PROLOGUE
Friday
A shiver of fear shuddered through Ellie McBride as she peered into the darkness. Leaving the school so late had been risky, as anything might happen to a woman walking alone. She’d dashed to her vehicle and locked all the doors before driving into the night. Snow built up on the wiper blades of her SUV as she turned into the parking lot of the new convenience store on the corner of Pine and Stanton. She glanced around nervously. Going out after dark in Black Rock Falls had become a recipe for disaster but she had no choice after running out of essentials. Living alone meant she had no one to blame but herself. She’d worked late without noticing the time. Gathering her courage, she scanned the parking lot for anyone hanging around and found it empty apart from a couple of eighteen-wheelers. It was a little after eleven and her headlights picked up the rust-colored streaks of Ice Slicer in the wall of snow left from the snowplow. She parked alongside it, to avoid the arctic blast of wind buffeting the truck, and pulled her hat down over her ears.Stepping out into the night, the drop in temperature made each breath cloud around her in steam. Glad she’d worn thermals under her clothes, her thick coat and gloves would keep her warm but didn’t prevent the icy chill and snowflakes freezing her cheeks. It was so cold her eyes hurt.
The store’s neon sign reflectedmack’s 24/7in the snow in red and blue like a cop’s flashing lights. She’d wondered for a time what the new store looked like inside. She’d heard the kids at the school where she taught middle grade talking about it. Moving slowly, she made her way slipping and sliding to the store, stamped her feet on the mat outside, and pushed open the door.
The tinkling of the bell on the door surprised her, as did the interior of the store as she peered around. She had expected a brand-new sparkling convenience store but this one had been built to resemble something out of the 1950s. There were the usual rows of shelves with goods for sale, glass fronted fridges with dairy products, beer, soda, and a coffee machine. The smell of coffee and burgers wafted toward her as she stepped across the black-and-white checkerboard linoleum tiles. Two men wearing trucker caps and thick coats sat in the middle of a line of red vinyl stools before a long gleaming chrome-edged counter. Her mouth watered as a soda jerk delivered plates of hamburgers and fries and looked at her. She nodded and turned toward the grocery aisles and collected the bread, milk, and other essentials she needed.
The pharmacy at one end of the store had a large sign:pay here. The man behind the counter stood wearily from where he’d sat fiddling with a tablet and totaled her bill. She paid with her card and headed back to the counter and smiled at the sight of a jukebox in the corner. The owners had gone all out to make this place look genuine. No wonder the kids loved it. They’d never seen anything like it before. She wondered why it stayed open twenty-four hours a day, when the door opened in a blastof freezing air and more men walked in shaking the snow from their coats and hats.New and popular.
Her stomach growled at the smell of onions frying and she wished she had the courage to sit at the counter, order a burger and fries, and then just sit there eating alongside the men. Most modern women would do it without a second thought, but she had a problem communicating with any male over the age of about fourteen. Of late, she’d become more cautious than ever. So many people had gotten murdered in her town, she didn’t plan on making herself an easy target. After paying for her things, she stepped out into a wall of cold and scanned the parking lot. Outside the yellow glow of the street lights, the perimeter was black, with pinpoints of light far into the distance. Steam crawled from her nostrils as she stood on the mat outside the store. Silence surrounded her. The heavy blanket of snow had dampened the usual noises. Her gaze swept the snow-covered eighteen-wheelers. The dark windows of the cabs reflected the neon sign. A couple of them steamed and made slight ticking sounds as the engines rapidly cooled.
Ellie stepped onto the icy sidewalk and walked into the eerily quiet night, keeping her head down. She crunched through the snow to her SUV. Based on the piles of snow on each side, an attempt had been made to clear the parking lot earlier, but now the latest falls had turned to a sheet of ice. The next coating of Ice Slicer wouldn’t be spread until the following morning and she didn’t have time to wait. The weight of the grocery bag in one hand unbalanced her slightly as she made her way back to her vehicle. She fumbled for her keys and they fell into the snow. When she picked them up, she pressed the key fob, but the hatch refused to open. Had she damaged the key just by dropping it? She tried again and sighed with relief at the familiar sound when the hatch popped open. She dropped the groceries in the back and straightened. The smell of strong cologne close by froze her to the spot. The next instant, a smellyhood dropped over her head. She cried out and turned, ready to fight. Sharp pain slammed into the side of her head. Stars danced across her vision and her legs buckled. Everything around her spun in a sickening wave of agony and she slid into oblivion.
