Midnight Sins (44 page)

the long mountain roads. Though it hadn’t been the

one the Callahans, their parents, or Clyde Ramsey

had gone over.

“I’d rather you didn’t mention this to anyone who

doesn’t need to know. The sheriff knows, but Dad

swears her brake lines had been messed with,” Jack

told Cami as he rubbed at his jaw in frustration. “He

remembers it as clear as day, and there’s not a lot

Dad remembers real clear these days. But he

remembers Jaymi, because he swears that when he

saw those brake lines after he towed the car in he told

Mother Jaymi would be dead before the summer was

out. He knew someone had tried to kill her and the

sheriff, Archer’s father, didn’t seem interested in

believing him when he went to talk to him. The lines

were clean-cut, not frayed. Someone sabotaged

those lines and they hadn’t meant for her to survive

her drive back from Aspen.”

Cami’s chest tightened. She could feel the fear

rising inside her at the knowledge that someone had

tried to kill her sister before Thomas Jones had taken

her.

That affirmation that she wasn’t just paranoid,

that there was definitely more going on than Rafer

wanted to admit to, actually terrified her.

Jack’s eyes were somber, filled with regret. But

Cami knew she wasn’t able to hide that fear or the

shock in her own gaze. “Jaymi never said anything

about the break lines being cut. Just that the brakes

must have been bad.”

She should have remembered that. She should

have questioned it herself.

“Because she didn’t know,” Jack admitted, his

voice hoarse as his expression twisted painfully. “Dad

didn’t tell her, and trust me, Cami, neither myself nor

my brother knew either. Dad says he received several

anonymous phone calls that week warning him that it

would be a shame if something happened to his wife

and sons because he didn’t know how to keep his

mouth shut about things that didn’t concern him. So he

warned Jaymi, several times, to be careful. And he

lived in fear of another accident.”

It wasn’t Jack’s fault. She couldn’t blame him.

She wouldn’t. But she could feel the rage that no one

had warned Jaymi, and the knowledge that the threat

against her sister had existed months before her

death was heart-rending.

Cami shook her head as she fought back her

tears. To know Jaymi’s life was in danger even before

she became the target of a serial killer, and hadn’t

known it, terrified Cami and broke her heart at once.

Even worse, to know that someone Jaymi had

trusted, someone she had called a friend, hadn’t

given her a clearer warning tore at the foundations of

friendship that Cami had always believed in.

But no matter who had wanted to kill her or who

hadn’t warned her, still, it had been a serial killer who

had stolen Jaymi’s chance to live. And that part

confused her more each time she learned something

new.

If Jack’s father had warned her, though, maybe

Jaymi would have been more careful. At least for a

few more days. A few more hours. Long enough that

Cami was certain she could have convinced Jaymi to

tell her who the caller was. Perhaps long enough that

Thomas Jones could have been caught before he

killed his last victim. Long enough that maybe Jaymi

would have trusted Rafer enough to tell him the truth.

A warning of danger and a few more days could

have made a difference between Jaymi living and

dying.

“It was Thomas Jones that killed her, Jack, not a

mechanical failure that your father didn’t warn her of,”

Cami finally whispered, more for his benefit than

because she believed it. Because she knew in her

heart that Jaymi had been so confident, so

determined, that she would have never listened.

Or perhaps she had simply been that determined

to join her husband in whatever afterlife he inhabited,

no matter the cost.

“Let’s say the coincidence is too fortuitous to suit

me, just as it was for my father. Jaymi’s death is why

he left Sweetrock and it’s why he’s continually

begging me and Jeannie to move to Denver with him

and Taggert. He says there’s something evil in this

county, Cami, and I wonder if he’s not right,” Jack

stated, his voice rough, his gaze filled with misery.

“And remember, the FBI profile on those murders

said there were two or more men working together. If

that’s true, then Jones had a partner, if not two.”

“And serial killers don’t just stop killing,” she told

Jack even as a chill raced up her spine and his

declaration that there was an evil in Corbin County

echoed in her head. “But I will be careful, Jack. I’m not

Jaymi. I promise you, I won’t ignore the bastard when I

realize who he is, nor will I keep my mouth shut about

his identity.”

Because she had been warned now. Warned

that whoever was watching her, calling her, had

targeted her sister for the same reason. Because of

Rafer. Because they were terrified the Callahans

would develop ties to the county that would keep them

there, no matter the cost.

They should have already realized that ties or no

ties, the Callahan cousins weren’t going anywhere.

“Does Rafe know any of this?” Cami asked.

