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  Prologue

  Ten years ago

  Shell Ridge, California

  It had been a long night on patrol. Marlee removed her hat and smoothed back the curls that just wouldn’t stay out of her face. She’d had a bad feeling all day that she couldn’t shake. She blew out a breath as she replaced her hat and waited for her partner, Ron Carter, to park the car. No sooner did he shut off the engine than she was out of the vehicle and making a beeline for the precinct.

  “I won’t take offense,” Ron hollered good-naturedly after her.

  She lifted a hand and threw a glance over her shoulder at him. Ron had been on the force for over twenty years, but he loved what he did. And he was a good cop. “Sorry, Carter. I’ve had enough of your face today,” she teased.

  His laugh followed her into the building as she finished the last of her duties and hurried to change so she could get home. Halloween had always been a special time for her and her twin sister, Macey. For as far back as she could remember, the two of them had always dressed up and given out candy. It was a Frampton family tradition that their parents had passed on to them.

  Marlee pulled up to the small house she shared with her sister. She couldn’t stop smiling as she grabbed the bag next to her purse. Marlee glanced inside at the tiny costume within. It was the first of many she intended to buy for her future niece that was due in a month.

  She had a hop in her step as she walked to the back door of the house. When Macey had gotten pregnant, and the father wanted nothing to do with her or the baby, Marlee had insisted that she and Macey should raise the baby together. As twins, they were rarely apart. It was the perfect solution. Macey had agreed, and from then on, they hadn’t looked back.

  “Mace, I’m home!” Marlee shouted as she turned the locks behind her and then tossed her keys in the bowl next to the back door. She set her purse down as well as the bag. “Mace? You in the bath again? I bet you’re stuck. Again,” she said with a chuckle as she walked through the kitchen and living room to the stairs.

  When there was still no answer, Marlee frowned. “Macey?” she shouted again.

  Fearing the worst, Marlee ran up the stairs and looked in all three bedrooms as well as the bathroom, but there was no sign of her sister. Marlee took in a calming breath and realized that her twin had probably been unable to sleep again and was out front.

  Marlee made herself calmly walk down the stairs and open the front door. But the second she found the chairs on the porch empty, her heart began to pound with dread. She closed and locked the door and ran to her purse to look for her cell phone, hoping against hope that her twin had sent a text and that Marlee had somehow missed it. Maybe Macey was in early labor. It happened.

  “Please let it be something like that,” Marlee murmured to herself as she dug out her phone, though the knot that had been in her stomach all day intensified.

  There was no text from Macey.

  Marlee’s hands shook as she called her sister. It rang and rang and rang before going to voicemail. Marlee called three more times before she gave up and dialed the hospital. She heard what felt like an eternity of rings before someone finally picked up. “I’m looking for my sister, Macey Frampton. She’s eight months pregnant, and I need to see if she’s been admitted.”

  Marlee closed her eyes, that bad feeling from earlier intensifying with each second, and every beat of silence on the other end of the line.

  “I’m sorry, ma’am. There’s been no one admitted by that name,” said the woman.

  Marlee disconnected the call. Her heart thumped so loudly she could feel it slamming against her ribs. She looked down at her phone and dialed the precinct. Their town was small. There was crime, but nothing like in the big cities.

  Why then did she feel as if that were about to change?

  “Sergeant Adams,” said a deep voice when the line connected.

  “Hey, Sarge. It’s Marlee. I’m probably freaking out for nothing, but Macey isn’t home or at the hospital. I—”

  “Frampton, I need you to listen to me carefully.”

  The moment Adams spoke, the room began to spin. Marlee had been a police officer for three years now. She knew exactly what those words meant.

  “Marlee? Can you hear me?” Sergeant Adams’ voice pierced the fog descending around her. His tone held a note of anxiety—and sorrow.

  She swallowed, grabbing hold of the table that held her purse. Macey had found the console at a garage sale and lovingly sanded it down to the bare wood before painting it with swirls and stars. Her sister had a gift for sure. She could pick up a paintbrush and create anything.

  “Yes,” Marlee answered, realizing she had to reply.

  “Ron is out front, Marlee. You need to let him in.”

  The phone dropped from her numb fingers as she looked through the house to the front door. The outline of a man could be seen standing there as blue and red lights flashed behind him, shining through the windows to dance on the walls.

  The last thing Marlee wanted was to answer the door. She wanted to rewind the day and start again, this time listening to that feeling within her so she could change whatever this was.

  But she couldn’t do that.

  Marlee made her way to the door as if walking through quicksand. Her hand was clammy and slipped on the knob as she tried to turn it. Finally, the door swung open, and she looked into her partner’s brown eyes.

  In that instant, she knew that this wasn’t just bad. It was the worst kind of horrible. Her knees started to buckle, and Ron was instantly beside her, his arm wrapped around her to hold her up. Marlee squeezed her eyes closed against the tears that threatened.

