fifteen
Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
Alden sat in the most comfortable chair the RV provided. Traveling around in the contraption wore him out almost as much as finding the right woman each time they went hunting. He was eager to return home and begin his favorite part—the initiation and then the training. With feigned patience, he eyed his son. “Have you made a choice?”
“There are two that I want.”
“You can only have one.”
A sly gleam entered John’s eyes. “You’ve often had two women at a time, sometimes more. Our people expect me, as your son, to have more than they do.”
Alden’s fake tolerance vanished. “You’re barely man enough to handle one woman, much less two. Now choose or I’ll do it for you.”
“I’ve often handled three at once. Ask the stable girls if you don’t believe me.”
Alden snorted. “Do you honestly believe that a hard dick is the only way to satisfy a woman? Women have to be controlled, shown what to do, what to think. If you let them lead you by that hard thing between your legs, they’ll take advantage. To keep them happy, you have to show them what makes them happy. Doing that with more than one woman would be a difficult task for anyone. For someone who’s barely a man, it’s an impossible task. Now choose or I will.”
John glared his displeasure. “I’m more than man enough to please half a dozen girls.”
Too late, Alden recognized his mistake. He never should have agreed to let the boy choose a mate this soon. Should have let him sow his wild oats with the eight women who earned their keep by providing relief to his community of men. The single men visited the stable frequently; the married men were allowed to go there only when their women were unavailable due to pregnancy or their monthly flow. John was only nineteen, much too young to find the right woman to settle down with and take to wife.
However, Alden could not admit that mistake. Admitting errors could make his people think he was flawed. His word was law. If he went back on his promise to his son, they’d question his decision. Might start questioning other things, too. That couldn’t happen.
He gave a philosophic mental shrug. When his son realized he’d chosen the wrong woman, Alden would find a way to make her disappear. Two of his three wives had contacted a mysterious, incurable disease. Having the girl get a similar ailment should be easy enough.
However, he refused to weaken on one particular issue. “You must choose only one.”
“Very well. I want the blonde.”
Alden barely refrained from rolling his eyes. John’s choice only reemphasized the boy’s immaturity. Both girls were attractive and looked as though they could bear healthy children. However, the blonde had large breasts and bleached hair. The other one, a brunette, was petite, small-breasted, and seemed to have the more pleasing personality. Trust an immature kid to look at the physical appearance as the most important quality.
“Very well.” Alden turned to the young woman sitting at his feet. “Tabitha, do you know which one your brother desires?”
“Yes, Father. The one with the giant ass.”
Alden swallowed a chuckle. This was the second year Tabitha had provided assistance in selecting the females. His angel resented bringing him the women, fearful he would choose one to replace her. He never could, of course. Yes, he would eventually marry again, if for no other reason than to set an example for his followers. And at some point, he’d like to breed another child or two—his gift to the community.
Another woman, however, could never replace Tabitha. But he did adore that jealous streak.
Alden stood. “Let’s bring her in today. I’d like to be home by week’s end.”
He would leave his daughter in charge of setting the trap. She was the craftiest of women when it came to pretense. One look from those innocent baby-blue eyes and people fell over themselves trying to please her. Little did they know that only one thing pleased his Tabitha, and that was keeping her father happy.
The Internet café streamed with people, most of whom didn’t seem to care to get on a computer. Young people were entertaining to watch. Years ago, before he’d served his time in prison and long before he had envisioned Tranquillity, he would often go to the hangouts the local college kids frequented. He hadn’t attended the university, but he had enjoyed the activity of campus life.
He should have stuck with just watching, but when one of the young women had given him signals that she wanted to get to know him better, Alden had become a bit overeager. Screwing her up against the brick wall at the back of the building had been a mistake. Should’ve taken her somewhere else. No, he should’ve smothered the bitch when she’d screamed. His luck hadn’t been with him that day. An off-duty policeman had been there seconds later. Alden still had his pants unzipped and the bitch had started jabbering about rape. Before he knew it, he was in jail and then prison.
Three years in prison had not only perfected his self-control skills but had given him a lot of time to think. And in that time, Tranquillity had been born in his mind. A place where he ruled everything and everyone and when he wanted to screw some girl, then he damn well did it.
