Fear Is Louder Than Words Read online

  Table of Contents

  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

  CHAPTER 33

  CHAPTER 34

  CHAPTER 35

  CHAPTER 36

  CHAPTER 37

  CHAPTER 38

  CHAPTER 39

  CHAPTER 40

  CHAPTER 41

  CHAPTER 42

  CHAPTER 43

  CHAPTER 44

  CHAPTER 45

  CHAPTER 46

  CHAPTER 47

  CHAPTER 48

  CHAPTER 49

  CHAPTER 50

  CHAPTER 51

  CHAPTER 52

  CHAPTER 53

  CHAPTER 54

  CHAPTER 55

  CHAPTER 56

  CHAPTER 57

  CHAPTER 58

  CHAPTER 59

  CHAPTER 60

  CHAPTER 61

  CHAPTER 62

  CHAPTER 63

  CHAPTER 64

  CHAPTER 65

  CHAPTER 66

  CHAPTER 67

  CHAPTER 68

  CHAPTER 69

  CHAPTER 70

  CHAPTER 71

  CHAPTER 72

  CHAPTER 73

  CHAPTER 74

  CHAPTER 75

  CHAPTER 76

  CHAPTER 77

  CHAPTER 78

  CHAPTER 79

  CHAPTER 80

  CHAPTER 81

  CHAPTER 82

  CHAPTER 83

  CHAPTER 84

  CHAPTER 85

  CHAPTER 86

  CHAPTER 87

  CHAPTER 88

  CHAPTER 89

  CHAPTER 90

  CHAPTER 91

  CHAPTER 92

  CHAPTER 93

  CHAPTER 94

  CHAPTER 95

  CHAPTER 96

  CHAPTER 97

  CHAPTER 98

  CHAPTER 99

  CHAPTER 100

  CHAPTER 101

  EPILOGUE

  Fear Is Louder Than Words

  by

  Linda S. Glaz

  FEAR IS LOUDER THAN WORDS BY LINDA S. GLAZ

  Published by Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas

  2333 Barton Oaks Dr., Raleigh, NC, 27614

  ISBN: 9781941103500

  Copyright © 2015 by Linda S. Glaz

  Cover design by Elaina Lee, http://www.forthemusedesign.com

  Interior design by Karthick Srinivasan

  Available in print from your local bookstore, online, or from the publisher at:

  www.lighthousepublishingofthecarolinas.com

  For more information on this book and the author visit http://lindaglaz.blogspot.com/

  All rights reserved. Non-commercial interests may reproduce portions of this book without the express written permission of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, provided the text does not exceed 500 words. When reproducing text from this book, include the following credit line: “Fear is Louder Than Words by Linda S. Glaz published by Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. Used by permission.”

  Commercial interests: No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by the United States of America copyright law.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents are all products of the author’s imagination or are used for fictional purposes. Any mentioned brand names, places, and trademarks remain the property of their respective owners, bear no association with the author or the publisher, and are used for fictional purposes only.

  Scripture quotations are taken from the HOLY BIBLE NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION r. NIVr Copyright c 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

  Brought to you by the creative team at LighthousePublishingoftheCarolinas.com: Leslie L. McKee, Rowena Kuo, Eddie Jones, Meaghan Burnett, Shonda Savage, Brian Cross, Paige Boggs, and Christy Distler

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Glaz, Linda S.

  Fear is Louder Than Words / Linda S. Glaz 1st ed.

  PRAISE FOR FEAR IS LOUDER THAN WORDS

  Bone-chilling suspense, riveting romance … author Linda S. Glaz knows how to keep the pages turning long after the sun goes down. Fear is Louder Than Words is a fully-rounded romantic suspense that pulls on the reader’s heartstrings. No one writes villains like Linda!

  ~ Jessica Nelson

  Author of Love on the Range

  Family on the Range

  and the Women of Manatee Bay Series

  Fear Is Louder Than Words weaves the terror of being hunted prey with chilling twists of a spine-tingling, romantic suspense. Linda Glaz’s writing is tight, her dialogue realistic, her ability to give heroes and villains distinct voice shines. A gripping ride!

  ~ Camille Eide

  Author of Like There’s No Tomorrow

  and Like a Love Song

  Fear definitely speaks loud in this edge-of-your-seat romantic suspense. The author takes us behind the mic of a radio host and into the mind of a killer.

  ~ Cynthia Hickey

  Author of the Nosy Neighbor Mystery Series

  Dedication

  To my fabulous family who always encouraged me to keep writing, and who have always been there. Always.

  To Jesus Christ who keeps me up late at night with ideas that never end

  and with strength only He can give.

