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Her shoulders straightened. “I’m sick of running, Jude. I tried that. It didn’t work.” She shook her head. “That’s not how I’m going to play this game anymore.”
He closed the distance between them in two seconds flat. Jude grabbed her arms and pulled her toward him. “This isn’t a game. He’s a killer. A cold, seriously fucked-up”—Jude could still see the blood on her walls and the grin that he had sliced across Bobby’s face—“killer.” His hold tightened on her. “If he gets hold of you, he’ll?—”
“I know exactly what he’ll do.” Erin jerked away from him. Just broke from his grasp as if he weren’t even holding her.Why do I keep forgetting how strong she is?
Her eyes were stark. “He caught me once before.”
His heart seemed to stop. No, not here. He didn’t want to learn this here, with that bastard’s stench in the air around him. Jude swung away from her, and his gaze searched the shadows of the garage. “How the hell do you know he’s gone?”
Silence.
Jude glanced back at her. “Erin?”
Her hand lifted. Pointed to the right. “He left me a present.”
He stalked forward and saw the roses propped up against the cement wall.
Fresh. Blood red. Not a bloodstained message this time. Flowers. Oh, yeah, a real perfect Romeo.
“That’s Lee’s parking space.” No emotion in her voice.
Jude’s eyes lifted, and he saw the reserved spot with the lawyer’s first initial and last name.
Dammit.
“There’s a card, but I-I haven’t read it yet.”
He would. Jude grabbed the flowers, jerked out the card, and tossed the roses onto the pavement. The scent of the flowers was sickeningly sweet, combining with the stench of the shifter. A stench that seemed lighter now, weaker.
Because the bastard was gone.
For now.
With steady fingers, Jude pulled out the card. Maybe he should have taken it to Tony. He should have used gloves, he should have?—
Did you like my present?
What in the hell? His gaze flew to Erin, and he found her staring at him, her body still.
“What does it say?” she whispered.
Jude shoved the note back into the envelope. “Let’s get out of here.” A car horn sounded in the distance. The place was all but deserted. He knew most of the lawyers and assistants would have checked out around five. Being there, standing in that empty garage felt too much like a trap.
One Jude wasn’t about to get caught in. “Where’s your car?” he demanded.
But she shook her head. “The note, Jude. What did it say?”
His jaw clenched. “Screw your car, you’re coming with me.” He shoved the note in his pocket. If the creep had been dumb enough to leave any prints—though Jude figured the guy hadn’t—they were probably long gone by now. A guy smart enough to sneak into a police station and kill a man while the cops were less than twenty feet away really wasn’t gonna be the type to leave fingerprints on his little delivery.
Crossing to her side, Jude reached for Erin’s arm. She didn’t fight him, and he knew she could have used her strength. She climbed in the passenger side of his pickup. He slammed the door shut behind her, raced back around, and jumped inside.
He cranked the truck and the engine snarled to life. His fingers curled around the gear shift.
“What did it say?” Her hand brushed over his. Soft. Delicate.
With an effort, he managed to unclench his jaw enough to growl, “‘Did you like my present?’”
A sharp inhalation of air. Her hand fell away as she sagged back in the seat.
