Carly Phillips
Cross My Heart
The first book in the Ty and Hunter series, 2006
To the Plotmonkeys, Janelle, Julie and Les,
you aren’t just colleagues, you are my friends,
and my sisters.
To Robert Gottlieb, thank you for taking
this journey with me and for believing in me
every step of the way.
An extra-special thank-you to my editor,
Brenda Chin, for pushing me to the limit on
this one. Don’t ever let up!
As always, this book is dedicated to my family.
To my husband, Phil, my daughters, Jackie and Jen,
and my doggies, Buddy and Dylan; and to
Mom and Dad. You make every day worthwhile.
I love you all.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Writing this story was a stretch for me, a huge leap of faith in myself and my writing. Thanks to those who helped me along the way: the Plotmonkeys: Janelle Denison, Julie Leto and Leslie Kelly, the best writers and friends a girl could have. Susan Kearney, whose plotting mind works in ways that astound me, thank you for sharing your insight and for putting up with my questions no matter how silly they might have been. Any factual inaccuracies, such as the New York state statute of limitations on declaring a missing person legally dead, are for storyline purposes. It is what writers call the willing suspension of disbelief, and thank goodness for it!
Prologue
The sky was jet-black. No stars. No moon. No light to give them away. Tyler Benson led the way to the top of the cliffs with Lilly by his side. Daniel Hunter, their best friend, lagged behind. Lilly held on to Ty’s hand, every once in a while giving it a squeeze, showing her fear. Otherwise Ty would think this was just another of their adventures. He knew better.