Page 1 of Chasing Kaylee Kringle

Prologue

Rick

An eerie blue glow hung over the dark room, cast by the three monitors, each simultaneously running various programs. Diaz sat in front of them and straightened abruptly when the first screen stopped on a picture, the red oval highlighting a face in the crowd. He leaned in, comparing the photo of the smiling woman on his second screen with the dark-haired woman, who wore a look of surprise.

Or was that terror?

Diaz pulled up another picture of the woman they were looking for and peered at the screen.

Satisfaction rushed through him. “That’s her.”

He tapped away at the keyboard, searching for the source of the picture. The data indicated a clip from a reality show called Small Town USA. After reading the description, he googled “Holiday, Idaho.” It was near the Utah border and roughly a day’s drive.

Diaz’s face split into a feral grin, like a predator who had finally found his prey.

“I’m coming for you, Kaylee. See you soon.”

Chapter One

Kaylee

Kaylee Kringle opened her guinea pig’s enclosure, attaching the custom-made short staircase at the entrance. Pumpkin let out several excited squeaks as he raced down the wooden steps and hit the floor running, leading Kaylee into the kitchen and plopping in front of the refrigerator. His dark eyes fixed on her, and he erupted with several more high-pitched chirps that sounded a lot like Feed me, woman!

“All right, piglet, I’ve got you,” she said, opening the fridge door and pulling out the bowl of fresh veggies she’d prepared for Pumpkin the night before. She liked to let him out as much as possible so he could get exercise and not turn into a total chunk. Her treasured pet loved to eat, and so did she, noting that her hips, thighs, and breasts definitely showed the amount of takeout she’d been consuming. She’d gone from coltish to curvy, and she liked her new form.

The roar of a motorcycle outside made her jump, and she nearly dropped Pumpkin’s food. Her heart drummed in her chest as she rushed to the window just in time to catch a glimpse of the back of a solid brown winter coat and full-coverage helmet. No cut. No caramel-colored hair.

A heavy breath rushed between her lips as her guinea pig’s impatience snapped her out of the paralyzing fear, and she sighed, tsking at Pumpkin. “You are a rude little dude with an attitude, you know that, right?”

Pumpkin beat her to his enclosure, reaching for the bowl as she set it down. He dived headfirst to gorge himself on goodies, making her laugh. Kaylee removed the stairs and fastened his enclosure, earning a grunt of indignation from the rodent.

“I’m sorry, but last time I let you run amok all day, you chewed several corners of the kitchen cabinets, and this is a rental. I can’t afford for you to be naughty.”

Pumpkin crunched loudly on a lettuce stem in response, and she imagined that was a guinea pig’s version of fluff you.

“I’ll see you in a few hours, bud.”

Enthusiastic chewing from the enclosure was the only sound in the room as Kaylee headed for the door. She stepped out of her small two-bedroom house and locked the deadbolt. As she descended the stairs, she sucked in a deep breath of cold Idaho air. The weather officially turned a few days before Halloween, and all the trees in every yard along her quiet street were bare, their leaves now covering what had once been green grass with brown and yellow foliage. The first snow of the year could fall any day, and Kaylee couldn’t wait to see the town of Holiday blanketed in white. This was her second Christmas here, but she hadn’t arrived until a few days before the last one and missed all the festivities leading up to Christmas Eve. Kaylee knew she couldn’t get too comfortable, but still, being here was the happiest she’d been since …

A lump formed in her throat as she finished the thought. Since living with Elasia.

Kaylee pushed down the raw emotions that threatened to claw their way to the surface at the thought of her best friend, Elasia Gutierrez, and focused on the world around her as she made her way into the heart of town, watching the handful of people outside on an early Friday morning. It was the busiest shopping day of the year, but her boss, Dana Summers, opted to open Heart Stop Coffee Shop at eight instead of its usual seven. She’d figured people would be tired from Thanksgiving and early Black Friday shopping and need the extra hour to rally for more. Thus, Kaylee was free to walk through town as the sun’s glow crested over the mountain, falling over Holiday with a golden hue.

“Hello, Kaylee!”

She jerked from her musings, her heart racing at the male voice calling her name. When she twisted her head and recognized Benecio Gomez loping toward her, her tense shoulders sank with relief.

Man, I am on edge today.

He fell into step beside her and grinned. “Did I catch you daydreaming?”

“Maybe a little! Sorry, I’m not awake yet.”

“No worries,” Benny said, a slight accent giving his words a lyrical lilt. His dark hair was long, tucked behind his ears and curling around his neck. His face was clean-shaven, and his eyes were a soft brown. He was only an inch or so taller than Kaylee, with wide shoulders and muscular arms under his tan work jacket. “You headed to work?”

“Yeah, Dana wanted to open a little later today. I think she went to the city to shop and didn’t get back until early this morning.”

“Have you started Christmas shopping yet?” he asked.