Chapter 1 - The Fourth ManCassidy Wynn stood beneath a dead streetlight on the edge of Reno with both hands wrapped beneath a stomach that did not belong to her.
From a distance, she looked nine months pregnant.
Up close, the illusion still worked.
The silicone belly pushed against a loose gray sweater. Her face was pale. Her hair stuck to her forehead as though she'd been walking for miles.
And when she saw the motorcycle coming around the bend, she bent forward and screamed.
“Please!”
The rider slowed.
Cassidy waved both arms.
“Please help me!”
The black motorcycle stopped twenty feet away.
The rider removed his helmet.
Mid-thirties.
Dark hair.
Weathered face.
Calm eyes.
Cassidy immediately recognized the type Rafe liked least.
Someone who looked at things before reacting.
Still, the man asked,
“You hurt?”
Cassidy pressed one hand against her fake stomach.
“My phone died.”
“Where's your car?”
“About a mile back.”
“Anyone with you?”
“No.”
That was lie number four.
Four men waited beyond the old service road less than two miles ahead.
Cassidy made her voice shake.
“I just need to get to my sister's place.”
The rider looked down the dark highway.
Then back at her.
“Where?”
“Off Red Rock.”
He hesitated.
Cassidy added,
“Please. I don't want to be out here alone.”
That did it.
The man handed her his spare helmet.
“Get on.”
Cassidy climbed behind him.
She hated this part.
Every time.
The moment somebody helped her, something inside her wanted to tell them not to.
She never did.
The motorcycle moved into the darkness.
Cassidy watched landmarks.
Abandoned gas station.
Broken fence.
Dry culvert.
Then the narrow access road.
“Turn here.”
The rider slowed.
“This isn't Red Rock.”
“Shortcut.”
He glanced back.
Cassidy smiled nervously.
“My sister's place is through here.”
He said nothing.
That bothered her.
Most victims talked more once they became uncertain.
This man talked less.
They continued another quarter mile until Cassidy tapped his shoulder.
“Here.”
He stopped.
Engine running.
Cassidy got off.
The rider kept both hands on the handlebars.
“Where's the house?”
Cassidy stepped backward.
The darkness moved.
Rafe came first.
Tattoos up both arms.
Black hoodie.
Then Cole.
Then Trent.
And finally Tanner.
Four men.
One motorcycle.
Same routine as before.
Except Tanner stopped the instant he saw the rider.
Cassidy didn't notice at first.
Rafe walked toward the bike.
“Kill the engine.”
The rider looked at him.
Rafe smiled.
“Don't make this complicated.”
Cassidy straightened.
No limp now.
No pain.
She reached beneath her sweater, unfastened the straps, and pulled the silicone belly away.
The rider watched her drop it onto the dirt.
No surprise.
That bothered her even more.
Cole laughed.
“Congratulations. It's a robbery.”
Rafe held out his hand.
“Key.”
The rider didn't move.
Trent stepped closer.
“You deaf?”
Cassidy looked toward Tanner.
He had gone strangely still.
His eyes weren't on the motorcycle.
They were on the rider.
The rider slowly reached inside his jacket.
Rafe's posture changed.
“Easy.”
The man pulled out a small leather wallet.
Opened it.
Metal caught the weak moonlight.
Police badge.
Reno Police Department.
Cassidy stopped breathing.
Cole whispered,
“Oh, hell.”
Trent's hands dropped instantly.
Rafe's face hardened.
But Tanner—
Tanner turned.
Not slowly.
Not cautiously.
He spun like somebody had fired a gun behind him and took two steps toward the darkness.
“Stop.”
The officer didn't shout.
Two words.
That was all.
Tanner froze.
Cassidy stared.
So did the others.
Rafe looked confused.
“Why the hell are you running?”
Tanner didn't answer.
The officer reached beneath his jacket again.
This time his hand came out holding a compact service pistol pointed safely toward the ground.
“Everyone keep your hands where I can see them.”
Rafe lifted his palms.
“This is a misunderstanding.”
“Four men step out of the dark demanding my motorcycle?”
“Bad joke.”
“Tell it to somebody paid to laugh.”
Cassidy raised her hands.
Her heart hammered.
The officer had changed.
Not panicked.
Not angry.
Focused.
He looked at Tanner again.
Tanner still had his back turned.
“Face me.”
Nothing.
The officer's eyes narrowed.
“I said face me.”
Tanner turned slowly.
The moonlight hit the left side of his face.
A pale burn scar ran from the jaw toward the ear.
The officer stared at it.
Cassidy saw recognition arrive.
Not certainty.
Something worse.
Memory.
Tanner saw it too.
His face drained.
Rafe snapped,
“What is wrong with you?”
Tanner ignored him.
The officer spoke carefully.
“What name do you go by?”
“Tanner.”
“Last name?”
“Beck.”
A pause.
The officer's eyes never left him.
“You sure?”
Tanner swallowed.
Cassidy looked between them.
They knew each other.
Or one of them did.
The officer reached toward his motorcycle with his free hand and pressed something near the handlebar.
Cassidy heard a faint electronic chirp.
Rafe heard it too.
“What was that?”
“Backup.”
Cole cursed.
Rafe took one step forward.
The pistol came up.
“Don't.”
Rafe stopped.
Sirens were faint in the distance.
Cassidy's knees almost weakened.
This was supposed to be seven minutes.
Take the motorcycle.
Take the phone.
Dump the rider several miles away.
Nobody seriously hurt.
That was what Rafe always said.
She had believed him because believing him made it possible to keep doing this.
Tanner suddenly spoke.
Not to Rafe.
To the officer.
“Don't.”
The officer frowned.
Tanner's voice dropped.
“Don't say it.”
Cassidy looked at him.
“Say what?”
Tanner ignored her.
The sirens grew louder.
The officer's face changed.
He knew.
Cassidy could see it now.
He knew exactly who Tanner was.
The officer whispered,
“Noah?”
Rafe turned sharply.
“Who the hell is Noah?”
Tanner—Noah—closed his eyes.
For one second, nobody moved.
Then Noah looked directly at the officer.
“Jude.”
Cassidy felt a chill.
He knew the cop's name.
Not Officer.
Not Detective.
Jude.
Rafe stared at him.
“You told us your name was Tanner Beck.”
Noah didn't answer.
Blue lights appeared at the far end of the access road.
Jude Barrett kept his weapon steady.
But his face had lost its professional calm.
Cassidy had seen fear enough times to recognize it.
What she saw in Jude wasn't fear.
It was shock.
Like a dead man had just spoken.
Then Noah said quietly,
“You should have kept riding.”
Jude's eyes narrowed.
“Why?”
Noah looked toward the approaching police vehicles.
Then back at him.
“Because if they find out I'm alive…”
May you like
He swallowed.
“…you're next.”
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