Murder, dark family secrets, and the unwavering bond of sisterhood— regardless of the cost.

Beth Ralston, a paralegal in Portland, Oregon, would rather be racking up billable hours than mingling at an office party— especially when her sister Lindsay, aka her plus one, is a no-show.

After making her obligatory rounds, Beth returns to her office to find that her boss, who she’ d talked with moments before, has been murdered. She sees a woman fleeing the scene. Wait— was that Lindsay? Unable to catch up to her in time, Beth waits for the police to arrive and notices that Lindsay has left her phone behind with an unsent text message to Beth displayed on the screen: “ Don’ t ask. Don’ t follow.”

Lindsay is unreachable for days, and when Beth starts to come under suspicion for the crime, she decides that waiting is impossible. While retracing Lindsay’ s steps, determined to bring her home, Beth uncovers what her sister, an investigative reporter bent on changing the world, was trying to expose— corruption, secrets, and betrayal on an unimaginable level. Revealing the truth might bring back the one person she’ s desperate to find— but it could also destroy the only life and family Beth’ s ever known.

Book Type:

Thriller

Excerpt: Don’t Ask, Don’t Follow

CHAPTER 1

I preferred things black or white. Fact or fiction. Fact: I hate office parties. Also, fact: had I kept my butt in my chair, head down working, the night would have ended differently.

Gray—or the unknown—happens when you let others influence you. That’s what happened when instead of sticking to what I knew, I got sucked into the holiday spirit.

My closest office friend, Mandy Perkins, had everything to do with that. She was another paralegal at Ralston, Higgins & Schroeder, my father’s Portland-based law firm.

She bumped my shoulder. It was after office hours and we stood at the edge of the lobby that resembled the Four Seasons with its marble floors, maple and glass fixtures, and waitstaff drifting about, their trays filled with mini quiches and bacon-wrapped scallops. The pre-holiday holiday party had begun.

“This must be killing you, but you can’t hide in your office forever.”

The open bar flowing with hot-buttered rum and mixed drinks would help with my social anxiety, but Mandy was only half right on the other. Working endless hours without a break was one of my superpowers. “I have a ton to do. Don’t you have a stack yourself?” I fought the urge to run and dig back in.

She wrinkled her mouth in a quit making up excuses sort of way. “It’ll be there Monday, Beth. One drink won’t hurt. It might even make you more fun.”

“Fun doesn’t pay the bills.” Or get you ahead in life. Or a better interior office with a view of the Willamette River. An office I’d coveted since Day One at the firm, even if snagging the view required the attorney’s door be open.

That part wasn’t up to me though. The associate I worked for, Craig Bartell, had to make senior partner first. My hard work could help him get there. “Besides,” I said, “my plus one was a no show.”

Another something I had little control over. My older sister, Lindsay, had blown me off without a reason. She’d never exhibited the same obligatory pull that I was cursed with, but it still stung that she hadn’t bothered to text.

“I’m your plus one.” Mandy smiled, cheesy as hell and showing teeth. “I just wish you’d dressed for the occasion. After all, Ms. Ralston, I do have a reputation to maintain.”

My gray chinos and a black cardigan made the appropriate statement: up and coming, serious about being a lawyer, someday. But I’d ditched the ballet flats for strappy sandals and taken an extra twenty minutes to straighten my shoulder-length brown hair.

“What’s wrong with this?”

Mandy’s twinkling red sweater screamed Ho Ho Ho at me.

She shook her head. “You need a drink worse than I thought.”