by Blake Pierce
A L R E A D Y
M I S S I N G
(A Laura Frost Suspense Thriller —Book Four)
B L A K E P I E R C E
Blake Pierce
Blake Pierce is the USA Today bestselling author of the RILEY PAGE mystery series, which includes seventeen books. Blake Pierce is also the author of the MACKENZIE WHITE mystery series, comprising fourteen books; of the AVERY BLACK mystery series, comprising six books; of the KERI LOCKE mystery series, comprising five books; of the MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE mystery series, comprising six books; of the KATE WISE mystery series, comprising seven books; of the CHLOE FINE psychological suspense mystery, comprising six books; of the JESSE HUNT psychological suspense thriller series, comprising nineteen books; of the AU PAIR psychological suspense thriller series, comprising three books; of the ZOE PRIME mystery series, comprising six books; of the ADELE SHARP mystery series, comprising thirteen books, of the EUROPEAN VOYAGE cozy mystery series, comprising six books (and counting); of the new LAURA FROST FBI suspense thriller, comprising four books (and counting); of the new ELLA DARK FBI suspense thriller, comprising six books (and counting); of the A YEAR IN EUROPE cozy mystery series, comprising nine books, of the AVA GOLD mystery series, comprising three books (and counting); and of the RACHEL GIFT mystery series, comprising three books (and counting).
ONCE GONE (a Riley Paige Mystery--Book #1), BEFORE HE KILLS (A Mackenzie White Mystery—Book 1), CAUSE TO KILL (An Avery Black Mystery—Book 1), A TRACE OF DEATH (A Keri Locke Mystery—Book 1), WATCHING (The Making of Riley Paige—Book 1), NEXT DOOR (A Chloe Fine Psychological Suspense Mystery—Book 1), THE PERFECT WIFE (A Jessie Hunt Psychological Suspense Thriller—Book One), IF SHE KNEW (A Kate Wise Mystery—Book 1), and MURDER (AND BAKLAVA) (A European Voyage Cozy Mystery—Book 1) are each available as a free download on Amazon!
An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Blake loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.blakepierceauthor.com to learn more and stay in touch.
Copyright © 2021 by Blake Pierce. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the author. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Jacket image Copyright Ironika , used under license from Shutterstock.com.
BOOKS BY BLAKE PIERCE
RACHEL GIFT MYSTERY SERIES
HER LAST WISH (Book #1)
HER LAST CHANCE (Book #2)
HER LAST HOPE (Book #3)
AVA GOLD MYSTERY SERIES
CITY OF PREY (Book #1)
CITY OF FEAR (Book #2)
CITY OF BONES (Book #3)
A YEAR IN EUROPE
A MURDER IN PARIS (Book #1)
DEATH IN FLORENCE (Book #2)
VENGEANCE IN VIENNA (Book #3)
A FATALITY IN SPAIN (Book #4)
SCANDAL IN LONDON (Book #5)
AN IMPOSTOR IN DUBLIN (Book #6)
SEDUCTION IN BORDEAUX (Book #7)
JEALOUSY IN SWITZERLAND (Book #8)
A DEBACLE IN PRAGUE (Book #9)
ELLA DARK FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER
GIRL, ALONE (Book #1)
GIRL, TAKEN (Book #2)
GIRL, HUNTED (Book #3)
GIRL, SILENCED (Book #4)
GIRL, VANISHED (Book 5)
GIRL ERASED (Book #6)
LAURA FROST FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER
ALREADY GONE (Book #1)
ALREADY SEEN (Book #2)
ALREADY TRAPPED (Book #3)
ALREADY MISSING (Book #4)
ALREADY DEAD (Book #5)
EUROPEAN VOYAGE COZY MYSTERY SERIES
MURDER (AND BAKLAVA) (Book #1)
DEATH (AND APPLE STRUDEL) (Book #2)
CRIME (AND LAGER) (Book #3)
MISFORTUNE (AND GOUDA) (Book #4)
CALAMITY (AND A DANISH) (Book #5)
MAYHEM (AND HERRING) (Book #6)
ADELE SHARP MYSTERY SERIES
LEFT TO DIE (Book #1)
LEFT TO RUN (Book #2)
LEFT TO HIDE (Book #3)
LEFT TO KILL (Book #4)
LEFT TO MURDER (Book #5)
LEFT TO ENVY (Book #6)
LEFT TO LAPSE (Book #7)
LEFT TO VANISH (Book #8)
LEFT TO HUNT (Book #9)
LEFT TO FEAR (Book #10)
LEFT TO PREY (Book #11)
LEFT TO LURE (Book #12)
LEFT TO CRAVE (Book #13)
THE AU PAIR SERIES
ALMOST GONE (Book#1)
ALMOST LOST (Book #2)
ALMOST DEAD (Book #3)
ZOE PRIME MYSTERY SERIES
FACE OF DEATH (Book#1)
FACE OF MURDER (Book #2)
FACE OF FEAR (Book #3)
FACE OF MADNESS (Book #4)
FACE OF FURY (Book #5)
FACE OF DARKNESS (Book #6)
A JESSIE HUNT PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE SERIES
THE PERFECT WIFE (Book #1)
THE PERFECT BLOCK (Book #2)
