UNLOCKING LIES
Keys to Love, Book Three
Kennedy Layne
UNLOCKING LIES
Copyright © 2018 by Kennedy Layne
Kindle Edition
eBook ISBN: 978-1-943420-43-8
Print ISBN: 978-1-943420-44-5
Cover Designer: Sweet ’N Spicy Designs
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
Dedication
Jeffrey—Simply put…I love you.
Cole—It’s so hard to believe this is your senior year of high school. We are so proud of all you’ve accomplished, and we will be there cheering you on as you enter college to pursue your dreams. We love you!
Secrets and lies have a way of weaving a deadly web.
Returning home from his last deployment shouldn’t have been complicated, but Jace Kendall was immediately drawn into a murder investigation that hits a little too close to home. The last thing he should be doing was reigniting old passions that should have been kept buried, but he’s never been a guy who plays by the rules.
Shae has suffered for twelve years without knowing why her sister disappeared. The long-awaited answers are now within reach, and she’ll have no choice but to trust the one man who knows more than he’s telling.
It isn’t long before Jace and Shae are lost in the mystery of solving a case that’s long gone cold. When they find the answers they’ve been looking for, a darkness is unveiled that will leave one of them in the crosshairs of a psychopath.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
About the Book
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
About Unlocking Shadows
Books by Kennedy Layne
About the Author
CHAPTER ONE
Twelve years ago…
Lightning streaked across the sky in multiple jagged forks overhead.
The waning flash eventually morphed into an ominous rumble of thunder, creating a malevolent omen as it continued to sing its song throughout the collapsing resonance.
Emma Irwin bit back the sob that threatened to escape her throat, causing her breath to hitch.
She didn’t want to die today.
The hulking man standing in front of her abruptly lunged forward, causing her to cry out in alarm. She instinctively stumbled backwards and somehow managed to twist around without falling.
Emma ran for her life, and she didn’t look back.
There was only one path she could take that would lead her to safety. Under normal circumstances, she would have been able to navigate these woods like the back of her hand. Now? Terror flooded her bloodstream, making it nearly impossible for her to formulate a plan.
The thunderstorm above all but descended the forest into darkness after each flash. Without night vision, the footing amongst the roots crisscrossing the forest floor became treacherous. She had to keep an arm raised as she ran through the trees to prevent the low hanging branches from slamming into her face. Her hands were already bleeding from her previous fall, but fortunately, there was no pain as a result of the endorphins.
She couldn’t afford the distraction her pain would cause.
How could this be happening?
Emma wanted to stop and scream at him at the top of her lungs. She’d known him her whole life. She had trusted him, and yet she didn’t doubt that he would kill her with no more remorse than he would experience by putting down a game animal.
All she needed to do was make it to Seventh Street. If she could reach the edge of town, someone would help her.
Would anyone believe her? Was any of this even remotely plausible?
She was a teenager. It was her word against…
Light!
The streetlamp was barely visible, but it was there ahead of her just up the gradual slope. The blazing beacon provided her hope.
The drizzling rain became more of a steadier stream the closer she got to the edge of the woods. Unadulterated fear kept up her forward momentum until her ankle boot slipped on a small pile of loose leaves.
Emma hit the ground so hard that her lungs emptied of any air that may have been left in her body after running so far at such a fast pace. She opened her mouth to drag in what oxygen she could, but her lungs seemed incapable of working. Her brain was screaming at her to get up and move or else she would die.
This was it.
She was going to die here, because she couldn’t overcome the fear.
Little by little, her straining muscles relaxed to the point where she was able to suck in a small measure of oxygen. It was enough to stop the flashing lights that had started to circulate in her line of vision. In their place, images of her sister began to materialize.
Would Shae miss her?
Emma didn’t want their last words to be those of hate. She’d said some awful things to her sister this afternoon all because Shae had gotten the car tonight.
“It’s not fair!” Emma screamed at her mom, stomping out of the kitchen and wishing there was a door to slam. All she wanted to do was hit something or someone. It didn’t help that Shae was coming down the staircase with an amused smirk on her face. “Why did you have to be the older one? How come you always get to be first?”
“I don’t know why you’re so upset.” Shae shrugged as if this night was no big deal. Emma bit her tongue as she passed her sister on the steps. Their mother was most likely listening to them in the kitchen, and the last thing Emma needed was to get grounded before the biggest bonfire of the year. “You get the car all week long while I’m at college. Besides, you got to use it last weekend.”
“No,” Emma argued, unable to stop herself. She spun around on the second step to face Shae, who had already reached the landing. “I only got to use the car on Friday night. Remember? You went into the city all day on Saturday.”
