Secret Sins

by Lora Leigh

  He could hear the dull lifelessness in his voice.

  “We found tire imprints in the woods behind the house. One of Ivan’s men is casting and photographing them.”

  “They have her.” Archer stared around the bedroom.

  Her gown was tossed to the floor; she’d been dressing when he tore off to check on Callie.

  The clothes she had worn that day were still on the chair, but he’d seen her jerking jeans on as he left the bedroom.

  “I left her alone,” he said, his chest tightening to the point that he wondered if his entire body would explode.

  “Rory was here, Archer,” his deputy argued. “And he’s a damned good agent. Whoever took him out caught him unaware.”

  “Or it was someone he suspected he could trust,” Nash interjected.

  “I left her alone,” he repeated. “I should have taken her with me.”

  “The two agents outside saw the truck leaving the woods and rushed to attempt to get a tag number. There were no tags, but they’ve seen the truck before.” The agent he’d left with Marta was suddenly at the door.

  “It was the same truck the shooter was driving,” Archer stated.

  He felt—fuck, he felt broken inside.

  “It was,” the agent agreed.

  “The tires from that truck were unique, Archer,” Nash said then. “I’ve been running them. They’re not even sold in Colorado. They’re extremely expensive and custom made—”

  Archer turned back to him and saw the cat missing. “Why aren’t you digging that meat out of Oscar’s teeth? That’s fucking human flesh. It’s an ID.”

  “And Gregor Resnova just carried him straight out of here with a message that’s he’s called someone else in straight from New York. He took the cat to the labs.”

  Archer turned to Caine. “Get to the labs.”

  “He had half a dozen of Ivan’s agents with him,” the deputy reported. “They’re covered, Archer.”

  Archer turned back to the other agent. “Callie?”

  “Her parents are on their way. She wasn’t raped, she was used.”

  “She was bait,” he said softly. Like a worm on a hook. Don’t forget, you’re just a worm on a hook.

  It was a message.

  The abductor was Sorenson’s partner. It wasn’t Sorenson, but the County attorney would be waiting wherever he took her.

  “Archer?” John questioned, watching him closely.

  He turned to the other agent. “Get to Wayne Sorenson’s house, see if he’s there. If he is, I want him here, and I don’t care how you get him here. If he’s not, see if you can find any hint of a cabin, or a residence near a lake, or fishing hole. A vacation home, anything. It would be close to Corbin County, if not in Corbin County.”

  The agent turned and rushed from the room.

  God, he left her alone.

  “Ryan’s on his way,” John assured him.

  Archer nodded.

  Flipping his phone open, he hit another contact.

  “Jordan Malone,” a dark voice answered.

  “Rory’s been hurt, bad,” he told the former Navy SEAL. “They took my woman, Jordan,” he said, his voice tight. “The Slasher has her, and I have no idea where he took her or how long I have.”

  There was a moment’s silence on the line.

  “Rory called in last week about the case,” Jordan told him then. “Noah Blake and Micah Sloane are currently in Corbin County, and have been for several days. As soon as they know something, they’ll contact you. I’ll be there within hours.”

  The line disconnected.

  Archer inhaled slowly, aware of John Caine watching him, his gaze narrowed.

  “There are two shadows in town. Stay out of their way and pass the word along,” he warned the deputy.

  “And we know them from the other fucking shadows in this goddamned place, how?” John cursed. “There are so many fucking players here I’m about to get whiplash.”

  “You can get whiplash on your own time,” Archer informed him. “Callie’s attacker left us a message. She was a worm on a hook. Think John. She’s bait. A means to an end. A worm on a hook.”

  “They have a hold on her somehow, or have her in a position she can’t escape from,” John answered instantly. “Bait—it’s more literal. They’re holding her next to a place where you could fish.”

