Dead Don't Lie

by L. R. Nicolello

Burning, possessive lips crushed hers. His heart hammered against her chest, and she felt his heat pressed against her. All hesitation vanished. Her mouth parted, inviting him closer. He didn’t waver, answering ravenously. She sensed his feverish pitch and matched him.

  Passion for passion.

  She shoved off his jacket, went for his shirt, then his belt. They stumbled and fell into a heap on the sofa. He slid his knees on either side of Evelyn, pinning her underneath him. She smiled, reached up and lowered his face to hers. Kissing him hard, she tasted the tartness of her favorite Malbec and felt the softness of his tongue. He murmured her name against her mouth as she entwined her fingers in his curls, tugging him closer.

  He stopped, yanked his shirt over his head and let it drop on the floor. Eyes locked with hers, he stood and kicked off his shoes, then unzipped and slipped off his jeans. Her mouth dropped open as she blatantly stared.

  His broad shoulders rose and fell with each breath. Tight muscles rippled down his perfectly proportioned frame. He was beautiful. He was all man.

  And all hers.

  She sat up and extended her hand toward him, desperate to touch the bronzed, solid body in front of her. Mesmerized, she rose from the sofa and yanked at her shirt, anxious to feel his skin against hers. He grabbed her hand and pushed it away.

  Her brows furrowed. Was he changing his mind?

  He shook his head and grinned. “I’ll take care of that.”

  She smiled and raised her arms, allowing him to slowly pull her tank up and off her body. His fingertips skimmed her skin, the feathery touch sending heat through her veins. Without breaking her gaze, he tugged her yoga pants off, then her panties. The air felt cool against her exposed skin.

  His hands slid down her arms. He brushed his fingers along her waist, back up her ribs and skimmed his hand between her breasts. Evelyn squirmed as with one hand, he swept his fingers down her hips. He cupped her breast with the other. She shivered at his light touch and reached out to stroke his taut stomach. She tried to move closer, eager to feel his body against hers—skin to skin.

  He shoved her hands away again, lowered his head to her neck and trailed his lips from her ear down her throat. A soft groan escaped her as she went from simmering to boiling in T-minus two seconds.

  Marcus lowered them to the plush carpet in front of the fireplace. He pushed her onto her back, crawled after her and gently spread her legs wide with his knee. She threw her arms around his neck and hungrily tugged him to her, kissing him with a ferocious desire she didn’t know she possessed.

  And she was. Possessed. By him.

  As the fire crackled, he caressed her face, looking into her eyes before devouring her mouth again. He matched her passion, satisfied her need. She pulled away, breathless. Her fingers followed the muscles in his shoulders as his lips memorized every inch of her body.

  “You’re so beautiful,” Marcus whispered into her ear.

  He caught her wrists in one hand and yanked her arms over her head. Pinning her, he lowered his head and kissed her again. Then traced her collarbone with his tongue. Her body arched at the sensual touch. He peppered her with soft kisses and worked his way south. Her breath hitched.

  She couldn’t wait. Wanted more. Craved it all. Now.

  Wriggling free of his grasp, she reached down and pulled him back up to meet her mouth. He held his rock-hard body over hers as she kissed him. He was close enough for her to feel his warmth without overwhelming her under his weight.

  But that wasn’t enough. She needed him on her, in her, surrounding her, filling her.

  “I want you now.” She clutched his neck and crushed him to her, kissing him hard.

  He chuckled against her lips. He drew away, looked down at her and grinned. “With pleasure.”

  She wrapped her leg around him and lifted her hips as his hard body crashed into hers. They moved as one in perfect sync, as if they’d always known each other. Heat tore through her, melted her insides. Desperation drove her against him.

  Their shared rhythm intensified, and they rode the swell until it exploded. Evelyn moaned a helpless cry of release, pushing harder, and dug her nails into Marcus’s back. She held on as if he were a lifeline. Marcus dropped his head to her shoulder and shuddered.