THE PERFECT HOUSE (Book #3)
THE PERFECT SMILE (Book #4)
THE PERFECT LIE (Book #5)
THE PERFECT LOOK (Book #6)
THE PERFECT AFFAIR (Book #7)
THE PERFECT ALIBI (Book #8)
THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR (Book #9)
THE PERFECT DISGUISE (Book #10)
THE PERFECT SECRET (Book #11)
THE PERFECT FAÇADE (Book #12)
THE PERFECT IMPRESSION (Book #13)
THE PERFECT DECEIT (Book #14)
THE PERFECT MISTRESS (Book #15)
THE PERFECT IMAGE (Book #16)
THE PERFECT VEIL (Book #17)
THE PERFECT INDISCRETION (Book #18)
THE PERFECT RUMOR (Book #19)
CHLOE FINE PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE SERIES
NEXT DOOR (Book #1)
A NEIGHBOR’S LIE (Book #2)
CUL DE SAC (Book #3)
SILENT NEIGHBOR (Book #4)
HOMECOMING (Book #5)
TINTED WINDOWS (Book #6)
KATE WISE MYSTERY SERIES
IF SHE KNEW (Book #1)
IF SHE SAW (Book #2)
IF SHE RAN (Book #3)
IF SHE HID (Book #4)
IF SHE FLED (Book #5)
IF SHE FEARED (Book #6)
IF SHE HEARD (Book #7)
THE MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE SERIES
WATCHING (Book #1)
WAITING (Book #2)
LURING (Book #3)
TAKING (Book #4)
STALKING (Book #5)
KILLING (Book #6)
RILEY PAIGE MYSTERY SERIES
ONCE GONE (Book #1)
ONCE TAKEN (Book #2)
ONCE CRAVED (Book #3)
ONCE LURED (Book #4)
ONCE HUNTED (Book #5)
ONCE PINED (Book #6)
ONCE FORSAKEN (Book #7)
ONCE COLD (Book #8)
ONCE STALKED (Book #9)
ONCE LOST (Book #10)
ONCE BURIED (Book #11)
ONCE BOUND (Book #12)
ONCE TRAPPED (Book #13)
ONCE DORMANT (Book #14)
ONCE SHUNNED (Book #15)
ONCE MISSED (Book #16)
ONCE CHOSEN (Book #17)
MACKENZIE WHITE MYSTERY SERIES
BEFORE HE KILLS (Book #1)
BEFORE HE SEES (Book #2)
BEFORE HE COVETS (Book #3)
BEFORE HE TAKES (Book #4)
BEFORE HE NEEDS (Book #5)
BEFORE HE FEELS (Book #6)
BEFORE HE SINS (Book #7)
BEFORE HE HUNTS (Book #8)
BEFORE HE PREYS (Book #9)
BEFORE HE LONGS (Book #10)
BEFORE HE LAPSES (Book #11)
BEFORE HE ENVIES (Book #12)
BEFORE HE STALKS (Book #13)
BEFORE HE HARMS (Book #14)
AVERY BLACK MYSTERY SERIES
CAUSE TO KILL (Book #1)
CAUSE TO RUN (Book #2)
CAUSE TO HIDE (Book #3)
CAUSE TO FEAR (Book #4)
CAUSE TO SAVE (Book #5)
CAUSE TO DREAD (Book #6)
KERI LOCKE MYSTERY SERIES
A TRACE OF DEATH (Book #1)
A TRACE OF MURDER (Book #2)
A TRACE OF VICE (Book #3)
A TRACE OF CRIME (Book #4)
A TRACE OF HOPE (Book #5)
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE
CHAPTER ONE
Veronica fought desperately, determined not to give up. She wasn’t going to die here. Not like this. Not today.
It was hard to move, even a little bit. Whoever did this to her had made sure of that. It started with her hands, bound behind her back so tightly that she was losing feeling in her fingers. Her ankles, too, were bound, preventing her from doing much more than shuffle around on the tiny platform she had been placed on. The gag in her mouth prevented her from crying out, from calling for help. Even if she could, she doubted very much that anyone would be able to hear her.
She had no idea where she was. She had never been anywhere like this before. It looked like an abandoned warehouse, with a few broken windows letting in light that danced through the dust. That was the only thing that allowed her to see. Besides that, the room was dim, so dark that she couldn't see to the far sides. She was sure the person who had put her here was gone, but it was so dark there could be anything out there in the shadows. It had taken her eyes a long time to adjust to the darkness, to show her the immediate surroundings and the danger she was really in.
Not that she had been under any impression she was safe. The ropes and the gag, they would have been a dead giveaway. But even if they hadn't, the third rope, the one that was around her neck, would have given her the clue.
Her last memory was simply walking to her car at home before she'd woken up here hours ago and found herself hauled to her feet. Before she could even react, before she had enough awareness of what was going on to begin to struggle, the rope was around her neck, a noose tightened until it was resting against the place where her skull met her spine. She could still feel it now, brushing against her hair every single time she moved, making her terrified gasps for breath shorter and shorter.
