Chapter 3

Five days later, Mia stood in the buffet line on the grounds of the Away House, trying to persuade her frantically beating heart to remain lodged in her chest. She accepted a cup of fruit punch she didn’t want from a smiling volunteer. In her other hand, she balanced a plate filled with crudités she wouldn’t be able to force past the knot in her throat.

She had never attended First Faith’s annual summer barbecue before, and the magnitude of the effort was overwhelming. Tabby had assured Mia that they wouldn’t stand out in the controlled chaos. So far, Mia would have to concur with that assessment.

Since the crack of dawn, buses had been rumbling down the road, disgorging volunteers and attendees from Charleston and beyond. They had flooded the grounds, setting up a meal-preparation center that an army chef would envy. At one point, she had counted ten barbecues going simultaneously, cooking so many ribs it amounted to a small herd of pigs.

Now the food operations were in retreat. The volunteers had refocused their efforts toward the upcoming service, which held all the appearance of an old-fashioned revival.

Under a tent that looked like it could hold a thousand people, a tiered stage was filling with a gowned choir. Technicians were concluding sound checks. Several men, dressed in suit pants and shirtsleeves, stood near the podium. From all angles of the compound—the tennis courts, the playground, the kitchen of the Away House itself—people were streaming across the lawn to take their seats.

Mia would not be joining them.

Her eyes sought a good place to wait for Tabitha. There, in the shade. The stand-up table within sight of the Away House’s rectory wing.

Mia strolled across the flagstone patio, encountering an unexpected height drop where it transitioned into lawn. In the resulting jolt, her punch sloshed onto the grass. She nearly lost her serving of chess pie.

“Whoops.” A woman coming from the opposite direction grabbed Mia’s elbow. “That edge always catches me by surprise. You okay?”

“Other than not being able to walk, just peachy,” Mia said.

As the woman laughed and moved on, Mia collected herself and headed to her original destination.

As the patio and grounds continued to empty, Tabitha arrived a few minutes later. Like the other First Faith volunteers, she wore a pale blue blouse and long, flowered skirt. She had twisted her hair at the sides and pulled it back into a barrette.

Unlike the somewhat creepy serenity of the others, however, Tabby wore twin flags of color in her cheeks. Her eyes glittered with excitement.

She worked her way steadily across the lawn, collecting plates and filling a giant trash bag with leftovers. When she reached Mia, she ducked to pick up a discarded paper cup and addressed the hanging folds of the tablecloth.

“We’re in luck. One of the guards is down with food poisoning, which means you only have to deal with Jackson. And I just need you to distract him for five—no, ten minutes. Tops.”

“Ten minutes?” Mia said to her plate, careful to keep her face serene though her tone might be anything but.

“I said tops.” Tabitha stood and broke form to regard Mia anxiously. “You’re not going to back out on me, are you?”

If she had two brain cells in her head, Mia would.

She’d spent the morning contemplating the potential consequences of what they were about to do.

If caught, though she’d probably escape charges because of her age, Tabitha risked excommunication from a church she still valued.

They’d both end up in a rip-snorting confrontation with Nadine and Garrett.

And Mia? Mia could wind up in jail, which would mean the end of her bonded status and her sole means of support.

But Tabby became hysterical whenever Mia proposed any other solution. If they were going to retrieve the necklace by stealth, today, with its inherent distractions, was their only realistic opportunity.

No, the time for vacillation had passed.

Mia feigned a confidence she wasn’t feeling. “Of course not. I gave you my word, didn’t I?”

A smile overtook Tabby’s face and she ducked her head. “You’re the best, you know. The absolute best.”

“Yeah-yeah,” Mia said, though warmth blossomed in her chest. “I think you’re pretty awesome, too. So…” She took a shaky breath and passed Tabby an empty plate and fork. “Got any insider knowledge on this Jackson person?”

Tabitha winced. “This is mean, but his cornbread isn’t done in the middle.”

If he was loyal to Pastor Veras that went without saying. “Good for us.”

“But he’s real sweet to us kids,” Tabby added, perpetually eager to be fair.

A kind dumb man. Even better. “That’s all you’ve got for me? Any idea about his hobbies, his pets, what kind of car he likes to drive?”

“Nope. Sorry.”

That wouldn’t have provided enough meat for a ten-minute distraction, anyway. “Don’t worry. I’ll figure something out. Where’s your phone?”

Tabby patted her left breast. Her blouse, designed to be sexless, was so loose Mia that couldn’t detect the outline of the burner phone within her bra. “Well… I should go before anyone notices us together.” Tabby squared her shoulders. “Guess I’ll meet you on the other side.”

“See you,” Mia said with fake cheer. Be safe, she added silently as Tabby schlepped away with the trash bag.

Once Tabitha was out of sight, Mia switched her fork to her left hand and picked at her food. Under the table, she used her right thumb to work at the toe of her pump. When she had an inch of sole separated from the leather upper, and when she was satisfied that no one was paying her any attention, she climbed to her feet and set a course for a trash can on the patio.

As the choir launched into a full-throated version of Jesus Saves, Mia laughed to herself and said a little prayer that He wouldn’t—not this time. Not the skin of her knees, anyway, because she would only get one crack at this. A few steps from the flagstones, she dragged her feet with increasing amounts of friction, feeling a mixture of satisfaction and dread as the sabotaged toe caught.

Then it was too late to change her mind as gravity and momentum took over, flinging her forward.

Chapter 4

Mia limped through the door that led to the self-contained rectory wing of the Away House. Tabitha had assured her it wasn’t forbidden to festival attendees, merely unadvertised and overlooked due to its location.

Indeed, at first glance the tiny lobby appeared empty, devoid even of the guard Mia was supposed to distract. Where the heck was he? Her injury-ploy wouldn’t work if she had to actively search him out.

“Can I help you?”

A resonant baritone came from behind her and to the right.

“I hope so.” She fixed an apologetic smile on her face and turned to her quarry, who had been hidden in a small alcove. “I hate to be a bother, but I had an acc—”

Holy hell. Who was this?

It hadn’t seemed important to ask Tabitha what Jackson looked like, but an image had formed in her mind of the kind of person who’d volunteer to guard a pedophile preacher’s home. She had pictured him as thick-necked and unibrowed. Middle-aged and vaguely shambolic.

She couldn’t have been more wrong…

Want to read more? Desperate Times, Desperate Pleasures is coming to all major retailers soon, in both ebook and print. To be notified of its release, sign up for Jan’s newsletter.