by Lexi Blake
Yeah, even for him. Cam didn’t like any of it. He absolutely didn’t like the fact that Jana Evans had shown up. That reporter was trouble. It had been her story that led to Laura’s kidnapping. He could still remember getting that note. It had been sent to the SAC, but he and Rafe had been called in. The note had explained that de Sade was angry. He was far smarter than anyone in law enforcement, and Laura Rosen would pay for the insult.
That note had been the beginning of the worst years of Cam’s life. Now the trouble with de Sade was all starting all over again.
Damn. He wanted to be in bed again. He wanted to be snuggled beside Laura in this quiet, safe place. He wished he’d never woken up.
He was wasting time. God, he was going to look like an idiot. His day-old clothing was wrinkled, and he hadn’t managed a shower or a shave, but he wasn’t going to let her face the unit alone. He was going to have to suck up his pride and ask for a favor. He looked at Wolf.
“Could I get a ride into town from you?” Cam sure as fuck wasn’t riding with Rafe.
Rafe sighed. “Don’t do this. I told you I didn’t know they were coming. I didn’t cut you out of this. I convinced them to let you come in with me.”
He didn’t even look back. “And I found her. Don’t pretend like you were doing me a favor.”
“I’m going, too. I have banana bread. Everyone likes banana bread,” Holly said. “From what it looks like, Laura hasn’t had any breakfast. So, I’m coming, too.”
“Ma’am,” Brad began in that whiny voice of his, “this is serious investigative work. Stay in your cabin, and I’m sure there’s a secretary who can keep you informed.”
Holly stared at him for a moment, then turned back to Wolf. “If he touches my banana bread, I’ll kick him in the balls. Can we go now?”
Wolf nodded. “Come on, Cam. I’ll give you a ride in.”
Rafe pulled on his arm. “Don’t do this. The last thing we need is to let this thing come between us. I never meant to leave you out. I would think last night proved that.”
Cam wanted to believe him. He did. The night before had been the best of his life, and part of that had been sharing Laura with Rafe. Perhaps Rafe hadn’t lied to him, but he hadn’t been truthful, either. “I think you need to take a step back and decide what’s more important to you, Laura or your career. I know where I stand on that. I’ll see you at the station. I understand that I’m not on the ‘team.’ I’m strictly there to provide support for Laura. And to keep that fucking reporter off her back.”
“I’ll get rid of her,” Rafe promised. “I know no one in this room is going to believe me, but my main concern is Laura. However, I believe the best way to keep her safe is to catch this killer. I’m going to do it. I’m going to do it because I know he’s going to come after her, and I’m going to get to him before he does it.”
“Would he come for her here?” Holly asked, a tremor in her voice.
Wolf’s arm went around her. As far as Cam could tell, there was nothing in his stance but friendly concern. Wolf Meyer seemed to like to touch the women around him. As long as he kept those paws off his Laura from now on, Cam didn’t have a problem with it. Holly didn’t seem to have a man to watch out for her. That meant every man who knew her should watch out for her.
“Laura’s going to be okay,” Wolf promised. “We’re having a town hall this evening to discuss the situation. Stef called it.”
Rafe groaned. “There’s no need to bring the town into this, Mr. Meyer. We’re working with the sheriff. He’ll keep you updated.”
“That isn’t the way things work here in Bliss.” Wolf started to lead Holly to the door. “We’ll grab some coffee from Stella’s. That crap Nate drinks is like motor oil. You coming?”
Rafe stood there, his eyes on the table in front of him. His face was stony, but Cam could feel the anger practically vibrating off of him.
He wanted to believe Rafe, but it had been one deception after another with him. How much was he supposed to take? When would Rafe decide to fully cut him loose?
“Yeah, I’m coming.” He followed Wolf out the door. He had enough problems to deal with without sorting through all the things that were wrong between him and Rafe at the moment.
He’d woken up cuddled around the dude. That was wrong.
“Shit, I take it that’s the reporter?” Wolf asked.
