Beside You

B E S I D E Y O U (A Hailey Rock Mystery—Book 2) 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 MYSTERY 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 Rob van Hal, used under license from Shutterstock.com. BOOKS BY RYLIE DARK TARA STRONG MYSTERY 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 PROLOGUE A convenience store in Tampa, southern Missouri 5:45 a.m. Veronica Holder yawned as she got out of her beat-up Honda in front of the AM/PM Minimall. The street was dark and deserted, and she was alone. The start of another day. Another long day of dealing with customers, mopping the floor, restocking the shelves, and taking in deliveries. All for fifty cents an hour over the minimum wage. At twenty-five, Veronica didn’t see much hope in the new dawn that was just beginning to brighten the eastern sky. Tampa was a nice town, with lots of good folks, but it was a dead end for most people. Sure, she had family here, and Stuart was bound to pop the question in the next few months, but she wanted more out of life. Maybe she should have gone to college after all. “And study what?” she said out loud, slamming her car door with an irritated thump, the only sound on the silent street. She had never been one for books or learning. She had barely graduated high school. Still, she could have gone to beautician’s school or something. Veronica supposed it wasn’t too late. It wasn’t like she was over the hill or anything, but she was just so damn tired. Working as a shift manager paid too damn little money for too damn much work. She didn’t even get a second employee in the store until eight. It was up to her to open up the store, fill the register from the safe, make sure the night shift hadn’t messed up the cleaning and stocking too badly, and brew up some coffee. Coffee. At least she got free coffee at this place, she thought as she walked across the empty parking lot. Free chips and microwave burritos, too, not that her boss knew about that. As she walked toward the store, she looked around her, and her hand didn’t stray too far from the Smith and Wesson she kept in a holster at her belt. She always carried a gun after the night manager got robbed and beaten up two years back, and the wave of kidnappings and murders done by that psycho last month in Pleasant, the next county over, sure didn’t change her habits. The TV news had come in to talk to her, like they had talked to everyone else. They had asked her if she felt safe now that the murderer had been caught. She’d held up her gun, causing the big-city reporter to shrink back, and said, “I always felt safe, because I have this.” That got