Prologue
The Reverend Donald Bishop smiled across the table at his family. He was richer than he’d ever dreamed, and his followers grew every day. His oldest, and only son, sat at his right hand. Together, they ruled Highland Mountain, the imposing structure that overlooked the town of Highland Springs. It was time to grow his family even further, and their new town was ripe for the taking.
He’d followed the career of Rachel Smith with much interest and taken note of how easy it was for her to take the children. Of course, he’d helped her out a time or two when a child didn’t meet his criteria, and gained wealth in the process.
He wasn’t worried about the sheriff and her deputies. Not at all. Six months had passed, and the town had let down its guard. Besides, it wasn’t babies he was interested in anymore. Young women and strong men were what he needed.
Chapter One
Sharlene Camenetti, Sheriff of Highland Springs, smiled at her son, Robby, and at his biological mother, Mira, who despite having just turned eighteen, wanted to stay with Shar. At the stove, Candy, Shar’s sister, poured pancake batter into a sizzling skillet. Life had settled down into a pleasant routine.
“I, for one, am more than pleased that things are once again boring in this town.” Candy turned down the flame on the burner.
“Not me,” Mira said, crossing her arms. “I’m bored silly.”
“Even with school?” Shar shook her head. She couldn’t remember the last time she was bored, low crime or not. After the online murders Lars Townsend had perpetrated and the baby snatching Rachel Smith had been guilty of, she yearned for near boredom.
“Tell me again why you’re forcing me to go to school?” Mira frowned. “It’s so hard, and I’m too far behind.”
“You’ll catch up. You’re smart.” Shar winked and wiped the baby food from Robby’s chin. She worried every time Mira walked out the door that the girl would head back to her old ways of boys, drugs, and violence.
Shar put Robby into his carrier, shouldered her holster, and headed to her jeep. A short time later, she deposited her son into the capable hands of the workers at the daycare, newly built after the explosion six months earlier. She grinned and kissed his forehead. Now, it was time for coffee.
She parked in front of the coffee shop and waited while a solidly built middle-aged man, a tiny sparrow of a woman, and five blond girls shuffled past. If not for the man’s expensive suit and the lack of a head covering on the women, she would have thought them Mennonite. The only one with his head not bowed was the man. Shar hadn’t seen them before.
Pushing open her door, she followed them into the drugstore. “Good morning. I’m Sheriff Camenetti. Welcome to Highland Springs.” She thrust out her hand.
The man grinned a too-white, too-wide smile and clasped her hand in a strong shake. “Reverend Donald Bishop of the Church of Superior Essence. My family and I recently bought land up on the mountain. We’re here to save the lost while there is still time.”
The church of what? She kept a smile on her face, welcomed them again to her town, and headed for coffee. Why would a church of that type be setting up shop in America’s Bible Belt? She shrugged and pushed open the coffee shop door.
“The usual?” Jen, the barista, glanced in her direction from her position behind the register.
“Yep. Four of the usual.” She leaned against the counter and watched the reverend and his family head back the way they’d come. “Do you know anything about that group?”
“Nope.” Jen shrugged. “I’ve seen them walking around a time or two, but they haven’t come in.”
Shar smiled. “They’re here to save the world.” She collected the coffee, set the carrier carefully on the front passenger seat and drove to the sheriff’s office.
Everis glanced up from his desk. “Good morning, beautiful.”
“Good morning, handsome. Bored yet?” After discovering he had a son, and then taking custody of the three-year-old, Everis had stepped down from his position with the Arkansas Federal Bureau of Investigations and took the job as Shar’s third deputy and all around right-hand man.
“Not at all. Brian keeps me busy. I come to work to relax.” He grinned and took the drink she offered. “Mayfield and Pinson are out.”
She set the carrier on the desk and sat down. While her computer booted up, she flipped through the messages on her desk. A couple of vandalisms, and a man violating a restraining order by urinating on his ex-wife’s lawn. She sighed. “Are Mayfield and Pinson taking care of these?”
“Yep.”
Good. Shar loved her job as sheriff, but sometimes the nitty-gritty stuff exhausted her. She sipped her coffee and studied the profile of the man she loved. Oh, she hadn’t said the words yet, nor had he, but the feeling was there. Everis had risked his life multiple times to save Shar. She couldn’t think of a better person to have by her side.
- Publisher : Winged Publications
- Publication date : February 2, 2018
- Language : English
- Print length : 232 pages
- ISBN-10 : 194693948X
- ISBN-13 : 978-1946939487