Stone Cold Sinner: Stone Cold Secrets, #1

By Stephanie St. Klaire

Episode 1: Bravery, Betrayal, and Buried Secrets

 

In the wake of his mother's passing, Coy Stone returns to his Texas hometown seeking solace, only to find himself entangled in a web of family drama and long-buried secrets. As he reconnects with his estranged siblings and rekindles a romance with his high school sweetheart, Coy discovers that the idyllic facade of his childhood home conceals dangerous undercurrents.

 

A trail of blood and sinister plots lurking in the shadows force Coy to confront his past. Each revelation exposes dark secrets and dangerous adversaries that threaten to unravel everything he holds dear. As tensions simmer and old wounds reopen, Coy realizes that the small town he once knew is filled with hidden perils that could destroy his family.

 

Caught between loyalty to his family and the pursuit of truth, Coy must navigate treacherous terrain where alliances shift and loyalties are tested. In this gripping, high-stakes thriller, Coy Stone must confront his past to protect his loved ones from unseen enemies. Will he emerge victorious, or will the shadows of his past consume them all?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stephanie St. Klaire
• Release date: Jul 16, 2024
• ISBN: 9781963685268

Book preview

1

Unsub down, Coy said lowly through his comms after firing a shot and taking down his immediate target.

Oh, you’re back to talking to us again, Killion replied from a remote command center as he oversaw the lone wolf mission Coy Stone was embarking upon. How many have you neutralized?

Coy huffed in anger. Clearly not enough. These bastards are everywhere.

I told you to wait for backup, Killion warned.

And I told you, I don’t have time. This is a quick in and quick out, Coy defended. I have places to be.

Quick? It’s a heavily guarded compound the size of a small town and saturated with unfriendlies who are willing to die for their cause, Coy.

Their cause? he rebuked as he navigated the dark, cold cave-like hallways that reeked of diabolical deeds and repulsive desires. Saving puppies, or in this case, young women and children, is a cause.

Copy that. Killion agreed. Just don’t go rogue on me again. I can’t help navigate you if you go cold. The package?

Not secured, Coy chided. This place is full of Vic’s. I just found a few dozen more and sent them your way. Have someone meet them. These women are…

Coy couldn’t bring himself to say the words as there weren’t any adequate to describe what he’d witnessed. Rooms full of beds, separated by thin linens that wore a story of horror. Women, some too young to refer to as such, tied down, drugged even, covered in filth, and the disgust their deplorable offenders left behind. Scars, the kind that were visible but, more importantly, the kind that lived and danced in your nightmares, would threaten to imprison these women’s memories forever. Like shackles, the images of the aftermath roiled in his gut and seared Coy’s soul.

God help them… Coy finally said.

I think He did. They survived the devil’s lair, and they’re escaping his playground. Thanks to you, Wit said, entering the conversation with his twangy drawl.

I guess I’m a fucking angel then, Coy added. Too bad this place needs more of a saint.

We can’t control what happened there or what led to it, but we can help control the outcomes for the ones making it out, Wit continued. The good ones and the bad.

There’s a special place in hell for the latter, Coy chimed in. It’s getting quiet down here.

I have two heat registers in your path, Wit said. Headed your way.

Coy quickly answered, Locked and loaded.

I didn’t say they were hostiles, Stone. Keep that twitchy trigger finger in check, man, Wit warned. Coy Stone had a tendency to go rogue and break all the rules in the name of justice. His kind of justice.

I got it. You don’t need to worry about me, Coy defended. Coy was also a liar. Everyone worried about him. Especially in cases like this, which hit so close to home for him. It was like reliving his own version of hell each and every time.

He didn’t make mistakes, though, at least in his opinion. He was trigger-happy and put down the worst the world had to offer and with no hesitation… or remorse. For him, it was both vengeance and penance, whether it was his to claim or not, for a past he lived a lifetime ago. No matter how many times he pulled that trigger, seeking revenge and solace, it did little to soothe his heart and comfort his soul, and he moved on, hoping the next one would right the wrongs that haunted him. And that’s why they worried about him. All the operatives at BK Security worried about him and his wild card nature. Their firm was comprised of the elite and sophisticated operatives that protected the world’s wealthiest and most powerful. From Hollywood to global powers, their reach was far and wide, and for good reason –– they were the best.

Their most significant contracts were with the United States government, but you wouldn’t find a record of that anywhere. BK Security was highly sought after, but only by those who knew they existed, as they were very much off the grid when it came to publicity. This exclusive group of operatives was tough, smart, and fucking intimidating. Especially Coy Stone, whose history of nightmares gave him an ax to grind and a history to rewrite. A history that nightmares were made of.

Two shots rang out over the comms, but Coy’s team sat in silence, not knowing if he was the one delivering a reckoning or the one meeting his maker for judgment day.

After a long spell, Wit caved. Shit. Stone? Status?

I’m great, he said in a low monotone voice full of menace.

