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England, Italy, New York, and Cancun. All four locations, and one person had been there each time. Someone Jaci shouldn’t have even known at the time.
“Why?” he asked.
“That was the hard part. ” Chase shook his head wearily. “I’ve spent last night and most of the day today trying to figure that one out. I finally found a source, though. An ex-lover. It’s all because of Annalee. A love for Annalee. And Jaci somehow had threatened the Robertses enough that she triggered a psychotic need to defend the congressman’s wife. ”
Cam stared at the information, laid it on the desk, and braced his hand beside it as he used the other to go through each page.
This explained the bungled attempts to hurt Jaci, to kill her. There was no strength here, no experience; there was only emotion and fear.
“I missed it. ” Chase’s voice was filled with disgust. “I looked right the fuck over it. ”
“You’re not the only one. ” Cam could feel rage icing inside of him now. “I went over the same information, Chase. I missed it, too. ”
This particular area had been Chase’s. The division of the investigation, the years they required to go back on anyone, required that they divide certain portions. This one hadn’t been Cam’s responsibility, but he had still gone over it, checked it. Hell, he had double-checked it. And he had missed this.
“What now?” Chase moved behind him, his voice hard, furious.
Chase was burning with the anger, Cam was icy with it. He couldn’t allow himself to burn right now. He would burn after he talked to Jaci, after he figured out the best course of action to take to protect her. Because there was no doubt there were going to be problems here.
“The psychiatrist’s report is in there, too,” Chase revealed. “I might have had to do a little hacking to get that. It’s not pretty, Cam. ”
No, it wasn’t. He found it even as Chase spoke, and the records of the meetings sent a chill racing down Cam’s spine. He was certain the psychiatrist had felt that same chill, if her comments were any indication.
It wasn’t pretty at all. It was a life of petty hatreds, of uncertainties and fears and paranoia. It was a mind that had somehow lost its grasp on reality, until one person had found a way to reach inside the fears and connect with it.
A gentle hand. A woman who had shown compassion, sympathy, and—strangely enough—affection. Though it was incredibly hard for Cam to find proof of affection inside Annalee Roberts, still, by all accounts it had been her efforts that had soothed the increasing erratic psychotic impulses that had been showing themselves.
He turned and stared back at Chase, seeing the heavy regret in his expression, the pain that the knowledge brought.
“The committee has to know about this,” he stated. “It’s a risk to the club, Chase. We can’t allow it. ”
Chase’s gaze flickered with demons. They weren’t as shadowed as Cam knew his own often were. Chase had demons that walked with him, he had for years, and they burned in his eyes now.
“At least it won’t be the punitive committee. ” Chase sighed. “Do you think there’s even enough sanity there to understand punishment?” His hand waved to the report. “God, Cam. How does someone like that move in the world without giving themselves away? Without at least arousing suspicion?”
Cam shook his head. He couldn’t imagine it. A combination of drugs and fear, he knew, could do amazing things. And come to think of it, the public appearances were few. And, he guessed, only during the more lucid moments.
“Jaci didn’t know,” he finally said. “She has no idea anyone has been trying to kill her. ”
“No fucking wonder,” Chase snarled. “With those bungling attempts, they looked like nothing but accidents. ”
“She’s stubborn, not stupid. ” Cam shook his head sadly, knowing how this was going to hurt Jaci. “If she thought her life was in danger, she would have come to me. ”
He knew that now. She had waited until she thought she was strong enough to stand with him, to stand on her own two feet. But she was smart enough to know she was in no position to protect herself against a psychotic killer.
“Annalee’s reputation means everything to her. ” Chase sighed. “Nothing else matters. Being believed to be a bitch is a strength to her. No one sees the other side. She strikes out at potential enemies first. She’s protecting that reputation. Protecting her public life. ”
Cam shook his head at that. “Jaci’s going to have to see this. ” And he hated that. Taking this to her, seeing the hurt, the disillusionment in her eyes, was going to kill him.
“Courtney as well,” Chase warned him. “They’re both in danger here, Cam. Courtney’s loyalty is as fierce as Jaci’s. She’ll have to see the proof of this. ”
“It’s a hell of a mess, Cam,” he said. “I’m not looking forward to taking this to Jaci. Or Courtney. It’s going to break their hearts. ”
“But it’ll save their lives. ” Cam turned back to him, that ice hardening inside him. “Take this to Ian. I’m going to find Jaci and get her ready to go home. I don’t want to tell her this here. ”
Home. It was home now. It wasn’t just the house or the apartment. It was a home with Jaci there.
Hell, he’d had plans tonight. Candlelight and soft music. A bed of roses and Jaci sweet and hot. He hadn’t figured betrayal and tears into the equation.
