Kevin approached her and held her face with his hands. “Well, I’m not ready to lose two of my officers. Especially you, Kelsey.” Kevin stared into her eyes, lost in his thoughts. “You’re different. Somehow, you’re different, and for the life of me, I don’t know why I’m so intrigued by you.” Without any warning, he lowered his mouth and softly kissed her.
Kelsey was completely thrown off-guard, and even found herself relaxing to his tender, comforting kiss. It was nice to feel safe and secure in Kevin’s strong arms. When she realized what was happening, she pushed away from him.
“What are you doing?” she asked, trying to catch her breath. She wasn’t prepared for the kiss, and she certainly wasn’t ready for the way it made her heart race.
Blinking a few times as if shocked himself, he said, “Sorry about that. I crossed the line there.” He turned away and walked toward the front door. “I want you to stop playing dangerous games. And that’s an order.”
As soon as the door closed behind him, Kelsey threw the mug of coffee she was holding. The glass shattered across the floor and the coffee splattered everywhere as Kelsey tried to take deep breaths.
Tom came running to investigate what was happening.
When he glanced up at her, she said, “I’m so mad! Does he think I can just sit around and do nothing?”
Tom purred in response.
Lowering herself down to the floor, Kelsey covered her face into her hands. She hated feeling this helpless. She didn’t know what was going on with her and Kevin. She didn’t know what Damien was doing showing up in her life again. And she had to come up with a better plan than just wait on the killer to come to her. It was like being a sitting duck. She had to be the one on attack and somehow, track him down.
Later in the day, Kelsey decided to head to the hospital where the victim was still receiving medical treatment. She knew she was technically “off duty,” but she wasn’t going to let that stop her. Before she could leave, the doorman called her from downstairs and reported that Jason was there to see her.
“Shit,” she whispered.
“I’m sorry?” asked the doorman. “Do you want him to come up?”
“Er, sure. Sorry about that,” Kelsey answered. She really didn’t want to deal with Jason, but also knew she couldn’t put it off any longer. He had tried to contact her several times, and now that he was actually here, she couldn’t avoid him.
When she heard the knock, Kelsey opened the door. Jason stood there with his crew cut, dark hair and smiling green eyes.
“Hey, beautiful. You gonna let me in?” He winked.
“Of course. Come on in, Jason.” Kelsey forced a smile.
“Listen, I’m sorry about your partner. Sean was it?”
“No. His name was Sammy, Jason. His name was Sammy,” Kelsey said, now even more irritated.
“Right! I had only met him a couple of times. Come here, honey.” Jason pulled her into his arms.
Instantly, Kelsey tightened up, not wanting his comfort. “Jason, I don’t want to talk about this right now.”
“Okay, fine. How come you haven’t been returning my calls?”
“I didn’t feel like talking to anybody.” Kelsey pulled herself out of his hold and walked into the kitchen. “You want anything to drink?”
“Not really. Listen, let me take you out for dinner or drinks or something. It’s past five o’clock, so we can just have an early dinner. Let’s just get out of here. Maybe it’ll make you feel better.”
Kelsey shook her head. “I don’t want to, Jason. Honestly, I’m in no mood for company.”
“Kelsey, I haven’t seen you in three weeks. You don’t return my calls. I drive out of my way to come and check on you, and you’re still giving me the cold shoulder.”
Kelsey clenched her jaw, not in the mood for his lectures. “Look, Jason. I don’t think this is going to work. I mean, we tried, but it’s just not there.”
“What are you saying, Kelsey?” Jason narrowed his eyes, waiting for her next words.
“It’s not like we were in a relationship. I’m just saying that whatever we had is not going to work. You’re a nice guy, but I’m not the girl for you. I think we need to go our separate ways.”
Jason’s lips formed a thin line as he took a deep breath. “You can be a real bitch, Kelsey, you know that? All these months, not only did you hold back physically, but also emotionally. I told myself that you just needed some time. I’ve tried to be patient, but man, was I wrong about you.”
