Page 1 of The Perfect Obsession
PROLOGUE
Caroline Sheffield tried not to get agitated.
After a long day at work and a tiresome business dinner with a demanding executive, she was already more frustrated than usual.And then to find the front door of her Hancock Park home slightly open?That was beyond irritating.
As she stepped inside, she didn’t know who to blame.Was it her housekeeper, Rania, who was notorious for forgetting to lock the door when she left, but usually at least shut it all the way?
Or was it one of the painters who’d started work today, sprucing up the front of the house for when she put it on the market next month?She’d kept it for this long out of nostalgia, but with the divorce, she no longer needed a place this big.She and her ex, Jordy, had used these painters before, and they had a bad habit of leaving the front door open after borrowing the bathroom.Whoever it was, she was going to have some words with someone tomorrow.
As she stepped inside and locked the door behind her, she felt anxiety rise in her gut.Even though she was a successful marketing executive, she still hated conflict.She didn’t want to ream out anyone, not Rania nor the painters.
Jordy used to be the heavy in these situations.But he wasn’t around anymore, and this was her home, with lots of valuable—in some cases irreplaceable—items.Besides, after her last conversation with him, she didn’t want his help, even if he offered.
It was only at that moment that Caroline considered the possibility that someone might have already taken advantage of the open door to rob the place.The foyer looked untouched.But instead of going straight into the living room to relax, she did a walkthrough of the other rooms just to make sure.Everything seemed to be in the right place.
Satisfied, she went to the kitchen for a glass of water, then settled in on the living room couch.She’d been making a concerted effort to do more reading lately, rather than just fritter away her evenings, doomscrolling.And even though it was almost 10 PM and she was tired, she decided to at least read a few pages.
She took a sip of water, then picked up the book from the coffee table and settled back into the couch, trying to get as cozy as she could.After a moment, she could feel her whole body unclench.She sighed happily.
She read for a minute and was just about to turn the page when a shadow passed over the book.She started to glance over her shoulder when she saw movement.Something swung over her head suddenly and then came up under her chin.
She was about to scream.But before she could, something tightened around her neck.As it began constricting her throat, she realized that it was her own pink scarf.Her eyes started to water.She heard herself gag as she fully realized what was happening.
She was being choked.
CHAPTER ONE
Jessie Hunt lay in bed, enjoying the feeling of sweat.
She glanced over at the clock.It was already after 7 AM.She and her husband, Ryan, were in danger of being late to work.She still had to shower, and Ryan wasn’t out of the bathroom yet.Their morning session of naked calisthenics had put them behind schedule, but it had been well worth it.
With everything going on lately, they hadn’t reconnected in a little while, and she’d missed the intimacy.She heard the shower turn off in the bathroom and reluctantly sat up to grab her robe.
This morning would never have been possible—at least not with the vocal enthusiasm they’d shared—if Hannah had been in the house.But her 19-year-old sister had been staying with Jessie’s best friend, Kat Gentry, for the last month.
They’d all agreed it was the wise move.After Kat, a private detective, had informed them that hitwoman Ash Pierce had recently been scouting their house in a limousine with tinted windows, they knew they had to make a change.
Last summer, Pierce had been contracted by a murderer that Jessie helped put away to torture and kill both Kat and Hannah, all as a way to make Jessie suffer.They’d managed to turn the tables on Pierce and catch her.She’d spent months in jail, awaiting trial, but then escaped.
Since then, Pierce had been bouncing around the southwest, trying to stay ahead of both the law and Kat, who’d made it her mission to recapture the woman.But once it became clear that Pierce was no longer hiding, but rather stalking, something had to be done.
Jessie’s house was already a veritable fortress.It had to be, as a result of her work as a criminal profiler.With multiple killers she’d taken down having vendettas against her, she’d set up an elaborate security system at her house that involved everything from fingerprint identification to steel doors to a panic room.She and Ryan—who was notjust her husband but also Detective Ryan Hernandez of the LAPD—had obtained permission from the city to install surveillance cameras at various locations on their street and in the wider neighborhood.
But after learning about Ash Pierce’s recent visit, they’d amped it up beyond even that.The home security system now includes a retinal scan.Additional cameras were installed along their street, enabling real-time facial recognition.If Pierce showed up again and was identified by the system, Jessie, Ryan, and their station’s police captain, Gaylene Parker, would get immediate alerts.
That was all well and good, but it wasn’t enough to assuage Hannah’s concerns, and Jessie understood why.Ash Pierce had tried to kill her on multiple occasions, and though Hannah would never admit it out loud, she was clearly still traumatized by the experiences.Trying to sleep in that house when it had been specifically targeted by Pierce was nearly impossible.Plus, there was her ankle.
It had been badly sprained a month ago when she’d scrambled up a mountain while fleeing from a college classmate that she thought she was on a pleasant overnight hike with.It turned out that the guy, Dallas Henry, was a closet incel and acolyte of a serial killer named Mark Haddonfield, whom Jessie had captured.
Henry spent months luring Hannah into complacency and something approaching a crush, all the while plotting to kill her as payback for Jessie catching him in the act.Hannah had managed to get away from him, but had injured her ankle in the process.It was clear that she wasn’t confident that she could defend herself if Ash Pierce came calling.
So Jessie suggested that she stay with Kat for a while.Hannah jumped at the chance.After all, Pierce had been hunting for Kat, too.That was why, while the hitwoman was on the run, Kat had relocated to a new office and apartment.With Jessie’s help, both were rented under pseudonyms, making it difficult for Pierce to find her.If Hannah stayed at her place rather than Jessie’s Mid-Wilshire area home, she’d be hidden, too.
But the arrangement did come with a downside, one Jessie knew her sister found depressing.Hannah had been doing an informal summer internship with Jessie’s specialized investigative unit, Homicide Special Section, particularly with HSS’s research team.Since Pierce was aware of where the unit was located—at LAPD’s downtown Central Station—that meant that she could conceivably stalk Hannah there.
So she’d been staying almost exclusively at Kat’s apartment, rarely going out.She helped the P.I.out, doing research for some of her cases.But she’d been mostly apartment-bound, even after her ankle improved.Jessie was worried about her.
She stood up, put on the robe, and walked over to the bathroom to see if she could get in soon.As she did, she silently acknowledged one other uncomfortable fact.The time apart may have been good for her and Hannah because of the whole Finn Anderton situation.Before she could ponder that mess any further, Ryan opened the door.He was only wearing a towel.
