by Rita Herron
Michaels was furious, but his story on the church corruption had earned him enough attention to temporarily placate him.
Ian had called her multiple times. He’d left messages saying that the reverend’s wife had spilled her guts about the mistreatment of the women in the church.
He was doing everything in his power to get his mother away from the cult and her husband—who also faced charges of child endangerment because he’d presided over many of the exorcisms.
Agent Coulter’s wife, Mona, a counselor, had volunteered to work with Ian’s mother and the other women in the church to help them heal and rebuild their lives.
Graveyard Falls could finally go back to normal again.
As if it had ever been normal.
At least Vanessa was home safe, and her grandmother Cocoa was recovering.
Beth stroked the penny on the chain around her neck. She’d found a beautiful cemetery called Memorial Gardens and had given Sunny a proper burial. When she’d placed the jar of pennies inside the casket, the sunshine had popped through the clouds.
She had a feeling it was Sunny smiling down at her from heaven.
Beth shoved her suitcase into the back of her car. She’d come to Graveyard Falls to find Sunny’s killer, and she’d achieved that.
Too bad she’d fallen in love with Ian.
Her family had destroyed his.
How could he ever forgive her for that?
Beth was leaving town today.
Ian wanted her to stay. But he had no right to ask.
She’d insisted on following Abram Cain to prison and interrogating him herself. There were holes that needed to be filled in. Questions about the time lapse between her mother’s death and the recent victims buried in the holler.
Answers about how many others Abram’s father had killed and where their bodies were. They might never know.
The bones Beth had felt on the cave floor belonged to some of them.
Now, Ian held his mother’s arm as they entered the hospital. His father was in a coma, but hopefully hearing her voice would bring him out of it. At least he’d made progress. The doctors had weaned his father off the ventilator, which was a good sign. He was breathing on his own.
“I did this to him,” his mother said, her voice breaking.
“No, Mom, you didn’t,” Ian said. “Sheriff Headler dropped the ball by not investigating properly. But Dad is free now, and his name is clear. Hopefully, he can have some kind of future when he wakes up.” He squeezed her arm. “Maybe you can, too.”
She nodded weakly, her eyes downcast.
A low moan rumbled from the bed, and Ian jerked his head toward his father. He was awake and looking at them.
“I must be in heaven,” his father said. “You’re both here.”
His mother burst into tears, rushed toward his father, and stopped by the bed. “I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you, that I deserted you.”
His father looked up at him with tears in his eyes. “Thank you, son, for finding the truth.”
Ian’s gut pinched. “I always believed in you, Dad.”
His father reached out his hand to his mother. Emotions swelled in Ian’s throat as they hugged. Maybe the two of them would reconcile, and then he’d have his family back again.
But what about Beth?
He wanted her in his life. But what would his family think? There were old hurts, maybe bitterness between his father and Beth.
“Dad, about Beth—I mean JJ. She shot you.”
“I brought that on myself.” His father’s voice cracked. “I was desperate and out of control. I was wrong to pull that knife. Please tell her I’m sorry.”
Ian squeezed his father’s hand. “I have to talk to her, Dad.”
His father nodded. Then Ian left the room. If his father could forgive his mother and Beth, maybe Beth could forgive him.
Beth thought being alone would help her heal. Had thought locking up Sunny’s killer would make the nightmares go away.
But she was lonelier than ever.
Because she’d tasted what it was like to be loved.
Worse, she’d learned that she’d been bred by a serial killer, that her brother was also a murderer. Who knew if her nephew could be saved?
Director Vance had ordered her to take a leave of absence to heal.
This time, she’d agreed.
She dressed in her running clothes, keeping alert as always as she rode the elevator down to the lobby and scanned the building. Old habits died hard.
Knoxville was teeming with life, with city noises and traffic and people. So different from the small town of Graveyard Falls.
At least here she was anonymous.
Did she still want to be anonymous? To have no one to answer to or come home to at night? No one to love her or hold her or whisper sweet nothings in the dark?
Don’t be foolish. Ian didn’t love you. If he had, he wouldn’t have let you go.
Traffic buzzed by as she clipped her phone to her belt and adjusted her earbuds to listen to her music. A few early morning joggers were already out, people heading to work. She turned to run her usual route toward the river.
It felt good to be outside again, to breathe fresh air, to know that Sunny could rest in peace.
As she’d done a dozen times this past week, she reviewed her conversations with Abram Cain in her head. She’d spent hours interrogating him, probing for answers about the victims and his father.
Her father—his name was Carl.
Such a normal name for such a twisted killer.
She’d also been starved for more information about her mother.
Her name was Mary. She’d grown up in Kentucky but had a rough home life and had run away. Carl met Mary at a truck stop coffee shop. Mary had been young and vulnerable and had thought traveling with him across the country would be exciting.
The fun had ended when she became pregnant. Carl’s father did not approve.
Beth jogged past the park, but suddenly the hairs on the back of her neck prickled.
Instincts alert, she glanced over her shoulder but didn’t see anyone.
A brittle laugh escaped her. Maybe she would never stop looking for trouble. It was a hazard of her job.
