“Oh, you didn’t hear me knock? I’m sorry.” He looks nervous and apologetic, so I smile reassuringly.
“It’s okay, but what can I help you with? I’m on my way out.”
“Oh, I just have a couple questions about class.”
I frown at him, alarm bells going off like crazy. “You can ask me all the questions you want on Monday. I’d like for you to leave, please.”
His face transforms from apologetic and nervous to simply…evil. A slow grin spreads over his face. His eyes grow cold.
“I’m not leaving, Lila.”
“What the hell is this, Colin?”
“Don’t you remember?” He’s circling me now, cracking his knuckles almost absentmindedly. “I have a date tonight.”
“Yes, with the guy from Starbucks.”
He nods, that creepy smile still on his face. “No. With you.”
My heart kicks up into overtime, and a cold sweat breaks out over my skin. Colin is the killer!
“Colin, I don’t know what you want, but I’m quite sure we can talk about this.”
“Oh, we’re going to talk about it. We’re going to do a lot of talking, actually.” He’s advancing on me. My mind is racing, trying to figure out how to get past him, out of this room and outside. “You’re going to get really tired of talking. And then I’m going to cut your tongue out of your pretty little mouth.”
“What?” I can’t breathe. I can’t think. “I’m not going anywhere with you, Colin. And my boyfriend knows where I am.”
He laughs, the sound of it raking down my spine, making me want to throw up.
“You don’t have to go willingly, Lila.” I try to run, but he grabs my arm, yanks me against him, and hits me on the head with something hard, making me black out cold.
Chapter Eight
~Asher~
“So, things are going well with Lila.” Matt sips his soda and watches me across the table of the crowded restaurant. I check my watch for the fifteenth time. The girls should be here by now.
“They are.” I smirk. “Are we going to get all girlie and talk about our feelings now?”
“I like her,” he says. “She’s good for you.”
She’s fucking amazing.
“Am I supposed to feel guilty, man?” I ask and glance out the window to the busy French Quarter.
“For what?”
“For moving on. For falling in love again. I loved Missy, you know I did. And it killed me when she died.” If it weren’t for Casey, I don’t know how I would have survived losing her.
“Missy would be pissed that you’re even thinking about feeling guilty,” Matt replies. “Asher, you didn’t die. It’s okay to move on and live your life.”
“Missy would be pissed,” I agree with a laugh.
“What does Casey think of her?”
My heart softens as I think of how great Lila is with my daughter. “She loves her. They have a good time together. And Lila is so patient with her. And she listens, you know? She doesn’t brush Casey off.”
“I’m happy for you, friend.”
“Yeah, thanks. How is the family?”
“They’re all crazy,” Matt replies with a laugh. “There are so many of us now, when we get together it’s absolute chaos.”
“And you wouldn’t have it any other way,” I reply dryly.
Matt’s phone rings. “Hey, little one. Are you on your way?”
He frowns, catches my eye, then puts the call on speaker and sets the phone on the table. “Okay, you’re on speaker. What’s going on?”
“Lila was gone longer than I thought she would be,” Nic says, her voice shaky, and my entire body goes cold. “I went up to see what the hold up was, and she’s not here.”
“What do you mean she’s not there?” I ask, immediately throwing bills on the table for our drinks and heading for the door.
“She’s gone. Her door was wide open and she’s not here.”
“Don’t touch anything, Nic,” Matt says, right behind me, racing to the car. “We’re on our way. Go back to the car and lock the doors.”
“I’m sorry,” she says with tears in her voice.
“It’s going to be okay,” Matt assures her as I start the car and speed into traffic, headed to Lila’s. I pull my own phone out and call Jordan.
“Hello.”
“He’s got Lila.” My heart stops, saying the words out loud. “He took her from her apartment. I’m on my way there now.”
“I’ll be there in ten.”
She hangs up and I immediately call dispatch. “This is Lieutenant Asher Smith. I have a possible abduction, connected to an ongoing case, at 4268 Tulane Avenue. I need all available units to respond.”
