Chapter One
Present Day
Vinnie Grant followed the directions she’d been given, praying the man she’d driven all the way to Kentucky to find was here and willing to help.
He was her last hope. She’d run through every other option at her disposal with no results.
It might have been more sensible to call, but in her experience, it was harder to say no to someone when they were standing in front of you.
Although her colleagues at the sheriff’s department and the local searchers were sympathetic, they couldn’t keep up the intensity of the search indefinitely. But she could. Life went on for them. For her it had stopped seven days ago.
Adam was still missing.
Death grip on the steering wheel, she made the final turn off the blacktop, leaving the winding mountain road for an even narrower gravel path.
She muscled her ancient Chevy Trailblazer over and around the ruts, praying she was almost there.
She’d been warned that the family that owned and lived on the mountain weren’t friendly, were loners who kept to themselves and expected others to do the same, but she didn’t care.
She didn’t want to be their friend. She wanted to hire them for their skills.
When she’d started researching individuals and private companies that specialized in finding missing people, one name had come up again and again—the Sin brothers.
A quick call to the nearby sheriff’s department in Jackson had confirmed that.
Their success rate was unequaled. She clung to that bit of knowledge, needing something to give her hope.
Tall trees towered over her vehicle, closing in around her on both sides, swallowing the sunlight.
It was like going through a dark tunnel, but it finally ended in a yard with a truck and a couple SUVs parked off to one side.
A large, two-story house stood proud and totally at home in the Kentucky wilderness.
The knot in her stomach tightened as she brought her vehicle to a halt. She wiped her damp palms on her jeans. This was it. If this didn’t pan out... No, she refused to consider defeat.
The front door opened and a tall man wearing nothing but a pair of faded jeans and a frown stepped onto the porch. Not a warm welcome, but she hadn’t expected one. Climbing out, she started toward the house. He came down the steps to meet her.
“This is private land. You’re trespassing.”
“Deputy Vinnie Grant from West Virginia.” Refusing to be put off, she marched right up to him and held out her hand.
When he left it hanging there, she lowered it back down by her side.
His head was shaved on both sides with a thick mass of brown hair on top.
There was something oddly familiar about him, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.
“That tells me who you are, not why you’re here?”
“If you’re one of the Sin brothers, I want to hire you?”
“It doesn’t work that way. You contact us online, give us the details, and then we decide if we’re taking the job. Sorry you wasted your time.” He turned to go back inside.
She’d barely slept in a week, had trekked through miles of dense terrain, and spent every waking hour worrying. Exhausted and at the end of her rope, she grabbed his arm and yanked. He didn’t budge. “Damn it, I need your help.”
“What the hell is going on?” A mountain of a man pushed through the door.
This one was fully dressed. A dark t-shirt stretched tight over massive shoulders, and faded Levis clung to powerful thighs.
Past and present collided. Her heart skipped a beat and her breath caught in her throat.
He was older, but the shaggy brown hair, full beard, and black eyes were unmistakable.
Those eyes had haunted her dreams for the past sixteen years.
“You?” Like a sleepwalker, she made her way to the porch and up the stairs.
He’d certainly aged well. He looked exactly as he had that night in the bar—tough and dangerous, pure temptation.
She didn’t know what she was expecting, but it wasn’t the dark scowl that stopped her in her tracks and catapulted her back to the present.
“What are you doing here?” From his point of view, he likely had to be wondering if she was some sort of stalker. There was a good chance he was married. She ignored the clench of her heart and the churning in her stomach.
“I’m Deputy Vinnie Grant.” It was odd to have been so intimate with a man and not know his name and for him not to know hers. “I need your help. My son is missing.”
The original man who’d greeted her went to stand by her one-time lover. Side-by-side the resemblance was clear. They were brothers. He looked to her and back at his brother. “You know this woman?”
The corners of his mouth tightened and his gaze narrowed. “We met once a long time ago.”
“Sixteen years.” Every moment of that evening was etched in her memory. The result sat across from her at the breakfast table every morning or had up until a week ago. “We didn’t exchange names.”
