn and spin you around until the very last page! I loved this book! Evelyn Baine is one of the most amazing characters created in print that Iâve ever had the pleasure to get to know.⦠If you love a book that grabs you by the throat and holds you there until the very end of a breathless journey, Hunted must be added to your wish list of books.â
âFresh Fiction
âElizabeth Heiter has written a thriller that grabs readers from the first page.⦠Hunted is a fast read because the pages fly by as the narrative gets more and more exciting and suspenseful. For a debut, Heiter has hit a high note right at the start of her writing career.â
âBookReporter
âHeiterâ¦provides a fascinating insight into the minds of killers.⦠Author Heiter has created well-developed characters and a gripping story. I look forward to reading what happens next in The Profiler series.â
âSuspense Magazine
âHeiterâs Hunted is intriguing and tightly plotted. A strong debut!â
âNew York Times bestselling author Laura Griffin
âA gripping, powerful read.⦠I love psychological suspense. Unlike many books where I can pick out the guilty party, this book is set up so that there is no possible way. I loved that! I learned things as Evelyn did, which is a real treat in a suspense or mystery novel. From start to finish, I was on the edge of my seat.â
âRoundtable Reviews
This book is dedicated to the memory
of my grandparents. Thank you for always believing.
I love you. I miss you.
Prologue
The girls raced through the backyard, holding hands and giggling, oblivious to any danger. They kept running, faster and faster, until they reached the far end of the property. It was a solid two hundred feet from the house. Too far for anyone inside to see them.
Anger burned, intense enough to light sparks of pain along his nerve endings. If he wasnât here, anything could happen to them.
He hunkered deeper in his dugout in a clump of huge, blooming lilac bushes, drew a deep breath of South Carolinaâs humid summer air and waited. Watched.
Heâd been watching for weeks, so he knew exactly how much time he had before theyâd be called inside for dinner.
It was the little blonde girlâs yard. Cassie. Heâd noticed her first, the bouncing ringlets, eyes the color of the sky on a perfect summer day. She was too innocent, too trusting. Cassie had no clue what the world had in store for her.
He never wanted her to have to find out. Heâd picked her before heâd seen her friend.
Cassieâs friend was different. Small for twelve, skin the shade of coffee with a generous helping of cream and moss-green eyes that were way too perceptive, way too wary. Evelyn.
Evelyn wasnât the kind of girl heâd been searching for, but considering how everyone treated her, sheâd be better off with him. Which was why he was watching them both, why he was still trying to decide which one to save. They both needed him. But which one could he save? Which one?
Pain punched up his back, vertebra by vertebra, until it ricocheted around in his head. Another migraine. Probably the stress of having to choose.
He didnât want to leave either one behind. But he had no choice. He was already taking a big risk by doing this in Rose Bay. Heâd never dared to scout so close to home before.
Cassie laughed, the sound loud and ringing. The vibrations seemed to skim along his skin, even though she was twenty feet away.