Page 1 of Security Breach

CHAPTER ONE

Emma Tucker sat up, heart drumming against her ribcage. In the darkness of her bedroom, she listened in utter stillness, waiting, praying the noise was the house settling. Seconds ticked away with nothing but silence in her small, temporary home. Must be her imagination. Again.

She sighed as her heart rate settled into a normal rhythm, frustrated with herself. How many times had weird noises in the night startled her awake in the past 18 months? More than she wanted to remember.

Emma rolled onto her side, eyes burning with unshed tears. She longed to go home, but couldn’t. How soon would the FBI catch the serial killer who murdered her family and still scoured the country looking for her?

Her gaze shifted to the backpack propped against the wall within easy reach. Inside was money, false ID, two charged disposable phones, two changes of clothes, and a gun along with two magazines filled with ammunition. She prayed she never had to use that weapon.

Emma tried to sleep, but the effort failed. She sighed. Time to make herself a mug of hot tea.

Wood creaked.

She sat up, heart in her throat. That wasn’t her imagination. She recognized the noise. One wood plank in the hallway always groaned when she stepped on it.

Thankful she’d slept dressed to run, Emma slid out of bed, jammed her feet into her tennis shoes, grabbed her jacket and pack, and hurried to the closet. Her bedroom door was already locked, saving her time. Silently closing the closet door behind her, Emma turned the lock and hurried to the entrance of her escape route.

After punching in the code, the door unlocked with a soft snick. Knowing the intruder would arrive at her bedroom door in seconds, Emma ducked inside and relocked the entrance.

She rushed through the small corridor, careful to keep her pack from brushing the sides of the narrow enclosure lest the noise give her away. After two hundred feet, the corridor angled downward to another entrance, this one blocked by a steel door with another access code.

Emma entered the number, twisted the knob, and slipped into the interior of the second tunnel.

She locked the door and ran. Was the Butcher responsible for her late-night visit or was this a run-of-the-mill thief? Either way, the Marshals would have to move her again.

Fury at the unfairness of her situation filled her. While she hid in fear for her life, the serial killer roamed free, targeting and killing more people. The Butcher had killed her parents and sister. Her grandfather, Isaac Watts, was her only living family member. Even though she would give anything to return home to Maple Valley, she didn’t want the killer to hurt her beloved grandfather.

Emma swiped at the tears trickling down her cheeks. She also didn’t want the man who owned her heart to be in danger because of her. If he was home. A Navy SEAL, David Montgomery served his country with skill and dedication, and was frequently deployed.

Someone must have told David about the deaths of her family and her disappearance. Her heart clutched anew at the knowledge that David must think she was dead. She’d begged the Marshals to contact David and her grandfather. They’d refused, saying their safety depended on them believing she was dead.

Emma reached the tunnel exit, a cave on the far side of the hill behind her house. She had a short window of time to disappear into the darkness. If the Butcher had found her again, he wouldn’t stop until he ran her to ground unless she eluded him now.

Knowing the path by heart after multiple practice runs, she sprinted toward the cave entrance. Stopping near the opening, Emma forced herself to wait and listen. Nothing, including a lack of normal night sounds.

Dread built inside her. Not good. Someone was out there. Was the person close enough to harm her? She couldn’t hover in the cave entrance in indecision. Praying she wasn’t making a huge mistake, Emma dragged on her jacket and shrugged into her pack.

Time to go. As soon as she found a safe place, she’d call her handler and request an extraction. She eased to the entrance and peered out. Nothing moved in the still night, but her skin crawled.

Emma jogged down the hill, sticking to the shadows as much as possible. Ed Rafferty, her handler, had insisted she practice escaping from the house in daylight and at night in case something like this ever happened. She’d listened, and his advice was paying off in spades now.

When she reached the tree line, Emma turned left and ran toward the center of Rock Harbor. Five places were designated as safe havens. All she had to do was reach one and call Rafferty. Emma jogged toward the first destination on her list.

The coffee shop on Main Street was closed for the night. Why was a 24-hour coffee shop closed? Dismayed she scanned the hand-written note on the door as she walked past en route to her second choice. No water on the one night she needed to get lost in a crowd.

Emma turned left at the next corner and hustled toward Mel’s Diner. The parking lot was more full than usual. She breathed a sigh of relief. Perfect. She’d be able to blend in with the crowd while waiting for Rafferty to arrive.

She walked inside the diner and headed toward the back of the restaurant. Emma slipped inside the women’s restroom, breathing easier now that she was away from the large windows at the front of the diner.

After confirming that she was alone, Emma slid her pack from her back and grabbed one of her phones.

A moment later, Rafferty’s deep voice sounded in her ear. “Rafferty.”

“It’s Emma. I’m in trouble.”

“Where are you?”

“Mel’s Diner.”

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