She knew exactly how many hours it had been that she had stood here, trying to fight the ropes, trying desperately to figure out a way out of this. She knew exactly how long, because the ticking clock around her neck told her.
That was one of the first things she had made out, as her eyes adjusted. It had been terrifying, the feeling of something clunking against her chest, not knowing what it was. She thought it might be a bomb. But that would have been unnecessary because the noose was threat enough. Instead, there was only the clock.
It was digital, more of a timer than a traditional clock. When she had finally been able to read it, moving her head and tossing the clock against her own chest until it turned the right way, she saw that eleven hours and fifty minutes had passed. Out of a total of twelve, she supposed.
She had spent over eleven hours trying to free herself.
She was finding it hard to breathe now, not because the rope was getting tighter but simply because she was so afraid for her life. There was nothing around her but the small and fragile-seeming wooden platform on which she stood. It was flimsy enough to bounce slightly when she tried to move around, and more than once she had almost stepped off the edge with her shuffling feet only to scramble backwards in horror. She knew the rope was tight enough around her neck that she would not simply slip through if she fell.
She would hang.
She would die.
There were only ten minutes left. No one had spoken to her, no one had told her what would happen when the timer was over. But Veronica wasn't stupid. She could work this out herself. The platform, it was going to drop. She was sure of that. She had been sure of it since the moment she had turned around enough, taking tiny shuffling steps and trying not to strangle herself on the rope, to see that it was hinged at one end.
It was going to drop, and she couldn't get out of the ropes.
She breathed raggedly, through sobs, barely able to see anymore. She could not reach up to wipe the dust and tears and the sweat out of her eyes. She had tried for so long to get out of the ropes that it felt like her shoulder was dislocated, her arms strained, the skin on her wrists and thumbs and fingertips red raw. There was nothing around her she could use. No sharp hooks, no nails sticking out of the wood, not even a splinter. The rope was tight enough that she could not even walk all the way to the far edge of the platform, try to hook the rope around the hinge and use that somehow. Even if she could, she wouldn't dare. She could end up triggering the mechanism that way, hanging herself before the timer even went off.
When she had had twelve hours left to go, it had seemed like she might manage it. But now she had nine minutes, and it was beginning to feel more and more like she had nothing else to risk.
She was desperate. She had to get out of here. She couldn't die, not like this. Not today. She had so much to live for: her friends, her family, her boyfriend. Her job, which she loved. There were people who relied on her. She wasn’t going to give up.
She’d been afraid. This whole time, she’d been terrified. Of falling. Of the rope around her neck getting tighter. Of so many things. But there was on fear in her mind now and one only: the fear of not getting off here before the platform dropped.
And all her other fears came secondary to that. Even the fear of great pain. Of mutilation. There were eight minutes to go. This was survival. This was it. She had to do this now.
She cried out through the gag, screaming with the force it took to push her shoulders apart one more time. She counted seconds in her head, keeping track of the time she had left. Trying to push herself to strive for longer. It felt like every muscle, every bone in her upper torso was going to pop, to sn
ap open. And her skin - the skin on her wrists - it felt like it was tearing, coming off, ripping away from her. Seven minutes. She had to keep going. It didn't matter about the pain anymore. It didn't matter about what happened to her hands. She could lose a hand. She could do this. She could lose a hand instead of her life.
Six minutes to go. She pushed, straining, her eyes squeezed tightly closed against the pain and the dust in the air and the tears that streamed from them, still screaming raw and horse, her throat scrubbed until it was a mess of broken glass. Something was happening. Something was moving. She could almost...
She gasped for breath, panting, having to stop the exertion for a moment. Five minutes. She didn't have time for this. There was no time to regain her strength. She could feel something hot and wet on her hand, dripping from the edge of her finger, just at the edge of where her sensation still remained. Blood. She knew it was blood. It didn't matter. Only one thing mattered.
She had to get off this platform. Four and a half minutes. She took a breath and pushed again, leveraging one arm down and then the other one up, trying with all her might to just squeeze one hand out. Just one hand was all she needed. The ropes could remain on the other hand, and it wouldn't matter. She could use it still to rip the noose from her neck, to lunge for the end of the platform, to scramble over the hinge and out of the line of danger.
Four minutes. She pulled, screaming, feeling more pain than she'd ever felt in her life. All the exertion of the previous hours had taken it out of her, all the pushing, all the raw edges of her skin. All the attempts to twist her fingers so that she could untie the ropes, searching for a loose end. All the attempts to force the ropes apart, both with her hands and with her feet. The attempts to duck her head, to push back so that the noose just slipped right over her head, which had only tightened it. They had all led to this moment. Three minutes to go.
She was so weak, so tired. She couldn't bear the idea of carrying on. But she couldn't stop. She couldn't give up. This was it, the moment that her life hinged on. It was now or nothing. She pushed, squeezing and crying through the pain, a raw scream ripping its way from her throat when she thought she'd had no sound left to give.
