She kept hammering at him.“You deleted all the files on your computer.Took as much from your office at the station as you could because you were trying to hide your ties to those men.”This was more that she’d figured out.More that made sense to her.“Just as you trashed your own place, didn’t you?”
That smug smile spread on his face.
“Your place.”She inclined her head toward him.“My place.”
“You had a list of killers, Lily.A whole freaking list of people who belonged in the ground.I saw it when I was at your house.You’d gone to answer the phone, talking to your friend Sloane, and I knew, as soon as I saw that info, I knew…”
“You knew you had plenty of people to punish.”
A nod.“Yes.Yes.”
“But you didn’t want anyone to ever suspect you.So you faked your death.”
A shrug.“I became the ultimate victim.”
You are not a victim.“You went after Tonya Johnson.”
“Have you seen the crime scene photos?I gave her a wound to match yours.”His gaze fell to her stomach.“Learned about that, you know.Took some doing, but I found out that you were cut open before.”
She swallowed.Am I going to be cut open again?No, no, that wasn’t happening.“You left Atlas’s cufflinks at the scene with Tonya.That was a major mistake.”
“Was it?”
“Gage thought Atlas was the perp because of those cufflinks.I don’t think that was your intention, though.I don’t think you wanted Atlas to be the suspect.It wouldn’t make sense, not with me right there to alibi him.”
“You shouldn’t have been with him.I wanted more for you!”
“What is that more?”He still gripped the poison.She had to drag her gaze off the vial.
A gun on his hip.Poison in his hand.And a knife has to be close by.While she had nothing but handcuffs on her wrists.Hardly a fair situation.
“I’m more!Me, dammit!You should have been with me!”Fury blazed on his face.In his eyes.In his voice.“But you rejected me, right from the beginning.You were too focused on Atlas Bennett.Atlas and all of his money and his power.”
Now that was insulting.“I don’t care about his money.Or his power.”
“He’s an experiment.A test subject, just like the others.You don’t care about him at all?—”
“Yes, I do.I love him.”
His mouth dropped open.
“But he doesn’t love me.So you taking me, you trying to hurt him by attackingme,it won’t do anything to Atlas.I guess, though, it will do plenty foryou, won’t it?Because you enjoy killing so very much.”Her body tensed because she knew that she was going to attack.She couldn’t risk him dosing her with the poison.Shooting her.Using a knife to slice her open and yank out her—no.Lily shut down the thought.Better to do this now, while she could.While she was alert.Aware.If he decided to pump her with more sedatives, she’d be helpless.If he started cutting her and blood loss and pain made her weak, she’d behelpless.
Lily didn’t intend to be helpless.
Magnolia would not be helpless.
“I…don’t enjoy it.”A crack in Benedict’s voice.
A crack in his armor.“Of course, you do.It’s why you killed so quickly after William Lloyd.”
“William was trying to stab me!I fought back!That bastard killed three kids with his drugs!I went to question him, and the prick came at me with a knife.What in the hell was I supposed to do?”
“Probably not disembowel him, but you do you.”
His teeth snapped together.
“You liked it.”She believed this with all of her being.“It’s just you and me here.I don’t know why you would pretend otherwise when it’s just us.I’ve interviewed dozens of killers.I know what motivates them.”She wet her lips.“I know about the darkness that grows and grows inside of you.The need that can get so consuming inside that it threatens to eat you alive.You can’t stop it.It’s worse than any addiction.It’s blinding.Itcontrolsyou.”