After he was released, he hooked up with some lowlifes and tried out his new powers of persuasion. Turned out, he was very good at it. Within a month, he had four followers. In a year, he had twelve. Now, twenty years later, he had over one hundred and could have more if he wanted. He didn’t want more. The ones he had were devoted and devout. The three or four girls he added each year to keep his men satisfied was all he needed. Babies were being born all the time, and as soon as they could comprehend anything, they knew he was their leader. Over time, the population had grown all on its own. And each and every person there would give their life for him. He’d made sure of that.
His dream had come true.
The angelic vision in front of him caught his attention, pulling his thoughts from the past. Alden sat in the corner of the café and, with anticipatory delight, watched his daughter work her magic. The overblown female John had chosen, Mallory Roland, looked up as Tabitha said something to her. He supposed the girl was attractive enough, in a too obvious way. The white-blond hair, large breasts, and ample bottom made her look like a cheap imitation of one of those old-time movie starlets. Before he’d realized his calling, he’d lusted over such women. Once he’d even put up a poster in his bedroom of some blond bimbo actress and had gotten the hell beaten out of him by his whore of a mother. She hadn’t appreciated the competition.
Soft laughter drew his attention back to the girl. Tabitha was probably sharing an anecdote or joke. His daughter was good at making people feel comfortable. Mallory laughed appropriately, but the more Alden watched her, the less he liked her. His son was going to have trouble with this one, he could already tell.
Yesterday, Tabitha had attended a newcomers’ gathering. The tiny camera attached to her collar, disguised as a ladybug pin, had done a good job of picking up the features of several promising candidates. His son had barely looked at the women before settling on two of his favorites. The final choice of the blonde was no real surprise; still, Alden wished his son had better taste. Once the boy realized what a mistake he’d made, perhaps he would listen to his father more often.
The two young women got to their feet. As prearranged, Tabitha would lead the girl down an alley, ostensibly to her car—the shopping ruse had worked quite well for them this year. When the girls arrived in the alley, John would be waiting and would meet his mate for the first time. Since privacy was of the most import, it would have to be a short, quick meeting. Alden would pick them up in the RV within minutes.
Five minutes later, Alden left a 20 percent tip for his coffee and roll and stood. Leaving too much or too little money would make him memorable. Leaving the correct amount helped him blend in with the rest of the crowd. Since he was decades older than most of the occupants, he tried to do as little as possible to attract anyone’s attention.
Keys in hand, he slipped out of the café and walked the short distance to the RV he’d parked in front of a convenience store. He started it up and headed toward the alley behind the coffee shop. Things were going so smoothly, they should be on their way home in a matter of minutes.
As Alden drove around to the back, he knew immediately that something was wrong. Tabitha stood several feet away from the car, the expression on her face one of sheer panic.
Putting the RV in park, he kept the motor running and got out. “What’s wrong?”
“I think John was too rough.”
Alden’s rage surged, but the need to control the situation was imperative. He ran to the car to see John thrusting inside the woman’s body. The idiot was doing her here?
“Are you crazy? What …?”
Rarely at a loss for words, Alden stood by, stunned, and watched as his son finished with the woman, then climbed off her half-clothed body. What was supposed to have been a simple matchmaking event had just turned upside down on them. In the RV, John could have had the bedroom to acquaint himself with the woman. Instead, he’d chosen the backseat of their rented car.
His son’s lack of self-control could well destroy Alden’s entire world.
“You fool! What have you done?”
Huffing with exertion, John crawled out of the backseat and snarled, “The bitch laughed at me when I told her she was coming home with me. I lost control.”
Alden looked down at his son’s crotch. “You couldn’t control yourself yet had the presence of mind to put on a condom?”
“Bitch didn’t deserve my sperm.”
Alden’s rage bubbled. His hands fisted tight at his sides, the urge to beat the little prick within an inch of his life almost overwhelming. But this was not the time, and the middle of an alley behind several businesses was not the place. That would have to wait until they returned home. And after Alden finished, it’d be a long time before John put his dick into anyone or anything.
“We’ll take her back and put her in the stable,” Tabitha said quickly. “No one has to know this was supposed to be John’s mate.”
Before Alden could respond, John snarled, “Hell no.”
