Chapter One
Ivy Nelson slidfrom her truck, and her boots hit the packed earth.A cloud of dust plumed up from the soles, evidence of the dry California summer that had continued into late October.Raising her arms above her head, she stretched, body stiff after the hour-long drive east of San Diego.She tilted her chin and used her hand to shade her eyes from the neon sun.The Mediterranean estate must have been a showstopper once, but age and poor maintenance had left the property worn and eerie.The backdrop of mountains and miles of wilderness, though, was breathtaking, if not a bit isolating.She began to circle the land as she always did, getting a feel for the structure and grounds.She’d been hired by an unfamiliar Realtor to inspect the home for prospective clients.It was rare for the buyers not to insist on being present for the inspection.Whoever they were, she hoped their pockets were deep.This old girl was going to need an overhaul.
She noted the hairline cracks in the stucco as she rounded the back of the house.A gust of wind picked up, stirring the tall, unkept weeds in her path.A shiver tingled down her spine, and she patted her back pocket.She breathed a little easier when she felt the hard phone case beneath the material of her jeans.The estate was set back from the road, and one too many episodes ofLaw and Orderhad her overactive imagination reeling.Still, it was important to be cautious when most of her jobs were done in solitude.Ash, her twin brother, always fretted over her safety.
She came across several clay roof tiles lying fractured on the ground.The in-ground swimming pool had been drained but was now filled with debris and cracks.She removed her cell phone from her pocket and snapped a few shots of the damage.The wind continued to ruffle her hair as she took her time with the exterior inspection.Clouds were rolling in fast, shadowing the area with the promise of some desperately needed rain.If a storm unleashed itself, she wouldn’t have time to circle back around the property.By the time she made it around the perimeter, the gusts were pushing against her skin.If she didn’t know better, she’d believe they were trying to shove her back to her truck and off the property.Ivy sought refuge beneath the arched entryway of the portico.The stone columns supporting the roof screamed for a power wash but appeared sturdy despite the discoloration.Ivy entered the code to the lockbox on the knob, retrieved the keys, and opened the door, immediately knocked back by the musty scent hanging in the air.
Four hours later, the list of home defects had greatly expanded.She’d done a thorough check of the interior plumbing, floors, and ceilings, but what concerned her the most were the walls.At some point, water had penetrated the exterior of the home, locking moisture behind the stucco.She usually didn’t mind wriggling around the crawl spaces beneath a home, but if the walls were any indication, groundwater from poor drainage was going to be a recurring theme.
Ivy had just shimmied halfway into the crawl space from an access panel inside the utility closet when she heard the back door open and close.She stilled, her heart leaping into her throat.After entering, she’d secured the dead bolt at the front door for peace of mind while she worked.Had the back door been unlocked?She was about to call out and make herself known when two male voices permeated the space.Her breath hitched in her throat, and something about the tone of the conversation had her shrinking back into the crawl space.She silently moved the access panel back into place, then crouched down to listen.
“Place looks like shit,” the man said.His voice was thick, like he was talking around cheeks stuffed with cotton balls.The slight wheeze of his breaths reminded her of the bulldog in the apartment next to hers.
There was a low grunt.“Doesn’t matter.Boss just needs a place to hold the kids.”This voice was hard.Cold.A wave of light-headedness unsteadied her.
What the hell?Had she misheard him?She reached her hand to her back pocket, fumbling for her phone, and opened the voice recording app.Staying huddled beneath the floor had been the right move.She double-checked to make sure her cell was on silent and concentrated on slowing her rapid breaths.
“Still should be livable, if they’ll be here until buyers are lined up,” the man with the thick, wheezy voice said.
“When did you develop a fucking conscience?A little mold never hurt anyone.Until payments are made, the kids stay here.”Footsteps thumped across the floor.For a moment, she was sure the heavy boots were headed directly toward her and her breath bottled in her throat.They sounded right above her one second, and the next the steps began to fade.They were leaving the kitchen and walking toward the foyer.Her relief was only momentary as a thought struck her.Made her blood run ice-cold.Her truck was parked out front.If they looked out the window or left through the front door, they’d spot the vehicle.God, were they really talking about a holding place for children?Somewhere to keep them until they were paid for?
Her heart was beating hard.She hadn’t even had the opportunity to shine her flashlight around the space to check for spiders or scorpions.She could be huddled amongst hundreds of pests and not even know it.
“Our only job is to make sure that once they’re in here, there’s no way out.Let’s get a thorough count of all the entry points so we can install additional locks and seal the windows from the outside.”
“What about the women who’ll be staying here?”
A cold laugh followed the question.“They’ll be so happy to get off their backs, they won’t try to leave.And if they do, they know the consequences.”
“Hey, Eddy?You expecting someone?”The confusion in his tone was evident, even though she was in the opposite room.
“No.Why?”the cold man grunted.
