Some sins can't be forgiven... because some sins no one survives.
New York Times bestselling author Kay Hooper has touched our darkest fears but none so dark as in her latest thriller. Here's a psychopath who lures his victims with a promise no one can resist...and demands a price no one would knowingly pay.
Young, vulnerable, attractive, Tessa Gray made the perfect victim. Which was why Noah Bishop of the FBI's Special Crimes Unit recruited her to play the role of grieving widow. As the supposed new owner of property coveted by the Church of the Everlasting Sin, she'd be irresistible bait for the reclusive and charismatic Reverend Samuel. His fortified compound in the mountains near Grace, North Carolina, had been the last known residence of two women murdered in ways that defied scientific explanation.
Though hardly as naive or as vulnerable as she appears, Tessa knows she has a lot to learn about using her unique gift. She also knows that Bishop and the SCU have to be desperate to rely on an untried psychic agent in an undercover operation so dangerous. And desperate they are. For the killer they're hunting is the most terrifying they've ever faced and shakes even the most seasoned agents: a soulless megalomaniacal cult leader who can use their own weapons, talents, and tactics against them.
By entering the cult's well-guarded compound, Tessa will be exposing herself to the dark magnetism of a psychopath on an apocalyptic crusade of terror that spares no one, not even the youngest victims. And Samuel has protected himself within a fanatically loyal congregation, many of whom occupy surprising positions of power within the community. Even Grace's chief of police, Sawyer Cavenaugh--a man Tessa will have to trust with her life--may be unable to protect her. Because no one, not even Tessa herself, can guarantee she's strong enough to resist--or powerful enough to battle--a killer who's less than human.
Sarah kept to what little shadows the winter-bare trees provided as she worked her way through the forest that separated the Compound from the road. The full moon made this night an uneasy one for stealth, but she hadn't been given much choice in the matter. Waiting even another day was potentially far more dangerous than acting, so--
She sensed more than heard a sound and froze, her arms tightening around the sleeping child.
"It's just me." Bailey appeared to step literally out of the darkness not ten feet away.
"Are you early or am I late?" Sarah kept her voice as low as the other woman's had been.
"Six of one." Bailey shrugged and crossed the space between them. "Is she out?"
Nodding, Sarah relinquished the little girl, who was warmly dressed to protect her against the January chill. "She should sleep another couple of hours at least. Long enough."
"And you're sure about her? Because we can't keep doing this. It wasn't part of the plan, and it's too dangerous. Sooner or later, he's going to figure it out."
"That's what I'm trying to prevent. Or at least delay."
"It's not your job, Sarah. Not the reason you're here."
"Isn't it? He's getting better at choosing latents. Better at finding them and convincing them to join him. Better than we've been." Sarah was aware of a niggling unease that was growing rather than diminishing. "Speaking of, are we covered?"
"Of course. My shield's enclosing all three of us."
"What about more-conventional protection?"
"Galen's got my back. As usual. But once we leave, you're on your own again."
"I'm not worried about me."
"Sarah--"
"She could be the one, Bailey."
"She's six years old."
"All the more reason. Without the defenses we can teach her, she's vulnerable as hell, especially to someone bent on using her as a weapon."
Bailey shifted the slight weight of the child and sighed. "Look, are you sure you haven't been . . . influenced . . . by what this guy is preaching? All that prophecy stuff?"
"We believe in prophecy stuff," Sarah reminded her.
"Not the kind he preaches."
Sarah shook her head. "Don't worry, I'm not a convert. It's all I can do to keep up the facade of a loyal member of the flock."
"Many more defections and kids disappearing, and that's going to get a lot harder."
"Harder than this?" Sarah reached out a hand and lightly touched the child's long blond hair. "Her mother is gone. And I haven't seen her father in two days."
Bailey's mouth tightened. "You didn't include that in the report."
"I wasn't sure until today. But he's gone. I think he was beginning to ask too many questions. He didn't believe his wife would have just run away, not without their daughter."
"He was right about that."
Sarah had been expecting it, but the news was still an unwelcome shock. "She was found?"
"A few miles downriver. And she'd been in the water awhile, probably since the night she disappeared. No way to determine cause of death."
Bailey didn't have to explain that further.
"Are the police going to come around asking questions?" Sarah asked.
"They have to. Ellen Hodges was known to be a member of the church, and the last time she was seen it was in the company of other church members. Her parents know that, and they're more than willing to point the police in this direction. So if the good Reverend Samuel can't produce Ellen's husband or her child, he's going to have a lot of explaining to do."
Sarah managed a hollow laugh, even as the sense of unease she felt grew stronger. "You're...
Reviews
Publishers Weekly...
"Disturbing.... Hooper pulls out all the stops."
Booklist ...
"Another solid entry."
About the Creator
Kay Hooper is the award-winning author of Blood Dreams, Sleeping with Fear, Hunting Fear, Chill of Fear, Touching Evil, Whisper of Evil, Sense of Evil, Once a Thief, Always a Thief, the Shadows trilogy, and other novels. She lives in North Carolina, where she is at work on her next book.
