Chapter 1

She tasted the blood again, sharp and metallic. Its salty tang flooded her mouth as grinding terror enveloped her like a dark cloud. seeping through her pores and settling deep inside her. She tried to call for help, but blood gurgled in her throat.

The policeman stood over her, his knuckles clenched white around the baton poised for another blow, his dark eyes glittering with rage. Her blood was smeared on his face. His other hand hovered over the gun holstered at his waist as he waited for her to move.

Roadside gravel dug into her palms as she pushed to her knees. “Say it again, ” the policeman demanded. “Tell me it wasn’t you. ” The words echoed in her head, growing louder and louder until they drowned out the hum of cars from the road, drowned out the frantic fluttering of her heart, drowned out everything but her fear and his rage.

Tory woke with a start and opened her eyes, looking around the dark room with an unfocused, disoriented gaze. There was no traffic. It wasn’t dusk on a Chicago expressway. She was alone, the only sound in the room the pounding of her heart. She struggled to sit up, the residue of fear filling her mouth with a bitter taste. Her left hand automatically reached for her face, but she felt nothing except a small, thin scar high over her cheekbone. There was no blood and no pain.

“You were dreaming again,” she whispered as she slowly laid down in the bed. “Only a dream.”

She smoothed her hand over her face one more time and told herself to go back to sleep as she lay tense and rigid under the down comforter. Taking a deep, trembling breath, she inhaled the faint aroma of cleaning solution overlaying the old, musty smell of the house and the more distant scent of pine. She tried to ignore the frantic thudding of her heart, but she finally sighed and slid out of bed. She knew from experience that she wouldn’t get to sleep easily after the dream.

Padding to the window, she looked out at the surrounding woods. The moon was a thin sliver in the clear, dark sky, its weak light barely illuminating the endless forest surrounding her. The dense, dark north woods seemed to go on forever here in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Everything looked different at night, she thought, resting her fingers against the cool glass as she stared into the darkness. But instead of the tranquillity she expected to feel from the silent forest, a sense of unease slowly stirred. The tall pines felt closer than they had this afternoon when she’d moved into the house. Swaying gently in the slight night breeze, their dark green branches almost seemed to be reaching out for her, beckoning her to come closer. Urging her to hurry to something waiting for her there. Fear twisted in her stomach as she stood at the window, unable to move.

Energy hummed from just beyond the edge of the woods, thick and dark and coiled like a rope. Waiting for her. Calling her name with its pulsating waves.

Hypnotized, she watched until a night bird screeched somewhere in the trees and broke the spell. Stumbling backward, she shook her head and reached for her robe.

“Honestly, Tory,” she chided herself. “What’s the matter with you, anyway? You should be grateful there are trees outside your window instead of gangbangers and knife fights.” Her voice echoed against the bare walls, its faint tremor mocking her.

It was the stress of moving and all the problems associated with opening the clinic that had triggered the dreaded dream, she told herself as she walked down the wooden staircase in the old house. That’s all. There was nothing outside her window besides trees.

The third stair from the bottom squeaked, the noise unnaturally loud in the dark, quiet house. She froze. Looking into the still living room, she searched the shadows for a moment then forced herself to continue.

Flicking on the light, she glanced at the woods again and pulled the curtain firmly closed. She hated the shiver that shot up her spine, hated the fear she couldn’t seem to control. Hated knowing that everything in her life had been out of control for the past several months.

They were only trees, she told herself again. There was nothing menacing about them. It was all because of the dream. The dream had dredged up memories she’d tried hard to suppress, and it wasn’t surprising that the fear had transferred itself to the first thing she’d seen.

She went into the kitchen and brewed herself a cup of tea, carefully avoiding looking out the bare window. Carrying her tea out into the living room, she sat on the couch and picked up a veterinary medical journal she hadn’t had time to read because of the move. If that couldn’t put her to sleep, nothing would.

 ***

She jumped when she heard the pounding on her front door, dropping her magazine onto the floor. She must have fallen asleep, she thought blearily, looking around for a clock.