  Her blood thumped loudly in her ears as she caught her breath. Marcus kissed her forehead, then gently lowered himself onto her. She breathed in his smell and they lay like that for a moment before he rolled to the side, wrapping his arm around her and tucking her against him. Evelyn’s body curved into his and he kissed the top of her head.

  “Whoa,” he murmured into the back of her neck.

  Evelyn smiled, turned over and snuggled herself into the crook of his shoulder. She lazily traced her finger across his chest muscles. She felt his heartbeat skip, then steady and fall in line with hers. The fire popped and hissed. She smiled. Whoa was right. She couldn’t have agreed more.

  He gently swept her hair away, exposing her bare shoulder, and gently pressed his lips to her skin. The touch was feathery and he traced his fingers down her side, following the curves of her body. Then he shifted, and her eyes widened as he stood. Her heart took off as she sized him up and saw his eagerness. “Really? Again?”

  “Really.”

  A startled gasp escaped her mouth as he suddenly scooped her into his arms. “Sweetheart, that was just to get it out of our systems. Now I’m going to show you a really good time.”

  Because that wasn’t a good time? Holy crap.

  She threw her arms around his neck, showering him with tender kisses as he carried her up the stairs.

  * * *

  THE NEXT MORNING, Evelyn woke with a start. She groaned. What had she done last night? Marcus walked in from the bathroom half-naked, answering her silent question. Vivid memories flooded her mind, and her skin tingled as she stared at his toned body. She sat up, hugging the sheet around her, suddenly shy.

  “Morning.”

  “Morning, sexy.” He tugged on his shirt, leaned over and softly kissed her. The gentleness morphed into something more, something hot. He pulled back, grinned down at her. “As much as I want to tumble into bed with you and repeat last night’s performance, I need to go. Showing up at the station together may set tongues wagging. And the only tongue I want to set wagging is yours.”

  “That would definitely complicate things,” she whispered. As if this isn’t complicated enough.

  “Not for me, it wouldn’t.” He chuckled and kissed her again. “I’ll see you soon.”

  Evelyn watched Marcus leave. She touched her lips again, remembering the heat of his goodbye kiss, then did something she hadn’t done since she was eighteen. She flopped back onto her pillow and giggled.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  EVELYN STEPPED OUT of the elevator. A yellow envelope hung limply from her hand. Marcus did a double take. When he’d left her this morning, her cheeks had been flushed, her eyes alive. Now, her creamy skin was pale and clammy, and the corners of her eyes pinched together, strain pulling across her face. She looked like she’d seen a ghost. He sprung from his chair and was beside her in two strides. He gripped her elbow and pulled her to her desk.

  “Evelyn. What—”

  She handed him the envelope.

  He dumped the contents onto her desk. He stared down at the bloody hunting knife and a photo of the two of them embracing on her front porch. The hair on the back of his neck bristled.

  The photo had a hole in the middle where the knife had clearly pierced it.

  “What the hell is this?”

  “What is what?” Ryan joined them, coffee in hand.

  Marcus flipped the photo for Ryan to see, then motioned to the hunting knife.

  Ryan’s eyes darkened. His jaw twitched. He snatched up the photo. “What. The. Fuck. Where did that come
from?”

  “I found it pinned to my door with the knife.”

  Marcus’s head snapped up. “This morning?”

  His skin crawled as she nodded. Marcus’s stomach sank to the floor. Someone had been watching Evelyn, waiting for him to leave.

  “If there was any question about my being in this sicko’s crosshairs, it’s been answered,” she said with an irritated tone.

  “What the hell were those idiots on detail doing? Sleeping through their shift?” Ryan reached for his phone. “Lazy sons of bitches.”

  Marcus corralled Evelyn away from Ryan as he yelled into his phone.

  “You okay?” Marcus asked.

  She shook her head. “I’m fine. Just a bit rattled.”

  A bit rattled. Who was she kidding?

  “Evelyn.”

  “Fine. I’m pissed. Is that what you want to hear?” She glared up at him, her eyes moist. “Well, I am. I’m pissed. At this psychopath for besting me time and time again, and at myself for letting him.”

