Deadly Fear (Deadly #1)(57)

Had she joined to save lives? Only to lose her own?

Monica swallowed. “Mrs. Kennedy, this is going to seem like an odd question, but I need to know, has Sam ever been involved in any sort of serious accident?”

“Wh-what?”

“Does she have any phobias?” Just tell me no. Tell me Sam is perfectly normal. No, better than normal. Nothing scares her.

“Sam doesn’t like the water.”

Monica’s heart slammed into her ribs. “Why?” Cold, brittle.

Silence. Then, “Why are you calling me, Ms. Davenport?” Distant now, when there’d been warmth in her voice moments before. “Where’s Sam?”

Monica glanced over at Luke. He’d just put a picture of Sam up on their crime board. Right next to the bloody image of Patricia Moffett and the still features of Laura Billings.

“Please tell me why she doesn’t like the water.” Find out first. The parents break when they hear the news about their kids.

A quick gasp. “S-something’s happened to my baby?”

No lies. Not about another agent. “She’s missing. We’re working a case and… she’s missing.”

Some people thought you couldn’t hear pain, but you could. Monica heard it loud and clear in the stark silence that came across that phone line. She cleared her throat. “This is very important. I need to know why she’s scared of water.”

“Sh-she was… eight. At our cabin. S-summer v-vacation…”

Keep talking. The grief was there. Whispering through the words. Hold together, just a few more moments. A patrol car was on the way to the Kennedy home. Hyde wanted a guard with the family because he wasn’t sure what the killer might do.

Monica knew the family wasn’t in danger, but she didn’t want the mother left alone. Not with this kind of grief.

“W-walking on the-the pier. The wood was old, gave way—” And her words gave way to sobs. “We couldn’t get her out. My baby—my baby wasn’t breathing when we finally pulled her from the—the water.”

Darkness. Water. All around. Closing in. No air. No light.

What scares you?

Monica swallowed over the lump in her throat. A lump that threatened to choke her. “Has anything else ever happened to Sam? Any car accidents? Any other—”

“Just… the water. She doesn’t swim now…”

A bell pealed in the background.

“S-someone’s here.…” Confusion. A numbed voice.

“It should be a police officer. He’s there to explain.” What? That a twisted freak had her daughter? “He’ll tell you what you need to know.”

“F-find my baby.…”

“I will.” But would she find her alive?

Hold on, Sam.

Monica ended the call. Luke stood in front of her. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Her control would hold.

He crept closer. “You look like you’re about to break apart.” His fingers smoothed down her arm, a hot touch that warmed her cold flesh.

For just a moment, she wanted to lean in to him. To steal some of his strength. That tempting warmth.

She always felt so cold. Like the bodies she found so often. Ice cold.

If she could just hold on to Luke for a few moments and take that warmth for herself.…

But then she’d be weak. The ice would break, chip away, and what if he saw that underneath the protective cover, she was weak? Weak and scared.

Her gaze scanned the room. If she broke here, with him, they’d all see.

And no, she wouldn’t be weak.

“Monica.” His eyes were so intent. “We’re going to find her.”

I was such a bitch to her, Luke. Such a bitch. She wanted to be my friend. She was always talking to me, asking me to lunch, but I froze her out.

Just like I froze you out.

But she didn’t say anything. Sometimes she felt like her damn secrets were suffocating her.

Always wondering, worrying. What will he think if he knows the truth? What would he see when he looked at me?

What would they all see?

She didn’t want to be a victim, and she’d be damned if she accepted anyone’s pity.

“You need to take a break. Get some coffee, get—”

“No.” Her shoulders snapped back. They didn’t have time to piss away, and she was not going to break. “We don’t have time to waste. We have to find her, and fast.”

His blond brows pulled low. “Twenty-four hours isn’t a lot of time.”

Monica laughed at that. She couldn’t help it. “Do you really think he’s giving us that long?”

Luke blinked.

“She’ll be dead in six. He’s f*cking with us.” And that pissed her off. “He wants to have his fun with Sam, but he wants to watch us scramble. So he’ll play with her, kill her, then sit back and watch us struggle. And he’ll be watching from a safe distance. A safe, un-catchable distance.” Monica realized her voice was too loud. Her hands shook, and everyone was watching her.

Watching me break down.

Sam would break, too. The innocence that had been in Sam’s brown eyes would be gone soon. If it wasn’t already. She was an agent, yeah, but she’d been protected, kept safe. Hell, she’d probably only been in the field a handful of times.