“Fuck,” Ben snarled.
Exactly.
“Four years,” Kyle said, hands clenching. His eyes had darkened, his cheeks flushed. “He kept her alive for all that time, and killed her now?”
She nodded. “There were signs on her body to—” Cadence broke off, hesitating. God, she hated telling him this. She feared that when she described the things that had happened to Judith, Kyle would picture those same things happening to his sister. “There were signs to indicate long-term abuse.” Broken bones. Malnutrition. Severe vitamin D deficiency.
Cadence fully believed Judith Lynn had been held prisoner every day since her abduction. She also believed, based on the vitamin D deficiency, that the woman had been held in darkness.
In the caves?
“Why kill her now?” Dani barely whispered the words. Shocked horror was etched across her face. “After that long…”
“Maybe she did something to upset him.” Only the killer could tell them for sure. “Maybe she broke one of his rules.”
I didn’t scream. Lily’s voice replayed through Cadence’s mind.
“Or maybe he just got tired of her,” Kyle growled. His words were hard, biting. “He wanted someone new.”
“He already had someone new,” Cadence said. She walked toward the sketches and pointed to the woman with the heart-shaped face and big, wide eyes. “Melanie Myers disappeared a year after Judith.” She moved the pictures, lining them up as best she could, in order of disappearance. No, not disappearance. Abduction.
She lightly touched the images that came after Judith. “He had Melanie. He had Bridgette Chambers.” A square jaw, oval-shaped eyes. “He also had Fiona Slater.” High cheeks and a long curtain of hair. “He had them, and he still took Lily Adams.”
“He takes one girl a year,” Ben said as he ran a rough hand through his close-cropped hair.
Cadence nodded. “Now we know he doesn’t always kill the girls.” At least, not right away.
Four years. Why couldn’t we have found her three weeks ago? Why couldn’t someone have found her?
And who would die next?
“Where’s the guy going next?” Dani rose and headed toward the sketches. Her question seemed to mirror Cadence’s own fear. “He’s following a pattern now, right? Paradox, Maverick, so next up is—”
“Deerfield,” Cadence told her. Deerfield, Georgia.
“We’ve already got cops patrolling there,” Kyle added, still in the emotionless voice that was not him.
Ben nodded. “They pulled in patrols from two other counties over there. When I checked an hour ago, they were patrolling the back roads and sending out public alerts on every news channel.” He glanced over at Dani. “There have been no reports of abductions or abandoned vehicles from the area. If there were, trust me, we’d be on our way to Deerfield.”
“Maybe we penned him in here,” Dani offered. “We’ve got all the search units in the woods. The guy could still be here.”
Yes, he could be.
“If he had a place here and in Paradox”—Kyle blew out a hard breath—“then what’s to say he didn’t have a place in Deerfield, too? The guy might have a base in each state he hunts.”
He could, if he didn’t want to transport the victims. But more bases meant more risk. With more locations, there would be less control. The perp would always have to worry about someone finding his hiding spots. Finding his victims.
Had Jake Landers found him? Is that why he wound up dead?
Cadence thought that might just be the reason.
Kyle’s head cocked as he studied Cadence. “How did Landers die?”
“A gunshot wound to the chest.” The same way Christa had died.
It made sense. Landers had been a big, muscled guy. Taking him out in any close combat manner wouldn’t have been easy. To make sure you got the job done, why not use a gun?
“Could they have been partners?” Dani asked as she turned away from the sketched. “I mean, teams work together. We’ve seen it before.”
Yes, they had. Too recently for comfort.
But Cadence wasn’t buying the team angle on this one. “I pulled his records. Jake Landers was doing a stint in jail when Judith Lynn vanished.”
Dani seemed to absorb that. “So while he was in jail, someone made use of his place.”
It looked that way to Cadence.
“Then he came home,” Ben continued, picking up the story, “and found someone waiting on him.”
With a shotgun.
Ben shook his head. “We shouldn’t completely rule Landers out yet.” He glanced over at Dani. “Tear apart his background. I want to know the guy’s whereabouts for every disappearance, not just Judith Lynn’s.”
Cadence had been planning to request the background check, too, just in case.
It pays to be careful.
And sometimes, it paid to take risks. “There’s something I want to try.”
Kyle’s gaze had strayed back to the images, but at her words, he frowned, glancing over at her.
She braced herself for the explosion she knew was about to come blasting her way. “At this point, I think we should work under the assumption that one or more of these women may still be alive.”
Dani sat down, hard. Maybe she hadn’t sat. Maybe her knees had just given way. Cadence had her own knees locked.
Doggedly, Cadence continued, “Our priority isn’t just on stopping the killer. It’s on bringing these women in alive.” They’d already been prisoner for far too long.
If they were alive.
Keep hope. Keep it for Kyle. Kyle, who watched her with his haunted eyes and grim, determined expression.
“Just what is it you want to try?” Dani asked, sounding very, very wary.
Her friend knew her well. Too well.
“If we don’t find him soon, we know he will take another woman.” Maybe he’d go to Deerfield, or maybe not. Since he’d realized that they were following his pattern, then he might try to change on them again.
