Veiled Enemy

Hidden Keys #8

by Jacie Middlemann

Disappearing wasn’t going to be enough…they needed a plan…some answers…and a safe place where they couldn’t be found…and time to figure out what to do next….and why their pursuers are most currently interested in Harper’s older father…and are willing to do anything to draw her out. Now it appears that they have an unknown and unlikely ally…Ava and Harper have reached out to one man in the hope that he can achieve what Simon believes they are unable to…and unknowingly choose the one man who is more than willing to take up their cause…It’s the middle of the twenty-third century and while there have been staggering technological and environmental advances, human nature is still very much the same as it has always been. One woman unexpectedly finds herself thrust into the middle of a long simmering and dark struggle between power, greed, and an overwhelming effort to keep long hidden secrets buried.

Hidden Keys is a series of short stories, each revealing key pieces of information that are not always obvious to Ava Sullivan and Harper Riley as they do everything they can to identify her pursuers, find the answers about why they are after Ava, and somehow stay alive after surviving the first attempt on her life only days after her father’s death...not an easy task for an experienced detective let alone an amateur at digging up answers.

Luckily, Ava isn’t on her own. Harper is an old childhood friend that she hasn’t seen in years, but just as when they were kids spending time at each other's homes, he is proving again that he can be trusted even as they just barely avoid one near miss after another. But this isn’t the first time that Harper Riley has had to dodge bullets or protect himself from oncoming fire. Now though, the gun in his hand is to protect Ava.

But he’s learning that while he might be able to protect her, it is going to require someone with access to Mick Johnson to keep her safe.

The Hidden Keys Short Story series is filled with long hidden secrets, generations of family and friends, strong and relatable characters, and a growing quest for justice. If you enjoy Women's Crime Fiction and Romantic Suspense with slightly intense and complicated relationships, and a challenging mystery from the past that needs to be solved…Hidden Keys may be the series for you. Cozy up with this intriguing page turner and your favorite hot or cold drink and enjoy!

This is part eight of the Hidden Keys short story series that is best read in sequence.

Hidden Keys Legacy
Surviving the Night
First Clues
Cryptic Truths
False Cipher
Last Missive
Obscure Pivot
Shadowed Caveat
Veiled Enemy

Audible Audio

Published March 4, 2024

About the author

I fell in love with books when I was in the 4th grade and my free period was spent volunteering in the school library. I read every Nancy Drew book there was to check out, discovered collections of myths and fairy tales from around the world, Louisa May Alcott and C.S. Lewis, and decided I wanted my own library. By the end of that summer with the supplies our school librarian graciously provided me my books had due date slips, card pockets, book cards, and black electrical tape on the spine with the first three letters of the author's last name. I still have most of those books.
In the hope she could get me involved in something else my mother gave me a camera. Right around the same time my father told me I could use his typewriter when he wasn't using it. The typewriter won. We shared his typewriter but I also filled notebooks with stories scribbled before school, after school, and often when I was supposed to be asleep. Thanks to my mother, who saved just about every single one of those notebooks, I still have them as well.
Several years ago my father gave me his typewriter…the same one we shared all those summers ago. Every time I look at it I remember the young 4th grade girl who was quietly encouraged to do what she loved…and years later reminded with a box filled with notebooks crammed full of handwritten stories and dreams.
And it’s still not unheard of that I stay up way later than I should with a good book that’s just impossible to put down.

Reviews

[Richard Goodrum · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, solid episode. Ava, family, and friends continue to hide out from Mick Johnson. Their message to Senator Alexander is further processed by him. And the unknown observer steps forward. All-in-all, apparent forward motion. Where things go next is anyone's guess. I look forward to the next episode.

Easy-to-read. Entertaining. Great world building. Twisted. Unpredictable. Wonderful characters.