A Killer's Game

PRAISE FOR ISABELLA MALDONADOA Killer’s Game“Intense, gripping, and compulsively readable, A Killer’s Game goes from zero to ninety on page one and never slows down. FBI agent Dani Vega is a heroine to cheer for—tough, inventive, and highly capable. A winner.”—Meg Gardiner, #1 New York Times bestselling authorThe Falcon“Another great read from [Isabella Maldonado]! I’m a Nina Guerrera fan, and this book is the best of the series so far. Don’t miss it!”—Steve Netter, Best Thriller BooksA Different Dawn“A horrifying crime, cat-and-mouse detection, aha moments, and extended suspense . . .”—Kirkus Reviews“Maldonado expertly ratchets up the tension as the pieces of the puzzle neatly fall into place. Suspense fans will be enthralled from the very first page.”—Publishers Weekly“A thrill ride from the very start. It starts off fast and never lets up. It’s one of the best thrillers of the summer.”—Red Carpet Crash“A Different Dawn is a heart-stopping journey on parallel tracks: police detection and personal . . . Isabella Maldonado has created an unforgettable hero in Nina Guerrera.”—Criminal Element“A killer of a novel. Fresh, fast, and utterly ingenious.”—Brad Thor, #1 New York Times bestselling authorThe Cipher“The survivor of a vicious crime confronts her fears in a hunt for a serial killer . . . forensic analysis, violent action, and a tough heroine who stands up to the last man on earth she wants to see again.”—Kirkus Reviews“[In] this riveting series launch from Maldonado . . . the frequent plot twists will keep readers guessing to the end, and Maldonado draws on her twenty-two years in law enforcement to add realism. Determined to overcome her painful past, the admirable Nina has enough depth to sustain a long-running series.”—Publishers Weekly“The Cipher by Isabella Maldonado is a nail-biting race against time.”—POPSUGAR“Maldonado does a superb job of depicting a woman who’s made a strength out of trauma, and an even better job at showing how a monster could use the internet to prey on the vulnerable. Maldonado spent twenty-two years in law enforcement, and her experience shines through in The Cipher.”—Amazon Book Review“A heart-pounding novel from page one, The Cipher checks all the boxes for a top-notch thriller: sharp plotting, big stakes, and characters—good and bad and everywhere in between—that are so richly drawn you’ll swear you’ve met them. I read this in one sitting, and I guarantee you will too. Oh, another promise: you’ll absolutely love the Warrior Girl!”—Jeffery Deaver, New York Times bestselling author“Wow! A riveting tale in the hands of a superb storyteller.”—J. A. Jance, New York Times bestselling author“Intense, harrowing, and instantly addictive, The Cipher took my breath away. Isabella Maldonado has created an unforgettable heroine in Nina Guerrera, a dedicated FBI agent and trauma survivor with unique insight into the mind of a predator. This riveting story is everything a thriller should be.”—Hilary Davidson, Washington Post bestselling author OTHER TITLES BY ISABELLA MALDONADOFBI Agent Nina Guerrera seriesThe CipherA Different DawnThe FalconDetective Veranda Cruz seriesBlood’s EchoPhoenix BurningDeath Blow This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Otherwise, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.Text copyright © 2023 by Isabella MaldonadoAll rights reserved.No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.Published by Thomas & Mercer, Seattlewww.apub.comAmazon, the Amazon logo, and Thomas & Mercer are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.ISBN-13: 9781662507830 (paperback)ISBN-13: 9781662507823 (digital)Cover design by Shasti O’Leary SoudantCover images: © Laurie Allread, © Marie Carr / Arcangel ImagesPhoto on page 41 courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division For the Grinnans,who opened their home and their heartsto welcome me into their family. CONTENTSCHAPTER 1CHAPTER 2CHAPTER 3CHAPTER 4CHAPTER 5CHAPTER 6CHAPTER 7CHAPTER 8CHAPTER 9CHAPTER 10CHAPTER 11CHAPTER 12CHAPTER 13CHAPTER 14CHAPTER 15CHAPTER 16CHAPTER 17CHAPTER 18CHAPTER 19CHAPTER 20CHAPTER 21CHAPTER 22CHAPTER 23CHAPTER 24CHAPTER 25CHAPTER 26CHAPTER 27CHAPTER 28CHAPTER 29CHAPTER 30CHAPTER 31CHAPTER 32CHAPTER 33CHAPTER 34CHAPTER 35CHAPTER 36CHAPTER 37CHAPTER 38CHAPTER 39CHAPTER 40CHAPTER 41CHAPTER 42CHAPTER 43CHAPTER 44CHAPTER 45CHAPTER 46CHAPTER 47CHAPTER 48CHAPTER 49CHAPTER 50CHAPTER 51CHAPTER 52CHAPTER 53CHAPTER 54CHAPTER 55CHAPTER 56CHAPTER 57CHAPTER 58CHAPTER 59CHAPTER 60CHAPTER 61CHAPTER 62CHAPTER 63CHAPTER 64CHAPTER 65CHAPTER 66CHAPTER 67CHAPTER 68CHAPTER 69CHAPTER 70CHAPTER 71ACKNOWLEDGMENTSABOUT THE AUTHOR CHAPTER 1FBI Special Agent Daniela Vega assessed her environment and calculated her chances. She had less than seven minutes to get to her meeting with the special agent in charge of the New York Counterterrorism Division. A stickler for protocol and punctuality, SAC Steve Wu would not appreciate her showing up late.She eyed the barista. If he kept up his frenetic pace, she could make it from the packed Lower Manhattan coffee shop to SAC Wu’s office on the twenty-third floor of 26 Federal Plaza at a fast walk with sixty seconds to spare.A woman elbowing her way toward the pickup counter jostled Dani into the man beside her, who was dumping a packet of sugar into his open cup. His piping-hot coffee splashed onto the back of Dani’s hand.“What’s the matter with you?” the man snapped at her.Dani pressed her lips together and shook the steaming droplets from her hand, where an angry splotch had already blossomed. The man placed a lid on his cup, sent her another scowl, and squeezed through the crowd toward the door.The barista shouted her name above the din. “Dark roast, black with an extra shot,” he said, handing the cup to her. “That should jump-start your day.”It would take a lot more than a jolt of caffeine from strong coffee to get her heart pounding. Perhaps searching a building with a hidden IED would move the needle, but those days had ended with her final deployment before she joined the Bureau ten months earlier.“Breakfast of champions.” She lifted the cup in salute, then turned and shouldered her way through the throng to the sidewalk. She was about to take her first sip when buzzing from inside her pocket stopped her.“Hey,” a man sitting on the sidewalk