Stone, Rayna - Safe Haven (Mastering Holly Oaks 2) [Siren Publishing Classic]

by Rayna Stone

  “In my car. I locked myself in after I called 911. I was afraid he might still be in the building.” She was trying to take deep breaths and calm down. He didn’t need her hysterical right now.

  “Stay put until the police get there. I’m on my way, baby. Do not get out of that car for anyone without a uniform, okay?”

  Kelly agreed and hung up the phone, scanning the road for the police. She’d never seen a dead body before. Her mind flashed back to the night of her attack. The victim’s back looked torn up just like Kelly’s had. How much more pain had this girl suffered before it was over? Kelly couldn’t imagine. Who could be doing this? She needed to call Kent and see if the PIs in Denver had found anything. They needed to find this guy. There had to be something they were missing.

  The police cars were racing into her lot with the ambulance behind them. Knowing that the woman inside wouldn’t need their medical attention brought more tears to Kelly’s eyes. The anger welling up was overwhelming her sadness. This fucker had taken everything from those women. He was playing with her and Troy. She wanted to tear him apart with her bare hands. Whip his skin from his body and show him what it felt like to be helpless and in pain, afraid and begging for his life. He didn’t deserve the mercy of the law.

  She was still talking with the police by the time Troy arrived, not that she had much to tell them. Kelly raced into his arms and let him hold her tight. She didn’t want to break down again, but it definitely felt good to be safe in his arms. He reluctantly released her and scanned her face to make sure she was okay. When she gave him a tentative smile, he pulled her close for a gentle kiss.

  “Kent and a few of the others are on their way over here. You stay with this officer till they show up. I need to get in there and find out what the hell is going on. Are you going to be okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah. It’s pretty bad, Troy. I didn’t look long, but it’s real bad. He strapped her to my desk, Troy. That bastard took her to my spa and killed her on my desk.” The tears were falling despite her best efforts. God, that poor girl must have been so afraid.

  * * * *

  Troy knew there were no words that could comfort Kelly right now. Anything he said would be inadequate. The situation was just too terrible for comfort yet. Kelly would see that sight every time she walked into her office. He prayed he could help her move on, but he knew she would never forget something so evil. All he could do now was kiss her once more and get to work.

  When he got to her office, his stomach revolted at the sight. The victim was indeed bound to Kelly’s desk. He wondered if she noticed that it was the same position he had her in last night. He doubted that it was a coincidence. That fucker had watched them in an intimate moment, probably not for the first time, and then simulated what was beautiful and turned it into something monstrous. The officer in charge waved him over. “Detective, I think you need to see this. As in, right the fuck now.”

  Troy carefully made his way over to the officer behind the desk. On Kelly’s chair was another note. After putting his latex gloves on, he picked it up to read, his blood chilling more with every word.

  Dear Kelly,

  Hello, my sweet love. I hope you enjoy the gift I left for you. It will be your last. I had so hoped that we could be together soon, that I could show you how very hard I’ve worked for your love. Unfortunately, you didn’t wait for me, Kelly. You just couldn’t wait like a good girl. Now you’re tainted with another man’s essence. His scent and touch have destroyed your perfection. Your betrayal will cost you, my dear. Unworthy whores suffer the consequences of their action. I’ll make sure that you suffer, Kelly. You won’t have to wait for me much longer.

  Troy carefully laid the note back on the chair. “That son of a bitch has been after Kelly the whole time. I need an officer assigned to her 24/7.” He was glaring at the local detective that had joined the group. He knew this guy could be a real prick, but he wasn’t going to argue when it came to Kelly’s safety.

  Detective Ross looked a little sheepish. “Look, Davis. I know I haven’t been very cooperative with you or your friends in the past. I’m ashamed of my behavior, and I’m ashamed I let my office down. I won’t make the same mistake twice. Kelly is a respected and loved member of this community. My men will be lining up for shifts to make sure she’s safe. This is your case, but you need anything from us, you just let me know.” Ross walked out of the room to start assigning his men for Kelly’s protection.