Then how about the two you just shot? Wit asked.

Don’t know. Don’t care. Coy was a good guy, but when it came to the malicious, soulless monsters he was hunting, he was ruthless, heartless, cold, and cunning.

You should, Killion corrected. The calvary coming is still too far out to take chances. You better make sure they’re dead because if they get back up…

Then I shoot them again, Coy finished, then fired two more shots before moving on within the compound.

What the hell was that? Killion questioned with skepticism.

To make you feel better. They’re definitely dead now, Coy shamelessly teased, though his tone gave away little to no humor.

Coy, you’re walking a thin line with this vigilante shit, Wit delivered with an uncomfortable chuckle. There ain’t going to be anyone to try or convict by the time you’re done.

Good, Coy deadpanned as he checked and cleared a room.

C’mon Coy, do this by the book, Killion went on. Or it’ll be your ass on the line.

I didn’t shoot until their weapons were trained on me. Self-defense. Not to mention, I’m doing the world a favor by eliminating these bastards. I’m a fucking hero.

You’re leaving a massive trail of bodies, Wit warned.

A massive trail, huh? A couple dozen of them versus… me. Even more justified. I was outnumbered. Besides, that’s what your clean-up crew is for.

Coy, this isn’t the mission you think it is, Killion said, trying to reel him back in before he got himself killed.

Oh yeah? Pretty sure it is. Young women, some minors, drugged, kidnapped, trafficked… Low-life assholes with guns… Pretty sure I’m at the right place, Coy snarked.

Coy, it’s not the same, Wit added.

Sure, it is. You’ve been to one of these places, Coy sneered. They’re all the same. And as soon as we take one down, another crops up.

It’s not the same as… Killion took pause, as if he knew his words would sting and re-open wounds that could never completely heal. Emery.

Coy stalled at the mention of his wife’s name. His dead wife. He closed his eyes as his mind and senses filled with memories of her. The sound of her laughter as she ran from him on a beach, her chocolate wavy locks brushing across his skin, the olive of her skin, and the scent of her as he made love to her. His chest pinched when the roundness of her belly and the gentle kicks he felt crossed his mind. That was always the most painful part of remembering her. Remembering their unborn child that was going to be the best part of them but never even took its first breath. The warmth that filled him suddenly chilled, and the pinch in his chest eased when his blood began to boil.

Emery Stone and the baby that she carried were the reasons he took every risk and every shot. She was his muse, his reason, and her death was his purpose –– suddenly, he remembered why he was there. To right some more wrongs that the world had bred. And he’d do it in her honor, as he always did, until that pain he wore like a badge faded, and he was no longer blinded by evil and could see there was good in the world again.

This passageway ends up ahead. I can only go left or right, Coy shared, not acknowledging what Killion had said.

Uh-h-huh… Wit stammered, clearly taken aback by Killion’s message. Go right. No left.

Which is it, Wit?

Your left, Wit answered.

Coy turned left down another long dark hall, much like the last. I know it’s not Emery. She’s dead, Killion. Dead because of trash, just like the assholes we’re taking out today.

Stone… Killion started, but Wit interrupted.

You’re coming up on the target, Wit shared. It has to be her. One heat register in a room behind a door and what appears to be four guards.

Four? They know I’m here for her.

How could they not? You wiped out the rest of their team, Killion said.

I was quiet. Used a suppressor, Coy defended.

A little too quiet. And according to the radio chatter I’m picking up, their comrades are a little too quiet, too, Killion shared. They aren’t checking in or responding –– they know there’s trouble.

They sure do, Wit said. Heat signatures are flaring up. You got them hotter than a hive full of bees.

Good. They’re sweating in anticipation. I like it when they get anxious, afraid like the girls they steal and hurt. There was pleasure in Coy’s voice. He meant every word.

Stand down, Stone, Killion ordered. Wait for backup. Sending in a secondary team to support you. They’re cornered, and bullets will be blazing.

Negative. I don’t need it, Coy reasoned.

Did you miss the part about there being four of them, close quarters, and an asset behind the door they’re guarding? Killion questioned.

I got this, Coy said.

Damn it, Stone, Killion shouted. Stand down.

Coy paused. Are the others out yet? The women? Did they make it?

When Killion wouldn’t respond, Wit chimed in, They’re all out and being transported to a safe location for triage and aftercare.

Good. Coy started to move on. I’m going dark.

Stone? Killion hollered. Damn it, answer me, you rogue son of a bitch!

Coy didn’t respond, but he left his comms open so as not to alarm his team more than he already had. If something did indeed happen to him, he wanted them to know so they could quickly send that secondary team and rescue the asset should he meet his demise. He crouched back into a deep doorway and made a game of this last encounter. One by one, he drew them out, away from the bunch.

The first was easy. A simple toss of a bullet down the long hall to create a racket they’d surely hear, and the enemy sent their weakest link to investigate. An easy shot. Coy moved forward and perched inside the next doorway, using the