Hidden Sins
Authors: Karice Bolton
Copyright © 2014 Karice Bolton
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any printed or electronic form without permission from the author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, and events either are the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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DEDICATION
Thank you for always being there for me, mom. I love our daily chats and appreciate all of the encouragement you’ve always given. And to my wonderful husband, I love you to the stars and back. I can’t wait to see where life will take us next.
BOOKS BY KARICE BOLTON
THE WITCH AVENUE SERIES
LONELY SOULS
ALTERED SOULS
RELEASED SOULS
SHATTERED SOULS
THE WATCHERS TRILOGY
AWAKENING
LEGIONS
CATACLYSM
TAKEN NOVELLA (A Watchers Prequel)
THE CAMP
BEYOND LOVE SERIES
BEYOND CONTROL
BEYOND DOUBT
BEYOND REASON
BEYOND INTENT – Coming Soon
BEYOND CHANCE – Coming Soon
BEYOND PROMISE – Coming Soon
AFTERWORLD SERIES
RecruitZ
AlibiZ-Coming Soon
LUKE FLETCHER SERIES
Hidden Sins
Hannah
“Have you found her yet?” The male voice cut through my soul as I peered down from the hayloft. It was Miles, the father of the man I was supposed to marry. It was an arranged marriage. One that I couldn’t accept, but I never would’ve guessed that his father was involved in this. Then again, for the first twenty years of my life, living here had seemed like an amazing gift, not a horrific nightmare that I couldn’t wake up from. I steadied my breathing to ensure I wasn’t heard as I watched the two men below me. I needed to stay in control. I had planned too long to fail now.
“No. It looks like she took off. Maybe two days ago. She left most of her belongings behind, but I’d say enough was missing to indicate that she’s on the run. Her mother went through the house to confirm that there were items missing,” the younger man said. There was something about his voice that was familiar, and I tried to focus on his features, but I couldn’t place him, which was odd. The community I grew up in wasn’t huge, but it was large enough that people could blend in somewhat. I guess a face could be missed here or there.
“She knows too much, Eric,” Miles said, rubbing his temples.
Eric! I knew an Eric in high school, but we were told he’d left the community. Obviously not.
“Just like her sister,” Eric responded. I saw a trace of a smile touch his lips as he shook his head. “But we took care of that problem, and we’ll take care of this one.”
What about my sister? I’d been told she left the community, ran away. My stomach turned into itself as I thought about my family. Did they know what was going on here? Was my mom actually concerned about my safety or only helping to lead them to me?
Miles took a seat and propped his elbows on the desk, glaring at Eric. “We don’t actually know that you took care of Hannah’s sister. Now do we?”
“I watched her fall from the cliff,” Eric argued.
“No body was ever recovered.”
“The authorities said that with the currents, it might never be.” Eric stood his ground.
Miles shrugged as if to dismiss the argument that couldn’t be won. “You’re sure Hannah saw something? Two in a family calls too much attention…”
Eric paced across the floor. “We found her in the bushes close to where the other issue had been taken care of. If Hannah didn’t see what unfolded, the gunshots and screams surely would’ve alerted her. From her vantage point, she could’ve seen everything. And the wild look in her eyes…”
I know more than you bastards could ever imagine.
“Enough said. Add that to the fact that she’d already gone to the authorities about Tina,” Miles shook his head. “And we’ve got a big problem on our hands. A problem you were supposed to take care of. We’re just lucky that Mark was the officer on duty when she went to the police station. We don’t run our organization on luck, Eric.”
My heart was pounding as I listened intently. One of the nails in the wood beam poked my ankle something fierce, but I didn’t dare move.
“She couldn’t have gotten far. We’ll find her. My guess is she’s headed to Florida, and I’ve got people already headed that direction,” Eric said.
“What makes you think Florida?”
“I found some notes on different cities in Florida. They were tucked under her mattress.”
“If this woman is smart enough to vanish without a trace, do you really think she’s going to forget or leave behind a few key pieces of information? Come on. You’ve got to be kidding me. She’s just sending you on a wild goose chase.” Miles pounded his fist on the desk. “I’m taking this over. You’re done. And don’t tell my son any of this. You understand?”
Eric balled his fists together at the commandment. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
Did that mean Brandon, my fiancé, wasn’t involved? I pushed the lump down in the back of my throat as I thought about my entire life being highly orchestrated for some cause I didn’t even understand.
Miles stood up, obviously agitated, and both men walked out of the office. It would take them several minutes to walk through the stables that the office was connected to, and I had no plans to come down from my perch until well into the midnight hour. I’d gotten what I came for; the last of the documents were securely tucked into my waistband. It was just an added bonus to catch Miles here, discussing my fate. At least my hunch was right. If they caught me, they’d kill me.
I shifted slightly, moving my ankle away from the nail, as my mind drifted to my sister. Four years ago she had vanished without a trace. My mother was in hysterics, but my father and brother had been completely stoic, dismissing my sister’s disappearance as if the cat never came home for the night. Eventually, they had convinced both my mom and me that she had chosen to live a life outside the community. It wasn’t unheard of so I was willing to blindly believe that assumption, even though my sister never gave me any reason to believe that she wanted out. In hindsight, that was my tipping point.
With every passing minute that I was stuck in the rafters, I began to doubt my plan that I’d worked on for months. I was only buying time, trying to save enough to get me out of here without looking like I was doing anymore than usual to earn money. Everything was going according to plan until three nights ago. That’s when everything changed in my world. Instead of just wanting to escape, I wanted answers.
When I saw her eyes—my best friend’s eyes—filled with terror, I knew I couldn’t just walk away so I followed. She asked me not to, told me to stay away, but I followed her from a distance as she walked through the pasture toward the woods. I didn’t know if she knew I was following until it was too late. I watched her trembling hands as she covered her face, and she sank down into the dirt, crying. She had told me that she’d been having troubles with her husband—another arranged marriage, and another reason I had no intention of following through with mine. I halfway expected to see him meet her in the woods.
Instead, two men came from nowhere, wearing masks. She didn’t fight, and I didn’t know what to expect. I closed my eyes quickly and took a deep breath as I readied myself to run up on them. When I heard the first shot, my eyes flashed open as her gaze landed on mine. She knew I’d followed her. Another shot echoed into the air followed by laughter from the one I could now identify as Eric.
