“No, they’re too busy trying to save the woman. I’m a good shot. Very good. So they won’t save her. But at least they’re trying. Good for them.”
All of the color bled from Alice’s face.
The robotic voice demanded, “Where is my Alice?”
Zander stared straight at her. “You’ll never touch Alice.”
“Then I guess Tiffany Shaw will be dying. I’ll use my knife on her. She’s very much a disappointment. Started begging and crying the instant I took off the hood I’d shoved over her head. I didn’t want her. I never wanted her. It’s always been Alice.”
Always been Alice. Fucking hell.
“Where. Is. Alice?”
Zander knew that he had to keep the guy talking. His team could trace the call. They could find him. “You’re just some wannabe,” Zander taunted. “The real Secret Admirer doesn’t shoot his victims. But then, the real guy is dead, isn’t he? So what are you? Just some copycat? Some dumb prick who can’t even get the MO right?”
“If I don’t talk to Alice, I’ll send Tiffany to you in pieces.”
“I’m here!” Alice cried out.
Fuck. Zander’s back teeth ground together.
Silence.
The robotic voice said, “I’m very angry with you, Alice.”
Her eyes were huge. “Really? Because I don’t care. Let Tiffany go. Don’t hurt—”
“I waited for you, my perfect Alice. But when I came to you, you weren’t there.”
Zander’s phone vibrated. He glanced down at the text. Not from Randall, but from another team member. Triangulating signal.
Hell, yes.
“Where were you, Alice?” the distorted voice demanded.
Zander’s phone vibrated again. Within five hundred feet of your location.
The bastard was still in the woods. Waiting and watching. Agents were crawling through the trees. They’d find him. He’d better not get away.
“Where were you?” Even distorted, the rage was clear. “And who the fuck were you with?”
“Me, asshole,” Zander snarled back to him. “She was with me.”
The call went dead. Alice dropped her phone onto the bed.
Fury blasted through Zander. “He’s still in the woods. The team traced his call. He’s within five hundred feet of this cabin.” And that was why he’d told the guy that she was with him. If the guy had been watching Alice—and watching had been such a part of the original Secret Admirer’s pattern—then he’d know where Zander’s cabin was. He’d come there.
Come inside, bastard. Come closer.
Zander bounded down the stairs. Alice rushed after him. “Why did you do that?”
He grabbed his gun. Turned toward her. “Because I don’t want him fixated on you. I don’t want him shooting other agents. I don’t want him hurting that woman from the hospital.” His jaw locked. “If the bastard wants to hurt someone, he needs to focus on me. Because I will sure as fuck hurt him back.”
***
The killer didn’t call again. Four hours passed, and there was nothing. The woods were searched. The agents had even brought in the K9 unit. At first, the dogs had a scent, but they lost it near the river.
The bastard had disappeared into thin air.
Cara had been pronounced dead at the scene. The bullet had torn straight through her heart. The agents had figured out the angle of entry, the trajectory, located the exact spot the guy must have been standing in when he took the shot—
But they hadn’t found him.
The sonofabitch was still out there. And that meant Alice wasn’t safe.
Zander sat on the couch, his eyes on the remnants of the fire. Faint embers glowed in the dark.
The stairs creaked behind him.
He rolled back his shoulders. “You should be sleeping.”
“She died in my place.”
He turned his head. Alice had her arms wrapped around her stomach. Her head tipped forward, and her long hair trailed over her shoulders.
“I keep thinking about that. About her. He was in the woods because he wanted me. When he didn’t get me…”
It’s always been Alice.
Zander rose. He stalked toward the kitchen and pulled out his whiskey. He poured a glass and headed back for the den. Alice had moved closer to the fireplace. She gazed down at the embers. “I think you could use a drink,” he muttered.
She glanced up at him. “I think they all died in my place.”
“This isn’t on you. It’s on him. Okay? He’s the freak who took those women—”
“Did he really take Tiffany? Did Randall find out? Did he talk to her family?”
