Page 1 of Hidden Depths

Chapter1

Sara’s eyes opened,meeting the dark.

Her lips closed around her breath as she strained to catch the sound that had woken her, but all she could hear was the familiarthwapof water against the boat.

She breathed again. In through her nose and out through her mouth as she forced her eyes closed, refusing to give in to the fear that always met her in the predawn hours.

But her pulse didn’t recede as she fought for calm, so she focused on the progress she had made since moving here. She no longer kept a knife under her pillow, and she hadn’t slept under her bed in over a year. She’d also gotten better at fooling herself.

With a feigned groan, she pretended to be frustrated. A pretense that helped to lift her confidence. A little.

Continuing with her pseudo-bravery, she threw back the blanket and stood by her bed listening to the sound of her thready breathing before gaining the courage to move again.

The boat creaked, and her toes curled against the warm vinyl floor.

“I’m not afraid. Not anymore.” The sound of her voice both startled her and broke through the veil of discomfort that had grown in her stillness.

All week, she’d been intent on making it to the bathroom without turning on the lights as proof that she had mastered her fear. But that victory would have to wait until another morning.

Her hand skimmed the wood-paneled walls as she went, reaching for all the switches as she passed them until the houseboat was fully lit, washing out any chance of the pink glow that would soon creep in from the rising sun.

In the bathroom, she locked the door, even though she lived alone, and turned on the shower.

The five years of safety that lay behind her refused to overcome the tragedy of her past and the man she’d been hiding from.

It didn’t matter that he was locked behind bars. He knew people. He knew a lot of people. And he’d made a promise to her, not in words, but by the confident smirk that had played on his lips while he’d stared her down across the courtroom. He didn’t have to say anything. Not then. Because he’d already made it clear even before his arrest.

While she’d sat on the couch in her parents’ house covered in someone else’s blood, he’d explained the situation to her very carefully, taking his time because he could. Because no one was coming to rescue her.

He could have killed her if he’d wanted to. Instead, he’d played with her, running the barrel of his gun down the side of her face. Tracing the line of tears as her body shook in terror.

Even standing in the steaming bathroom, her mind forced her back into another place and time.

“I think I’ll let this one live,” he said to a man who stayed in the shadows. She heard the man’s laugh but never saw his face, only the snake-skin boots he wore and the gold Rolex that glinted in the lamplight as he held his hands clasped in front of him. He didn’t even bother pulling out the gun she could see attached to his hip.

“Did you hear me?” the murderer said when she didn’t respond.“I’m gonna let you live, sweetheart. What do you think of that?”

“Why?” Her voice wobbled as a sickly metallic smell filled the room.

“It’s more fun that way. You like fun, don’t you? You have fun at that college of yours? You go to parties, maybe drink a bit too much. Yeah?”

She licked her lips; then puckered as she tasted blood. It was splattered across her whole body, already stiffening on her face.

“Please,” she said.

“Please what?”

But she didn’t know. She wanted to beg him to let them all go, but it was too late. She was the only one left.

“Please…kill you?”

“No,” she squeaked. Her bottom lip quivered uncontrollably as he moved closer to her face.

“Good. ’Cause I want you towantto live. It’s important to me. And you’re going to do me a favor,” he whispered. “You’re never gonna speak a word of this to anyone. Right? You won’t tell anyone that I was the one who killed them, will you?”

She squeezed her eyes shut.

“Look at me!” he yelled, and she obeyed. “Promise me you won’t tell anyone that you saw who killed mommy and daddy. That’s going to be our little secret. Do you think you can do that for me?”

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