Rafe turned in his sleep and cuddled against the softest, warmest skin he’d ever felt. He let his arm drift around her. He breathed deeply, smelling sex and musk and Laura’s own sweet scent. He inhaled it, letting it surround him. Then he opened his eyes because he wanted to make damn sure who he was cuddling.
Laura lay beside him, her beautiful face peaceful in sleep. Her blonde hair was spread across the pillows, tickling the skin of his neck. Soft light filtered in, making her look so lovely. The night before crashed over him. It had been everything he could have hoped for. She’d given them everything. And he was a greedy bastard who always wanted more.
He would never get enough of her.
The scent of coffee brewing wafted in.
“That smells so good,” Laura said, the smile on her face telling Rafe she’d been awake for a while.
“Cam is up.” And that meant maybe he could get in some alone time with the most beautiful girl in the world. Not that he didn’t like sharing her with Cam. He liked it more than he would ever have dreamed imaginable, but he wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to have her to himself. They would be having a lot of date nights. “You know how Cam’s appetite is. He’s cooking breakfast.”
“If I remember correctly, breakfast is the only thing Cam can cook.” She stretched, the sheet slipping from her breasts revealing creamy-white skin tipped with the dusty-pink nipples he loved to play with, to suck on.
A deep sense of peace fell over him. He’d agonized over this decision, but it was the right one. This was where he belonged. Close to her. He caressed her cheek, loving the feel of her skin against his hand. Even the fact that Cam was puttering around the kitchen gave him a deep feeling of belonging.
He didn’t have a job. Every single day since he’d turned sixteen, he’d gotten up and gone to work in one way or another. He’d been a twenty-four-seven obsessive workaholic, and now he was thinking about fishing.
He was definitely thinking about never leaving this bed again. He let his hand find the curve of her hip.
She moved closer, cuddling against him. “I guess I won’t need my electric blanket this winter. You and Cam are like furnaces.” She turned her face up to him, her blue eyes sleepy in the early morning light. “You really want to stay in Bliss?”
“Yes.” He wanted to figure this place out. It was a weird mystery—part hippie, part pure True Grit western. But he did have a few demands of his own. “You can’t keep working at the gas station.”
Her mouth turned down. “What else am I going to do? Nate is full up on deputies.”
“Not for long. Cam is working on his facial recognition software. What if the three of us specialized in missing persons cases? You know people. You know why they might run. I know how to track down a criminal. Between the three of us, we could help some people.” He’d thought about it long after Laura and Cam had fallen asleep. It was work that could be meaningful.
She settled back down. “I could get into that.”
And he could get into her. He rolled her on her back, making a place for himself between her legs. “But we don’t have to go to work yet.”
He was about to press his lips to hers when there was a loud knock on the door.
Rafe cursed and rolled off her. It had been easy to forget that there was a whole world of shit out there that he had to deal with.
“I’ll handle this, bella.” He reached for his pants. “You can stay in bed. We’ll take up where we left off.”
“Not on your life, mister.” She wrapped a robe around her body and got to the door before he could. “I’m willing to discuss decisions with you, not allow you to make them for me.”
He rushed out behind her, not bothering with a shirt.
Cam had the door open, and Nate Wright filled the doorway. He’d taken his hat off. Fuck. That couldn’t be good. The sheriff had a deeply somber look on his face.
“Laura,” Nate began. “I have some bad news.”
Cam took a step back, and it was obvious that he knew what was going on. He took Laura’s hand. “They found a body dumped in the woods with a note for you.”
Rafe’s stomach turned. He’d known that the Marquis de Sade was out there. But this made it all too real. And proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Laura was right. He knew it deep in his bones. Not only was the killer law enforcement—he was on the same team that was trying to catch him. God, one of his coworkers, one of his friends, was the same man who had nearly killed his woman. Rafe looked at his partner, and he could see they were thinking the same thing.
“Who?” Laura asked, her voice smaller than usual. She’d paled, her complexion turning a chalky white. Rafe reached for her hand. He would do anything to spare her this.
Nate held her eyes. “It was your friend.”
Laura stumbled, her body crumpling. Rafe caught her before she reached the floor. A sob tore out of her throat. “No. No.”
“Nate? What’s going on?” a feminine voice called out. Rafe looked up and saw Holly rushing from her doorway where the big, sullen doctor stood fully dressed with a bag in his hand.