“Get out, Jason. Just get out.” Kelsey was done listening to him. When Jason slammed the door behind him, she released her breath she was holding. She had never seen Jason become angry like that and call her names. It was probably good she saw his true colors.
Grabbing her jacket, she headed to the hospital. When she reached the victim’s room, one of her fellow officers was guarding the door.
“Hey, Hubert. How is the victim doing today?” she asked.
“Taylor? What are you doing here? Aren’t you on leave?” Officer Hubert looked around nervously.
“Yeah, but I wanted to check on her.”
“She wakes up and goes back to sleep. She’s pretty messed up. I think it’s gonna take a long time to heal from whatever that bastard put her through.”
“Listen, I want to go in and talk to her,” Kelsey said, keeping her tone low.
Tim Hubert’s eyes widened, and immediately he shook his head no. “I can’t allow that. You know that, Kelsey.”
“Tim, please. I lost Sammy for God’s sake. You can’t imagine the pain of losing your partner, but I know you understand. I have to speak with her. Maybe I can get her to talk.”
“I don’t know…I don’t want to lose my job.”
“I won’t tell anybody. Just let me in for five minutes. That’s all I need.”
Tim looked to both sides of the hallway, checking to see if anybody was watching. “Fine, just make it quick.”
Kelsey hastily snuck into the room, only to see the young girl on the bed hooked to multiple tubes. Lisa’s eyes were closed as Kelsey approached her. Seeing her swollen face, bruises all over her body, and bandaged areas everywhere she was cut, Kelsey’s rage toward the killer magnified. How could anybody be this sick?
She reached for Lisa’s hand and caressed it softly. “Hey, Lisa. It’s Kelsey Taylor. I was the officer who found you. You are now safe. I hope you know that.” When Lisa didn’t respond, Kelsey continued, “Can you hear me, Lisa? I need to ask you some questions. I want to find the bastard who did this to you, but I need your help. Only you can help me. Please, please open your eyes if you can hear me.”
After a few seconds, Lisa reluctantly opened her eyes and turned toward Kelsey. “I’m scared,” she whispered.
“Don’t be scared. You’re in a hospital now. You’re protected, I promise. Can you share anything about the person who did this to you?”
Lisa shook her head, tears slipping out. “No, he’ll come after me.”
“No, no, Lisa. You must believe me. You are now safe. We’ll keep you protected. You trust me, don’t you? You remember me when I found you? You remember my voice?”
“Yes, you said you’d save me and that you wouldn’t leave me.”
“Yes, that was me. See, I got you out of there. But now, I need your help. I don’t want him to hurt anybody else again. Please tell me what he looked like,” Kelsey urged.
“I never saw him. He always had a blindfold on me. He was pure evil. I swear, he was the devil himself.”
Kelsey squeezed her hand. “I’m so sorry this happened to you. You need to know that you’re the only one who has made it out alive once captured by this man. We believe he’s the same person who has been torturing and killing other innocent women. We have to stop him. Can you remember anything at all? What about when he first got you? How did he kidnap you?”
“I was working the streets, and it was really late.” Lisa stopped, having difficulty talking from the pain. When Ke
lsey nodded encouragingly, she continued, “Next thing I knew, somebody grabbed me from behind and had a gun to my head. He then threw me in the car. At first, I wasn’t too worried because some freaks like to roleplay like that. I guess they get off on it or something.”
“So, you never saw him?”
“No, he then hit me on the head with something, and I must have blacked out. Next thing I remember was being tied up and blindfolded. He brought me to that place where you found me.”
“Okay, did he say anything to you? Anything that could give us some information?”
“Not much. He would laugh this awful laugh every time he hurt me. At first, he kept teasing me. I begged him to let me go, but he told me my time on earth was ending soon. It was horrible.” Lisa bit her bottom lip as the tears continued to roll.
As Lisa shivered with fear, Kelsey closed her eyes, trying to find the strength to keep asking her for information. “Did he have any type of accent?”
