Page 113 of Seven Deadly Sins

She narrowed her eyes. “You tell me when. We weren’t home a half hour before leaving again.”

Home. Warmth filled him. He liked that word. Especially when it involved Harper. “The chief isn’t going to be happy about you fighting.”

“They started it.” She grinned, then winced. “No smiling for a while.”

After Officer Young picked up the thugs, Liam drove them to the office so Harper could process the young men. Any other reports could wait until morning. He glanced at the clock. Later. It was already past midnight.

The chief took one look at Harper’s face as they escorted to the young men to the holding cell and shook his head. “I don’t want to know. Mr. Long is in the conference room. Once you take care of those two, give him a couple of minutes. The man is understandably distraught.”

Liam nodded. He wasn’t a fan of trying to soothe grieving spouses, but it was part of the job. Since Harper’s face was turning a nice eggplant color, Liam would speak to Mr. Long alone.

“Go on. I can handle these two.” Harper waved him away.

Liam nodded and entered the conference room. Mr. Long, a man approaching forty, sat with his hands wrapped around a Styrofoam cup. His gaze was glued to the cell phone on the table. He jumped to his feet when Liam entered. “Anything?”

“Please have a seat.” Liam sat across from him and folded his hands. “As sad as this sounds, it appears your wife was taken because she envied her friend’s closet.”

The man blinked like someone blinded by a light. “The fifth deadly sin.”

“You don’t seem surprised.” Liam straightened.

“I’ve been closely following this Seven Deadly Sins Killer. I want to be a writer, and this is all very interesting. Until he took Stephanie.” He glanced back at his phone. “What is he going to do to her?”

“Hopefully nothing, but we can safely assume he’ll assign her tasks the same as he did Reynold Sharpe who is safely with his parents tonight.”

“The killer released him?” He gave a long exhale. “Then there is hope for Stephanie.”

“Yes.” Liam wasn’t as positive that Robert would release an adult. Not alive, at least. “Do you have someone who can stay with you during this time?”

“I’ll call my mother. She can help with our two children.” Mr. Long stood. “I’m not sure what I came here for tonight. Maybe just to hear that there’s hope.”

Liam stretched out his hand. “Don’t hesitate to call if you have questions.”

When he and Harper could finally head home to end a very long day, he crashed, not waking until a couple of hours past sunup.

Chapter Four

Robert stared atthe phone in his hand, the one used only by his followers, then lifted it back to his ear. “Joe?”

“Yeah, boss. I’ve been here working at the ranch. It’s ready for occupancy. Fence is secured. Security system in place. I’m sorry it took so long, but since the feds rounded up most of our guys, there’s only been five of us working.”

Five. He still had five followers. He grinned. “Make sure my room is ready and the second-best room. We’ll be there within an hour.” He glanced at Lucy. “We’ve got a secure place to go. Grab the woman.”

“Where?” She tilted her head.

“A ranch I bought. Quite a way from town, secluded. One way in and out.” He pulled a suitcase from the closet. Not that he’d been able to escape with much, but he wanted to keep what little he had.

“Did you forget about this place?” Her voice rose. “We could’ve been there this whole time instead of hiding in this poverty level community.”

“I didn’t think it got finished. I wasn’t aware I had any followers left. Pack your stuff.” He placed folded pants and shirts into the suitcase. “No filming until the woman is secure in a vacant room. No one can know where this place is.” He didn’t even want Lucy to know, but since he wasn’t finished with her services, he couldn’t think of a way to keep the location from her. Maybe she’d end up converted.

While Lucy retrieved the woman, he strolled through the house making sure he hadn’t forgotten anything. He didn’t want Lucy to know, but his mind seemed to drift away on occasion. More than he’d like.

Lucy shoved the woman into a chair, then went to pack.

“Who’s there?” The woman lifted her head, trying to see under the blindfold.

“Your Master.” It felt good to say those words again.

---