by Cynthia Eden
“We got the officers organized and took control of the case. That’s what happened.” She wouldn’t have thought the guy needed a point-by-point breakdown of a situation he’d seen plenty of times before. They’d talked with the cops, confirmed alibis, a very necessary step because they didn’t want the perp working with them. Unfortunately, they’d been there and done that before, too. They’d cleared officers and then they’d stopped wasting time. They needed boots on the ground, needed men searching, and that was exactly what they’d gotten.
“I’m talking about what happened when you saw Lily’s mother.”
It hadn’t been the mother who had gotten to her.
The little girl. She’d reminded Cadence too much of herself. She cleared her throat and said, “I didn’t want to give her any false hope.”
“You didn’t want to talk to her at all.”
No, she hadn’t. Cadence couldn’t afford to let emotion get in the way of her job. “The captain can interview her. He knows Lily’s mother. He has the connection already established with her.”
She climbed from the vehicle. A few other cars were scattered in the Striker’s parking lot, along with some pickup trucks and two motorcycles.
“Sometimes, people need hope in order to get them through the day.”
Careful now, Cadence glanced back over at Kyle. She made sure not to let any emotions show on her face. “Then you give them hope.”
A muscle flexed in his jaw.
In the next instant, he strode around the car, hurrying toward her. Cadence sped up her pace and marched toward the bar’s entrance. She didn’t want Kyle digging too deep right then. The case, the case. It was what mattered. Not her. Not him.
She yanked open the bar’s door. The interior of Striker’s was dim, but on the far right wall, she saw a line of big-screen TVs. Pool tables were scattered to the left. Dining tables waited in the middle.
Kyle’s hand closed around her elbow. “Why do you get to know all my secrets?” he demanded, his voice a low whisper in her ear. “But you never share yours.”
She kept her past buried deep inside.
His hold on her tightened. “You’re not going to get away with this forever, Cadence. One day soon, I’ll know everything about you.” A dark promise. One that sent a surging wave of sensual awareness through her.
Her head turned. He was just inches away. Big, strong, seeming to surround her. She’d tried so hard to avoid letting her personal feelings get in the way of their partnership.
But Kyle kept pushing her.
One day, she might push him back.
They were close enough to kiss then. She’d thought of kissing him before. Thought of a whole lot before. Late at night, when she couldn’t sleep, he was what she thought of.
What she wanted.
Wrong time, wrong place. That was their story. She pulled away and offered him a hard smile, “No, you won’t know everything, but keep dreaming.” I know I will. Then she made her way to the bar. A waitress was there, one with her long, dark hair pulled back in a ponytail.
The waitress smiled when she saw Cadence and Kyle. “What can I get you two?”
Cadence pulled out her ID. “We need to ask you some questions about another waitress who works here.”
The woman leaned across the bar. Her very abundant cleavage almost broke free of her small, white top. “You’re FBI?” Her brown eyes widened into minisaucers. “What’s the FBI doing here?”
“Lily Adams is missing,” Kyle said as he slid onto the stool beside Cadence.
The brunette gasped. “Lily? She was here last night!”
And she was gone today.
There was no point keeping Lily’s disappearance quiet. They actually needed to tell as many people as possible. The more eyes looking for Lily, the more hope they had of finding her. “Were you working the late shift with her last night?”
The woman, her name tag identifying her as Susannah Jane, nodded. Her gaze nervously flew back and forth between Cadence and Kyle.
“Did anything unusual happen here?” She gestured to the area behind her. “Did anyone cause trouble for Lily?”
Susannah Jane shook her head.
“Did any customers hit on her?” Kyle pressed. “Maybe some guy who didn’t want to take no for an answer?”
Susannah Jane licked her lips. “Guys are always hitting on us here. The more they drink”—a bitter laugh slipped from her—“the prettier we become.”
Susannah Jane was a pretty woman, but her eyes were hard and tired.
“Was there anyone in particular who liked to hit on Lily?” Kyle wanted to know.
“Lily was going through a divorce. She flirted, but she never carried it past that. There was no one.” Her shoulders trembled. “Lily’s gone?”
She seemed to have just understood how significant that was. Family and friends often had that delayed reaction as the pain and fear set in fully for them.
Susannah Jane’s fingers were shaking as she poured herself a—whiskey? Yes, that was what it looked like. She knocked the drink back fast.
Interesting. “Do you have any security cameras here?” Cadence asked.
Susannah Jane shook her head. Her fingers clenched around the empty glass.
“Where’s the employee exit?”
Susannah Jane pointed to the door on the right. “Lily parked her car out back, two spots over from the Dumpster.” She swallowed and her voice dropped as she said, “Always in the same spot.”
Cadence realized that would have been a pattern the perp could have easily noticed. “Were any other waitresses on duty last night?”
“Just me and Lily. Stacey and Leann are both sick. That’s why Lily had to pull the double.”
“If you think of anything else, call me, okay?” Cadence slid her card across the bar.
Susannah Jane stared at it a moment. Didn’t take it. “There’s nothing else.” Her voice was hoarse.