“That’s not your call to make,” Alden snapped. “You just gave up your right to make any decisions about the girl.”
His handsome face marred by arrogance and hatred, John shook his head. “She’ll laugh at me whenever she sees me. She’ll tell others.”
As much as he didn’t want the boy’s input, Alden had to admit that John had a point. No matter how furious he was with his son’s unthinking selfishness, having a woman mock their leader’s son would be bad for morale.
“Fine.” He glanced down at the barely conscious girl and then swept his gaze around the empty alley. There was no way they could just dump her here; nor could they have her telling the police what had happened. “Here’s what we’re going to do.” He glared at his son. “And I swear, if you fuck this up, the same thing’s going to happen to you.”
A tinge of worry flickered on his son’s face. At last, he was comprehending what a royal screwup he’d made of a very simple procedure.
His anger on temporary hold, Alden drew his children close and described his hastily made plan to clean up his son’s mess.
sixteen
Tampa, Florida
The sound of Seth taking a shower waking her, Honor rolled over in bed and stretched with the sheer pleasure of being alive. Delicious aches all over her body were a delightful reminder that Seth Cavanaugh was still an exquisite lover. After recovering from their steamy lovemaking, they’d dried off and put their clothes back on. Since neither of them had slept in almost twenty-four hours, they’d headed back to their hotel rooms. She had stopped in front of her room and never even considered that Seth wouldn’t follow her inside. The minute the door had closed behind them, she’d gone back into his arms. And that was where she’d stayed till morning.
What did any of this mean? What did Seth feel? She refused to allow herself to think about the future. The here and now with Seth was more than she ever thought she’d have again. Speculating on where this was heading was a sure path to disaster.
Being with him again had felt so good, so right. She’d had only one very brief relationship in the last five years. If one could call a weekend fling a relationship. A few months after she and Seth had broken up, she had worked with LCR on a case and had met Cole Mathison, an LCR operative who had reminded her of Seth. Cole had lost his wife and daughter a few years earlier and was still suffering. And, at that time, she was still crying into her pillow each night. That weekend fling had been as much about comfort as about pleasure.
Since then, she had focused solely on her career, with almost no social life, and had dated no one. How ironic that she’d made the decision to leave the Bureau in an effort to finally put the past to rest, only to find Seth roaring back into her life. She refused to consider that this was fate’s way of allowing her to finish with him once and for all. She couldn’t think about that right now.
“Good morning,” Seth said in that early morning growl she remembered so well.
Sitting up, she leaned against the headboard and smiled up at him sleepily. “Morning.”
“Coffee?”
“Please.”
When he turned to the small counter behind him, Honor held back a sigh at the somber, too serious expression on his face—an indication that his thoughts were back on the case. One of the reasons she’d let her defenses down and made the invitation to him last night was because of this. They had so little to go on, and the frustration of not being able to find Kelli was killing him. They both knew that the longer it took, the more their chances of finding her alive dwindled.
Honor also knew that, coupled with his need to give his family back one of their own, he was feeling hopeless. Seeing Seth’s despair wasn’t something she could handle.
He brought the coffee to her and sat on the edge of the bed as she took an appreciative sip. She hadn’t needed to tell him how she liked it … a small thing, yes, but still a nice reminder that while she hadn’t been able to forget anything about him, he at least still remembered she took her coffee black with one packet of artificial sweetener.
“How are you feeling?” he asked quietly.
There were two ways to play this. As if it had been a monumental, earth-shattering event or just an enjoyable reunion romp with the sexiest man she’d ever known. Seth had enough drama in his life right now … she didn’t need to add to it. She smiled. “Deliciously sore.”
He chuckled and leaned in to kiss her softly. “Yeah, me too.”
Relieved that she had chosen the right response, she said, “Guess we need to grab some breakfast.”
“Why don’t you shower and I’ll order it. You still like the same thing?”
Even though she hated being so predictable, she couldn’t help but be thrilled that Seth had apparently remembered that, too. “Yes. Thanks.” She took another long swallow of her coffee and then sprang from the bed.
The thought of being self-conscious barely entered her mind. Seth had explored every part of her body, and though she was normally a modest person, with Seth, that had never concerned her.
