Page 1 of Claiming Veronica
Prologue - Eli
3 months ago
Crouching in the dark, I hovered on the edges of the property as I watched my brother move through the rooms with the dark-haired girl I’d seen him with in town. Keeping my eyes on the house, I let myself be still and settled against the slight rise, trying to survey the area for threats.
A light switched on downstairs, and another girl appeared.
She glowed in soft yellow against the backdrop of darkness, her white-blond hair swinging around her shoulders. She tried vainly to open the large glass patio door, then gave up and pressed her face against it as if peering out into the desert beyond. Finally, she disappeared.
Who was she?
Chapter 1
Veronica
The sun burned low on the horizon, casting golden shadows over Haverboro, Arizona. The small desert town was quiet, completely unlike my previous home in San Diego, which was loud and noisy but notably not as hot.
Haverboro was settled between barren stretches of desert and winding highways hidden away among strip malls and cacti. I’d come here with my sister to be far from my mother, but we’d found more than we bargained for. Under the stillness and the glow of the desert, we’d found a serial killer. Well, she’d found love.
God, what a cliche. I laughed to myself as my fingers danced over the keyboard, each keystroke a careful push further into the dark web.
I leaned closer to the screen, my breath shallow as the lines of code blurred and shifted. My eyes burned, but I couldn’t help but love it. The hours of staring at the computer were second nature to me, but I couldn’t afford to stop now. I’d been chasing information since the case I’d worked on for my sister Natasha.
The serial killer case had pulled up more family drama for her new boyfriend than he was prepared for, but it kept me busy and interested. Well, primarily interested in his brother, Eli Walters. He was an enigma—a true ghost in the digital world after supposedly dying — which was utterly fascinating. Also — everyone had seen him in the flesh but me, which was unfair.
He was also now my somewhat creepy-hot stalker, but since he wouldn’t actually come and talk to me, I had turned to trying to find something about his past, anything. I was getting closer, turning the tables on him. If someone asked me who I thought about all day long, I’d never admit that the man I was obsessing over was someone I’d never even spoken to. Someone that I had almost zero information on. Someone that I fantasized about when I lay in bed at night.
I had always been good at finding things that didn’t want to be found. It was one of the things Iwas good at. If Eli thought he would hide from me, he was mistaken.
A soft chime pulled my attention to the corner of the screen. My friend Reed had sent a message in our private chatroom. I opened it with a flick of my wrist.
Reed:You’re still at it? We told you to drop this one, V.
I rolled my eyes, typing out a quick reply.
Me:Can’t. Something’s off about this whole thing. He’s not just some rando.
Arabella:He’s dangerous—Reed’s right. Maybe you should let this go.
Calia:Guys, she’s not gonna drop it. You know V. If anything, you’re just making her more curious.
I smirked at the truth in Calia’s words. My trio of online friends knew me well. Reed was the cautious one, always urging me to play it safe. Arabella had the knack for spotting threats from miles away. Calia, on the other hand, was my partner in crime, who encouraged me to push boundaries. They kept me sane even when I felt like things were flying apart.
Me:Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.
I hesitated for a moment, then added.
Me:Besides, I’m close. If I can figure out how Eli connects, I can…
My fingers froze mid-sentence. Another chat window had popped up on my computer screen. My breath caught in my throat. Holy shit. This wasn’t good. White text began to appear on the dark background, one word at a time. My heart thundered in my chest, deafening me despite the music blaring from my speaker in the background.
Unknown:STOP LOOKING
Reed:You can what?
I ignored Reed and quickly initiated a trace, my mind racing as I tried to follow the thread of the intrusion. It was subtle, almost imperceptible, but there. The more I dug, the clearer it became. Whoever was on the other end was good—really good.
My chest tightened, a familiar ache settling in as my past health issues reared their ugly head. I took a deep breath, pushing the pain aside. I couldn’t afford to be weak, not now.