“I’m in college, Emma. I’m not allowed a vehicle on campus, so I should get the car two nights out of the week. Those days just happen to fall on the weekends.” Shae crossed her arms like she did when she was trying to make a point and look all mature. Just because she was in college didn’t mean that she was an adult. “What’s the big deal, anyway? You can have one of your friends pick you up. It’s safe that way.”
“Brynn’s car is in the shop, and you know that Julie doesn’t have access to one.” Why should Emma have to explain why she wanted the car? “You know what? Take the car. I don’t care anymore.”
“Good, because I am taking it. It’s my turn.”
“I hate you!”
A tear ran down Emma’s right cheek, though the rain washed it away
. She didn’t hate her sister. Shae was everything Emma wanted to be.
Lightning lit up the sky overhead, illuminating her surroundings.
He was gone.
He was nowhere to be seen.
Emma was finally breathing again, though her heart was beating hard against her chest. She scrambled to her feet and did a full turn to scan her immediate surroundings. She was alone in the dark, but something told her he would appear out of nowhere her if she didn’t keep moving.
She took off once again for Seventh Street, relief washing over her as she finally reached the paved road. Not once did she think of slowing down her pace, though she did veer to the right so that she could follow the road that would lead her past the cemetery and toward the back end of town. She’d take the shortcut to her house from there.
It was then she saw the silhouette standing on the other side of the road blocking her path.
It was him.
That’s why he hadn’t come upon her when she’d fallen on the leaves. He’d somehow run ahead to cut her off before she could get home.
Emma had no choice but to run back toward the woods. There was no holding back the sobs that had been trying to escape. Why was he doing this to her? What had she done to him?
It was hard to see through her tears, but she ran blindly through the trees nonetheless. She didn’t follow any path, and she certainly never expected two arms to reach out of the darkness to save her. They embraced her warmly, and she even heard the soothing words that everything would be alright.
She was safe.
Emma broke down, holding onto the strong arms so that she wouldn’t sink to the ground.
“H-he’s coming,” Emma managed to say, trying to warn whoever had saved her. Was it Billy? Lance Kendall? Chad Schaeffer? It didn’t matter. “He’s right behind me and—”
Something was wrong.
Emma furiously blinked her tears away and looked up at her savior.
Only she was mistaken.
No one was here to save her.
All hope vanished. She didn’t understand how it happened, but the man she was running from hadn’t been the one standing in the middle of Seventh Street.
He’d been waiting for her in the shadows all along.
CHAPTER TWO
Present day…
“I see Dad’s been by to visit.”
Jace Kendall couldn’t help but smile in sadness at the lone tea rose laying on his mother’s tombstone. Lilacs had been Mary Kendall’s favorite, but they were out of season this late in August. This particular tea rose, called Darlow’s Enigma, no doubt came from one of the bushes she’d planted years ago in the front of their family home. The fragrant blooms lasted all summer long and gave the whole front yard a wonderful aroma with each successive breeze. One of the best climbing roses on the market, his mother’s trellis had long since been overrun.
“It looks as if he’s been taking care of your gardening. Noah said Dad’s thumb is finally showing a bit of green.”
Jace’s own thumb was pricked when he examined the small sprig, only then remembering Darlow’s Enigma had one major bad attribute. Their many thousands of thorns were razor sharp. Their beauty could cut a person to the bone.
He wanted to say more to his mom, but the words wouldn’t come. Instead, he looked up from his mother’s engraved name and took in his immediate surroundings.
Blyth Lake.
His childhood hometown.
In the twelve years he’d been gone, there hadn’t been one occasion when he returned on leave where he hadn’t driven straight to his parents’ house…until now.
“You have an amazing view.” Jace was glad his father had purchased this particular plot, seeing as it was on the back edge of the graveyard and overlooking a rolling field of wildflowers. There was even a large white oak that provided shade from the hot sun. He pictured himself and his brothers chasing each other through the field as their mother and father walked hand in hand. Their sister had always remained within a few yards of their dad and never ventured too far. “Dad’s in the process of making a wooden bench that will go perfect underneath that tree.”
Jace took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and then exhaled slowly. He tried to compose his emotions. He honestly hadn’t thought returning home without his mom to greet him on the front porch would be quite this hard. He’d stopped at the entrance in town, wanting so bad to make that left turn…but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He’d known he would be coming here to see her grave for the first time since the funeral.
He’d driven straight down Main Street until he’d hit Seventh. The entrance to the cemetery didn’t feel like much of a warm welcome, but he took solace in the fact that his mother was at peace. She’d wanted that for her children, as well.
