Page 1 of CHASE: Captive to the Dark

Prologue

Chase

Smoke billowed from my mouth as I took one last drag of the cigarette and flicked it to the center of the dark alleyway. The sizzle of the cherry being extinguished by the damp asphalt filled the silence and I looked down at my watch, lighting the background to check the time. Dawn was still hours away and the frigid temperature had me pushing my gloved hands back into my jacket pockets impatiently.

Three A.M.

As if on cue, the beam of headlamps turned into the narrow space, blinding me for only seconds before the pitch black swallowed me up again. I blinked hard, turning my head to the side as I fought the spots covering my vision.

The sound of doors opened and a low hum of voices registered before the wind carried their words away. I shifted my feet, turning back to face the approaching footsteps. The headlights were off now and I cursed under my breath as I slid my fingers around the butt of my gun. Briefly, I noted they hadn’t shut the doors. It left me cautious as I waited for the silhouettes to come closer.

“You play a very dangerous game, Father. What’s the deal, calling me out to meet you like this? You know what to do if you want to speak with me.”

My eyes scanned over the shadowed face before me. For a man who held such power, Rory McIntyre didn’t even reach my shoulders. True, I was over six-three, but it wasn’t my height that gave me confidence. I knew weak when I saw it, and if it weren’t for the three bodyguards standing just feet away, the man before me would have been cowering in my presence.

I licked my lips as my eyes adjusted to his sharp features. Thin lips, an even thinner nose. The brown hair was slightly receding, but not too noticeably. What I was staring at was an average-joe-wannabe who wouldn’t have stood out in a crowd if he wanted to. Yet, Rory was feared, and not just by a few—by every resident in Untold, Colorado.

My jaw tightened as I stepped even closer. “I told you to keep your cronies off my back. Two have approached me since Friday asking if I was offering shelter for your little business. I thought I made it clear. What happened between you and me was a one-time thing. If I would have known what you had—” My hand pulled free of my jacket to clench at my side. The gun was too tempting. Too…me. I was different now. Not the person I was in my youth when this town was run by a real leader. By a killer who’d taken me under his wing and raised me.

“One time, two, what’s the difference?”

“The difference is, I said no.” Still, I got closer. The crunch of the bodyguard’s shoes told me they were shifting...waiting, but I didn’t take my eyes off the stare that couldn’t hold mine.

A sigh left Rory’s lips. He shrugged and stepped back, putting distance between us.

“I thought you finally coming around meant the obvious. You used to know what side you belonged on. Guess that collar wasn’t for show after all.” He turned to leave, only to pause and face me again. “Of course, unless you want to excuse your little…kink. Although you may drive an hour away, you do know it doesn’t change your vows, right? You being a priest here, still makes you a priest there. How do you think the church or the townsfolk of Untold would react to your extracurricular activities?”

A smile pulled at my lips, but it wasn’t the nice kind. The urge to pound my fists into his face like I would have done in the old days sent my blood boiling. Instead, I restrained. “I’d say they’d probably think shit hasn’t changed. That might not be good for you. Wonder if they’d flock my way if that were the case?”

“Go to you...to lead? I don’t think so. Not if I exposed who you really are.

I took another step forward, not allowing him to get too far away from me. “You don’t know who you’re trying to blackmail, Rory. You better think twice before you go there. My faith won’t stop me from doing this town a favor.” Each word toward the end tempted me further. I was spiraling out of control, running from something I knew I could never escape. Had I thought religion would save me? That it would blanket my sins?

Narrowed eyes, heavy with anger, finally met mine. I let my smile grow.

“Fuck you. Who do you think you are? Just because you used to be big shit before you ran to the church doesn’t make you anyone now. You’re a has-been. Fucking pussy. We all know you fled after Able got busted and locked up. You’re probably the one who ratted him out.”

In one step, I had his shirt twisted in my grip. “I’m not a fucking rat, but I will tell you who I am. I’m the Father of this town in more ways than one. You hear that? The Father. If you think my absence changed what I could do, you’re sorely mistaken. You swept in, taking over a role that wasn’t rightfully yours. It’s mine, and you know what? I think it’s time to show you and the rest of Untold who this town really belongs to.”

My eyes cut up, scanning over the guards who were hovering, but not reacting. At my orders, I knew they’d obey. I’d always been a natural born leader. It was time I put it to the test.

“Sometimes God puts opportunities in our paths we may not feel are the best for us at the time. Unfortunately, today is not that day. It’s time.” I let go, roughly pushing Rory toward the waiting men. He fell to the asphalt, grunting at the impact. “Kill him. Then report to the church at eight A.M. From now on, you take your orders from me.”

Chapter 1

Kit

“Shit. Come on.” I held my hand higher, pointing my phone further away from the mountains towering just behind me. Service was impossible to get in this God forsaken town. It had my features tightening even more as I cursed and stepped up onto the seat of the wicker chair resting on the deck of the rental cottage I was staying in. The snow had melted, but the chill was still heavy in the air. I couldn’t restrain the shiver that raced down my spine as the wind blew back my blonde hair held down by a white, crocheted beanie. Fuck, it was cold here. So much different than Florida, where I’d just arrived from. If it wouldn’t have been necessary, I would have never of come. I liked sandy beaches and palm trees. A view for as far as the eye could see. Here, I couldn’t see shit but trees. It left me uncomfortable. Scared. There were too many shadows the closer it got to sunset. Too many places for someone to hide.

