Sinner Repent

by Morgan Kelley

  Sinner Repent

  By Morgan Kelley

  Dear Reader,

  Since my books crossover a great deal, I recommend reading them as they are written. I tend to mention characters in books they don’t generally occur in, and later in the series, there are full crossovers.

  Some readers have contacted me for this list, and I figured I’d pass it on to the rest of you.

  While you can read the books by series only, it only enhances the reading experience if you go in order of how I wrote them. I tend to give away secrets…

  I’m sneaky like that.

  On the next page, I’ve given you the list.

  MK

  Here is the reading book order:

  The Killing Times (FBI)

  Sacred Burial Grounds (FBI)

  True Love Lost (FBI)

  Deep Dark Mire (FBI)

  Fire Burns Hot (FBI)

  Celestia is Falling (Croft & Croft)

  Darkness of Truth (FBI)

  Vegas is Dying (Croft)

  Devil hath Come (FBI)

  Christmas is Killing (Croft)

  Blood Red Rage (Littlemoon)

  Consumed by Wrath (FBI)

  Sinner Repent (Carter trilogy 1)

  Love is Bleeding (Croft)

  Lost & Broken (Littlemoon)

  Illegal Fantasies (Anthology 1)

  Redemption is Here (FBI)

  Sinner Realized.(Carter trilogy 2)

  Romance Under Arrest (Anthology 2)

  Heaven is Weeping (Croft)

  Unthinkable Games (Littlemoon)

  Dead Shall Speak (FBI)

  Sinner Reborn (Carter trilogy 3)

  Pledging to Die (FBI)

  Hell is Burning (Croft)

  Truth is Found (Littlemoon)

  Slay Bells Ring (FBI)

  Holiday Reinforcements (Trilogy 3)

  Oracle Rising (Oracle)

  Past will Haunt (FBI Flashback 1)

  Choices will Destroy (FBI)

  Justice is Dead (Final croft book)

  Haven of Nightmares (Littlemoon)

  Blood Shall Run (FBI)

  Oracle Seeing (Oracle)

  Dark Justice (New Croft Series)

  Forbidden Secrets (Littlemoon)

  Act of Blood (FBI)

  Oracle Saving (Oracle)

  Stalked by the Past (FBI flashback 2 )

  Dying to Love (FBI)

  Lost Justice (Croft)

  Kiss of Souls ( Littlemoon) (FBI/Littlemoon crossover)

  Oracle Haunting (Oracle)

  Revenge has Come (FBI)

  Paid Justice (Croft)

  Lost Souls (Littlemoon)

  Discarded by Fate (FBI)October 2017

  Atonement (Hunter Trilogy 1) November 2017

  It’s Good to be the Boss (Romance Anthology 1) November 2017

  Harcourte books do not cross over and can be read anytime.

