“You can tell me everything later. Let’s get you out of here.” I started to help her walk out.
She stopped me with a hand to my arm. “Jake didn’t know until today. And when he found out, he tried to stop them.”
I relaxed at her words. I had known that Jake couldn’t have been involved in this. Hadn’t I?
“Richardson is his father. Winn is his half-brother. But he didn’t know any of that. He just got the wrong family is all.”
She frowned, and I knew what she was thinking. She didn’t get to choose her family either.
Two medics entered the barn, and Luke motioned for them to tend to Jake.
I looked back at Lil. “Let’s let one of the medics check you out.”
“I’m not hurt. I just want you to take me home.”
I had no idea what Lil meant by “home,” and I didn’t care. As I scooped her up and carried her out to my truck, I knew exactly where I was taking her. To the house that was currently my home, and that I hoped, one day, would be ours.
Forty-Five
Lil
Linda actually smiled when I entered the interrogation room for the second time in a week.
“Oh, baby,” she said. “I’m so glad you’re all right.”
“Are you?”
“Of course. Why would you say that?”
“Well, there’s what you did to my suitcase, for starters. And the fact that in order to know when my flight was arriving, you must have been talking to Winn—who definitely wasn’t interested in making sure I was ‘all right.’”
“Sweetie, I told you that I was just trying to save your life.”
“No, you told me you were trying to scare me back to New York. To be with Winn. You also told me that I had messed up someone’s life. You were talking about Rudy Richardson, right?”
Linda looked away.
“Admit it. Winn told you to do that to my suitcase.”
She slowly turned her head. “You were safer in New York. Winn didn’t have to convince me of that. I already knew.”
“Here’s what I think: I think you’ve always hated me. You had me when you were too young, and I screwed up your life.”
Linda went silent. Only stared at me.
“And since I messed up your life, you were all too happy to help mess up mine. You started on the night Rudy Richardson kidnapped me.” Linda’s expression faltered for a split second, but I was watching for it. “That’s right. It’s been twelve years, but I remember the details of that night like it was yesterday. No one knew I was meeting Coop that night. But I suspect you did. Maybe you overheard me talking to Coop on the phone. And it was also you who brought my car back on empty earlier that day. Let me know if I’m getting warm.”
Linda continued to just sit there, expressionless.
“You knew I would have to stop at the only gas station in Paynes Creek open at that time of night. And I’m guessing you only pretended to be asleep when I snuck out. I just gotta know one thing. What was in it for you? What was Richardson going to pay you?”
Still silent, Linda looked down at her nails that had been chewed down to nothing.
“Let’s fast forward. Coop nearly took apart Richardson’s operation in West Virginia. Richardson returns to Paynes Creek because of his ties here, and so does Coop. And then I come home. Everyone affected by that night twelve years ago is conveniently back in Paynes Creek. Including, a few days later, Winn Garrison—who I didn’t even know existed twelve years ago. And I’m guessing that your grand arrival at Grammy’s cookout was deliberately designed to distract everyone so that Winn could hang that bloody fox in my bedroom.”
I stood and leaned across the table, all but forcing Linda to meet my gaze. “It’s over, Linda. They matched Winn’s prints to the prints found on the steering wheel of my car twelve years ago. They matched the knives to a set Jake’s mother had appraised back then. There’s bound to be tons more forensic evidence to come. Besides which, Winn confessed almost everything to me already. You know he won’t hesitate to turn on you.”
Linda sat up then. “He’ll take Jake down too, you know. Jake will lose his license to practice law.”
I smiled. “For going to a strip club? That’s all Jake did, and that’s not against the law.”
She smiled. “Or, had you not heard about him doing cocaine?”
“I heard there’s an accusation. Made by Winn, a human trafficker and you, who aided and abetted. I hardly think your word is going to hold up against Jake’s.” Leaning back on my heels, I crossed my arms. “Anyway, I really just came here to let you know you’re dead to me. Goodbye, Linda.”
I turned away, but Linda jerked her hands, causing the cuffs to rattle against the table. “You want to know what I was promised?”
I didn’t flinch. I just turned back, slowly.
“I was promised a third of whatever Rudy got for you when he auctioned you off. It would have been enough for me to get the hell out of that shithole town. I would have been a rich woman, and I deserved to be a rich woman for being forced to raise you.”
I did flinch then. It didn’t matter that I had already suspected as much. To hear my own mother admit that she’d tried to sell me into sexual slavery was a fist to the gut.
I recovered quickly, straightened, and knocked on the door. And when Coop opened the door for me to leave, I walked out of that interrogation room and out of my mother’s life forever.
Forty-Six
Lil
Two Months Later
“I think we can safely say, the first annual Cooper Adams Fourth of July Celebration was a success.”
I tipped my glass of sangria against Coop’s beer on the back patio of his house. The fireworks were long over, and everyone that had come over for the party was gone.
“I’d have to agree.” Cooper took a long pull from his beer, then studied me.
I shifted under his scrutiny. “What is it?”
