by Lexi Blake
“Donatien Alphonse François, the real Marquis de Sade, had a philosophy attached to his methods. He was imprisoned several times for abusing prostitutes. One was said to have been held for weeks of torture before she managed to escape out a second story window,” Edward murmured. He spoke academically, as if he wasn’t discussing the torture of a colleague. “He wrote a lot about sexual freedom. Some of his philosophies are interesting.”
“We don’t need a lecture, professor,” Brad grumbled. It seemed to Cam like the special agent didn’t enjoy having his spotlight taken away. And he was being rude. Back when Cam was in the unit, Edward hated to be called professor.
Edward’s eyes narrowed on the junior agent. “I have a point. I can see where someone of our killer’s persuasions would be interested in the Marquis. That isn’t surprising. What is surprising is the fact that he adopted the philosophies the press put upon him. I’ve been thinking about this for a while. It doesn’t sit particularly well with me. I would have thought he would be in control of his press, so to speak. I think this validates my own profile. The Marquis de Sade is immature, socially awkward. He’s probably making up for a very bad childhood and intense feelings of inadequacy.”
“Or he’s controlled the press far better than we could have imagined. I can’t believe I didn’t think about this. I don’t believe the man is immature. He’s too smart, too in control. He would never follow someone else’s lead.” Joe leaned forward, a grave look on his face. “Who was the first reporter to name him?”
Motherfucker. He remembered that first televised report well. It had been the report that made Jana Evans’s career. How long had Jana been talking to that son of a bitch? What clues had she hidden in her quest for a freaking local Emmy?
“We should get her in here.” Rafe’s voice was tight with fury.
“Jana would have told us if she was in contact. She wouldn’t let a killer roam free to get a story,” Laura said.
For the first time since the interview began, there was a hint of emotion in her voice. It was a slight shake that had Cam reaching for her hand despite the obvious reasons not to. Jana had been Laura’s friend, but she’d betrayed her in so many ways. How long had she used Laura to further her own career?
How had it felt to wake up after a nightmare and believe no one loved her? She’d felt betrayed by Cam and Rafe and her oldest friend. For the first time, Cam understood why she had walked away and what she had found here.
“You know reporters and their confidential sources,” Brad murmured, making notes in his file. “We’ll have to bring in Ms. Evans and have a chat. It’s convenient that she showed up here in Bliss.”
“Yes, it is.” Cam cradled her hand in his, satisfied that she didn’t pull away.
Everything he learned pointed more and more to Laura being right. There was a leak in the unit, and that leak might be the killer. He studied Brad, Joe, and Edward carefully. Maybe he needed to rethink everything he knew about them. Maybe it was time to trust Laura’s instincts. He wondered how far Nate Wright would let him in. Would Nate allow him to use one of the computers to run checks on his former colleagues?
“I would also like to talk to Mr. Wolf Meyer,” Edward said, staring down at his notes. “I ran a check on everyone in this town, and I don’t like what I’ve discovered. This whole town is full of misfits and riffraff. But Wolf Meyer interests me. He lived on a base close to DC right up to a few months ago. He took a trip back to DC at a time that places him in the area when the last victim was killed.”
Laura’s blue eyes rolled. “It’s not Wolf. He’s a SEAL.”
Edward laughed, condescension dripping from his mouth. “Yes, because a military man would never kill anyone. He fits your profile, dear. I would think you would be thrilled I would consider him.”
“You’re an ass, Edward,” Laura stated. “If you’ve successfully profiled someone before, it was because it was so obvious a monkey could have done it. Wolf has a core of integrity. He practically glows with it.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Cam grumbled.
Laura smiled up at him. “He doesn’t have your sunny disposition, babe.”
Why did everything inside him clench when she looked at him like that? Why did his whole fucking world seem okay because she was accepting him? Sunny disposition? He had to smile back. He was a taciturn son of a bitch most of the time. God, he wanted to kiss her. He wanted to take her out of here.
