Dark Sins
Page 1
Dark Sins
Charlotte Byrd
Contents
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Dark Sins
1. Jacqueline
2. Jacqueline
3. Dante
4. Dante
5. Jacqueline
6. Jacqueline
7. Jacqueline
8. Jacqueline
9. Jacqueline
10. Jacqueline
11. Jacqueline
12. Dante
13. Dante
14. Jacqueline
15. Jacqueline
16. Jacqueline
17. Jacqueline
18. Dante
19. Dante
20. Jacqueline
21. Dante
22. Dante
23. Jacqueline
24. Jacqueline
25. Jacqueline
26. Dante
27. Jacqueline
28. Dante
29. Jacqueline
30. Jacqueline
31. Dante
32. Dante
33. Dante
34. Jacqueline
Connect with Charlotte Byrd
About Charlotte Byrd
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Cover Design: Charlotte Byrd
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This book is a word of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
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“BEST AUTHOR YET! Charlotte has done it again! There is a reason she is an amazing author and she continues to prove it! I was definitely not disappointed in this series!!” ★★★★★
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“What a magnificent story from the 1st book through book 6 it never slowed down always surprising the reader in one way or the other. Nicholas and Olive's paths crossed in a most unorthodox way and that's how their story begins it's exhilarating with that nail biting suspense that keeps you riding on the edge the whole series. You'll love it!” ★★★★★
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“What is Love Worth. This is a great epic ending to this series. Nicholas and Olive have a deep connection and the mystery surrounding the deaths of the people he is accused of murdering is to be read. Olive is one strong woman with deep convictions. The twists, angst, confusion is all put together to make this worthwhile read.” ★★★★★
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“Fast-paced romantic suspense filled with twists and turns, danger, betrayal, and so much more.” ★★★★★
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“Charlotte Byrd is a brilliant writer. I've read loads and I've laughed and cried. She writes a balanced book with brilliant characters. Well done!” -Amazon Review ★★★★★
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About Charlotte Byrd
Charlotte Byrd is the bestselling author of romantic suspense novels. She has sold over 1 Million books and has been translated into five languages.
She lives near Palm Springs, California with her husband, son, a toy Australian Shepherd and a Ragdoll cat. Charlotte is addicted to books and Netflix and she loves hot weather and crystal blue water.
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Also by Charlotte Byrd
All books are available at ALL major retailers! If you can’t find it, please email me at charlotte@charlotte-byrd.com
* * *
Dark Intentions Series
Dark Intentions
Dark Redemption
Dark Sins
Dark Temptations
* * *
The Perfect Stranger Series
The Perfect Stranger
The Perfect Cover
The Perfect Lie
The Perfect Life
The Perfect Getaway
* * *
All the Lies Series
All the Lies
All the Secrets
All the Doubts
* * *
Tell me Series
Tell Me to Stop
Tell Me to Go
Tell Me to Stay
Tell Me to Run
Tell Me to Fight
Tell Me to Lie
* * *
Wedlocked Trilogy
Dangerous Engagement
Lethal Wedding
Fatal Wedding
* * *
Tangled Series
Tangled up in Ice
Tangled up in Pain
Tangled up in Lace
Tangled up in Hate
Tangled up in Love
* * *
Black Series
Black Edge
Black Rules
Black Bounds
Black Contract
Black Limit
* * *
Not into you Duet
Not into you
Still not into you
Lavish Trilogy
Lavish Lies
Lavish Betrayal
Lavish Obsession
Standalone Novels
Dressing Mr. Dalton
Debt
Offer
Unknown
Dark Sins
When I saved her mother’s life, I didn’t do it with my own money. I took out a debt. Now I have to go back to my old life.
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I have certain skills that people are willing to pay a lot of money for.
Everything has a price, and Jacqueline was worth it.
But what happens when I make mistakes? What happens when the debt I have to pay becomes too great and the darkness that envelops me becomes too much?
* * *
For bestselling author Charlotte Byrd comes an intense romance about debts, lies and secrets and the extent to which people go for love.
* * *
A letter arrives.
It was not an accident. It was murder.
But who did it? Why?
The cops think it’s a false lead. There’s no other evidence, but I have to do everything to find out the truth.
My brother’s death is no longer a tragedy to get over, but a wrong to put right. It becomes my obsession.
What happens when I start to uncover the lies?
* * *
Dark Sins is the third novel in the Dark Intentions series. It is a dark romance/romantic suspense about debt, lies, wealth, crime and family bonds. There is no cheating.
1
Jacqueline
As soon as Mom calls that morning, Dante and I get into his car and drive all the way home without hitting any traffic. I packed my bags, much to his dismay since I wasn't sure if I was going to come back.
But I'm also not sure what I'm going to find.
The drive down is uneventful. We listen to a little bit of Bruce Springsteen and Elton John, and my mind keeps spiraling around everything I don’t know.
