EXCERPT FROM SILENT FALL ...

Prologue

Golden Gate Park, San Francisco

She was going to die. The terrifying thought made her stumble, her spike heel catching in a crack in the pavement. She fell forward, breaking her fall with her hands. Tiny pebbles of cement burned into her hands and her knees. For a moment she was tempted to quit. She was so cold and so tired, but if she stopped now, he'd catch her, and there would be no tomorrow, no second chance.

Forcing herself back to her feet, she pulled off her broken shoes and headed deeper into the park. The grass was wet beneath her feet, the midnight fingers of fog covering everything within reach with a damp mist. Her hair curled around her face as the wet spray mixed with the tears streaking down her cheeks..

She'd never been a crier, but this was too much. She'd never felt so alone or in such mortal danger. Everywhere she turned, he followed. She couldn't seem to get away. How did he keep finding her?

Even now she could hear the footsteps behind her, the crack of twigs, the sound of a distant car. Was it him?

She probably should have stayed on the city streets, but she'd thought the tall trees and the thick bushes of the park would offer her protection, a place to hide. Now, she realized how desolate the area was at night. There were no phone booths, no people, no businesses to run into. She was completely on her own.

She gasped and stopped abruptly as a shadowy figure came out of the bushes. Her heart thudded against her chest. The man walked toward her, one hand outstretched. His clothes were old and torn and his face was covered with a heavy beard. He wore a baseball cap and had a backpack slung over one shoulder. He was probably one of the homeless people that set up camp in the park at night. Or maybe not ...

"Hey baby, give me a kiss," he said in a drunken slur.

"Leave me alone." She put up a hand to ward him off, but he kept moving forward.

"I'm just being friendly. Come on now, sweetheart."

Turning, she ran as fast as she could in the other direction, hearing him call after her. She didn't know if he was following her or not, and was too terrified to look, so she left the sidewalk and pushed through the bushes, looking for a little corner of the park in which to hide. Her side was cramping and her feet were soaked. She desperately needed to find some sanctuary. The branches from the bushes scraped her bare arms and her cheeks. It was so dark in the heavy brush that she could barely see a foot in front of her. The tall trees and the fog had completely obliterated the light from the moon.

Fortunately, she had her hand out in front of her when she ran into a cement wall that arose several stories in the air. She must have hit the side of one of the buildings in the park. Straining to listen, she could hear nothing but her own ragged breathing. Maybe she was safe, at least for the moment.

Leaning back against the cold cement, she tried to catch her breath, to think of her next move, but she didn't know what to do. She was out of options.

How had she come to this? Running for her life and all alone? This was not how it was supposed to go. This was Dylan's fault. He'd put her in this situation, and dammit where the hell was he?

But she couldn't wait for him to rescue her. She had to find a way out on her own. She couldn't let things end like this. She'd fought for her life before, and she’d won. She would do it again.

Her heart stopped as a nearby branch snapped in two. A confident male whistle pierced the silent night. Whoever was coming didn't care if she heard him or not. The bushes in front of her slowly parted. Terror ran through her body. There was nowhere left to run.

Chapter One

Two days earlier -- Lake Tahoe, Nevada

"Are you drinking to your brother's happiness or to the demise of yet another bachelor?" Catherine Hilliard asked.

Dylan Sanders ordered a shot of Jack Daniels as he considered the woman sliding onto the next barstool. Catherine had cleaned up pretty well since their first meeting six weeks earlier. There were no paint spatters on her clothes today, and she'd covered up her bare feet in a pair of high heels. She wore a gorgeous, sexy black dress with a low cut halter-top that showed off her beautiful breasts. He loved the way the freckles danced across her chest. He had the sudden urge to see if she had freckles all over her body.

He tugged on his tie, feeling tightness in his chest at the very bad ideas flooding through his brain. Catherine was an old friend of his new sister-in-law, and as such was off limits, not to the mention the fact that she was a little on the crazy side with her passion for painting gruesome pictures and her claim that she was psychic. Catherine had helped him get Sarah and Jake back together, and for that Dylan was grateful, but he didn’t intend to have any kind of personal relationship with her.

"Hello," Catherine said pointedly. "You're staring."

"You're stunning," he replied, unable to stop the words from crossing his lips.

She gave him a quick smile. "That's a good start to the conversation. The wedding was lovely, didn't you think? Jake and Sarah make a good match. I think they have a chance."

"A chance, huh? That's an enthusiastic endorsement," he said dryly, hearing the same note of cynicism that echoed through his own head.

Catherine shrugged. "I haven't seen a lot of happy marriages in my time."

"Neither have I. So, how have you been? Painting a lot?"

"Every night. I even painted you."

He raised an eyebrow. "No kidding? Do I want to see it?"

Her smile widened. "Maybe I'll show you some time."

"I don't get down the coast much." Catherine lived in San Luis Obispo, three hours away from his apartment in San Francisco, which provided a nice buffer zone. He had to admit she'd crossed his mind more than once in the past six weeks, but fortunately he had been busy with his work as an investigative reporter for KTSF News in San Francisco.

Catherine accepted a glass of champagne from the bartender. "I brought the painting with me. I wanted to work on it some more. I'm staying here at the lodge for a few days. The mountains are beautiful. The air is clear and fresh, and everywhere I look the view is dazzling. It’s not the ocean, but the lake has a peacefulness about it, a depth and a secrecy that appeal to me.”

Dylan didn't see the lake the way she did, but he had always enjoyed Tahoe. For years he and Jake had come to the lake with friends or family members to escape the overbearing presence of their father, who luckily never left the city. Dylan wasn’t surprised Jake had wanted to get married here. It was a good start to his new life, although Jake and Sarah wouldn’t be staying in Tahoe long. They were taking a late night flight to Hawaii to begin their honeymoon.

"What about you?" Catherine asked, interrupting his thoughts. "Are you staying past the weekend?"

"I leave in the morning."

"Are you sure?"

His gaze narrowed. "What does that mean?"

Her dark blue eyes grew mysterious. "Do you remember what I told you about the two women entering your life? It starts here."

What starts here?" he began and then quickly backtracked. "You know what -- I don't want to know. I don't believe in your psychic visions. I'm sorry. That's just the way it is."

"I understand," she said, raising her glass to her lips.

He didn't like the look in her eyes. He told himself to forget what she'd said. She was just trying to yank his chain.

Someone took the seat on the other side of him. A waft of familiar perfume made his head turn. The brunette gave him a big smile. Damn, he was in trouble.

Catherine leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Be careful, Dylan. She's one of them."

"Who's the other one?" he asked as she walked away. Catherine didn't reply. It didn't matter. He had a feeling he already knew the answer. But he would not let Catherine’s words get him going. He’d just finished solving one mystery. He had no intention of starting another one.

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(To read an excerpt from SILENT RUN, which features the brother of the hero of SILENT FALL, Click HERE)