Cadence left the card on the counter. “You never know. You might remember something later.” She inclined her head. “Thanks for your help.”
Cadence and Kyle headed for the employee door. Susannah Jane was already reaching for her phone as they left. The card was still on the bar top.
The door took them to the back of the building.
“No lights,” Kyle muttered as he glanced around. “At night, this place would have been perfect for hunting.”
Too perfect.
Cadence slowly walked from the back exit over to Lily’s parking space. Her nose twitched at the acrid scent in the air. “Do you smell that?”
“Gasoline.” The one word was clipped.
Yes. Just past Lily’s parking space, long green grass grew in a wild tangle. She bent near the grass. “The scent’s stronger here.”
Kyle had followed her. “The SOB drained her gas, then dumped it here.”
Sure looked that way.
Cadence rose. “He was out here, waiting for her.” Or he’d even been in the bar, watching her.
Cadence turned around and stared at the long rear wall of Striker’s.
Why did you pick Lily?
What was it about Lily that had caught her abductor’s eye?
“He planned out every moment,” Kyle said, and she looked over to see him glaring at the parking space. “He could have taken her right here, if he’d wanted. It was so late, no one would have even noticed what was happening in the darkness.”
Cadence pulled in a slow breath. When she profiled, she used the victims to help her. She saw the killer through them.
But Kyle tried to get straight into the minds of the killers. Sometimes, he seemed to get into their minds almost too easily.
“He wanted her alone,” Kyle continued, his voice deepening. “Far away, so it didn’t matter if she shouted for help.”
Goose bumps rose on Cadence’s skin. She was conscious of the secure weight of the holster under her arm. “He was watching her out here.” He’d had to be. He’d emptied her tank,
made sure she would break down, and he’d followed her, waiting for the perfect moment to attack.
Waiting for that long, lonely stretch of road.
“He had it all planned out, every minute.” Kyle faced her. “He’s done this before.”
She was very afraid he had. “We’re already checking for missing persons.”
“We’re going to find them. Sonofabitch, we’re going to find them.”
The clench in her gut told Cadence that Kyle was right.
Heavy rope cut into her wrists and ankles. Lily had been jerking and twisting against the rope, and she’d made the skin raw and bloody beneath her binds.
He smiled as he stared down at her. He’d been so quiet when he came in. She didn’t even realize he was there.
Her blindfold was in place. Not because he didn’t want her to see him, but because he didn’t want her to see anything. Soon, Lily would learn he controlled her life. What she saw, what she heard, what she tasted.
What she felt.
Everything.
You’re mine, Lily.
She would never be free of him.
She was on the bed he’d prepared, hunching and turning on the bare mattress. She still wore her clothes, and he’d let her keep them, for a time.
Breaking prey too quickly could lead to disastrous results. He’d learned that over the years.
He stepped closer to her. He pushed against the wooden door, letting it creak so she’d realize she wasn’t alone.
At the faint sound, Lily stopped struggling. Seemed to stop breathing.
“Lily.” He whispered her name. He loved her name. Delicate, beautiful. Like she was.
Lily didn’t belong at Striker’s, waiting tables and serving drunk fools. She sure didn’t belong with the twisted SOB who cared about his drugs more than he cared about her.
Lily is mine. She belongs with me. He’d show her that.
Grunts and moans came from behind her gag. He could remove the gag, let her talk, let her scream. No one would hear her screams here.
No one ever heard the screams here.
In silence, he crossed to Lily’s side.
His fingers trailed over her cheek.
She jerked back, shuddering. More grunts. Moans.
He shook his head. “You have a lot to learn, Lily.” He bent and pressed a kiss to her temple. She tried to head butt him.
He smiled. One free pass, Lily. Punishment will come next. “It’s okay, I have plenty of time to teach you.”
Just as he’d taught the others.
If Lily didn’t learn her lessons, if she didn’t do exactly as she should…
She’d join the ones who’d disappointed him.
CHAPTER THREE
They’d spent hours searching the woods. Long, grueling hours of trudging through the heat. Chasing after the dogs.
They’d turned up nothing. Not even the faintest of scents had been detected by the canines. They’d searched the woods. Searched abandoned houses in the area. Old cabins. No matter where they went, they couldn’t find a trace of Lily.
Night had fallen. The heavy, thick darkness that Kyle knew meant—
“We have to stop searching for tonight,” James said as he ran a weary hand over his damp forehead. The captain had been alternating between checking in the town for Lily and combing the woods. The damn seemingly endless woods. “The men are exhausted, and the dogs are so worn out, they can’t track anymore.”
Not that there seemed to be anything to track.
Kyle figured Lily’s abductor had taken her away in a vehicle. There were no scents to track around Lily’s car. The guy must have taken her that way. After he’d gotten her in his car, the SOB could have just kept driving, leaving Paradox in his rearview mirror.
Lily’s face was being splashed across the TV screens in the Southeast right then. The FBI had opened a tip line for anyone who had information on her.
They were trying everything they could to find her, but so far, they were turning up nothing.
No prints had been found on her car—well, no prints other than Lily’s and her mother’s. The driver’s side door appeared to have been wiped clean. No one at Striker’s remembered seeing anything unusual the night she’d vanished.
