The Lie Between Us

THE LIE BETWEEN US A THRILLER NARRATIVE OF A MAD WOMAN AMANDA MCKINNEY HH TISEVICH CONTENTS Dedication Also by Amanda McKinney Awards and Recognition Let’s Connect! The Lie Between Us Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 ★ The Keeper’s Closet ★ About the Author Reading Order Guide Copyright © 2023 Amanda McKinney Names, characters and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or the publisher. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Paperback ISBN 979-8-9862527-5-9 eBook ISBN 979-8-9862527-4-2 Editor(s): Nancy Brown, Redline Proofreading Pam Berehulke Donna Rich Gregg Sayers Cover Design: Damonza https://www.amandamckinneyauthor.com DEDICATION For Mama ALSO BY AMANDA MCKINNEY *NEW* Thriller Series - NARRATIVE OF A MAD WOMAN: The Widow of Weeping Pines The Raven’s Wife The Lie Between Us The Keeper’s Closet (Summer 2023) *NEW* Romantic Suspense Series - ON THE EDGE: Buried Deception Trail of Deception (2023) Lethal Legacy The Woods (A Berry Springs Novel) The Lake (A Berry Springs Novel) The Storm (A Berry Springs Novel) The Fog (A Berry Springs Novel) The Creek (A Berry Springs Novel) The Shadow (A Berry Springs Novel) The Cave (A Berry Springs Novel) Devil’s Gold (A Black Rose Mystery, Book 1) Hatchet Hollow (A Black Rose Mystery, Book 2) Tomb’s Tale (A Black Rose Mystery Book 3) Evil Eye (A Black Rose Mystery Book 4) Sinister Secrets (A Black Rose Mystery Book 5) BESTSELLING SERIES: Cabin 1 (Steele Shadows Security) Cabin 2 (Steele Shadows Security) Cabin 3 (Steele Shadows Security) Phoenix (Steele Shadows Rising) Jagger (Steele Shadows Investigations) Ryder (Steele Shadows Investigations) Her Mercenary (Steele Shadows Mercenaries) BESTSELLING SERIES: Rattlesnake Road Redemption Road The Viper And many more to come… AWARDS AND RECOGNITION JAGGER (STEELE SHADOWS INVESTIGATIONS) 2021 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense 2nd Place Winner RATTLESNAKE ROAD Named one of POPSUGAR's 12 Best Romance Books to Have a Spring Fling With 2022 Silver Falchion Finalist REDEMPTION ROAD 2022 Silver Falchion Finalist THE STORM Winner of the 2018 Golden Leaf for Romantic Suspense 2018 Maggie Award for Excellence Finalist 2018 Silver Falchion Finalist 2018 Beverley Finalist 2018 Passionate Plume Honorable Mention Recipient THE FOG Winner of the 2019 Golden Quill for Romantic Suspense Winner of the 2019 I Heart Indie Award for Romantic Suspense 2019 Maggie Award of Excellence Finalist 2019 Stiletto Award Finalist CABIN 1 (STEELE SHADOWS SECURITY) 2020 National Readers Choice Award Finalist 2020 HOLT Medallion Finalist THE CAVE 2020 Book Buyers Best Finalist 2020 Carla Crown Jewel Finalist DIRTY BLONDE 2017 2nd Place Winner for It’s a Mystery Contest * * * LET’S CONNECT! Text AMANDABOOKS to 66866 to sign up for Amanda’s Newsletter and get the latest on new releases, promos, and freebies! (Don’t worry, I have no access to your phone number after you sign up.) Or, you can sign up below. https://www.amandamckinneyauthor.com THE LIE BETWEEN US This Detective's secret will follow her to the grave... At three in the morning, Detective Ame Bassette receives a panicked call from her sister Delphine who has just killed her drug-dealing boyfriend. Ame makes a snap decision—to risk everything to save her sister from spending life behind bars. Together, they go on the run but quickly discover that some secrets will follow wherever you go. After hours of driving, Ame finds herself lost in the dangerous swamplands of south Louisiana, where she comes across The Lodge of Lucien, a run-down hotel with a sordid past—that may be connected to a horrifying cold case Ame once investigated. Soon after checking in, it becomes apparent that someone doesn’t want Ame to leave. Between the eccentric lodge owner, the mysterious guest on the third floor, the wayward teen, and Ame’s mentally unstable sister, Ame begins to question who she can trust… and if it isn’t only her sister’s secrets that are coming to light. 1 Before . . . Ame “Son of a bitch.” I shake my head as I roll to a stop behind a patrol car parked crookedly in a ditch. It is the last in a long line of vehicles at the scene, including an ambulance and a beat-up ATV that I can only hope belongs to someone within the law enforcement community. I glance at the clock—1:07 a.m.—then shove my department-issued Chevy Impala into park and click off the headlights. The fluorescent glare is replaced by a glowing silver moon hanging low in the sky. Shadows stretch across the forest floor, unmoving in this still, suffocatingly humid night. Louisiana summers aren’t for the faint of heart. After tossing my Virginia Slim out the window, I grab a can of Altoids from the cupholder, pop two mints in my mouth and chew, then wash them down with the Coke I grabbed on the way out of the house. Didn’t have time to make coffee. Once I am certain my breath is devoid of the scent of alcohol, I climb out of the car. The ground is soggy from a late-afternoon thunderstorm that blew through the area. I don’t bother to lock the Impala. I’ve had four years with this car, three of which I’ve spent wishing someone would steal it so the county would issue me a replacement. A truck, preferably. So far, no luck. After adjusting my capri pants, I slip into the JanSport backpack that’s been with me since the first day I accepted my job as a Bayou County Detective. This is my uniform: gray