Forgotten Secrets
PRAISE FOR THE MONTGOMERY
JUSTICE NOVELS
“The Montgomery Justice series satisfies on all levels, with plots that dovetail into one another and characters that aren’t always what they seem.”
—
RT Book Reviews
on
Behind the Lies
“Robin Perini is synonymous with stellar romantic suspense.”
—
USA Today
Happy Ever After blog on
Behind the Lies
“Perini refreshes romantic suspense.”
—
Publishers Weekly
on
In Her Sights
“This riveting book will keep readers on the edge of their seats and surprise them at the end. The tightly woven plot, quick pace, and complex characters make for a remarkable read.”
—
RT Book Reviews
on
In Her Sights
“Robin Perini will keep you perched on the edge of your seat. Danger, excitement, and romance . . . everything a reader craves!”
—
New York Times
bestselling author Brenda Novak on
In Her Sights
“Robin Perini delivers the goods—
Game of Fear
is an intelligent, fast-paced romantic thriller that kept my heart racing and the pages flying.”
—Karen Rose,
New York Times
bestselling author
“Robin Perini crafts the perfect blend of hot romance and chilling suspense that leaves you breathless!”
—Allison Brennan,
New York Times
bestselling author
“The world of computer hacking is taken to extreme levels in this exceptional action adventure. . . . The story moves quickly and captivates readers with every page.”
—
RT Book Reviews
on
Game of Fear
ALSO BY ROBIN PERINI
Carder Texas Connections
Finding Her Son
Cowboy in the Crossfire
Christmas Conspiracy
Undercover Texas
The Cradle Conspiracy
Secret Obsession
Christmas Justice
The Montgomery Justice Novels
In Her Sights
(Luke’s story)
Behind the Lies
(Zach’s story)
Game of Fear
(Gabe’s story)
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Text copyright © 2016 Robin Perini
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Published by Montlake Romance, Seattle
ISBN-13: 9781611098891
ISBN-10: 1611098890
Cover design by Michael Rehder
For Mom.
Though her memories have faded, her presence reminds our family each day of her strength of will, power of faith, and all-encompassing devotion.
For Dad.
In sickness and in health have become more than a promise. They are truth. His patience is never ceasing, his loyalty boundless, his love absolute.
Together they are proof that love can be strong, real, and everlasting.
I’m honored and blessed to call you my parents. I love you both. Always.
Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don’t have the strength.
—Theodore Roosevelt
CHAPTER ONE
No matter how far a man traveled, how fast he ran, or how hard he tried, it only took a moment for the past to ambush him like an enemy combatant lying in wait.
At this moment, Deputy Thayne Blackwood had no doubt he should’ve paid closer attention to his grandmother’s words of wisdom. He tilted back his Stetson and gauged the distance between him and his target. What a cluster.
Normally, Clive’s Dance Hall and Saloon would’ve been jumping during happy hour on a Friday, but the place had gone as silent as the Afghan desert right before everything blew to hell. And instead of canvassing a clandestine drinking hole with his SEAL teammates like he should be doing, Thayne was in a standoff with an SOB he’d known all his life. Still, whether he was in Singing River, Wyoming, or Afghanistan, a hunting knife, a short temper, and a jealous drunk made for a dangerous confrontation.
Ed Zalinksy pressed the serrated bowie more firmly against the throbbing pulse of his longtime on-and-off lover’s neck. Carol’s eyes widened, glazed with too much booze, her sallow skin and visible capillaries evidence of a decade or two of indulgence.
Thayne stared down the man and allowed a slight drawl to ease the tension in his voice even as his right hand inched toward his Glock. “You don’t have to do this, Ed.”
“I’m not leaving my house. She can’t make me.”
Slowly, Thayne raised his hands—soothing, conciliatory. “Let’s take this outside. Just you and me, so Carol can get back to work.”
Ed’s knuckles whitened, his grip tightening around Carol’s arm. Though nearly as tall as Ed, she whimpered.
Thayne sensed the panic mounting in the crowd hovering near the bandstand behind him. He didn’t have to turn around to recognize what was happening. With each crunch of peanut shells, each rustle, he knew. A dangerous but well-intentioned few, their hands inching toward concealed weapons, hesitant but with just enough bravado to make a bad situation worse.
Thayne let loose a silent flurry of curses. Too many heroes could turn a tricky confrontation deadly in a split second.
What he wouldn’t give for his SEAL teammates on his six. Having them at his back would’ve provided him a lot more options, but as Gram always said,
Wait for a wish, and you’ll be waiting forever.
With half the sheriff’s office—all two of them—gone fishing, Thayne’s only reinforcement was fifteen minutes away. Rough estimate—the confrontation would be over in three.
“You don’t understand.” Ed’s fingers twitched on the knife’s hilt, his eyes desperate.
