Already Seen (A Laura Frost FBI Suspense Thriller—Book 2) Read online

  A L R E A D Y S E E N

  (A Laura Frost Suspense Thriller —Book Two)

  B L A K E P I E R C E

  Blake Pierce

  Blake Pierce is the USA Today bestselling author of the RILEY PAGE mystery series, which includes seventeen books. Blake Pierce is also the author of the MACKENZIE WHITE mystery series, comprising fourteen books; of the AVERY BLACK mystery series, comprising six books; of the KERI LOCKE mystery series, comprising five books; of the MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE mystery series, comprising six books; of the KATE WISE mystery series, comprising seven books; of the CHLOE FINE psychological suspense mystery, comprising six books; of the JESSIE HUNT psychological suspense thriller series, comprising nineteen books; of the AU PAIR psychological suspense thriller series, comprising three books; of the ZOE PRIME mystery series, comprising six books; of the ADELE SHARP mystery series, comprising thirteen books; of the EUROPEAN VOYAGE cozy mystery series, comprising six books (and counting); of the new LAURA FROST FBI suspense thriller, comprising four books (and counting); of the new ELLA DARK FBI suspense thriller, comprising six books (and counting); of the A YEAR IN EUROPE cozy mystery series, comprising nine books (and counting); of the AVA GOLD mystery series, comprising three books (and counting); and of the RACHEL GIFT mystery series, comprising three books (and counting).

  ONCE GONE (a Riley Paige Mystery--Book #1), BEFORE HE KILLS (A Mackenzie White Mystery—Book 1), CAUSE TO KILL (An Avery Black Mystery—Book 1), A TRACE OF DEATH (A Keri Locke Mystery—Book 1), WATCHING (The Making of Riley Paige—Book 1), NEXT DOOR (A Chloe Fine Psychological Suspense Mystery—Book 1), THE PERFECT WIFE (A Jessie Hunt Psychological Suspense Thriller—Book One), IF SHE KNEW (A Kate Wise Mystery—Book 1), and MURDER (AND BAKLAVA) (A European Voyage Cozy Mystery—Book 1) are each available as a free download on Amazon!

  An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Blake loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.blakepierceauthor.com to learn more and stay in touch.

  Copyright © 2021 by Blake Pierce. 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 Rafinaded, used under license from Shutterstock.com.

  BOOKS BY BLAKE PIERCE

  RACHEL GIFT MYSTERY SERIES

  HER LAST WISH (Book #1)

  HER LAST CHANCE (Book #2)

  HER LAST HOPE (Book #3)

  AVA GOLD MYSTERY SERIES

  CITY OF PREY (Book #1)

  CITY OF FEAR (Book #2)

  CITY OF BONES (Book #3)

  A YEAR IN EUROPE

  A MURDER IN PARIS (Book #1)

  DEATH IN FLORENCE (Book #2)

  VENGEANCE IN VIENNA (Book #3)

  A FATALITY IN SPAIN (Book #4)

  SCANDAL IN LONDON (Book #5)

  AN IMPOSTOR IN DUBLIN (Book #6)

  SEDUCTION IN BORDEAUX (Book #7)

  JEALOUSY IN SWITZERLAND (Book #8)

  A DEBACLE IN PRAGUE (Book #9)

  ELLA DARK FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER

  GIRL, ALONE (Book #1)

  GIRL, TAKEN (Book #2)

  GIRL, HUNTED (Book #3)

  GIRL, SILENCED (Book #4)

  GIRL, VANISHED (Book 5)

  GIRL ERASED (Book #6)

  LAURA FROST FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER

  ALREADY GONE (Book #1)

  ALREADY SEEN (Book #2)

  ALREADY TRAPPED (Book #3)

  ALREADY MISSING (Book #4)

  EUROPEAN VOYAGE COZY MYSTERY SERIES

  MURDER (AND BAKLAVA) (Book #1)

  DEATH (AND APPLE STRUDEL) (Book #2)

  CRIME (AND LAGER) (Book #3)

  MISFORTUNE (AND GOUDA) (Book #4)

