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“Okay,” she mumbled as his tongue swept across her bottom lip, then delved deep, taking and claiming.Without speaking, she led him straight to the shower.There was no grace in the way they disrobed; all they wanted was to be naked as soon as possible.Nico guided her under the hot water and held her, with her back to his front, letting the hot water soothe, letting the skin to skin contact comfort.Letting their hunger build.Letting their carnal lust replace all the pain and distress of the past few hours, even for just a few moments.One hand wandered down over the curve of her breast, brushing the nipple and then cupping the fullness.His cock grew as hard as granite.God, she was so beautiful, and she was all his.He wanted to give her everything, all the pleasure he was capable of.
Then he was turning her, on his knees in front of her, ignoring the cold tiles beneath.Steam rose up around them, but he barely noticed as he used his tongue to trace down her stomach to the cleft between her thighs.Her head thumped softly against the wall as she let out a long, low groan.He licked and sucked, as if he were worshiping at her altar, concentrating on her pleasure.Concentrating on building her desire.Taking her closer and closer to the edge.
“Nico, please,” she finally gasped, gripping his head in her hands, forcing him to look up into her eyes.“I need…”
He knew exactly what she needed.He spun her around to face the wall, his cock so hot and hard he could barely contain it.His hands took hold of her hips and she arched backward into him.Resting his mouth against the curve of her neck, he could feel the pulse of her erratic heartbeat on his lips, the thump echoing his own longing.Then he was inside her and she welcomed him in as they moved together, the water running down their bodies, making them slick like seals.Dropping an open-mouthed kiss to her shoulder, he nipped at the skin, urging her on.Faster.Every muscle tightening, becoming rigid and begging for release.
He was close.So close.And so was she.They climaxed in unison, shaking and panting as they each tumbled over the edge, wave after wave of rapture taking them.Their cries mingled together with the hot water, bouncing off the tiles, loud and ecstatic.His knees felt like jelly and he could barely hold himself up as he leaned his weight into his hands on the wall on either side of Lacey’s head.
“Good,” she panted, her forehead resting against the wall.“So good.”Then she turned in his arms, her hands resting languidly on his shoulders as she gazed up at him.
He could see his future in her eyes.And that was all that mattered.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
TUESDAY MORNINGS WERE sometimes hard, but this Tuesday was extra challenging, knowing that she was no longer involved in the murder case.Both she and Nico had taken the day off work yesterday, on orders from Shadbolt, who said they needed a day or two to get their heads on straight.But Nico especially, needed to be doing something to stop him from going bonkers, as he put it.So Shadbolt had relented and let them both come back to the station, as long as they didn’t work on the serial killer case.
Lacey sat at her desk staring at the pile of paperwork, but not really seeing it, brooding and thoughtful.The shared office normally had at least one other person skulking behind one of the four available desks, but today it was conspicuously empty.Linc remained a part of the serial killer task force, and was currently down in Strahan engaged in the search, which left her without a partner for the near future.And left her handling the paperwork for him and the others like Hickey and Gorman, who were staked out down in Strahan.
They hadn’t managed to find Serge—it was like he’d vanished in a puff of magician’s smoke—but they had made an interesting discovery late yesterday afternoon.One of the search teams had found an abandoned campsite, deep in the forest.It’d been a tip-off from one of the locals, Mal, who’d been the instigator of the vigilante group, which had been summarily shut down by Sergeant Jackson.Mal’s property bordered the national park, and he said he’d heard unusual noises late one night.The campsite was hard to spot, but the tracker they’d employed had detected the subtle signs Lacey could never dream of learning how to discern.By all reports it’d been cleaned up so that hardly a trace remained.A forensic team was going over the site this morning, and Pederson had also called in a sniffer dog to see if they could uncover anything else of interest.Nico had already decided that the campsite had probably belonged to Serge, the marks of him were all over it.Pederson tended to agree, although he wanted to wait for concrete evidence before he was certain.The search teams must’ve spooked Serge, or whoever was using the camp, however, and he’d moved on; was now like a whisper on the wind.Lacey wondered where he’d turn up next.One thing was for certain, Nico was convinced that Serge was long gone from Strahan.Pederson was harder to persuade on that fact, and Nico’s mouth had twisted bitterly when he refused to stop the search for Serge.
Her stomach roiled, and she snatched another dry biscuit from the packet on her desk.Nibbling on it until the queasiness settled once more, she stared morosely out the window.At least their Sunday night hadn’t been a complete fail.The casserole had remained uneaten in the refrigerator that night, because after their epic shower sex, they’d gone to bed and made love again rather than eat.Almost as if proving to themselves that no one could truly hurt them when they were together.Then they’d lain in bed, hands entwined, heads together on one pillow as they talked through their problems and tried to come up with solutions.