We have to try to control him. We can’t just follow the trail of death he leaves for us.
Kyle stalked toward her. “Cadence.” He knew her well, too. The hard glint in his eyes said he knew exactly where she was going with her plan.
She kept her chin up. “He told you that he wanted to take me.”
“Cadence, no.” Fury ripped through his voice.
She tore her gaze from him. Focused on Ben. She’d need his approval, not Kyle’s. “So I say we give him exactly what he wants.”
Kyle’s hands locked around her arms. “Are you crazy?”
No. She was desperate. “I’m a federal agent. I’ve been trained to handle myself in any situation that develops. No matter how dangerous.” She made herself glance into his blazing eyes. “The way I figure it, I might be our best bet right now. The guy’s leading us around, and the bodies are piling up.”
“So you want to give him another body?” His voice was a low, deadly rumble. He’d leaned in even closer toward her. “I’m not risking you.”
This would seem cruel to him but… “I’m not yours to risk.”
He blinked. One slow blink. Then his hands fell away from her.
She sucked in a bracing breath. “He was in those woods. I know it was him.” The deputy with the wrong boots. “He wants to take me, then I say let him. Wire me up, get a lock on me, and use me as bait. He takes me, and you follow.” She trusted the team. She trusted Kyle.
Even if he was staring at her with rage smoldering in his eyes.
“You follow,” she said, forcing the words out, “and I’ll take you to whatever hole he’s hiding in. Then, hell, maybe some of the other victims will be there or—”
“Or we have the guy in custody,” Ben cut in, the Brooklyn snapping in his voice and giving the words a hard edge, “and we make him tell us.”
Yes.
Either way, they’d stop chasing him in the dark.
“Let him take me,” Cadence said, ??
?and then we can take him.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
It was the worst fucking plan he’d ever heard. Kyle glared at Cadence. She stood there, with shadows under her eyes, her skin too pale, her body too fragile, and the woman was willingly offering herself up as bait for the killer.
“He didn’t keep his last victim long enough for anyone to trace her,” Kyle said. The words were like razors, slicing across his throat. Cadence wasn’t looking him in the eyes.
Look at me.
“He killed the blonde, Valerie Tate.” They’d found her ID still inside her abandoned convertible. “And he dumped her body all in the same night. What if he does the same to you? What the hell then?”
Silence. He realized he’d shouted the last question at her. So much for playing it cool.
But this was Cadence’s life. It wasn’t about playing anything.
“He said he aimed for you at Christa Donaldson’s place. He said he was trying to kill you.” Kyle’s control had splintered. He couldn’t stand the thought of Cadence in jeopardy.
“He was lying to you.”
“You don’t know that!”
“I know he was trying to jerk you around. I know that if he just wanted me dead…” She licked her lips. “He could have shot me in the woods. We both know he probably had the chance.”
Fuck.
“What I know,” she said, “is how to be the victim he wants.” Cadence’s voice was soft, such a contrast to his. She was controlled. Certain. So very certain she could jerk around a killer.
He was certain she’d die.
“I can get him to keep me alive, Kyle. I can make this work.”
She had her theories, profiles, but they could be screwed to hell and back in an instant. “He’s not just jerking the FBI around, he’s jerking me around.” Kyle’s words weren’t for the others in the room, only for her. Just like his fear was for her. “If he wants to hurt me”—and he knew that was exactly what the bastard wanted—“then he’ll kill you his first chance.”
And he’d leave her body for Kyle to find.
If that happened, Kyle knew he would be lost.
But Cadence was shaking her head. “We can draw him out. I can do this.” Her lips lifted in a faint smile, one that showed no humor. “It’s not like this is the first time I’ve faced a killer.”
He knew that.
“Better me than a civilian out there. Another sister or friend who vanishes.”
His hands were tight fists.
Cadence turned away from him. Focused on Dani. “I know you have tracking devices you can use.”
He saw Dani nod, but worry had tightened her face. “Plenty. You could pick your poison.”
“We’d need several,” Ben said. The bastard is considering her plan. “Just in case one gets disabled, we’d want backups on her.”
“This isn’t happening,” Kyle thundered at them. “You can’t.”
Cadence whirled back around to face him. “Do you want her back?” Some color had come into her face. A flash of red on her high cheekbones.
“Yes,” Kyle gritted. But he didn’t want to risk Cadence.
“If any of the women are alive, he could panic right now. We’re searching for him, and he knows it. Hell, he already broke pattern with Christa’s death. If they are still alive, maybe he’ll decide it’s better to eliminate them.”
“Or to eliminate you.” His voice was flat. There was too much danger to her, she had to see that.
“I’m giving you a chance to get her back.” In her golden stare, he saw stark determination. “He told you that I was on his list. That means he’s already got me in his sights. We use that, okay? We don’t wait for me to be prey.”
“Making you bait is supposed to be better?”
She shook her head, sending her dark hair sliding over her shoulders. “We just make it easier for him. If we can get him to come for me, then we can get him.”
If she died, Kyle didn’t know what he’d do.
