Concealed Read Online Free

the side of the road. She froze when she saw someone standing beside it. Instinctively she reached for Faith, but when she looked back, the figure was gone.
    Or it hadn’t been there to begin with, she told herself. Calm down, Syd. You sound like your mother.
    On the drive home, Sydney did her best to reign in her fear. They were fine. They’d always been able to stay longer than this before anything happened. Elton was a blip on the map, if it even was on the map. It was that small. Who would think to look for them there? She made sure everything she did was in cash to keep their trail as invisible as possible.
    Sydney glanced at Faith’s reflection in the rearview mirror. She was looking out the window, happily singing a song they must have learned at school today. She was happy and healthy. That’s all that mattered. There was no way Sydney was going to let anything happen to her.
    Ever.
    It was a promise she had made, and one she intended to keep.

 

    PETE HAD SOUNDED FRANTIC when he called, asking Sydney to come in for a few hours on her day off. He wouldn’t say much, other than something happened and the diner was packed. Luckily, Agnes was willing to give Faith a bath and get her ready for bed, as long as she didn’t miss the latest episode of Antiques Roadshow. The woman was a godsend.
    As her headlights illuminated the parking lot, Sydney was taken aback by the number of cars that spilled out of the lot and onto the road in front of Pete’s Place. Through the windows, she could see bodies milling around or gathered at the tables inside as she drove around back to park. When she got out of the car, she was hit with an icy breeze that sent a shiver down her spine.
    Something bad had happened. Sydney could feel it.
    Plates were clattering together in the kitchen and the sizzle of the burgers on the grill signaled the rush of hungry customers inside the diner.
    “What’s going on?” Sydney whispered to Pete’s wife, Cara, as she tied an apron around her waist. Cara was piling orders of fries onto her tray as fast as her hands would allow. A group of people were huddled around Johnny Rosley, one of Elton’s volunteer firemen and resident idiots, hanging on his every word.
    The sadness in the room was palpable. Cara shared the awful news. “They found a woman dead in Greenville. Out past the Richardsons’ property.”
    “Oh, my God.”
    “The girl was in her early twenties, from what the police can guess. What a shame. Sounds like the poor thing suffered something awful.” Cara shook her head. “I hope they catch the bastard.”
    Across the diner, Johnny’s voice continued to boom with more gory details he had overheard on his police scanner.
    “It’s sick,” Cara said under her breath. “A woman’s dead and he’s acting like it’s exciting.” There was no missing the dirty look Cara cast Johnny’s way as she muscled past the group to serve her table. His voice instantly lowered, but the crowd just moved closer to hear him better.
    “I didn’t realize we had so many rubberneckers in this town,” Melissa said with a huff as she slid two pieces of blackberry pie onto a plate. “They’re like old women, the way they gossip. They found the girl around three and by four o’clock every booth in here was full. And they just keep coming.”
    “Ladies,” a deep voice said as someone slid onto the only vacant stool at the counter, “what a sight for sore eyes you both are.”
    “Laying it on a bit thick today aren‘t you, Luke?” Melissa said with a laugh.
    Luke Carter had grown up in Elton with Melissa and Wade. His dirty blond hair was cropped short at the moment, the bright highlights from a summer spent in the sun gone. Where Wade kept to himself, Luke was outgoing and flirtatious, someone you could easily talk to about any topic. He was a charmer, as Melissa knew all too well. The two of them were hopeless flirts, but after a few attempts at a romance between them, Melissa decided he