
That afternoon, I learned that fear tastes like blood in your mouth. My name is Mary Johnson. I am sixty-six years…

I was still in my wedding dress when I realized they weren’t coming. The church was full. The scent of…

I. “A Song You Will Never Forget” The annual gala for the “Opportunities for Youth” foundation was the glittering, suffocating…

The atmosphere in my Grandfather’s grand dining room was not one of celebration, but of a brittle, suffocating pretense. The…

I’ll never forget the sound. That sharp thud followed by the splash that split the sunset in two. It was…

For ten years I raised my son, Daniel, completely alone. I was barely twenty-two when I got pregnant, and the…

The atmosphere in the university graduation hall was heavier than the humid, oppressive summer heat. It was a cavernous space,…

The Valkyrie’s Silence The emergency room at Mercy General smelled like rubbing alcohol, stale coffee, and ego. Mostly ego. I was currently…

The Executive Extraction The phone buzzed against the wood of my workbench. One short vibration. I was in the garage,…

The Long Watch The clipboard. That was her weapon of choice. Some people carry guns. Some carry knives. Brenda,…

When I arrived at my ex-wife’s house to pick up our daughter, the last thing I expected was to feel…

My father asked in surprise, “Sweetheart, why did you come by taxi? Where’s the Mercedes your mom and I gave…

Chapter 1: The Picnic of the Predators The winter air at the Blackwood Lake Resort was not merely cold;…

When my daughter-in-law uttered those words—”You don’t need any more food, this is all you can eat”—I felt the air…

The doctor had barely closed the door when he leaned toward me. I felt his breath quicken, almost trembling, as…

My wife died two years ago. Yesterday, at school, my son said he saw his mother. She told him not…

At just 15 years old, she was forced to leave home after becoming pregnant and suffering public humiliation at the…

I never imagined a family Christmas dinner could turn into the worst night of my life. I’d spent the morning…

The Call By the time I checked into a cheap motel that night, I could barely feel my own body….

When I received the message from my son, I felt something like a punch in the gut: “You’re not going to…