Senses came back in a wave of pain, and cold seeped through her clothes. Ellie wanted to shout to tell someone to turn down the noise. Loud music battered her ears and her head throbbed with the beat. The hood pressed against her face sticky and wet, and the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth.I’m bleeding.She went to touch her face, and rough rope tore at her wrists. Using swollen fingers, she dragged off the hood, but darkness surrounded her and she couldn’t stretch her legs. Heart racing, she forced herself to take deep breaths, lifted her bound hands, and touched the interior. Engine sounds and the vibrations beneath her confirmed her prison was the trunk of a vehicle. Terror gripped her as claustrophobia rose like an uncontrollable creature. The driver swerved and then the vehicle bumped along an uneven surface before stopping. A door opened and closed. Footsteps came close and Ellie panicked and pulled the stinking wet hood back on. Next came the unmistakable sounds of someone pumping gas and the odor of petroleum seeped into the trunk. She lay still and waited. The hatch opened and a light came on. A hand shook her but Ellie controlled her breathing and tried not to flinch. If they hit her again, they might kill her.
“Dammit. I’ve killed her.” An amused but muffled voice came close to her ear. “What a shame. We’d have had such fun.”
A blanket fell over her and the hatch slammed shut. Footsteps disappeared. Heart racing, Ellie removed the hood again and wiped blood from her eyes with her sleeve. She should try to escape before he returned. It had been snowing heavily forthe last week, so they’d be parked undercover if she could hear his footfalls. How long had she been unconscious for? There was no way of telling. They could be anywhere in the state, but she figured they’d be at a roadhouse. From the slivers of light peeking into the trunk, she made out the inside of the vehicle. It was like her own. On closer inspection she could feel the cover above her head was the same as inside her SUV. She rolled over and ran her fingers along the inside until she found the seat release. Both back seats fell forward to make the space larger and light seeped through from the windows. Moving like a caterpillar she edged her way into the back of the vehicle and peered carefully out of the window. They were at a large roadhouse. The parking lot was filled with eighteen-wheelers. Inside the roadhouse several men in trucker hats sat around eating meals. She’d try to get out and get help. Panic came in terrifying waves. Which one of the customers kidnapped her? She couldn’t trust anyone.
With difficulty, she managed to get her fingers around the door handle. She had a big problem. The moment the door opened, the interior light would come on. With luck, she might get out and shut the door before her abductor noticed, or he’d come out and hit her again. Everyone was so busy eating they wouldn’t notice. She would need to move fast. Head swimming, she pushed open the door and fell onto the driveway. She hit the ground hard and kicked the door shut with her feet. On hands and knees, she scanned the area, trying to decide which way to go. She couldn’t just walk into the roadhouse and start screaming. The servers would be safer, and most of them were women. Keeping the SUV between her and the roadhouse, she crawled to the end of the vehicle and, keeping down, made it to the line of dumpsters alongside the building. She looked behind her at the line of footprints in the snow, but she couldn’t worry about that now. Dizzy and staggering, she headed for the back entrance and kicked at the door. It took forever before itopened. A wall of warmth and comforting aromas surrounded two wide-eyed women. One pointed a can of bear spray at her. The other let out a scream of dismay, and swaying, Ellie held out her bound hands. “Help me! Call 911! I’ve been kidnapped and the man is in the diner.”
ONE
The insistent chiming of Sheriff Jenna Alton’s phone woke her from a dream of warm sunshine and building sandcastles on the beach with her children. She stuck out her hand to grab it before it woke the entire household and stared at the caller ID.
“Who is it?” Her husband and ex-Special Forces, Deputy Dave Kane, turned on the lamp beside the bed and leaned up on his elbows.