It was four in the morning. Slowly she looked at the door, wondering if the knocking had been her imagination. Hoping it had. Bending, she picked up the magazine and clutched it to her chest, never taking her eyes off the door. When it reverberated with another knock, she stared at it for a moment then slowly stood. Panic washed over her.

She’d taken three steps away from the couch when she bumped into a stack of her textbooks sitting in a haphazard pile on the floor. Without taking her eyes from the door, she bent and picked one up. Her hands, slippery with sweat, could barely hold onto the thick volume. As a weapon it was a pitiful choice, but she hugged it to her as she forced herself to take one more step toward the door.

“Who is it?” she asked, barely managing to push the sound past the lump of dread in her throat.

“Eagle Ridge police. Are you all right in there?”

The deep male voice penetrated the heavy door, surrounding her with its authoritative tones. Curling her fingers more tightly around the book, hating the instinctive terror that made her shake, she stood rooted to the floor. “I’m fine,” she said.

There was a pause, then the man standing on her porch spoke with a touch of impatience. “Would you mind stepping closer to the window so I can see for myself?”

“It’s four o’clock in the morning. Why are you here?”

“I saw your lights and wanted to make sure nothing was wrong.”

Tory edged toward the kitchen and the telephone, catching a glimpse of a shadowy figure through the lace curtain at the window. The faint moonlight glinted off the star on his chest, and the sight made her stomach clench with fear.

“Nothing was wrong until you showed up. Go away!”

A loose board on the porch squeaked, then his face appeared in the window as he peered into her living room. Terrified, she ran into the kitchen and picked up the phone. Her hand shook so badly she barely managed to punch 911. As she stood in the kitchen, trembling, waiting for someone to answer the phone, she heard a recorded voice telling her to hang up and try her call again.

The receiver slipped from her hand and crashed to the floor as she tried to replace it in its cradle. Before she could dial again, the man on her porch spoke, his voice louder and edgy. “If you don’t want to come closer to the window, at least turn on your porch lights.”

“I told you, I’m fine. Please leave!” She heard the desperate fright in her voice and despised her weakness, but the nightmare was replaying itself in her head, and this time she knew she was wide awake.

“I’m not going to leave until I see your porch lights go on.” He sounded implacable and much too close. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she eased across the room to the front door and flicked the switch that controlled the lights outside.

“Thank you.” His low voice reverberated around her, and she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to ease the chill. After a moment she heard his footsteps on the porch stairs, retreating. From a long way off, he said, “Leave them on for the rest of the night.”

A car door slammed and gravel crunched as he drove slowly away. Forcing herself to the window, she saw a large black four-wheel-drive vehicle on the driveway. On the side door was the insignia of the Eagle Ridge police department. Tory stood at the window, watching, until it turned onto the road and vanished into the shadows of the trees.

The breeze riffling through the pines surrounding her house sounded like a whisper of laughter.

***

Tory’s eyes burned and her head throbbed as she stood in the door of her veterinary clinic several hours later, watching her first client leave. “Goodbye, Mrs. Taylor. Give me a call if Frisky doesn’t feel better in a few days,” she said, forcing a smile onto her face.

The bright sun made her head ache even more and she turned and walked into the building, glad her next client wasn’t due for a little while. A mostly sleepless night wasn’t the way she’d planned to prepare for her first day back in Eagle Ridge.

She was cleaning her exam room when she heard a car outside the building. Assuming that her next appointment was early, she tried to gather her composure as she walked into the reception area. The busier she was, she told herself as the front door opened, the less time she’d have to brood about the night before.

Tory’s hand tightened on the counter and her welcoming smile froze in place. She fought her instinctive flinch of fear at the sight of the police officer’s uniform and forced herself to look at the man’s face instead.

His dark hair was too long and carelessly combed. His face was all angles and planes, his cheeks scored with deep clefts. Eyes the color of pewter watched her, their expression carefully controlled.

“Can I help you?” she forced herself to ask, licking dry lips.

“Dr. Falcon?” His voice was deep and slightly husky and sent a shiver down her spine. She gripped the counter more tightly.

