It was the last thing Rachel remembered before waking with the hounds of hell trying to claw their way out of her skull. Not to mention that her mouth felt like a sock had been stuffed inside it. Garnering what little moisture she could, she ran her tongue over teeth that felt like the fuzzy outside of a peach.

Every inch of her body hurt, and she groaned, one hand reaching up to cup her sore, scratchy throat. She shifted in an effort to ease the aches, realizing as she did that the bed had seemed far plusher and more comfortable last night – not so scratchy and worn or… foul-smelling.

A chill in the air caused goosebumps to dot her arms and legs, making them feel like the gravelly road to her grandpa’s house. Someone must’ve cranked the air conditioner to its maximum. Maybe Anna could convince the guy from last night to turn it off. And grab her a warmer blanket.

Hushed, frantic whispers she couldn’t quite make out forced her to crack one eye halfway open. The gloom of a dimly lit room greeted her, so she willed the other eye to join its partner, which it did, but with an effort.

Ignoring the needling pain shooting through her temples, she shook her head at the unfamiliar surroundings… and the four shocked faces staring back at her – none of whom were Anna.

Chapter Two

Monday, May 20

It had been a long, exhausting weekend – in fact, it had been a long, exhausting six weeks for Detective Alyssa Wyatt, so she was more than just a little ready to dive headfirst back into work. Not that she was excited about the possibility of another missing person, but at least it gave her mind something else to focus on besides her last case.

Climbing out of her car, she spotted her partner Cord Roberts standing at the precinct door, politely holding it open for her. Ever the gentleman. ‘How did it go?’ he asked as soon as she was within hearing distance.

Her jaw clenched. It was referring to her quick weekend trip to Indiana where she had buried the cremains of her deceased brother, Timmy, who had been kidnapped when he was only four years old. For the past three and a half decades, she had believed him dead, only to discover that not only was he very much alive, but he was in fact the serial killer responsible for the string of gruesome, torturous murders of several young women that she had been investigating. After discovering his true identity, Timmy, known then as Evan Bishop, devised a plan to exact revenge on Alyssa and her family for what he perceived as Alyssa’s failure to save him as a child. The first part of that plan came in the form of Bishop impersonating an officer, telling her son she’d been badly injured in an accident and he was there to rush Isaac to the hospital, and kidnapping him when Isaac climbed into the car.