Chapter 1 1

The sound was not the wind.

Della Reynolds knew the difference between the gale threatening to tear the aluminum roof off her trailer and the heavy, wet thud of a body hitting the earth outside. She lay frozen under her thin, scratchy blanket. Her heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic rhythm that drowned out the rain lashing against the metal walls.

Another crash of thunder shook the floorboards. The single lightbulb in the kitchenette flickered once, twice, and then died, plunging the cramped space into absolute darkness.

Della moved. She didn't think; she just reacted. Her bare feet hit the cold linoleum as she slid off the mattress. She dropped to a crouch, her breath shallow and controlled. Years of living in the shadows of society, of being the invisible girl in the trailer park, had taught her one thing: silence was survival.

She reached under her pillow, her fingers brushing the cold canister of pepper spray, but she bypassed it. Pepper spray was for drunks who got too handsy at the diner. This felt different. This felt like death.

She crawled toward the kitchenette, her hand sweeping the counter until she found the handle of the butcher knife. It was cheap steel, but she kept it sharp. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped it.

A metallic screech tore through the air. The lock on the flimsy door was being forced.

Della backed into the corner between the fridge and the stove. She raised the knife.

The door flew open. Wind and rain exploded into the trailer, bringing the smell of ozone and wet dirt. A figure stumbled in, silhouetted by a flash of lightning. He was a shadow carved from violence, not a neighbor seeking shelter. The thought solidified with chilling certainty: he was a monster.

He was huge. He filled the doorway, his shoulders brushing the frame. He took one step inside and collapsed to his knees.

A groan, low and guttural, escaped him.

Della saw the dark stain spreading across his midsection before the lightning faded. The smell hit her then-copper and iron. Blood. So much blood.

"Get out," she screamed, her voice shaking despite her best efforts. "I'm calling 911!"

The man on the floor stopped moving. He didn't cower. He didn't beg. He laughed. It was a wet, dark sound that made the hair on Della's arms stand up.

He pushed himself up. It shouldn't have been possible with that amount of blood loss, but he rose like a dark tide, inevitable and terrifying. His movements were slow, deliberate, and he began to advance toward her corner, using the sound of her voice as a beacon in the pitch black.

Della scrambled for her phone on the counter, but her hands were trembling too hard. The device slipped, clattering onto the cheap rug.

A heavy boot slammed down on it. The crunch of glass and plastic was sickeningly final.

Della looked up. Another flash of lightning illuminated the room.

He wasn't wearing a ski mask. His face was exposed. Hard jaw, dark stubble, eyes that looked like shattered flint. He was handsome in a way that promised violence. And he was looking right at her.

Della swung the knife.

It was a desperate, vicious arc aimed not randomly, but with the instinct of a cornered animal-driving low toward the dark stain on his abdomen. It was the only target she could be sure of. He caught her wrist mid-air. His grip was like a steel trap, crushing the delicate bones. She gasped, her fingers springing open involuntarily. The knife clattered to the floor.

He yanked her forward. Her chest collided with his hard, wet tactical vest. The smell of blood was overwhelming now, mixed with rain and expensive leather.

"You saw me," he rasped. His voice was deep, rough like gravel.

Della stared at him, her pupils blown wide. "I won't tell," she whispered. "Just go."

"Too late."

Sirens wailed in the distance. They were getting closer.

The man, Darius, seemed to make a calculation. His eyes dropped to her neck, then back to her face. He didn't look like a man seeking refuge anymore. He looked like a man acquiring an asset.

He reached into a pouch on his vest. Della tried to knee him, to scratch his eyes out, but he spun her around with terrifying ease. His arm clamped around her throat, pinning her back against his chest.

A cloth pressed against her nose and mouth. It smelled sweet and chemical.

Della thrashed. She clawed at his forearm, her nails digging into his skin, drawing blood that mixed with the rain soaking them both.

"Breathe," he ordered near her ear. "Wrong place, wrong time, sweetheart."

The world began to tilt. The sound of the rain receded into a long, hollow tunnel.

Three men in black gear appeared in the doorway, weapons drawn. They didn't yell at him. They lowered their guns.

"Sir," one of them said. "The perimeter is breached. We need to move."

Darius didn't let go. He adjusted his grip, lifting Della's dead weight as her knees gave out. As the darkness swallowed her, the last thing she felt was the cold rain on her face and the heat of the killer carrying her into the storm.