Mystery absolutely didn’t recall that, but she always got sentimental about her mother and their last trip to Kansas before her death. Maybe she had mentioned it. “Something?”

“Your abduction and the DNA test. Did you remember someone taking your blood?”

Shock drilled through her composure. “That’s why?”

“We had to know for certain that you were the out-of-wedlock spawn of sin. And you were. But Marshall had you rescued before you could be eliminated.”

Eliminated? “You and my biological father—who is he?—planned to kill me?”

Gail looked her way as if speaking to a simpleton. “We didn’t silence Julia only to have this secret revealed by a silly girl. Thankfully, the abduction seemed to put some fear into you. Then you moved to the UK and seemed to lose all interest in anything associated with your ‘misfortune’ or your mother. We breathed easier, at least until you insisted on coming back to the States. And you know the rest.” Her aunt waved her away. “I drove to Dallas and left you the picture in your hotel room, hoping you would take the hint and leave the country again. But you proved stubborn, like your mother. You brought the one Neanderthal, Heath, with you. Thankfully, drugging his coffee took care of him. But the other one, the man you fornicated with in my house . . . Getting rid of him was fun. I overheard you two talking in my kitchen. Poor little girl scarred by her cheating ‘daddy.’” She sneered. “And him, all damaged by his mother’s abandonment.” She rolled her eyes. “It was pitifully easy to orchestrate your breakup. My messiah, the man who gave his seed for you, knew just how to hire an actress capable of causing a fight between you two. I slipped a diuretic in Axel’s lemonade, and when he went to the restroom, she moved in. Then you saw what you expected and walked out on him. It was perfect. Of course, I suspect Axel may already be looking for you. He’s not one who will give up easily, so let’s hurry inside, shall we?”

So Axel hadn’t given in to a moment’s lust in the café and betrayed her? He hadn’t come on to that waitress? Mystery tried to piece it all together in her head. The details slipped through her fingers, but the big picture was frightfully clear. Her aunt had conspired with her mother’s lover—her biological father—to split her apart from Axel and Heath. Her aunt had gone to so much effort to get her alone because she’d be more vulnerable. Mystery wondered what the hell she was going to do now.

No phone, no ally, no friends in this town, no police nearby. The only person perhaps capable of finding her was Axel, and he’d sworn that if she walked out on him he’d consider them done forever.

Still, some part of her hoped, wanted to have faith—not in the warped version of God her aunt had clutched to her bitter, dried-up heart and twisted to fill the emptiness inside, but in the love that she and Axel had shared, however briefly.

“I won’t go in that building.”

“You will,” her aunt insisted, grabbing Mystery’s purse from the floorboard. “If you refuse, I will shoot you right here.”

It sucked, and Mystery was terrified, shocked, and beyond furious. But right now, cuffed to the car door, she didn’t see any way to escape. She’d have to watch for opportunities. After all, her aunt was older, presumably not as strong. If she played this right, she might be able to overpower the woman on the way to the door and scream for help. “Looks like I don’t have a choice.”

Gail sent her an acid smile. “Exactly. Now, it’s time you met your true father.”

Chapter Nineteen

THIS far out of town, the only signs of life near the abandoned building were the weeds growing up through the cracks in the sidewalk. Her aunt walked with the gun pressed to Mystery’s spine straight up to the ominous dark door. She would have screamed for help if anyone was around to hear. Scrambling for other options, Mystery decided to take her chances and tackle her aunt on the sidewalk in public.

Suddenly, the door opened from the inside.

Clutching her purse, Mystery blinked, her eyes adjusting to the interior darkness, focused on a black shadow in front of her. Slowly, the shadow sharpened into a man with gray hair sporting hints of brown and pale blue eyes. His pale skin looked oddly smooth, given the fact he must be in his early fifties, and he wore a plastically kind smile that showed a row of even white teeth. She knew that face.

“Peter Grace?”

“The great Reverend Peter Grace,” Gail corrected, her tone superior. “He’s as close to God as you’ll ever see on this Earth.”

The picture of the man at the top of her aunt’s stairs, along with the chatter about him today, only reinforced her notion that Gail was one of his biggest fans.

“Yes. Isn’t she devoted?” He sent her an empty smile as he tugged Mystery inside.

Her aunt followed, and slammed the door shut, locking it behind her. Mystery watched, her heart sinking. She was trapped in an abandoned building with a gun, a crazy bitch, and a man capable of committing murder.

She blew out a nervous breath, praying they just wanted her mother’s possessions. “What are you after? The SD card my mother left in the safe-deposit box? You can have it. I’m not sure I want to know what it says and I don’t care. To me, Marshall Mullins will always be my father.”

“I’m glad we’re on the same page. I would prefer for the world to believe that as well.” He adjusted his tie, his stare almost wistful. “You do look so much like your mother.”

“She’s a sinner, too. Fornicator!” her aunt broke in.

Reverend Grace rested a well-manicured hand on Gail’s. “We’ll show her the Lord.”

That seemed to soothe the woman.

Mystery tensed. Did they mean they meant to kill her? “Look, I don’t want anything except to walk out this door alive. I’ll sign anything you want to have drawn up stating that you and I are of no relation and I have no intention of ever suing you for any reason. I will never speak of this and—”

“That’s a lovely gesture,” he assured. “I’m afraid it’s not that simple. You see, loose ends have, over the decades, proven to be a problem. Too many still dangle, especially now that whatever your mother wrote has been unlocked. I need to clean everything up. Otherwise, a really intrepid reporter or detective will uncover my sin. And what would my millions of followers think if they learned their favorite man of God had a ‘love child’ while his own wife was expecting baby number three? Jimmy Swaggart’s infamous ‘I have sinned’ speech was useless then, just as it would be now. No, I have to eradicate all lingering traces. Even your middle name is a clue.”

Grace. A wave of dizzy shock swept over Mystery. Her mother had given her his surname for her middle name. As a tribute to Reverend Grace? Or as a taunt at her father? “I’ll change it. I’ll go to court and make it whatever you want.”

He sent her a faintly regretful smile. “I’m afraid that won’t work. The change of name would still be a matter of public record, and therefore, a clue.”

Was he saying his only alternative was to kill her? Mystery swallowed hard and started looking around the empty, cavernous room for anything she might use as a weapon or any exit she hadn’t spotted from the street.

“I’ve ensured the room is empty and all the doors are locked.” Reverend Grace snapped his fingers. “Eyes on me.”

Mystery wasn’t simply going to take his word for it, but it sounded as if he’d planned two steps ahead of her and done all he could to prevent her escape. “You don’t have to kill me to keep your secret. I’m just—”