“Tiffany lives alone. Deputies went to her apartment, but she wasn’t there. There was no sign of a forced entry at her place, and her neighbors said she hadn’t been home.”
Alice hadn’t taken the whiskey.
Zander sighed. “Cameras and footage are being checked from the hospital. It’s possible that he took her from there.” He’d been at the hospital, and the guy might have even seen Alice when she’d been there.
She grabbed the whiskey. Took a gulp. Shuddered. “That tastes horrible.”
Zander grunted. “It’s an acquired taste.”
“To be clear, I will never acquire it.”
His lips twisted into a half-smile.
She didn’t smile back. “I’m going to make the trade.” She pushed the glass of whiskey back at him.
And the faint curve of his lips vanished. “What?”
“I’m making the trade. When he calls again, if he calls again, I’m telling him that I’ll do it. I’ll go wherever he wants, I’ll do what he wants, but I’m not going to let Tiffany die in my place.”
“I don’t happen to like this plan.” Under-fucking-statement.
“Too bad. It’s not about what you want or what you like.”
Had she forgotten the whole protective custody part? That he was the agent and she was the civilian? She wasn’t supposed to give him orders. Not exactly the way the system worked.
“That agent wasn’t supposed to die tonight.” Her lashes swept toward her cheeks. “Another death, another mark on my soul. Do you have any idea what it is like? The guilt that eats at me? She was in my cabin. Wearing my clothes. Pretending to be me.”
But Cara had died because she wasn’t Alice. Because the perp knew Alice so well that he could tell by the agent’s walk that she wasn’t the woman he wanted.
Alice brushed past him and headed for the stairs.
He put down the glass before he crushed it. Rage and fear twisted inside of him. “I’ve been watching you, Alice.”
Her shoulders stiffened.
“At first, watching you was my job. I was supposed to learn your routine. To learn who you were. What you liked.”
She turned to face him.
“I learned what you liked, and I gave you what you wanted. That was the way I got close to you. I was there, even when you didn’t know it.” He inclined his head. “But I wasn’t the only one. He was watching you, too. The perp we’re after. The one who has a fucking obsession with you.” An obsession so deep that the guy killed other women who weren’t the real Alice May. Because he doesn’t want a substitute. He wants you. “I think he’s been watching you for a very long time. He knows you, Alice.”
Zander could hear the catch in her breathing.
“And I think that means you know him, too.” Because the way the guy acted with Alice—it was so focused. So fixated. “He would need to be close to you. He’s someone that you’ve talked with before. That’s why he disguised his voice. He didn’t want you to recognize it.”
She shook her head. “I—you’re wrong. I’ve barely spoken to anyone while I’ve been up here. You—you’re the only one I’ve gotten close to—”
“He’s not someone new, Alice. Not someone you met up here. He’s someone from your life in Savannah. Back when you were with Hugh. He’s someone who has been in your life for a very long time.??
? Zander closed in on her. Alice’s head tipped back as she stared up at him, and he had to clench his hands into fists so that he wouldn’t reach out and touch her.
If he touched her, he’d want to take her.
No, fuck it, he already wanted to take her. He had his own obsession when it came to Alice May. Only he wasn’t a twisted sonofabitch who got off on murder.
“You know who he is,” Zander stated flatly. “He’s been in your life all along. He’s hooked on you, and he’s not going to give you up. No matter what he has to do,” or who he has to kill, “he won’t let you go.”
***
Alice had been perfect. His beautiful Alice.
She’d mourned Hugh. Even with the stories circulating in the news, even with the evidence, she’d cried at his funeral.
She hadn’t gone to the news and spread stories about how twisted Hugh had been. Hadn’t taken the book offers that he knew she’d been given.
He knew so much about Alice.
Because he watched her so much.
One whole year had passed since Hugh had been put into the ground, and during that time, Alice had stayed faithful. No other men. No lovers at all.
Until the one-year anniversary.