“Dani.” Ben’s voice. Calm in the storm. “I think we need to give these two a few minutes alone.”
Kyle couldn’t look away from Cadence.
He heard footsteps. Dani and Ben heading for the door.
Kyle didn’t move. Neither did Cadence.
The door closed with a soft click behind the other agents.
He wanted to put his hands on her, but he didn’t trust himself. Wasn’t sure what he’d do if he touched her.
Pick her up, run away with her. Get her out of here.
“This is the chance you’ve always wanted,” Cadence told him as a faint line appeared between her brows. “This is your hope. Why aren’t you taking it?”
He’d never wanted to trade hope for her. She meant too much to him.
Her hand reached out. Closed around one of his clenched fists. Her touch seemed to scorch right through him. “I trust you to find me, Kyle.”
Something seemed to break inside of him. “Don’t.” The word was more growl than anything else. “Maria trusted me, too, and I failed her.” He’d lost her.
I can’t fail Cadence.
“I do trust you.” She came closer, and her body brushed against his. Her hand tightened around his fist. “You’ll be able to trace me. I’ll lead you to him. With the FBI’s resources, we can close this case before anyone else gets hurt. No other women have to be hurt. They don’t have to die by his hand.”
Her mouth was inches from his.
What he desired most was right fucking there. “I want to take you away.” A brutal confession. “I want to just grab you and take you as far away from this hell as I can.”
Her smile was sad. “That’s not who I am.”
No. She wasn’t the kind to run, not even from the monsters who hunted with their deadly intensity.
“We protect, that’s what we do.” The line between her brows smoothed away. “I’m not scared.”
She should be.
Cadence leaned up on her toes and pressed a light kiss to his lips. “Whether you agree or not,” she whispered, “I’m doing this.”
Hell.
He moved in an instant, locking his arms around her, yanking her harder against him, and kissing her with the desperation that pumped through his veins like acid.
He couldn’t control Cadence, but the woman controlled him. The thought of her in danger had his heart racing, fear rising in his chest.
If the plan didn’t work—if she didn’t come back—darkness seemed to wrap around his mind. She will come back to me.
His hands sank into her hair. He tilted her head. Kissed her with a desperation that should have alarmed them both.
Cadence had said she wasn’t scared.
Not of the killer.
Not of him.
She will be.
Her nails bit into his shoulders. She pulled him closer as she kissed him with the same frantic need.
Even as a knock sounded at the door.
The damn door was shut for a reason.
I want her naked.
Actually, he just wanted her.
Cadence pulled away. Her breath rushed out. Too fast. Panting. “I trust you,” she said again.
The drumming of his heartbeat wouldn’t slow.
The knock came again. Someone out there was pissing him off.
“I told you.” Kyle barely recognized his own voice. “Maybe you shouldn’t.”
The door swung open just as Cadence slipped from his arms.
“Well?” Ben demanded.
We needed more time.
Only they were working against the clock. He got that.
Cadence’s chin was up. Her shoulders squared. “Tell Dani to get the trackers ready. We’re doing this.”
He knew who he wanted, and he wasn’t going to settle for anyone else. Not this time.
He’d tried to settle before, but it had been a fucking disaster. The blonde woman hadn’t been right. Even her death had been a waste for him.
No release. No pleasu
re.
At least the screams had stopped.
He knew they’d searched the cabin. Found Judith. Judith had been good. She’d learned quickly. Been so eager to please.
Until the end.
She’d broken then. Kept crying for her family. Kept begging for death.
So he’d given it to her.
The cops had also found Landers. The asshole. He’d never understood how women should be treated.
He knew all about Landers. The guy had been sent to the pen, and he shouldn’t have been released so soon. But there’d been a slipup. Landers had gone free, and the guy had stumbled right into his cabin and found Judith.
He liked to keep his girls separated. He focused on them, one at a time, so he needed that second location. The cabin had seemed perfect for him.
Until Landers appeared.
When he’d shot the bastard, just as the guy’s hands had gone for the ropes binding Judith, the man’s blood had splattered all over her.
But Judith hadn’t screamed.
Good, even then.
He didn’t think Cadence would scream, either. She’d said she stayed quiet before, when she’d been under the bed.
Listening to her mother die.
She’d stayed quiet.
He liked the quiet.
Needed it.
Craved it.
He just had to find the perfect way to get to Cadence. He’d need to separate her from the others. Separation. Isolation. That was how he worked.
He’d been close to her in the woods.
But she’d been on guard. Too ready to attack.
That wasn’t the way he liked his prey.
His prey should be weak. He was the strong one. The one meant to always survive.
He would have to wait for the right moment. There would be no more desperate hunts, he’d learned from his mistake. He could be careful. He could be cautious.
He could wait for her.
She would come to him.
“He’s not going to walk right up to you,” Dani said as she bent over Cadence’s wrist and adjusted her new watch. “You know that, right? He’s not going to offer you a ride in his car. Not going to sweep you away on a dark road.”
“I know,” she said, sighing. Like Kyle, Dani was definitely not on board with the plan. “I’ve got a pretty good idea of how this will work.”