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His head was so close to hers.Because he’d been about to kiss me.Right here, in this same room where they’d crossed the line before.She’d wanted him so badly that night.More than she’d wanted anyone in her life.And things had just—just exploded.One minute, they’d been drinking wine.The next…
He had me up against the wall.His hands gripped my ass.My legs wrapped around his hips.His dick pushed against me.That hard, heavy length.And I begged him to take me.
Begged.
Her eyes closed, but closing her eyes didn’t shut out the memory.If anything, it just burned hotter in her mind.
“Oh, there is no doubt that the bastard waiting in your carwillbe caught.”The grim promise in his words had a shiver chasing over her.“But I’m not saying heisthe man who committed the other crimes…”
Her lashes lifted.“Because of your profile, right?The profile that says my brother has to be the guilty one.He ticks off every box you have.”
Oliver put distance between them.“You’re exhausted.”
Beyond exhausted.But that was the way she’d been living ever since her world had become a nightmare.
“Get some rest,” he said, voice still gruff.That rumbling, deep voice of his was sexy as hell.She hated to still find things about him to be sexy, but…it is what it is.Oliver was gorgeous, strong, and he had a voice that made her panties melt.Damn him.
Oliver raked a hand over his face.“After a few hours of rest, we’ll talk.The crime scene teams will hopefully have more info for us by then.We’ll go forward and come up with a game plan.”
A game plan.That seemed promising.But… “I’mnotsleeping in your bed.”
“In my dreams, you are.”
They stared at each other.
“But for now,” his head inclined, “the guest room is down the hallway.It’s the door just past my bedroom.You can crash in there.”
What did he think?That she’d just close her eyes and drift off to sleep?Even as tired as she was, sleep tended to elude her.She feared too much.Like bricks flying through my window.That had happened one night when she’d been in bed.The brick had hurtled through the glass.The shards had flown onto the bed.One had sliced her cheek.And the brick?It had missed her head by about five inches.
Now, she’d have a new, terrifying memory to stop her from sleeping—or, if she did sleep, to haunt her nightmares.The memory of the man in the mask.You’re going to sleep, and when you wake up, you’ll be mine.She’d told the Feds those words.Oliver had sworn—long and viciously—when she’d spoken.
I want to swear, too.Want to swear and scream and make this nightmare end.Only it wasn’t ending.It was just getting so much worse.
She turned and headed for the hallway, but Oliver’s voice stopped her just as she reached the doorway.
“The profile does match.Perfectly.But it wasn’t just about the profile.It was about the evidence.”
She’d explained that the box hadn’t been her brother’s—
“And the lack of an alibi.Your brother was seen on a street cam very close to where Amelia Wayne was taken.That put him near the scene of the crime.”
“Proximity doesn’t make you guilty,” she whispered.
“He didn’t have an alibi for the night the other two women were taken.Said he went out for a late-night jog both times, alone.”
Her hand rose to grip the doorframe.“Nothing wrong with running.”
“After midnight.All alone.”
She looked back at him.“Sometimes, we run to escape our demons.”
“Sometimes, you can’t escape them, and those demons turn you into a monster.”
She didn’t flinch.“Good night, Oliver.”Though it wasn’t really night.Too close to dawn.She faced forward and took a step—
“I know you see him as a hero because of what he did when you were kids.I know you can’t get past that.But…but the very thing that makes him a hero also made him a killer.”
She did flinch.“You are wrong.”Her words were so soft that she didn’t think he heard them.