  Troy was dreading talking to Kelly about this. He had no idea how she’d react when she found out that this killer had been obsessing over her the whole time. They needed to evaluate everyone she knew. It wouldn’t be easy for her to scrutinize every friend she had and know that one of them wanted her dead. Jesus, he hoped she didn’t hate him for making suspects of her friends and not just her acquaintances. He couldn’t take any chances. Someone close to her was going to try to kill her. He would not let that happen.

  He dragged his feet out of the spa and headed to the parking lot where Kelly waited, surrounded by those she’d claimed as her family. Everyone had shown up to support her. Fuck. This was going to be bad. As he approached the group, he was mentally going over the possibilities. Mac and Jay were clear. They had been too busy with Kat and the delivery when the tip came in for the last victim. They couldn’t have placed the call or the note. Kent was out. He’d been at the club the whole time and had plenty of witnesses to prove it. Shit. He was going to have to ask James and Ryan for an alibi. That would go over like gangbusters. He’d trusted them so much that he had them going to the clubs downtown. Now he had to ask them to prove they weren’t responsible for killing these women. And Kelly was going to be furious. They were like brothers to her. She wouldn’t care that they knew the most about her or that they were at the club during all the key events. She wouldn’t care that he was doing his job and trying to clear them of suspicion. She would only see that her lover was questioning her closest friends. He could not wait to get out of this fucking job. Sometimes being the good guy really sucked.

  * * * *

  Kelly watched Troy make his way over to her. He looked miserable. How much worse could it get? Kat handed the baby over to Jay and grabbed Kelly’s hand. She squeezed tight as they waited to hear what Troy had to say.

  Troy cleared his throat. “Kelly, I need to talk with you in private.” She was confused. He knew anything he had to say to her could be said in front of these people. She wasn’t letting go of Kat’s hand. “Just say it, Troy. What else did you find in there?”

  Troy pursed his lips and blew out a tight breath. After a minute of deliberation, he nodded his head. “The killer left you a note, Kelly. Apparently he’s been after you this whole time. His obsession is with you. I think these women were practice for when he finally felt competent enough to take you.” Troy looked at everyone in the group and continued. “He said he’s coming for you. He’s angry that we’re together. In his delusional mind, you and he belong together. Now he wants to punish you for what he feels is your betrayal.”

  Kelly couldn’t think. What the hell was he talking about? This guy had been watching her from the beginning? Started all this because of her? Were all those girls dead because of something she did? She was going to be sick. She could feel the sweat gather at the back of her neck, feel the blood drain from her face. This couldn’t be happening. She still couldn’t even imagine who she knew that could be capable of this. How was it possible someone had been watching her all this time, doing such horrible things, and she never even noticed?

  “This is all my fault? All those girls. All their pain.” It was too much to process. Kelly’s knees went weak and she slumped to the ground. Troy and Kat went down with her.

  Troy was holding her face and he looked ready to kill. “Absolutely not, Kelly. You are a victim in this. This man is dangerous and psychotic. He wants to kill you, Kelly. Nothing you could have done could have prevented this, honey. If he hadn’t fixated on you, it would have been someon
e else. He is a killer. Nothing would have stopped this from happening. I will not allow you to blame yourself.” Kelly understood his words, but their meaning wasn’t sinking in. All she could think was that she had done something to set someone off, and now innocent women were dead. Oh, God, they were dead. She’d been taking back her life while they were losing theirs. It wasn’t fair. She started hyperventilating. There wasn’t enough air. How was she supposed to live with this?

  Before she knew what was happening, Kat had reared back and slapped her right in the face. Fuck, that really hurt. She looked at Kat like she’d turned into a Martian. Kat’s look of determination was a sight to behold. “Yeah, I slapped you. Been waiting for a reason to do that for a long time. You listen to me, Kelly. You have done nothing wrong. You told me to grow a pair, now it’s your turn. It’s an atrocity that those poor girls are dead, but if you think you could have stopped it, you’re insane. This guy is about twenty cards shy of a full deck. He would have found a reason to do what he did. And now he’s coming for you, Kelly. Did you get that part? He’s coming for you. The woman I know would not sit on the gravel losing her shit when a killer is gunning for her. She would not retreat into a scared little girl. You’ve been a victim before, honey. Do not let this asshole make you one again. You’re the strongest woman I know. Start acting like it. Get yourself together and let’s figure out who the hell this is.”