  Dangerous Revelations

  Dangerous Choices

  Dangerous Misery

  Dangerous Retaliation

  Dangerous Influence

  Dangerous Sacrifice

  Dangerous Destruction Dec 2017

  ~~~~ About the Author ~~~~

  Morgan Kelley lives in the beautiful Pocono Mountains with her husband and two children. After attending college at Penn State University and studying Criminal Justice, Morgan knew her only true passion in life would be murder and books. She put them both together and began her career as a writer. Other than books and writing, you can find Morgan hanging out in her garden and digging in the dirt.

  Her other works include: The Junction, Serial Sins, The Blood Betrayal, The Killing Times (1), Sacred Burial Grounds (2), True Love Lost (3), Deep Dark Mire (4), Fire Burns Hot (5), Darkness of Truth (6), Devil Hath Come (7), Consumed by Wrath (8), Redemption is Here (9), Dead Shall Speak (10), Blood Red Rage (1) Lost & Broken (2), Unthinkable Games (3), Celestia is Falling (1), Vegas is Dying (2), Christmas is Killing (3), Love is Bleeding (4), Heaven is Weeping (5), Dangerous Revelations (1), Illegal Fantasies (Anthology 1), Romance Under Arrest (Anthology 2), and Holiday Reinforcements (Anthology 3)

  Please feel free to visit Morgan at her website: www.morgankelley.com, email her author.m.kelley@gmail.com, or visit her blog at www.morgankelley.blogspot.com.

  Copyright © 2014* Morgan Kelley LLC

  All rights reserved. Without limiting rights under the copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, introduced into a retrieval system, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including without limitation photocopying, recording, or other electronic or technical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. The scanning, uploading, and/or distribution of this document via the internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and is punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrightable materials.

  For permission requests, email author.m.kelley@gmail.com

  Content Advisory: This book is intended for mature audiences and contains graphic violence, explicit sexual activity and disturbing imagery

  Cover art by Celeste Abrahm Copyright © 2017 Morgan Kelley LLC

  Seven Deadly Sins

  Pride

  Envy

  Gluttony

  Greed

  Anger

  Sloth

  Lust

  So begins my story...

  I’m Callista Carter.

  Prologue

  Saturday

  Late Evening

  A s Sissy Parker slowly began to wake, she had no idea where she was, or how she ended up there. Trying to move her arms, Sissy could tell they were restrained above her head, and immediately began to panic.

  Struggling to get her bearings, Sissy blinked rapidly, trying to take everything in. All around her, there were candles and shadows. Deep down, she had a building feeling of horror, as she could sense that there were malevolent eyes watching her from the creepy darkness.

  She knew that something bad was coming.

  As the fear rushed through her, Sissy’s body shook in terror at all the possible scenarios that were forming in her head. Having a wild imagination wasn’t her friend at that moment.

  It was her worst nightmare.

  Getting her bearings, she knew what to do.

  Sissy screamed.

  What caught her completely off guard was when no one tried to stop her frantic wails for help. Instead, she was met with laughter.

  Sick.

  Horrible.

  Terrifying laughter.

  Finally, after a brief amount of time passed, the first shadow stepped forward. Sissy stared at the figure, trying to adjust to the dim light in the room.

  “Who are you?” she asked, her voice shaking.

  Certainly, this had to be some kind of bad dream. Any second now, she would wake up.

  There was no answer to her question, and that scared her just as much as what she suspected to be the truth. In fact, the silence was chilling.

  “Please, what do you want from me? Why am I here?” she begged softly, as the words came out more like a whimper.

  The figure moved forward, running a hand slowly down her naked body.

  Sissy tried to pull away from the whisper light caress. At that point, she would have dislocated her own limbs to move out of her abductor’s reach.

  “Stop! You’re scaring me. This isn’t funny. What am I doing here?”

  Laughter came from another direction in the darkness, and Sissy whipped her head toward the sound.

  Oh God! There was more than one!r />
  At that moment, Sissy knew that she was in some serious shit. Even she wouldn’t be able to talk her way out of it with her pretty smile and nice clothes.

  “WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?” she screamed, as two other figures moved into the dim light beside the first one.

  They were all clothed in hooded black robes tied with red silk belts. The first figure, the one who had touched her, must have been the leader, as that robe didn’t match the others.

  “We are ‘The Brethren of the Blood’.”

  That didn’t sound good at all. In fact, that sounded bad.

  REALLY BAD.

  “What do you want with me?” she asked, scared out of her pretty little mind. The last thing that she remembered was a sharp pain in the back of her head, and then…

  She woke.

  Naked.

  Bound.

  And in big trouble.

  “We’re here to cleanse the sins which are suffocating our town.”

  Sissy glared at the figures as they were moving into a circle around the table she was lying upon. The tears came as she pleaded for her life.

  “I’ll do anything if you let me go. Please, this has to be some kind of mistake. You have the wrong person!”

  “No, Sissy, we have the right one. You’re a vile example of humanity, and we’re here to fix what’s broken.”

  Suddenly, the words registered. “What do you mean cleanse? How are you going to do that?”

  “We’ll make you our offering, purifying the town of the first sin.” They began moving around her, touching her naked flesh with their hands.

  “Please,” she begged.

  At the contact, the bound woman began getting more agitated. Her face was etched with desperation.

  And yet, they paid her no mind.

  Sissy began to struggle, pulling at the bonds holding her to the table. She knew she needed to fight.

  “There’s no use in struggling. We’ll do what needs to be done, and then make our offering.”

  Reality hit, as Sissy finally understood what they were going to do to her. In the back of her mind, the logical part of her brain was warning her of what was to come. The confusion was finally overcome, and now it demanded she flee.

  “What…are…you…” She didn't get to finish.

  The maniacal laughter was enough to tell the tale.

  Sissy was going to be murdered.

  “No, please! I’ll do whatever you want! Please don’t kill me!” The begging had escalated and was now more desperation than anything else.

  More laughter emanated from the circle, as they moved closer to the woman. Her struggles only incited them, making the inevitable more enticing to them.

  The first figure began opening the red robe as Sissy stared in horror, shocked to see who lay beneath the hood.