Jenna pushed hair from her eyes. “It’s Raven.” She frowned. “Hi, Raven. You’re on speaker with me and Dave. What’s the problem?”
“I need backup at the Triple Z Roadhouse.”Deputy Johnny Raven, ex-medevac chopper pilot and now K-9 trainer and one of her team, had never requested backup. At six-four and two hundred and fifty pounds of military-trained ex-soldier, he also had Ben, his K-9, as a partner.“One of the servers at the roadhouse called 911 because a woman there insists that someone kidnapped her and is convinced her abductor is still in the building.”
Jenna dumped the phone on the bed and stood reaching for clothes. “What’s your location?”
“I’m on Stanton driving toward the roadhouse from Black Rock Falls. ETA is approximately seven minutes.”Raven cleared his throat.“I called Rio but he’s not picking up his phone and you’re closer than Rowley.”
“Is the woman he kidnapped in a safe location?” Kane pulled on his jeans and pushed his feet into his boots.
“Yeah, they have her in the break room.”Raven’s vehicle roared as he sped along the highway.“I told them to act as normal as possible but to stay behind the counter. The woman states that she escaped from his SUV, which is parked out front. None of the servers can see the vehicle from their position. I’ll take a look when I drive past and I’ll try to get a plate number.”
Jenna pulled on a Kevlar vest and then her jacket. She went to the gun safe to collect their weapons. Beside her, Kane was calling Raya, their nanny, to watch over their sons, Tauri and Jackson, in their absence. He gave Jenna a nod as he disconnected. Raya lived in an apartment connected by a door to their kitchen. She checked her pockets for ammo and gloves. “We’re on our way. Go in by the back door. Call ahead and tell them to expect you. Don’t show yourself. The roadhouse has CCTV cameras and we’ll be able to identify the truck without him knowing you’re there.”
“Copy.”Raven’s truck engine slowed.“I’m going by the roadhouse now. I’ll head down to the Triple Z Bar and get into the roadhouse via their parking lot so I’m not noticed.”
Jenna nodded at Kane as he pointed toward the door. “We’re leaving now.” She disconnected.
A sleepy bloodhound crawled out from under the bed and shook himself.
“Go back to bed, Duke.” Kane scratched the dog’s head. “We’ll be back soon. Watch the boys.” He smiled as the dog headed along the hallway and nosed his way into the boys’ bedroom. “I’m sure he understands everything I say.” He followed Jenna through the house.
As they hurried to the front door, Raya came through the connecting door, gave them a wave, and headed toward the spare bedroom. Jenna followed Kane outside and reset the alarm. “Thank goodness we have Raya.”
Floodlights came on as Jenna ducked icicles hanging from the front stoop and gasped as an arctic wind cut through her clothes. The previous evening, Kane had liberally coated the walkways to the garage and barn with an ice retardant, yet snow still coated everything. She ran past a winter rose, its pink petals frozen solid and looking as if it were made of sugar. All the windows of the ranch house were covered with swirling ice patterns. She grabbed Kane’s arm to steady herself as they ran to the garage and climbed into Kane’s tricked-out black truck, affectionately known as the Beast. The truck took off with a roar and the snow tires gripped the road as the snowplow attachment in front cut through the driveway snow with ease. It was fortunate that the snowplow driver lived next door and kept clear the road that connected Jenna’s ranch to the main highway into Black Rock Falls. Apart from the town needing their sheriff, they also needed a snowplow. Ahead, the road’s rusty appearance showed evidence of a recent coating of Ice Slicer, made from a mineral mined locally.
Pushed back in the seat as Kane lifted the snowplow attachment from the road and accelerated, Jenna stared at her phone. “Why do you figure Rio isn’t answering his phone?”
“It’s Friday night, Jenna.” Kane’s lips curled into a smile. “Maybe he has a hot date? He wasn’t on duty tonight, was he? It was Raven’s turn to man the 911 calls.” He sighed. “The single guys need a life. They work all the hours you ask of them, so don’t be too hard on him.”
