Last Light
LIGHT
CJ Lyons
Also By CJ Lyons:
Lucy Guardino FBI Thrillers:
SNAKE SKIN
BLOOD STAINED
KILL ZONE
AFTER SHOCK
HARD FALL
BAD BREAK
Hart and Drake Medical Suspense:
NERVES OF STEEL
SLEIGHT OF HAND
FACE TO FACE
EYE OF THE STORM
Shadow Ops Covert Thrillers:
CHASING SHADOWS
LOST IN SHADOWS
EDGE OF SHADOWS
Fatal Insomnia Medical Thrillers:
FAREWELL TO DREAMS
A RAGING DAWN
BORROWED TIME
LUCIDITY: A GHOST OF A LOVE STORY
BROKEN
WATCHED
FIGHT DIRTY
Angels of Mercy Medical Suspense:
LIFELINES
WARNING SIGNS
URGENT CARE
CRITICAL CONDITION
Caitlyn Tierney FBI Thrillers:
BLIND FAITH
BLACK SHEEP
HOLLOW BONES
PRAISE FOR NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER CJ LYONS:
“Everything a great thriller should be—action packed, authentic, and intense.” #1
New York Times
bestselling author Lee Child
“A compelling new voice in thriller writing…I love how the characters come alive on every page.” ~
New York Times
bestselling author Jeffery Deaver
“Top Pick! A fascinating and intense thriller.” ~ 4 1/2 stars,
RT Book Reviews
“An intense, emotional thriller…(that) climbs to the edge of intensity.” ~
National Examiner
“A perfect blend of romance and suspense. My kind of read.” ~#
1 New York Times
Bestselling author Sandra Brown
“Highly engaging characters, heart-stopping scenes…one great rollercoaster ride that will not be stopping anytime soon.” ~Bookreporter.com
“
Adrenalin pumping.” ~
The Mystery Gazette
“Riveting.” ~
Publishers Weekly Beyond Her Book
Lyons “is a master within the genre.” ~
Pittsburgh Magazine
“Will leave you breathless and begging for more.” ~Romance Novel TV
“A great fast-paced read….Not to be missed.” ~4 ½ Stars, Book Addict
“
Breathtakingly fast-paced.” ~
Publishers Weekly
“Simply superb…riveting drama…a perfect ten.” ~Romance Reviews Today
“Characters with beating hearts and three dimensions.” ~
Newsday
“A pulse-pounding adrenalin rush!” ~Lisa Gardner
“Packed with adrenalin.” ~David Morrell
“…Harrowing, emotional, action-packed and brilliantly realized.” ~Susan Wiggs
“Explodes on the page…I absolutely could not put it down.” ~Romance Readers’ Connection
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and not intended by the author.
Copyright 2015, CJ Lyons
EdgyReads
Cover design: Toni McGee Causey
Stock photo copyright icsnaps /Dollar Photo Club
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means for example, electronic, photocopy, recording without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
CJ Lyons and Thrillers with Heart registered Trademarks of CJ Lyons, LLC
Library of Congress Case # 1-2761311601
Dear Reader,
Thanks so much for joining in on Lucy’s adventures! If you haven’t read her first stories, they are:
SNAKE SKIN, BLOOD STAINED, KILL ZONE, AFTER SHOCK, HARD FALL, and BAD BREAK
LAST LIGHT is Lucy’s first adventure at Beacon Falls.
Lucy will be back with a new adventure in DEVIL SMOKE. For the rest of the world it won’t be available until 2017, but if you join our Thrillers with Heart Family
HERE,
you’ll get early notice!
The Lucy Guardino Thrillers are the only series I know of that come with a warning—and there’s good reason for it. Most of the crimes and bad guys depicted in these stories come from real life.
As always, thanks for reading!
CJ
Prologue
NOVEMBER 13, 1987
LILY MARTIN HATED
how quickly night fell after the clocks turned back in November. Peter said the whole thing was a Wall Street conspiracy, but he tended to blame everything on New York City bankers who didn’t understand the scrabble of working the land, trying to feed the nation as well as your family. Peter liked to think of himself as a hardworking, upright, honest man and loving husband. Even if he wasn’t.
Maybe with the nights growing longer and cooler, the rain would finally come. It’d been a long, dry summer and autumn, making for a poor harvest. She turned off the main road from town, dust billowing behind her as the Subaru wagon bounced over the washboard ruts of the hard-packed lane leading past fields of cotton and sorghum, trying to outrace the setting sun.
Motion in the rearview mirror caught her eye. Sweet Glory was still asleep, despite the bump and grind of the lane, drool slipping into the bib tucked into her onesie. Such a good baby, no trouble at all.
Unlike her big brother. “Turn around and stop your squirming,” she told Alan, who was halfway over the rear seat, foraging through the grocery bags in the way back. He twisted to face front, chocolate smearing his mouth, hands, and Cub Scout uniform.
She hit the accelerator. That chocolate was going to stain for sure if she didn’t set it soaking. She’d bought the uniform at the thrift store in San Angelo. She’d had to mend rips in the shoulder seams, but it was the best she could do and she wouldn’t have those other mothers thinking she couldn’t manage keeping her son in decent clothes. “What did I tell you about eating before dinner?”
“Sorry,” he said.
Lily hated the whine in his voice. Sure, he was only six, but she was afraid he’d grow up to be one of those spineless boys who took what they wanted without thinking of others, always taking shortcuts and lying their way out of honest work. Just like his father, God help her.
“Sorry doesn’t pay for groceries, young man. Those cookies were bought special for tomorrow when Caleb comes to visit and you know it.”