“Yes, I’m Tory Falcon. What can I do for you?” She glanced around for his pet, carefully avoiding looking at his uniform.

He waited silently until she was forced to look at his face. Holding her gaze, he stepped forward and extended his hand. “I’m Holt Adams, the police chief here in Eagle Ridge. I need to talk to you.”

Reluctantly she offered her hand. His palm was unexpectedly warm as it slid against hers, and she practically jerked away from him, startled at the strength of his grip.

Wanting to take a step backward, to put some distance between them, she forced herself to stand still. “What can I do for you, Chief Adams? Is there a problem with the clinic?”

He looked startled for a moment, then he smiled. It was only a small curving of his lips, but Tory felt as if someone had knocked the wind out of her. His smile transformed his face, softening its harsh lines and turning his eyes into burnished silver. Her pulse quickened as she stared at him, fascinated by the change and unable to look away.

“This isn’t about your clinic,” he answered, his gaze flicking over the bare walls of her reception room before returning to her. “And I don’t have a pet.”

“Then why are you here?” Tory asked. Her words sounded rude, but she didn’t care. After the previous night, she didn’t want to have anything to do with a police officer. Especially one who looked and sounded like this man in front of her.

“I need to apologize, first of all.”

“Apologize? For what?” Tory asked in a cautious voice.

“I scared you last night.”

Remembered terror swept over her at his words. “That was you at my door last night?” she whispered, staring at him.

“Yes, it was.” The cool look he gave her didn’t have much regret in it. “I was patrolling the area and saw your lights on, and I wanted to make sure you were all right. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“You terrified me,” she said, welcoming the rush of anger that temporarily banished her fear. “Don’t ever do anything like that again.”

“I won’t have to.” His gray eyes held her gaze steadily. “The next time you’ll know who I am.”

“There better not be a next time, Chief Adams,” she warned. “I don’t like anyone coming to my door at four o’clock in the morning. I don’t care who they are.”

“I’ll do whatever I think is necessary to protect the people who live in this town. That’s my job, and I take it seriously.”

“I’m sure the city council will be pleased to hear that, but why did you single me out? Or do you check on everyone in town?”

“You’re new to Eagle Ridge, and you’re isolated out here.” His voice was even, and his gaze didn’t waver. “Not many people are up at four o’clock in the morning.”

“I guess city habits die hard.” Her cool tone matched his. “Now that you’ve apologized, I’ll have to ask you to excuse me. I have work to do.”

When she tried to step away from him, he put out his hand and touched her arm. His fingers barely brushed her skin, but the crackle of electricity that shot up her arm stunned her into immobility. Slowly she looked at him, seeing his uniform again, and her sudden sensual awareness of him faded as the fear rushed back. She jerked away from his touch.

“That wasn’t the only reason I came out here today.” His low voice strummed some chord hidden deep within her. “I wanted to make sure you knew about what’s been happening in Eagle Ridge.”

As she stared at him, waiting for him to continue, he seemed to move closer to her. Her heart twisted, a tiny balloon of fear swelling in her chest at the sight of his guarded eyes. “What’s been happening here?” she whispered.

His eyes changed, hardened. “There have been two murders in Eagle Ridge in the past month and a half.” His voice was blunt and without expression. “One was a tourist, a young woman named Carrie Stevens who stayed here for a couple of days. The other was Sally Phillips, the postmaster.”

Tory could feel the blood pooling in her chest, expanding and hardening into a lump of horror. “Murdered? Two people?” She stared at the man in front of her, desperate to hear that she’d misunderstood. “Are you sure it was murder and not an accident? I don’t think there’s ever been a murder in Eagle Ridge.”

“There has now,” he said, his voice grim. “No one gets their throat cut accidentally.”

“What—” Stopping herself before she could ask for more details, she bit her lip, took a deep breath and started again. “I appreciate your telling me about this. I can assure you I’ll be very careful to lock my doors and windows at night.”

“I think you should do more than that.” He leaned toward her, and again she fought the urge to back away. “Get a dog, get a roommate or leave town, at least until we’ve caught the person responsible for the murders.”

