Page 43 of Day Break

I picked them up and was about to set them on the kitchen countertop when I noticed the name on the divorce certificate and stilled.

Sarah Chloe Elliott Meyers.

Sarah Meyers.

I knew that name.

Hell, every lawyer who had lived in the state of Washington for the past two years knew that name.

How was it this woman had come to be here?

One thing was clear now. I had to get her as far away from my grandfather, from my family, as I could. And quickly.

The following morning, I sat at the table on the patio and did a little research. I glanced up when I heard the apartment door open. Byron rushed down the stairs and quickly relieved himself on a bush.

Then Chloe stepped outside. She took a deep breath, lifted her arms to the air, and closed her eyes as she faced the rising sun’s warmth.

She hadn’t seen me yet. Hadn’t noticed I was watching her.

I couldn’t stop the wave of lust I felt just watching her. Hell, who wouldn’t feel it? She was beautiful. Even though she was still wearing my sister’s old clothes, there was just something… mesmerizing about her.

She had a deeply buried sexuality that would call out to any man. The sexy way she moved, her hips swaying, would drive any man mad.

Plus, the slowness of how she talked, as if she thought about each word before speaking. It reminded me of how Marilyn Monroe used to talk. Each word dripped of sensuality, whether she meant them to or not.

I wondered if she knew what she was doing. How just that kiss last night had caused me more sleepless hours than finally knowing the truth about her had.

I’d dealt with criminals before. Hell, it was my job. Some I trusted, others I hadn’t.

I knew she wasn’t the violent type. I could remember reading about her case shortly after she’d been sentenced.

From what I did remember, she’d been found in a massive mansion, alone. There had been a large room with computers and servers that had been used to funnel money from unwitting victims. So much money had been taken and never found.

Instantly, all fingers pointed towards her husband, Elliott Meyers. Unfortunately, the man had been absent, and Sarah had been unwilling to cooperate with police.

The news report I could find from the previous year showed a grainy photo of Chloe, which had confirmed it was really her.

The case had gone viral because several of the large banks who had taken a hit had gone under. So many people had lost their retirements, their savings, their lives, thanks to Chloe’s husband. The anger towards her husband had bled over to her when she had refused to speak or even lift her head in court. That had sealed her fate.

Her court-appointed lawyer had taken the first plea deal. She’d apparently refused to divulge her husband’s whereabouts and had been charged with obstruction. One year behind bars. Which meant, for the past year, she had been locked up in a state-run women’s facility about an hour from the island.

I couldn’t remember any mention of there being anyone else that they were looking to peg the crime on, other than her husband. Ex-husband.

Nowhere in the news articles about the case had it mentioned that she had been a member of the FLDS.

From what I knew of the sect, women weren’t allowed to hold positions of power or even work outside the home in any capacity.

I had wanted to stay up all night to do more research but had needed my sleep. I’d woken up early again and was sitting outside enjoying another sunrise.

On my laptop screen was a detailed article about the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or FLDS. Most of the articles were written by ex-members.

I’d read details about how most of the girls were married off at ages as young as twelve. Now, after a few raids by the FBI, the group had supposedly agreed that eighteen would be the legal age to marry, but it was rumored that the heinous practice marrying off children was still being practiced.

No, Chloe wouldn’t have a birth certificate or even a wedding license. If she had been born and raised in the cult, I doubted she would even know who her real birth parents were.

Had she been her husband’s only wife? From what I had read, most men had three or more, depending on their status in the church. She hadn’t mentioned anyone else, thus far. Actually, she hadn’t even once said her husband’s name.

What did that mean? Normally, it seemed, divorces weren’t granted to ex-FLDS members. But I knew the laws of the state, and divorces could be granted without the spouse’s signature under special cases.