Atlas laughed again.Okay, for such a seemingly serious woman, she was filling him with delight.“I have no interest in running the underworld.I am fully occupied running my billion-dollar company and employing thousands of people, but thanks so much.”
“Appearances can be deceiving.”
Just that.Those four casual words.Atlas fought his smile because he really should not enjoy her this much, not under the circumstances.They could have been killed that night.Benedict—prick that he had been—was dead.“Benedict hated me.”True story.“He could never find a single shred of evidence to tie me to any crimes.”Because I don’t leave evidence behind.What am I?An amateur?“Benedict was convinced I was as twisted as my father, and he couldn’t wait to lock me away.”
A delicate throat clearing.“He was not a fan of yours, no.”
His eyes narrowed.“Was that a joke?”
“It was a statement of fact.Benedict thought you were guilty of an assortment of crimes, and I believe this punishment killeralso thought you were guilty.As to why I decided he was the one who’d taken us…I read the ME’s reports on the two previous vics.Both suffered blows to the rear of the head that would have incapacitated them.Both were taken from dark parking lots, with no witnesses around, as if the perp had been watching them.Learning their routines.Waiting for the perfect moment to strike.”
Yes.Atlas had even altered his routine just so he could have time in a dark parking lot to find the bastard.These details were not news, but Atlas said nothing.
“They were cuffed.The cuffs had bitten deeply into their skin as they struggled.The handcuffs left very distinct markings on them.”
Now, he just could not help himself.He reached out and snagged her injured wrist.He hated that anything had been left on her skin but… “Marks like these?”
“Much deeper, but clearly consistent with handcuffs being locked around their wrists.The information about the blow to the head and the handcuffs was never released to the public.Only our killer would know that intel.”
“So based on some head wounds and cuff marks, you decided the killer had come after me.”Why not?
But his serious Lily just nodded.“I think the killer was working up to you the entire time.I think he believes he is eliminating evil.You are evil…to him, anyway.”
He loved touching her soft skin.“But you originally thoughtIwas the predator, didn’t you?That I was the one punishing?Pretty sure I remember you apologizing for being wrong about me.Things were a little hazy when I first woke up in that pit of hell, but those words stood out.”
“I, um, I don’t know that I apologized.”
“No?Well, then you clearlyshouldapologize.Go ahead.Because if you think a man is a savage killer, you should apologize when you’re wrong about that important point.”They’d turned and were heading toward her rental.About five minutes away.He recognized the streets.Perhaps he’d driven by her place a time or two.“I think I do deserve an apology,” he decided.“A lovely, heartfelt apology because you have wounded me so greatly.”
“Fine.”Bit out.“I’m sorry that I thought you were disemboweling people.There.Better?”
He winced and let her go.“Disembowelment never would be my chosen method.Why the hell would you want to get so gory with someone?Can you imagine the crime scene cleanup that would be involved?I mean, you might as well just put on a hazmat suit because the blood splatter from that kind of thing would be horrific.”
Lily appeared all the more concerned by his response.Her tension just thickened.“Ahem.”Another throat clearing from her.“I suspect our killer used this method because disemboweling has been a form of punishment for crimes going back to ancient times.”
Of course, she would be an expert on the topic.Shocking.And now the guy was “our killer,” was he?For the record, though, “It’s not a form of punishment I’d ever use.”His father had been into blood and gore.Mess.Horror.
I am not him.
“No, I think you’re far more sophisticated than that.If you had talked with me sooner, I would have understood that about you.I don’t believe you would go for the torture element at all.You’d simply kill your prey and move on.”
He didn’t tense.Didn’t draw in a sudden breath.Didn’t even blink.But he knew how to respond.When an enemy was getting too close, you simply had to throw them off target.Not that he wanted her to be his enemy… “Do you always get semi-naked when you think you’re facing a killer?”
“Back to that, are you?I think we’ve covered that I was trying to put us on equal footing.”
“I think you were trying to get naked with me.Full disclosure, you can do it anytime.There is nothing more that I would enjoy than fucking you until you scream with pleasure.”
Silence.The thick, tense kind that could completely fill a car.
He began to smile.Now I am back in control, and she?—
“Does that usually work?”Lily asked in her calm voice.“When people get too close, when people say things that make you uncomfortable, you strike out?Maybe you say something shocking to disconcert them so that you have the upper hand?”
Uh, yeah.Except she didn’t seem particularly disconcerted.Point for Lily.
Before he could respond, she added, “I thinkyouwere trying to get naked withme.I believe you wanted me to see your scars, Atlas.”
“Why would I want you to see them?”