“Copy that, Lieutenant,” Dispatch responds. “Sending all available units.”
I hang up and swear ripely.
“We’re going to find her,” Matt says calmly, but his hands are in fists. I know he’s as worried as I am. “Walk me through it.”
I spend the ten minutes to Lila’s apartment filling Matt in on the specifics of the case. Fuck protocol.
Lila’s life is at stake.
I pull into the parking lot, next to Lila’s car. Nic rushes to Matt and hugs him tightly.
“I’m so sorry. She was gone for like twenty minutes, and I thought I should check. I should have gone in with her.”
“No, then we might be looking for both of you.” Matt holds her face and looks her in the eyes intently. “I want you to take Lila’s car and go to Asher’s.”
“I should stay and help—”
“That was not a question, Nicole.” Matt’s voice is hard. “I want you out of here.”
“My address is in the GPS,” I tell her as I run past and up the stairs to Lila’s apartment. The door is still standing open. I search each room, praying that Nic’s wrong and she really is here, but the rooms are empty.
“When was she taken?” Jordan asks as she runs into the apartment, Matt right behind her, and I’m shocked to see my brother bring up the rear.
“Less than thirty minutes,” I reply. “Thanks for coming, Mike.”
“I heard the call come in. I wasn’t far away. What do we know?”
“Jack shit,” I reply with frustration and pace the room. “We know he took her.”
“Do we know that for sure?” Jordan asks.
“She wouldn’t just leave. Yes, he took her.”
My phone rings in my pocket, and I pray it’s Lila, but it’s Kate’s office number, Lila’s best friend. I send it to voice mail and shove my fingers through my hair.
“Uniforms are pulling in,” Mike says as he looks outside.
“Send them out on foot patrol,” I instruct him. “I want this entire neighborhood canvassed.”
“He might have taken her in a car.”
I frown, fighting to think clearly. “I doubt it. Nic would have seen Lila being dragged to a car in the parking lot. Lila would have screamed.”
“Not if he took her out the back,” Matt replies grimly. “They could be anywhere by now.”
My phone rings again. Kate. This time I accept the call. “Kate, I don’t have time to talk.”
“Lila’s on my cell phone.” Her voice is scared. “I can’t hear everything that’s happening, but she keeps saying Colin. She sounds scared. What is happening?”
“Colin?” I ask and search wildly for Jordan. “Is she still on the line?”
“Yes.”
“Do not hang up, do you hear me?” I put Kate on speaker. “Put it on speaker and hold it up to your phone.”
“Okay, but you can’t hear much. What’s happening, Asher?”
“Lila’s in trouble, and you’re going to help me find her, sweetheart.”
“I’m calling in to get a trace on Lila’s cell,” Jordan says, her phone already to her ear.
“Please, Colin, you don’t have to do this.”
My gut seizes at Lila’s scared voice, but I’m so relieved to hear that she’s still al
ive.
“Kate, put your cell on mute. I don’t want any noises to go through Lila’s phone. I don’t want Colin to hear us.”
“I already did that,” Kate says. “I did it as soon as I realized Lila was in trouble.”
“Good girl,” Matt says. “And who the fuck is Colin?”
“It has to be Colin Forester, from her history class,” Jordan says then speaks back into her phone. “Yes, I need a trace on 504-555-3297, now. There’s a live call on it right now.”
“Talk to me about Colin,” Matt says.
I rack my brain, trying to picture the boy. “He’s in her class and the study group. Roughly five foot six, bald. He had solid alibis for every murder.”
“He escorted Cheyenne home the night she was killed,” Jordan adds.
“And had an alibi ten minutes later,” I remind her.
“His roommate said she heard him come home. But could she be covering for him?” Jordan speaks into her phone again, barking instructions for the trace on Lila’s phone.
“Bald?” Matt asks with a frown. “Like, he might have a full head of hair if he let it grow?”
