The Devil's Daughter (Hidden Sins #1)(89)

“You don’t know that.”

Abram stepped forward, touching Martha’s elbow. “The cabin.”

Zach didn’t wait for her to give permission. He focused on the other man. “What cabin?”

“Jon built it years ago. He and Beth thought no one knew.” Abram’s mouth twisted. “We allowed them the illusion.”

Because it served Martha’s purpose. In a way, Zach understood. If a person was held too closely with no freedom, they were more likely to revolt. He looked at her. So goddamn manipulative from beginning to end. “Where is it?”

“The north side of the property, just inside the tree line. It’s twenty minutes from here.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Abram rattled off a series of coordinates that Zach instantly memorized. He needed to call in backup and call them in now, but they wouldn’t do a damn bit of good if they didn’t know where they were headed.

For the first time since he’d met her, Martha looked at a loss. She crossed her arms over her chest. “If they follow the rituals to bring back Persephone . . .” She turned and clutched Abram’s arm. “Go get her. Bring my baby home.”

Now she understood the danger Eden was in.

Zach wanted to shake her, but there was no time. There was no time for a single damn thing, not the least to demand to know what the hell she’d taught her followers—or just how closely Beth was replicating these teachings with the murders. He would, though, when this was all over.

He stepped back to allow Abram to precede him down the stairs, but he followed on the other man’s heels. The last thing he saw before he was out of sight of Martha was Joseph putting his arms around her. Anger burned his stomach. She didn’t deserve the comfort. If she’d been up front about what she’d known from the beginning, they could have put a stop to this so much earlier.

Maybe we could have saved Neveah.

He hit the door at nearly a run and found Abram climbing into the driver’s seat of his battered old truck. He rolled down the window. “Follow me if you want, but I’m not slowing down for you.”

“Fine by me.” This might be the only time in his life that he and the other man were on the same side, but he wasn’t about to look the gift horse in the mouth. Martha had commanded that her daughter be brought home safe, and Abram would die making that happen if he had to. Zach paused to help Vic into the passenger seat. The Elysians might not be enemies at this point, but there was no way he was going to leave the fed helpless in their clutches. Too many “accidents” could happen.

He tore out of the main living quarters on Abram’s truck’s tail and grabbed the radio. “Chase? Henry?”

“Henry here, Sheriff. Chase took off a little bit ago to grab some grub.”

It would just figure that the deputy chose now to listen to what Zach had badgered him about through the entire case. He cursed. “Get every cop Augusta can muster, and send them to these coordinates.” He passed on the location Abram had given him. “The killers are a couple from the compound by the names of Beth and Jon, and they have Eden. Henry, get them there as fast as they can.”

“Will do.” He clicked off.

Zach did some quick math in his head, but no matter which way he looked at it, it’d be almost an hour before any of his backup arrived. Guess it’s just me, the fed, and Abram.

Fuck.

“Drive faster.”

He didn’t glance at Vic. “How’s your head?”

“Don’t worry about me. Worry about Eden.” Vic leaned back and closed his eyes, his skin an unhealthy color. “They’re reenacting the most traumatic parts of her childhood. If we don’t get there in time . . . there’s more than her life on the line.”

He pushed the pedal farther to the floor, the cruiser bucking and dipping as it fought its way across the dirt road that could barely call itself a road. Twenty minutes, and that’s in addition to the time we wasted dancing around the truth with Martha, and however long Vic lay on the ground, bleeding. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Too long, no matter which way he split it.

She’s capable. You’ve been thinking that from the beginning.

Yeah, he had. But he’d been thinking of Eden, fully healthy and able to kick ass as needed—not suffering from her second head wound in twenty-four hours and unconscious in a trunk. Zach held his breath and drove faster.



Fear clogged Eden’s throat as Chase came toward her, his hands on his belt buckle. She couldn’t wait any longer. If he got his pants off . . . No. Being naked might slow him down, but it would be one less barrier between them if he got her pinned. I’ll die first.

It’s now or never.

She kicked with everything she had, years of merciless physical training making it possible to swing her legs up and over her head, and then pushed with her arms to complete the flip and come to a crouching position on the other side of the head of the bed.

Chase blinked at her. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

Eden didn’t waste any time, kicking with everything she was worth at the joint where the leg of the bed met the rest of the frame. It cracked but didn’t bust open, so she kicked it again.

Chase shook himself. “That’s fine, Persephone. I can take you like this. I actually prefer it.”

No.