The Devil's Daughter (Hidden Sins #1)(81)

“I don’t know.” He’d said it so many times since the start of this case that it felt like a mantra.

“It doesn’t make sense. So much of this doesn’t make sense.” She pulled a hair tie out of the pocket of her leather jacket and yanked her hair up. “Well, this DNA test will shake something loose one way or another.”

He climbed out of the cruiser and waited for Eden to join him. “I need to get the basket.”

“I know.” She took a breath, and when she spoke again, some of the sharpness had bled out of her voice. “I’m okay. It scared the shit out of me when I saw it, but I’m okay now. You don’t have to tiptoe around my feelings—just get it.”

It was less about tiptoeing and more about the fact that she was a little too wide around the eyes, and her hands shook when she thought he wasn’t looking. It was understandable that this situation was getting to her, but if she wouldn’t just admit that fact, he didn’t know what he was supposed to do.

Maybe her partner would know.

“Vic going to be here for the DNA testing?”

“Yeah.” She yanked out her ponytail and redid it. “He’s bringing my rental here as we speak.”

Maybe having her partner here would help settle her. He tried not to resent that. She’d called him when she was in trouble and panicking. That was more than he would have expected given how their last encounter had ended. It was hard to be patient with her, but his current stress had more to do with the murders than with Eden. He would be patient, damn it. “I’m going to take Chase and go round them up.”

“We’ll follow you up.” When he hesitated, she rolled her eyes. “The warrant says they need to submit to the swabbing, not that they have to do it in the police station. You’re more likely to avoid a fight if you take it to them and ambush them in Elysia. And I happen to have an open invitation to be there, so no reason I can’t tag along.”

As much as he wanted to argue just for the sake of keeping her away from that place, she had a point. Zach caught sight of her rental coming down the street. “Bring your partner up-to-date. I’ll get the swabs and the warrant.”

He left her standing in the parking lot, looking so damn alone it made his heart ache.

It took ten minutes to get everything sorted out. He was loading the swabs into a small case when Chase strode into the station. He looked like shit, but he was wearing a different shirt than he’d had on yesterday, and he’d taken the time to shave this morning. So, really, he was holding up as well as any of them were. Chase narrowed his eyes at the case in Zach’s hand. “DNA?”

“Yeah. About to head out to the compound right now.”

Chase nodded. “We need to put this monster away for good.”

“Yeah. Sooner the better.” I hope. I seriously fucking hope. The details were there, laid out by Eden time and time again. It had to be a cult member, and it was unlikely it was anyone too low on the totem pole, because they wouldn’t know a damn thing about the key tattoo all the girls had on their sternum.

It was just a matter of figuring out which member of Martha’s inner circle was responsible.

Could be any of them. All of them.

The thought made him sick to his stomach. Bad enough that one person had hurt those girls—if it had been a group, that just seemed so much worse. But cults had gone bad in the past, and killing two teenagers was nothing compared with what Manson’s people had done back in 1969, or the suicide pacts that had cropped up over the years. It wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility, by any means.

“I’ll keep you updated.”



“We’re tipping our hand in a big way. Lots of risk.” Eden didn’t take her eyes from the cruiser in front of them as they followed Zach toward Elysia. In the distance, the gates rose, larger than life, as ominous as tombstones. Or maybe she was just being dramatic.

She didn’t feel dramatic, though. Her gut churned, and every muscle tensed like her body was ready to flee, whether her mind was willing or not. She rubbed a hand over her eyes. “This is a mistake.”

“You’re letting your emotions get the best of you.”

She’d never wanted to hit her partner more than she did in that second, which just served to prove he was right. “We’re going to spook him.”

“It’s possible.”

Damn it, why was Vic being so closemouthed now, when she needed the fight? She had the answer almost before the question formed. Because a fight is going to divert our energy, and he knows I’m being stupid. She shifted in her seat. “I don’t want anything to happen to that girl.”

“No one does.”

She turned off the main road, squinting against the dust Zach’s car kicked up. “There are some people I need to talk to here.”

“Uh-huh.” Vic huffed out a laugh. “Is that your way of trying to get me to volunteer to get a ride back with the sheriff?”

“Maybe.” She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. “There’s a girl here I grew up with. We used to be friends.” As close as she’d had to friends in this place. “I’m missing something, and I’m hoping if I can get her alone—no Martha and no husband around—she’ll spill whatever information she’s hoarding. She knows something. I’m sure of it.”