The Devil's Daughter (Hidden Sins #1)(82)

“All the more reason for me to be your backup.”

That was logical. And yet . . . She shook her head. “You don’t know these people, Vic. They barely allow me back in, and I’m Martha’s daughter. They’ll take one look at you and close up. Which means I’d have to come out here again, and that’s going to waste everyone’s time. If I can get a chance to talk to Beth alone, I want you to go back to Clear Springs with Zach.”

“I don’t like it.”

“I know.” Zach wouldn’t be crazy about it, either, especially after what had happened yesterday. She touched her face. Had that really been only yesterday? It felt like weeks ago. Her head hadn’t stopped aching, but it had dulled to the point where she could mostly ignore it.

She’d gotten really good at ignoring pain. Practically an expert, after her childhood.

Put it away. Lock it down. Being on the verge of a meltdown isn’t going to help anyone.

Easier said than done. She parked the car next to Zach’s cruiser and climbed out. He met her between them, the sight of him bringing his earlier words back to the forefront of her mind. I’ll keep you safe. She couldn’t allow herself to lean on him, not when she most needed to be strong.

Even now, hours later, her hands shook just the slightest bit. She kept seeing that bat, kept hearing the faintest creak of a person putting their weight on a floorboard in her bedroom. Those things on their own were plenty creepy, but it was the other that was bringing her down. The one thing she’d been doing her damnedest not to think about.

Neveah Smith had been buried alive.

The coroner couldn’t say for certain that it had happened like that—only that she had a film of dirt over her skin and dirt beneath her fingernails along with the DNA. There was no telling how those things had come about.

Except Eden knew.

She’d been there, after all. She’d lain in the grave that wasn’t called a grave and watched the faces of the people she knew as the dirt rained down, covering her from her feet to her chest, a weight she’d never really escaped, the suffocating feeling sometimes visiting her in her nightmares and making her wake up in a cold sweat.

“Eden.”

She latched on to Zach’s voice like a life vest, letting it ground her. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. And that’s all right.”

“I’m better than this, Zach. I’ve faced worse.” She didn’t reach for him, but she wanted to. God, she wanted to. “This shouldn’t be messing me up so bad.”

“Our personal demons always get under our skin.” He didn’t touch her, didn’t offer false comfort. There were eyes on them even now, and any show of weakness would be noted and used against them in the coming confrontation. “It’s going to get worse before it gets better—if it gets better. Some cases break you if you don’t learn how to bend.”

She didn’t have a backup plan. The BAU fulfilled her in a way nothing else had managed to for her entire life. She wasn’t going to let that go—not for anything. She unclenched her hands, forcing herself to meet his direct blue gaze. “I won’t take any unnecessary risks.”

“I thought you weren’t going to lie to me about that.” One corner of his mouth quirked up, but the expression died there. “Just . . . watch your back, okay? If something happened to you . . .” He shook his head and walked away without finishing the sentence.

It was just as well. She didn’t know what she was supposed to say to that. She looked around the courtyard, shivering as a brittle wind kicked up. Winter was coming, and coming fast. She tried not to see that as an omen.

She tried really damn hard.





CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE


Zach saw exactly how things would play out the second Martha got a look at the warrant. She drew herself up to her full height, somehow seeming to tower over him despite the fact she was a good four inches shorter. “Zach Owens, I expected better of you.”

Guilt surged, but he fought it down. He didn’t have a damn thing to be guilty for—the response was the same as if his mother gave him that look and spoke to him in that tone of voice—though in that case he most likely had done something wrong. He kept his body relaxed, though he watched Abram out of the corner of his eye. “Ma’am, I’m sorry you feel that way, but this is a court order. You, Abram, Joseph, and Lee are all required to submit to an oral swab. If you try to resist, you will be brought in to the station, and you will still be required to take the test.”

She studied him, and he could almost see the wheels turning in her head, debating which course of action would benefit her the most. Zach had always known Martha was a force of nature, but it was only after spending time with Eden that he realized exactly how much of her responses were cherry-picked to get the outcome she wanted.

Finally she jerked her chin at Abram. “Get the boys and bring them to my office.” Martha turned to look at Eden, where she stood at the edge of the group. “I suppose you had something to do with this. You always did think the worst of me.”

Zach started to step between them, but Eden just shook her head. “If you didn’t have a murderer running loose in Elysia, this wouldn’t be necessary. That’s on you—not me. And if I thought for a second I could subpoena your video footage, I’d do it. Hell, I’d have already done it.”