If he pierced Carol’s throat, she’d bleed out from her carotid within a minute.
No time left. Thayne slipped the gun from its holster. Not his usual preference—he was partial to his SIG—but the Glock would do. He’d drop Ed with one shot if the man moved that blade a centimeter.
“Put the knife down, Ed.”
“I gave her a place to stay when no one else in town would put up with her drunk, crazy talk. And how does she repay me? She throws my clothes on the front lawn and keeps my house, my TV, and my guns. My daddy left me those guns.”
Ed tightened the arm wrapped around Carol’s waist until she cried out.
“Please, Ed. I’m s-sorry,” she stammered.
“You’re a liar. Always have been. From the moment you got yourself knocked up to the moment your kid vanished while you were on a binge. You probably killed her and don’t even remember.”
A collective gasp escaped from the crowd.
What a bastard. Everyone in town—hell, in the whole state—knew about Carol’s missing daughter, Gina. Fifteen years ago, she’d vanished without a trace. Carol had been one of the prime suspects, but Thayne’s father, in his first year as sheriff, had ruled her out during the investigation.
A decade and a half later, Gina Wallace was still missing.
Ed jerked his head up and glared at the crowd. “What? Y’all’ve been thinking the same thing since it happened. I’m just brave enough to say it to her face.”
Carol choked back a sob, tears streaking mascara down her face. “It’s not true. Why are you doing this, Ed?”
“’Cause I love you, damn it. And you won’t love me back.” His hand dropped just a few inches.
Ed’s mistake. Thayne’s opportunity. He holstered his Glock and rushed Ed in a blur of speed. Before the man could so much as twitch, Thayne grabbed the wrist holding the knife and twisted it with a sharp yank. Ed bent over with a groan. The knife clattered to the floor.
Carol crumpled in uncontrollable sobs.
“It didn’t have to be this way.” Thayne snapped metal cuffs around Ed’s wrists.
The room erupted in whoops and applause. Several women hurried to Carol. She clutched at a barstool and heaved herself to her feet, legs shaking. “I need a drink.”
The bartender poured two fingers of Scotch and slid the glass to Carol. She downed it in one gulp, then crossed to Ed and slapped him across the face. “You bastard.”
Ed heaved toward her, but Thayne’s grip didn’t give.
“Carol, go home. Sleep it off, huh?” Thayne tugged Ed out of her reach.
She crossed her arms and glared at Ed. “Not until I know he’s headed for jail.”
Carol’s blood might be half alcohol, but she hadn’t lost her fight. She had twenty years on Thayne, but he recognized the remnants of the woman his dad had told him about. Carol’s homecoming court and state championship basketball days had long since passed. She’d had everything going for her until she’d fled the confines of Singing River for a summertime adventure on the rodeo circuit. A few months later, she’d come home with a lost scholarship and a baby on the way.
“The judge won’t be back until Monday,” Thayne said. “Ed’ll be locked up until then.”
She swayed. “Good.”
“You gonna be OK?”
She lifted her chin and stared at Thayne through unfocused eyes. “I haven’t been OK for a long time. Everyone knows that.” She turned back to the bar and tapped the empty glass on the walnut surface. “I need another one.”
Resigned to the fact that some people were their own worst enemy, Thayne straightened and stared down the rest of the dance hall. “Show’s over. Make sure I don’t have to come back tonight. Ed already ruined my Friday night rendezvous with paperwork.”
A few chuckles at his words broke the tension, but Thayne hadn’t been joking. With the sheriff’s office being so shorthanded this weekend, and now having to process Ed, there’d be no privacy for his Friday Night Phone Fling.
He’d been waiting all week to talk to Riley again, to hear her voice. The woman was smart, sultry, and always surprising, but he hadn’t liked her tension-laced tone during their last conversation. When he’d asked, she’d sidestepped his concern and abruptly ended the call.
The crack of a pool cue on the ball pierced through his memories. He glanced over his shoulder at the center table. The first time he’d seen FBI Special Agent Riley Lambert had been in this very room, perched half-on and half-off that pool table, sinking an impossible shot to win a bet. Except the wager hadn’t been for cash, dinner, or even a drink. She’d been in full-on profiler mode, wanting an interview with any man in the bar who’d taken part in the search for Carol’s missing daughter a decade and a half ago.
In that instant, Thayne had known Riley was different. How many women spent their vacation trying to solve a missing child’s cold case? He’d asked her to dance, and she’d promptly shut him down, which made the passionate end to the evening all the more surprising. She’d left Singing River with no new information regarding Carol’s missing daughter, and Thayne had returned to his SEAL team with seven days of memories that wouldn’t stop replaying themselves in his mind.
