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With a loud exhale, I push back in my chair and retrieve the papers from the floor. After placing her medical record front and center, I go over the contents. Calista was physically assaulted. There’s no disputing that. However, the sexual assault examination was inconclusive, despite the drug in her system.
I frown at the description.
A depressant with an unknown compound that results in behavior similar to a ‘date-rape’ drug.
The phrasing tugs at my memory, forcing my brain to sort through the years’ worth of information I’ve stored during my career. I snatch up the coroner’s report for Kristen Hall, Senator Green’s secretary. The phrasing in her record isn’t identical to Calista’s, but it’s close. Too fucking close.
My gaze darts between the words on the page and the pill sitting off to the side. Back and forth, again and again as my mind creates a connection, one that has my chest painfully tightening.
This is merely a coincidence.
Or is it?
What are the chances that the drug that killed my mother, and was found in Kristen Hall’s bloodstream, is the same drug that was used to incapacitate Calista?
If I look at the common denominator in the fucked-up equation—this drug with a mysterious compound—that makes the entire scenario way more feasible. I’ll have to look at this case and its victims as a whole. The connections are there in the evidence.
Now that I’ve seen it, I can’t unsee it.
My gut twists until I’m gritting my teeth against the discomfort. Two out of the three women involved in this situation are dead. Does that mean Calista’s next?
Whoever’s behind this better fucking kill me if they think they’re going to hurt her.
* * *
I racethrough the city while trying to control my panic before it interferes with my faculties and I crash my car. My need to be with Calista has never been stronger, my obsession with her safety has never been more urgent.
I’ve never been one for dramatics, but I might fucking die if I don’t touch her soon. Even if it’s only to reassure myself that she’s alive.
My thoughts have plagued me since my discovery of the cases’ connection to one another and they continue to, driving me closer to insanity. So close I’m beginning to worry I’ve already gone past my limits and crossed over into dangerous territory where my instincts guide my actions.
Right now those instincts want to protect and fuck Calista.
I shake my head at my thoughts, but that doesn’t stop me from running through the lobby and cursing while I wait for the elevator to reach my floor. My ragged breaths only become more uneven when I reach the door to my penthouse.
I’m inside within seconds and stalking through the living room toward the bedroom. Until I spot Calista by the windows, peering out. The tightness in my chest loosens when she turns to look at me over her shoulder. The woman I’ve killed for—would again without question—is alive.
And stares at me with the eyes of a wounded animal.
My steps falter as I come to an abrupt halt. I run my gaze over her, from head to foot, only to return my attention to her face. The skin around her mouth is tight and her bottom lip trembles enough for me to see it from where I stand.
“Callie?”
She holds up a hand when I start to walk toward her. “Don’t, Hayden.”
“Fuck that.”
I stride up to her and with every step her body goes more rigid. Ignoring the strange behavior, I peer down at Calista, clenching my fists to keep from grabbing her. She holds her ground with a lifted chin.
“If I ask you a question, will you promise not to lie to me?” Her voice quivers during the delivery. Is she apprehensive because of me or the answer I might give? “I have to know the truth,” she says in a whisper.
I dip my head in acknowledgment, not acquiescence. It’s enough. Calista parts her lips to inhale deeply, drawing my gaze to her lush mouth. God, how I want to fuck it.
She raises her fisted hand and slowly unfurls her fingers, giving me an unobstructed view of the pearls resting on her palm.
“Where did you get these, Hayden?”
Author’s Note:Thank you for reading! If you’re ready to continue the next book in the duet click the link below, or turn the page for a sample.