Grabbing her underwear from a drawer, she headed to the bathroom. Seth’s “Honor” stopped her. She turned at the doorway to look at him.
“Thank you,” he said quietly.
There was no need to ask what he meant. Giving him a smile that came from her heart, she answered with a soft “My pleasure.”
She turned and stepped into the bathroom before she was tempted to offer another bout of comfort. If she did that, he would quickly realize that her offer had less to do with the need to give them both some relief from their stress than it did with the unresolved feelings she had for him. Again, more drama than either one of them needed right now.
When the door clicked closed, Seth let go of a longheld breath. He’d made so many stupid mistakes in his life, why should one more surprise him? And the hell of it was, he wouldn’t change a thing. Years ago, sex with Honor had been the best he’d ever had. Last night had been even better. So, stupid? Hell, yeah. But give him another chance and he’d take it again … and again.
Arousal surged, and he closed his eyes. There should be no life left down there, at least for several days. But when it came to Honor, his body had a way of defying biology.
Cursing under his breath, Seth grabbed the phone. He could either stand here lusting like a fifteen-year-old or behave like a man who had more to do than just satisfy a never-ending desire.
Assured that breakfast would arrive within the next fifteen minutes, Seth poured himself another cup of coffee and walked out to the attached patio. Autumn in Florida could still mean steamy and hot, but today promised to be on the mild side, with a pleasant mid-seventies temperature.
What was it like where Kelli was? Was she hungry, exhausted, scared? He still refused to consider that she wasn’t alive. That had never been a possibility to him. Even though they’d come to a standstill in the investigation, Seth still firmly believed she was alive.
Optimism wasn’t exactly his thing—never had been, really—but he damn well refused to accept any other option. No, he didn’t consider it optimistic as much as determined. Kelli was alive and he was going to rescue her, no matter what.
The knock on the door and a male voice announcing “Room service” brought him back inside. Seth opened the door and took the rolling cart from the man. After signing the bill, he pushed the cart into the center of the room and called out, “Breakfast.”
Unsure if she’d heard him, he opened the bathroom door and froze. Having always prided himself on being able to keep his thoughts to himself in any situation, he knew that at this moment, without a doubt, his face showed exactly what he was thinking. How could he have forgotten Honor and her underwear?
Last night, he’d been too far gone to do more than get everything off her as quickly as possible. Now he took the time to fully appreciate the drop-dead-sexy woman in provocative lingerie. Seth stopped breathing as his eyes roamed freely. The ice-blue scraps of lace and satin barely covered her beautiful breasts, and the small panel of cloth at her mound covered just enough to make his mouth water.
Turning away before he acted on the need to remove those tempting pieces of cloth and taste her again, he growled, “Breakfast,” and closed the door.
He grabbed a couple of chairs and placed them on either side of the cart. The mindless task of uncovering their meal and arranging silverware did nothing to ease his arousal. He knew only one thing that could do that, and for right now, that couldn’t happen.
Five minutes later, Honor emerged. Dressed in a brown pantsuit, she looked coolly professional. Only Seth was aware that beneath the sedate clothes, a sexy nymph existed.
Acting as if she weren’t aware of the volcano of sexual need bubbling inside him, her expression coolly neutral, Honor sat down in the chair Seth pulled out for her and started on her meal of oatmeal, orange juice, and coffee.
Seth dropped into the chair across from her and dug into his own meal of a western omelet and toast, appeasing one hunger while another continued to rage.
Almost finished with his breakfast, he raised his head to see a bemused expression on Honor’s face. Swallowing the food in his mouth, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Just wondered if you were going to breathe in between bites.”
He gave a wry grin and sat back in his chair. “You said you’d worked with LCR on some cases before joining them. Were they all child abduction cases?”
“Yes. The last one we worked together was over a year ago, in South Carolina. Two children, four-year-old twin girls, were abducted from a playground, right in front of their mother.”
Yeah, he remembered that all too well. The case had made the national news. He’d made the mistake of watching the news one night and had caught a press conference about the investigation. Honor had been front and center, answering questions. He’d sat there, stunned, because it was the first time he’d seen her in years. Instead of changing the channel or getting up and leaving the room, he had devoured every expression, every subtle shift of her body as she talked about the case.