“Yes.” My eyes narrow. “Son of a bitch. He shaves so he doesn’t leave evidence. Where is that trace?”
“They’re working on it,” Jordan says.
“No, please don’t,” Lila says through my phone.
“Asher, he’s going to hurt her,” Kate says urgently. “He just said something about her fingers.”
Jordan and I lock gazes. “He has a thing for cutting off his victims fingers.”
“Motherfucker,” Mike mutters.
“Get an address for Colin,” I tell my brother.
“No need, we have a trace,” Jordan says, her eyes confused.
“Where is she?”
“Asher, she’s here.”
“Clearly she’s not,” I reply angrily. “What the fuck?”
“The address is here.”
“She’s in another apartment,” Matt says.
“Fan out,” I order and head for the door. “Break down every fucking door in this complex.”
Chapter Nine
~Lila~
“Wake up, Lila.”
My head is screaming.
“Come on, I didn’t hit you that hard. Don’t be a pussy or this won’t be any fun.”
“I need to throw up.”
“Fine. There’s a bucket next to you.” He sighs, as if he’s horribly disappointed in me. “I really thought you’d be a better sport than this.”
I reach for it and lose my lunch, then open my eyes and take in my surroundings. I’m on a couch in an apartment that looks very much like mine. Colin from my class is sitting in a chair across the room from me.
“I’m not tied up?” I ask inanely. Jesus, I’ve been kidnapped, and all I can think to say is I’m not tied up?
“If you try to run, I’ll simply kill you,” he replies calmly. His face, his body, everything about him is perfectly steady, as though he does this every day. “Tying you up would take some of the fun out of what I have planned.”
He stands and begins to pace the room. I glance over to the front door to see that it’s locked with a padlock. No escaping that way.
Colin is rattling around in the kitchen, and I take this opportunity to pat my pockets, praying for my phone, and find it. I have time to dial the last number I called, lock it, and stuff it back in my pocket before he comes back in the room.
Please, Kate, pick up.
“Now that you’re awake, I’ll start setting up.” He smiles happily, even joyfully, and begins laying syringes and different medical instruments on the coffee table. “We can chat while I work.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Well, it’s easier to have these things on hand so I don’t have to go back and forth to the kitchen.” He laughs at his own joke, having a great time, and I just feel like I have to throw up again.
God, how am I going to get out of this?
“Colin, I like you.”
“Do you?” He smiles, then all expression leaves his face. “Is that why you flunked me out of your class last semester?”
“You failing the class had nothing to do with whether I like you.”
“I didn’t fail!” he yells angrily. “You flunked me!”
I swallow hard as I watch him reign in his temper.
“I’ve never failed a class before, you know.” He begins laying tools out again, perfectly calm. “I am in pre-med. I don’t fail classes. I had to pay for that fucking class twice.”
“Really? All of this because you failed a class?”
“I DON’T FAIL CLASSES!”
“Why did you hurt those girls?” I ask, trying to distract him by changing the subject.
“Because I was trying to scare you.” He smiles smugly. “And it worked. Eventually. At first you didn’t seem very scared, so I just made more of a mess and got your attention.”
“You tortured them?”
“Of course.” He shrugs, like it’s no big deal. “Well, I didn’t torment the first one the way I wanted to. I was nervous with her. So, I fucked her, then I beat her until she died.”
I swallow hard, wanting to throw up again. Jesus, what those girls went through, all because of me.
“But, hey, live and learn, you know?” He winks. “It was so easy to fool all of you. Did you seriously think I was gay?”
“I didn’t really pay attention.”
“Sure you did.” He sits back on his heels and tips his head to the side. “I told you I had a date with a boy.”
“Okay.”
“Now you’re just trying to hurt my feelings. I know you’ve been paying attention to me.” He shakes his finger at me. “You’re a naughty girl.”
“Colin, you don’t have to do this.”
“I begged you not to fail me.”