“There’s a truck out front.”
“The fuck?”the man roared.She dug her fingers into the dirt where she was crouched, ignoring the bite of the hard earth beneath her short nails.“Go out there and check the cab and the plate number.I’ll search the house.”
Oh God.She fumbled for her phone and shoved it back into her pocket with trembling hands.The front door opened, then closed as she ran through her narrow list of options.She could stay in the crawl space and pray they didn’t search the utility closet and find the access panel.She already knew she didn’t have cell phone service in the crawl space, so she’d have to wait them out.Boots sounded along the stairs.The other option was to climb out of the crawl space and try to escape through the back door where the men entered.On her perimeter check, she’d thought about how close the forest was to the property.She was going to run.It felt better than just sitting in the dark, damp space waiting for these men to find her.With one of the men out front, and the other upstairs, it was now or never.
Her breaths were shallow as she slid open the access panel.She paused, waiting to make sure the man’s boots still pounded across the floor above until she climbed out.Her hip hit the panel, and a creak filled the air.Shit.Was it just her imagination or did her movements really sound like a rhino lumbering out of the tiny opening instead of a petite woman?She strained to hear the footsteps, but the house had gone eerily silent.
“Leo?That you?”the man called from upstairs.
If she didn’t get out now, she was as good as dead.Trading speed for stealth, she raced across the kitchen to the back door.Throwing it open, she lunged outside into the rain, not bothering to close it behind her.The man upstairs was screaming, and there was no doubt that he was pounding after her.She didn’t dare look back.Not when the overgrown shrubs were tangling around her ankles as she ran.Not when the thirsty earth was becoming slick with rain.Her heart was beating out of her chest as she broke through the tree line.Only when she was behind the trunk of a thick oak did she dare peer at the scene behind her.
The two men were in the backyard.One was moving fast, and the other was laboring behind, his jowls swinging with each step.The fast one, she assumed, was the man who had gone upstairs in the house.Although her glance had been fast and marred by rain, she got the impression he was tall and lean.He had thick, dark hair and a hook nose that made her think of an eagle’s beak.The other man was large and cumbersome.If they weren’t chasing her, she might be concerned about the wheeze that seemed to emanate from his lungs as he pursued her.His face was more bulbous than the other man’s, with a rounded nose and a more unkempt appearance.Angling her gaze over her shoulder, she caught another glimpse of the older, larger man.There was a tattoo on his arm that appeared to be some kind of cartoon character.She briefly thought about trying to get a picture when bark from the tree exploded.Her skin stung as she whirled and sprinted deeper into the forest, zigzagging as she ran.She darted over the uneven ground, warm beads of blood running down both arms from the splintered tree.
“Come back, bitch!”
The sound of the man’s voice booming behind her only made her run faster.The trees were starting to thin, giving way to more low-lying brush.She glanced around for a place to hide but saw nothing.Now that she was out from the cover of the trees, rain drenched her, pouring down her face.She stumbled forward.If she stopped, she’d be shot.Nearby, a chunk of earth erupted in a spray of mud and rocks.The terrain was beginning to slope, slowing her pace.One minute she was running and the next something snagged her foot, and she was propelled forward.She landed roughly on the ground, and the combination of her forward momentum and gravity had her tumbling over and over down the steep hill.
Chapter Two
Jude Hayes hadbecome soulless on a summer evening just before entering third grade.The day had been warm and bright as his family returned from a back-to-school ice-cream social.He had a coupon in his pocket for a free pizza, compliments of his school’s summer reading challenge.After urging his little brother, a first grader, to digest book after book they’d each have a pizza to cash in on at Planet Pie.Life was good.And then his world had dissolved.
Each year, on the anniversary of the deaths of his father, mother, and little brother he returned to the Boston suburb, rented a room, and drank himself into oblivion.It was the only time of the year he allowed their panicked screams to infiltrate his psyche.The only time he allowed himself to unravel.To rage.It wasn’t a healthy way to cope.Christ, he knew that.He’d lost many people in his life.Good men and women who’d served alongside him in the Navy.Each loss hardened him.The brutal loss of his family, though, had marked him so deep, the only way he could survive was to block all emotion, all softness from his life.Maybe he’d been cold for too long, pouring himself into his work, isolating beyond a few friends.
Ones that he kept at arm’s length because everyone he cared for was always torn from him eventually.He knew he was at a breaking point, which was why he’d come to the log cabin in the mountains as far from humanity as he could allow himself and still return to work in San Diego on Monday.He reached for the nearly empty bottle of whiskey, his vision blurring at the edges of his periphery.Lifting it to his lips, he swallowed down another large gulp, hoping the burn working its way down his throat would ease the one behind his eyelids.His entire adult life had been spent finding and eliminating threats.To his country.To innocent, unsuspecting victims.To women and children.It was the latter that had rocked his foundation the most.