The press conference had lasted about ten minutes. Seth had found himself still staring at the television an hour later, barely aware that another program had started. When he’d finally pulled his head out of his ass and realized what he was doing, he’d turned the television off. He hadn’t watched the news for the rest of the year.
He had, however, found himself following the case in the newspapers. When her name had been mentioned, Seth had studiously overlooked it.
“I remember reading about that case. The kids were found, weren’t they?”
“Yeah, but by LCR, not us.”
“I don’t remember LCR’s name being mentioned.”
“That’s what they prefer. Getting credit or press is something they’d rather avoid.”
“Was that a hard adjustment for you when you got to LCR?”
Her nose scrunched up. “I hate press conferences. Even though they can be helpful in an investigation, being on camera and answering the same question, posed in twenty different ways, was one of my least favorite things.”
That was too bad, because Honor had the kind of face the camera loved. Beautiful, high cheekbones, a heart-stopping smile, and the kind of earthy sensuality that would attract people to tune in to a press conference if only to see her on their television screen.
She had a timeless beauty, almost flawless. His gaze dropped to the scar on her neck. It was still fading, but he doubted it would go away completely. She had almost lost her life and he’d never known it. Might not have ever known if she’d died.
“The bastard who cut you. What were you after him for?”
“We went to question him about several young girls who’d been abducted and murdered. A new one was missing, but we were out of leads and down to talking to one-time offenders. This guy had served time for molestation of a minor a few years back. Idiot went berserk. We found out why, later. He wasn’t responsible for those murders, but turns out he had moved a block from an elementary school and was back to stalking little girls.”
“Did you find the girl you were looking for?”
She dropped her gaze to the meal in front of her, but not before he saw the answer in her face. Hell, he wished he hadn’t asked. Was finding Kelli and the other girls alive just as hopeless? Was he just fooling himself?
“Did you at least catch the bastard?” Seth growled.
“Yes. The week before I left the Bureau, he was stopped for a minor traffic violation. The cop noticed a pair of panties on the floorboard. That was information we’d never let leak to the press—that the guy kept the underwear of his victims.”
“If that hadn’t happened, you might not have found him.”
She leaned forward and grabbed his hand. “I know what you’re doing. You have to stop. We will find Kelli. I swear to you … we will find her.”
“How do you know that?”
She released his hand and gave him the quietly confident words he needed to hear: “Because I won’t stop until we do. And neither will you.”
Honor rose from her chair and stood at the front of the large LCR conference room. The four men sitting at the oblong table before her had completed their review of one another’s files. Now it was time to brainstorm and figure out, within the mass of notes, observations, and theories, just how these disappearances were related. If they could tie them together, see a thread or pattern, their chances were a hell of a lot better.
Before she could begin, Noah said, “Just want to alert everyone that there’s a new disappearance.”
“Related to this case?” Seth asked.
Noah shook his head. “Don’t know yet. She was reported missing yesterday. She has a live-in boyfriend, and when she didn’t come home, he called the police. She’s a student at Penn State. Fits a couple of the similarities of the other victims. She’s twenty and a transfer from a smaller school. I’ve got a call in to the campus police. As soon as I know something more, I’ll let you know.” He shot a look at Honor. “Let’s get started.”
If possible, the room was now even more somber. She gazed around the table at everyone. “Okay, if the new one is related, the more we can learn about these disappearances, the better our chance of helping the new victim, too.”
At their agreeing nods, she continued: “I’m going to detail our investigation. Everyone please jump in and add anything that comes to your mind. Nothing is off the table or too crazy. What we’re hoping for is some commonality we might have missed.”
As Honor went through the litany of each girl’s disappearance, family and friends’ interviews, and personality profile, everyone listened intently, looking, as she was, for a thread. If there wasn’t one, then, by rights, they were going to have to let go of all of the investigations, with the exception of the one they’d been hired to do—for Seth’s niece.
“We’ve also checked to make sure the girls didn’t know each other. They had no sororities in common, no people in common.” Honor shook her head, suddenly disgusted with her own lack of ideas. “Hell, from what I can tell, they don’t even like the same foods.”
Without a word, Seth abruptly stood and went to the dry-erase board to her right. Before the meeting, she had attached the photos of the girls, along with a time line and the location of where they were last seen.