And there was another problem Cam didn’t need. Sometimes he thought his life had been a fuckload easier when it was just him and his computers. He’d had a promising career as a hacker. He could have had all the Hot Pockets he could eat and all the comics he could read, but no, when the FBI had recruited him, he’d had to go. Now he had to deal with waking up with his dick on his best friend’s thigh and catching serial killers and dealing with ninety-two pounds of pure evil in designer clothes. Yep, he should have gone the geek route.
“Well, if it isn’t the FBI’s least wanted,” Jana said with a wrinkle of her cosmetically perfect nose. She’d once told him she had Reese Witherspoon’s nose, Angelina Jolie’s lips, and Halle Berry’s chin. She might have paid for all of that, but she hadn’t had to pay for Hitler’s soul. That, she’d been born with.
“You’re going to get your ass thrown in jail for obstructing a federal investigation.”
Jana smiled, but it was more like a snake baring its fangs. How had Laura ever considered this woman her friend? She waved her hand, and her cameraman appeared. He was a lanky guy with stringy hair poking out of his baseball cap. He didn’t say anything, merely shoved the camera on his shoulder and looked through the viewfinder. “You should know I’m always rolling tape of one kind or another.”
Yeah, he knew that all too well. “Even when your best friend is pouring her heart out to you? Tell me something, Jana, how do you sleep at night? How do you rest knowing that your story almost got Laura killed?”
She shook her head, but her hair didn’t move. It was like the rest of Jana, utterly and perfectly under control and potentially very fake. “I didn’t kidnap her. I was trying to help the public. That monster had been killing for years, and you guys couldn’t get your thumbs out of each other’s asses long enough to find him. The public had the right to know that there was important information the BAU was overlooking because the profiler was female.”
“That had nothing to do with it, and you know it.” At least Cam hoped it didn’t. Laura had always been treated like a valued member of the team, yet Joe and Edward Lock, the senior analyst on the case, had utterly discounted everything in her profile.
Jana looked down at her nails as though the whole conversation was boring her on a fundamental level. “Seemed like a cover-up to me. It’s my responsibility to keep the public informed. The FBI sat on Laura’s information because she’s a woman, or they hid it because they were trying to protect their own. Either way, it was wrong. I got her information out to the public. I did her a favor.”
Cam had to clench his fists to stop from winding them around her neck. He wouldn’t need both hands. He could crush her throat with one. “Yeah, I bet she felt like you helped her out when she was fired and humiliated and then nearly killed because your fucking news report gave out her address.”
Wolf was in his truck, revving the engine. Holly had been perfectly still beside Cam, but now she took his hand.
“Come on, Cameron. I think you’ve said enough. Let Rafe handle her.” Holly’s hand was shaking as she started to pull him away.
“Yes, Cam, run away. I don’t need you. I want to talk to a real FBI agent,” Jana said. “You’re useless now, but then you’ve always been useless unless someone needs their computer fixed or backup in a bar fight, you hick.”
He followed Holly because she wouldn’t let go of his hand. There was a rigid set to her jaw as she climbed into the backseat, leaving him sitting next to Wolf. Wolf stared holes through the reporter, and he hadn’t even heard everything she’d said.
“I’m sorry you had to hear that, Holly,” Cam said. Humili
ation flowed over him. “Uhm, I should have walked away. You’re right. Rafe is the agent. He should handle her.”
She slapped at his shoulder. “I wasn’t saying that. I think Rafe deserves to have to handle her. She’s a horrible human being. I needed to get out of there or I was going to stuff my banana bread down her throat. And it’s good bread. It shouldn’t be wasted on revenge.”
He felt a deep surge of gratitude for his woman’s best friend. It looked like Laura had been much more fortunate in her choices of friends in this place. Even that kooky Nell seemed sweet and loyal, if a bit insane.
His stomach was in knots. How was he going to convince Laura he hadn’t tricked her? He couldn’t lose her again, but how could he keep her after this?
And Rafe. That son of a bitch. The betrayal burned in his gut. Had Rafe really used him? It would be easy to get rid of Cam once the feds swooped down. He wasn’t on the team, and he wasn’t local law enforcement. He had not one lick of clearance or standing when it came to the case, and after this morning, he doubted Laura would even consider him a friend. He could get frozen out entirely.
