Page 2 of Fatal Betrayal

"It was a hill. Did you see that car that almost hit me? I think it was your brother's car."

"I saw a car; it wasn't my brother's. He's at a concert with Will. He probably won't be back until midnight. I can't wait until I'm eighteen and don't have to be back in the house by eleven on weekends."

She thought he was lucky his parents cared enough to give him a curfew, but he wouldn't appreciate that. Instead, she said, "I'd like to go to a concert. My mom says I'm too young." She let out a sigh. "I'm so tired of being too young."

He laughed. "You'll get there."

"Hey, you're only six months older than me," she reminded him.

"Yeah, and I've already been to a concert," he bragged.

She rolled her eyes. "Only because you have an older brother. I had to be an only child."

"Sometimes, I wouldn't mind being an only. Monica is a pest," he said, referring to his younger sister. "And Kyle—well, he's Kyle."

She nodded. His older brother definitely had some issues, but he wasn't a bad kid, just a little weird. She was about to get back on her bike when sirens pierced the air. A moment later, two police cars raced past them, coming to a screeching halt at a house around the corner.

"What's that about?" she asked. "Let's check it out."

"Andi, wait," Cooper said.

But she was already on her bike, riding around the corner and down the block. Five houses in, she saw the cars had stopped in front of the Montgomery's house. Mrs. Montgomery was in the yard. She was crying and the nanny, Gemma, had her arm around her while Mr. Montgomery talked to the police.

Another police car pulled up as neighbors came out of their houses, including their friend TJ Lassiter, who lived next door to the Montgomery's home. The red-haired, freckle-faced kid saw them on the sidewalk and came over.

"Do you know what's going on?" she asked.

"I heard Mrs. Montgomery yelling that Hannah is missing," TJ said. "They were all running around the yard. Mr. Montgomery pounded on my door. Scared the shit out of me. I didn't know what was going on. I let him in our side gate and went in the yard with him to look for her, but I didn't see her. She's a baby. How could she have run away?"

"She's not a baby; she's two," Andi said, her heart pounding against her chest at the thought of Hannah being missing. She'd babysat Hannah last weekend, and she was a sweet little girl with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a big smile. How could she be gone?

"She must have gotten out of her crib," TJ said. He paused. "Hey, there's Will." He waved to his older brother, who was walking down the street.

"What's happened?" Will asked.

"Hannah is missing."

"Like she's lost?" Will drawled. As he moved closer, Andi wrinkled her nose. He smelled like weed. Actually, both he and TJ smelled like that, which was becoming more and more the norm with those two.

"Like someone took her," TJ said.

"We don't know what happened," Cooper interjected. "I'm sure she's somewhere. She's just hiding."

"Hannah loves to play hide-and-seek," she said, having firsthand knowledge of Hannah's love of the game on the times she'd babysat for her when the nanny had the night off. "That has to be it. They'll find her soon."

As they all turned toward the scene, she reached for Cooper and grabbed his hand. For a second, she thought he might pull away, and then he tightened his fingers around hers.

"It's going to be okay," he told her.

She really wanted to believe him.

CHAPTERONE

Present day…

Andi Hart woke up in a sweat, rolling over in bed as the morning light streamed through her window Tuesday morning. She hated when Cooper and Hannah invaded her dreams, because all their lives had changed forever on that summer night. She should have stopped reliving that horrific event by now, but the memories always came back. She knew why they had returned now, because today was her official first day back in Los Angeles after a very long absence.

She drew in a breath and slowly blew it out, trying to calm her still-racing heart. As she glanced at the clock, she realized it was almost nine, and her never-ending nightmare had made her late for work. Scrambling out of bed, she hurried into the bathroom, taking the fastest shower of her life. She hated to be late under any circumstance, but today was especially bad. She was starting her new job as an agent on Flynn MacKenzie's FBI task force.

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