At 11:52 p.m., Mia texted three words: DON'T GO OUTSIDE, and then she was gone.
Everyone in Kettle Ridge, Texas says June's best friend ran away. The sheriff says it. The coach says it. Mia's own phone keeps texting her mother to say it. But June runs every camera the football program owns, and buried in a failed upload, she finds forty-one seconds no one knew existed: a parking lot, a girl running, headlights that aren't leaving; they're hunting, and one boy in a number 22 jersey. This secret hints at a deeper mystery that will keep readers eager to uncover the truth.
Cade Whitlock is the injured star with a full ride out of this town and a lie about how he broke his hand. He knows what happened in that lot. He's been ordered to keep his mouth shut, and in Kettle Ridge, doing what the coach says is the only religion.
June needs him on the inside. Cade needs her to stop before she ends up gone too. Neither of them plans to fall for the one person they can't afford to trust. Their growing feelings amid danger will make readers root for their connection and hope for their safety.
The deeper they dig, the bigger it gets: a doping program with a body count, a booster's forty-million-dollar dream, and a cover-up that reaches the sheriff, the school, and a beloved coach who has never once had to raise his voice. Mia is still alive. June is sure of it. But she's only alive as long as she's useful, and the clock is running out fast. The stakes are high, and danger lurks behind every secret, making the story tense and compelling.
They have until Friday night. Nine thousand people in the stands, every camera in the stadium.
And June is the one who decides what the whole town sees.
Experience a pulse-pounding, romantic thriller that combines suspense and forbidden love, perfect for fans of Karen M. McManus and Holly Jackson: a closed-door romance with high-stakes secrets?the first book in the Kettle Ridge Raiders series.