  “Jaymi Kramer was killed next to the lake outside of town,” Archer remembered. “Thomas Jones was screaming for help when Crowe caught up with him that night. Crowe said once he had the impression Thomas thought his partner was nearby, in the area, and expected him to help. Maybe he knew his partner was close. Maybe he was taking Jaymi to his partner when he decided to stop and rape her first instead.”

  He and his father had gone through every rental cabin in the area that summer—

  He flipped his phone open again and hit another number.

  “Tell me what you need,” Ivan answered.

  “Private cabins around Broken Bow Lake,” Archer told him. “I’m looking for any way the Mulrooneys, Wayne Sorenson, or the suspects Ryan named might be connected to those cabins. I’m on my way up there now.”

  “Got it. Give me five minutes.”

  He prayed Anna had five minutes.

  Running from the house, he ignored John as he attempted to call him back, ignored the security agent who yelled something about the Callahans.

  He didn’t have time to worry about the Callahans.

  Anna—

  He’d left her and Rory alone. He should have taken her with him. He should have never left her alone, not after he’d loved her, not after the mark he’d seen on her back and the realization of exactly why the Slasher wanted her out of Corbin County.

  He’d given the bastard the perfect opportunity to take her when he raced to the Brock home. And he should have known.

  He should have known he was being played the second that alarm had pierced the house.

  Reversing his truck from the driveway, he threw it into drive and tore off along the back roads out of town toward Broken Bow Lake.

  Sorenson had to have a private cabin there. That was why Thomas Jones had taken Jaymi to the lake to kill her. It was the reason why he and his father hadn’t been able to find any evidence in the rental cabins there.

  There had been no evidence in them, because those girls had been raped and murdered in one of the private homes instead.

  And tonight he’d know exactly which one.

  *

  “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Insidious and filled with malicious amusement, the vile compliment had terror threatening Anna’s composure. “Did you inject her?”

  “Just as you ordered,” Amory lied through his teeth. Sort of. The injection had stilled the majority of the terror; it kept her from giving in to the horror and agonizing fear.

  She could think though. She could think, and she could move, and she hadn’t been tied down. She wasn’t restrained in any way by anything but the warning Amory had given her earlier.

  “Be still and be quiet, and you’ll live. If he tries to rape you, then you can fight. He won’t expect you to fight. Go for the eyes first, hurt him, then run. The front door will be open. But only if he tries to rape you, Anna. Do as I’m telling you and you’ll live.”

  She definitely intended to live.

  And she intended to kill Wayne Sorenson herself.

  Oh, she might be blindfolded, but she knew his voice, just as she had known Amory’s. All she had to do was stay calm, she told herself. Calm and in control.

  What she feared, though, was that calm and control might not do her a hell of a lot of good in this situation. Restraining herself could be the least of her worries, and God knew screams, tears, and pleas weren’t going to help her in the least.

  The Slasher had no mercy, and hearing the voice, putting together the things she knew about her best friend’s father, Anna knew he would be particularly merciless with her. He would have never allowed Amory to take he
r otherwise.

  Amelia couldn’t know about this, could she?

  Or was that why she had been so furious when Anna had refused to leave Corbin County?

  “Do you think she knows who she is?” Wayne asked Amory then. “That mark on her back is like a red flag. She’s sleeping with Archer, and there’s no doubt he’d know that mark.”

  Her birthmark? What did that have to do with anything? It was just a birthmark.

  “I doubt it,” Amory answered. “If Archer knew what it was, then he’s evidently kept it to himself.”

  What did it mean?

  Lying still and quiet, lethargy still gripping her and holding back the fear, Anna wondered what the hell could be so important about the birthmark.

  “She looks so much like her mother,” Wayne sighed then. “It’s really too bad she wouldn’t stay away, isn’t it? It might have saved her this fate.”

  This fate. Rape, torture, murder.

  Somehow, the Slasher had chosen her, and she couldn’t figure out why.

  She hadn’t fucked a Callahan.

  Hell, she didn’t want to fuck a Callahan.

  The fact that she had no interest in her cousin, or his cousins, ensured that what Amory and Wayne were doing just wasn’t fair.