  CALAMITY (AND A DANISH) (Book #5)

  MAYHEM (AND HERRING) (Book #6)

  ADELE SHARP MYSTERY SERIES

  LEFT TO DIE (Book #1)

  LEFT TO RUN (Book #2)

  LEFT TO HIDE (Book #3)

  LEFT TO KILL (Book #4)

  LEFT TO MURDER (Book #5)

  LEFT TO ENVY (Book #6)

  LEFT TO LAPSE (Book #7)

  LEFT TO VANISH (Book #8)

  LEFT TO HUNT (Book #9)

  LEFT TO FEAR (Book #10)

  LEFT TO PREY (Book #11)

  LEFT TO LURE (Book #12)

  LEFT TO CRAVE (Book #13)

  THE AU PAIR SERIES

  ALMOST GONE (Book#1)

  ALMOST LOST (Book #2)

  ALMOST DEAD (Book #3)

  ZOE PRIME MYSTERY SERIES

  FACE OF DEATH (Book#1)

  FACE OF MURDER (Book #2)

  FACE OF FEAR (Book #3)

  FACE OF MADNESS (Book #4)

  FACE OF FURY (Book #5)

  FACE OF DARKNESS (Book #6)

  A JESSIE HUNT PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE SERIES

  THE PERFECT WIFE (Book #1)

  THE PERFECT BLOCK (Book #2)

  THE PERFECT HOUSE (Book #3)

  THE PERFECT SMILE (Book #4)

  THE PERFECT LIE (Book #5)

  THE PERFECT LOOK (Book #6)

  THE PERFECT AFFAIR (Book #7)

  THE PERFECT ALIBI (Book #8)

  THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR (Book #9)

  THE PERFECT DISGUISE (Book #10)

  THE PERFECT SECRET (Book #11)

  THE PERFECT FAÇADE (Book #12)

  THE PERFECT IMPRESSION (Book #13)

  THE PERFECT DECEIT (Book #14)

  THE PERFECT MISTRESS (Book #15)

  THE PERFECT IMAGE (Book #16)

  THE PERFECT VEIL (Book #17)

  THE PERFECT INDISCRETION (Book #18)

  THE PERFECT RUMOR (Book #19)

  CHLOE FINE PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE SERIES

  NEXT DOOR (Book #1)

  A NEIGHBOR’S LIE (Book #2)

  CUL DE SAC (Book #3)

  SILENT NEIGHBOR (Book #4)

  HOMECOMING (Book #5)

  TINTED WINDOWS (Book #6)

  KATE WISE MYSTERY SERIES

  IF SHE KNEW (Book #1)

  IF SHE SAW (Book #2)

  IF SHE RAN (Book #3)

  IF SHE HID (Book #4)

  IF SHE FLED (Book #5)

  IF SHE FEARED (Book #6)

  IF SHE HEARD (Book #7)

  THE MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE SERIES

  WATCHING (Book #1)

  WAITING (Book #2)

  LURING (Book #3)

  TAKING (Book #4)

  STALKING (Book #5)

  KILLING (Book #6)

  RILEY PAIGE MYSTERY SERIES

  ONCE GONE (Book #1)

  ONCE TAKEN (Book #2)

  ONCE CRAVED (Book #3)

  ONCE LURED (Book #4)

  ONCE HUNTED (Book #5)

  ONCE PINED (Book #6)

  ONCE FORSAKEN (Book #7)

  ONCE COLD (Book #8)

  ONCE STALKED (Book #9)

  ONCE LOST (Book #10)

  ONCE BURIED (Book #11)


  ONCE BOUND (Book #12)

  ONCE TRAPPED (Book #13)

  ONCE DORMANT (Book #14)

  ONCE SHUNNED (Book #15)

  ONCE MISSED (Book #16)

  ONCE CHOSEN (Book #17)

  MACKENZIE WHITE MYSTERY SERIES

  BEFORE HE KILLS (Book #1)

  BEFORE HE SEES (Book #2)

  BEFORE HE COVETS (Book #3)