  Contents

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  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

  CHAPTER 33

  CHAPTER 34

  CHAPTER 35

  CHAPTER 36

  CHAPTER 37

  CHAPTER 38

  CHAPTER 39

  CHAPTER 40

  CHAPTER 41

  CHAPTER 42

  CHAPTER 43

  CHAPTER 44

  CHAPTER 45

  CHAPTER 46

  CHAPTER 47

  CHAPTER 48

  CHAPTER 49

  CHAPTER 50


  CHAPTER 51

  CHAPTER 52

  CHAPTER 53

  CHAPTER 54

  CHAPTER 55

  CHAPTER 56

  CHAPTER 57

  CHAPTER 58

  CHAPTER 59

  CHAPTER 60

  CHAPTER 61

  CHAPTER 62

  CHAPTER 63

  CHAPTER 64

  CHAPTER 65

  CHAPTER 66

  CHAPTER 67

  CHAPTER 68

  CHAPTER 69

  CHAPTER 70

  CHAPTER 71

  CHAPTER 72

  CHAPTER 73

  CHAPTER 74

  CHAPTER 75

  CHAPTER 76

  CHAPTER 77

  CHAPTER 78

  CHAPTER 79

  CHAPTER 80

  CHAPTER 81

  CHAPTER 82

  CHAPTER 83

  CHAPTER 84

  CHAPTER 85

  CHAPTER 86

  CHAPTER 87

  CHAPTER 88

  CHAPTER 89

  CHAPTER 90

  CHAPTER 91

  CHAPTER 92

  CHAPTER 93

  CHAPTER 94

  CHAPTER 95

  CHAPTER 96

  CHAPTER 97

  CHAPTER 98

  CHAPTER 99

  CHAPTER 100

  CHAPTER 101

  EPILOGUE

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  It’s so hard to know where to begin. But I couldn’t have completed this story without my fabulous critique partners: Camille Eide, Jessica Nelson, Karla Akins, Emily Hendrickson, Tom Threadgill, April Strauch, and Cheryl Martin. Kudos for all the catches. You were wonderful and funny from beginning to end. Without all of you, this would have been flat, like an egg without salt.

  To my fantastic agent, Terry Burns. Thank you. Thank you. You see the potential in so many folks and we’re all grateful.

  To my family who put up with hearing the story over and over until I’m sure they longed to scream, “Stop, already, or we’ll write a fave fan letter of our own!”

  To my sister-in-law Penny Banks who is the greatest encourager I’ve ever known. And to Ben Wolf, thanks for the slashing and burning. To Leslie McKee who caught all those niggling little things I always manage to miss.

  To Bob Dutko’s producer, Jan Foxx, WMUZ-Detroit, who gave of her time so I could be sure about details surrounding a radio talk show host’s life in the public eye. And the horror it can often mean for those standing up for what they believe in.

  To more readers than I can name. Thank you. Thank you for reading this when it was still earning its chops. I appreciate all the comments that helped the story come alive.

  To two very special people who always allow me to pick their law enforcement brains, retired officers, Mike and Linda Discher who I have on speed dial.

  Thanks to the Following Authors for Their Support of Fear Is Louder Than Words

  A Gift for You

  Thank you for investing in this book. As a thank you, LPC Books would love to offer you advance review Kindle copies of our forthcoming books. These Kindle ebooks will be delivered to your Kindle reader. We release around 40 books a year. You pick which ones you wish to receive. Visit the link below to sign up for our FREE Kindle ebook subscriber list:

  http://lighthousepublishingofthecarolinas.com/free-ebook/

  CHAPTER 1

  Christmastime is near

  Happy time of year

  But Princess … you deserve to die

  A MOUTHFUL OF HOT MOCHA spewed from Rochelle’s mouth, burning her chin and bathing the counter. Fingers tense, she set down her cup then shredded the note into file thirteen.

  The guy was no Thoreau. Another wacko. The city was full of them and a great many had found their way to her door, her email, and her Twitter account.

  She grabbed the edge of the counter, smoothed the long, blue sweater over her leggings, and forced a smile. Did her phony calm fool their receptionist or resemble a bad imitation of the Joker?

  Behind Stella’s desk, a cheerful Christmas carol on WNIC mocked Rochelle—contradicted the fact she’d been threatened—again. Six letters now. She should call legal.

  “What is it?” Stella looked up through thick bangs, a wavering grin on her frightened-little-mouse face. Had Rochelle ever looked that young? That naïve? No, she’d jumped from sixteen to ninety the day her folks died.

  “Which favorite fan is it this time? Are you all right? What did it say?” Stella nibbled the edge of her nail.

  Rochelle laughed a little too loud to squelch the sick feeling snaking through her gut. “That I deserve to die.” She mopped at the counter with a wad of tissue and then waved her hand. Bye-bye.

  “Say what?” Stella’s jaw dropped.

  “Aren’t you glad all my fans don’t feel that way? So long ratings.”

  Stella chewed her cheek and nodded while Rochelle debated how to best spin this.

  “Don’t give the crazies a thought, Stell. I have enough of those letters to paper an entire room. Just sayin’. First one nut job, then another.” Had she sounded sincere? No one ever really got accustomed to the vicious comments.