No one could remember anything that would help Lily.
“We’ll be back out here at oh six hundred,” James said as he inclined his head toward Kyle.
Right, 0600. As soon as light streaked across the sky, the search would start again.
But what would happen to Lily during those dark hours?
What had already happened to her?
James turned away. He took a step and stumbled.
Kyle reached out and grabbed his arm to steady him. “You okay?”
A muscle flexed in James’s jaw. “Just a slip.”
Was it? Because Kyle had just noticed that the captain’s hands were shaking again, too. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”
James shook his head. “It’s been a long day, and I’m not quite as strong as I used to be.” He gave Kyle a grim smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back and ready to go tomorrow. I’m gonna help you find Lily and the SOB who took her.”
He knew James wanted justice. But the captain’s speech was a little ragged, and Kyle couldn’t help but wonder if more than exhaustion was weighing on the man.
When James left, Kyle stared at the twisted mass of woods. Voices rumbled behind him. Engines growled as vehicles drove away.
They were all leaving. What if she’s out there? What if we just need to search a little longer?
“We can’t find her tonight.” Cadence’s voice was low and steady. Almost soothing. He hadn’t even heard her approach. “I know you don’t want to stop the search, but it’s just for a few hours. The men can’t see.”
We don’t even know if she’s in these woods. Cadence didn’t say the rest, but she didn’t have to.
The words hung between them.
“There’s a small motel at the edge of town,” Cadence said. “I booked us rooms there.”
He turned away from the woods and saw Cadence standing there, with darkness all around her, lit only by the light spilling from the cars’ headlights.
“We can’t do anything else out here,” she said. “Not tonight.”
She was being so careful with him. Too careful.
“Don’t,” he bit out as he stalked toward her. The others weren’t close enough to overhear, so he could lower his guard and let some of his fury out.
Cadence shook her head. “Don’t what?”
He wanted to wrap his hands around her. To pull her close.
No, I just want to touch her. To feel her.
“Don’t handle me with your damn kid gloves, Cadence.” The words were snapped. “I’m not some victim you have to coddle.”
He’d rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt—like that had done much good. He was covered with grime and sweat and plenty of insect bites.
I fucking hate summers in the South.
Insects were chirping all around them, and he’d had to dodge snakes in the bushes for most of the evening.
“I never thought you were a victim.” Cadence turned from him and headed for the car.
She knew he’d follow her. Wasn’t he always trailing after her?
Wasn’t he the one who always kept the need in check? The desire he damn well knew they both felt.
After today—after this hell—why couldn’t they turn to each other for some comfort and release? Let that desire burst free?
Replace death with pleasure.
Cadence climbed into their vehicle and pulled the door shut behind her. Not a patrol car anymore. An SUV that James had arranged for them. Cadence was in the driver’s seat.
Jaw locked tight, he jumped in the vehicle with her.
“How do you do it?” Kyle demanded as they pulled away from the scene. He couldn’t help it, he looked back. Saw the darkness staring at him.
“Do what?�
� Her voice was soft, but when he looked back at her, Cadence’s grip on the wheel appeared a little too tight.
“You just walk away, and don’t look back.” She’d done it, time and time again. He’d seen her do it. “I mean, you’re supposed to be the one who knows the victims so well.” A snap of anger heated his voice. “Don’t you wonder what it’s like for Lily right now? What’s happening to her? How can you just give up?”
Give up.
The charge and the anger weren’t really for Cadence, he knew that. The rage was his own. He’d given up on Maria.
Now I’m attacking Cadence. For no reason.
“I don’t need to wonder.” Her whispered words carried easily to his ears.
“Why the hell not?”
“Because I know.” The vehicle picked up speed and rushed down the old road.
Past Lily’s abduction spot.
They kept going. Going.
Past the spot where Maria’s car had been abandoned so many years before.
“You don’t know,” he growled. Because she couldn’t. Cadence and her fistful of degrees. She’d done case studies. Read victim profiles, but she’d never been a victim. “Maybe you should pray you never do.” The words were low, vicious. Don’t do this to her. Not her. He fought to pull in his fury. Kyle grabbed hard for his control. He took a deep breath. Exhaled. In. Out. The drumming of his heartbeat seemed too loud to his ears. Don’t attack her when the rage should be aimed back at you. “Hell, I didn’t mean it, Cadence.”
She didn’t speak.
The miles flew past in the thick darkness.
“I need sleep.” He needed a whole lot more than that, but he’d take what he could get. Some crash time on a lumpy bed, and he’d be good to go again at 0600.
He wouldn’t be such a bastard to her. Once he had rest, and the desperation driving him ebbed—
“You think you know me.” Her words were so soft, he wasn’t even sure they were real at first. “But you don’t.”
Stiffening, Kyle glanced toward her.
“And I don’t know you.”
They didn’t speak again, not until they were pulling up at the side of the little motel on the edge of town. Big rigs lined the full lot, and when they went inside to the front desk, the kid with acne on his cheeks apologetically told them, “Sorry, folks, we only have one room left.”