Laura turned back to the agents. “Please, feel free to talk to Wolf. I think you’ll find a conversation with him enlightening. I happen to know he spent an awful lot of time overseas doing things for our country you can’t even conceive of. Interview everyone in Bliss. I know you’re all damn good at wasting time.”
“Insults aren’t going to get you anywhere,” Brad said, his composure slipping a bit.
“She’s right.” Rafe’s hands slapped on the table. “We’re wasting time. She’s gone over everything. Why are we treating her like a criminal?”
Joe sighed and rubbed a spot between his eyes. “I know she’s not a criminal, but she is a bit of a hostile witness. She left town. I can’t be sure she won’t leave again.” He turned his eyes to Laura. “If I offer you protective custody, will you take it?”
“No,” Cam said before she could.
If anyone was going to protect her, it would be him and Rafe. If witness protection got involved, they might or might not accept the two of them coming along, and he didn’t trust anyone else.
“What he said,” Laura admitted with a weary sigh. “I firmly believe that de Sade is law enforcement. Given what you all now suspect about Jana, he might even be on this team.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Edward spat. “No one in the BAU is a serial killer. It’s preposterous. The Bureau has systems in place to ensure someone like that would never get in. What do you have against men, Ms. Rosen? I have long suspected that you don’t like men.”
Joe pointedly cleared his throat and stared between Rafe and Cam. Cam didn’t miss the way Laura’s mouth turned up.
Edward shook his head. “I didn’t say she was a lesbian. She uses men. Probably a great deal of them.”
“Says the misogynist,” Laura murmured.
Cam turned to Rafe, who seemed just as lost. He’d known Edward was an unctuous little prick, but not that he particularly had it out for Laura. Though now that he remembered back, he could see all the slight ways the senior special agent had tried to cut out the only female on the team. He was always putting down her intellect even as he praised her wardrobe or the way she wore her hair. Edward had tried to make her seem less than the men.
Edward leaned forward. “You weren’t able to prove that claim, were you, Ms. Rosen? You tried to put a black mark on my record, but it didn’t work.”
“Well, I did leave before my meeting with human resources. I guess that was lucky for you,” Laura replied.
Cam leaned in. “What did he do to you?”
“I’ve heard nothing of this,” Rafe said, standing up. “Why is Edward being allowed to question a witness with an outstanding complaint against him? He can’t exactly be unbiased.”
Joe’s bark quieted the room. “Neither can you, Kincaid. There’s nothing normal or routine about this fucking case. It involves a woman who used to be one of our own. Will you all sit down and shut up, or I swear this is going to be an empty room in two minutes. I will dismiss you, Special Agent, if you can’t keep your shit together.”
Rafe’s jaw clenched, but he visibly calmed and took his seat again.
“Brad, I would like to get this over with. Please continue.” Joe sat back, seemingly satisfied he’d gotten everyone on track again.
Brad pinned Laura with his stare. “I only have a couple more questions for Ms. Rosen.”
He was ready to get her the fuck out of here. “Make them quick.”
Brad sneered his way. “You’ll be the first to go when we start thinning out the room, Briggs.” He pulled a set of photos
from the folder.
He felt his stomach roll. He knew those photos. They were the same photos Rafe had been showing when Cam had found him in DC to tell him about Laura. They haunted him. Black and white. Stark. A woman in bondage, her unseeing eyes looking up at the camera. It didn’t matter that he couldn’t see the red of the blood. He could smell it. Acrid and coppery. He hadn’t been at the scene of this woman’s death, but he’d seen enough of this killer’s work firsthand to know what it had been like. Clinical and pristine, the Marquis de Sade didn’t leave evidence in his wake, merely death and heartbreak. Even prostitutes had people who missed them, loved them, mourned them forever. He’d come so close to being one of those left behind.
Brad’s voice cut through his introspection. “This is the woman we believe now to be the latest victim of the Marquis de Sade. You can’t see it in the black and white version, but she’s wearing the same lipstick he put on you. The same lipstick he puts on all his victims. This occurred after you left DC and refused to help further with the investigation. The Marquis de Sade is working again. Do you feel a certain culpability in her death?”
