Page 106 of Temptation
“What?” She snapped her gaping mouth closed. “Of course, they did. Lily was going to finish getting checked out at the hospital, and, after the ultrasound was complete, then Atlas was going to whisk her and the babies away somewhere safe.” Sloane broke off as she caught the hard set of his jaw. Her shoulders slumped in understanding. “Lily didn’t leave because she was worried about me.”
A faint incline of his head. “Also, fun fact, apparently, someone named Desmond Yoruba has been tailing us.”
That tracked. “Desmond is Atlas’s best friend.” A delicate throat clearing. “Also his guard. An enforcer type. Very good at blending with shadows.” Very good at eliminating threats. She hadn’t caught sight of Desmond even once. Not surprising, given how good the man tended to be at concealment. She rubbed her palms against the soft legs of her jeans. “How do you know about Desmond? Did Atlas tell you that he was here?”
“Noble spotted him. Guy is apparently lurking not too far from the property right now.” His fingers tapped over the phone.
She craned her neck. “Are you texting Noble?” The same Noble that Dominic wanted her checking out. “You know, I still haven’t gotten my phone back yet. It’s rather a necessary device.” What did a woman have to do in order to retrieve her phone?
His fingers kept tapping on the phone’s screen. “Your phone is in your car, which is in impound. Debra was going to bring the phone over. Or have one of her deputies deliver it.” His head lifted. “But seeing as how she was sealed in a body storage locker, there will probably be a delay on that delivery.”
Uh, huh, there would definitely be a delay. “Maybe we could go and pick it up,” she mumbled. “When we’re on the way to see Debra.” A visit to check on Debra had to be their next stop.
“You know killers.”
“I study killers.” A careful correction. Though, for the record, she did know quite a lot of them, too. Sort of went along with her job description.
“You’re in their heads all the time.”
“Not all the time.” Now she was a bit disgruntled. “I do have hobbies.”
A little line cut between his eyebrows. “Is this kind of acceleration normal? He takes us, he takes Bridget, he kills Bridget, and then he knocks out the sheriff investigating the case? All so quickly?”
Chill bumps rose on her skin. “It’s very not normal. In fact, I’ve never seen this type of acceleration with a serial killer. To me, it feels more like the actions of a spree killer.” This perp was very unpredictable.
“Explain. Lecture me like I’m a student in your class.”
Right. Well… “First, do you mind if I borrow that phone of yours? Because I’m pretty sure—and by pretty sure, I mean one hundred percent sure—that Dominic was telling me to contact Josie and get her to illegally search Noble’s phone records so we could confirm that he was actually in Charlotte when you called him. Dominic knows Josie. They have a…complicated relationship.” Hello, understatement.
“How so?”
“Oh, um, he’s in love with her. Kinda the he’d-burn-down-the-world-for-her love, but he also killed her dad, so she’s not exactly jumping on the Dom wagon.” She held out her hand. “Your phone?”
“I just texted her. Josie said give her five minutes.”
Sloane blinked. “You texted Josie?” To be clear.
“You called her before, from my phone,” he reminded her. “So I just sent her a quick text about Noble. I understood what Dominic was telling you to do.”
“Do you trust Noble?” A question that had to be asked.
“I pay Noble.”
“That’s not a yes.”
“It’s also not a no.” The little furrow between his brows grew deeper. “Tell me about spree killers.”
Fine. “There’s no cooling off with spree killers. Serial killers tend to get almost a high from their attacks. When they commit the kill, that can sustain them for a while.”
“Like a fucking vampire drinking blood? Getting enough of a fix to last?”
“Yeah, sort of. Serial killers can go days, weeks, months, or even years without claiming another victim. Until the urges within them get too strong again and they have to act. It’s a compulsion.”
His hand tightened around the phone.
“Spree killers will kill multiple people.” So far, we’ve only had one death here. Bridget. But the killer intended for me and Preston to die. “It doesn’t fit perfectly.” Her fingers rose to rub against her aching, left temple. It had pretty much started throbbing the instant she’d seen Gage. He had a way of producing headaches. “Spree killers can switch locations. They’ll attack multiple people. Their behavior is usually spurred by a trigger. Could be some big emotional event or a life stressor that just pushes the individual over the edge.”
He stared straight at her. “You.”