  BEFORE HE TAKES (Book #4)

  BEFORE HE NEEDS (Book #5)

  BEFORE HE FEELS (Book #6)

  BEFORE HE SINS (Book #7)

  BEFORE HE HUNTS (Book #8)

  BEFORE HE PREYS (Book #9)

  BEFORE HE LONGS (Book #10)

  BEFORE HE LAPSES (Book #11)

  BEFORE HE ENVIES (Book #12)

  BEFORE HE STALKS (Book #13)

  BEFORE HE HARMS (Book #14)

  AVERY BLACK MYSTERY SERIES

  CAUSE TO KILL (Book #1)

  CAUSE TO RUN (Book #2)

  CAUSE TO HIDE (Book #3)

  CAUSE TO FEAR (Book #4)

  CAUSE TO SAVE (Book #5)

  CAUSE TO DREAD (Book #6)

  KERI LOCKE MYSTERY SERIES

  A TRACE OF DEATH (Book #1)

  A TRACE OF MUDER (Book #2)

  A TRACE OF VICE (Book #3)

  A TRACE OF CRIME (Book #4)

  A TRACE OF HOPE (Book #5)

  CONTENTS

  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

  CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

  CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE

  CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

  CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN

  EPILOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  Special Agent Laura Frost glanced into her rearview mirror, not at the road, but at the back seat. At the six-year-old girl who was sitting there, strapped in and looking both brave and terrified at once. The light of the sun flashing through the window played over tearstains on her cheeks, but her eyes were wide open now and she sat silently, her own arms wrapped tightly around herself.

  Laura bit her lip, concentrating again on the road ahead. She’d made a big mistake.

  But then again, there was nothing else to do. She’d had to rush in there and grab six-year-old Amy Fallow right out of her own home, because no one else was going to stop her father from beating her. Of course, the only evidence Laura had that this was taking place was Amy herself.

  The only reason she’d known about it was because she’d seen it in a psychic vision – and those didn’t tend to hold up well in court.

  Laura hadn’t had any choice but going in to rescue Amy. But now she had a huge problem. You didn’t just kidnap a young girl without consequences – and when that young girl’s father was State Governor John Fallow, the consequences would have to be big.

  “Alright,” Laura said out loud, just to hear the sound of her own voice and to maybe, just maybe, reassure Amy as well as herself. “We’re going to go see someone who can help us out.”

  “Who is it?” Amy asked, the first thing she’d said since getting in the car. Her voice had less of a hitch to it now that she was no longer sobbing, but she still sounded so young and small that it made Laura’s heart squeeze painfully in her chest.

  “My boss,” Laura said, glancing in her mirrors as she switched lanes. “He’s a good man, and he’s going to know exactly what to do.”

  In fact, she hadn’t known where she was going until just now. She’d only thought about getting Amy out of a dangerous situation before anything worse could happen. The vision she had seen had been heartbreaking, and she knew that it probably wasn’t the first time Fallow had laid into his daughter. His wife, too, cowered in front of him. Laura knew how to recognize the classic signs of abuse. Not that it had made her any more sympathetic towards a woman who could allow her own daughter to endure horrific treatment like this.

  Just like she’d had no choice about rescuing Amy, she now had no choice but to go to the FBI headquarters and Division Chief Chuck Rondelle. The Governor would call in the kidnapping of his daughter – the second in as many months – and send the whole state’s worth of law enforcement after her. She had threatened him to not do so, but she was under no illusions. A man like that wouldn’t just let his daughter escape his clutches with no consequences. The only way this didn’t end with Laura in prison and Amy right back where she started was if Laura tried to get ahead of it, relying on her Chief’s sense of justice and the goodwill she’d garnered by solving difficult cases.

  If he couldn’t help her, then it was all over.

