by Cynthia Eden
Fear was etched across Evelyn’s face.
“I was out of control yesterday. So upset about Trent. I—” Evelyn sucked in a deep breath. Her shaking hands hit the counter, sending the café au lait crashing to the side. “I should never have gone to the media. I was just hurting so much.”
This was an Evelyn that Katherine had never seen before. Usually the psychiatrist was so controlled.
But emotions were pouring out of the woman now.
Katherine slowly sat back down on the stool. A waitress slid a fresh mug of café au lait toward her.
“I think he was in my house.”
“Something for you, miss?” the waitress asked, cutting in.
Evelyn looked blankly at her.
“Get her the same,” Katherine said softly.
“When I got home last night, my front door was unlocked.” Evelyn’s eyes were bright with tears. “Is he coming after me? Because of what I did to you?” Her voice was a stark whisper that carried only to Katherine.
“I don’t know what he’s doing,” Katherine said.
Another mug was pushed forward. Evelyn’s hands were shaking so hard that she spilled more of the hot liquid. Katherine tried to help her wipe it up.
“I don’t want to die.” Evelyn wasn’t looking at her as the shrink made the confession.
Neither do I.
“Should I leave town?” Evelyn took a sip of her drink. “Will I be safe then?”
Katherine drank some of her own café au lait as she tried to think. She’d tried fleeing and getting a new identity, but Valentine had still tracked her.
“I won’t be safe then, will I?” The hope had bled from Evelyn’s voice.
Katherine glanced at her. “Dane and Mac are going to find him. They found evidence of a drug he used on his victims—”
Evelyn’s eyes widened.
“They’re tracking it,” Katherine said. “We just have to—” Stay alive until they stop him. No, she couldn’t say that. Katherine drank more of her café au lait. She put the nearly empty mug back down. “Don’t stay by yourself. Go to a friend’s, a relative’s. Get police protection.”
“I have it,” Evelyn confessed as her eyes cut to a man in a nearby booth.
Katherine’s temples began to throb. Evelyn in Valentine’s crosshairs? First Trent, now Evelyn. No wonder the woman was scared.
Katherine was terrified for her.
“Hearing about him was one thing,” Evelyn whispered. “Our sessions, that was different.” She grabbed Katherine’s hand. Held tight. “I don’t want to be one of his victims.”
Katherine swallowed. The throbbing in her temples was getting worse. “Do you have relatives out of town you can stay with?”
Evelyn nodded.
“Then go to them.” Just because he’d followed Katherine didn’t mean he’d follow Evelyn. Maybe once she was out of town, his focus would shift back to—
Me.
“How have you done it?” Evelyn asked as she raked a hand through her hair. “All of these years, knowing he was hunting you…”
“It was hard to stay sane,” Katherine confessed. “Guess that’s why I wound up seeing you.”
Evelyn blinked, as if surprised, and a ghost of smile tilted her lips.
The jingle came from the diner’s door once more.
Katherine glanced over. This time Ben was in the doorway, with his blonde girlfriend by his side.
She had to talk to him. Needed to warn him, too.
“Excuse me,” Katherine murmured, but the words sounded funny to her ears.
Katherine tried to stand up, but her knees gave way. She hit the floor with an impact that jarred her whole body.
Her hands pushed weakly against the tile, but she couldn’t get up.
“Katherine?” Ben was rushing toward her.
“Katherine!” Evelyn crouched in front of her. “What’s happening?”
The plainclothes cops were rushing up behind Evelyn.
Then Evelyn became a blur. Katherine’s eyes began to roll back in her head. Her body shook, convulsing.
“She’s seizing!” Evelyn yelled. “Call an ambulance!”
Hard hands were on Katherine, holding her down, but her body kept bucking. A rough, bitter taste was in her mouth, and her heart was racing so fast. Too fast.
“Katherine?” The voice came from her right. She tried to focus but couldn’t see anything.
“Katherine, it’s Ben. Hold on, okay? Joe’s calling an ambulance right now.”
Ben. She needed to warn Ben. “Kill…”
“What is she saying?” Ben asked. “Katherine, say it again.”
“Run…” Run from the killer. Valentine is in town. I don’t want anyone else hurt.
No one else under his knife.
But she couldn’t tell Ben that. She couldn’t say anything, because when she tried to speak, she started to choke.
“Clear her airway!” That voice belonged to one of the cops. Then a hand was under Katherine’s chin. She attempted to suck in air but couldn’t.
She couldn’t breathe at all.
And she stopped hearing the voices around her.
“Katherine?”
Someone squeezed her hand.
There was a buzz of voices.
Doors slammed.
“You’re gonna be okay, all right? Maggie, call your dad. Let him know what’s happening.” The voice was deep and male, and she recognized it.
Her world started to move—no, she was moving. Being loaded into…something. An ambulance?
“I’ll stay with her,” the voice said, and then he was there. Ben, frowning down at her. “I used to be an EMT,” he said, and she realized that an EMT was on her right, pushing a needle into her arm.
Katherine flinched.
“It’s okay. Hey, hey, keep those eyes open!” Ben snapped.
