Missing, No Trace Left - Prequel: Like Yesterday: Missing, No Trace Left

By Victoria Michaels

I remember it like yesterday…

 

Kennedy had hung with this group of friends since kindergarten; they were her crew – her real family – the people she could trust for reals. If you could actually trust anyone in Queens, New York.

They were a tight-knit group of misfit kids that no one would have guessed would be such good friends. Everyone underestimated them, but they each knew they would always have each other's back.

There was beautiful Kenny, who loved a good time, solving puzzles, and just chillin'; tall, gorgeous Jayla, with her dark skin was a fashionista of the highest order, always looking her best; Connor, with his muscles, good looks, and sweet personality; small, spicy, and brave Elena who wouldn't think twice about spewing some shit to anyone who needed the lesson; and rounding out the group, the entrepreneurial yet shady Keeky, who knew how to make sure the group had a really good time.

The group of friends gathered almost daily for a smoke and a drink, maybe a little bit of trouble, always sticking together and protecting one another. Each day, Kennedy wondered if Connor would ever be as interested in her as she was in him. She waited for a sign, hoping it would come.

 

But their world is shattered one day, when one of their own goes missing without a trace.

 

As the days turn into weeks, the group is forced to confront the possibility that their friend may be gone forever.

Will they find their friend, or will the mystery of their disappearance haunt them forever? What will happen to their little gang as the years go by?

"Missing, No Trace Left – Prequel: Like Yesterday" is the emotional and tense opener to the series "Missing, No Trace Left".

 

You will understand the meaning of friends to the end.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Victoria Michaels
• Release date: Apr 3, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215617298

Victoria Michaels

Victoria Michaels 💋 is the author of the Stephanie Unchained series and is a best-selling breakout author of dozens of steamy romance novels. A former high school English and Literature teacher, Victoria lives in the rural Canadian Rockies with her husband and their three dogs, Jake a border collie, Madeline a Golden Retriever, and Cherry a Labradoodle. Follow Victoria on Facebook and Amazon as well! 💖

Book preview

Prologue

Kennedy stood at the door to the kitchen, dying to get out of the room as fast as she could. No such luck!

Her father’s voice was uncharacteristically stern. Kennedy, this is serious. I don’t think you realize how serious this is.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. For as long as she could remember, her parents had been telling Kennedy that she needed to put in effort at school. Each conversation ended with her making a half-hearted promise to try harder, and her parents professing their love for her. It always came with the words, ‘no matter what’, but somehow that always sounded hollow after they’d just told her that unless she buckled down at school, she’d never make anything of herself.

It was time to make another lame promise, one that she already knew she wouldn’t keep. I know Dad, I do. I know I need to get dead serious about school so that I can go to a good college. With a serious look, Kennedy made an ‘x’ over her heart. Cross my heart, Dad, I will make way more effort. Promise.

Her father stifled a sigh, seeming to know no such thing would happen. Thank you, Kennedy, that’s all I ask. And no matter what, you know your mom and I love you more than we can tell you. That’s why we push you, kiddo. We believe in you, and we want you to believe in yourself too.

Thanks, Dad. Love you guys too. She gestured behind her. I should get to my homework. Kennedy scuffed her toe on the rug. Is it okay if I go to Elena’s so we can work on our geometry homework and study for our biology quiz?

You promise you will do your schoolwork, not just goof around?

Of course! Dad, I just said I was going to be more studious. That is exactly what I am trying to do!

The hurt tone got him every time.

Oh, Kennedy, I didn’t mean to give you a hard time. Of course, you can go to Elena’s. Please say hi for us, and we’d love to have her come over to dinner here soon.

Sounds good, Dad. Love you.

With that, Kennedy ducked out of room, and sprinted for her bedroom. If she hurried, she could meet the gang down at the park!

Chapter One - Kennedy

Kissena Park had to be one of Kennedy’s favorite places in the world. Growing up, her parents had taken her and her little sister Sammi there for picnics or to play frisbee. It had been a place where all the stress seemed to melt away from her parents’ shoulders, and they’d acted like a couple of teenagers in love when they were there.

Now, it was a favorite because it was one of the few places Kennedy could hang out with her friends without being under the watchful eye of somebody’s parent. Sitting on one of the picnic tables strategically placed under the canopy of the trees, the group could smoke a joint...or several, have a beer, talk, make-out, and be free.

That night, Kennedy walked into the park more hurriedly than normal, needing to make up for the time the lecture from her dad had taken away from her social life. If only her parents could understand that she didn’t care if she went to a good college. Heck, she didn’t care if she even went to college at all! After all, there were a lot of cool people in the world, people with a lot of money, that didn’t have a college education.

It wasn’t that Kennedy didn’t like some parts of school, and she liked learning some things. For example, she was good at riddles and puzzles. Even math problems that were complex were fun, but the regular old memorize and barf information out on a test or quiz wasn’t for her. And she certainly didn’t want to do crap like ‘analyze literature.’ What did that even mean? If she liked a book or story, she liked it. If she didn’t, she didn’t. So why did she need to explain stuff like what the author was meaning by writing parts in rhyme? It boggled her mind how much useless garbage was taught in school, and how much the adults felt like she and her friends should