“I’m sorry about your son, but you wasted your time coming here.”
She swallowed her pride. Self-respect demanded she leave, but screw that. She’d drop to her knees and beg if she thought it would make a difference. Taking a steadying breath, she played the one card that might sway him.
“Adam turned sixteen a couple days ago.” All by himself somewhere in the woods.
Her lover was as unmoving as the mountain on which they stood. Awareness flooded his brother’s eyes, and then he carefully said, “You said you two met sixteen years ago.”
“Sixteen years and nine months to be precise.”
“Cyrus?”
She had a name to go with the memory—Cyrus Sin. It suited him. If ever a man could tempt a woman to sin, it was him. He’d certainly tempted her. That one decision had changed the trajectory of her life.
He shook his head. “That’s impossible.”
Vinnie went cold, her stomach dropping. It shouldn’t surprise her that he’d deny parentage. After all, they’d had a one-night stand. Or more accurately, they’d shared on unforgettable hour.
“The condom broke,” she reminded him. She could still remember the utter panic she’d experienced. It had jolted her back to her senses and sent her fleeing into the night without saying goodbye. If she could turn back time she’d have handled things differently, but there was no changing the past.
He raked his fingers through his hair and pulled on the ends before pinning her with a black glare. “I have a son?” His voice was rough with emotion.
“Yes.”
His throat rippled as he swallowed. “All these years.”
“I didn’t know your name, had no idea how to begin to find you.
” And that had led to unending nights of tears and shame.
The only one who’d never condemned or looked askance at her was her mom.
The absence of her mother had left a hole in both her and Adam’s lives.
Maybe that was part of the reason he’d run away.
“Holy shit,” his brother whispered.
It had to be a shock to discover you had a teenage son.
She swallowed her impatience. “Look, I’m not looking for child support or anything else from you.
I’ve ... we’ve managed to get by all these years on our own.
” It hadn’t been easy. There’d been problems and tough times, but she had no regrets.
Her son was her entire life. “But I’ve been told you’re the best trackers out there. I need those skills.”
Unsure how Cyrus felt about having a son, she decided to give him an out.
“Help me find him. Adam doesn’t need to know you’re his father, not unless you want him to.
” She wasn’t sure how she felt about the idea of sharing her son with a man she’d spent such a short time with.
She had no idea who he was as a person, other than he had an excellent reputation when it came to his job and was respected by the local police.
“I’m not looking to upset your life but save mine.
” She wouldn’t rest until she found her son.
Cyrus yanked open the door. “Come inside.”
His brother frowned. “You sure this is a good idea?”
Vinnie caught a glimpse of fury in Cyrus’s eyes before it was quickly banked. “You don’t like it, you don’t have to stay.”
“Oh, I’m not going anywhere.” The man stalked inside.
Great, the last thing she needed was resistance from one of his brothers. From what she’d been told, the Sin brothers were tight. “I don’t mean to cause problems.”
There was nothing remotely humorous about Cyrus’s laugh. “You might not mean to, but you will.”
She gritted her teeth, barely holding back her temper.
Antagonizing the man when she needed his help wasn’t smart.
As a woman in law enforcement, she was used to dealing with arrogant men.
She could handle Cyrus and his brother. “Help me find my son and I’ll disappear from your life again. You can forget we ever met.”
“That’s not going to happen. I haven’t forgotten a damn thing about that night.”
Heat flashed through her, but she tamped it down.
The past had no place in the here and now.
The last thing she intended was to be seduced by him again.
When he continued to hold the door, she reminded herself this was why she was here.
Squaring her shoulders, she stepped inside and into the living area.
It was bright and airy and open with vaulted ceilings.
Two huge sectional sofas were angled in front of a stone fireplace with the requisite massive television mounted above it.
A window seat and bookcases filled the wall on her right.
Wide-planked oak floors spread throughout the downstairs level.
Beyond it was a huge dining table that could easily seat a dozen people.
Off to the left of it was a big, modern kitchen.
“Sit down.” He motioned to the large table. “We need to talk.”