Jack shook his head. “I tried to call him a few

times this morning as we drove back from Denver, but

the call went to voice mail.” Just as hers had. Now she

was beginning to worry about Rafer and his cousins.

“I’m assuming he’s out of town, because the

ranch looked deserted when we drove by.”

“I tried to call as well,” she whispered. “He didn’t

answer my call, either.”

Jeannie chose that moment to lean forward, her

gaze dark with pain.

“Cami, the thing is, whatever’s going on has

been going on for years,” Jeannie said then. “They

need to just leave; they’ll never have any peace as

long as they’re in Corbin County, nor will anyone

who’s loyal to them.” She flashed her husband a

speaking look as she made the last comment.

Cami knew that wasn’t about to happen. The

Callahans, were back to stay. Their inheritance had

demanded they stay, and in receiving it, if she had

heard the rumors correctly, they had to stay at least

five more years before they could leave.

“And they’ll never have any pride if they give in

that easily and run,” Cami sighed, a part of her

understanding why Rafe and his cousins refused to

sell out and leave. “Their roots are here, Jeannie.

They’re not going to destroy that last tie to their

parents.”

It wasn’t her place to mention the inheritance or

the terms of it. That was Rafer and his cousins’

business. And anyone who made the effort to read the

court records in detail.

“Have you told the sheriff about all of this?” Cami

asked the couple then.

Jack shook his head. “Phone calls, yes, the rest

no. I think you should tell Rafe first, Cami. Tell him and

then trust him and his cousins to take care of the rest

of it.”

She pushed her fingers through her hair as she

tried to think of another alternative. Going to Rafer

with this right now would only end up in the inability to

keep her hands off him. She would end up in his bed

so fast it would make both their heads spin. Besides,

he hadn’t believed her when she had tried to tell him

her suspicions once before.

“Do you think Archer can be trusted?” she asked

Jack then, remembering that Archer’s father had been

the one who had ignored the signs that someone had

targeted Jaymi.

Jack sighed heavily. “I’d trust him with my life, but

I wouldn’t trust anyone with Jeannie’s, so I can’t

answer that question for you, Cami. If you’re going to

continue seeing Rafe, then you have to tell him what’s

going on.”

“I’m not seeing him,” she objected as she leaned

back in her chair and crossed her arms over her

breasts defensively. “Just ask him, he’ll tell you.” She

was, in his words, his occasional fuck, right? “I just

want to know what’s going on and why the

grandparents hate him and his cousins so much.”

“And someone doesn’t want you to know why,”

Jack reminded her. “You be careful, and you watch

your back. It hurt to lose your sister, Cami, but she left

us in spirit the day she learned her Tye was dead.

Losing you, Cami, would break too many hearts,

because you’ve always been a part of the community,

and a part of your friends, Cami.”

Cami stared back at them for a second before

lowering her arms to the table and giving them a bitter

smile. “No, Jack, everyone loved Jaymi. They tolerate

me.”

“Jaymi was distant,” Jack sighed. “She was just

counting the days until she could be with her Tye

again. Even moving from Sweetrock didn’t interest

her, despite your dad’s insistence. Everyone knew

that was his plan. He wanted her to be where there

were more opportunities for her. Where her friendship

with the Callahans wouldn’t affect her so much.”

Everyone knew but Cami. Why didn’t it surprise

her to know that her father had plans to leave

Sweetrock and hadn’t even thought to tell her about

it?

“What had they been waiting on?” she asked,

wondering why Jaymi hadn’t told her. “They could

have left at any time.”

“They were waiting for you to get out of high

school from what Jaymi said,” Jack related. “Your

parents didn’t want you to have to deal with changing

schools.”

No, her parents hadn’t wanted her to be with

them, period, she guessed. If they had, they would

have told her their plans rather than remaining silent.

Even her mother.

God, that hurt. Even Cami’s mother had

remained silent about the move. Had they been that

determined to escape her?

At least she knew Jaymi hadn’t intended to leave.

Tye was buried closer to Sweetrock than to Aspen.

She would have never left him.

“We have to go.” Jack glanced at his wife before

they rose from the table. “I’m sorry, Cami; I know what

Dad did was wrong—”

“It wasn’t you, Jack.” She shook her head at the

apology as she rose from her own seat. “And thank

you for coming to tell me what you had learned.”

He gave a sharp nod before glancing at his wife

and wrapping his arm around her. “You know, Dad

might be right. Maybe it is time we leave Corbin

County. The lock certain families have on this place

sickens my gut, and to learn how they use their