Laura looked up and was on her feet before Rafe could stop her. She ran toward Holly, throwing herself in the other woman’s arms. She ran her hands across Holly’s face as though she had to prove to herself that Holly was still there.
“Damn it,” Nate cursed, stalking toward the women. “Laura, I did not mean Holly. I am so sorry. Nell is fine, too. She and Henry are still holed up with Cassidy and Mel.”
“What happened?” Holly asked, wrapping her arms around Laura.
The doctor stepped forward. “A hiker found the body of a woman on a trail near Tooth Rock. Logan’s already up there. I was just leaving to head to the scene.”
“Who?” Laura asked.
Rafe had a suspicion. If he was right, then the Marquis de Sade had taken care of some old business. “It was Jana, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. The victim was Jana Evans,” Nate replied.
Laura choked back a sob.
It made sense. Now that the fact that the killer had a connection to Jana had come out, he would have to deal with the reporter. “And you said there was a letter addressed to Laura?”
Nate nodded gravely. “Yes. It’s in evidence at the station house, but the gist was that he’s coming for her. He called her his sweet little rabbit and promised that their game would be over soon.”
“Motherfucker.” Cam always had the right words to sum up a situation.
They had to figure this out and soon. It was time to take a close look at all their coworkers. “You won’t find anything on the body. He’s careful, though this is a change in his MO. He usually leaves the bodies where he kills them.”
“I’m looking for his kill site,” Nate said.
“It will be someplace remote,” Cam advised. “He likes to take his time with his victims. At home he used abandoned warehouses and storefronts. You should look for empty cabins. And we need alibis on everyone. I mean everyone. I want the whole FBI team’s time last night accounted for.”
“That won’t be easy.” Nate frowned. “According to your coworkers, they were all in bed by ten-thirty. No one is sharing rooms, and the Movie Motel doesn’t have keycards, so we can’t tell when someone leaves or accesses their room.”
That was a dead end. If Rafe thought for one second he could convince the higher-ups that this BAU team should be pulled, he would call the director himself, but no one was going to listen to him. He’d quit.
Nate shook his head. “The feds are finishing up forensics. They’ll transport the body to the morgue, and then I’m sure they’ll bring in their own expert. Sorry, Caleb. I know you don’t like other doctors in your clinic.”
The doctor shook his head briefly. “I’ll take care of it. I think you’ll find the feds will be more than willing to let me do the autopsy.”
Rafe stepped forward. He felt bad for the doctor. It was hard to give up control. “I’m sorry, but Joe is going to insist on his own guy.”
The doctor set his bag down. “I already have the go-ahead.”
Cam’s mouth dropped open. “How did you manage that?”
The doctor shrugged slightly. “I know a few people. I made a call, and now I’m the one doing the autopsy. Don’t worry. I won’t fuck it up. I’ve had a lot of practice doing autopsies lately.”
The last bit was said with a ferocious scowl sent Nate Wright’s direction.
Wright rolled his eyes in obvious frustration. “Damn it, Caleb. I did not invite the Russian mob to town. You can’t blame me for that.”
The doctor grunted as though he really could blame the sheriff. He walked over to Holly and put a hand on her shoulder. “Get dressed and come with me.”
Holly looked up. “Caleb, I appreciate you spending the night, I really do, but I have to work.”
A stony face looked back at her. “No.”
“You have got to stop doing that,” Holly complained. “You can’t simply say no.”
Nate stepped in. “Stella shut down the cafe for the day. We’re all closing up shop so we can stay in. It’s better that way. Consider Bliss on vacation for a few days. We can all handle it. It should keep the tourists safe. We’re sending some business to Creede and some to Del Norte.”
Holly’s hand curled around Laura’s. “All right, then. But I could stay home. I promise I won’t answer the door.”
Caleb stared at her.
Her mouth turned down in a stubborn pout. “I know—no. Fine. I’ll get dressed, or should I go to the morgue in my undies?”
The doctor’s lips curled up the slightest bit in a way that told Rafe he would be perfectly fine with that scenario.
“I don’t suppose there’s any way we could get on that crime scene?” Laura asked, wiping her eyes. She straightened up, and he could pinpoint the minute she put her tears behind her and pulled her professionalism around her.
“I’m supposed to bring you in for questioning,” Nate admitted.
“What?” Cam practically screamed the question.
Laura put a hand on Cam’s chest. “You know they’re going to want to talk to me. The key now is to make sure they don’t take me into protective custody for my own good.”
