Part 8 (2/2)

The last of her resistance melted away as she sagged against him. He wrapped his arms around her and dragged her onto his lap where she felt just how much of a man he really was now, and how far out of her element she was. Yet she didnat want to stop, instead let her fingers dive into his hair as he eased back against the sofa and deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding between her lips and teeth.

She s.h.i.+vered at the intimacy of the contact, no longer needing to worry about pulling back because she was too young and they had to take precautions about going too far. She could go as far as she wanted to.

She always pushed men away. The act of s.e.x, while not unpleasant, wasnat something she lingered on.

With Dante, shead want to linger, to explore. She lifted her fingers to where their lips were connected, skimming them over his jaw, his neck, down to where the corded muscles of his shoulders exposed his sheer power.

Powerful men in intimate settings scared her.

He didnat.

She adjusted, sweeping one leg over his hip to straddle him, her mouth still latched onto his as pa.s.sion exploded inside her. Dante gripped her hips and rocked her against his erection. She whimpered against his mouth and drove herself against the rock-hard evidence that his need was as great as hers.

The first thing that would have to go was her gun, followed shortly by her clothes. Too many clothes.

Her phone vibrated. Danteas fingers traveled up her rib cage, creating an even sweeter vibration along her nerve endings.

The pulse of her phone was incessant, dragging her away from the drugging euphoria of Danteas kiss. She pulled back and grabbed her phone out of her pocket, looked at the display.

ad.a.m.n.a She pushed the b.u.t.ton. aDetective Pallino.a She listened, clarity slicing through the s.e.xual haze. aWhen?a She looked over at Dante, whose lazy smile died as he read her expression. She slid off his lap, regret hollowing her belly as she caught the disheveled look of his hair and the ridge pressing incessantly against the zipper of his jeans.

aIall be there in fifteen minutes.a Still trying to gather her wits and catch her breath, she put the phone in her pocket as she looked at Dante. aAnother murder in the alley.a He was off the sofa in an instant, dragging his fingers through his hair. aKilled the same way as George?a She nodded, tucking her s.h.i.+rt back into her pants.

aIam coming with you.a He grabbed his shoes.

She should say no, but he was a part of this, too, and she felt a bit raw at the news theread been another murder. She wanted him there with her. aOkay.a They were on scene within fifteen minutes, the familiarity of the roped-off alley making her stomach roll. She had to hold it together. This was her case. Shead called Roman on the way over and he said head meet them there.

Gloved and their shoes covered, they moved toward the crime scene. The body was positioned on his back in the same location near the Dumpster. The victim looked like a businessman, had on a suit and nice shoes. His tie had been thrust to the side, his white s.h.i.+rt torn open and bloodied. From a distance she could already see his chest, see the carving of the heart. Her stomach rolled. He was beaten so badly his face was unrecognizable.

Blood was everywhere.

aThis is worse than last time,a she said.

Anna squatted and surveyed the wreckage that was once a human being. The M.E. was already on the scene.

aSame as the last one,a Dr. Norton said. aTime of death was earlier tonight. Based on temperature and lividity Iad say maybe three or four hours ago.a She looked at her watch. It was three in the morning. So anywhere from 11:00 p.m. to midnight.

Anna reached into the victimas pocket and pulled out his wallet.

The familiar name and picture on the driveras license stopped her breath. Her heart pounded so hard she heard the mad rush of her blood in her ears.

aNo. This canat be right.a She looked at the face, unrecognizable because of the blood and swelling. His hair was so matted with blood she hadnat noticed the sandy coloring.

Dante dropped to his knees next to her. aWhat is it?a She turned to him. aItas Jeff.a Dante frowned. aWhat? No, itas not.a Hands shaking, she handed him the driveras license.

Dante looked at the license, then the body. aThatas Jeff?a Anna bowed her head. aG.o.d, Dante.a She didnat know what to do, what to say.

aIt canat be.a aIt is.a The face was distorted and swollen, but it was Jeffas hair, his body.

aYou know this vic?a Richard asked.

She nodded. aFrom high school.a Richard laid his hand on her arm. aIam sorry, Anna.a This changed everything. It was what she was afraid would happen when George had been found in the alley.

The murderer had started killing her guys.

