Free Secret Sins by Lora Leigh Page A

Archer leveled a low, considering look
     at the other man.
    John Caine had arrived in Corbin County just before the Callahans had returned. Just
     before the murdering duo dubbed the Slasher had struck for the first time in twelve
     years.
    The deputy had found that first body and each one after that. He’d been the one to
     find each piece of evidence and uncover each clue. He was on Archer’s short list of
     suspects.
    As Archer watched him, the deputy tipped his hat back on his head and stared back
     at him.
    Stepping from the Tahoe, Archer moved across the distance to the little sedan and
     stared at the burned-out remains. Propping his hands on his hips he blew out a hard
     breath.
    “Why?” he murmured as the acrid scent of the vehicle burning surrounded his senses.
    “Why crash it here?” the deputy asked. “It’s connected to the Callahans obviously,
     just as her murder was,” he answered the question building in Archer’s mind.
    It was the obvious answer.
    “This is out of character,” Archer stated.
    “Or the vehicle held prints or other evidence the Slasher doesn’t want found. What
     better way, in an amateur’s mind, to hide that evidence than to burn it.”
    Not exactly what Archer expected from him.
    Crossing his arms over his chest and rubbing at his jaw thoughtfully, he slid a look
     to his deputy once again. “Did you contact Callum?”
    “He’s twenty minutes away.” The deputy nodded.
    Archer glanced at him again, seeing the practiced expression of emotionlessness. He
     hated that fucking look on any man’s face. It made him instantly suspicious, instantly
     curious as to what he was hiding.
    “What did she do to deserve his attention?” Archer murmured thoughtfully as he continued
     to stare at the smoldering car. “She wasn’t sleeping with a Callahan. She hadn’t slept
     with one in the past and she wasn’t helping them in any way. Like many of the women
     in town, she kept a very careful distance.”
    “Then she saw something she wasn’t supposed to see?” the deputy asked. “That’s the
     only thing that makes sense, isn’t it?”
    “It’s the only thing that makes sense now,” Archer breathed out roughly. “But what?
     Or who?”
    The deputy shook his head slowly as he crossed his arms over his chest before lifting
     a hand to rub at the side of his face. “The Callahans and their properties are the
     objective, though,” he murmured then.
    “The objective in what?” It was a question neither Archer nor his father had been
     able to answer. “What makes it so damned important that one or more has cut a swath
     of blood through this County?”
    The deputy gave a hard, sarcastic grunt.
    “That one, Sheriff, is buried, and even I, the master of gossip, rumor, and shady
     deals, have yet to uncover it.”
    “Master of gossip, rumor, and shady deals, huh?” Archer murmured as he glanced at
     the deputy once again.
    Caine grinned with cool mockery. “We all have our talents, Sheriff, we all have our
     talents.”
    Archer wondered if those talents could have led to murder.
    Maybe someone else had those answers, though.
    As the deputy walked away, Archer made a call.
    “Hello?” John Corbin answered on the first ring.
    “I want answers, John.” Archer stared around the canyon, the bleak stone walls, the
     hint of a pine struggling to anchor to a soft ledge above.
    “Archer…”
    “I said, I fucking want answers,” he snapped. “You’ll be at my place before dawn,
     or I’ll be there. You hearing me?”
    Silence filled the line for long moments.
    “I hear you.”
    The line disconnected.
    *   *   *
    Anna awoke to the most incredible sensation.
    It wasn’t sensual, hot, or filled with lust or sexual hunger. It wasn’t sensual or
     sexual at all.
    It was like the softest silk—no, softer than silk. It was the softest touch rubbing
     against her shoulder, slow and easy, caressing down her arm. It was warm, comforting.
     It was a sensation of living