Chapter 1

Rain dribbled from a sodden sky, filling the puddles not yet empty from the last rain they'd had. Lightning flashed from far away, leaving a dull impression of brightness followed by the low grumble of thunder. The storm was coming, and, like his fear, was not welcomed.

Too much time had been spent waiting for the rivers to drain back to their normal size, sand bags that had been filled and piled next to the river banks were still heavy and wet. This season's rainfall had gone beyond the norm, creating lakes where fields had once been, ruining crops and killing off livestock. If it didn't end soon, people would lose all they owned.

But he wasn't thinking of that now. Even as he stood in the window, staring out at the flat land around his home, the home that had been in his family for over a century, his mind was in the shed with the coffin that had been left there earlier that day. Caleb knew what was in the casket, he was the one that had ordered her brought to him. But now that she was here, he wondered if he could really go through with his plan.

A flash of light shone in his eyes, lasting longer than the lightning, catching his attention. A car pulled up to the front of the huge house, the engine idling as a door opened and then closed. Caleb turned from the window and went to the huge desk that had been his father's before he was killed. He sat down, opening a file at random and flipping through to a page somewhere in the middle. Brushing longish black hair from off his forehead, he pretended to be absorbed in what was on the page.

A polite knock sounded on the door and without looking up, he called out permission to enter. Cassie, who'd been with him since before he could walk, popped her graying head in the room.

"Sir, the police are here and wish a word with you."

He sighed, heavily. He'd been expecting this. "Show them in Cassie. Thank you."

When the two men entered, he stood, though he didn't come out from around his desk. "Gentlemen," he said by way of greeting. "What can I do for you?"

"We're sorry to be bothering you this late at night, Mr. Jordan, but we've had a report of a missing girl."

Caleb glanced with curiosity between the two men. "And what does a missing girl have to do with me, Detective..." he let the question hang in the air.

"Ryan, sir," the tallest one said. "Detective Greg Ryan and this is my partner Detective Allen Smith. And the girl should be of a lot of interest to you considering who her father is."

"Sit down, gentlemen," Caleb said suddenly, waving them towards two leather wing back chairs sat at a comfortable distance from his desk. He came around and perched a hip on the edge of his desk, staring down at the men. "So who is this girl who should mean something to me?"

"Does the name Alexis Benton mean anything to you?"

"Alexis Benton is the daughter of the man who killed my parents, Detective. But you both knew that. I take it she is the missing girl?"

"Yes, sir. We are searching the surrounding area for her. You haven't seen her?"

"I haven't seen any of the Bentons since Jack Benton was allowed to walk after killing my father." Caleb let all the hatred he felt for the man be heard in his voice. Jack Benton was a murdering coward. "And I really don't care to see any of them anytime in the near future. If Lexi Benton is missing, I wish you all the luck in the world in finding her. You might want to check and see where daddy dearest was when she went missing. Maybe he killed her like he did my parents." He stood and walked toward the door. "Goodnight gentlemen," he said and waited for them to walk by him.

He heard Cassie open one of the huge double doors that led outside, and listening hard, he could hear the engine of the car rev for a moment before driving away. Caleb sighed. He hadn't been worried about the cops searching the place. He had nothing to hide. But he was glad they were gone. Cops made him itchy.

"Is there anything more I can get for you sir?" Cassie asked, concerned as she stared at the boy she considered as much hers as any of her own children. She'd had almost primary care of him since he was little, since his parents traveled so much in what they had called treasure hunting. Cassie called it a waste of time.

"No, thanks Cassie. Why don't you go on up to bed? I'll be down here for a while longer and I might take a walk and see how the sand bags are holding up."

"I think I will," she said, yawning. "Maybe I can watch some of my programs tonight."

Caleb smiled and wished her a goodnight, waiting until she was up stairs and he heard her door shut before he headed out the door. He had managed to stay away from the shed since it had been delivered earlier today but now he was anxious. So many things could go wrong. And a little tingle of nervous fear edged its way into his thinking.

The path to the shed was wet and slick, the concrete dark from the rain. It was drizzling, almost a steady mist that was cold against his skin, wetting his shirt and making it stick to his chest. His shoes squeaked a little as the water seeped into them, wetting his socks.

The door to the shed had been oiled only this morning and moved soundlessly on its hinges. He swung it open only wide enough to squeeze himself inside and then grabbed the flashlight that he knew was sitting on the tool bench. Flicking it on, he played the beam over the inside of the shed. When he was satisfied that he was alone, he went to the gleaming casket that sat close to the back wall of the shed, a garden hose and a tarp tossed on top of it.

Caleb listened closely, trying to hear if the girl was making any noises or not. He drummed his fingers on the top of the casket. Still no noise. Carefully, he opened up the locks on the side of the coffin, pulling open the top half.

This was the first time he'd seen Lexi Bolton since that day so long ago in the court house. It was the day that her father had walked out those doors as a free man after pumping his parents full of lead slugs. He hadn't been able to believe it had happened. Released on a technicality, the lawyer had said. "I'm so sorry," he'd said over and over as Caleb stared in disbelief and the man's family gathered around him, greeting him happily.

She'd glanced at him once, her pretty green eyes shining from her heart shaped face. Her smile had frozen as she'd seen his face and he felt for a moment as if he would explode, seeing the pity reflected there. How dare she pity him? How dare she? It was her father who'd been at fault, her father who'd pulled the trigger that had ended the lives of Daniel and Sara Jordan. She wouldn't be pitying him when her father was once more back in jail, once more brought before the judge but this time, justice would have its due.

He looked down at her now, her eyes closed, dark, thick lashes creating a semi circle of black high upon her cheekbones, emphasizing the hollow underneath. She'd lost weight since the trial, he could see it in the fragileness of her jaw and in the hollows that cupped her collarbone. Her skin was pale in the beam of the flashlight, seeming almost semi-transparent. It gave her an ethereal look with her silky black hair.

Leaning into the casket, he traced his fingers over her cheeks and down her jaw, then he let his thumb brush against her lips. "Lexi?" he breathed softly, wanting her to wake up, waiting to see the shock in her eyes as she saw him. He wanted her to feel some of the same pain that he had, though he knew that was impossible, her parents were both still alive. But perhaps the shock of where she was, of what was being done to her in the name of her father would help assuage the need he had for her pain.

"Come on, Lexi, wake up," he said again, lightly slapping her cheeks until she moaned, her eyes fluttering before finally opening and settling upon his face. She narrowed her pretty green eyes at him, not understanding what was going on.

"W-who are you?" she said huskily, her throat dry. "W-Where a-am I?" she asked staring around at her surroundings.

"Think about it a minute Lexi, I know you know who I am. We have such history together, don't we?" He traced his finger down her nose, bouncing it on the tip once before leaning even closer. "Look at me, Lexi. Look at me and remember who I am and why you're now lying in a coffin."

Her green eyes sharpened and she stared at the padded satin that lined the plain pine box. "W-why am I in a coffin?" She squeaked, her face now showing her fear. "What do you want from me?"

"Revenge," Caleb said softly. "I am going to own you, Lexi. You will be my act of revenge upon your father for killing my parents." His hand trailed down the front of her dress, idly playing with the buttons as he flipped them open. Her sturdy, serviceable bra came into view, plain white cotton, slightly padded to keep her nipples from poking through the heavy material.