Despised By Darkness. C.U.F.F. U.S. Marshals

Sometimes dead people, as well as the living, are in the right place at the right time. When a woman's remains are discovered along the Appalachian Trail near her hometown, investigative reporter Lucinda Dymond snags the story and the chance to prove herself to her new editor-in-chief. Immediately, she learns the case has threads that lead straight to a federal judge and his family. With every buried secret Lucinda uncovers, she suspects the killer isn't a stranger, but someone closer.
Someone no one would ever imagine. Haunted by his team's devastating failure to protect the friend of his charge, U. S. Marshal Aiden, Nash, is running on grit, guilt, and a need for redemption. He couldn't stop the senseless murder, and he'll be damned before letting the killer claim another. From the instant he meets Lucinda Dymond he knows she's trouble. She has a talent for sniffing out clues and a dangerous habit of chasing them alone.
Brilliant, bold and relentless, she keeps outmaneuvering both the suspect and him. Aden's admiration is real. So is his dread. Because the closer she gets to the truth, the closer she gets to a predator who's already proven he can strike without mercy. Aiden isn't just hunting a killer anymore. He's racing the clock to save a woman who has painted a target on her back. A woman he could see in his future.