Her job—God. Did she want to go back?
With every case, she was inundated with the vile ugliness of some humans. Just as with her own birth father.
Each generation of the ones who believed in the Calling had developed his own MO, adding to the legacy. Abram had been infatuated with blood and paintings and decided the families should have something of their daughters to keep.
Milo’s generation was obsessed with video games and technology, so he’d developed Deathscape.
If Milo wasn’t healed, what would the next generation think of?
No . . . he had to be saved. She’d been in touch with counselors who’d gotten him placed in a residential mental health therapy program.
The wind whistled around her as she jogged by the river. Unease pricked at her again.
Irritated, she spun around, braced to fight.
Ian nearly ran into her.
She gaped at him in shock. Was there a problem with the arrest?
He gently gripped her arms. “Beth?”
She searched his face. “What are you doing here?”
“Trying to catch up with you.” He was breathing hard, but the wind ruffled his hair and made him look sexier than ever. Or maybe she just missed him that much. She’d never imagined how much love could hurt.
A heartbeat stretched into a full minute, the past a bleakness that hung between them. There had been lies and pain and nightmares and so many deaths.
She didn’t want to focus on death anymore.
But panic tapped at her nerve endings. “Is something wrong? Did Abram escape?”
His gaze locked with hers, the bitterness in his eyes when she’d first seen him at the task force gone. “No, he’s locked away tight. I just had to see you.”
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Hope warred with worry. They had things to settle. “Ian, I had no idea about my father.”
He cupped her face between his hands, making her heart stutter. “I know. I never thought you did. I was just upset that day. I don’t know why I reacted like that.”
“We were both afraid for Vanessa,” Beth said.
“And I was terrified for you,” Ian admitted.
The air between them became charged. People rushed by and traffic noises surrounded them, but Beth felt like they were in their own cocoon.
“I love you,” Ian said gruffly. “I love you and I miss you, and I want you in my life.”
Beth’s heart soared with a happiness she’d never known. Did she really deserve this? Love?
Ian dropped to his knees in front of her and dug something from his pocket. Her eyes widened at the sight of the velvet box.
“Ian?”
His mouth tugged into a smile, but his hand was trembling as he opened the box.
A heart-shaped diamond glittered back.
“I’ve never given my heart to anyone, Beth. I’m giving it to you.” He took her hand in his. His skin felt warm, callused but soft at the same time.
“Will you marry me?”
Shock made her voice quiver. “You want to marry me? After all that’s happened?” She bit her lip. “After my family destroyed yours? After I shot your father?”
His chuckle rumbled, deep and full of affection. “Yeah, after all that.”
She couldn’t believe it. “I told you, I’m damaged, Ian. Evil runs in my blood.”
“Evil is not in your blood,” Ian said firmly. “You fight evil every day. That means you have a good heart.” He pulled her to him and slipped off the band holding her hair into a ponytail, freeing her hair. Gently he ran his fingers through it.
Freeing the strands seemed to free her reservations as well.
His fingers, his smile, the gleam of desire in his eyes warmed Beth inside.
“I’m so damned proud of you,” he said gruffly. “And I’m so in love with you that I can’t sleep at night.”
“I’m in love with you, too.” Beth blinked back tears as she pressed her hand over her chest. “This heart has belonged to you since I was fifteen.”
A tender smile flickered in Ian’s eyes, need and hunger mingling. “I love you, Beth. I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you, too.”
He squeezed her hand. “So are you going to answer me? Will you be my wife?”
A tear seeped from her eye as she whispered yes.
Ian slid the ring on her finger, then cupped her face between his hands and kissed her with all the love in his heart.
Beth poured herself into the kiss. The bleakness she’d felt for years faded away as love and hope budded in her heart.
She’d never settled anywhere. Never had a real home.
The sun beamed down on her, sparkling off a shiny penny on the ground, and Sunny’s whisper of approval tickled her ear. Sunny wanted Beth to fulfill her dreams for the both of them.
And she would.
She was going to make a family with Ian.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to my wonderful editor Mallory Braus for her attention to detail and for pushing me to make my characters better! Also to the Montlake team for great covers and marketing—and for letting me write the twisted stories I want to write!
As always, a special thanks to writer friends Stephanie Bond and Jennifer St. Giles for always being there to talk murder over martinis.
And last but not least, thanks to my three children and hubby for not committing me to the loony bin when they hear me talking to myself—there are no words for how much I love you!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © 2008 Marie Williams
USA Today bestselling author Rita Herron fell in love with books at the ripe old age of eight, when she read her first Trixie Belden mystery. Twenty years ago, she traded her job as a kindergarten teacher for one as a writer and now has more than ninety romance novels to her credit. She loves penning dark romantic suspense tales, especially those set in small Southern towns. She has received multiple awards, including a Career Achievement Award from RT Book Reviews for her work in Series Romantic Suspense, and she is listed on RWA’s Honor Roll. Her novels have also received rave reviews and appear regularly on PW’s bestseller list. Rita is a native of Atlanta, Georgia, and a proud mother and grandmother.