He looked out the side mirror back at the cabin where he’d almost found heaven. Rafe was getting into their rented SUV. He shouted something at Jana before slamming the door.
Cam forced his eyes forward.
He couldn’t think about Rafe now. Laura. Laura was all that mattered.
And keeping her alive had just become Cam’s full-time job.
Chapter Ten
Rafe got into the SUV and put it in reverse. “Is there a reason you can’t take your own vehicle back? Won’t you miss it? Where did you park, by the way?”
Brad frowned as he snapped his seatbelt closed. “Down the way a little. I didn’t know what I was getting into, and you hadn’t been in touch. I can get it later. Why the hell is News 9 out here?”
Rafe shot Jana Evans the finger as he drove by. The very sight of her made Rafe want to put his fist through something. This had to be one of Laura’s worst nightmares, and he’d brought it down on her head. Now everyone was pissed at him. “That’s a good question, one of many I have to ask Joe.”
“Well, I have a couple of questions for you. You want to explain to me why you were in the same bedroom with Cam Briggs? Seriously? Give me another explanation, man. I knew you two were close, but…”
“I don’t owe you any kind of explanation,” Rafe stated flatly.
He didn’t want to go into it. A couple of people knew he was involved with Laura, mostly coworkers who had been around when Laura was a member of the team, but he’d never talked about her with Brad. Brad was his partner, but Rafe had kept his distance. He’d kept his distance from everyone for the last several years.
Until last night.
Brad kept droning on about some shit, but Rafe’s brain had gone back to the night before.
It had been perfect. He’d taken her, his cock sliding in and out until he couldn’t tell where he began and she ended. He’d pumped into her, giving her everything he had while his tongue slid against hers. He’d tasted her at one point. Cam had held her, her back to his front. Cam’s legs had held hers apart, her pussy on full display and available to his lips and tongue. Her pussy had been sweetly pink and swollen from use. Rafe had tenderly washed her with a warm cloth before he’d settled between her legs and licked every inch of her. When he’d looked up her body, Cam’s hands had been there, holding her down when she tried to wiggle, keeping her still so Rafe could have his way.
Cam was his partner.
Brad was nothing more than a fellow employee.
“What’s this new information?” he asked, cutting off whatever diatribe Brad had gone on.
Brad stopped and turned to him. His eyebrows rose over his angular face. “You like this girl, don’t you? Were you involved with her before she left?”
He tightened his grip on the steering wheel as he turned out of the small cluster of cabins in the valley toward the center of town. He’d been here less than twenty-four hours, but he was learning his way around. “It doesn’t matter.”
Brad’s eyes narrowed. “It matters. If you’re involved with this woman, it affects this case. She’s the only person we know of who’s survived this guy. She’s a victim. You don’t fuck victims.”
He stopped the SUV in the middle of the highway. “She’s Laura Rosen. She has a fucking name, and you’re going to treat her with some goddamn respect.”
Brad’s whole face fell. “Shit, you’re in love with her.”
Rafe cursed himself. Brad was a thoroughly “by the book” kind of agent. Joe knew about his relationship with Laura, but Joe understood. He’d agreed to keep it quiet and not take Rafe off the case. Brad could make a stink. He didn’t want to find himself on the sidelines. This was one of the reasons he hadn’t gotten close to his “partner.” He would never have been able to keep something like that from Cam when they had worked together.
There was a long sigh. “I’m not going to say anything. I don’t know why you think I’m such a dick.”
Rafe slid a glance his way.
“Fine, I’m a dick,” Brad replied. “I’m a thrice-divorced dickhead with very few friends. I’m not going to out you. You’re my partner.”
“Joe knows.” He’d poured his heart out to the SAC after Laura had disappeared.
“Then you’re fine. I’m not going over Joe’s head, but you have to be careful. There’s a reason we don’t get emotionally involved with any case.” Brad sat back. “Okay. As long as we’re putting all our cards on the table, I received a package yesterday. It came to my apartment, but it was addressed to Laura Rosen.”