Until he’d gone to her cabin, ready to see her. Ready to touch her. Finally, ready to take what should have always been his.
He’d watched her. She’d had that fool in her cabin earlier that night, but she’d sent him away. The agent who lied to her. The agent who’d pretended to be someone else.
She’d sent him away.
“Me, asshole. She was with me.” Special Agent Zander Todd’s voice rang in his head again.
Alice had gone to Zander Todd. She’d rushed to him in the storm. She’d spent the night with him.
Alice…why?
She’d been so perfect. He’d thought she was different. That she could be trusted. That she was going to be his.
He glanced down at the knife in his hand. The blade gleamed, sharp and long.
Alice, you should have been perfect.
The old floor groaned beneath his feet as he made his way to the bedroom. His right hand clenched tightly around the knife, and his left rose to close around the handle of the bedroom door. The door slid open with a squeak, and there she was.
Dark hair.
Blue eyes.
Porcelain skin.
Younger than Alice. Smaller.
But he could imagine…as he’d done with the others…he could see his Alice in her… “Why the fuck did you go to him?”
Her eyes widened.
“You were meant for me.” He rushed toward the bed.
Chapter Nine
“He’s obsessed.” Zander stared down at her with his dark, stormy eyes. “Don’t you see that? Come on, Alice. They all look like you. The Secret Admirer killings started when Hugh met you. Those women died—”
“Because they looked like me.” Her breath came too fast. Her heart raced in her chest. “Yes, I know that.” And it tore her apart. “That’s why I’m going to make the trade. I’m sick of people dying in my place. It has to stop.” Her voice rose with each word. Her control—the careful control that she’d kept so tightly for the last year—was shredding around her. “No one else is going to die for me. When he calls, I’ll get a location. I’ll go to him. And maybe it will all just end.” The way it should have ended when Hugh’s casket was lowered into the ground. But it hadn’t. The nightmare was still going on.
Either because the Feds were right—and Hugh’s partner was still hunting. He had a partner all along…
Or because some sicko had started a copycat routine.
Either way…It has to end.
She spun on her heel and headed for the stairs once more. But she’d only taken two steps before Zander caught her. He turned her toward him, pulled her close, and she stumbled, her body pressing against his.
“You think I’m going to let you risk your life?” he growled.
“You think I’m giving you a choice?” Alice threw right back. “I tried it your way. We sent that agent to my cabin, and she died.” No more. No one else could die in her place.
“So you’re ready to die instead?” Anger was there, biting in each word that Zander spoke. “Not on my fucking watch.” The storm in his eyes raged harder. “You do not die. You do not.”
She opened her mouth to reply, but his lips were on hers. The kiss was wild and angry and rough. And she should have shoved against his chest. Should have told him to back the hell away.
But instead, it was as if something ignited inside of her. Her emotions were an utter wreck. She was still furious at Zander for his lies, for his betrayal. She was scared because of the bastard hunting her. She was sad and guilty because of the agent who’d been shot…
Alice was…God, she hurt.
And when he kissed her, when she felt the surge of passion and desire rise within her, Alice just—
She let go of all the fear and the pain, and she grabbed tightly to Zander. Her hands curled around his shoulders. Her nails dug into the soft, cotton fabric of his t-shirt. Her mouth opened wider, and their tongues met. Need exploded. She didn’t think about what had been or what would be. The moment mattered.
There was nothing past this moment.
They tore off each other’s clothes. He stripped away her bra, tossed it aside. Then he was lifting her up, holding her with a surprising strength that was incredibly sexy as his mouth closed around her breast. He took two steps, and she felt the wood of the wall against her back. He was licking her nipple. Sucking. Stroking. And her moans came fast and hard.
Her legs wrapped around him. She just wore a scrap of cotton underwear. His shirt was gone, but he was still clad in his jeans. She wanted to be skin to skin. Wanted him in her, right then. No time for thinking. No time for hesitating. No time for anything but pleasure.
