Prologue

Even before she was fully awake, Alice knew that something was wrong.

It could have been any number of things that had alerted her to David's distress. Perhaps his agitated twitching beside her, or maybe it was the way he had suddenly sat bolt upright in the bed. Maybe it was an inexplicable sixth sense only a wife can have.

She rolled over as David clicked on the bedside lamp. With a glance, she took in his sweat–soaked body and labored breathing. Her anxiety was inexplicable, powerful, and she couldn't chase it away.

"Dave?" she murmured groggily. "What's wrong?"

He didn't answer or even acknowledge her for that matter. Instead, he raised a trembling hand to his face, digging fingers into his eyes to clear them. His breathing lost none of its intensity, but it was his silence that scared Alice – more than any answer would have.

Awake now, she sat up and tried again. "David, are you okay?"

He looked at her over his shoulder finally. His blue–eyed gaze was intense, demented. Frightening.

A second later, he had shifted to face her and was reaching out with a trembling hand to touch her cheek. He fondled the smooth flesh of her face as though he had never felt anything like it before, trailing his fingers down over her lips to her chin. His hand was shaking visibly.

Silence stretched painfully. Alice opened her mouth to say something –

– but David sobbed, his face contorting into a mask of pure pain and anguish.

Her heart leapt to her throat. The gaping cavity in her chest rapidly filled with icy fear. David had never ever cried in front of her before.

"Dave?" she whispered, because a whisper was all she had the breath to manage.

Her husband collapsed onto her chest, sobbing wildly – uncontrollably – into her breasts. Disjointed words were lost in her blouse and Alice fell backwards onto the pillows under this assault. She held him tightly to her, tangling her fingers in his hair because she didn't know what else to do.

Unconsciously, tears escaped her eyes and trailed silently down her cheeks.

And then David raised his head to look at her. The haunted look in his bloodshot eyes sent venom pouring into her guts, freezing them instantly.

"Alice…" he said, his voice strained and uneven. "I… I killed you…"