She squeezed Jeffas arm. aIam so sorry.a She hadnat jumped on this fast enough and now everyone was in danger. Her gaze lifted to Dante, his face filled with hard anger as he stared down at Jeffas body.

Her misery turned to fury. This had to stop. She had to hold it together. It was her job to be objective. She continued searching the body, so glad it wasnat Jeffas sweet face staring back at her. At least he didnat look like himself as she reached into his inner jacket pocket. When she pulled out the white bag, she cursed.

aDrugs,a she said to Dante, who grimaced.

aCome on.a Dante cast her a disbelieving look.

She bagged it and handed it over to the CSU team.

There was blood spatter around the body, this time the crime scene not so neat. Blood pooled under Jeffas head.

aHis skull is likely fractured,a Richard said. aI donat know if he was. .h.i.t with something or if your killer pounded his head into the pavement. Iall be able to tell more once I autopsy him. Again, no gunshot wounds or other obvious signs of stabbings other than the carving here.a Pain racked her body. All she wanted to do was curl up and cry. Instead, she sucked it all inside, rose and finished working the scene. Because maybe this time theread be some G.o.dd.a.m.n evidence they could use.

When Roman showed, Dante touched her arm. aIall tell him.a She gave him a curt nod and went back to walking every square inch around the body with the forensics team. There had to be something here. No one was that good at hiding the evidence of his presence.

She lifted her head only when Roman cursed so loud several uniforms stopped and stared. He made eye contact with Anna, his face drawn with shock and sadness. She shook her head.

Not now. They could all fall apart later.

Roman came over to her, his face drawn, his skin pale. aWhat do we know?a aNothing. Same as last time. A lot of blood spatter, though. This time he was meaner.a Roman squatted and lifted the cover over Jeffas face.

Anna didnat want to look again. It wasnat Jeff anymore anyway.

aJesus,a Roman muttered. aWe need to find out who did this.a aDo a canvas around this area,a she directed the uniforms, motioning to the people milling around the taped barrier at both ends of the alley. aThey might be nothing more than gawkers, but they could be potential witnesses, too. And I want Forensics taking pictures of all those people. Our suspect could be lurking, getting off on revisiting the scene to watch the action.a They began to wrap Jeff for transport. She had just seen him. He had been laughing and joking with all of them at her house. Annaas heart clenched, the pain in her chest tightening to a near-unbearable level. Her scar throbbed and she rubbed at it with the heel of her hand.

You and me are one now, Jeff, in a way I never wanted.

Now there were two other people with matching scars like hers. And she was the only survivor.

She and one of the uniforms. .h.i.t the other end of the alley to talk to the people there. No one saw anything, just happened to be leaving one of the bars when it closed and saw the police cars so came over to see what was going on. But they still took names and numbers to interview these people later. They might have been standing outside the club and seen whoever was in the alley. Often people saw something and didnat even realize what theyad seen was important.

Anna walked outside the alley and down the street, turning the corner to get a view of the buildings that fronted the alley. It was all corporate and banking on both sides, so unlikely anyone would be inside, but she wanted to know.

She motioned Roman over. aLetas find out what offices flank the alley. I want to know if anyone was pulling an all-nighter. Maybe looked down out their windows into the alley the nights of the murders. Maybe some corporate junkie on deadline.a aYou got it.a He laid his hands on her shoulders. aYou gonna be okay?a She lifted her gaze to his. aIam so p.i.s.sed right now I want to tear someone apart. But Iall be fine as long as Iam working. We just need to find out whoas doing this.a He nodded, his expression grave. aWe will, honey.a aWe have to tell Ellen.a He closed his eyes, opened them again. aI hadnat thought about that. Want me to go with you?a aNo. Grab some uniforms, get into those office buildings and get that started. If we can pull a witness out of anyone in there, it could make this case. Iall go talk to Mrs. Clemons.a Dante came up behind Anna. aIall go with her. I was just over there to visit Ellen.a Roman looked pained. aThis is going to destroy her after just losing George.a Dante put his arm around Annaas shoulder. She felt the sting of tears and blinked them back.

This wasnat about her grief. This was about finding a killer. Her pain could wait. aWeall go do that before I head back to do my report.a aIall get started on the list,a Roman said.

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