He slid a hand into mine and tugged me toward the back door. “I have something I need to show you.”
He led me inside, down the hallway, and up the stairs.
“Coop, I’ve already seen your bedroom many times,” I said with a laugh.
He looked back at me. “That’s cute, but that’s not what I have to show you.”
He stopped in front of the door to one of the bedrooms that still needed to be remodeled—a bedroom that overlooked the back of the property. There was a lot that still needed to be done to the house, and lately Coop had had no time to do any of it. He’d been too busy crossing his t’s and dotting his i’s to make sure prosecutors had everything they needed to put Rudy Richardson and Winn Garrison away for life. According to Coop, he had purposely aimed his gun away from Rudy’s heart, hoping Rudy would see the inside of a court room and a maximum security prison.
He turned to me, leaned in and placed a kiss across my lips, then turned the knob and opened the bedroom door.
Only what was inside was not a bedroom.
The walls were painted white. Brand-new recessed and adjustable track lighting lit up the space. And the only furniture in the room was an artist’s table and stool and a couple of easels.
I looked up at Coop. “When did you do this?”
“I’ve been working on it a little here and there when you weren’t around.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Look, I know you have a studio that you’re thrilled with downtown next to Bryn’s place. And I know you told me you weren’t yet ready to move in with me even though you’ve decided to stay in Paynes Creek. But…”
“But…?”
“But I decided to sweeten the pot.”
“You certainly did,” I said, taking in the space. “It’s a blank canvas.”
“For you to do whatever you wish.”
I met his gaze. I didn’t know what to say.
“Lil, I’ve waited twelve years for you to come back to me. Twelve years today, actually.” He grabbed my hand, pulled me to th
e windows, and pointed out toward the woods behind the house. “Right out there, you said goodbye to me twelve years ago. It broke my heart—and I think it broke yours, too. You and I have been through more than two people should have to go through in a lifetime. But we’ve come out on the other side. And here we are.”
“Here we are…” I echoed, then turned and admired the perfect structure and size of the room. “Here we are, in an amazing artist studio in an incredible home.”
“And both the studio and the home can be yours… under one condition.”
I looked up at him. “You show me this incredible room, and now you want to put a condition on it?”
“You have to agree to marry me.”
My breath caught as I stared wide-eyed at Coop. The love of my life. The man who had patiently waited for me to come back to Paynes Creek. The man who had saved my life.
I lifted a finger. “Stay right here.”
Coop’s expression faltered. Went from hopeful to worried as I ran from the room. I jogged to his bedroom and to the dresser. Behind it I had hidden a present for Coop—a present I had been planning to give him tonight before we went to bed.
When I returned to the studio carrying a rectangular package wrapped in brown paper, Coop raised an eyebrow.
I handed him the package. “Open it.”
He tore away the brown paper, revealing a framed sketch.
“It’s this house,” he said. “And our barn.” He ran his fingers lightly across the sketch. “And our woods.” He met my eyes. “It’s beautiful.”
“I sketched it for you months ago. On the day I decided to stay in Paynes Creek. But I only wrapped it up today. I was going to give it to you tonight. Turn it over.”
He flipped the frame over. The framing was complete with black framing paper. And written on the paper, in white chalk, were two words:
Marry me.
Thank you for reading Truth is in the Darkness. Keep scrolling for the following:
A free Paynes Creek story featuring Faith and Luke from Death is in the Details
Details about Secret is in the Bones (Book Three in the Paynes Creek Thriller series) coming Fall 2020.
A look inside Exposed in Darkness (Book One in Heather’s bestselling In Darkness series). Download for free!
What’s Next from Heather?
The next Paynes Creek Thriller — Secret is in the Bones — is coming Fall 2020. PREORDER BY CLICKING HERE
But first…
I’ve got a special bonus story that will take you on a journey back into Faith’s and Luke’s lives.
Would you like to know what happened when Luke Justice visited Faith Day while she was hiding from her troubles on a dude ranch in Colorado?
Did she leave all of her troubles behind when she fled Paynes Creek? (Hint: the answer’s no.)
CLICK HERE to sign up for my free newsletter, and I’ll send you a short bonus story featuring Faith and Luke.
A full novel featuring Faith and Luke is coming later this year. By signing up for the newsletter, I’ll let you know the minute THE SECRET IS IN THE BONES hits the shelves. Or you can preorder your copy now.
Thanks for reading!