What could it mean?
Why would someone send a letter telling me that my brother, who has been dead for months and whose body I saw being lowered into the ground in the cemetery, did not die in an accident?
How could that accident be anything but that?
But, if it isn't, what else could it be?
When Mom opens the door, her eyes are tired and puffy. She has changed out of her robe into what she lovingly refers to as home pajamas; a casual pair of black pants, a loose-fitting sweater perfect for both home and a trip to the bank.
After a brief hello, I introduce her to Dante, and he apologizes for meeting under these circumstances.
"You didn't need to come," she keeps saying, leading us to the dining room.
The table is old and worn, and every indentation is awfully familiar since I was here for all of them.
We sit on the uncomfortable wooden chairs that have needed pillow pads for as long as I can remember. Mom thinks they’re tacky so we never had them.
The letter is nothing remarkable.
It came in a plain, thin envelope with no return address, directly to my mother's house. The stamp is of an American flag. It was mailed barely five miles outside of Elizabeth, New Jersey.
The letter itself is typed, but signed in longhand, but, the signature is difficult to read. Probably on purpose. I force myself to stay calm, as Mom carefully opens the letter slowly to keep the creases exactly the same.
* * *
She had put it back in the envelope, and opened it by cutting the top open, like she usually does, with her specialty letter opening knife. Mom has always hated the way that I would savagely attack the mail, her words not mine, and not have the intact envelope to put the letter back into for later.
"I would've been more careful with it if I’d known what it contained," Mom keeps mumbling over and over again.
I look at the envelope, which is addressed to her, with a stamp in the far right hand corner, no return address of any kind, and a little imprint over the stamp indicating when and where it was collected.
"Do you think we should be wearing gloves?" she asks when I grab the letter. "It's too late for me and you, but yeah. I think so."
She goes to the bathroom, underneath the sink, and pulls out a pair of black gloves that she wears whenever she colors her hair with box dye.
I put them on, and the two of them crowd around me, looking. I feel the touch of their breath on my shoulder as I pull the letter out and read it.
Dear Mrs. Archer,
I don't know how to put this except to just tell you that your son, Michael Archer, did not die in a car accident.
All I can say is that he was killed, and his murderer is walking around free.
I'm sorry that I cannot tell you anything else about the situation because I'm afraid that that will put my own life in danger.
I have already said too much.
Sincerely,
There’s a scribble at the bottom.
We look closer, trying to make out any letters, but the writing is angular, tall, and sweeping. I kind of doubt that it's a name after all. Everything else is typed. Whoever sent this clearly did not want to be identified by their handwriting.
"What do you think this means?" Mom asks, looking at us after I put the letter down.
"I don't know. It could be a joke," I offer.
Mom glares at me, even Dante is taken aback.
"I mean, it's definitely a possibility," I suggest, "right? I mean, they may know that Michael died, and it was an accident."
"What did happen, exactly?" Dante asks.
I look at him as the three of us sit around the dining room table. Usually, my mom would offer me and a guest something to drink. But this situation is completely different. This is nothing that has happened before.
"He was driving at night, and he slid off the road. It was an icy, snowy night. He usually avoided driving at that time, but he was there. His car collided with the center divider, and there was an explosion. The fire department said that, unlike what the movies would have you believe, cars rarely blow up, but there was a big fire. They investigated and confirmed that it was indeed an accident."
"Were you able to confirm that he had died?" Dante asks.
"You mean, identify the body?"
He nods.
"No, it was too charred."
"Wow, I'm so sorry," he says under his breath.
"They did identify that it was him, if that's what you're thinking," I add.
“I sent his dental records over from the dentist and they confirmed it. Besides, it happened in his car."
"It had to be an accident," Mom says.
"I know, I want to believe that, too."
"Want to believe it?" she snaps. "If it's not an accident, all of this healing and everything has been a lie. If it's not an accident, we have to find out the truth."
"I know," I say, shrinking down in my seat.
"You have to find out the truth," she snaps.
She gets up from the table, making a loud clinking sound as the chair pulls away. The chair practically falls onto the floor behind her as she walks out. She looks discontented, upset, no, full-on angry.
I'm pissed off, too, but something feels odd about this. I follow her to the kitchen, where she pours herself a glass of water, holding the glass in her shaking hand as it fills up from the faucet.
"Mom, I know that this is a big deal. Okay? This letter is a big deal. I'm not trying to say that it's not. But it's also a very realistic possibility that this is a fake, a joke."
"Why would someone do that? No
," she snaps.
"Look, I've investigated stories about missing persons before, and sometimes the families would get these mystery letters from somewhere else in the world or somewhere far away. They would say this person is alive, and they just saw him at this bar or place."
"Yeah, and then they would want something from them, right?"
"Yes, on occasion," I admit.
"Well, this person doesn't want anything. This person is just telling me their truth."