“I was too scared to notice.”
“Did he have facial hair or anything about his body you noted? Was he bony, fat? How tall do you think he was?” Although Lisa had not seen the guy, Kelsey knew she was raped numerous times by him. She would have at least felt his body against her.
“He wasn’t skinny or fat, and he seemed tall. He would kiss my face, but I don’t remember any facial hair.”
“How long were you there?”
“They told me I was missing for three days. I lost count.”
“Was he with you the entire time?”
“No, he’d leave. He’d gag me before leaving, so I couldn’t even scream. He’d return much later. I think it was in the evenings because it would be cooler whenever he returned. Then, he would hurt me…in the worst ways. After he would be done having sex with me, he’d hurt me with a knife. When I screamed in pain—which was hard to do because of the gag around my mouth—he would laugh. He enjoyed watching me suffer. I think the more I suffered, the more it turned him on. And then he’d have sex with me again, no matter how badly it hurt.” By then, Lisa’s entire body was visibly trembling while she continued to wipe away the tears.
“When he had sex with you, did he ever ejaculate inside you? Do you know?” Kelsey knew these were tough questions for Lisa, but she needed to know everything.
“He always put on a condom before entering me. I know that because he said he was not trying to throw everything away by making silly mistakes. He said he also didn’t want to catch any type of diseases from sluts like me.”
Kelsey had to look away so Lisa wouldn’t see that her own eyes had dampened from unshed tears. Toughening up, she turned back to her. “Is there anything else at all you remember about him that can help? Like did he say he had a job? If he had a family? What he did when he wasn’t with you?”
“I don’t know. He said nothing about his personal life.”
Before Kelsey could inquire further, the door opened and Tim peeked in. “Time’s up, Taylor.”
Kelsey nodded to him. Turning back to Lisa, she said, “Listen, if you think of anything else, tell Officer Hubert to contact me. Don’t tell anybody else. He’ll call me.”
“Will you come visit me tomorrow?” Lisa grabbed her arm.
Kelsey looked at Tim, begging him with her eyes. Reluctantly, he nodded. “Same time tomorrow,” he mouthed.
“Of course, Lisa. I’ll be back tomorrow evening, but I don’t want you to tell anybody. I don’t think I’m allowed in here.”
“Okay, I understand. Thank you,” Lisa whispered, attempting a smile but then grimacing in pain.
Kelsey stood up, her heart heavy. In a way, she could relate to Lisa. Poor girl had nobody, and unlike Kelsey, she ended up choosing the life of drugs and prostitution. Kelsey knew that could have been her path in life. She just got lucky.
He watched her as she approached her apartment building. It was already dark, and she was roaming the streets by herself. He could easily crush her right now if he wanted. He would have so much fun watching her suffer.
No, but it wasn’t the right time. She was different than the other girls. The other girls had fear in their eyes. He enjoyed watching the fear turn into desperation when they knew death was inevitable.
He clenched his hands into tight fists as Kelsey Taylor entered her building. She didn’t have the fear like the other girls. In an odd way, he actually respected her. Even admired her for having the guts to challenge him. Maybe he even liked her. Liked her? Hmm, that was a strange emotion for him.
A slow menacing smile formed at the thought of what he could do with her. He would enjoy breaking her. Yes, he would handle it differently with her. He would play her little game, get inside her head, and finally torture her to the point where she would beg for death.
Thirteen
Thoughts of Lisa had lingered ever since Kelsey left the hospital. Instead of going straight home, she had gone for a long walk, trying to sort out her feelings. Even now, as the hot stream of the shower encased her, she shuddered at what that poor girl had gone through during her captivity. It made Kelsey even more determined than ever to find the killer.
She was successful at getting some information from Lisa, but not enough. There had to be something more. Something Lisa may have forgotten. Knowing she needed to go back to the crime scene and check it out for herself, Kelsey contemplated how to do such a thing without being detected.