Heather
Also by Heather Sunseri
PAYNES CREEK THRILLERS
Death is in the Details
Truth is in the Darkness
Secret is in the Bones
THE IN DARKNESS SERIES
Exposed in Darkness (scroll for a sneak peek inside)
Cut in Darkness
Covered in Darkness
Shot in Darkness
Desired in Darkness
SPECIAL IN DARKNESS STORY
(Sequel to Cut in Darkness)
Free to Newsletter Subscribers
Protected in Darkness
THE INTERNATIONAL THIEF SERIES
A Thief Revealed
A Thief Consumed
A Thief Obsessed
THE MINDSPEAK SERIES
Mindspeak
Mindsiege
Mindsurge
Tracked
Deceived
THE EMERGE SERIES
Emerge
Uprising
Renaissance
The Meeting (A short story)
About Heather Sunseri
Heather Sunseri is a recovering CPA who began writing novels in order to escape the mundane life as a muggle. After twenty years in the corporate world, Heather decided to use her business savvy and curious mind to start a publishing business anchored by fictional stories. She is proof that one can be a numbers person and a creative… And that it’s never too late (or too early) to get a do over. She’s married to the love of her life, mom to two amazing kids, and caregiver to the best golden retriever and one very needy cat. When she’s not writing, she’s making homemade pizza, listening to True Crime podcasts, and drinking Kentucky bourbon.
Connect with Heather:
heathersunseri.com
[email protected]
Exposed in Darkness - Book Description
In the first of an FBI thriller series that USA Today calls “sophisticated and absorbing,” the FBI has one suspect in the latest terrorist attack—Declan O’Roark. And they’ve just assigned Special Agent Brooke Fairfax to get closer to the stunning and sophisticated international mogul. Can she find the real killer while falling for FBI’s #1 suspect? Or is she falling for a man capable of mass murder?
Just days before the running of the biggest thoroughbred horse race in the world, an act of bioterrorism kills Kentucky’s lieutenant governor, and former FBI Special Agent Brooke Fairfax receives a video of the murder from her long-time anonymous source. When Brooke discovers domestic terrorists are actually after the governor—her late husband’s brother—and that the radicals are eyeing more targets, she heads to Kentucky to stop the threat.
Shortly after the political assassination, the FBI zeroes in on one person: international mogul Declan O’Roark. Though Brooke has been out of the game since her husband was murdered, her former boss thinks she is the perfect candidate to connect Declan to the crime.
Despite the FBI clearly establishing means and opportunity, Declan remains unfazed; his motives have nothing to do with murder, but with getting closer to Brooke Fairfax. And Brooke finds the case becoming even more unclear as she falls for the FBI’s number one suspect.
Don’t miss this page-turning thrill ride! Download and start your next favorite romantic thriller series for free.
Exposed in Darkness - Excerpt
Exposed in Darkness: In Darkness #1
© Copyright 2017 Heather Sunseri
All Rights Reserved
One
I ignored the first three pings—the annoying sound of emails hitting my inbox.
My computer was across the room, I was still on my first cup of coffee, and it was only eight o’clock in the morning—way too early to deal with whatever was coming in. Sinking further into an oversized leather armchair, I pulled my grandmother’s quilt up around my neck with one hand and took a sip of creamy, perfectly sweetened, French vanilla coffee with the other. As I watched the hosts of the morning newsertainment show taste some disgusting-looking fruity dessert with shaved coconut, my computer pinged again.
While I preferred this kind of “news”—the kind that involved the latest recipes for getting through the remaining cooler weather days—over the “real” news that favored the latest doom and gloom, I couldn’t help but keep one eye on the ticker scrolling across the bottom of the television with “Breaking News.” Out of habit, mostly.
Once upon a time, my job had required that I stay on top of all breaking news items. Both the ones that made the national and world headlines, and the ones that were a little more… classified.
My computer pinged again. I flinched a little this time.
I took another sip of coffee, then reached for my phone on the side table. Nothing there, no texts. Just my wallpaper—a photograph of one of my last happy memories
before my life went to shit. I switched the phone out of silent mode, but mentally reassured myself that the pings were just evidence that my email’s spam filter had stopped working. Or my mother had finally resorted to hassling me via email rather than her normal incessant phone calling.
The newsertainment team moved on to a segment on fashion—something about transitioning from winter to spring and how to layer without downgrading your fashion sense. The ticker continued to run headlines.
Ping.
Growing increasingly uneasy, I swallowed another sip of coffee. That’s when I saw it. His name stood out from the news ticker.
Truman Spencer.
I sat up a little; the quilt slid down my arms. Dressed in only a thin camisole and silk pajama shorts, I felt my goose bumps swell as air hit my skin. I set my mug aside and shifted in the chair to dig for the remote control that had fallen down beside the seat cushion. I rewound the news by sixty seconds and read the ticker again. This time out loud.
“Lt. Governor of Kentucky Melissa Centers is dead. Kentucky State Police speculate Truman Spencer was target. Spencer will give live news conference shortly.”
Ping.
I pushed up from the chair, let the quilt pool at my feet, and stared across the room at both the computer and the TV. A cold sweat formed across my neck.
Ping. Ping. Ping.
I padded barefoot across the hardwood floor until I stood in front of the computer, the screen black. My heart sped up at what might be lurking behind the darkness.
Draped over the back of the desk chair was Teddy’s cashmere sweater. I let the soft fabric slide through my fingers before I slid it over my head to envelop me in familiar warmth.
Truth is in the Darkness (Paynes Creek Thriller Book 2) Page 27