LITMIR.BIZ

       Prologue

      Five years ago

      The Texas night sky broke open with the boom of thunder and sizzle of lightning, splitting the heavens with a malicious hand. Oblivious to the violent rainstorm, Jared King stood on the end of the pier at Last Chance Lake, a large duffel at his side. Peering through the curtain of water streaming off his Stetson, he searched for any sign of his wife. Was this just another cruel twist in the kidnapper’s perverse game?

      Where was she? Where was Alyssa?

      His phone rang, piercing the roar of the torrent. He grabbed the cell and tapped the screen. “King,” he snapped.

      A spine-chilling and all-too-familiar chuckle sounded through the line. “You look upset, Jared.”

      His chin shot up and he spun in a 360. The guy was watching.

      Jared squinted into the darkness, searching for any indicator to the kidnapper’s location, shunting the full-blown terror that had gripped his heart and soul in a dark place.

      Why had he ever left her alone?

      When she’d taken the chance of marrying him and coming to live in the middle of nowhere, he’d promised to take care of her. Always. And look what had happened.

      She’d been taken by a madman.

      Another quick flash illuminated the large lake and his heart picked up the pace, thudding at the clip of a galloping stampede. Was that a boat near the swimming platform at the center of the lake?

      Was it them? It couldn’t be the sheriff. He’d agreed to stay out of sight until Alyssa was safe. Jared refused to take chances with her safety.

      Before Jared could focus, the world went dark again. He could see nothing. The entire lake had morphed into an endless black hole.

      “Where is she?” he asked, desperate to keep his voice steady.

      “Do you have the money?” the kidnapper countered in a guttural whisper.

      Jared snapped on his flashlight and lifted the duffel, sweeping the beam along the large bag.

      “Good. I bet that emptied out your bank account. Did you follow my instructions?”

      His unwavering focus probed the storm. If only he could catch a glimpse of the kidnapper or Alyssa. “I told you I would.” Jared ground his teeth at the taunting tone, but inside a niggle of something not quite right set off alarm bells. “Where is my wife?”

      “You sound nervous. You should be.” A low laugh filtered through the phone. “I told you not to lie to me. You failed. You didn’t follow all of my instructions,” the man said, his voice unidentifiable. “You contacted the law. I warned you I’d be watching.”

      Jared stilled. Oh God. How had the kidnapper found out? He clutched the duffel’s strap with a death grip. Jared had called Carder, Texas, sheriff Kevin Redmond when Alyssa had first been kidnapped. He’d had no choice. He couldn’t raise the cash the man wanted. Not after sinking everything into that new quarter horse stud last week. With no time to liquidate, he’d needed help. He and the sheriff had been careful, though. They’d never met in person.

      Obviously they hadn’t been careful enough.

      What had he done?

      Jared’s knuckles whitened around the phone. “Please—”

      “Too late for apologies. You broke the rules. Now you pay the price.”

      “Wait!”

      “Just remember, this is all your fault.”

      The line went dead.

      “You hear that, Kevin?” Jared whispered into the small microphone hidden beneath his shirt, fighting against the panic squeezing his heart.

      “He could be bluffing,” the sheriff said, through the earpiece.

      But Jared recognized the uncertainty lacing Kevin’s voice.

      A motor roared to life from the middle of the lake.

      “That’s got to be him,” Jared shouted. “He’s on the water.”

      “N-no! Please!” a woman’s pleading cry sounded from somewhere in the inky darkness.

      “Alyssa?” Jared shouted.

      “What the hell—?” Kevin cursed.

      A splash sounded. The motor kicked into gear.

      “Sounds like he’s heading to the far side.” Jared squinted, trying to make out any movement in the night. “I can’t see a damn thing. Alyssa!”

      She’d called out to him. She had to be close.

      “I’ll head him off.” Another motor rumbled. The sheriff’s boat. “Keep the comm open,” Kevin yelled over the engine.

      Jared had no chance of beating the boat to the other side of the lake in his truck, but he had to try. He shined his high-powered flashlight across the water to catch the direction of the boat’s wake. Maybe, just maybe.

      The beam swept past the old wooden platform and he jerked it back. He froze. Two pale hands gripped a post, blond hair shining against the water.

      Alyssa.

      “I see her,” he shouted.

      He tugged off his boots, dove into the icy water, and sprinted toward her. He made it to the structure in record time and stopped, treading water in the twenty-five-foot-deep man-made lake. He spun around, desperately searching for her, barely acknowledging the engine from Kevin’s boat closing in.

      She was gone.

      “Alyssa!”

      Jared dove beneath the surface, but with no moonlight shining down, he couldn’t even see his hands in front of him, he could only feel. Frantic, he whirled in the water, reaching out, searching for something, anything to hold on to, to bring her to safety.

      Something long and thin brushed his side. He clutched at it. His fingers clasped the rough surface of bark. A branch. He shoved it away.

      His lungs ached. Just a few seconds more and he’d find her. He could feel it.

      The water burned his eyes. His mind grew fuzzy. Damn it. He had no choice. He needed air. If he drowned, he couldn’t save his wife.

      He kicked to the surface, sucked in a large breath, and submerged beneath the water, but all he could feel was cold, dark and empty. He had no idea which direction to search.

      A circle of light illuminated the darkness above him. The sheriff. Thank God.

      An odd blue-green aura lightened the water around him. At least Jared could make out shapes and shadows.

      A flash of white caught his attention. Nearly out of air again, he swam toward the unusual object.

      His heart skipped a beat. Gauzy white material floated past him in a ghostly blur. He lunged at it but grasped nothing but fabric.

      It must have come off her.

      He swept his arms right and left, each movement more and more desperate. She had to be here. He bumped into something and clutched at it.

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