Guilty conscious? Perhaps.

Creaking from the chair followed me as I stepped down. When I found Rory, I was going to wash my hands of him for good. I couldn’t even afford to be here. Not emotionally, and sure as hell not financially. I had jobs. School. It was hard enough paying my bills since he stopped helping me out. Now he was making me worry and hunt him down? How was that fair? He’d promised he would stay in contact. He lied—again. I couldn’t continue to fear for him anymore. I was a nervous wreck.

“Come on, you stupid thing.” I headed deeper down the deck, waving my arm around for some sort of bar to magically appear. Ice had me sliding and my ass hit the wood—hard. I groaned, rolling to the side.

“It’s impossible to get a signal here. You’ll have to go into town if you want any kind of reception. Sorry to barge in on you like this, just surprised to see someone staying in these parts. We don’t get a lot of outsiders in Untold.”

My eyes shot to the stairs and I slowly pushed to my feet, eyeing an older man with a long white beard. For twenty-two, I may have looked young, but I was far from naïve. I trusted no one. I had learned my lesson long ago.

“I can see why. There’s not much here.” I wiped at the dampness, reaching up to hug to the white knit sweater I wore. Slowly, I stepped in closer—away from my door. “I only just arrived. Say, you wouldn’t happen to know Rory McIntyre, would you? He owns a law firm in town. He’s about my height, brown hair.”

The man’s brow creased and he stepped back closer to the stairs. “Sorry, can’t help you out there. I stay to myself. Don’t rarely go into town.”

I frowned, nodding. “That’s okay. I’m about to go see if I can find him. I would have earlier, but I didn’t make it in until almost five AM. I didn’t even hear my alarm go off at noon. I guess I was more exhausted than I thought.” I clamped my mouth shut at my rambling. I did that a lot when I was nervous. “I’m Kit.” I paused in extending my arm. “Well, Kathleen, actually, but Kit’s what everyone calls me.” The old man met my hand and grinned as he gave me a firm shake.

“Nice to meet you, Kit. So, this Rory, he’s your…?”

“Brother,” I said, laughing. Brother. If one could call him that. Stepbrother, technically, and a shitty one at that. He always had been a bully growing up, but he was all I had left.

The man took another step down and what looked like worry flashed on his face. “Hope you find him. I should go. Be careful on the roads, they’re still iced over in places.

“Will do. It was nice meeting yo

u, Mr…?”

“Miller. But you can me Walter.”

“Nice meeting you, Walter.” I gave him a wave and he returned it, disappearing. I couldn’t get over the feeling that he knew more than he was telling me. There was something odd in his behavior when I mentioned Rory’s name. Maybe I was imagining it. I hadn’t been sleeping much and stress was making me question everything.

I exhaled deeply and walked over, pushing the door open. I picked up my purse and keys from the cheap coffee table. The particleboard was chipping away on one side and a stack of magazines was wedged under the back where a metal arched leg used to hold it upright.

That’s what I got for booking the cheapest hotel. As long as the décor was my biggest problem, I’d take it. A nagging feeling told me it went beyond that. I was truly starting to fear for my brother. He wasn’t a good man. I knew that. I just hoped he wasn’t running again because of something he’d done in this town, too. Or worse. For weeks now, his cell has gone straight to voicemail, and I didn’t have the number to the law firm. But I’d been here with him before. He wasn’t even a real lawyer. The dilemma had me shaking my head as I eased down the steps and headed to the rental car.

As the engine turned over, the heater blasted cold air at my face. I shivered again, rubbing my hands together quickly, trying to warm them. God, please let him just be drunk somewhere or on another cocaine binge. Fuck, I didn’t care, as long as he wasn’t in worse trouble. Like jail or…

My lips pressed together and I threw the car in reverse. We may have not gotten along, but I sure as hell didn’t want him dead. And he wasn’t. Not this time or the last time this happened. He was fine. I had to keep telling myself that.

I pulled onto the road, putting the four-door sedan into drive. The town wasn’t but fifteen minutes away. Had I known I’d be in the middle of nowhere, I would have paid the extra ten dollars a night to place me in civilization. The roads were narrow and all the trees cast a darkness I wasn’t used to. It had to be me. I was too jumpy. Too…fuck, something was wrong. I could feel it.

The road weaved and I kept my speed slow as I rounded the turn. Even though there was a coldness within my bones, sweat began to gel over my skin. I reached up, covering my mouth through the odd nausea plaguing me. God, what if Rory hadn’t made it out in time? What if…?

Movement blurred in my peripheral, jetting out in front of me. I slammed my hand on the steering wheel, stomping the brakes. The top half of a man’s bloody body doubled over the right front edge of my hood and I screamed, feeling the car jerk to a stop.

“Oh my God.” My words were breathless as I unbuckled and threw open the door. Two men, one wearing a blue and black plaid shirt, and the other, a police officer, burst past the trees angrily. I froze before I could move my other foot outside the car. For what felt like an eternity, we all stood locked as we stared at each other. I knew they weren’t good; that they were responsible for the condition of the battered man now lying on the road. Their expressions told me everything.

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