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The bars were so thin. Not nearly strong enough to keep him out. But strong enough to trap the human inside. “He let you live, didn’t he? I don’t think the devil would do that.”
“He’s a monster!” Spittle flew from Bobby’s mouth. “Hiding behind the face of a man. That fuckin’ hunter! Pretendin’, he’s pretendin’!”
“We all pretend,” he told him softly, aware of the excitement burning through his gut. He didn’t have any more time to waste. “It’s how we live.” His hands flew through the gap in the bars. His right hand locked around the Slasher’s throat.
A wheeze slipped past Bobby’s lips.
Smiling, he jerked the human’s head to the right. He heard the sharp snap of bones. And felt a rush of power as the man sagged in his grip.
Slowly, his left hand rose. He cast a glance back toward the guards. They were still glued to their TV.
Fucking oblivious humans.
Claws pushed from the ends of his fingertips. He raised his left hand and plunged the claws into Bobby’s heart. As the blood flowed, a soft sigh escaped his lips.
No way will the media be able to overlook this kill.
He’d be taking over the news now.
* * *
Jude got the call from the police station forty-five minutes later. A cop who owed him a favor tipped him off. The call was brief, and the details came fast. Bobby Burrows was dead. The ADA was on her way.
And, oh, yeah, it looked like an animal had attacked Bobby—while he was locked up. Of course, the cops hadn’t seen a thing. Bobby had been all alone in holding one minute, then sliced and diced the next.
Jude grabbed his jacket and flung it over his shoulder. He ran for the door and ignored Dee’s shout behind him.
ChapterTwo
“You don’t wantto see the body.”
Jude Donovan’s voice, seemingly even deeper now, stopped her as Erin began to climb the steps leading to the police station and to the dead man.
She glanced back over her shoulder. She’d caught his scent seconds before he’d spoken. “How do you even know there’s a body here?” The District Attorney’s office had received the call less than fifteen minutes ago. Just how had the hunter learned about the death? Suspicion had her eyes narrowing. “You didn’t?—”
He jumped up the steps. “I didn’t kill the bastard, no. If I’d killed him, well, he would’ve been left in the swamp and been gator bait by now.”
Erin swallowed.Nice,to,ah,know. “Then why are you here?”
“Same as you. I want to know what happened to the Slasher.”
Her eyes narrowed.You don’t want to see the body.“Sounds to me like you already know.” Which meant she had a leak in the department. Not surprising. Not particularly good news, either.
His wide shoulders lifted in a shrug. “Trust me on this, you don’t want to see Bobby Burrows right now.”
She licked her lips. “And, trust me, I’m a big girl. I can handle it.” Not like it was her first murder scene. Not by a long shot. She was twenty-nine years old, and she’d been working the rough cases since she’d passed the bar years ago.
To make a difference, sometimes you had to get your hands dirty. Erin turned and continued stalking up the remaining stone steps. Jude shadowed her moves, his body a ripple of muscle.
His scent filled the air around them.
Her heart raced, too fast. Was the frantic beat from the dread filling her at the thought of a dead man waiting in what should have been a secure cell?
Or was it from something more?
No.
She shoved open the glass doors. A guard near the front rushed forward. “Ms. Jerome?—”
