Fear For Me (For Me #2)(71)

This wasn’t the way things would end for him.

“Walker was tracked by a task force consisting of local Baton Rouge PD, U.S. marshals, and FBI agents. Working together, this team hunted Walker, and a few hours ago, U.S. Marshal Anthony Ross fatally shot Walker.”

The TV flashed a rotating headline beneath Lauren’s somber picture: Bayou Butcher Killed by U.S. Marshal.

“My sympathies go out to all of the families who lost loved ones as a result of Walker’s actions…”

Fuck them. Fuck her. She was standing up there, all but gloating, and the marshal was right behind her. He was always right behind her. From the instant that bastard had come into town, he’d been sniffing at her.

She’d fallen right back into the guy’s bed. He knew because he’d been watching them very closely.

She was still talking about the families. About the pain they’d felt. About how it was time for healing.

Blah. Fucking blah.

He glared at her. It felt as if someone had shoved a knife into his chest and cut out his heart. Something was gone, missing, and he didn’t know what the hell to do.

Jon had been with him for so long. Someone who understood the darkness. Someone who knew what it was like to want the blood and the screams.

Jon had been there for the first kill. They’d stalked their prey together. Planned every moment. Every single detail. Getting caught hadn’t been an option.

His Jenny had been so perfect. His first.

You never forgot your first.

He could still smell the blood. The death.

Jon had vomited after she was dead. The guy had been so shaken. Shaken, but he’d still understood the power they had. The power of life and death. Total control.

Jenny. Perfect Jennifer Chandler. The girl all the boys wanted. And all of the girls, they’d wanted to be her. She was the best one. Why would he have ever settled for anything less than the best?

If Jenny hadn’t tried to break up with him back then, he might not have realized just how powerful he truly was. But she’d wanted to leave him.

You’ll never leave me now.

He’d made sure that Jenny, his sweet Jenny, stayed with him forever.

Just as Jon should have stayed with him—forever. But Lauren had screwed that up for him. The bitch.

Even when Jon had been in prison, the link had still been there. He’d known Jon would be free sooner or later. Jon would be free, and he’d come back to him. They could continue, finish what they’d started.

The kills weren’t as fun for him if Jon wasn’t there. He needed Jon to watch. Needed someone to appreciate what he was doing. Needed someone to realize…I’m the best. I have all the power.

But prison had changed Jon.

Anger beat at the f*cking hole in his chest. Jon had threatened to turn him in. That would have ruined everything.

The minute Jon said those words, he’d known the end was near. I couldn’t let him turn on me.

Only now that Jon was gone, the darkness within was growing stronger.

“Thank you,” Lauren said. “Now Marshal Ross will make a brief statement.”

She backed away. Her arm brushed against Ross’s. She tensed for an instant, and her gaze jerked up to meet the marshal’s.

Ross’s fingers slid down her arm. Lingered a second too long before Ross stepped into the center of the circus ring. He started talking about how Walker had died and that the Baton Rouge PD would still be—

“…investigating the mysterious partner who is believed to have helped Walker escape from prison and kept him hidden in the area.”

Fuck, f*ck, f*ck.

They were still looking for him. Even with Jon dead, they were still hunting him.

They weren’t going to stop. They were going to wreck his life, the life he’d built with so much blood, sweat, and savagery over the years. His perfect life. Jenny had taught him to be perfect.

No, Lauren and the marshal weren’t going to stop.

So he would have to stop them.





*


“Why aren’t we staying at the hotel?” Lauren asked as she settled into the passenger seat of Anthony’s car and watched the buildings slide by her.

There was a beat of silence, then Anthony said, “Jim and Matt will both be in their rooms tonight, and I didn’t want us to have to worry about any kind of…noise control.”

That made her laugh. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed.

No, she could. It was with Karen, just last week. They’d gone out for drinks and—

“I lost you.”

She blinked at his words.

“Stay with me tonight. Focus on me. Not on the Butcher, not on all the shit he did. He’s gone, and I want to be with you.”

Her hands pressed against her thighs. “What about his partner?” Alpha team. One killer was down, but another killer—Jenny’s killer—was still out there. “That’s not your job, is it? You were here to catch Walker, and you did that.”

She’d gotten the feeling most of the cops were taking a case-closed attitude after the press conference. The homicide captain had sure been pushing that vibe. When Reginald Powers had spoken to her, he’d been clear that there were no bodies to be found, just missing victims and the hunch of FBI agents.

“I called my boss after the press conference,” Anthony said as he turned the wheel to the right. “I told him I was taking some long overdue time off.”