Beyond Reach

B E Y O N D R E A C H (A Reese Link Mystery—Book 2) M o l l y B l a c k Molly Black Bestselling author Molly Black is author of the MAYA GRAY FBI suspense thriller series, comprising nine books (and counting); of the RYLIE WOLF FBI suspense thriller series, comprising six books; of the TAYLOR SAGE FBI suspense thriller series, comprising eight books; of the KATIE WINTER FBI suspense thriller series, comprising eleven books (and counting); of the RUBY HUNTER FBI suspense thriller series, comprising five books (and counting); of the CAITLIN DARE FBI suspense thriller series, comprising five books (and counting); and of the REESE LINK mystery series, comprising five books (and counting). GIRL ONE: MURDER (a Maya Gray FBI Suspense Thriller—Book #1), FOUND YOU (a Rylie Wolf FBI Suspense Thriller—Book #1), SAVE ME (a Katie Winter FBI Suspense Thriller—Book #1), and DON’T LOOK (a Taylor Sage FBI Suspense Thriller—Book #1) are available as free downloads on Amazon! An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Molly loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.mollyblackauthor.com to learn more and stay in touch. Copyright © 2023 by Molly Black. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the author. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Jacket image Copyright Sunny Forest used under license from Shutterstock.com. BOOKS BY MOLLY BLACK MAYA GRAY MYSTERY SERIES GIRL ONE: MURDER (Book #1) GIRL TWO: TAKEN (Book #2) GIRL THREE: TRAPPED (Book #3) GIRL FOUR: LURED (Book #4) GIRL FIVE: BOUND (Book #5) GIRL SIX: FORSAKEN (Book #6) GIRL SEVEN: CRAVED (Book #7) GIRL EIGHT: HUNTED (Book #8) GIRL NINE: GONE (Book #9) RYLIE WOLF FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER FOUND YOU (Book #1) CAUGHT YOU (Book #2) SEE YOU (Book #3) WANT YOU (Book #4) TAKE YOU (Book #5) DARE YOU (Book #6) TAYLOR SAGE FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER DON’T LOOK (Book #1) DON’T BREATHE (Book #2) DON’T RUN (Book #3) DON’T FLINCH (Book #4) DON’T REMEMBER (Book #5) DON’T TELL (Book #6) KATIE WINTER FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER SAVE ME (Book #1) REACH ME (Book #2) HIDE ME (Book #3) BELIEVE ME (Book #4) HELP ME (Book #5) FORGET ME (Book #6) HOLD ME (Book #7) PROTECT ME (Book #8) REMEMBER ME (Book #9) CATCH ME (Book #10) WATCH ME (Book #11) RUBY HUNTER FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER IF I RUN (Book #1) IF I TELL (Book #2) IF I LIVE (Book #3) IF I FORGET (Book #4) IF I RETURN (Book #5) CAITLIN DARE FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER COME GET ME (Book #1) COME FIND ME (Book #2) COME TAKE ME (Book #3) COME CATCH ME (Book #4) COME SAVE ME (Book #5) REESE LINK MYSTERY BEYOND REASON (Book #1) BEYOND REACH (Book #2) BEYOND REPAIR (Book #3) BEYOND DOUBT (Book #4) BEYOND NORMAL (Book #5) CONTENTS PROLOGUE 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 EPILOGUE PROLOGUE Winona Marsh stirred, slowly coming awake. Her body felt heavy, as if she had been weighed down, and the concrete beneath her was cold. It seemed to drain the heat from her body, and she found herself shivering. Where am I? she thought groggily, lifting her head off the floor. Bars of shadow fell across her body, and at first she thought she must be in a cell. I'm in prison and someone's locked me up, she thought, fighting a rising surge of panic. But no, it was not a cell but a cage, something...homemade, by the look of it. Rough timber screwed together—and not a particularly careful job, either, considering how the screws had split the wood. There weren't even hinges on the door, but rather a thick, heavy chain wound around it and secured with a padlock. Terror flooded through her. As her heartbeat accelerated, a terrific pounding started up in her head, causing her to gasp. She pulled herself to her feet and gripped the bars in both hands, peering out. The only window was set high along the wall, letting in a vague, dusty light through a film of thick plastic. There was no view of the outside world. She was in a low basement room with bare concrete walls, and the only door was at the top of a flight of steps. A world away. Who put me down here? she wondered, desperately trying to think how she had ended up locked in a cage in someone's basement. The last thing she remembered was walking through the parking lot of the soup kitchen at which she volunteered, her mind on the lasagna she was planning to make for her husband and three kids while her hand searched her purse for the car keys that always seemed to find their way to the bottom. She had just texted her husband to say she would be home soon, and as much