“I see,” said Susie, refusing to let them see her afraid. They would get no satisfaction in her death.
“Don’t you wish to beg for your life or repent?”
“You, of all people, know that I wouldn’t repent to you, so why waste our time? I must tell you this before you begin. I know you fear me, and as of this moment I curse you. Your end is coming, and death will take you to hell.”
There was a gasp in unison, and then horrified silence.
“Take it back!” ordered the third voice.
“It’s too late for that. Good luck in saving your souls,” said Susie, counting in her head to keep from being terrified.
“Gag and hood her.”
The second figure stopped just short of Susie, looking worried.
“You should be scared. I can see your fear, and I know what you’re thinking. This will be your death,” she hissed, pointing her bound fingers at her captor.
The figure moved fast and the duct tape was torn with teeth instead of scissors. Susie remained calm on the outside, as she screamed on the inside for someone to help her.
Goddess, this wasn’t how she wanted to die.
Once the hood was thrown roughly over her head, the tears started to fall. Susie prepared to kiss this world goodbye as she entered the next existence.
“You’re ‘sloth’, witch,” said the voice, as the carving commenced and life was extinguished.
Susie Barnes got her wish. The pain came fast, and was followed by the peace and open arms of death.
She moved calmly into the passing.
Finally, she just let go.
* * *
They brought her body back to ‘The Herb Pot’ and propped her up behind the counter. It freaked them out that her eyes looked serene instead of hollow and vacant, like every other victims’ eyes had.
“She definitely is a witch,” said the one killer. “Look at her face.”
The second figure pulled out a knife and flipped the woman’s palm over to carve a cross deeply in her hand.
“She can’t hurt us now that she’s dead.”
The three killers escaped quickly from the room, past the desk, blind to the initials which only Callie would understand.
They were wrong.
Their undoing would come from she who had passed.
They just didn't know it yet.
* * *
Tuesday Night
Callie took in the scenery that flew past her as she sat in the truck with Quinn. They were on the way to some mysterious place to go camping. As they were getting further and further from town, peace returned. It was a nice feeling for a change. Callie could hardly believe that less than two weeks ago, she would have been going home to her house alone. Now, she would never be lonely again.
“Are you okay, baby?” asked Quinn, briefly glancing over at her.
Callie nodded. “Yes, I’m just enjoying the calm. Where are we going?”
“There’s this view over the lake that I want to show you at night. The stars are clear with spectacular scenery.”
Callie took his hand in hers and sighed in contentment. Everything was definitely an adventure with Quinn in her life.
“We’re here,” he said, squeezing her hand excitedly. “Let me help you out.” He moved around to Callie’s door, only to have her jump into his arms. It was a feeling which he would never get used to, and it undid him. Then again, Callie always would, no matter what. “I have some things in the back of the truck, and we’ll get set up, sit down, and relax,” he said, finally releasing her.
Callie followed to the back of the truck. Quinn jumped up onto the tailgate with ease and began handing things down to her, so they could set up their campsite.
“I brought an air mattress with me. We’ll inflate it in the bed of the truck, and sleep back here.”
“I can’t wait,” she said. “I hope there’s food here somewhere. I’m starving.”
Quinn laughed and held up his dinner offering. “I got us pizza. I hope you don’t mind if it’s cold. I wasn’t sure if you’d like the idea of customary camping foods.”
Callie took the box from him as he inflated the mattress that was to be their bed. “Well, Mr. Gaines, aren’t you the ever-ready Boy Scout?”
“Baby, you have no idea,” he said, grinning as he jumped down from the truck. “I missed you today, Callista.”
She dropped the pizza box to go into his arms. Food could wait, but her sheriff couldn’t. “I missed you, too, Quinn. I sat in your chair and could smell your aftershave. It was maddening and comforting all at the same time.” She rubbed herself seductively across the front of his body.
Quinn brushed his lips across Callie’s, trying to retain some control. “Let’s sit down and eat. I’ll build us a campfire, and for dessert I have the fixin’s for S’mores.”
“I do believe, Quinn, that those are one of my favorite things to eat outdoors, next to pizza.”
“I’m glad I could make your night.”
“You haven’t made it yet, big guy. That comes after the S’mores, in the back of your truck,” she said, winking.
For that, Quinn was eternally grateful. After setting up the blanket, he got the fire going. When he finished, he wandered to the cab of the truck to pull out a cooler. Placing it down beside her, he fished out some sodas, but wouldn’t let her peek. “There’s a surprise for later, but no snooping,” he ordered.
“Yes, sir,” Callie said, accepting a soda, as she traded him a slice of pizza.
It was a beautiful night. Both of them sat and enjoyed their pizza and S’mores as they relaxed on the blanket. Part of the allure was just being near each other.
This was as close to heaven as Quinn was going to get.
Jumping up, he rousted Callie from a pleasant daydream. When he reached down, scooping her up, she giggled. “Let’s go lay in the truck bed. I don’t want you to get uncomfortable on the ground,” he said, tossing her up over his shoulder.
She squealed as he tickled her leg.
Gently, he placed Callie onto the air mattress, and his heart flipped in his chest at the smile on her face.