  “Whoa. Wait a minute. You can’t possibly think—”

  Ryan burst into another fit, his brutal tongue-lashing escalating. They both glanced at him, then moved farther down the hall.

  Marcus took a step toward Evelyn, closing the space between them. He lowered his voice. “You can’t possibly think that all this is your fault. You aren’t in it alone. We’re a team, Evelyn. And this asshole is not going to get away with this.”

  She closed her eyes, took a deep breath. She opened them again and locked onto him.

  “This whole thing is spinning out of control. We need to do damage control, and we need to do it now.”

  Marcus studied Evelyn’s face. She shifted, but didn’t break eye contact. Somehow he didn’t think she was talking about the case. He scowled. Oh, no. You aren’t going to drop me that quickly, sweetheart.

  “Did you see anyone when you left this morning?” she whispered.

  “Not even the detail.” Marcus lowered his voice. “About last night—”

  “It was unprofessional.”

  “A hell of a lot of fun is what it was.”

  She shook her head, crossed her arms. “It can’t happen again.”

  “Evelyn, stop. It doesn’t need to be like this.”

  She went to open her mouth when Kessler stuck his head out of his office. “Get in here. Now.”

  Ryan slammed down his phone and grumbled. “How those assholes even got a badge is beyond me.”

  He glanced up and shot her a troubled scowl. He tapped the photo and the knife. “This isn’t over.”

  Evelyn nodded. Marcus slid the knife and photo back into the envelope and tucked it into his briefcase. The three of them walked into Kessler’s office.

  His face was drawn. “We have another murder.”

  “Another family?”

  Evelyn’s voice sounded faint. Marcus glanced over and noticed that her face had grown pale. His fists balled together. When the hell would they catch this guy?

  Kessler shook his head. “A mother and daughter, but similar MO. It’s on Mercer Island. I want you three to head over to see if it’s our guy. If it is, maybe you’ll get lucky and find something on this asshole.”

  * * *

  THE SILENCE WAS PAINFUL. Evelyn knew Ryan was furious with her. Uncertainty clawed at her. Was Marcus? It wasn’t her fault their unsub had slipped past the guys on detail. But it was her fault they were there in the first place. If she wasn’t so stubborn, she’d have been in a safe house, and he wouldn’t have been able to get to her again. She glanced in the rearview mirror, but couldn’t read Marcus’s stoic face, and that made her heart ache.

  The warmth of last night seeped away with each passing minute of silence.

  At the address, Ryan threw the car into Park and got out without a word. They signed the log, then walked into the stunning three-story town house. The entire back wall was nothing but glass. Through it, Lake Washington glistened as sunbeams broke through the familiar Seattle cloud cover.

  CSI agents scrambled around like an anthill had been stepped on. Her team followed the commotion to the left, toward the open kitchen. Ryan led the way. Evelyn was right behind him, taking in as much information as she could. A woman lay sprawled out on the Italian tile floor, a pool of blood collecting underneath her crisp, toffee-colored suit. Evelyn pulled up sharply. Marcus bumped into her.

  He leaned closer. “What is it?”

  She turned, horror in her eyes. Her hand fluttered to her mouth. “I know that woman.”

  “What?”

  She felt the color drain from her face. Her hands were clammy, her knees weak. “I know her. That’s Anastasia Kulik. At least, that was her name the last time I saw her.”

  “Which was when?” He glanced past her.

  “Fifteen years ago, in Milan. She was my roommate, the one the modeling agency assigned to me. Sweet girl. I haven’t seen her since Milan, or spoken to her since I left. I’d put that part of my life out of my mind.”

  Marcus scrubbed his hands over his face. “Ryan—”

  Her partner joined them. “What’s up?”

  Evelyn didn’t want to tell him, but she wasn’t about to lie to Ryan now. She compartmentalized her emotions, channeling them into pure and unadulterated focus. She took a deep breath. “That woman. She was in Milan with me.”

  “Shit.” Ryan ran his hand through his hair. “We need to fill in Kessler ASAP. Between the photo and the woman, this is hitting too close to home.”