Putting black jeans and black hoodie on, Kelsey decided she would check it out later that night. At least she could drive by and see if there was a patrol car. If she were lucky, maybe she could even sneak in the building. She knew she was playing a dangerous game, but she was desperate.
Surprised to hear a knock on her door, Kelsey pulled her gun out. She wasn’t expecting anybody, especially at eleven o’clock at night. When she heard Tom hissing, she wondered if it could be Damien.
“It’s Damien, Kelsey.”
She released a sigh of relief when she heard his voice. At least this was a predictable behavior from him, and he wasn’t a complete stranger to her.
Swinging the door open, she said, “What do you want?”
Kelsey had difficulty focusing for a brief moment at the sight of him. His powerful body filled the doorway as his striking looks distracted her. His cocky grin teased her, and his dark eyes danced mischievously. It was all she could do to force herself out of the trance and not make a complete fool out of herself.
“Can I come in?” he asked, bringing Kelsey back down to reality.
As much as she wanted to slam the door in his face, a part of her was happy to see him. Stepping out of the way, she allowed him to enter. “Why are you coming to my place in the middle of the night again? Didn’t I tell you how much I hated that?”
“Are you going to put that gun and your cat away?” Damien asked as he walked into the living room with Tom growling behind him.
“Answer me this. Are you going to hurt me?” she asked.
“No, I promise you, I won’t hurt you,” Damien answered, his voice soft.
Hearing the truth in his words, she placed the gun back in the holster. She then picked up Tom, who was still hissing at Damien, and took him into her bedroom.
“I know you hate him. Don’t worry. I’ll get rid of him soon,” she whispered.
“I heard that,” Damien said as she put Tom in the room and closed the door.
“You were supposed to hear that.” Kelsey turned to face him. She pulled her cell phone out and snapped a picture of him.
“What are you doing, Kelsey?” he asked, folding his arms across his chest.
“I’m going to do a background search on you since you won’t tell me anything.”
Damien rolled his eyes. “I suppose you want my fingerprints as well?” he asked sarcastically.
“Sure, why not?” Kelsey brought her fingerprint kit out of her briefcase. She was glad that her department had given every officer the kits to use if necessary.
Damien chuckled under his breath.
“Whatever you wish, Kelsey. I promise you, though, you won’t find any information on me.”
“We’ll see.” Carefully, she took his prints and safely put the kit away.
“Let me know what you find out.” Damien was still laughing under his breath while he walked around the sofa and sat down. “I like this new apartment much better than the old one. I also like that you’ve got a doorman downstairs for security.”
“Speaking of…how did you get past him again?” Kelsey knew the doorman was supposed to call her before allowing anybody to come up.
“I’ve got my ways,” Damien teased. “You look great, Kelsey. The past four years have done you well. You’re different…stronger and more confident. I’m impressed.”
“Let’s cut through the chase, Damien. You said you wanted to talk. What do you want to talk about?”
He sighed and turned to face her. “I’m going to be honest. I’m here because I was worried about you. I’m sure losing your partner hasn’t been easy. I had to make sure you were okay.”
“I’m fine. I’m not the same helpless, pathetic girl you met four years ago.” Kelsey remembered how she had poured her heart out to him. She had never shared her deepest secrets with anybody else, not even Sammy.
“Do you want to talk about what happened to your partner?” Damien asked.
Horrified at his suggestion, Kelsey snapped, “No! Why would I talk with you about it? I don’t even know you! Have you lost your mind?”
“Fine, but have you talked with anybody else about it?”
Kelsey remained silent for several seconds. Taking a deep breath, she answered, “This is not your concern. Not at all. Again, what do you want to talk about?”
“I want to explain. But, I’m not quite sure what to say.”
“Explain what? Why you claim that you don’t have a last name? Why you’ve disappeared for four years? Why you suddenly showed up in my life again? Why you’ve been lying about that night four years ago? What are you trying to explain?” Kelsey asked, tapping her foot.
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