Behind You


 
 
 
 
 
 
 B E H I N D Y O U
 
 
 (A Hailey Rock FBI Suspense Thriller—Book 1)
 
 
 
 R y l i e D a r k
 
 Rylie Dark
 
 Bestselling author Rylie Dark is author of the SADIE PRICE FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising six books (and counting); of the CARLY SEE FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising six books (and counting); of the MIA NORTH FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising six books (and counting); of the MORGAN STARK FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising five books (and counting); of the HAILEY ROCK FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising five books (and counting); and of the TARA STRONG FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising five books (and counting).
 An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Rylie loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.ryliedark.com to learn more and stay in touch.
 
 Copyright © 2023 by Rylie Dark. 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 SvedOliver, used under license from Shutterstock.com.
 
 
 
 BOOKS BY RYLIE DARK
 
 
 TARA STRONG FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER
 GIRL WITHOUT A CHANCE (Book #1)
 GIRL WITHOUT A HOME (Book #2)
 GIRL WITHOUT A TRACE (Book #3)
 GIRL WITHOUT A NAME (Book #4)
 GIRL WITHOUT A PRAYER (Book #5)
 
 HAILEY ROCK FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER
 BEHIND YOU (Book #1)
 BESIDE YOU (Book #2)
 AFTER YOU (Book #3)
 WATCHING YOU (Book #4)
 JUDGING YOU (Book #5)
 
 SADIE PRICE FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER
 ONLY MURDER (Book #1)
 ONLY RAGE (Book #2)
 ONLY HIS (Book #3)
 ONLY ONCE (Book #4)
 ONLY SPITE (Book #5)
 ONLY MADNESS (Book #6)
 
 MIA NORTH FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER
 SEE HER RUN (Book #1)
 SEE HER HIDE (Book #2)
 SEE HER SCREAM (Book #3)
 SEE HER VANISH (Book #4)
 SEE HER GONE (Book #5)
 SEE HER DEAD (Book #6)
 
 CARLY SEE FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER
 NO WAY OUT (Book #1)
 NO WAY BACK (Book #2)
 NO WAY HOME (Book #3)
 NO WAY LEFT (Book #4)
 NO WAY UP (Book #5)
 NO WAY TO DIE (Book #6)
 
 MORGAN STARK FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER
 TOO LATE (Book #1)
 TOO CLOSE (Book #2)
 TOO FAR GONE (Book #3)
 TOO LOST (Book #4)
 TOO BROKEN (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
 CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
 CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
 
 
 
 PROLOGUE
 
 
 A farm just outside Pleasant, Missouri
 6:30 a.m.
 
 Buzz Tatum breathed in the fresh spring Ozarks air as he walked along his north forty, looking for a sheep that had strayed from the flock. He ran a strong hand through his thinning gray hair and huffed a little as he walked. Slowing down with the years but not out of the game just yet.
 He looked nervously to the left and right, wishing the weight of the .303 rifle slung over one shoulder reassured him more than it did. He didn’t like being out here alone, not after what had happened. 
 His farm lay nestled in a narrow valley between two steep, rocky hills covered with trees and brush. He kept a sharp eye on the tree line, wishing he could see through the thick underbrush.
 Like many of the valleys here, stone eroding down from those hills made the topsoil thin and rocky, so much of his north forty was given over to grazing. Only the thicker layers of topsoil down near the bottom of the valley, on either side of Tatum Creek, could grow a crop of corn.
 Buzz cast an expert gaze over the twin strips of crop a hundred yards to his left, flanking both banks of the creek. The sweet corn was just coming up and looking healthy, thanks to the rich Missouri soil and the well-watered ground.
 Tatum Creek. So named when his great-great-grandfather had settled this land back in the 1850s. Hezekiah Tatum was a God-fearing man, and Buzz still had the family Bible bearing Hezekiah’s name that the pioneer had brought with him when he had migrated west from Pennsylvania. Hezekiah and his two sons had fought for the South in the War Between the States. Another of Hezekiah’s sons and two of Buzz’s great-great uncles had fought for the Union.
 Bad times, those must have been. Brother against brother. Not like Taney County nowadays. Everyone more or less got along. Oh, there were the usual grudges and the occasional fight down at the Jenny’s Roadhouse, but it was nothing serious. The closest town, Pleasant, had some kids who got into drugs and Devil music, and the occasional robbery, but nothing more. Neighbors got along with neighbors these days.
 Except for Buzz and his neighbor Colby Sanders. Sanders bought the neighboring farm thirty-five