Crossroads: Christian Suspense (A Holly Novel Book 5)

Book Synopsis: RUN AND DON'T LOOK BACK. I'LL FIND YOU WHEN IT'S SAFE. Those were the last words Holly whispered to her six-year-old foster sister before the little girl fled into the trees and disappeared from existence. Fifteen years later, Cassandra Ward is still missing. Holly is haunted by the possibility that she sent her foster sister running from one monster and into the clutches of another. How else could a child vanish without a trace? Determined to find her, Holly sifts through her own dark memories for clues, revisits her past, and chases a lead across the country with Jordan by her side. But the search for Cassie takes a dangerous turn when an altercation in the mountains leaves them stranded, cut off from the outside world, and running for their lives. Lovers of books by Lynette Eason, Terri Blackstock, and Natalie Walters will enjoy this latest thrilling installment of The Holly Novels, and might even stay up all night reading.

Recommended Reading Order:

• Criss Cross (A Holly Novel)
• Winter Memorial
• Cross Fire (A Holly Novel)
• Crossed Off (A Holly Novel)
• Injustice for All (Seeking Justice)
• Holly Jolly Christmas (Seeking Justice)
• Imperfect Justice (Seeking Justice)
• Cross the Line (A Holly Novel)
• Crossroads (A Holly Novel)

CHAPTER ONE
Despite the warm May temperature, memories shivered through my bones—bones that had been bruised and broken under the roof of the two-story structure in front of me. The cream and blue house sat vacant now, its once manicured lawn overgrown, flower boxes beneath the windows sprouting weeds, the screen door stained with black spray paint and scrub brush streaks.

It was strangely silent. But in the wind that billowed my jacket and teased the loose strands of my red hair, I could hear the echo of my foster siblings cries. Holly, I’m scared. Make it stop, Holly. It hurts. Their sweet, little voices, filled with such fear, ripped at my heart as viciously now as they had then, and tears spilled onto my cheeks. “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you,” I whispered, my words carried away by a gust of wind that rattled the for sale sign hanging from the mailbox. I had been the eldest of the four foster children, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t keep the little ones safe. Michael died a couple weeks after I was moved to a psychiatric ward. Cassie vanished into thin air at six years old, and Nat had been in and out of juvie with behavior problems. “You okay?” Jordan asked, his voice reminding me I wasn’t alone. I released an unsteady breath and wiped at my damp cheeks with my fingers. “As okay as I can be, I guess.” This place was a graveyard of excruciating memories, and I could feel the ghosts of my past breathing chills down the back of my neck. I didn’t know whether to cry, smash the mailbox to pieces in a rage, or run as far and as fast as I could . . .