His words were so unexpected that she stared at him. “Leave? I can’t do that. I bought this business, and I can’t just pick up and leave it.”

“Is this business worth your life?” His silver eyes blazed at her, holding her motionless. “I don’t think you understand, Dr. Falcon. No one in Eagle Ridge is safe, as far as I’m concerned. I couldn’t find any connection between the tourist who was killed and Sally Phillips. Both murders appeared to be completely random. If I were a single woman of your age, I’d put as much distance as I could between myself and Eagle Ridge.”

Passionate intensity seemed to flow from him in waves. It surrounded her with hot energy, making her pulse race. When she found herself swaying toward him she jerked backward, horrified. She deliberately looked away from him, letting her gaze wander around the reception area. Her reception area.

She welcomed the anger that stirred at his presumption. “But you’re not me, are you?” she pointed out coolly. “I have no intention of abandoning my business. Are you telling everyone who lives here to leave Eagle Ridge?”

“Of course not. But I’m telling them all to take precautions. Can you at least move into town until whoever killed those two women is caught?”

“No, I can’t. This is my home now, and I’m sure I’ll be perfectly safe. After all, the murders can’t have anything to do with me. They happened before I was even living here.”

Hearing her own words, she relaxed slightly. The two women were killed before she’d bought Dr. Westbrook’s practice. And what she’d told this cop was true. She wasn’t going to leave. She couldn’t. She had come home to Eagle Ridge to exorcise her demons, because that was where they had started haunting her. She’d be damned if she would run away again.

“The murders don’t have anything to do with me, and I’ll be sure to be careful,” she said with more confidence than she felt. “So you see, you don’t have anything to worry about.”

He stared at her. She was five feet eight inches tall, but he seemed to tower over her. “You’re wrong, Dr. Falcon,” he said, his voice quiet and grim. “I have a lot to worry about. And if you won’t take some precautions, you’re one more thing to add to the list.”

“I’m not leaving.”

“Are you living out here by yourself?” The look in his eyes changed, the color deepening until the silver became smoke.

Tory felt a faint heat creeping up her neck at the intensity in his gaze, and told herself fiercely that it didn’t matter. “Not that it’s any of your business, but yes, I’m living here alone.”

Something flickered in his eyes, and she felt herself warming again. “These buildings are very isolated. There’s no one within a mile of you.”

“That’s one of the reasons I wanted to live here.” She forced a cool tone into her voice. “I used to live in Chicago, Chief Adams. After a life filled with traffic, sirens and crowds of people, I’m looking forward to the solitude.”

“I used to live in Detroit, Dr. Falcon, so I know exactly what you mean. Just remember, sometimes solitude isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.” Pain shimmered in his eyes for a moment, then was gone so quickly she wondered if she’d imagined it.

She was unable to look away from him. The top of her head only came to his chin, and his broad shoulders blocked out the light from the window behind him. His tension seemed to wind around her, drawing her closer to him. Like bottomless pools, his silver eyes hid all sorts of secrets.

Suddenly she wanted to know what those secrets were. She wanted to know why a policeman from Detroit would come to a small town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, a world completely different from the urban jungle he was used to. What was he running away from? And what was he looking for here?

“You must have known I wouldn’t leave. Why did you even bother to ask?” she asked him, watching his eyes.

He stared at her for a long moment before looking away. “I don’t want anyone else to get hurt. This type of murderer picks on women who are alone, and you certainly fit that description.”

“What do you mean by this type of murderer?” she asked, a new chill rippling up her spine.

He was silent for so long that she didn’t think he was going to answer. Finally he turned to her with an intensity that disturbed her. “I was a homicide detective in Detroit and I’ve seen more than my share of murders. Enough to have learned a few things. After seeing the victims of these murders and looking at the crime scenes, I don’t think this guy is finished. And I’m worried about you.”

“Why me?” she whispered. “There are several hundred other people living in this town.”

“None of them are young women living by themselves, away from other people. And none of them are new to the area, without friends and family here.”