Jace suffered quite a bit through his time in the service. The Corps didn’t find itself in the vacation spots around the world too often. He had served his country, and now he believed he was entitled to pursue the happiness that had eluded him thus far.
“I’m sure you heard about the crazy events that have been happening this past summer.” Jace cleared his throat before kneeling, not wanting his voice to carry over the slight breeze. He didn’t see anyone in close proximity, but this was still a private conversation. “I can’t believe that Noah found a body inside the wall of his new house. I mean, what are the odds of that kind of insanity happening here in Blyth Lake? He always did have to be the one to stir up trouble in the neighborhood.”
He pictured Mary Kendall wagging her finger his way, letting him know that he ought to be nicer to his younger brother. Now, he had to chide himself. It hadn’t always been easy being the middle child of five, but he wouldn’t change a second of his childhood in this rural paradise they called home. Life here was so much simpler than the breakneck pace at which the rest of the world ran. Time stood still here amongst the live oaks.
Mitch and Gwen were the oldest of the Kendall siblings, whereas Noah and Lance were the younger. Jace had been the pivot point, smackdab in the middle. The experts always said that the middle child was the peacemaker. That wasn’t the case in the Kendall clan. Their sister, Gwen, had taken that particular role. He imagined that she took on the responsibility just because she couldn’t stand having her brothers fight over stupid shit repeatedly.
Had it not been for his mom, Jace most likely would have been an oddball loner who eventually turned into an uptight asshole. Mary Kendall had made sure he was the youngest of the first three and the oldest of the last three. There wasn’t a moment in time where he’d ever felt out of place.
“I do miss you, Mama.” Jace was out of one-on-one time. He’d learned early on that privacy was the first casualty of having a large family, and seeing Lance’s old F150 through the wrought iron fence was just another reminder. His baby brother pulled into the cemetery parking lot, leaving Jace to wonder how that old truck was still even running. “Lance couldn’t have given me two more minutes alone with you, could he? I know, I know. Be nice.”
Jace leaned his palm against the cool grass, lowering himself to the ground. He might as well make himself comfortable. Lance would have to walk halfway through the graveyard to reach him. He wasn’t about to make it easy for his baby brother to horn in on this moment.
His mother’s wagging finger once again materialized in his mind.
“Oh, Mom. Trust me, he could use the exercise.”
Lance slammed the driver’s side door shut before shading his eyes to determine if Jace would decide to head his way.
Not a chance, buddy.
Jace rested a forearm over his knee, enjoying the fact that Lance was muttering curses under his breath as he started hiking up the small rise. He didn’t realize his mini rant carried across the cemetery as well as it did. It wasn’t long until he was standing in front of their mother’s tombstone.
There were times in life that Jace’s siblings surprised him…this moment included. Lance lowered himself next to Jace, and they sa
t in silence for a good five minutes. Oddly so, it was actually nice to have the company of a family member here on this midsummer’s day.
“Welcome home,” Lance finally said, not even bothering to glance Jace’s way.
“It’s good to be back,” Jace replied, picking at the grass by his side. He might as well fess up. “I wasn’t quite ready to pull up the drive, you know what I mean?”
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me. Been there myself.” Lance lifted his shades until they were resting on top of his head. “The day I drove into town, Dad came strolling out onto the front porch wearing his barbeque apron and carrying a spatula in his hand. Let’s just say there was an adjustment process.”
“Everyone already at the house waiting on me?” Jace wasn’t about to get emotional. He’d been there and done that on the day of Mary Kendall’s funeral. He sighed in resignation as he tossed the blades of grass back down onto the ground. “I was hoping to come home quietly, without any kind of fanfare and such.”
“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen. Noah and Reese were in the kitchen mixing a massive tossed garden salad when I left, and Brynn was leaving the Cavern when you drove past.”
“Brynn threw me under the bus, didn’t she?” Jace should have known that someone would spot him, but it wasn’t like everyone in town knew he owned a Range Rover. He could all but guarantee that was rectified by the time he’d reached Seventh Street. The word was out. “Dad said the two of you reconnected in the month that you’ve been home. You don’t waste time, do you, brother?”
“She’s the one for me, Jace.” Lance didn’t even bother to hide his goofy grin. He and Brynn had been involved back in high school. Apparently, those old embers had been rekindled with a bit of effort. “She moved in with me last week, as a matter of fact.”
“What is it with you and Noah buying houses without taking your time to look around town? I’m absolutely certain you could have chosen better.” Jace could understand Lance doing something so impulsive, but Noah? That didn’t make any sense. “Let’s face it, the choices the two of you made wasn’t the brightest, now were they?”
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