Page 1 of Lost Truth
1
Hayden Kraus had never killed anyone.
Please don’t let that change now.
He drew his sidearm and eased through the cottage’s murky shadows, advancing on the intruder. A sliver of moonlight pierced through a gap in the blinds, illuminating a narrow path, but it did nothing to help him identify the intruder, not even their gender. Burglary statistics said he was likely facing a male so he would go with that.
The person dug through a storage box located on ceiling-high bookshelves consuming the far wall of a compact living room. With his back to Hayden, he seemed oblivious to Hayden’s presence as he tread softly over the wooden floor.
Please, please, don’t creak.
Hayden eased closer. Closer.
Sharp summer ocean winds buffeted the meager cliffside cottage, rocking the structure. Aged wood creaked and protested like the bones of a hundred-year-old man set into motion.
Hayden felt like an intruder himself, but he had every right to be there. His Lost Lake Locators team had been hired just hours ago to find Kai Nakoa, the cottage owner. He’d been missing for several days, and it was Hayden’s turn to take charge of an investigation. Before the team met to create a plan, he wanted surveillance cameras placed on the property but arrived to discover someone sneaking through a window.
The intruder stilled.
Hayden halted. Held his breath. Waited for the guy to turn. To see him. Perhaps attack.
His heart pounded in his head like a conga drum sending out a warning message.
The intruder shrugged and moved on to another box.
Good.The building’s groans must have covered the sound of his favorite tactical boots as they’d hit the floor.
Still, he waited a moment longer—let the intruder settle down. He studied the man’s shadowy figure. Small, slight in build. Dressed all in black.
Hayden scanned for a weapon. Squinted. Spotted nothing. Not necessarily because the intruder wasn’t armed, but the dim lighting prevented Hayden from making out a weapon. Didn’t matter. If Hayden wanted to live to tell about this event, he had to assume an armed foe awaited him.
His heart thundered harder. As a former Customs and Border Protection agent he’d handled far more dangerous situations, but it’d been a while.
Breathe. Calm down.
He steadied his weapon. Sucked in air. Moved through the small dining room. Ten feet between him and the intruder. He reached up to a higher shelf.
Slowly, Hayden advanced. Inch by inch. Closer and closer. The person showed no sign of knowing he was moving in.
Five feet away now. He would soon be within arm’s length. Nothing for it but to call out and hope the shock didn’t produce a weapon.
He took a deep breath and dredged up the commanding tone he’d used while serving as a CBP agent. “I have a gun at your back. Stop what you’re doing.”
The person spun. Gasped. “I?—”
“Hands!” Hayden held his sidearm steady. “Your hands up where I can see them.”
The intruder raised trembling hands.
Good. No weapon. No assault. Hayden flicked on his flashlight and aimed the beam at his face.
Stunned, he blinked. Once. Twice. Cadence Vaughn. Even with her curly hair pulled up behind her, he would recognize that unique red color anywhere. But that couldn’t be her, could it?
No. No. Impossible. Or was it?
“What’re you doing here, Cadence?”
“Is that you, Hayden?” Her shocked voice rose into the rush of raging winds.
