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Blake Pierce

      Blake Pierce is author of the bestselling RILEY PAGE mystery series, which includes sixteen books (and counting). Blake Pierce is also the author of the MACKENZIE WHITE mystery series, comprising thirteen books (and counting); of the AVERY BLACK mystery series, comprising six books; of the KERI LOCKE mystery series, comprising five books; of the MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE mystery series, comprising five books (and counting); of the KATE WISE mystery series, comprising six books (and counting); of the CHLOE FINE psychological suspense mystery, comprising five books (and counting); and of the JESSE HUNT psychological suspense thriller series, comprising five books (and counting).

      An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Blake loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.blakepierceauthor.com to learn more and stay in touch.

      Copyright © 2019 by Blake Pierce. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the author. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Jacket image Copyright hurricanehank, used under license from Shutterstock.com.

BOOKS BY BLAKE PIERCE

      A JESSIE HUNT PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE SERIES

      THE PERFECT WIFE (Book #1)

      THE PERFECT BLOCK (Book #2)

      THE PERFECT HOUSE (Book #3)

      THE PERFECT SMILE (Book #4)

      THE PERFECT LIE (Book #5)

      THE PERFECT LOOK (Book #6)

      CHLOE FINE PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE SERIES

      NEXT DOOR (Book #1)

      A NEIGHBOR’S LIE (Book #2)

      CUL DE SAC (Book #3)

      SILENT NEIGHBOR (Book #4)

      HOMECOMING (Book #5)

      TINTED WINDOWS (Book #6)

      KATE WISE MYSTERY SERIES

      IF SHE KNEW (Book #1)

      IF SHE SAW (Book #2)

      IF SHE RAN (Book #3)

      IF SHE HID (Book #4)

      IF SHE FLED (Book #5)

      IF SHE FEARED (Book #6)

      IF SHE HEARD (Book #7)

      THE MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE SERIES

      WATCHING (Book #1)

      WAITING (Book #2)

      LURING (Book #3)

      TAKING (Book #4)

      STALKING (Book #5)

      RILEY PAIGE MYSTERY SERIES

      ONCE GONE (Book #1)

      ONCE TAKEN (Book #2)

      ONCE CRAVED (Book #3)

      ONCE LURED (Book #4)

      ONCE HUNTED (Book #5)

      ONCE PINED (Book #6)

      ONCE FORSAKEN (Book #7)

      ONCE COLD (Book #8)

      ONCE STALKED (Book #9)

      ONCE LOST (Book #10)

      ONCE BURIED (Book #11)

      ONCE BOUND (Book #12)

      ONCE TRAPPED (Book #13)

      ONCE DORMANT (Book #14)

      ONCE SHUNNED (Book #15)

      ONCE MISSED (Book #16)

      ONCE CHOSEN (Book #17)

      MACKENZIE WHITE MYSTERY SERIES

      BEFORE HE KILLS (Book #1)

      BEFORE HE SEES (Book #2)

      BEFORE HE COVETS (Book #3)

      BEFORE HE TAKES (Book #4)

      BEFORE HE NEEDS (Book #5)

      BEFORE HE FEELS (Book #6)

      BEFORE HE SINS (Book #7)

      BEFORE HE HUNTS (Book #8)

      BEFORE HE PREYS (Book #9)

      BEFORE HE LONGS (Book #10)

      BEFORE HE LAPSES (Book #11)

      BEFORE HE ENVIES (Book #12)

      BEFORE HE STALKS (Book #13)

      BEFORE HE HARMS (Book #14)

      AVERY BLACK MYSTERY SERIES

      CAUSE TO KILL (Book #1)

      CAUSE TO RUN (Book #2)

      CAUSE TO HIDE (Book #3)

      CAUSE TO FEAR (Book #4)

      CAUSE TO SAVE (Book #5)

      CAUSE TO DREAD (Book #6)

      KERI LOCKE MYSTERY SERIES

      A TRACE OF DEATH (Book #1)

      A TRACE OF MURDER (Book #2)

      A TRACE OF VICE (Book #3)

      A TRACE OF CRIME (Book #4)

      A TRACE OF HOPE (Book #5)

      CHAPTER ONE

      Jessie almost had him.

      The suspect was about ten yards ahead of her. They were both running on the sand, which felt surprisingly cold under her bare feet. The beach was virtually empty and she wondered when her backup would arrive. The suspect was bigger than her and if he turned around, she might have to shoot him to maintain her advantage. She wanted to avoid that if at all possible.

      Suddenly, with the man almost in grasping distance, he seemed to collapse. But then she realized that he was actually sinking. A moment later he dropped through the sand right before her eyes.

      Jessie barely had time to process that he’d fallen through a sinkhole on the beach before she felt herself being sucked down too. She tried to grab onto anything she could to prevent herself from falling into the hole. But there was nothing but loose sand. Still, she clung to it even as she disappeared under the dune.

      When she regained consciousness, she realized she was in what seemed like a sea cave. She had no recollection of how she got there. She saw the suspect she’d been chasing lying on his stomach in the dirt across from her. He wasn’t moving, likely knocked out.

      Glancing around, she tried to get a better sense of her surroundings. It was only then that she realized she was standing up with her arms above her head. Her wrists were tied with a rope that was attached to the top of the cave wall. The rope was so tight that the tips of her toes barely touched the ground below.

      As her head cleared, a horrifying realization hit her: she’d been in this position before. This was the exact scenario she’d faced two months ago when her own father, the brutal serial killer Xander Thurman, had captured and tortured her before she’d managed to kill him.

      Was this some copycat killer? How was that even possible? The details of the incident had been kept secret. Then she heard a noise and saw a shadow in the mouth of the cave. As he stepped into view she tried to identify him. But he was backlit by the sun and his features were obscured. All she could see was the silhouette of