It was good to see Nico finally relax; he’d been like a tightly coiled spring when it came to his father.His greatest fear being that Serge was even then, standing outside their window, waiting to trap them.And Lacey had to admit that this time she wasn’t so sure he was wrong.
Constable Dawn Lawson entered the office, a stack of more files under her arm.She gave Lacey a sympathetic glance as she placed them carefully on the corner of her desk.“Sorry.”Lawson grimaced in commiseration.“Pederson has seconded me full-time onto the murder case.He said you could handle all this now.”She waved a hand over the pile of paper.Lawson was highly organized with great computer skills, and as such was very good at research, and so had—willingly—taken on fact-finding missions for a couple of current investigations being carried out at the station.One was a suspected drug ring from Hobart trying to set up a new trade in the Burnie region.The other was surveilling a militia-style biker gang suspected of shipping guns and other illegal weapons through the area and using their compound as a storage facility.Both required digging into names, places, identities, shipping manifests, trucking companies, company dealings, and even shell companies.All of which had Lacey shuddering at the mere idea of spending hours poring over a computer screen.
“Great,” Lacey replied, suddenly feeling small.Was this what she was reduced to now?Shuffling paperwork while the others did the hard work.It felt like she was being punished for something she hadn’t done.But if she was feeling this way, it must be worse for Nico.He’d been sent to Devonport for the day to take witness statements from an old couple who’d had their jewelry shop broken into overnight.Their safe had been raided and a stack of cut and uncut diamonds stolen.It’d clearly been a targeted attack, the thieves knowing exactly what they were looking for.Nico’s dark frown as he’d come to tell her he’d be back later that afternoon had been so foreboding she hadn’t dared ask any more questions.So she felt even more alone today than ever.
“I’ll be in the ops room, if you need me,” Dawn said.
Lacey felt a tiny shred of pity for Dawn.While still on the serial killer team, she’d been left behind at the station to handle logistics from this end, while most of them were down in Strahan.Someone had to do it, but it always sucked to be the one, and Lacey silently commiserated with the constable.Pederson had driven down to oversee the search in Strahan early this morning, but was due to return later this afternoon, deciding Saito could run the team down there, while he continued to pore over witnesses’ statements and strategize the search as new information came in.
Lacey had wanted to go and see Taylor; she’d heard the girl had been discharged from the hospital last night and was staying in a hotel with her mother.But Pederson had advised her against it, citing the fact it’d be another one of thoseconflicts of interest.Pederson was being pedantic if you asked her.All she wanted was to say goodbye to Taylor before she went home.To find out if her body and her mind were healing.She’d formed such a strong bond earlier, and it felt like she owed Taylor that last farewell.Lacey also needed to see her one last time for her own peace of mind.Mary would probably call it closure.To know that Taylor was safe and on the road to recovery.But she would hate to jeopardize anything regarding this case, so she sat and stewed on Pederson’s words, trying to decide if she was going to heed them or not.She could always go tonight, after her shift was finished, in a completely non-official capacity.Maybe that was the answer.
Taylor still couldn’t remember anything about her time under Serge’s control, her dissociative amnesia not lifting at all.But those few small moments of memory that’d remained intact before she’d drunk the water and the drugs had kicked in had been crucial in helping them identify the killer.Without that artist’s sketch of the killer’s likeness, they may not have been able to prove the man Lacey had seen had in fact been the same as the man who’d abducted Taylor—Serge.She had given them that vital link.And Lacey wanted Taylor to know how much she’d helped.
Three hours later, Lacey was thinking it was well past time for lunch, and now that her morning sickness had subsided, she might pop down to the bakery to get her favorite sandwich.Just then Constable Lawson walked back into the office, a small frown marring her features.
“A message just came in for you.A phone call.”Dawn looked down at the piece of paper in her fingers.
“Why didn’t you just put it through?”Lacey asked, slightly irritated that Dawn had chosen to write the message down instead.
“The caller was very calm, but he said I had to write this down exactly as he said it and give it to you.He kept saying it was urgent, but when I asked if I could transfer him to you, he refused.I had to ask him to repeat his name three times, because I wasn’t sure I heard him right.”
“Okay.”Lacey’s interest was piqued now.“Show me.”
Dawn handed the paper over, and Lacey read her neatly printed words.
You need to come out to the farm.I have something to show you.It has to be you, not anyone else.Pacca.
Lacey felt a chill of foreboding slide down her spine.
“Is that the man who owned the farm where the girls were found?”Dawn asked.
“Yep,” Lacey replied, only half concentrating on the constable’s question.
“What do you think it means?Is it something to do with the serial killer case?”