“I will not allow that to happen, bella,” Rafe promised. He turned to Nate. The sheriff was really his only law enforcement ally. “I am convinced that someone on my former team is responsible for this.”
“Rafe,” Laura breathed as though she couldn’t believe what he’d said.
“You knew it all along,” he replied. “It’s someone close. Cam and I are going to run back to our motel and pick up our things. You have wireless somewhere in this town?”
Nate grimaced. “At the station, but I doubt you’re going to be able to quietly investigate people who are standing right behind you. It’s a small station. You’re out at the Movie Motel? Gene has dial-up.”
Now Cam was the one groaning. “I can make it work. We need access to employment files. There has to be something in there. I have three suspects in mind, though you’re not going to like them, Rafe.”
He was being realistic from this point on. There was no longer any room for friendship beyond Cam’s. “We look into Edward, Brad, and Joe. Even before Brad was on the team, he was always hanging around. And he’s been divorced three times.”
“But his girlfriend from high school was murdered,” Cam added.
That fact was not lost on Rafe. “It’s why he claims he joined. They all have something in their pasts that could have served as inciting incidents. Edward’s never been married, but his mother died in a car accident, and we all remember what happened to Joe’s wife.”
Joe’s wife had committed suicide. He remembered standing beside his friend at her funeral. And Brad had more than once talked about how he couldn’t forget his girlfriend, his first love. Edward had lived with his mother. He’d never been married, and as far as Rafe knew, he’d never even had a real girlfriend.
The Marquis de Sade hated women.
Rafe’s brain was working overtime. “We need to look at those files and dig up everything we can. If we eliminate these three as suspects, we move deeper.”
Cam crossed his arms over his chest and looked supremely confident. “If the information is on a computer, I can find it. I can find files they thought were long buried.”
Translation—Cam was a gun. All Rafe needed to do was point and shoot. But he didn’t have to be there while Cam looked. “Cam can take the SUV. I’ll go back with Laura.”
“Yeah,” Cam said. “I would be happier with that scenario.”
“No,” Laura said, her eyes wide and her voice rising with panic. “No. You are not going to leave Cam alone.”
“Baby, I can handle myself,” Cam protested.
Tears formed in her eyes. She looked up at Rafe, pleading with him. “Please. I can’t lose either one of you. He killed Jana. He could be anywhere. He could take out one of you. You can’t be alone. Promise me, you won’t leave Cam alone.”
His heart ached at the fear in her eyes. “Bella, I can’t leave you alone.”
“I won’t leave Nate’s side. I won’t let them separate us,” she promised. “I’ll be at the station, surrounded by agents. He won’t come after me there, but he could come after someone I love. If he’s been watching me, then he knows about us. Please.”
He hugged her. He couldn’t argue with her logic, and Cam was out of practice. He looked over her shoulder and exchanged a glance with his partner. “All right, bella.”
“I should go get dressed,” Laura said.
“I’ll go with you. That way I won’t be alone and Caleb doesn’t have to tell me no. It’s his favorite word.” Holly took Laura by the hand and started to lead her away.
“It’s not,” Caleb said, watching the women as they walked. He didn’t seem to notice Laura was alive, and Rafe was perfectly fine with that scenario. The doctor had a serious thing for Laura’s best friend. “I don’t actually have a favorite word.”
Rafe couldn’t tell if the man was serious or joking. He got the feeling Caleb didn’t joke often.
“Caleb, if you want to go and get started, I’ll bring Holly and Laura with me to the station,” Nate offered.
“No,” Caleb replied. It really did seem like he had a favorite word.
But Rafe was with him on this one. “No.”
Cam stood next to Rafe. “We’re not letting Laura out of our sight.”
Nate scrubbed a hand over his face. “If I don’t bring her in with me, it’s going to look suspicious. Your SAC has already asked to talk to her. If they think she’s going to run, they might take her into protective custody.”
“They can’t force that on her,” Rafe said. He had no intention of letting them get their hands on Laura.
“They can hold her for forty-eight hours,” Nate replied. “And I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what they do. If you let her come in and talk, I think they might back off.”
“All right,” he conceded. “I’ll take Cam to the motel and meet you at the station. But I expect you to have eyes on her the whole time she’s with you.”
“Either Logan or I will be with her at all times. And we don’t have to worry about Holly distracting anyone because apparently she gets to go see an autopsy,” Nate said sarcastically.