She wanted to, but it was so hard.
His fingers squeezed hers.
“Are you having an allergic reaction to something?” Ben asked her. “Did something—”
She managed to shake her head.
“Poison, drugs…” The other man was talking, but she could barely make out his words.
Her heart wasn’t beating quickly now. It was beating too slowly.
A siren wailed.
Her fingers were still twined with Ben’s. “You’re going to be all right,” Ben told her. “Just hang on. I’ll keep you safe.”
Her eyes couldn’t stay open any longer.
Dane’s eyes swept Trent Lancaster’s bedroom. Nothing in the house was out of place. He’d hoped to find some evidence there that could tell him if Trent had been watched or stalked in the days leading up to his attack.
The phone on his hip vibrated. Dane put the phone to his ear. “Black.”
“Get to Mercy General,” the captain’s voice ordered. “Get there now.”
“What’s happening?”
Mac looked over at him, obviously catching the tight note in Dane’s voice.
“Maggie just called.”
Maggie. Harley’s daughter.
“She was at a café in the Quarter. Katherine was there—”
Why the hell would Katherine—
“Katherine collapsed. She’s being taken to the hospital now. Maggie knew who she was, she’d seen the stories, and she called because she was scared Valentine might have targeted Katherine.”
Dane was already running for the door.
Katherine’s throat hurt. Her stomach ached, and the bitter taste in her mouth had only grown worse.
Her eyes opened to a world of white. White ceiling. White walls. A bright, white light overhead.
Someone was holding her hand.
Ben. Ben had been holding her hand in the ambulance.
She turned her head, but Ben wasn’t there.
Dane was.
And he looked haggard. Dark shadows were under his eyes, and the lines near his mouth looked deeper.
But when he looked into
her eyes, a smile swept over his face. “You’re back.”
“Where…did…I…” Oh, but her throat hurt. “Go?”
“Away from me.” He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her lips. “And I want you to promise never, ever to fucking do that again.” Dane pushed the call button on the side of the bed.
She tried to shift in the bed. “How did…I…?”
“You were drugged, Katherine.” Fury burned in his eyes, flashing as his hand tightened on hers. “A damn deadly mix designed to take you out. But the doctors worked some fucking miracles here.”
Had they pumped her stomach? Was that why her throat and stomach hurt so much?
“You pulled through.”
He kissed her again, as if he couldn’t help himself. “I’ve never been that scared.” He whispered the stark confession.
“How—” Katherine began again.
“We think it was in the drink you had. We’ve got Joe at the station, and Mac is going to grill that bastard.”
“Not…Joe…” He hadn’t even given her the café au lait, had he? It was so hard to remember.
The door opened, and a woman holding a white clipboard bustled inside. She smiled when she saw Katherine. “You’re awake.” Her warm brown eyes cut to Dane. “I told your detective that you would be, but he insisted on staying by your side.”
Her heart was beating faster, and the monitors on the right picked up the frantic sound.
The doctor came closer. “You’re going to be fine, Ms. Cole. You were very lucky. The fentanyl was mixed with several drugs to—”
“Fentanyl,” Katherine repeated. The monitors were beeping like mad now.
The doctor nodded and started talking about why Katherine had convulsed. The mixture of drugs. The intensity…
Katherine barely heard her. Katherine’s gaze had turned back to Dane. “He came for me,” she whispered. Valentine had given her the same drug that he’d used on his other victims.
He tried to kill me?
She lifted her left hand. An IV line was hooked in the vein on the top of her hand. Her fingers rose and hovered over her heart.
She could almost feel the slice of Valentine’s knife.
“I don’t think he meant for you to go under so fast,” Dane said. “He was probably planning to get you as soon as you left the diner.”
Only she’d never made it out of the diner.
He tried to kill me.
The doctor started checking the monitors near Katherine.
“He was there,” Katherine said. Her voice was stronger even as fear thickened within her. She tried to remember the customers in the diner. Others had been close to her at the counter, but she’d barely glanced at them. She’d been so busy talking to Evelyn. “Evelyn…”
“She stayed at the hospital for more than four hours, waiting until we were sure you were all right.” He brushed back her hair. “I had a uniform take her back home.”
Katherine didn’t think Evelyn would be staying at her home long. The woman was terrified, and after this attack, well, Katherine figured Evelyn would be packing her bags as quickly as she could.
The doctor eased from the room.
“I’m scared,” Katherine confessed to Dane.
A muscle jerked in his jaw.
“He drugged me.” She shook her head. A bitter smile curved her lips. “I guess this means Marcus has to rework his profile.” He’d always been so sure that Valentine wouldn’t hurt her.
Had she been sure of it, too?
No, she’d always thought…someday, he’ll come for me.
That day had come.
“I want you to go with Ross.”
She blinked, surprised.
“He’s already working on a new cover for you. I want you to leave with him as soon as you’re cleared from the hospital.” Dane gave a quick nod. “You’ll be out of New Orleans by nightfall. You’ll be safe.”
Another name, another place? “He’ll just find me.”
“Not before I find him.”
“I don’t want to go through this.”
