Page 98 of Long Past Deadly

He proceeded to the dining room on silent feet. Cool tile, chilled air from the air conditioning, and humming from the security office seemed normal enough. The lights on the Christmas tree in the living room twinkled softly, and they’d kept the holiday low-key. No gifts, good food, a quiet swim at dusk. No security alerts, so the crew wasn’t worried.

There she was, seated at the War Table, sticky notes spread out in front of her in a colorful planning pattern, and her head cradled on her arms.

Asleep?

He couldn’t tell. The chandelier was off, but the side lights accenting the art on the walls was on low. The dining room faced the back terrace which was hidden in dark shadows. No one had turned on the illuminating lights for the patio and pool. Or somebody had turned them off. A problem for later.

He walked with care to the table, not wanting to startle her, but she didn’t move. Asleep confirmed. He touched her hair, then wrapped the rich brunette strand around his finger.

Yes, he had a long repertoire with women. He could pull off touching and massages, kisses and necking, sex as hot as the night was, but he’d stopped those random encounters because he didn’t like who he was when he had a different woman on his arm every night. Playboy Quaid was a paper tiger.

In some circles, warrior Quaid wasn’t acceptable, but he’d proved to himself and others long ago that he was. With Alanna, he was going forward without any reticence, jumping all in. He might believe he understood her, but how to respond was always a dilemma. He loved the challenge, and every time he had to take a new path to meet her, he had to shed more of the artificial Quaid.

“You’re thinking too hard.” Her raspy whisper set relief in motion right to his gut where worry agitated. He released her hair and pulled out a chair, then sat as close to her as he could. “Honey, I need to teach you bed etiquette.”

She lifted her head and squinted at him. “What?”

“Wake me.”

“Why? You were sleeping soundly. I wasn’t.”

“And yet I woke and couldn’t find you.” He slid an arm around her back. To her credit she didn’t yelp when he yanked her to his lap. She wrapped her arm around his neck and molded her body to his.

“We can count this relationship in days, but I need you to listen to me. My home is yours, my bed is yours, everything I have is yours. Whatever you need.”

“How can you be ready for that?”

She didn’t trust him yet, and he wanted to force it. But that wasn’t the way it worked. She deserved his attention until he earned her belief in him, and they deserved time. Together. “When this case is over…” He kissed her pouty lips. He went for tender, but need roared, and he slanted his mouth to hers for a deep taste of her soft lushness.

She broke away and her hand stroked his cheek. “When this case is over?”

“Pick a hotel, a national park, a god damn cruise, anywhere, I don’t care. We’re going. Alone. No friends. No family. No security. Just us.”

She laid her head on his shoulder. “Okay,” she whispered. “Just us.”

Tension drained away replaced by relief. She closed her eyes, and he traced the path of sticky notes to follow her thought process. “What is this?”

She straightened and stared at her work. “A plan with only my gut for guidance. Trying to let my subconscious cull through all the research I have on this monster to find the right path to him.”

Quaid lifted the first sticky note from the table. “The hook. Explain it to me.”

“He’s watching. We know that. He wants me. We know that, too. He calls his victims sweet honey, but he let one get away. Me.”

“So, what? You’re going to taunt him with the words. How?”

“Note. In the alley. In the neighborhood with some of the businesses, at the church. He frequents this area. I’ll do that alone.”

“Challenge him?”

“Yes. He’ll come.”

“Where? We’d talked the Coronado Patton.” He paused for minute and glanced at the other notes. “He won’t go there.”

“No, he won’t. What about the empty building next to QM? He used our terrain for the first assault, and he forced us to retreat there. Elizabeth said the sale was final on the building.”

“It is, but it’s a mess. It’s going to need full…” His voice trailed off. “Obstacles, hiding places, like a controlled close quarters training site, only we’re funneling him through it.”

“I haven’t been over there, but yes. He’ll come alone, thinking he can control, be brutal, and very personal.”