Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 99132 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 496(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99132 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 496(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Laurel’s family was never simple—but her half-sister, Abigail, a brilliant, unpredictable psychopath, just made it lethal. Accused of murdering their father, a man she always called a monster, Abigail claims self-defense. As the trial unfolds and long-buried family secrets explode into headlines across Washington State, Laurel’s hard-won privacy is shattered. And the nightmare is just beginning.
Even as Abigail’s trial consumes public attention, new dangers close in as the murder of a prominent scientist and the illegal poaching of a rare Pacific plant point to something insidious. Laurel turns to Washington Fish and Wildlife captain Huck Rivers, her partner in work and life, for help. But the deeper they dig, the more the case seems to echo the chaos unraveling Laurel’s world.
With danger tightening around her, Laurel faces an impossible choice: trust Abigail in one crucial, treacherous alliance, or risk losing everything. Her career, her relationships, even her life hang in the balance. The clock is ticking—and if the threat breaks loose, nothing will be fast enough to stop it
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Prologue
They were coming.
Shadows.
Ghosts.
Monsters.
His lungs burned like he was inhaling glass. He felt his brain swell inside his skull, making his eyes bulge. The pain threatened to take him to his knees, but he kept going. Kept running.
Branches tore at his bare arms, slicing welts into his skin, but he barely felt the sting. The relentless rain drilled into his scalp, failing to provide any relief.
What was happening?
Think.
God, just think.
But his thoughts wouldn’t come, slipping through his mind like oil on water. Run. That was all he had left. That one command, overriding everything.
Run.
His body obeyed, feet pounding the earth in an uneven, desperate rhythm. His limbs were no longer his own. They were just separate, detached body parts propelling him forward. Warmth slid beneath his nose, thick and hot over his mouth.
Blood.
His stomach lurched. Frantically, he wiped his upper lip, fingers trembling. Red. So red. So warm. He stopped. Just for a second. Just long enough to look down at his hand.
Then silence. Not just quiet. True, absolute silence.
The forest was still moving. The trees swayed, the rain pelted the ground, and the wind surged. He could see it all, but he couldn’t hear any of it.
Nothing.
Blissful. Terrifying. His heart pounded but his body had gone quiet. His mind had gone still. His eyelids sagged, the exhaustion pulling him down like a weight.
Wait. The blood. Why was he bleeding?
He swallowed hard, jerking his gaze to the side. The world kept tilting. The trees blurred and the earth dipped. He was standing still, but the ground rolled beneath him. The nausea hit him fast, bile burning up his throat.
A spiral of heat tore through his veins, curling up from his spine and bursting into his skull. His body jerked violently, like something inside him was fighting to get out.
Flashlights sliced through the forest behind him.
They were coming.
The bobbing lights swayed and dipped, bouncing through the trees. Not dark yet, but the forest swallowed the light, the wet leaves swallowing sound. Cover. Was he covered? Did he need cover?
A sudden dagger of pain pierced his skull.
His vision blurred.
Run.
His body reacted before his mind caught up. He turned, lurching forward, his arms scraping against rough bark. Blood. Monsters. Pain.
The world remained silent, eerie in its emptiness. His breath thundered in his chest, but he couldn’t hear anything. They wanted to kill him. He knew that much. But he couldn’t remember who they were.
His upper lip burned. More warmth. More blood. It dripped into his mouth, metallic and bitter, sliding down his chin.
He turned his head as he ran. Too fast. Dizziness slammed into him.
The lights were closer now. Too close.
Then impact.
The tree loomed out of nowhere, and he slammed into it, full force. The breath whooshed out of his lungs. He went down hard, knees slamming onto jagged rocks, hands catching in the snow, fingers crushing unforgiving ice.
He might’ve cried out.
Pain lashed through his legs. He forced himself to move, to get up, to keep going. His face felt like he’d shoved it into boiling water. The same water Grandpa Joe had used to power wash the deck. Grandpa Joe. He’d been a good man.
Pain enveloped him, swallowing him whole. He needed to do something. Something—what?
The lights came closer. The beams cut through the trees behind him, bouncing off slick branches.
Run.
That was it. That was the only thing left. He staggered forward, slapping away a tangle of bare bushes, grabbing onto frozen rock. He scrambled up, ice searing into his palms, his breath ragged. Rain and blood slid down his cheeks.
He coughed. More warmth. More blood. Why was his mouth bleeding? He couldn’t think anymore.
They were coming. He had to beat them. The truth should win. His foot slipped. The world tilted. He windmilled his arms, skidding across an icy rock. Even gravity fucking hated him. His heart jackhammered as he teetered on the edge, his toes curling in an attempt to grip solid ground.
He looked down.
Way down.
A road twisted along the valley floor below, following the path of a rushing river. Cars crawled along the pavement, their headlights gleaming like tiny pinpricks against the dusk.
Too high up. He had to get down. Now. He turned around.
They emerged from the trees. Dressed in black. Lights in front of them. Hunting him. Shit. They’d found him. The one in front grinned, his crooked front tooth catching in the beam of a flashlight. He lifted a gloved hand, gesturing—a silent demand.
No. They couldn’t have him. Not again.
Sound roared back in like a thunderclap. A shrieking, splitting explosion in his skull.
The man in front spoke. “Come on. Let’s go.” His voice was flat. Dead. As were his eyes.
“No.” One simple word. The only thing he had left. He smiled, held out his arms, and fell back.
The men in black bellowed.
Air rushed around him, pulling at his clothes, whipping hair into his eyes. The rain hit like bullets. A sudden flash of pain stole his breath.