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NEVER DIE ALONE

“Then you know about 21,” Bria

Jase gave a curt nod. “It made national news. A bizarre ritual killer usually does. And, of course, I was on the crime beat, so he intrigued me. I was in Sava

“He scared the hell out of me.”

“He scared a lot of people.”

“He still scares me.”

“You don’t think they,” he hitched his chin toward the police station, “got their man.”

“I’m sure of it,” she said, and her thoughts turned dark again. “At least ninety-nine percent. You eavesdropped on the conversation, so you know the details.”

“I heard part of it. Why don’t you fill me in?”

She studied him for a second, decided she had nothing to lose. “The long and the short of it is that I think 21 has come to New Orleans. Why? Probably to show off for Bentz, but who really knows? A couple of girls are missing and we . . . their mother and I, are worried sick that he may have targeted them.” Staring into his eyes, she felt the now-familiar lump form in her throat when she considered the fate of the De

“But, you don’t think so.”

“No,” she admitted. “I don’t . . .”

Books by Lisa Jackson

Stand-Alones

SEE HOW SHE DIES

FINAL SCREAM

RUNNING SCARED

WHISPERS

TWICE KISSED

UNSPOKEN

DEEP FREEZE

FATAL BURN

MOST LIKELY TO DIE

SINISTER

WITHOUT MERCY

YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW

CLOSE TO HOME

Anthony Paterno/Cahill Family Novels

IF SHE ONLY KNEW

ALMOST DEAD

Rick Bentz/Reuben Montoya Novels

HOT BLOODED

COLD BLOODED

SHIVER

ABSOLUTE FEAR

LOST SOULS

MALICE

DEVIOUS

NEVER DIE ALONE

Pierce Reed/Nikki Gillette Novels

THE NIGHT BEFORE

THE MORNING AFTER

TELL ME

Selena Alvarez/Regan Pescoli Novels

LEFT TO DIE

CHOSEN TO DIE

BORN TO DIE

AFRAID TO DIE

READY TO DIE

DESERVES TO DIE

Wicked: The Colony Novels Written with Nancy Bush

WICKED GAME

WICKED LIES

SOMETHING WICKED

WICKED WAYS

Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation

LISA JACKSON

NEVER DIE ALONE

ZEBRA BOOKS

KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.

http://www.kensingtonbooks.com

All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.

Table of Contents

NEVER DIE ALONE

Books by Lisa Jackson

Title Page

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

CHAPTER 25

CHAPTER 26

CHAPTER 27

CHAPTER 28

CHAPTER 29

CHAPTER 30

CHAPTER 31

CHAPTER 32

EPILOGUE

Teaser chapter

Copyright Page

CHAPTER 1

D rip.

Drip.

Drip.

The noise was constant, nearly rhythmic, little droplets falling and falling and . . .

Zoe’s eyes flew open.

She blinked in the semidarkness.

What the hell was that noise and . . . Oh, Jesus, where was she?

She squinted, straining to see in the semidark. Dear God, was she naked and lying on some kind of cold, hard slab? No, that couldn’t be right. Her head pounded as she tried to think, to figure out if this was real or all part of some macabre dream, or worse yet, a prank.

She and Chloe were about to turn twenty-one, and with the help of fake IDs they had gotten, the party started long before midnight, downing drink after drink, laughing, talking, drinking some more. In a sharp-edged swirl of memories she recalled the neon lights and noise of Bourbon Street, the drinks, everything from Hurricanes in their special glasses to margaritas in oversized plastic cups and Jell-O shooters and . . . Her stomach roiled at the thought of what she’d downed; all to prove she was becoming a legal card-carrying, alcohol-swilling adult. Her head felt as if it were in a vise, the handle of which was being twisted by some he-man.

At least she was no longer reeling. She did remember that, how the world had spun in wild, crazy colors before . . . before . . . what?

Had someone laced one of the two-for-one shots? Given her something to make her lose focus? Had one of their “friends” pranked her and hauled her here to strip her and leave her on the cold stone floor or whatever it was she was lying atop? And what about Chloe? Where the hell was her twin sister?