During their entire location-challenged relationship, she’d never hung up on him—or refused to pick up. Until last week. He’d called twice more that night and once the next day, breaking their standing rule. She’d finally texted him that she was fine, just busy on a case. He believed her about the serial killer investigation, but she worried him. She wasn’t herself. If it weren’t for his father’s precarious health and a promise to his sister, he’d have jumped on a flight to DC. As it was, his gut had churned for the last six days, and after a decade as a SEAL, he knew better than most to trust his instincts.
He’d just have to bend their rules again tonight and call as soon as he broke free of his duties. This time, he wouldn’t let her avoid his questions. In fact, he might have to book that flight.
A few minutes later, “Friends in Low Places” blared through the jukebox speakers, and three couples hit the dance floor. The normal buzz of conversation and clink of glasses created a dull roar echoing off the paneled walls.
Thayne hauled Ed out the door, reading him his rights as they crossed the parking lot. “Damn stupid move, Ed. You violated probation.”
“She loved me before that smooth-talking drifter got her pregnant.” He stumbled. “Screwed up both our lives.”
“Twenty-five years is a long time to stew on the past.” Thayne secured Ed’s arms to steady him, opened the back of his SUV, and pushed Ed’s head down. “Maybe the judge will buy it.”
After slamming the door shut, Thayne slid behind the wheel. Ed snorted from the rear. “What a joke. You in the front seat and me in back. I figured your daddy would’ve locked you up by now. Who would have thought? Thayne Blackwood, Deputy Sheriff. Or should I say,
glorified errand boy
until your daddy gets well.”
“Don’t push it, Ed, or I might forget I’m only a temp.” Thayne rested his arm on the back of the seat, his gaze steel-serious. “You do know Uncle Sam has trained me to inflict a lot of damage without it showing—on the surface, anyway.”
Ed paled.
Thayne faced front with a slight grin and started the engine.
By the time he pulled onto the highway leading the five miles into Singing River, the evening light had risen against the eastern summer sky along the Wind River mountain range. “You shouldn’t have come back,” Ed said, his voice sullen. “This place’ll suck the life out of you.”
Thayne couldn’t argue. He’d worked his entire life to escape Singing River. Looking back, he’d initiated his quest at the age of eleven by pocketing a pack of baseball cards from the general store and receiving a tour of the town jail from his grandfather, the sheriff. By the time Thayne had hit fifteen, he’d graduated to joyriding down Main. His father’s new sheriff’s badge had still been shiny, but Thayne had done his best to tarnish it. His dad had locked him up for the hell of it.
In his wildest nightmares, he couldn’t have imagined himself back in his hometown playing deputy to his father’s sheriff. Just like his father and his grandfather. Yet here he was.
Upholding family tradition.
Temporarily.
He glanced in the rearview mirror. “Is that what happened to you, Ed?”
“Three choices in this town,” he said. “Marry the head cheerleader like your daddy did. Get out of town—I thought you’d made it after ten years away from this place. Then, there’re the ones like me. I screwed the class slut and, like an idiot, fell for her.” He slumped in his seat. “A woman’ll make or break you, kid. Most of the time, they twist your balls and enjoy it.”
The ring of Thayne’s phone saved him from responding. He glanced at the number and tapped his Bluetooth. “Hey, sis. What’s up? You and Gram want company for dinner? ’Cause if I don’t have to cook—”
“Thayne. It’s happened again.” Cheyenne’s voice trembled, completely unlike his unflappable sister. “Someone’s been inside the clinic.” The phone went quiet. “Oh God, they’re still here,” she whispered.
Thayne’s shoulders seized. “Get out of there, Cheyenne. Go to the sheriff’s office—”
A door slammed open.
“No!” Cheyenne screamed. “Please. Don’t hurt her—”
The phone went dead.
The world wouldn’t stop spinning. Dr. Cheyenne Blackwood clutched at the carpet of her waiting room, her fingernails digging into the short fibers. She heaved herself to her hands and knees. Her head throbbed with every beat of her heart. She blinked, unable to focus. Why couldn’t she see?
“Can’t you do anything right?” The accusing voice sounded strangely far away, muffled.
Cheyenne’s arms trembled and she collapsed to her side. Fighting against the waves of unconsciousness threatening to overtake her, she grunted and pressed her palms to the floor, forcing herself to rise.
“You won’t escape.” Two sets of hands pushed her back down to the floor. A large weight sat on her hips.
This couldn’t be happening.
Hot breath puffed against her neck. “Don’t fight. You can’t win. No one ever wins.”
Like hell she wouldn’t fight. Cheyenne closed her eyes to keep the world from spinning and tensed her body. She could do this.
A weak whimper sounded from across the room. “P-please.”
Gram.
Cheyenne bucked hard. She wouldn’t go quietly. Her grandmother needed her. Her family needed her.
The weight on top of her shifted.
A damp cloth pressed against her nose, the sweet smell dulling her senses.
“Get the rest of the stuff. We’re out of time.”
“What about the old woman?”
“End her.”