His gut clenched. “Why would he send a package to you? He doesn’t send packages. He’s sent notes before.”
De Sade had sent a couple of notes to both the Bureau and the newspapers, but he’d never sent a package before. And why would he send one addressed to Laura?
“I think I know why.” Brad gingerly touched his nose, looking in the passenger side vanity mirror. “I don’t have a family, and my building doesn’t have security cameras. And I’ve filed the last three official updates on the killings. I think de Sade has been watching for any sign of her.”
“How could he have known?”
Brad slumped back. “Because we have a leak somewhere. Jana Evans being here in this tiny piece of hell proves it. I’m sure she’s already filed a report back home. It will be the top story on the evening news. If reporters already have the story, why couldn’t de Sade? The package was sitting in front of my door when I went home yesterday afternoon.”
That would have been right around the time Joe had called. They had moved damn fast. And de Sade had done his homework, as always. He was everything Laura’s profile said he would be. Ruthless. Intelligent. He had to have known that Brad’s building didn’t have great security. Damn, he probably had a file on every agent on the case. It would be easy if he were law enforcement. “What was in that package?”
There was a hesitation that let Rafe know it was going to be bad. “A single pair of women’s underwear. A small, pink thong.”
Fuck. Laura had been found naked with only a thin sheet wrapped around her bleeding body. Among the clothes she listed as missing was a pink thong. He had to swallow back the bile that threatened to come up. “No note?”
“No, but the message was clear. He knows we’ve found her. We have the lab working on DNA, and the box has been sent to forensics, but you know we won’t get anything off it. He’s too careful.”
“He does seem to have a working knowledge of forensics and how to avoid detection,” Rafe murmured.
“Yeah, anyone who watches TV does these days. I don’t buy that this guy is one of us. And you shouldn’t, either. I don’t want to argue about this. The Marquis de Sade is not an agent. He’s some asshole who has connections. I can buy that. We need to check into Jana Evans.”
He’d already thought of that. Jana wasn’t capable of breaking a nail, but it
was obvious that whoever de Sade was, he was carefully watching the reporter. “I agree. Run a check on everyone around her, including that cameraman of hers.”
She’d worked with this particular cameraman for as long as Rafe had known her. Bob Lewis or something. It couldn’t hurt to run a check. Including financials.
Brad pulled out his phone and started making notes. Rafe had to give that to Brad. He was an asshole, but he was organized. He was always on top of things. Cam forgot. Cam’s brain was always flitting around. Rafe had been the one to write things down. Sometimes Brad’s brutal efficiency bugged the shit out of Rafe.
He sped down the road. It wasn’t like the locals were going to pull him over. The sheriff had his hands full of feds, and the disgruntled deputy had Laura. “So why did Joe decide to go mobile?”
“Joe was worried about that package. He thought it was best if we came out here and talked to the vic…to Laura again. She’s our only connection. We need her.” Brad was silent for a moment. “We need you, too. I need to know that you can keep your head on straight.”
Up ahead, Rafe could see the truck Wolf had driven off in parked in front of the sheriff’s office. Two Broncos sat in the parking lot, too, and several black SUVs. It looked like the gang was all here. Woohoo.
“My head is on straight,” he assured his partner. “I promise you, my brain is thinking about this case twenty-four-seven.”
“That’s what I want to hear, man.”
He pulled into a parking space. His brain might be on the case, but he had the sinking feeling that his brain wasn’t in charge anymore.
He knew he wasn’t in charge of anything when he walked through the double doors of the Bliss County Sheriff’s Department. It was utterly transformed from the quiet station house he’d visited yesterday. He’d dropped by the station to officially introduce himself and inform the sheriff why he was in town after Cam had finished talking to the conspiracy kook.
There were folding tables and laptops everywhere. The sheriff stood in the middle of it all, a pained expression on his face. A small brunette in a long skirt and a button-down shirt stood next to him, a clipboard in her hand. She chewed on her lower lip as she carefully wrote on the paper. Rafe sought his memory. Hannah? Hope. The sheriff’s secretary’s name was Hope something. She’d been quiet as a mouse during yesterday’s interview with Nate Wright.
