Deadly Fear (Deadly #1)(17)

“To suspect he’d just set up another game for his prey,” Luke cut in. “Trapped in a coffin, sealed in the ground—it wouldn’t get much worse for someone scared of tight spaces.”

And the dark. Because she’d be willing to bet that closet had been dark that long ago day when Laura had been trapped inside. She’d probably screamed for help. Beat against the door with small hands.

No sense denying what they both knew. “More bodies are coming.” At the rate this guy was escalating, blood would flow again too soon. “We need Samantha to do a state-by-state check. Our guy’s killed before, but something—something’s set him off here. He’s killing too fast. This kind of escalation doesn’t happen overnight.” She exhaled slowly. “We find him and we stop him, soon, or else we’ll be spending our days with the dead.”

Dante gave a grim nod, and Monica tried to ignore the echoing sounds of Mary’s sobs.


Fucking bitch.

Alive.

Not the way the game was supposed to end.

His hands shook, so he balled them into fists, and when the FBI *s walked past him he ducked into the shadows of the parking lot.

The bitch should have been dead. No damn way should she have been breathing when those suits pulled her out of that hole.

He’d had fun with Laura. He’d sealed her up, but hadn’t buried her. Not right away. He’d let her wait. Let her scream. Let her know what was happening.

Hearing the screams had been even better than seeing her face.

You could hear fear so clearly. Those high, desperate cries, those broken sobs. He’d drunk in the sounds.

Then, he’d dumped the earth on her. Nice and slow. Letting her hear it, letting her know exactly what was happening to her.

He’d timed things so perfectly. Laura Billings should have died in that ground. Died trying to gasp air that just wasn’t there. And she’d been close to death…

So close.

But no, those *s had wrecked his plan and now—now he’d have to change the rules.

Laura would still die. She’d been chosen, and her reprieve would be brief.

He glanced over at the hospital as an ambulance sped through the lot, its bright lights flashing and its siren wailing.

Maybe it would be better this way. Laura had feared the darkness and the confinement before. Now she’d fear him.

So when he came for her, the fear would be even sweeter.


“Hyde is sending backup.” Monica tossed her cell phone onto her bed and put her hands on her hips. “He knows the killer’s notes are coming and he’ll have the techs and handwriting analysts work on them right away.”

“Who’s coming?” Luke asked. “Kenton or—”

“Kenton. Hyde wants him to handle the media fallout on this one. Kenton’s good at that kind of thing.” A pause. “And if there’s trouble, he’ll have our backs.”

Absolute certainty in her voice. Huh. He’d always thought she wasn’t the trusting sort. “Close to him, are you?”

Her hands dropped. “I’ve worked my share of cases with Kenton.”

Oh, so that guy was Kenton, but she acted like it would kill her if she called him anything but Dante. “Sleeping with him?”

Her eyes snapped to his and froze him in his tracks.

Jealousy could be one major bitch. Luke licked his lips. “Ah, what I meant…”

She paced toward him, bright spots of color on her cheeks. Her eyes were glacial and narrowed to slits. “I don’t need this crap from you,” she gritted out and jabbed her index finger into his chest.

He caught her wrist and probably held too tight. “My mistake,” he managed. The words seemed to stick in his throat. “Who you sleep with is your business.” Lie, lie, lie.

Everything about her was his business. Had been, from the moment he’d taken her into his bed.

“You think because I had sex with you…” She paused, lifted that chin up another notch, “that I screw all the men I work with?”

Oh, she’d better not. Kenton’s grinning face flashed through his mind.

“Don’t even think it, man. Not going to happen.” Kenton’s words. Had he meant…

She turned away from him. Straightened her shoulders. “I respect Kenton, do you understand that? We’ve been into Hell with some of our cases, and I have never—not once—seen him lose his control. He always does his job, and he does it damn well.”

Control. Oh, yeah, that had always been important to her. Not so much to him.

“And I don’t sleep with agents on my team, okay? I learned a lesson from you. Business and pleasure aren’t meant to mix.”

But they’d mixed so well.

Not sleeping with Kenton. Thank you, Jesus.

“The guy can have a bad sense of humor, but I trust Kenton to watch my back.” The heat was gone, and the control she loved was firmly back. Pity. He’d liked that flare of steam. “I trust him to do his job, a job I’ve seen him do very, very well.”

He gave a hard nod. “You trust everyone on your team, or you don’t trust anyone.” More words from Kenton.

“Exactly.”

“But that trust only goes so far, doesn’t it? Only as far as the job.” Shouldn’t have said it. But, he was the kind of guy who liked to push.