The Hidden

After all, two people had been brutally murdered just where the mountain rose to meet the Conway Ranch. She shouldn’t be alone.

But she was exhausted, so exhausted that she didn’t even take off her clothes as she pitched down on the bed.

It wasn’t over, she thought. Not for her. Lieutenant Gray had said so.

But Diego was coming. He had said that he would, and he was always true to his word.

She thought she would never sleep, as her distraught mind kept going over the events of the day.

The pictures on her camera...

And then two people dead just like the people in the photos...

And then she’d been interrogated. The kid who had never stolen so much as a piece of gum.

To her amazement, her eyes finally closed and her mind began to shut down. She was just so tired.

But her dreams were troubled...

Blood was everywhere in her mind’s eye. She could see the dead, and they could see her. She felt their eyes, and the intensity of their regard sent chills up her spine...

Restless, she awoke. She walked into the kitchen and made herself a cup of chamomile tea. At the kitchen table, she sat sipping it, listening. The museum was quiet. The door below was locked.

Diego would be here soon.

She finished her tea, walked to the window and looked out. Everything was peaceful.

Bizarrely peaceful, given what had happened there in the woods.

And as she stood there, she felt once again that she was being watched.

She told herself that was foolish. “I am alone,” she said into the empty air.

The feeling persisted, but she forced herself back to bed, leaving the door to her room ajar so that she could hear anything that went on in the museum.

Surprisingly, she fell asleep easily, and so deeply that she was untroubled by dreams.

The next thing she knew, she heard birds.

She smiled slightly, waking up. It was nice here, that sound of birds in the morning, with the feel of the sun, strong and warm at this time of year.

She opened her eyes, feeling as if everything would be all right.

Then she realized someone was standing at the foot of her bed, and a scream tore from her lips.

She stopped with a gasp when she saw who that someone was.

The decidedly not-alive statue of Nathan Kendall was staring down at her.





3

Diego wondered why he had ever turned down an invitation to join the Krewe of Hunters.

By 6:00 a.m. he was aboard a private plane with Brett Cody, along with Krewe agents—and lovers—Meg Murray and Matt Bosworth. They were flying out via a friend of Adam Harrison’s, the man who had established and still ran the Krewe. Nothing they were doing was official yet—and might never be, Matt had reminded him. Until the local authorities asked for their help, they couldn’t officially give it, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t run their own investigation.

That was one of the greatest assets of the Krewe. Their purpose was to investigate when there were strange and otherworldly elements to a crime, but they operated independently, beholden to no one and able to operate freely.

All Diego really knew was that he was incredibly grateful that he had been able to ask for assistance, and that it could so quickly and easily be granted.

“Adam will be coming out himself,” Matt had told Diego earlier. “Estes Park is apparently one of his favorite places in the world. He’s a major supporter of our national parks, and Rocky Mountain National Park is one of his favorites.”

Diego was glad to have a seasoned agent like Matt on the case. Meg was still new—not even a year out of the academy—but she was a rising star, and since the Krewe had its own rules, their personal relationship was no barrier to the two of them working together.