Nowhere to Hide (Sandra Vos #3)

Prologue

THIRTY-THREE YEARS AGO

Washington, DC

She couldn’t speed up, and she couldn’t slow down. The day’s snowfall made the roads a hazardous mess, but the vehicles behind her were still pressing her to move faster. She wished they’d pass her and get on with their harried lives, but the oncoming traffic was a solid wall.

Her tires lost their grip on a patch of ice, and the car careened toward the sidewalk. Grabbing the wheel, she overcorrected. The car swerved back, taking her over the line.

She was staring into the headlights of a pickup.

Oh shit!

She turned the wheel, veering back into her lane just in time.

“How are you doing back there, Ryan?” She glanced over her shoulder at her five-year-old in the backseat.

He seemed oblivious to their near miss. He was caught up waging a war with his toy soldiers, batting them against each other as if they were in hand-to-hand combat. Though every now and then, he’d call out, pew-pew.

Despite only taking her eyes off the road for less than a second, the traffic around her seemed to have swelled more, boxing her in.

Her stomach clenched as she prayed she could just slow down, or better yet, pull over.

But before she could do anything, the vehicle behind her shot up on her left side.

It was such a small opening in which to pass.

Where does he think he’s going?

She lost control of her car, skidding toward the crosswalk. She pumped the brakes, but it didn’t do any good.

She was left to watch in horror as the pole on the side of the road came closer and closer until…

“Ryan, hold—” she screamed, just seconds before impact.

The airbags deployed and exploded against her chest.

All went dark.