Part 14 (1/2)

Chet hugged his arms tighter around her. ”Why would you think you'd lose me? I'm not letting that b.a.s.t.a.r.d get to any of us. You can take that to the bank.”

Lori prayed that was a promise he could keep.

He caressed her back, trailed his fingers long ribs. ”I got a call today.”

She s.h.i.+vered as he cupped her breast. ”From?”

”My doc.”

Her heart beat a little faster. ”What did she say?”

”I have an appointment with the surgeon next week. He'll do the necessary tests and we'll go from there. We should know soon if the reversal is possible.”

”Sounds to me like a celebration is in order.” She went up on her knees, straddling his waist. ”You up for it, Sergeant?”

”Always, Detective.”

With him guiding, she eased down onto his erection. Her eyes closed and she moaned. She had never wanted anyone the way she did this man. No one was taking him away from her.

Not his ex-wife and definitely not Eric Spears.

15.

Dunbrooke Drive, 11:50 p.m.

Jess sat crossed legged on the floor in the library or office or whatever Dan called this room. She stared at the make s.h.i.+ft case board she'd cobbled together. A strip of tape, the kind used for wrapping Christmas gifts, held each photo and note to the edge of a bookshelf. Made her feel right at home.

Almost. She still missed her place. Her stuff was there. Here she had Dan, a more than decent trade off considering she loved waking up next to him. The thought made her feel warm and safe, despite the images hanging in front of her.

Get your mind on the case.

The first victims were murdered in the house where she was born. But why hadn't she received a video as she had with Logan Thomas. Serial killers rarely deviated from their pattern unless an unantic.i.p.ated occurrence or reaction forced change. Then again, were these two women really serial killers in the true sense of the word? Or were they merely thrill killers on a rampage, disorganized and manic in their murder methods but highly organized on entrance and exit protocols?

Had Templeton and Burgess been their first kills? Their fingerprints weren't on file in the usual databases. The blonde looked very young, nineteen or twenty. Was SPU witnessing the birth of pure evil? The evolution of cold-blooded killers?

Jess wrapped her arms around her waist. To protect the people she cared about, including herself, if given the chance she would kill Eric Spears. Right now, without hesitation. It wouldn't matter if he were unarmed or debilitated. Hatred hardened her heart. She would kill him.

Did that make her a monster, too?

Jess turned away from the images of innocence slaughtered and drew in a shaky breath. Two decades of experience a.n.a.lyzing killers had taught her that all humans possessed the potential for evil. Some never crossed that, at times, blurred line. Others not only crossed it but plunged into an abyss of darkness where right and wrong no longer existed. They thrived on desire, greed, fear and rage.

Crossing the line was always accompanied by motive, some precipitating event or emotion that served as an impetus to the act of evil.

But what about these murders?

If Spears had initiated these heinous acts, had he paid the killers or were these kills some sort of initiation into his twisted club? The Eric Spears fan club. Anger burst so fast inside her that her ribs ached. With her whole being she hoped to live to see him die a slow, excruciating death of utter agony.

She hugged herself more tightly. There were lots of reasons she intended to see that Spears lost this game. To that end, she needed this time alone to sort through and a.n.a.lyze the events of the day. Dan had grudgingly taken her by the office so she could get the copies she needed for creating this homework board. Cook had caught her there and briefed her on what he'd discovered which was basically nothing. None of the friends or coworkers of the two female victims knew the male victim and vice versa and not one recognized the blonde suspect.

She'd had high hopes for that discovery.

”I see you found a way to do your homework.”

Jess glanced over her shoulder. ”I told you I can't think without my case board.”

He sat down on the floor beside her and put his arm around her. ”You should work at home more often. I like the outfit.”

As tired as she was, as worried as she was, she had to laugh. After a nice, long hot bath she'd shoved her damp hair into a claw clip and grabbed the most comfortable thing she could find to sleep in. ”This Crimson Tide t-s.h.i.+rt of yours has seen better days.”

He leaned over, kissed her cheek. Gooseb.u.mps rushed over her skin. ”I've had it forever.”

”I know.” She looked into those blue eyes that still had the power to make her heart beat faster. ”I remember it.” She knew exactly how it looked stretched across those broad shoulders and that gorgeous chest that was temptingly bare right now. How nice it would be to lose herself in Dan's arms and forget all of this but that wasn't possible.

Jess closed her eyes and willed back the emotions crowding in on her.

”He's trying to get to you, you know.” Dan trailed the tip of his finger along her jaw. ”Digging up the past, trying to make you feel guilty for what he's doing.”

”I know.” She opened her eyes and smiled at him. ”He seems to know more about my past than I do.” The idea made her heartsick. ”We made love in that bedroom of your old apartment.”

A faint smile touched Dan's lips. ”Over and over. I wanted you more than I wanted to wake up the next morning.”

”I was so angry with myself for wanting you that much.” She angled her head, studied the face of the man who had never permitted her to fall in love with anyone else. Not even the man she'd married. She'd cared about Wesley Duvall, but she'd never been able to love him the way she loved Dan. ”Once I was back in Virginia I couldn't look in the mirror for days.”

”You were too hard-headed to admit you still felt something for me.”

Ten years ago Dan Burnett had been a handsome mover and shaker in this city. He still was. It seemed impossible that he had experienced the same uncertainties she had. ”I was afraid you were rebounding after your divorce. I couldn't take the risk.”

”We wasted a lot of time.”

They had. They really, really had. ”Too much,” she agreed.

He tilted her chin up and looked into her eyes. ”We have the rest of our lives ahead of us. No one is taking that away. No fear, okay?”

She nodded and reached up and caressed his jaw. ”You are the one thing in all this that I am absolutely certain of. I hope you know that.”

He looked away for a moment before meeting her gaze once more. ”Your trust means a great deal to me.”

She smiled. ”We will get through this. Spears thinks he's smart. Finding out where I was born wasn't so hard. He just asked my aunt. But,” she felt a trickle of that old uncertainty, ”how did he know about that night we spent together?”

”Maybe he didn't. Maybe he was showing us he knew where I lived, too.”

”I don't know.” She chewed her lip. ”Seems like he chose those two places because they were significant to my life. I just don't know how he could know that one thing.”

Dan dropped his head. She frowned. What was this all about?

”We need to talk.” He lifted his gaze to hers once more.