“I’m not new to the area. I grew up here.”

“I know that. I also know that you haven’t been back since you left town when you were eighteen. That was thirteen years ago.”

“I was back this summer when I decided to buy this practice.” She heard the defiant tone in her voice and struggled to subdue it. She didn’t have to prove anything to Eagle Ridge’s police chief.

“I know that, too.” His voice was steady. “But you kept to yourself and didn’t talk to many people. Don’t try to convince me you have a lot of close personal friends here in Eagle Ridge, Doctor, because you won’t succeed. You’re essentially alone out here, and as the person charged with public safety in Eagle Ridge, that worries the hell out of me.” His hand fisted in his pocket.

“How do you know so much about me?” she asked, watching him with another burst of fear. It sounded like he’d done a lot of checking on her. He’d been prying into her life.

“I make it my business to find out about things before they become a problem.”

“And you think I’m going to be a problem?”

He looked at her, the expression on his face frightening. “I hope not, Dr. Falcon. I damn well hope not.”

Gravel spit against a car in the parking lot, the popping noise unnaturally loud in the silence. Tory drew in a deep breath and stepped away from him. “It sounds like my next appointment is here,” she said, glad for the excuse to busy herself behind the reception desk.

Before he could answer, the front door opened and an older woman walked in, clutching a small dog. “Tory Falcon, I swear I would have recognized you anywhere,” she cried. “Do you remember me?”

The woman was the mother of one of her high school classmates. Tory’s smile was strained. “Of course I do, Mrs. Brooks. Why don’t you go on into the exam room and I’ll be with you in a minute.”

Once she’d closed the door to the exam room, Tory turned to Holt. “I’m afraid I’ll have to say goodbye, Chief Adams.” She drew in a deep, steadying breath. “As you can see, I have a patient waiting, but thank you for coming out to talk to me. I appreciate your thoughtfulness.”

He ignored her formal words and opened the front door, waiting for her to precede him. His other hand curled around his belt, close to his baton. Tory swallowed hard, looked at the closed door of her exam room, then followed him outside. She stood with one hand on the doorknob.

“Agatha Brooks is the town gossip,” he said, once the door was shut behind them. “I don’t want to be overheard.” Turning slowly, he looked at her house, surrounded by trees. As she followed his gaze, an eerie feeling stole over her, the same feeling she’d gotten the night before when she woke from the dream in the darkness. Even now, in the daylight, she shivered as she looked at the trees.

“Remember what I said.” Holt spoke abruptly. “And if anything bothers you, anything at all, call me. I’ll be here in minutes.”

Tory thought again of the dream and shuddered as cold fingers of fear traveled up her spine. Somehow she didn’t think he’d meant her nightmares. And a policeman was the last person she’d turn to for comfort from that particular horror.

“Don’t worry, Chief Adams,” she managed to say in a level voice. “I’m no hero. If I hear anything, I’ll be on the phone to the police.”

Holt turned to look at her. His gaze seemed to examine her, to peer into her soul. She felt exposed, as if he was probing for all her secrets, and she looked away abruptly.

“Call me Holt,” he said, surprising her. “I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot of one another.”

She spun around to look at him again, but he’d turned away and was climbing into his truck. As she watched him drive slowly from the clinic, his car seemed to slow down and almost come to a stop as he passed her house. Almost as if he was memorizing the details of it. Her stomach gave a funny lurch as she watched him. Then, with a spurt of gravel, he sped up, turned onto the highway and was swallowed by the endless trees.

Tory stood for a long time, staring at the place where he’d disappeared. It wasn’t until the door of the clinic opened and Mrs. Brooks stuck her head out, calling, “Yoohoo, Tory, is everything all right?” that she turned and walked toward the low building.

Forcing Holt Adams out of her mind, she plastered a smile on her face. “Everything’s fine, Mrs. Brooks. What can I do for Bosco today?”