  Rochelle dropped another strained smile, but the girl’s huge, almond eyes appeared ready to cry. “Understand one thing, Stella. They all think they’re your favorite fan. And can say whatever they like.” Her thumb rubbed over the other envelopes.

  “I’m sorry you got that letter. Will you be all right? I’m so sorry about the fave fan and all. I can call security. Do you want someone to walk you out, Ms. Cassidy? It’s getting late. It won’t be a bother. I promise. My coat’s right here.” She fingered the jacket sleeve.

  Stella’s anxious rambling wasn’t helping to put the letter to rest. There was nothing to set aside the hateful venom that seemed to come so easily to another person’s lips. And for the life of her, she didn’t understand why.

  “I’ll be leaving in a while, and it’s Rochelle, not Ms. Cassidy. And, no, I don’t need anyone to walk me out.”

  Rochelle caught her breath and dropped the rest of the mail back in her slot, not intending to read any more tonight. Perhaps never.

  Clearing the lobby, she scrambled for the safety of her office. Instead of tears, she closed the door, slammed her shoulders against the heavy wood, and sucked back an unsteady breath. Too many high-profile stories of late had the sting of a bull’s-eye. The darts pierced between her shoulders.

  Why, again, had she taken this job?

  Oh, yeah. Pay off the mortgage and student loans.

  The intercom buzzed. Rochelle flinched, bringing up the spicy soup from lunch into her throat. She leaned forward and flipped the switch on the intercom. “Yes?” With a one-handed tug on her desk drawer, she searched for a tin of antacids as her teeth worried her lower lip.

  “A man to see you.” Stella lowered her voice. “He said you need to sign for a package. And don’t worry. I checked his credentials. Driver’s license and all.”

  Yeah, like a man would have I’m bad stamped on his license. Right next to organ donor. Rochelle smiled. Where had the station found such a sweetie?

  “What package? Never mind. Send him over.” Ignoring the nervous sound of her voice, she smoothed her top again, tugging at the edges.

  Pen clutched in her hand like a weapon, Rochelle waited outside her door. A man too old and tired-looking to be suspect turned the corner.

  She exhaled. “May I help you?”

  “Cassidy? Rochelle?”

  She nodded, and he stuck out his hand, tapped at a blank line.

  “Your John Hancock.”

  She scribbled her signature. “What is it?”

  A scowl formed as he scrutinized her signature. He popped the signed receipt in a black folder. “Don’t know. Don’t care. Here.” Then he shoved a manila envelope in her direction and disappeared the way he’d come.

  “Merry Christmas to you, too.” She hated to link Christmas with sarcasm, but sometimes it fit. Ho-Ho-Ho
.

  Her fingers grasped the thin envelope to her chest. Calm down. Can’t be a subpoena, he wouldn’t have needed a signature. She backtracked to her desk, never stealing her gaze from the packet. Surely her favorite fan wouldn’t go to this much trouble.

  Would he?

  Rochelle laid it on her desk. Staring didn’t help. She sat down. Maybe she should call legal before opening it. Another search through the drawer uncovered not only the mints but a pewter letter opener.

  Raised letterhead … Blackwell, Merriweather, and VanHume. Daniel VanHume. That name. Where did she know it from? Fingers shaking, she withdrew another paper.

  A letter and … a check?

  CHAPTER 2

  A CITY BUS RUMBLED PAST, a bigger-than-life photo of Rochelle Cassidy defiling the side.

  Smoke belched. Kyle punched the air and flipped his finger toward the back of the bus. Like he needed a reminder of the princess.

  Every other day this week, she’d left the building hours before now. What kept her today? Reading his card. That’s it; she was reading his card. Wondering if he was watching.

  That must be it.

  But he didn’t like waiting.

  Not for anyone. Or anything.

  Darkness fell in sketchy outlines. He smirked. Even the weather was on his side, but still, he shivered.

  Some stiff bumped him, dropped a box as he rushed past.

  “Hey! Watch where you’re going. Here.” Kyle kicked the box. “You forgot something.”

  The guy didn’t make eye contact. Just grabbed the package and ran like the little girl he was. Kyle laughed.

  Anxious for some action, he bulleted a gaze at his dollar-store watch and slapped his arms against a jacket that had been an uncle’s hand-me-down. Uncle Rory.

  His throat tightened. His gut clenched. He’d have ripped the jacket off but for the cold.

  Kyle refocused. A little after five.

  Where was she?

  Worrying that he was looking for her?

  The vision of her slender fingers opening his note drove the ice from his veins, filling him with warmth.

  Tonight, he’d do more than watch.

  Another shiver, this time from the thrill, riveted the thin jacket to his spine.

  CHAPTER 3

  “RATINGS ARE UP!”

  Rochelle jumped, smacking her knee on the edge of her chair. That was going to leave a nasty bruise.

  The door opened, and she hurried to stuff the check under her desk mat. Smile.