  Every victim the Slasher had taken had at least given one of the far too handsome Callahan cousins a blow job. She had never considered it—not to the Callahans or any other man until Archer.

  For some reason, a Callahan cousin had never been her preferred sexual turn-on. Nope, that distinction went to one of their best friends. The man she loved.

  Where was Archer?

  Was Callie okay?

  “Is she still asleep?” Wayne asked, his voice filled with anticipation.

  “Completely,” Amory promised the other man. “But I’m still uncertain why we’ve taken her, and why we took her in this way. If you rape and kill her, Wayne, you’ll only bring the state police and the FBI down on the County. Fun and games will definitely be over then.”

  “It would have been much better if my warnings had been heeded by her grandfather. I can’t risk Crowe learning her true identity.” What the fuck?

  Her true identity? She was Anna Corbin. She knew who she was, and her family knew who she was. Who the hell did Wayne Sorenson think she was?

  “But can we risk the state police and the FBI here?” Amory asked again.

  “Such a pretty, perfect little body.” Regret filled the voice. “You’re right of course. I’ve already thought of all of this. We can’t risk killing her, and we can’t risk allowing her to stay here. If we’re very, very lucky, when she awakens she’ll be frightened enough to leave Corbin County.”

  “The abduction was only a ruse then?” Amory asked. “And if she doesn’t leave as you anticipate she will?”

  “Then the next time we take her, we’ll enjoy her to the full extent of our abilities,” Wayne murmured. “She has no idea who we are, nor does the sheriff, evidently, or Crowe Callahan would have already gone insane I believe. Learning the baby sister you believed was dead is actually alive, and that the family that disowned you raised her, knowing full well who she is, would make you crazy. He’ll kill the entire fucking family, except Anna, if he ever learns it.”

  “Wouldn’t that achieve your aims?” Amory asked then.

  Wayne was silent for long moments. “You would think so, wouldn’t you?” he said softly. “But each time I consider it, all I can see is Kim’s face. All I can see are her tears, and all I hear are her pleas. No, Amory, that wouldn’t achieve my aims. Sarah Ann Corbin can’t die before she turns twenty-five.”

  She was a Callahan?

  She was Crowe’s sister, Sarah Ann. And her family knew it?

  Thank God Amory had given her whatever he’d given her. Otherwise, she would be screaming in rage right now.

  This was why her family had never allowed her to be home for more than a week at a time.

  She’d been eight the first time she’d asked about Crowe. She’d questioned her grandfather and Wayne Sorenson about her cousin Crowe, and why he couldn’t be a part of the family.

  Six months later she had been shipped off to her first private school.

  Because she was Crowe’s sister, and Wayne Sorenson couldn’t risk anyone other than the Corbins knowing that.

  Anna knew some of the details of Kimberly Corbin’s will, and the estate she left to her son. Crowe wasn’t the only child mentioned in those papers. David and Kimberly Callahan’s daughter had been mentioned as well. Sarah Ann Callahan would receive the entirety of the estate if Crowe ever left the County. If he died, all the property would be put up at auction, just as it would be if Sarah Ann died at any time after she turned twenty-five years old.

  She would be twenty-five soon.

  “Keep her another twenty-four hours.” The order was delivered crisply, the voice above her no longer crooning or filled with amusement—and it was now so very familiar. “I’ve made my point with her disappearance. Once the drugs wear off, remove the restraints and leave. When she awakens, she’ll find her way out of here and back to the bosom of her family.” Sarcasm filled the cruel voice.

  “That’s a long time to keep the drugs in her.” There was no emotion in Amory’s voice. No approval or disapproval. He was simply relaying information as though whether she lived or died really didn’t matter to him.

  “Ease her back slowly then. Just be certain to be gone before she awakens.”

  “She may remember who I am.” Once again, the tone was completely devoid of caring. “If she recognized my voice when I took her, then it’ll all be over with.”