  Laura drove as fast as she dared, with a six-year-old in the back seat. Her unconscious thoughts must have already been taking her to the squat, ugly FBI headquarters building, because they were already so close that they reached it after taking one more exit. The gray concrete echoed her mood as she pulled up into the parking lot and got out of the car, opening Amy’s door for her. She’d thought Amy would want to walk up there on her own – most children at that age were starting to feel like they wanted to be more grown-up, more independent – but Amy was shaking so badly that Laura ended up lifting her into her arms. She realized for the first time that Amy was clutching a faded, threadbare stuffed rabbit – it must have been a favorite toy that Amy had grabbed on the way out of her bedroom.

  She knew they cut an odd figure together. The FBI agent in her early thirties, blonde and blue-eyed herself, dressed in a sharp suit and power boots that were good for walking, running, and holding authority over the people they had to interview or order around. Cradled in her arms, a girl who could have been her daughter but wasn’t, dressed in pajamas, the signs of distress faded but still visible on her cheeks. Both of them striding through the hallways of the FBI building, entering the elevator and going right up to the floor on which the Division Chief kept his office, ignoring the stares and curious looks they got.

  “Will he make me go back?” Amy whispered in Laura’s ear, in the privacy of the elevator. Her tiny arms were locked around Laura’s neck. Laura shifted slightly to look at the girl, who was keeping her gaze on the floor. Six years old, and she’d already learned to stay quiet and not make eye contact for fear of making someone angry. Laura’s blood boiled, the clench in her chest coming again, and more powerfully.

  “I won’t let him, sweetie,” Laura said, even though she really had no idea whether she was telling the truth.

  The elevator pinged to announce their arrival on the correct floor, and Laura took a breath before the doors slid open. Then she marched to Rondelle’s door, reaching out and knocking on it before she could allow herself to lose her nerve.

  “Come.”

  The command was simple and terse, and the voice was distracted. Laura had the feeling she was about to walk in on her boss doing paperwork, as he often was, and she hoped it wasn’t going to put him in a bad mood before they even got anywhere. She pushed the door open, stepping through with Amy still in her arms and closing it firmly behind them before she stepped in front of his desk.

  At first, Rondelle didn’t look up. Th
en he did glance, and when he glanced, he froze; his pen dropped onto the table, and he fixed Laura with a raised eyebrow. “Agent Frost. And who’s this? … Not little Amy Fallow?”

  Of course, he would recognize the girl. She had been part of one of the state’s highest-profile kidnappings in decades. Rondelle had personally congratulated Laura on her work in finding Amy. He wasn’t going to mistake the child now.

  “Yes,” Amy said shyly, and Laura found herself clutching the girl tighter before she realized what she was doing. Then she forced herself to relax, looking around for a chair to sit Amy on. There was one pushed up against the wall, and she carefully settled Amy down there.

  “Now, Amy, I’m glad to see you,” Rondelle said. He was transforming in front of Laura’s eyes: from a small, wiry, and sharply inquisitive career agent into a grandfatherly figure, fitting for the gray hair that was sprouting through the black on his head. He opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a ball of rubber bands, and a couple of small, empty pots. “I’ve been needing some help with something. I think you might be just the girl for the job. Do you think you can help me out?”

  “What is it?” Amy asked, all wide-eyed innocence.

  Rondelle laughed as he got up, walking over to kneel in front of her. “Good girl – always ask before you agree to something. Well, you see, someone’s put all of these rubber bands into a ball. That was silly of them, wasn’t it?”

  Amy giggled, nodding. The flash of a smile was short-lived, but it gave Laura hope. She wasn’t completely destroyed, yet, by what her father had done.

  “Now, how about you help me separate all these bands? You see how some of them are brown, and some of them are blue? Will you take them off the ball and put them into these pots for me, so we can keep the colors separate?”

  Amy nodded eagerly, reaching her hands out for the ball and pots. She placed them on her knee and bent her head over them, quickly starting to work out how to stretch the bands and take them off the ball.

  “Alright, Frost,” Rondelle said, moving back behind his desk. Laura followed him to the opposite end of the room, where they could talk quietly without Amy hearing every word if they were careful. Rondelle kept his voice light and cheerful, but his face told a different story as he looked at her. It was all sharp angles, and Laura knew she was in trouble if she couldn’t make him understand. “Why don’t you tell me why you’re here today?”