Rafe stood and, before anyone could do a damn thing, had his fist on his partner’s face. He pummeled the son of a bitch, and chaos reigned. The room exploded in shouting.
Joe yelled at the two men to stand down. Edward moved out of the line of fire. Brad tried to fight back, but Rafe was meaner and way angrier. The door to the room opened, and Nate Wright entered with his deputy, pulling the men off of one another. The room seemed overheated. It was too loud, too full of testosterone. Cam was about to jump into the fray when he looked down and saw Laura.
She sat as still as a doll, staring at those photos. Her eyes were locked, her mouth slightly open. Guilt was easy to read on her face.
As everyone continued to shout, Cam dropped to one knee. “No, baby, this isn’t your fault.”
She didn’t look at him, but a single tear dropped from her eyes and splashed on the table.
Nate finally managed to pull Rafe off the man who would almost assuredly be his ex-partner as soon as the Bureau could fill out the paperwork. Logan got Brad to his feet.
“I’ll call Doc. This one is pretty messed up.” Logan didn’t seem to be bothered by the blood. The big, might-be-on-steroids deputy looked down at Brad. “You talk to her like that again, and I’ll be the one fucking you up, you understand that?”
“Logan.” Nate said the word between clenched teeth, and Logan walked out of the room.
Joe scrubbed a hand through his hair as he stared at Rafe. “Damn it, Kincaid. You leave me no choice. You are off this case. You’ll catch the first flight back to DC, and I’ll deal with you when this is over.”
Rafe didn’t even blink. He pulled his gun and badge out and laid them on the table. “I quit. You’ll have a formal resignation tomorrow.”
Joe stared, widemouthed. “You’ve got ten years in, son. Are you sure you want to do this?”
Rafe swallowed once, but nodded. “One of us will be legally married to Laura as soon as possible. We’ll have full legal rights. You won’t be able to shut us out. If you try, I swear to god I’ll bring the press in, and someone out there will write a hell of a story about how the Bureau is harassing victims because they can’t get the job done. You will leave my wife alone.”
Joe turned to Laura. “You understand what he’s trying to do? He’s going to bully you. He’s going to shut you off somewhere and hope this all goes away. It hasn’t gone away, and it won’t.”
Laura turned those tear-filled eyes upward. “You want to use me as bait.”
“That is not going to happen.” Cam stood and did what he’d wanted to do from the moment he’d found out the feds were in town. He picked her up, hooking his arm under her knees and pulling her to his chest. She didn’t fight, but she didn’t exactly cuddle against him, either. “You can fuck yourself, Joe.”
“You going to run away again, Rosen?” Brad’s face was still bleeding.
Edward shook his head. “How many more women will die because you’re too scared to face him?”
Rafe started toward Edward. Cam was almost to the door when he heard Laura’s reply.
“I’ll do it.”
Chapter Thirteen
Rafe felt his stomach flip as he walked out of the interrogation room.
He’d quit his job. He didn’t have a job. He didn’t have a badge or a gun or a future.
Cam turned, and Rafe saw the only things he had left in this world. Laura and Cameron. His family. Well, he wasn’t about to let the only thing he had left slip through his fingers. “You will not be bait.”
“Rafe, not here.” Cam turned again. “Let’s get her home, and we can hash this out without an audience.”
God, where was he going wrong that Cam had to be the sensible one? His fist still ached from the battering he’d given Brad, but he would do it again. They had led her like a lamb to slaughter. He could see it now. They had beaten her down, gotten her emotional, and then pulled the final card out that sent her over the edge. They’d played her like a fiddle, and he was ready to kill them all.
What if one of them knew exactly what he was doing? What if one of them had been watching her with predatory eyes?
“Kincaid.”
He turned at the sheriff’s sharp bark. Wolf Meyer stood beside Wright. Rafe had a sudden bad feeling that the sheriff had let the SEAL watch things play out. Despite what Edward had said, he didn’t believe for an instant that Meyer had anything to do with this. “What is it? If you’re planning on telling me to get the hell out of your town, then you can think again.”