“Yes,” Caleb replied simply. Rafe admired the doctor. He wasn’t about to let anyone intimidate him.
Panic threatened to swamp Rafe. Everything was happening too damn fast. Maybe he should rethink. Maybe he should just take off with her.
Cam looked at him. “I know what you’re thinking, man. She won’t go.”
“We could make her.”
“After last night, we can’t leave here. We can’t make her leave. Our best option is to find this bastard and take him out,” Cam said. “Otherwise, we’re running for the rest of our lives. Let’s get dressed, and I’ll get on this. She’ll be safe with Nate and Logan. It’s broad daylight, and she’s going to a police station.”
“I’ll lock her up if I have to,” Nate offered.
“He likes to do that,” Caleb said with a growl.
“If you don’t like to go to jail, you should pay your parking tickets.” Nate pulled out his radio. “Logan, can you read me? I’m bringing Laura in with me. Can you tell me who is at the station from the FBI?”
“The athletic asshole who got his face beat on and the asshole who looks like a professor,” Logan replied over the radio. “I guess the corporate-looking asshole is still at the crime scene.”
“Thanks, Logan. Very professional.” Nate sighed and turned back, giving Cam a stern look. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a second radio. “Be better than Logan. Please.” He handed the radio to Cam. “There you go. It’s set to contact the station or me or Logan. And unlike our cell tower, it’s Farley brothers proofed. I’ll keep you updated on who’s where at all times. I guess the SAC decided to stay and supervise the forensic team. He said he wanted to view the autopsy when it’s ready. I bet the other two will go to that, as well.”
“I don’t need an audience. I already have to tape the thing.” Caleb ran a hand through his hair. “I hate bureaucracy. I hate autopsies. I hate all this crap. I’ll wait in the car.”
The doctor might hate bureaucracy, but the man had major pull if he’d managed to overrule Joe.
“I’ll go wait with the doc. He can be an obnoxious son of a bitch, but he knows what he’s doing,” Nate said. “When Laura’s ready, we’ll go. And if you two need anything, let me know. I still have contacts in DC, and I know Stef’s dad has some pull.”
The sheriff walked off to get in his Bronco, and Rafe was left shaken. Only a few minutes ago, the world had seemed damn near close to perfect, and now it felt like it could fall apart at any minute.
“Come on, man. Let’s get dressed,” Cam said, urging him inside. He clutched that radio in his hand. “The quicker we start eliminating suspects, the faster we know who she’s safe with. Except for Brad. I don’t care if he has a rock-solid alibi for every murder. He’s still an asshole.”
“Agreed.” After the way Brad had talked to her, Rafe couldn’t really consider him a friend.
But was he a killer?
Hopefully the answer was somewhere out there. Rafe had to pray Cam could find it.
* * * *
“Sweetie, are you okay?” Holly asked the minute they were alone.
Tears threatened and Laura couldn’t give in to them. If she broke now, she wouldn’t be able to stop. “Please, Holly. I can’t talk about it right now. Tell me what happened with Caleb. Take my mind off this for a minute.”
“He spent the night on the couch,” Holly said with a sigh.
Laura walked into the bedroom and pulled out a clean pair of jeans and a yellow blouse. She tried to still her racing heart. She was pretty sure they could hear it in Del Norte. She forced herself to answer in an even voice. “That’s disappointing.”
She’d been sure Caleb was ready to make a move.
Holly opened Laura’s closet and started looking for something to wear. She was shorter than Laura, but they shared as often as they could. She pulled out a simple black T-shirt and cotton skirt. “I asked if he wanted to share my bed, just to sleep, you know, since he wouldn’t leave.”
“No.” Holly did a damn fine impression of the man. She shrugged out of her nightgown and pulled on the clothes. “You didn’t have the same trouble.”
Holly was staring down at her bed. The sheets were twisted and tangled. Of course, there were also clothes scattered through the house. If Holly hadn’t picked up on that clue, her destroyed bed was a dead giveaway.
“I love them.” Laura shimmied into fresh underwear, wishing she had time for a shower. Maybe she could use the one in Nate’s office. Nate had a decent bathroom. She understood the necessity to move quickly, but she smelled like sex.
“I know. Everyone knows.” Holly gave her a soft smile. “I’m happy for you. I’m going to miss you though.”
That was bugging her? “No, you won’t. I’m not going anywhere. They’re moving here.”
