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Clara hesitated for a moment. This man made her feel safe, but she didn’t know anything about him other than his name and occupation. She’d felt a sudden attraction to him when she’d opened her eyes to find him looming over her. The physical attraction had been reinforced by how kind and gentle he’d been with her. But they didn’t know each other, and after today she’d probably never see him again. Getting attached was probably not the smartest of ideas. However, as the paramedic swiped her neck with an alcohol swab and pierced the skin with the needle, she grabbed Jonathon’s hand and did indeed squeeze as hard as she could.
“Local anesthetic should have it numb in a moment,” the medic informed her.
Scrunching her eyes closed, Clara tried to pretend she was anywhere but here.
“What are your favorite books?” Jonathon’s voice asked, close to her ear.
She opened her eyes to stare blankly at him. Books? Why was he asking her about books?
“You said you own a bookshop, I’m guessing because you love to read. What are your favorite books?”
Allowing him to distract her, she could afford to lean on him just a little longer. “I like romances,” she admitted, feeling her cheeks heat in embarrassment to be talking about romance with a guy she found herself attracted to.
Jonathon simply smiled at her and asked, “Have you always wanted to own a bookshop?”
Flinching as the medic started to stitch her wound, then coherent thought flew from her mind. Surely the cut wasn't so bad it needed stitches, and it would heal on its own—maybe she should just leave now and go straight home.
“Clara, look at me,” Jonathon ordered gently.
Reluctantly, she complied. His face was close to hers; his warm breath brushed her cold cheeks. His eyes were calm and seemed to ooze comfort and control. She let both wash over her and her thumping heart slowed a little.
“Did you always want to own a bookshop?”
She wondered whether he was tired of having to repeat things to her. He didn’t appear to be, but surely he must be growing weary of it by now. “Yes.” She tried to keep her focus on Jonathon and not on the paramedic and his horrible needle. “I’ve loved books since I was a very little girl.” As a child, books had been her salvation; if she hadn’t had them, she didn’t know what would have happened to her.
“I love books, too.” Jonathon smiled again.
She liked his smile. He said something else, but she couldn’t hear it. Everything was getting kind of blurry, and the sensation that she was floating had returned. She’d been doing okay, holding it together, and now suddenly she was quickly losing control. Her overwhelmed mind seemed to have reached its limit, and now it was ready to crash.
Above her, Jonathon’s forehead furrowed in concern. “Clara, stay with me.”
The words sounded faraway, as though there were miles between them instead of inches.
Jonathon’s gaze shifted to the paramedic. “She’s going to faint.”
He was right; she was going to faint.
And she did.
* * * * *
6:58 P.M.
“So you know who he is, right?”
Jonathon glanced up at his partner as she sat down at her desk. Allina Bennett looked less like a cop than any other police officer he’d ever met. They’d been partners for almost a year now, and he was embarrassed to admit that at first, he’d had some doubts about being paired up with her. Allina was in her mid-thirties but looked at least ten years younger—she was barely five-foot-one, with big blue eyes, curly blonde hair, and freckles. Despite her small stature and appearance, Allina was probably the toughest woman he’d ever met.
“Jon?” Allina prodded. She was the only person who called him by that nickname; everyone else used his full name.
“Yeah, I know who he is,” he replied. When they’d done a background check on the carjacker, Thomas Karl, they had learned all about his past.
“Do you think it’s related to the case?” Allina asked.
His partner was referring to one of their open cases. “Maybe,” he answered, thinking it was indeed more than likely, but right now, they had no proof.
At the age of six, Thomas Karl had been abducted by a pair of serial killers who abducted small children, made them pretend to be dolls, and then killed them. The bodies had all been left in the park and had been accompanied by a doll that resembled them. The couple always took a boy and a girl together—the children were always blondes with blue or green eyes, just like the dolls. Over a ten-year span, the couple had killed eighteen children.
Then the killings had abruptly stopped.