“I thought you were dead.” The words were rough. “When I saw you in the ER, you were so still and pale, and I thought the doctors weren’t going to be able to save you.”
Fear whispered in his words.
“I don’t want to feel that way again. I’m not using you as bait. I’m fucking not using you at all. You’re going with Ross. He’s going to keep you safe until this is over.”
She tried to push up in the bed, and, instantly, Dane was on his feet. Helping her. Supporting her. “I go, and what happens?” She licked her dry lips. “He gets angry and goes after someone else who happened to be in my life? I don’t want any more deaths on me!”
“And I don’t want you dead.”
A rap sounded at the door.
Dane looked up at a uniform who had poked his head in the door.
“The captain’s here,” the cop said. “And some more visitors with him.”
Dane gave a grim nod. Like he could refuse the captain’s entrance.
Then the door was swinging open, and Harley was striding inside. Ben was behind him, with his arm around the shoulders of the pretty blonde—wait, Maggie. Her name was Maggie.
What were they all doing together?
“You gave us all a scare,” Harley said quietly.
“I scared myself,” Katherine managed.
Ben eased away from Maggie and came closer to the bed. He had some tulips in his hand. “Maggie and I wanted to bring these to you. We hope you get out of here soon.”
Ben. He’d helped her at the diner. He’d held her hand in the ambulance.
“Thank you,” Katherine whispered. Her body had tensed at the sight of the flowers. Not roses, no, but she couldn’t look at any flowers without remembering Valentine. Couldn’t enjoy the scent or the sight.
For her, flowers were too tied to Valentine. Maybe one day it would be different but…Katherine couldn’t even bring herself to reach out and take the tulips.
His head inclined toward her. “I wasn’t about to let anything happen to you.” He gave her a small smile. “You can count on me.” Then he carefully put the tulips on the small table near the bed.
Tears threatened to fill her eyes. When she hadn’t been looking, she’d found friends.
“This is my daughter,” Harley said as he glanced toward Maggie. “She called the station, and you can believe we all busted ass getting to you.”
Katherine’s gaze slid to Dane.
“I couldn’t get here fast enough,” he muttered.
“Who gave you the drink?” Harley asked her. “Do you remember what happened?”
“Bits and pieces.” Tiny pieces. “I spilled my first drink, and I think the waitress brought the second one to me.”
Harley exchanged a hard look with Dane. “We’ve got techs searching that whole café, but so far, the only traces of fentanyl or any other drugs we can find were just in your cup.”
“That café was packed,” Maggie whispered. “So many people…”
“And some of them slipped out before we could secure the scene. The cops got as many contacts as they could, and they’re interviewing all those that they were able to hold at the café. We will figure out who drugged you.” Harley was adamant.
“But in the meantime, what?” Katherine asked. She pulled the thin hospital sheets up higher. “Dane wants me to leave, but I am so tired of running. Exhausted.”
Another rap at her door. She looked up, expecting to see the uniform showing Ross inside next. With the marshal, it would be quite the little party.
But Ross wasn’t there. It was the uniform, his face grim. “Flowers,” he said, his voice tight.
Not just any flowers. He was holding roses in his hands.
The monitors started to beep frantically once more.
“Nurse just brought them,” the cop said. “I thought—”
“Captain, stay with her,” Dane snapped as he rushed from the
room.
And Katherine realized that Valentine wasn’t ever going to stop his games. Not until she was dead.
Or he was.
“Katherine?” Ben hadn’t moved. Maggie stood by him, looking nervous.
She didn’t blame her.
The sweet scent of the roses made the whole room smell of death. Nausea twisted in Katherine’s stomach. “You should go,” she managed to say to Ben and Maggie. “Please, you need to stay away from me.”
Maggie edged back. As a police captain’s daughter, she would understand just how dangerous the world could be.
Ben’s heavy brows lowered.
But Harley pushed them toward the door, even as he yanked out his cell and started barking orders for others to come to the hospital room.
And the uniform kept standing there, holding the flowers.
Bloodred.
“How many are there?” Katherine asked.
The uniform blinked.
“Count the roses,” Harley snapped at him.
“Eleven, sir.”
Eleven. That meant one was saved, as it always was, for the victim’s hand.
– 15 –
“I want you to pack your bags,” Dane said as he opened the passenger-side door for Katherine. “We’re going into your house, getting what you need, and then getting you the hell out of here.”
The fucking flowers. The bastard had actually been ballsy enough to send them to the hospital. The nurse had told him that a flower delivery boy gave them to her, and the surveillance videos verified it. The videos had verified a fucking ton of rose deliveries. For Valentine’s Day, what else were people going to send? Roses. Every damn place. In nearly every room at that hospital.
After some hard digging, they’d tracked the delivery back to an overworked florist on Chartres. The florist had the order in his books—along with more than two hundred other orders for a dozen roses—but that particular charge had been an Internet order, one that used a stolen credit card. Their techs at the office were trying to follow the IP address for that order, but so far, hell, they had nothing.
And I want Katherine out of here.
“He’s going to follow me,” Katherine said. “He’ll always follow me.”