Prologue
He needed a yank. Bad.
John Harper ambled through the little store full of tourist crap and tried to look interested in the postcards and key chains. When his hands twitched, he shoved them deep in the pockets of his loose blue jeans and tried to suppress the shudder that raced through him. When he imagined the relief that would come when he finally had his Scooby snacks, the need that had been building all day roared in his head.
The little bell over the shop door jingled, and he cut a glance over his shoulder. A man in a red UNLV hoodie walked in and swept a look from the front counter to the back of the store, where John stood. With his hood worn up, the man’s face was hidden. Not that John knew what his contact looked like. The message he’d gotten just said where to meet and when.
While there could be a nip in the North Dakota summer night air, John scoffed at the man’s choice of clothing this early in the evening. He had to be sweltering. John sure was. He wiped the beaded moisture from his upper lip and waited impatiently for Hoodie to meet him at the back wall. As the man approached, John jerked a nod and in a quiet voice asked, “Hey, is Tina with you?”
Barely raising his head to make eye contact, Hoodie gave him a dark glare then shot a subtle glance toward the front counter, where the store clerk sat staring at her phone. “Tonight. You got cash?”
John glowered. “I know the drill.”
One eyebrow twitched up on the man’s grim face. “Five minutes. Behind the shop. Blue sedan.”
Four minutes later, John strode up to the passenger door of the blue sedan parked in the far corner of the dirt lot behind the gift shop. He slid into the sun-baked car and handed a wad of bills to Hoodie, who still had his face hidden behind the voluminous hood. John chuckled. “What’s up with the Little Red Riding Hood bit?”
Hoodie only pinned him with a narrow-eyed glare as he started thumbing through the cash.
“It’s all there. When do I get the ice?”
“Midnight. You’ll like it. It’s a special local batch.”
John’s hands fluttered against his legs in anticipation. “Here?”
Red Riding Hood seemed to be considering, then nodded toward the prominent sculpture a short distance down the highway. “At the geese.”
John scowled. “I don’t like it. Why not here? Fewer eyes. I don’t wanna go back to prison.”
Red Riding Hood tucked the wad of cash in the hoodie pocket and repeated, “At the geese.”
At midnight, John was waiting at the base of the geese sculpture when Red Riding Hood pulled up in his blue sedan. He marched over to the car and was jonesing so hard for the Tina that he thought he’d die before he could shoot up. “About time. Where’s the goods?”
Red Riding Hood didn’t reply. Instead, he slid out of his car, strolled over to the base of the sculpture and gazed up at the flying geese. “This one was always her favorite.”
“Herwho?” John asked, then snapped angrily, “Stop stalling. Where’s the ice?”
Red Riding Hood angled a churlish look at him. “Chill out. You’ll get what’s coming to you.”
John could feel his heart dancing in his chest as Red Riding Hood reached in his hoodie pocket and pulled out a small vial of powder. “Try this first. Free sample.”
Without questioning the largess, John snatched the vial and pulled a pipe from his pocket. Soon, he’d lit up, and the first zip rippled through his system. Bliss. Finally. After another few drags on the pipe, he faced Red Riding Hood and offered him the pipe. “You?”
Red Riding Hood shook his head. “I don’t use that poison. It’ll kill you.”
Then, with a lightning-fast move, Red Riding Hood grabbed John’s wrist and jabbed him with a syringe.
“What the hell?” John barked, then clutched his chest as he felt his heart throb so hard he thought it would explode. He convulsed once, then as he collapsed at the foot of the sculpture, a veil of darkness descended.
Chapter 1
The first dim rays of morning sun peeked over the horizon as Jules Bailey parked at the far end of the lot in front of the Enchanted Highway Mile 0 gift shop. She sighed heavily before dragging herself out of her car. She might as well give up the tiny room at the Catch-a-Wink Motor Inn and throw a sleeping bag on the floor of the gift shop. Even though she had a teenager from town to help out during the busiest hours, Jules practically lived at the little store. In the midst of tourist season, the store stayed busy from opening until she could kick the last stragglers out at closing. Outside regular hours, she stayed late to close out the register and balance the books. Prior to opening, she restocked the shelves, tidied the store and paid vendors.
This routine was not the way she’d intended to use her almost-PhD in chemistry, but she knew her current circumstances were temporary. Once the jerk stalking her sister was behind bars where he belonged…
Something moved at the edge of her vision, a fleeting shadow, and she heard a rustling noise behind the store’s trash bin. Jules stumbled to a stop, her heartbeat tripping. A wild animal? A prowler? The wind?
“Hello?” She crept forward cautiously, dreading the necessity to pass the trash can to reach the back door of the store. She was not eager to find out what form of goblin—or rat—was lurking in the shadows. “Who’s there?”
