Cold & Deadly (Cold Justice: Crossfire #1)(94)

She allowed her skirts to drop, hoping she didn’t stick a heel through this beautiful creation, or fall flat on her face.

Dominic took her hand and drew it through the crook of his elbow. “Hopefully we can do a quick in and out, and be home within an hour. Then I plan to lay you on my bed and unwrap you like the best Christmas present I’ve ever received.”

“In August?”

“Birthday present then.”

“When is your birthday?”

His grin was sharp. “January.”

“I’ll have to decide if I’m an early Christmas or late birthday present.” She ran her finger down his lapel. “And I’m having a few suit porn fantasies myself.”

“Suit porn?”

“And tux sex.”

Dominic appeared to choke on his bow tie.

Ava grinned. “I think you get the picture.”





Chapter Twenty-Nine





With Ava at his side, some of the dread that usually overwhelmed Dominic at the thought of attending these gatherings dissipated into the ether.

She was funny, didn’t take herself or the people at this party too seriously. She was so beautiful she looked like future heartbreak. Which was exactly why he was not falling for her beyond the physical. They could enjoy themselves for a few weeks. Maybe even try this relationship business on for size for a little while. After that they’d go their separate ways.

He ignored the pang that thought caused. Like he’d told her the day after the car crash, he liked sex, and he got lonely sometimes. Didn’t mean he wanted anyone permanently in his space, getting in the way of the things he wanted to do, cramping his style.

What things? What style?

He pushed thoughts about his usually solitary existence out of his head. Enjoying the time they had together to the max was a no brainer, even for a knucklehead such as himself.

Galveston’s skeletal remains had been found in the makeshift grave behind the garage at the cottage. Well, a body matching the basic anthropological parameters had been found there. DNA and dental records would confirm it by the end of the day. What had surprised everyone was the presence of another skeleton. A child.

No one knew anything about a child. A forensic anthropologist was examining the bones to try to determine how long the kid had been there and possibly how he-or-she had died.

Was it a previously unknown victim? The offspring of a victim? The offspring of Galveston himself? Could the child have been the original owner of the teddy bear that was left on the marker of Galveston’s grave?

Where was the mother of this kid and how had the child died? That was the biggest question, right along with who’d buried them in that shallow grave at Galveston’s old cabin.

The lab was working 24-7 until they figured this out. Unfortunately, science could only go so fast.

It would be nice to rebury the serial murderer before the press even discovered his body had disappeared. The missing corpse had surely been designed to stir up the man’s memory and misdeeds. To instill fear in the population. A way to re-victimize the families of the missing and murdered women.

But the presence of the child… Dominic frowned. What did that mean?

FBI agents had been sent to all of Galveston’s former residences and any known dump sites to see if this UNSUB had done anything else. They were poised to talk to victims’ families as soon as DNA confirmed the skeletal remains really were Galveston’s.

So far, no other human remains had been found at the cabin.

Sandy Warren’s husband had had two of his fingers reattached, which was hellish but better than having no hand at all. Dominic didn’t know how he was going to face Sandy or Ben when he saw them next. Agents from the New York Field Office had set up surveillance on Sandy’s property and protection for all her family. Same with Fernando Chavez who had sent his wife and children into protective custody until they caught this UNSUB.

And maybe they already had, but someone out there was still carrying a grudge as they’d smashed his windows. The UNSUB, or an accomplice? That was the question of the day.

The rifle in Caroline Perry’s car was the same long gun that had been used to murder Calvin Mortimer. She’d roofied Dominic, possibly Van, too. Probably staged Van’s murder as a suicide.

Dominic wanted to know exactly what had happened to his old friend. Guilt washed over him. He wanted to know exactly how badly he had let Van down.

If only they’d figured out the connection beforehand, Van might not be dead, Calvin Mortimer might not be dead. Others might not have died. Sandy and her family might not be going through this gut-wrenching trauma.

Then he realized what he was doing, absorbing guilt about something that was not his doing. The responsibility lay squarely with the UNSUB and their sick needs and motivation.

How were Caroline Perry and Robin Elgin connected to Galveston?

If the task force had figured it out, Gross wasn’t saying.

Too impatient to line up with the crowds of people waiting to greet his father and his latest fiancée at the front door, Dominic took Ava’s hand and guided her around the side of the house toward the kitchen entrance. They had to show their badges to the security stationed around the house, which was reassuring. Their FBI status and the fact they were on the guest list meant they were both able to enter while carrying concealed. No Secret Service agents visible yet, although they were probably already stationed in and around the house.