  “I tried to stop you before you left,” Ron said. “But you were already driving off.”

  It took her two tries before she found her voice. “What happened?”

  “You should sit down,” he urged.

  “What happened?” she demanded, her voice louder as she leaned her head back to look at Ron’s aging face.

  His brown eyes lowered to the floor for a heartbeat before he drew in a deep breath. “Macey was attacked.”

  “Attacked? What does that mean? Is she hurt? What about the baby?” There were so many questions, and she wanted all the answers immediately.

  But Ron didn’t answer. He just looked at her.

  Marlee shook her head and tried to pull out of his arms, but her partner wouldn’t let her go. “I’m sorry, Marlee.”

  At those words, the dam burst, and the tears fell. She hated herself for them because she needed to be strong right now. She was a cop. She knew exactly what was going on, but not even that could help her rein in the bone-deep sorrow that filled her.

  “Take me to her,” Marlee demanded as she sniffed and looked at Ron through her tears.

  His dark brows snapped together as he shook his head. “You don’t need to see her.”

  “Take me to her, or I’ll
go myself.”

  “Goddamn stubborn woman,” Ron mumbled under his breath.

  But his hand was gentle as he placed it on her back and led her out of the house. Marlee spotted another patrol car, and two more officers guarding her place. They wouldn’t meet her gaze. She kept her attention on putting one foot in front of the other to get to the car, but once inside, her mind raced with the kinds of horrors that could’ve befallen her sister.

  The ride to the crime scene was short—and silent. Ron kept glancing her way, but she remained facing forward. She spotted the flashing lights well before they got close. As much as she wanted to know what’d happened, she was also terrified of the knowledge.

  In the short time she’d been a police officer, she had witnessed all kinds of things—including stabbings, shootings, and murder. She didn’t know most of the people, but occasionally, she found herself at a house with someone she knew. Those were the worst calls to take. And it was the reason she didn’t want to get out of the car now.

  “You don’t have to do this,” Ron said as he shut off the engine.

  “Yes, I do.”

  Before she changed her mind, Marlee opened the door and stood. The cool night air brushed against her tear-streaked face. She dashed the drops away, but more took their place. Marlee walked to Ron, who waited on her at the front of the vehicle. Together, they approached the scene. Yellow tape was everywhere. Marlee spotted four different detectives talking to people and taking notes.

  The cops on scene went silent the moment they spotted her. She steeled herself as Ron lifted the tape, and they ducked under it.

  “Sorry, Frampton,” someone said as she walked past.

  Others also spoke, but she stopped hearing them the moment she saw the white sheet covering the body on the ground. She stumbled, but Ron was there to keep her upright. Those standing around Macey’s body moved away. The forensic team stopped snapping pictures and gathering evidence.

  Marlee halted before she got too close to her sister so as not to contaminate the crime scene. The sheet didn’t cover the blood that had seeped out to pool around Macey. The streetlight nearby blinked, and a breeze rushed through, lifting the edge of the sheet near Macey’s head to reveal a long, auburn curl.

  “How?” Marlee asked when she found her voice.

  Ron swallowed. “This can wait.”

  Marlee speared him with a look. “How?”

  “Evidence is still being gathered, but from what has been pieced together so far, your sister went for a walk. A witness said a van pulled up beside her and yanked her inside. Then, her body was found here.”

  Macey wasn’t stupid. She wouldn’t have left the house after dark—or without her cell phone. “She was taken during the day, wasn’t she?”

  “A witness told us it was about two hours after you went to work.”

  Marlee’s stomach roiled at the thought, recalling the dread that had overtaken her all day that she had pushed aside. “What did they do to her?”

  “They took the baby then slit her throat,” Ron said, his voice low and filled with misery. “Her phone was with her, but just out of reach. It appears she tried to grab it, but the blood loss likely made her too weak.”

  The fury that welled within Marlee was staggering. “And the baby?”

  “We’ve put out an APB and given the information to the Feds, as well.”

  That got Marlee’s attention. “The FBI? Why?” Then it hit her. “The infant kidnappings in LA.”

  “We think it might be connected,” Ron said. “Over the past three weeks, two other pregnant women were killed in the same way as Macey. Their babies were also taken.”

  His voice faded away as Marlee returned her attention to her sister. The image of her twin lying dead upon the street with a sheet over her would be something forever stamped in her mind. Marlee was going to have to tell their parents and make funeral plans, but really, all she wanted to do was find the bastards who had killed Macey and tore her baby daughter from her womb so violently.

  Marlee had a mission now, and nothing would dissuade her from it.

  Chapter 1

  Present day

  Clearview, Texas

  Damn, it was a cold one, and it was only November. The worst months had yet to come. Cooper blew warm air onto his hands and rubbed them together as he finished changing the tire on his mother’s car.

  “I told you I could get someone to come out and do that,” Betty Owens said from the front step, huddled in a jacket.

  He glanced at his mom. “I’m more than capable. There’s no need to waste money when I’m here.”