Holly gave a happy squeal. “Yes! That’s awesome.” She sobered a little. “Now I can watch another of my friends be happy and settle down.”
Laura zipped up her jeans. “Sweetie, that man is crazy about you.”
Holly sat on the bed, utterly dejected. “No. That man is plain crazy. I don’t know how to deal with him. I swear it’s easier to deal with the mobster. At least he talks to me—well, he writes to me because his handlers won’t let him call. Caleb is a mystery. He won’t talk about his past. All he seems willing to do is boss me around. I’ve already been married to one man who turned out to be a bully. I don’t need another.”
Laura turned to her friend. “I don’t think Caleb is anything like Scott. And you know it. I’ve seen the way you look at him.”
Holly’s hands twisted in her lap. “Someone fixed my roof. You know I had that leak? Someone from Del Norte showed up yesterday morning with a work order and fixed the bad section. He’s coming out next week to replace the whole thing. Do you know how much that costs? He had a paid receipt, but he wouldn’t tell me who paid it. Wouldn’t say more than they paid cash. Do you think that was Stef?”
Stef Talbot was known for his acts of anonymous generosity, but she doubted it in this case. Jen would have blabbed. It was the best thing about Stef getting a wife. She loved to gossip. “No. It was Caleb, and that is the most un-Scott-like thing he could do.”
Holly’s ex was a powerful politician, but he wouldn’t help anyone. He was all smiles on the television when he was campaigning, but off TV he was an asshole of the first order. Sort of like…
She sank to the bed. Jana was dead. Tears filled her eyes. How could Jana be dead? Nate had said she’d been left behind with a note addressed to Laura. Guilt pressed down on her.
“How close were you?” Holly always seemed to know what she was thinking.
“She was a horrible bitch. We haven’t been close in years, but I didn’t want her to die. God, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.” She put her hands on Holly’s shoulders. “You stay with Caleb today. You don’t walk away or let him out of your sight. You should be okay as long as you’re in the clinic, but don’t you dare go outside without him.”
Holly’s green eyes went wide but she nodded. “I won’t. I think I should stay with you.”
Laura forced herself to move. If she stopped, she would dissolve into tears, and she couldn’t do that. Rafe and Cam had a job to do. They needed to get those files. Once they had what they needed and she’d pacified the feds that she wasn’t going anywhere, she would really like to get a look at the reports. She’d seen the Marquis de Sade. She’d looked at his work and known who he was deep inside. Now she needed to see the man he presented to the world outside. She needed to find the man the monster hid behind. Maybe if she looked for the mask he wore every day, she could put the two together.
Maybe the motel was a better place to hole up than her cabin. Less windows, less places to hide. Internet.
“You can’t stay with me. You’re in danger if you’re with me, and I think Caleb would say no.” There was no way she was letting Holly stay close to her. She’d panicked when Nate had said her friend was dead. Nell was underground with Henry, so her mind had seen Holly’s body, cold and still. She hugged Holly. “Stay with Caleb. Promise me.”
“All right.”
There was a knock at the door.
“Laura, we need to get dressed and go. I put together some toast and eggs. You can eat it fast. I made you coffee, too.” Cam sounded hesitant. If she didn’t watch it, they would go with her when she needed them working.
“Sounds great.” She squeezed Holly’s hand and went to force breakfast down her throat.
* * * *
He waited, his breath pulsing in and out of his body. It was a rhythm, and he could hear the thud of his own heart. Had she gotten the news?
He’d left her a gift. Her greatest enemy, torn to shreds. Not shreds, exactly, but he had neatly eviscerated the bitch. She’d cried and begged for her pitiful life. She’d thought that her career would save her. Dumb animal. It had been anticlimactic to push the knife through her belly and watch as she writhed on the blade. He had watched, sitting back and letting her believe she was alone. He would never again underestimate one of his lady loves. She’d cried and begged and found some deity that she’d never believed in before. It had been predictable and utterly pathetic.
She’d been an unsatisfactory substitute for what he really wanted. His rabbit.
Now that he’d seen her again, he knew she was the one for him. His cock hardened. The thought of her was the only thing that got him hard anymore. There had been that one woman, but she was gone and she’d been a whore. His rabbit was a whore, too. She couldn’t help it. She was female.
She had to be put down, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy her before he did it.
It would be a true gift. An honor to bestow.
It was the least he could do before he killed her.