  Of course she would remember who he was. The question was, why had he ensured she would know who he was, that she would remember each second of this little meeting?

  She would have him crucified. He might have saved her, but he’d done nothing to save the other girls who had been murdered this year.

  “I doubt she will remember, but if she does, you and I were at my house putting together that budget for the Community Center. That’s all you have to say.”

  “You’re not sacrificing me, then?” Amory seemed surprised. “I was afraid you would, to save yourself. And I couldn’t have blamed you.”

  Oh, he was good, Anna thought in surprise. Real good. He even sounded convincing.

  “Of course I’m not sacrificing you, my friend. Who would aid me in my little hobby if I did so?” The familiar voice was gentle, and so convincing. “Everyone at the Community Center knows we were supposed to get together to go over that budget. I wouldn’t sacrifice you, Amory. We cover each other’s backs and we live to enjoy our next little play date.”

  “Hmm.” The noncommittal little hum sent a chill racing up her spine.

  “You worry too much,” Amory was told with a vein of amusement. “And you’re far too suspicious.”

  “Well, you have managed to kill your two previous partners,” Amory pointed out. “That would make a man suspicious.”

  “Not so. Not so,” the voice objected. “The Callahans killed both of them. They were stupid, and refused to heed my directions. Everyone wants to lead and none want to follow. Keep following my advice where the Callahans are concerned, and you won’t have to worry about them. Nor will you have to worry about getting caught.”

  Smug satisfaction filled Wayne’s voice.

  “I believe I’ve shown great aptitude in following your directions,” Amory assured him.

  “Yes, my friend, you have.” His partner’s tone was one of triumph and satisfaction. “And for that reason, I’m looking forward to an excellent partnership. Just remember, whatever she may remember when you grabbed her, we can easily explain away. If she remembers any of it.”

  Oh, she was going to remember. She promised them both she would.

  “Have you found Ellen Mason yet?” the familiar voice asked, his tone changing to one of impatience.

  “That can’t be her real name,” Amory answered. “The apart
ment was clean. I mean real clean. No fingerprints, no DNA of any sort. It was completely sterilized.”

  “Interesting,” the partner murmured. “Were you able to find anything about her when you questioned her coworkers? Social security number? Driver’s license number? Anyone who knew anything about her?”

  “She was being paid under the table and she didn’t make friends.”

  Ellen Mason. She was the third lover Logan had contacted after Marietta Tyme had been found several months before. Logan had had three lovers that he’d attempted to keep hidden. None of them had lived in Corbin County, and he hadn’t seen any of them more than once. Still, two had died.

  “I want her found.”

  “Why? We didn’t try to grab her, so there’s no chance of her identifying us. Why is she so important?”

  “Because she’s obviously not who she says she is, and she’s hiding. That makes her dangerous. Trust me. If Logan managed to knock another bitch up besides that O’Brien whore, then it would be Ellen Mason. I know exactly how those whores work. I want the Callahan line to cease and desist. Do you understand me?”

  “What about the assassin you hired?” The faintest hint of amusement filled Amory’s voice then. “Have you managed to contact him?

  “You didn’t answer me.” Dangerously dark, Wayne’s voice lowered warningly. “Did you understand me?”

  “I understand completely.” There was no emotion, no fear, nothing in Amory’s voice to indicate what he actually felt. “I always understand the orders you give implicitly.”

  He didn’t understand shit and he didn’t care. For whatever reason, he was part of this team, and all he cared about was getting out of it whatever it was he was after.

  “Call me when you leave then,” the partner ordered.

  It was only seconds later that the door closed, and no more than a breath later that she heard the sound of footsteps nearing her.

  Amory.

  Why was he coming over to her? He was just fine on the other side of the room as far as she was concerned.

  “He’s an interesting man, isn’t he?” Amory commented.

  Anna forced her eyes open and felt a tear that slipped free. And here she’d thought she’d done a better job at holding back her emotions.