“I asked you to come to study group so I could help you,” I remind him, stalling for time.
“Your study group is a fucking joke,” he replies. “But, I found some fun playmates that way. That last one? Cheyenne? What a cock tease.”
“She was your friend.” And sweet, and young.
“She led me on,” he replies sharply. “She wanted me.”
I take a deep breath, praying that Kate has heard this and called Asher. Where is Asher? What if this maniac kills me and I never get to tell Asher that I love him?
What about Casey?
Tears fill my eyes, making Colin laugh. “Tears don’t work on me, Lila. All of the others cried too.”
“Are you going to rape me, Colin?”
“Of course.” He shakes his head like I’m an idiot. “Did you get my notes? I’m surprised you didn’t know this was coming. I sent notes for you.”
“With the victims.”
He simply raises a brow.
“I saw the last one.”
“See, that’s where I fucked up.” He sighs dejectedly. “I should have sent them to you directly and not left them with the girls. But, I thought it was more dramatic that way. It didn’t occur to me that the cops wouldn’t show them to you.”
“Is that why you named me specifically in the last one?”
“Yeah. But then you had to spread your legs for that fucking cop and he took you away.” He glares at me. “God, you’re such a whore. What was the purpose of moving into your building, knowing your schedule better than my own, if that dick was just going to suddenly decide to protect you and take you away?”
He’s been living in my building?
“I thought you lived with Stacy.”
“I rented this place under my mom’s name.” He smiles, proud of himself again. “I come and go as I please, and watch you. Well, I watched you until that fucker of a cop moved you in with him. You must be an amazing fuck.” He grins. “I’ll find out for myself soon enough.”
“He’s going to come looking for me, Colin.” Bile has risen in the back of my throat.
“True. So we better get s
tarted.” He claps his hands gleefully and reaches for a syringe. “I planned this all perfectly. I didn’t leave even one clue for the cops. Why do you think I shave my head? I shave my whole fucking body so I never leave any hair behind. No DNA. No prints.”
“So you’re just going to murder me in your apartment?” I ask calmly. “You’ll get caught.”
“I’ll claim I found you.” He shrugs carelessly. “Everyone thinks I’m weak and sweet. They’ll overlook me.”
He comes at me with the syringe.
“What is that?”
“Oh, don’t worry. It won’t kill you. It’ll just make you really groggy so I can have fun with you without you fighting me.”
“Colin, please.” I try to scramble away, but he sticks the needle in my arm and shoots it into my body.
“See? Otherwise you’ll fight me.” He smiles and walks away. “Don’t worry, it’ll make you sleepy, but I’ll keep you awake.” He grabs hedge trimmers and inspects them. “I think that after I fuck you, I’ll take your fingers off first.”
Jesus, I’m going to be sick. I’m sweaty now, panting, and already starting to feel fuzzy.
“Please don’t do this,” I whisper and feel myself start to slip into sleep, but suddenly Colin slaps me across the face.
“No sleeping,” he says harshly. “You’re gonna want to feel me inside you, Lila. I’m fucking amazing.”
“No.”
He lifts my dress, knocking my phone out of my pocket and onto the floor, face down, thank God.
“You won’t need that anyway.”
He reaches for my panties. My arms are heavy. Everything is heavy. I can’t fight him off. Suddenly, the door is knocked open with a crash and Matt rushes in, yelling, “In here!” as he attacks Colin, pulling him off of me and punching him in the jaw.
“You can’t hit him,” Jordan says from the doorway.
God, I’m sleepy. My eyes close, but I try to stay awake to hear what’s happening.
They saved me!
“I’m not on the job,” Matt says calmly and I hear him hit Colin again.
“Baby?”
Asher!
“Baby, wake up.” His hands are on my face and I fight to open my eyes. He looks scared. “Lila, stay with me.”
“Can’t stay awake.”
“What did you give her?” Matt asks, but I don’t hear Colin respond.