***

Holt eased his foot off the accelerator and loosened his grip on the steering wheel as he sped toward the town of Eagle Ridge. Tory Falcon had surprised him. He hadn’t expected her to have so much steel in her backbone. From everything the people in Eagle Ridge had told him about the girl they remembered, he’d expected the new veterinarian to be a meek, mousy woman. Instead, she hadn’t backed down once. Not even when she’d wanted to.

He hadn’t missed the fear in her eyes when she looked at him. A fear that had grown, not diminished, when he’d introduced himself as the new police chief. And he hadn’t missed the way she’d straightened her spine and looked him in the eye as she battled that fear.

Why was Dr. Tory Falcon afraid of him? He gripped the steering wheel more tightly as he sped down the two-lane road shadowed by the towering trees. And why was it suddenly so important for him to find out?

He hadn’t given any woman a second thought for more than two years. A simple evening of pleasantries had been too painful to contemplate, let alone anything resembling intimacy. The last thing he’d expected this morning as he drove out to her clinic was to be attracted to the new veterinarian in Eagle Ridge. It was the last thing he wanted.

But he remembered the way she’d held her tall, willowy body all too well, could recall with painful intensity the way his fingers had itched to free her dark red hair from the braid that hung halfway down her back. His immediate, visceral response to the woman had shocked him. A woman, if her deep green eyes were any indication, with her own share of ghosts haunting her.

Thinking about her house and her clinic, standing alone and isolated among the trees, made him press down a little harder on the accelerator. It was happening all over again. The ugliness he’d thought he’d left far behind in Detroit had followed him to this town, and now other women were threatened. He had hoped to banish those memories forever, washing them away in the peaceful, uncomplicated life of a small, rural community.

He slowed down when he spotted the figure trudging along the side of the road. Even from a distance he recognized Bobby Duvall.

Bobby, the son of the former police chief of Eagle Ridge, had been determined to follow in his father’s footsteps. When the city council hired Holt instead, Bobby had quit the police force and turned his rage on his rival. Even though there hadn’t been any outright confrontations, Holt knew it was only a matter of time.

By the time he reached Bobby, the car was moving at a crawl. When the other man looked at the car, Holt let his gaze travel over him. Bobby was tall and meaty, his golden blond hair gleaming in the mottled sunlight.

Holt held his gaze and slowly tipped his hat. Bobby stared at him for a moment, his eyes even smaller than usual as they glittered with rage. Then he spit on the ground and looked away.

Holt watched him for another minute, then pressed the accelerator and drove away.

When he saw the first two houses on the fringes of town he slowed down again. Their old frame sidings were gray and weathered, but they clung to the rocky soil as if they’d sunk roots far below the surface. They reminded him of the rest of Eagle Ridge. Barely holding on by its fingernails, it prayed every year for a lot of snow and the accompanying skiers. In the economically depressed Upper Peninsula, tourism was the difference between starvation and barely scraping by.

As he drove slowly past the shops in the downtown area, with their desperately cute signs and names, he wondered again why he’d chosen to come to this particular place. With his record in Detroit he could have gone almost anywhere. He’d been interviewed in more prosperous small towns in lower Michigan, in areas with thriving industries and healthy economies. But once he’d come here, to Eagle Ridge, all the other places had faded away like they’d never even existed.

Maybe it was because this town reminded him too much of himself. Its faith was gone, and hope was nothing more than a flicker in the distance. The only difference was that in Eagle Ridge hope was renewed every year, hinging on the snowfall predictions for the winter. For Holt hope was only the remote possibility that time would dull the pain and guilt.

He pulled up in front of the small building that housed the Eagle Ridge police station, strode into his office and tossed his hat on the desk, then reached for the coffeepot. As he took a long drink of the thick, muddy liquid, the dispatcher stuck her head in the doorway.

“Don’t get too comfortable, Chief. I just got a call from the veterinary clinic. Sounds like they’ve had some trouble out there.”

Holt set the mug of coffee on his desk very carefully, trying to ignore the rush of fear that swept over him. Pulling out his gun he checked it thoroughly before sliding it into the holster. Then, reaching for his hat, he strode out the door to his truck. He was doing fifty miles an hour before he hit the edge of town.