The Gathering Dusk (Killer Instinct 0.5)(16)

He caught her left hand. His lips pulled down. “And you hurt yourself helping him.”

“He’s my partner.”

His fingers slid over her wrist, a nearly careless caress. Only, she knew Cameron never made any moves that were actually careless. With Cameron, everything was always carefully planned.

“If someone is going to get hurt,” Cameron finally said, “how about next time we let it be him?”

She pulled her hand away from his. “How about there’s no next time...and no one gets hurt?”

“Don’t think that will happen.” He shook his head. “Your line of work seems particularly dangerous.”

Yes, it was.

He rubbed the back of his neck.

She made herself take another bite of the donut. Then she had to ask him, “Are you...okay, being here?” Because she knew about his past. The fire. The death. Ash drifted in the wind and it had to remind him of the darkness in his life.

The darkness that had changed everything for him.

“You’re with me.” His head turned toward her. “I’ve found that I’m often better when you’re near.”

Her smile came again. “You know, sometimes, you can really be charming.” And a good friend. She could use a friend.

They sat in silence for a moment, then he asked, “So what’s the woman’s story? You figured her out yet?”

“She has knife scars all over her body,” Samantha said. “They were discovered when she was booked.”

“Self-inflicted?” He immediately asked. “Or...?”

“Based on the angles, particularly the wounds on her arms, no, I don’t think they were self-inflicted. But I do believe she willingly received those cuts.”

“You think George gave them to her?”

Samantha nodded. “I think she asked him to, and I think she also asked him to start hurting the other women. She came to the house because she wanted to destroy evidence.”

He gave a low whistle. “Evidence that might have implicated her?”

“That’s what I believe.” She rolled back her shoulders. “But then Blake and I appeared, and her rage took over. It wasn’t just about getting rid of the evidence then.”

“It was about getting rid of you.”

Yes, that was what Samantha believed. “She wanted us to pay for George’s death.” And they almost had paid. The explosion wouldn’t have just destroyed evidence. It would have killed them.

His stare focused on the burned porch frame. “Pity nothing is left for you.”

“She doesn’t know nothing is left.”

He laughed. “Ah, Sam, you have such a fun mind. I love it when you go all twisted on me.” He pushed away from the car. “Going to lie to your prey, are you? Brilliant. Just brilliant.”

“I’m going to lock away a killer,” Samantha corrected. “Because that’s what I do.”

The wind blew against her face, tossing her hair over her cheek. His hand lifted and he brushed that lock aside. “Yes, I guess it is.”

She moved away from Cameron. His touch didn’t feel natural to her any longer. No...it just...

He isn’t Blake. That wasn’t Cameron’s problem. It was hers. She’d deal with it, the way she dealt with all her problems.

“A serial-killing team,” he murmured. “Such an interesting element. I would love to interview her. I bet she’d make for a fantastic paper topic.”

“Maybe you’ll get the chance.” Her phone vibrated in her pocket, signaling she’d just received a text. “If they want any outside experts brought in, I’m sure you’ll be the first on the list.”

He always was.

She looked down at her phone. “I need to head down to the Bureau. Bass wants me to start the interrogation on Nina in an hour.”

“Because you’ve been cleared. A justifiable shooting. Never had any doubt.”

She glanced up at him. “Justifiable or not...” Her voice lowered. “It still gives me nightmares. It made me remember...too much.” The shadows that were in her own mind. The ones she worked to keep so carefully in check.

His stare turned solemn. “You know you can talk to me. I don’t judge you, Samantha. No matter what, I will never judge you.”

She knew that. But... I can’t say the same for Blake. If he learns all my secrets, what will he do? Things would have been so much easier if she could have just loved Cameron. “I need to go,” she said again. “Thanks for the donuts.”

She reached for the door handle.

But his fingers curled over hers. “It’s natural to feel guilt after taking a life.”

Yes, she got that. A normal, human reaction. That doesn’t make it any easier.

His breath whispered over her cheek. “What else do you feel?”

Her gaze cut toward him. There were some things that she couldn’t say, not even to Cameron.

But...

In his stare, she swore that...he knew.

“There was a rush, wasn’t there, Samantha?” he asked. “When you pulled that trigger... When you stopped that very, very bad man... You felt a surge of power, didn’t you? He wasn’t in control any longer. You were.”

Yes, she’d been in control.