  “I couldn’t agree more,” Marcus said.

  * * *

  THAT EVENING, THE five o’clock news dubbed the serial killer the Seattle Slayer.

  “Can we not put a gag order on these idiots? Do they not know they’re only fueling this guy’s ego? Encouraging him to kill again?” Evelyn said, fuming.

  Neither man had allowed her to stay at the crime scene. She’d argued and lost. So she’d pulled out her working profile. Something was off. She didn’t want to pull on the golden string right in front of her, but she didn’t think she had a choice. Not when so many pieces connected back to her...or at least appeared to. So she worked and reworked the profile, scribbling down notes in the margins.

  The killer had to know her. Any doubt had been shredded when she’d stared down at Anastasia’s body. Evelyn tapped the pencil against the desk, then scribbled “how close?” in her notes. Was he a copycat killer or...

  She scribbled “could it be him?” in the margins, then scratched it out.

  Evelyn wasn’t willing to go there.

  Yet.

  At least not in public.

  Bone-aching weariness washed over her. Irritated, she grabbed the TV remote and stabbed at the mute button. She had a job to do, and being chained to this desk for the past several hours wasn’t helping her attitude.

  She swirled in her chair and tried to make out the tone of the conversation that was going on behind closed doors. Marcus had been in with Kessler for over an hour.

  “It’s their constitutional right, Evelyn,” Ryan said in a tone that indicated he was still pissed at her.

  “Don’t give me that shit. I know what their constitutional rights are.”

  He didn’t look up from the file in front of him.

  “Seriously, you’re ignoring me now?” She couldn’t believe how childish he was being.

  “Ignoring people seems to be the going thing the past few days.”

  “Excuse me?” Her blood simmered.

  He threw his pencil down and glared at her. “You ignored both Marcus and me, and put yourself in harm’s way. Come on, Evelyn. You can be so bullheaded at times. It’s infuriating. I can’t do my job if I’m worrying about you. Help me out here.”

  She glared back at him,
but he didn’t waver as he stared her down. Finally she felt herself cave. He was right, after all. She could be stubborn. And had been from the very beginning of this case. She cradled her head in her hands. “I’m sorry.”

  And she was. She’d let her emotional high get the best of her last night. She’d known not to cross that line with Marcus, yet she’d done it anyway. In that moment, it had felt right. But the instant she opened her door and saw that photo of the two of them, she’d known she’d made a mistake.

  “Sorry enough to stop this shit?”

  She threw Ryan a tiny smile. “Yes.”

  He returned the gesture. “Good. Now I can call her off.”

  “Huh?”

  “Kate. She almost drove to the station to kick your ass this morning.”

  Evelyn rolled her eyes. What a freaking mess. She threw a worried look toward Kessler’s office, then turned back to the TV. Seattle Slayer Eludes SPD was scrolling across the bottom of the screen.

  “We can’t fuel this guy. We have to let the public know who they’re dealing with—the real facts, not the sensationalized ones. The public needs to be diligent about keeping their families safe. If we can have the whole city on the lookout, he’ll have fewer chances to slip through the cracks.”

  The captain opened his office door and poked his head out.

  “Davis. O’Neil. My office, please. I want you to hear Agent Moretti out for a moment.”

  Ryan rose and grabbed his mug. Evelyn followed suit. Agent Moretti? The formality in Kessler’s tone couldn’t be good. They walked in and sat. Dark bags rested under Kessler’s eyes. He’d aged years in the past three weeks. Evelyn flicked her eyes to his hands. Shit. He was running his forefinger over the top of his thumb again.

  An awkward silence hung in the room. Marcus eyed Evelyn, then took a deep breath. “This guy is targeting you, Evelyn.”

  “Yes, I would say that’s obvious.”

  She’d had her suspicions since the second murder but had brushed them off, blaming her edginess on the quickly approaching date on the calendar. She didn’t need to consider his statement, not with the photos and the knife. Her stomach pitched, her mind playing back a colorful image of what she’d witnessed on Mercer Island. Poor Anastasia.