The Devil's Daughter (Hidden Sins #1)(10)

Zach hated that. She should be more important to everyone. There should be outrage that her young life had been cut so short. But there were thousands upon thousands of deaths and murders on any given day across the country. There was no reason this one would make people sit up and take notice.

Unless there ends up being more.

No, he couldn’t think like that. He had to work the case he had, not the one he feared. As of now, there was nothing connecting Neveah Smith’s being missing with the body in front of him.

He just hoped like hell it stayed that way.



“What do you mean my flight’s been canceled?”

“I’m sorry, ma’am. There seems to be some weather causing problems in Chicago, which is your connecting city.”

Eden should have known better than to connect through Chicago, but it was the only flight she could book last-minute. Silly her, she’d only caught a one-way from Quantico. Over the years, it’d become something of a superstition—the only time things went sideways seemed to be when she had concrete plans in place for travel back home. She hadn’t even thought about it when she’d flown out to Montana.

Now it seemed she was going to pay for it.

She squeezed the bridge of her nose. “Can you fly me through a different connecting city?”

“I’m sorry, ma’am. With all the travel being diverted, there simply isn’t another flight until two days from now.”

Two days.

She’d told Zach she’d be in town for a few days, but after the run-in with Martha, the thought of spending a minute more than necessary in Clear Springs had her threatening to break out in hives. She’d come straight back to her room at the B&B and locked the door, but that hadn’t stopped her from glancing out the window repeatedly, half expecting to see Abram standing on the curb on the other side of the street.

It wouldn’t be the first time.

Should have booked a room over in Augusta instead.

Ultimately both her pride and common sense had gotten the best of her. If she stayed outside Clear Springs, it was as good as waving a sign saying she was uncomfortable here—that Elysia and Martha still had power over her. There’d been the added consideration of being close on the off chance Zach actually took her up on her offer.

None of it mattered now. She was here, she was spooked, and the sheriff didn’t want her help. All she wanted was to go back to Virginia.

Eden shuddered. “Look again. Please.”

The customer-service agent sighed. “Ma’am, I understand your frustration. Believe me, I do. But there’s simply nothing else I can do.”

She knew that. It didn’t make it easier to swallow. Eden cleared her throat. “Then book me the flight two days from now—and not through Chicago if at all possible, please.”

The man sounded relieved. “Yes, of course. Would you like me to e-mail you the updated itinerary?”

“That would be great.” She waited for him to confirm he’d done that and hung up. Eden dropped her phone onto the bed and cursed. The temptation to get in her rental car and start driving was strong, but it wasn’t logical. She’d get back to Quantico faster by sitting here and waiting for her flight in two days than by driving—and be less likely to get herself killed because she fell asleep behind the wheel.

She moved to the window again and flicked the curtains back, just enough to see out. Darkness had fallen while she was on the phone. She hadn’t even been in Clear Springs twenty-four hours and it still felt like a lifetime. What was I thinking, coming back here?

That was the problem—she hadn’t been. She hadn’t stopped to think from the moment she’d seen that photo. Britton probably thought she’d lost her damn mind.

Eden ran her fingers through her hair. Britton ran a tight ship back at Quantico. He’d taken over for the last director right around the time she’d joined the BAU, the Behavioral Analysis Unit, though sometimes she felt like he’d been there for time unknown. He had that ageless quality that made it impossible to put a number on him—he could be anywhere from thirty-five to fifty.

He had to think she was crazy. She’d rushed into his office this morning and asked for a week of personal time for a family emergency. He hadn’t commented on the fact that in six years, she’d never once made an effort to see her mother, let alone demanded emergency vacation for it. He hadn’t pointed out that she and Vic were about to be sent out on a new case. He’d just approved her time off and told her to do what was necessary.

“A couple more days isn’t going to kill me.” Maybe if she said it enough times, she might actually start to believe it.

Eden shivered, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. While she’d been staring out into space, the few people on the street below had disappeared, as if fleeing the coming darkness. It was a fanciful thought—the truth was most people in this area had homes and children that required dinner on the table at a reasonable hour—but she couldn’t shake it.

A flicker of movement against the corner of the building across from her window caught her eye, and she frowned, leaning close to the glass. Seconds ticked by, leading into a minute, but nothing else moved. “Weird.” She closed the curtains and flicked on the television, turning it to a mindless comedy. It wouldn’t help. No matter what she did, she could feel her mother’s presence looming over her, waiting for her to miss a step so she could sweep her back into the Elysian fold.