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“Same inscription?” Griff asked.
Rachel nodded.
I LOVE YOUon one side.
UNTIL DEATH DO US PARTon the other.
“You came back here to find the one he gave your sister,” Griff said.
Rachel nodded, staring down at the necklace in her hand. “I hadn’t gone through her jewelry box. I wasn’t ready. And it was here all along.”
“To me, the necklaces remove all doubt. You’re truly a target, and we’re dealing with a serial killer or a copycat of the one who killed Christy.”
A chill slithered across the back of Rachel’s neck.
So, she was a target.
A target who could potentially lure the killer out into the open.
She lifted her chin and met Griff’s gaze. “Fuck him. As far as I’m concerned, it’s game on.”
CHAPTER8
Griff drovein silence to the Lost Valley Ranch, his mind going over everything that had happened and the information they’d uncovered that day. Had he only been in Fool’s Gold for twenty-four hours?
He shook his head.
“Why are you shaking your head?” Rachel asked.
“There’s so much that has happened, and so much we don’t know. I like having a better understanding of my enemy than I have right now.”
Rachel snorted, “I like knowing who he is. This not knowing is wearing on my last nerve. I’ve been here for three months. Why has he chosen now to come after me? He must’ve been my stalker in the shadows. But he hadn’t made a move.”
“Until I showed up on the scene, and we announced that we were engaged.”
Rachel’s brow dipped into a V. “Christy had just gotten engaged. Lindsay had, too, when they were attacked. And the wedding veil could be his way of boasting that he’d kept them from getting married or saying he’d married them.” She shook her head. “I don’t know. The man’s crazy. There’s no telling what’s going on in his warped and dangerous mind.”
“What doesn’t make sense was for him to run you off the road,” Griff said. “His M.O. is to strangle his victims with a wedding veil.”
“Unless he planned on strangling me once he’d forced me to crash,” Rachel pointed out.
Griff pulled through the gate to Lost Valley Ranch and drove up to the lodge. The sun teetered on the edge of the mountain peaks, casting long shadows across the ground.
People were gathered in front of the lodge, sitting on the deck in various rocking chairs, porch swings and lounge chairs. A couple of men stood beside a large grill. Smoke rose from inside it as a man with a barrel chest and a shock of gray hair opened the grill. He laughed at something the man beside him said and turned toward Griff’s truck as he shifted into park.
“Looks like they’re having a party,” Rachel said. “I hate to barge in unannounced. I think we’ll be all right at my apartment for the night.”
Griff shook his head. “Jake said they had rooms set aside for members of the team. Your apartment isn’t safe.” He got out of the truck and came around to her side.
Rachel was already down from her seat and closing the door.
He held out his hand.
Rachel took it and allowed him to lead her toward the group.
He liked holding her hand. It was strong, yet feminine and warm, not cold like so many women he’d met.
Jake Cogburn descended the steps,carrying a tray of raw hamburgers. “Just in time. Gunny didn’t feel like cooking in the kitchen, so we’re doing it outside.”