He kissed his way to her other breast. Her hips surged against him, rocking in a desperate, needy rhythm. Desire fueled her blood. She wanted him. Wanted to see if the pleasure would still be as good this time. Maybe it had been a fluke before. Maybe—
He lifted his head. Lowered her so that her toes touched the floor. “Do you want this?” His voice was gravel-rough. His eyes seemed to devour her. “Do you want me?”
“Yes.” She couldn’t imagine wanting anyone more.
His eye blazed. “I won’t mess up again with you. You can count on me.”
“Zander…”
“I’ll prove myself to you.” His right hand slid between their bodies. His knuckles stroked the crotch of her panties. The panties were wet, she knew it. She was wet. Wet, ready, and so eager. Alice wanted him. Needed him.
“Zander, now.”
He yanked at the panties. When they tore from her, she thought it was sexy as hell. Wild. That was how he made her feel. She fumbled, reaching between them, and she jerked open the button of his jeans. The zipper slid down with a low hiss. Then his cock was shoving into her hands. No underwear for her special agent. His heavy length surged toward her, and she stroked him, pumping his cock, and he let out a low hiss.
“Baby, I’m going fucking insane.”
That made two of them.
He lifted her again, positioning himself at the entrance to her body. The head of his erection pushed against her. Her breath panted out—
“Fuck. Condom.”
Oh, jeez, she’d almost forgotten. She’d stopped taking birth control over the last year, and she needed—
“Hold on tight, baby.”
She locked her arms around his shoulders. And he carried her up the stairs. With her legs still wrapped around his hips, with his cock right there, sliding over her sensitive core, making her moan and ache, he rushed up the stairs.
Then they were in his bedroom. He lowered her onto the bed. “Don’t move.”
Like she had to be told that. Alice was going crazy. Her legs parted for him. “Hurry!”
He grabbed a condom from the nightstand drawer
. Put the thing on in a flash, then surged toward her. “Can’t go slow,” Zander gasped. “Need…you.”
He thrust into her. She almost came. Right there. That fast. He filled her completely, and her nails raked down his back. So good. Dammit, even better than before. Even better.
He withdrew. Thrust deep. Their rhythm was fast and hard, and they rolled over the bed. She was on top now, and her knees pushed into the mattress. Her hands flattened on his chest as she rose up and down, taking him in deep, and his fingers pressed to her clit. Caressing her. Driving her toward her orgasm—
The climax shook her whole body. She didn’t even have the breath to cry out when it hit her. Alice stiffened, then shuddered, as pleasure pounded through her on wave after wave of release.
“You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” His words were guttural. Then he was surging up. She tumbled back, and he drove even deeper into her. He lifted her legs, putting them over his shoulders, and he came, plunging hard into her. Calling out her name. Holding her so tight.
In the aftermath, Alice struggled to catch her breath. He was on top of her, the bedding was bunched beneath her, and he was still in her. Her control was gone. All of the careful barriers that she’d put up to protect herself from pain and betrayal were gone.
It was just her.
Just him.
Zander lifted his head. He stared at her a moment, not saying a word.
She wasn’t looking for any kind of forever. Didn’t expect some magical words from him that said—
“I will never lie to you again, Alice May.”
Her heart had just slowed down, but at his words, her heart rate doubled.
“I will not betray you. I will be someone you can trust.”
She had to blink because suddenly, he’d gone a little blurry on her.
“I am sorry I hurt you. I would sooner cut off my own arm than hurt you.”
Her lips pressed together.
“I will never hurt you again.” He stared at her. “And one day…one day, you will believe in me.” His lips twisted. “And if I’m really fucking lucky, maybe you’ll even love me.”
What? “Zander—”
“Not today. I know.” His smile stretched just a little, and her chest felt funny. Probably because her heart was thundering so fast. “But we’re going to have all the time in the world. You’ll see that. I’m going to protect you. I’m going to stop this bastard. And then, Alice May, will you do me the honor of dating me?”