Follow My Lead Ebook

FBI Agent Gemma James is on the brink of a big promotion.



Which means taking each and every case her boss throws at her.

When a string of young women start to show up dead, she’s thrown into a blast from the past when the link to the killer comes in the form of her ex-husband.

Seeing Caleb Walker again is like being thrown into a time warp of memories and emotions, ones she’s unsure what to do with.

Nothing will stop her from solving the case and stopping the killer who is prowling their once safe streets. However, her focus is divided between her career and the only man she’s ever loved.

The question is, can she stop the killer and fix the mess that is her heart?

“PROLOGUE
 
I’m paralyzed, I’m scared to live, but I’m scared to die
And if life is pain, then I buried mine
A long time ago, but it’s still alive
And it’s taking over me, where am I?
- Paralyzed, NF
 
 
 
 
 
The air was cold. It wasn’t the kind of cold that would immediately knock you breathless.
No.
It was the kind that would wear you down slowly, seeping into your skin, then your muscles and finally your bones.

I was at the bones part.
But I was unsure how long I’d lain in the dead leaves and thawing snow.
I was unsure if I was awake or dreaming.
I was unsure if I even fully knew where I was.
All I did know was I felt like dying.
Not in a literal sense. I was smarter than that.
No, I’d been violated to the point of wanting to cry.
To run.
To scream.
To hurt… someone.
I just didn’t know who.
I didn’t see his face.
Out of nowhere, he’d pushed me off the empty trail that would lead me out of campus. I’d tripped, falling into the snow-covered grass and screamed.
He was fast.
His hand slapped over my mouth and held there.
I thrashed around, searching the ground for rocks, for ice, for something to use as a weapon.
I didn’t find a thing. Only bushes to scrape against my skin.

By the time it was over, I was hurt. I could feel this pain slither through my chest and with that pain came endless tears that streamed down my face.
He’d hit my head afterward and I think my body finally gave up the fight. Giving in to the fact that it had been violated and I gave in to the need for rest.
At that point, I didn’t care.
When I came to, I was confused. I didn’t know what had woken me.
Then I heard it.
“Gemma!”
The voice was frantic, but still far away. I started to move slowly, testing my legs and arms and found them stiff. I got myself rolled over just as a shadow came over me, the light from dawn breaking giving me shapes to see.
“Gemma!” the voice said again and finally, I was able to focus my gaze and when I did, I saw Caleb’s worried face. His features were drawn tight, his eyes raked over my body and his expression turned murderous.
When I looked down, I saw why.
My pants were gone, my panties in tatters around my ankles. Bruises were already starting to show on my legs.

The visible ones, anyway.
Caleb crouched down and reached out with one hand, his other covering his mouth. “Gemma.” A whisper now.
That’s when the tears resurfaced. I wept in giant sobs as Caleb came close and held me. Whispering, “No, no, no.” Over and over again until both our voices were hoarse from our sorrows.
That was one of the last times Caleb held me.
That was the last time I was Gemma James, naive homeschool kid.
The last time that I was a prelaw student looking to help kids. Looking to make a difference in family law.
That Gemma died that day.
And with her death, she lost everything.
And a new, stronger Gemma James was born.