To his surprise, the sheriff smiled. “No, I was going to congratulate you on growing a pair. You should have done that a long time ago.”
“I knew he had a set when he took down that asshole. Conrad was snooping around Laura’s cabin, and this guy here gets the jump on him before I could. That’s saying something,” Wolf admitted.
The sheriff tilted his hat back and regarded him with an assessing stare. “There’s a town meeting concerning Laura. You need to be there. Town hall, seven o’clock.”
Wolf’s eyes rolled back. “Yeah, I have to go set up the computers. Just because mom and Mel are hiding out doesn’t mean they aren’t civic-minded. They intend to attend the meeting via the Internet, and since the Farley brothers messed up our cell tower, I have to do this all without using wireless. God, I long for a day when they can’t get hold of me from that bunker. Maybe I can somehow prove to Mel that aliens can get to him through his dial-up connection.”
Rafe promised the men he would be there. If he could get the whole town looking out for Laura, it might make things easier. They could look for someone who shouldn’t be there—only he was starting to believe that maybe the killer was already in Bliss.
He wanted to get Cam on the Edward angle right away. Rafe’s brain raced as he moved toward the parking lot. Laura and Edward had some sort of beef he hadn’t known anything about. Brad was acting like an ass. Brad had been around the Bureau for a long time before he joined the BAU. And Joe. God, was he actually wondering if his mentor was a serial killer?
He wouldn’t let it stop him. He would investigate every single one of them until he figured it out. This was what he should have done five years before.
Rafe slammed out of the double doors, practically running to keep up. He stopped in his tracks at what he saw. Standing right there in front of his SUV—crap, it was technically the Bureau’s SUV—stood Jana Evans, microphone at the ready. Cam had put Laura on her feet, and they both faced the tiny ball of spite.
“Would you like to tell our viewers about your experience with the Marquis de Sade?” Jana asked in a brisk, professional voice. She wore what had to be a thousand-dollar suit and killer stilettos, but there was a gauntness to her frame that utterly turned Rafe off. “We would all love to know how you managed to escape a killer who never makes a mistake.”
Cam stepped in front of Laura, h
is big body a barrier between her and the world. “You get the hell out of here. Move that van out of the way.”
“Not until I get my story, I won’t.” Jana shoved her microphone toward Laura’s face. “This is the one that puts me over the edge. I’ll get on at one of the cable giants after this.”
“Are you live?” Laura asked.
“No. The time difference wouldn’t work, but if you want to do a live shot, I can be back here for the eleven o’clock news at nine o’clock. We would have to broadcast then.” Jana practically vibrated with energy. “I would need to meet you a little earlier to get you ready.”
Rafe was about to forbid it when Laura nodded at Jana. “Come out to the town hall. We can do it there.”
She walked around the news van toward the SUV Rafe had driven out here. Rafe stopped in front of the reporter. “She’s not doing this.”
Jana gave him a tight-lipped smiled that came nowhere close to her eyes. Her icy blonde hair was in a tight, professional bun. It was so different from Laura’s natural honey color. “Laura always does what she wants to, Rafe. You should know that. She won’t listen to you now. See you tonight. Don’t think you’re getting on camera. I already have an FBI source.”
He bet she did.
Rafe hopped into the SUV right before Cam took off. Laura had taken the passenger seat, leaving him in the back. He leaned forward, trying to force his way into her space. “What was that about? You can’t go on television.”
Her stony face stared back at him. “Sure I can. It’s what they want. It puts a huge target on me.”
“You already have a target on your back,” Cam pointed out, his voice tight with tension.
“It will be a beacon when I’m done with that interview,” Laura replied.
He could guess what she was going to do. She was going to get on TV and taunt the Marquis de Sade. She would know exactly what to say to get his rage going. By the time she was done, there would be no question about him coming after her. It was everything those fuckers would want. “I forbid it.”