Page 1 of Cold Light of Day

Prologue

SOUTHEASTALASKA

MAY

Inever should have come.

What was he even doing here? What had he been thinking?

I’m an idiot!

He wasn’t so stupid that he couldn’t admit he was lost. Dusk was almost on him, and if he didn’t find his way back to civilization soon, he could very well die.

Kenny thought back to his uncle’s open invitation to find refuge at his place in the mountains. The man often bragged about “wild” Alaska. Eagles. Bears. Bigfoot. Spawning salmon. Whatever. Kenny wasn’t much of a fisherman, but he could learn to fish. What better place than Alaska? Or he could hike on a glacier. Take up dog mushing.

“You can escape what holds you back, son. Here in Alaska—the world is at your feet,” his uncle had said.

And like the proverbial fool on an errand, Kenny had finally decided to take his uncle up on that offer and purchased a one-way ticket to surprise him. With its record-breaking snowfall, his hometown of Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula couldn’t be that different than Southeast Alaska. Could it?And since Kenny had spent half his life on a snowmobile, he could make his way around the snow-covered Tongass National Forest, a temperate rain forest, the same way.

He’d worked up a sweat hiking, and the cold wind whipped around him, cutting between the layers of his fleece-lined winter jacket. With the lush evergreens covered in fresh snow, early May seemed like winter. The frosted forest closed in around him as he hiked on the snowshoes he’d brought from Michigan.

He’d taken the snowmobile up the road and thought he could continue up the trail, but the vehicle had gotten stuck.

Stuck!

Of all the stupid things to happen. He couldn’t believe it. That was on him. He shivered and glanced at his cell phone. No signal, but he hadn’t expected one.

Still...he should have made it to his uncle’s by now. Had he missed an important marker? The man had sketched him a map, for crying out loud. Kenny pulled the drawing out of his pocket and clumsily held it in his gloved hands. All he’d had to do was follow the trail. Andthatwas the problem. The path had kind of disappeared with the heavy snowfall today. Another blast of wind whipped over him along with huge flakes, reminding him that his life was in jeopardy if he didn’t find his way back—and soon.

A sliver of fear slid through him, cutting deep.

If he backtracked down the mountain, he might run into the main road again. And if he died out here?

Mom is going to kill me.

Now, too late, he could easily see the big mistake he’d made. He’d allowed emotions to drive his decision to come to Alaska, but this wasn’t the first time he’d been impulsive.

A gunshot cracked the air.

He stopped in his tracks. That sounded close. Heart pounding, he stood perfectly still. A hunter out looking for dinner?He started hiking again and picked up his pace, hoping he’d run into someone who could help.

Then, through the trees, he spotted a man in a black ski mask. Nothing unusual about the cold-weather garb . . . except . . . he stood over a woman in a bright-pink parka.

She lay on her back. The man pointed a pistol at her head and shot her point blank. Instantly, her blood turned the white snow crimson.

And Kenny’s blood turned to ice.

Move, move, move.

Panic exploded in Kenny’s chest, the glacial air knifing through his lungs.

I have to get out of here.

Kenny headed away from the killer.

Except . . . oh no! His tracks would give him away if the killer spotted him.

I can do this. I can survive.He willed himself to believe. He picked up the pace, going deeper into the forest. A glance over his shoulder sent dread blasting through him.

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