Katlyn Duncan - As You Lay Sleeping

I did it all for you . . .

Cara’s boyfriend is dead.

When fingers start pointing at her, she knows she’s in more trouble than she originally thought. Because Cara can see that something isn’t right.

As her carefully constructed life begins to crumble, Cara isn’t sure who she is anymore.

But maybe that’s exactly what someone wants her to think . . .

Praise for KATLYN DUNCAN

“The epitome of a summertime read.” Rather Be Reading on This Summer

“Fans of sweet romances and light reads will flock to cheer on Hadley and Will’s romance blossom.” Pretty Little Pages on This Summer

“I definitely recommend This Summer if you are looking for a great romance but that’s not completely light and fuzzy. The writing is fantastic and the romance PERFECT <3” Lose Time Reading

“I really loved this book from the beginning to the very end. It was a book that you couldn’t put down because you wanted to see if this couple would ever get together and fall in love.” 4.5 stars from Once Upon a Twilight on This Summer

“ This Summer really reminded me of Colleen Hoover’s Hopeless that I loved and even though it wasn’t as intense, the writing itself was incredible.” Spiced Latte Reads

“ This Summer was a sweet best-friends romance with a large dose of drama. It is an ideal summer read.” Rampant Readers

“Katlyn Duncan’s YA debut, Soul Taken , is a thrilling ride that will leave you breathless for the next page, and curious to find the true soul we nurture within.” Jennifer Murgia, author of the Angel Star series and Between These Lines

“Wow! Talk about a completely unique concept with tons of new ideas, roles, and characters that took me on an exhilarating adventure.” 4.5 stars from I ♥ Bookie Nookie Reviews on Soul Taken

“ Soul Taken is a BRILLIANT read! . . . This is one of those books to look out for.” 5 stars from A Diary of a Book Addict

Also by Katlyn Duncan

The Life After Trilogy:

Soul Taken

Soul Possessed

Soul Betrayed

This Summer

This Christmas

Darkest Dawn

As You Lay Sleeping

Katlyn Duncan

KATLYN DUNCAN

grew up in a small town in New England, but her head was always in the clouds. She wanted to travel and see the world but was happy enough to write her own characters and live through them. Katlyn started writing at a young age and never really stopped. Even if she wasn’t writing a novel or a movie script, she was jotting down ideas in her journal or on Post-it notes. She never thought (even though she dreamed) they would lead to her actually becoming published someday. One of her proudest moments was winning $50 for a writing contest in sixth grade. And Katlyn bought her very own television with it. In that same grade, one of her most influential teachers taught her that reading was an escape and she hopes she can bring that to her readers as well.

Katlyn currently lives in lower New England, a quick train ride to New York City, with her husband and adorable wheaten terrier in a Victorian fixer-upper.

Contents

Cover

Blurb

Praise

Book List

Title Page

Author Bio

Acknowledgments

Dedication

E

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

E

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

E

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

E

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

E

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Epilogue

Excerpt

Copyright

To Jeff

Acknowledgments

To me, the hardest part of writing a book is the acknowledgments. There are so many people that assist and inspire a book throughout each step of the process that I fear I will forget them when the time comes to write this.

It’s a good thing I kept a list this time around (took me only seven books to think of that).

I’ve never written a contemporary thriller before so the task was quite daunting. I want to thank K.R. Conway (The Undertow Series) for her enlightening theory of writing and how the “threads” really came together after thinking of the book in a new way. Lisa Hall, for helping out with a certain role in the novel. K. Meyers for forever changing the way I write my drafts and for your daily encouragement in the process.

A big shout-out to the SCAG for being there daily for me during the happy and frustrating moments, and every emotion in between. I don’t know how I would have gotten this far without you all!

I want to thank my fabulous critique group for being encouraging and helpful with every single one of my books and I’m so grateful for each and every one of you.

A special thanks to family: Aunty for helping me out with authenticity. Mom for stepping into your new role of critique partner. Your feedback and love for this book has inspired me more than you will ever know. And to my darling husband, who still hasn’t read any of my books yet actively listens to my crazy theories for my characters.

To all of those at HQ Digital who helped shape this book into something I’m proud to show the world, thank you for your time and talent!

And lastly, Victoria, my lovely editor. We’ve been through so much together and I am eternally grateful for your taking me on as a new author all those years ago, and here we are, seven books later! How time flies! I hope we can meet in person in the near future!

E

“For the last time, tell me what family she was assigned to and I will untie you.”

The portly, balding man in the chair had nearly sweated through his shirt. My request had been simple enough. Yes, the adoption had been closed. The caseworker wanted to protect the girl from knowing about her past and the lowlifes who’d created her. Calling them parents would have been too kind. But that was fourteen years ago and it was about time I found her.

“I’m being reasonable here,” I said, lifting the knife from inside my jacket. It had the sheath on, but the threat achieved the desired effect.

He mumbled something.

“What was that?”

“All of the files from that year were scanned into our server.” He indicated the computer on the desk next to him.

“I assume it is password-protected?”

“Yes.”

I placed the knife on the desk, but his eyes never left my face. “Benjamin, was it? Make this easier on yourself and give me the information I need and I will leave you unharmed.” My patience was waning, and I didn’t want to be in the presence of his rank body odor for an extended period.

He rattled off his username and password, and I entered them into the prompts. I searched the database for her birth name. There were two girls with that name, but only one of them was born in Tennessee. There was little information about the girl. The fire that killed the mother would have destroyed any important documents, but I knew they didn’t hold onto anything of importance regardless.

“There’s a reason these cases are closed,” Benjamin said. “They are to protect the child.”