Public Trust

When Lola Michaels wakes up to a strange man in her apartment, his hands touching her throat, she’s petrified. And, although one scream sends her nighttime visitor running, she can’t shake the feeling that next time she might not be so lucky.

LAPD Lieutenant Jacob Simmone isn’t entirely sure what to make of the situation either. Lola is a gorgeous, single woman, living in an eight-hundred-square foot artist’s studio. Why would a man break in while she was home? Why would he leave without taking a single item? It’s only when the bodies of similar female victims start surfacing in the same neighborhood, that he realizes there may be something more to Lola’s midnight encounter. And, as Jacob and Lola are thrown into a situation that neither of them could have expected,—or wanted—Jacob can’t help but wonder if he’s making a mistake, if he’d be more effective at tracking a killer without Lola always nearby, clouding his brain. Little does he realize that, maybe, he can’t catch a break because someone else, someone with real power, is holding all the cards…

Book illustrator: Dorina Nemeskeri

Other contributors: Kate Stueder