  “But you have a life, Cooper.”

  He finished tightening the last lug nut and straightened before he flashed her a smile. “What? You don’t want to see your handsome son?”

  “Oh,” she said with a roll of her eyes as she scoffed at him. “Get inside. Your breakfast is getting cold.”

  Cooper put away the tools and hurried into the warm house. He watched his mom moving about the tiny kitchen as he removed his coat and washed his hands. It was the same house he’d grown up in. He’d pushed her to make some improvements over the years to keep it up to date, and though she’d put up a fuss, she was also glad when the upgrades were done.

  “What happened this time?” He pulled out a chair at the bar and eyed her, knowing his mom.

  She shrugged. “It was a nail.”

  “I saw it. I’ll take the tire over to have it patched.”

  His mother sat beside him and began spreading strawberry jam on her toast. She took a bite and swallowed it before she set it down with a huff. “Fine. Last night, coming home from work, I swerved when an owl flew across the road.”

  Just as he’d suspected. He put his hand on her arm. “Mom, I love animals as much as you, but you need to be more careful. If it’s your life or theirs, then I’d rather you be safe.”

  “Your father used to tell me the same thing,” she replied with a sad smile. “I’ll be more careful.”

  “Thank you.”

  Cooper went back to eating, shoveling the eggs and bacon into his mouth. He could cook, but there never seemed to be enough time. More often than not, he stopped off at the café and grabbed his meals. It was just easier that way. But, man, did he miss his mother’s cooking.

  He was lucky enough to be close friends with Brice and Caleb Harper, as well as their sister Abby, who was married to Clayton East. The Easts had the largest cattle ranch in the area. Luckily, Abby loved to cook, and there was always food whenever he and Jace dropped by. Which was often.

  “Anything new going on in your life?” his mom asked.

  It was her not-so-subtle way of asking if he was dating. “Still single. I’ve got too much going on to find time to date.”

  “Life is too short, honey. You should use your time more wisely,” she admonished.

  He grinned. This wasn’t the first time she’d told him such things. He could throw it back at her that she had been single for over eighteen years now, but he didn’t. His father had been the love of her life. And even though it had been many years since his father’s death, Cooper remembered how good life had been back then.

  Being a single mom wasn’t easy, but his mother had never complained. She picked up and carried on. Though she’d cried in her room at night, thinking Cooper hadn’t heard her. He never told her he knew of her suffering, and he never would. She had wanted to carry that alone in silence, and he gave her that.

  “If I’m meant to find someone, I will,” Cooper said.

  His mother’s green eyes met his. “Son, you’re a good man. There is absolutely someone out there for you.”

  “If you say so.”

  “I do.” She finished the statement with a nod of her head.

  Cooper went back to his meal. He was nearly done when the back door opened, and Jace walked in. The two had met in kindergarten and had become immediate best friends. The friendship had lasted through high school, college, and even the militar
y before they both returned to the small Texas town and their two other best friends, Caleb and Brice Harper.

  “Mornin’,” Jace said and flashed Cooper’s mom a bright smile.

  Her face lit up at the sight of him. “Jace. I’ve fixed plenty, so you should have enough to eat.”

  It was a well-known fact that Jace ate everything in sight. He was always eating.

  Jace gave her a kiss on the cheek before he grabbed a plate and piled it high with food. Then, he sat and jerked his chin to Cooper. “Hey.”

  Cooper swallowed his bite and lifted a brow. “Well?”

  Betty’s eyes widened. “Well, what? I know that tone from Coop,” she said with a pointed look at Jace. “Does that mean you had a date last night?”

  Jace shrugged and began shoveling food into his mouth.

  “It does,” Cooper said with a sigh.

  Betty smiled. “That’s great. Did it go well?”

  Again, Jace shrugged—which was code for I don’t want to talk about it.

  Cooper drank down his orange juice and reached for the coffee. “Mom swerved to miss an owl last night. I’ve got to take the tire in to be patched. This is the second one in four months. At this rate, I should just buy stock.”

  “Sounds like it,” Jace said with a chuckle.

  Cooper looked into his friend’s hazel eyes that crinkled in the corners. Jace had been down of late, and no amount of prodding made him give anything up. Cooper was really worried about him, but if Jace didn’t want to talk, Cooper could do nothing but be there when his friend needed him.

  Jace pushed his clean plate away and poured himself some coffee, dumping copious amounts of sugar in. “You know what today is, right?”

  “I do,” Cooper replied.

  Betty perked up. “Is it today? I must have gotten my dates mixed up. I thought it was tomorrow.”

  “Nope,” Cooper said with a smile. “It’s today. You going out to the Rockin’ H later? Or would you rather I pick you up?”

  Betty rolled her eyes and got to her feet. “I don’t need to be driven around. Not yet, at least,” she stated with a wink. “And, of course, I’m going to the ranch. After everything Brice and Naomi have endured, I’m happy to celebrate with them.”