His heart nearly exploded from the joy.
“I’ll be right back,” he offered, digging the champagne and glasses from the cooler.
When Quinn joined Callie on the air mattress, she saw the bottle and lifted a brow. “Are we celebrating something, big guy? Is today a holiday?”
“Yep.”
“Care to tell me what it is?” she asked, taking a glass from him as he sat beside her. “You’ve been smiling all night. What’s going on?” she asked, suspiciously
“We’re going to celebrate our official engagement.”
“The official one? I don’t think I understand,” she said, gazing into his sparkling eyes.
“I have something for you,” he said, reaching into his pocket. Out came the black velvet box.
Callie was surprised, and the tears began pooling in her eyes. Now, she knew where he had been all day. The man she loved had been out buying her a ring in between his busy schedule.
“Callie, I asked you to marry me before I found the ring, and I’d like to make it official tonight.” He handed her the black box. When her hand shook, he fell more in love. When she cradled it like treasure in her palm, his soul was gone forever.
As she popped the lid open, he asked her once more. “Will you marry me, Callista Carter?”
She sat there staring at the ring. It was a square cut diamond with baguettes protectively surrounding the center stone. “Oh God, Quinn! It’s beautiful, and yes, I’ll marry you.”
Quinn popped the cork on the champagne, filling their glasses. As Callie slipped the ring onto her finger, his heart thumped in his chest. She was his for the rest of their lives, and it sent chills down his spine. “Here, baby,” he said, handing her a full glass.
Callie gazed up at him, tears spilling over. “I love you, Quinn,” she softly whispered, as they clinked their glasses together. W
hen they finished their champagne, Callie moved into Quinn’s arms.
He cradled her protectively against him. “I want to kiss you and touch you all night, baby,” he admitted, sliding his hands down her body, as his own went hard at the simple contact.
“Mmmm…have at it, darlin’. Trust me. I don’t mind,” Callie tugged on his shirt, and it slid free from his jeans. Now, she could run her fingers over his flat stomach and strong chest. “You feel really good, Sheriff.”
Quinn moaned as Callie dragged her nails lightly across his flesh, sending heat tearing through his body. He couldn’t wait any longer, and began unwrapping his prize. Quinn found himself admiring creamy swells of breasts, tucked provocatively in a miniscule scrap of lace. “Oh, God, baby! You brought out the sexy underwear for me.”
“Uh huh. You should see the matching panties, if that’s what you want to call them,” she whispered seductively in his ear, leaving a trail of wet, heated kisses down his throat.
Quinn rolled her to her back, bracing himself over her body. “I have to see them,” he admitted, kissing his way down her belly until he had the button and zipper undone.
What was revealed made his heart pound. The tiny little G-string made his mouth water. Callie was the only person who could satiate the hunger which was ravaging his body.
Callie waited as he disrobed. Her eyes roamed the long lines of muscle. The fire was illuminating his body, and it was just enough to make what she saw that more tempting to touch and feel. Callie pulled him down so her body was crushed beneath his. Wantonly, she rubbed against him.
Already, he was struggling to breathe, as she seductively wrapped herself around him. He longed to plunge headlong into the heat.
“Baby, I need to taste you,” he whispered, as he began leaving little nips and licks all the way down her torso. At her breasts, he hastily freed them from their lacy prison. Sucking one peak into his mouth, he nearly lost control when she arched into his body, offering him more. Callie tasted better than the bottle of expensive champagne.
“Quinn, get naked, so we can have some fun.”
The love of his life didn't need to ask twice. Quinn pushed off Callie and ripped his zipper down, needing to be free. Next came his boxers, as he tossed them off the side of the truck.
“I want you now, Quinton.”
The need began surging to the surface, taking over. Quinn slid his hand down her body and into her lacy panties. In one move he ripped them from her body, inciting a gasp from Callie and a moan from himself. He bent his head and left a trail of kisses, until he found the treasure he craved most. Slowly and teasingly, he swirled his tongue across the most sensitive part of her body. When she reacted, it made him want to devour her.
“Quinn,” whispered Callie, driving her fingers into his hair. “Please,” she begged, as he teased more at her pleas. It continued until Callie could feel the heat radiating through her body as she prepared to shatter into a million shards of pleasure.
“Callie, let go. I’ll catch you, baby,” he promised, continuing on with his exploration.
She let the pleasure take over, throwing herself headlong into the orgasm. Her body was still quaking from the aftershocks, when Quinn slide up her torso.
“Callie, I’ll die if I don’t have you,” he admitted, his voice full of need and desire. When her legs wrapped around his hips, he took that as his sign. Sliding into the wet warmth, he buried himself in her body. The moan of pleasure this time was his own, as he began moving slow and deep. As Callie writhed under his driving strokes, he nearly lost his mind.
“Quinn,” she murmured, arching her hips into his delicious assault. Once more, she could feel her body tensing as it prepared to break apart.
Quinn recognized the tell-tale signs that he was slipping. Driving into her faster, the only thought in his mind was to bring them both to the edge of release.