  It couldn’t be!

  There was no conceivable way that what she was seeing was true.

  “Oh, God, no,” she whispered at the thought of what was about to happen.

  “It’s too late to call his name now.”

  The other two joined in with laughter.

  Looking up into the face, it was completely void of any emotion. It was as if there was no concept that what was coming was wrong.

  One by one, they each undid their robes.

  Horrifyingly, they were all familiar. Sissy knew each of them personally.

  Trying to get their sympathy, she gazed into each set of eyes and pleaded her case. “No! Why me?” she asked. “I never did anything to hurt you!”

  Her words fell on deaf ears as they moved toward her naked body.

  Sissy started to scream, praying that someone would hear and rescue her. Before long, Sissy could feel something being stuffed into her mouth. It was then taped shut with a large piece of duct tape.

  Her body reacted. Immediately, she began gagging as the tears stung her eyes.

  “Hood her,” said the first figure, picking up a shiny silver blade. The intent was to let Sissy Parker see it as her final memory in this world. From the look on her face, as the hood was drawn over her features, it did what it was intended to do.

  There was nothing but fear present, as the end came closer.

  Sinners needed to pay.

  Sissy tried to cry out in pain, as the razor-sharp knife began tearing through her body. From the motions, she could feel something being carved into her flesh.

  The blackness surrounded her, as what little she could see swam in swirls. It was coming to swallow her.

  Her only thought was how grateful she was that once in the abyss, she wouldn’t feel any more agony.

  As the three cloaked figures stood around Sissy’s body, they began the long-awaited ritual. It was now underway.

  ‘The Brethren’ had deemed her life forfeited.

  She was unclean.

  Sissy was the first one chosen.

  There were words spoken over her as blood rushed, gushed, and spilled on the ground.

  As it coated her body, the room was heavily tinged with the scent of copper pennies. The only thing lingering there, which was more powerful, was the silence.

  In absence of all talking, one message was clear.

  It was just the beginning, and they enjoyed every second of what they had just done.

  This was power.

  This was strength.

  This was… perfect.

  When the ritual had ended, they moved Sissy’s barely alive body to the field out past Walker’s Point. They found the perfect spot and laid her in the grass.

  Who knew how long it would take the law to find her body? Yet, if it was meant to be, it would happen.

  The leader of the group pulled the black hood from Sissy’s head and stared down at the wide-eyed look on her face. It was quite obvious that she had suffered greatly.

  Now, it was time to end it. With one slice to her neck, the blood trickled out and coated the message sickly.

  With a gasp, she struggled for her last breath, as her life ebbed away.

  This woman fought for life, every step of the way.

  For that, they were grateful.

  Stepping back, the three stared down at their masterpiece and admired their handiwork.

  Sissy Parker may have been the first one to die, but practice didn't have to make perfect.

  They had done it to the letter of their law.

  At first, there was worry about making a mistake, but that had long since passed. Their only hope was as the next ones came to them, that they, too, would each be just as special.

  No one said anything as they turned to leave.

  Each of the three were living in the moment, in their own way, and committing this night to memory.

  Everything had changed, and now there was no turning back to what used to be.

  As they left the beautiful woman alone in the wet grass, the next mission would be to head home and climb into their warm beds. There was nothing but pure unadulterated satisfaction filling them. Hopefully, they would each be able to sleep, despite the adrenaline still surging over a job well done.

  This sacrifice was going down in the books.

  With one glance back, the moon eerily shone down on the destroyed life of Sissy Parker. Even from where they stood, the final ominous word was visible.

  Each saw ‘PRIDE’, carved grotesquely into her chest, and they were jubilant.

  Now, everyone would see her for her true sin.

  There would be no doubt as to what had caused her death.

  This was on her, and it was only beginning.

  Chapter One

  Sunday Morning

  C allista Carter stood in her brightly lit kitchen, staring out at her garden. Already, the flowers, which had recently bloomed, were filling her home with the scents of summer, and she loved it.

  It was the start of a perfect day.

  Jumping up onto the counter, she waited for her very expensive coffee maker to finish brewing the greatly anticipated pot. Callie breathed in the scent of m
orning java and closed her eyes, relishing the fragrance. Sometimes, the best things in life were the small, little treasures, which often went overlooked.

  Callie had to laugh.

  God! That one statement took so long to be able to say without an ounce of trepidation or anxiety. It was amazing how life-altering events could change everything.

  She appreciatively glanced around her kitchen, taking in the place she now called home. Callie was certain that if anyone from her past could see her, they wouldn’t believe it.

  This sense of calm used to be rare in her life.

  Now, it was an everyday blessing.

  Callista Carter didn't think of herself as special by any means. For many years, she always worried more about what people thought of her professionally, rather than personally. Her career had always come first, and for once in her life, she was able to let that go. This portion of her journey was destined to be more laid back and far calmer.

  And all it took was nearly dying.

  Go figure!

  Playing with a long piece of her blue-black hair, her attention was drawn to the beeping of the coffee pot.

  It was time to get caffeinated.

  Opening her immaculately organized cabinet, she reached for her cup. Now, Callista could officially begin her day.

  One sip had her silvery blue eyes fluttering closed in pure bliss. This one constant in her life was greatly appreciated. As the cobwebs cleared out, Callista was able to focus on her day ahead. Since it was the weekend, the morning was all hers.

  Hopping down from her perch, she saw the bottle of antibiotics on the counter and quickly popped one into her mouth. Finally, after weeks of battling a chest cold, she was on the mend.

  Life was good.

  Damn good.

  Ever since leaving the big city, Doctor Callista Carter was trying to enjoy her life and remain relaxed. The past eight years had been nothing more than a rollercoaster, filled with ups and some very scary downs. Too much of her time had been spent running around, forgetting to live each day like it was her last.