As Callie tightened around him like a fist, he heard her cry out his name as she shattered again. With one long stroke, he drove himself deeply into her body. The last thing he heard was her name shouted from his lips, as he buried his face in her throat.
When Callie could breathe again, she kissed him gently on the curl of his ear. A wave of exhaustion rolled over her, and she had the overwhelming need to sleep. Before she fell into the darkness, she couldn’t help but feel that there was something that she had forgotten to do that night.
Callie was sure that it was important.
Yet, it was just out of reach for her brain.
“I love you, Callista,” Quinn whispered, knowing that she was exhausted. He rolled to his side, taking Callie with him. For now, he would just hold her, taking in the amazing scent of his fiancée. Tonight, he would hold, protect, and love her with everything that was in him.
Closing his eyes, he reached up to pat his sidearm in reassurance.
His woman was going to be safe.
No matter what...
Chapter Fifteen
Wednesday Morning
W hen the birds began to chirp, Quinn forced his eyes open so he could check the time. It was just barely six in the morning, and he knew he needed to wake Callie. They had to pack up, return to the house to shower, and head into the station.
Unfortunately, their self-imposed exile had to come to an end, but it was fun while it lasted.
There was a killer to track down, and work had to come first. Beside him, Callie was curled against his body. It was hard not to be filled with elation. He could see the ring, glittering in the morning light, and he knew that he was the luckiest man on the planet. Leaning down, he began kissing her awake.
Callie returned the mating of mouths, clinging to him even tighter.
“Hey, baby. We need to get moving,” he whispered lovingly in her ear.
“Mmmmm, I’m awake. I was just enjoying our time laying here naked.”
Quinn laughed, “Yeah, me, too, but we have things to do today. I have a weekly meeting with the deputies that I can’t miss, and there’s so much paperwork on my desk that I’ll be doing it for weeks to come.”
Callie sat up, taking the blanket with her. “Okay, I need a shower, and I’d like to attack those files again from another angle. I might be able to get us something else to work with. Yesterday, I hit a wall with the idea of the suspects being connected to the crimes in Phoenix four years ago.”
“We’ll get it, baby. Let’s get home so that your brother, the watchdog, doesn’t freak out that I had you out all night, taking advantage of your womanly virtues.”
Callie jumped off the side of the truck to begin collecting all her haphazardly strewn clothes. When she finished pulling them on, they began breaking down all their equipment to load into the truck.
“Can we do this again sometime?” she asked, obviously surprising him.
“Yeah, if you had fun,” Quinn replied. He was pleased that his fiancée was happy with the simple things in life. After all, he wasn’t a complex man by any means.
“Quinn, I always have fun with you, and I’m not just talking about camping,” she wiggled her eyebrows lecherously.
That made him grin. “Come on. We have to hustle.”
At the passenger door, he helped her up. Callie knew she shouldn’t look in the mirror, but she couldn’t help herself. “Well, shit! I’m a mess,” she muttered, pulling her hair up on top of her head.
“No way, baby. You’re beautiful,” he answered, sincerely. He never met a more stunning woman in his life. “My momma would have loved you,” he added suddenly.
Callie could feel the little butterflies in her chest. “Oh, Quinn, that was quite possibly the nicest thing you could have ever said to me.”
Nice or not, his mother would have approved. After all, how could she not? Callista Carter was a lady to her core.
Yeah, his lady.
When Callie and Quinn arrived home, no one was awake yet, but Zeke was waiting by the front door like a forlorn lover. From the look in his doggie eyes, they could tell he was disapp
ointed to be left home.
Callie scratched him behind his big floppy ears, only to receive an exuberant thumping of his tail. Apparently, all was forgiven.
After feeding him, they moved to their room to clean up and get dressed. When they finally arrived back downstairs, both Feds were sitting at the table having coffee.
“Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in,” said Luke, glancing up at the two as they walked into the room.
“I thought I heard you both come in,” said Nate, continuing with his work. “I assume fun was had by all on your night off?” he asked, no animosity in his voice.
Quinn lifted a brow as he sipped the coffee Callie handed him.
When he sensed eyes focused on him, Nate glanced up. “What?” he asked.
“That was the first time you commented on me messin’ around with your sister without a nasty comment in return,” stated Quinn. “It was a little surprising that’s all.”
“Well, what can I say? You’re marrying her, so from here on out, you’re my brother.”
That touched the man’s heart. He could always use another one of those, and he suspected that Luke was included in the fold now too. “Thank you for that, Nate.”
The man nodded, trying not to make a big deal out of it. He wasn’t big on lovey dovey emotions.
Callie took a seat beside Quinn, only to have Luke grab her hand and whistle. “Wow, where did that rock come from?” he asked.
“It’s my engagement ring,” she said simply, drinking her coffee. “Do you like it?” Callie asked, holding out her hand for her brother to examine.
“Yeah, it’s really nice.” Nate offered the sheriff a fist bump. “Good job.”
Quinn was pretty proud of it himself. If you’re going to get a wife, you needed to pick out a ring that would stand up to her beauty.
“Oh shit!” exclaimed Callie, grabbing her phone.
Sinner Repent Page 42