  Just then Kelly saw Alexa climb out of her car. “Um, Kelly? If this is a bad time for lunch, we can reschedule. Preferably when your slap-happy friend isn’t around. What’s up with all the police?” Alexa looked utterly confused.

  “I’m sorry, Alexa. This is actually a really bad time. There’s a serial killer after me. You might want to steer clear for a bit.” Jesus, did she really just say that? It took all her energy to push down a hysterical giggle.

  “Serial killer? Seriously? Jesus, I thought this was supposed to be a sleepy little town.” Alexa crinkled her brow for a minute. “Okay, I’ll be home if you need me.” Well. She took that way too well. Was this chick not afraid of serial killers? Where the hell did she live before? Kelly shook off that weird moment and thought about what Kat had said. She was right. Kelly wasn’t a victim anymore, and she hadn’t done anything to anyone. She wouldn’t let this fucker intimidate her. They needed clear heads to figure this out and it was time she stopped acting like a wilting flower and started thinking. Everyone was still staring at the strange woman who was now her neighbor as she got in her car and drove off, Dave Matthews blaring from her speakers.

  Kelly was about to ask Troy what the next move was when Kent’s phone rang. He snapped to attention as he listened to what the caller had to say. His gaze zeroed in on Troy as he closed his phone. “I think we just found our nutcase.” Everyone took in a breath and stared at Kent. Troy was up in a heartbeat.

  “Tell me.”

  Kent indicated his phone, “That was my contact in Denver. I called a friend who runs a PI firm to go over every member at the club and dig up whatever we didn’t find on our background checks. Thought maybe they could get around some of the procedure the police needed to follow. They found a few discrepancies with a member named Roger Milton. Apparently when they looked into his background, they realized that there hadn’t been any activity on his credit cards or Social Security number since he applied for membership. They did some more digging and found out that Roger Milton has been overseas in Afghanistan for six years.

  “They got in touch with him, and he said that he had a brother, Daniel. He and Daniel haven’t spoken since they were teenagers, but he did say that they were both abused by their mother. He’d heard that Daniel got a divorce a couple of years back. The wife took everything and went off with her lover. He was pretty pissed to hear that his identity had been used here in Colorado. Looks like our Roger found a pretty ironclad way to get by our background checks. He’d never have been approved. Daniel Milton served some time for domestic assault.”

  Troy’s face turned red. “Son of a bitch. Isn’t he the guy that trained with you years ago?” Kelly was looking at Troy, but her mind was running a mile a minute. Yeah, that was him. How could this be? He was one of the most submissive men she’d trained. He could barely look her in the eye four years later. This was the guy killing these women? “I can’t believe this. Roger doesn’t have a mean bone in his body.”

  Jay was swaying with the baby. “Actually, it makes perfect sense. He was all over you from the minute he joined the club. I know he was devastated when you ended the training. Maybe he decided to turn the tables. Become dominant enough to force you into returning his devotion. He probably had to try to please his domineering mother, so he would have tried to please you for your love. When it didn’t work, he got angry. Decided to take what he wanted instead.”

  Kelly was starting to see his point. Roger had always raced to her side to talk with her, and he had begged her to keep him as a sub. “But I never interacted with him outside the club. And I made sure he understood that we didn’t have a romantic relationship. What did I do wrong?” How could she have misjudged him so entirely?

  Troy pulled her close to his side. “You didn’t do anything wrong, baby. There could be a million reasons he wanted you. Why he fixated on you. The bottom line is that he was abusive before, broke laws to conceal his identity, and now he’s become a killer. We have to find him. I want you to go home with the officer assigned to protect you. I’m going to head to the station so I can get a warrant to search his place. We’re just running on a theory right now, but hopefully I can sway a judge to let me into his home. There has to be something there tying him to these murders. I don’t want you going anywhere without a police officer with you, understand?”

  Kelly just nodded her agreement. Hopefully this would be over soon. She wanted some answers from that bastard. She wanted to look him in the eye and let him know she saw who he really was. She hated that she’d been fooled again. Hated that there were people in this world who could be so evil and could conceal their darkness from everyone around them. At least this time, she wasn’t the only one fooled. Nobody had seen this coming. She wouldn’t let this ruin her faith in Troy or her friends. They weren’t like Flynn or Roger…shit, Daniel. She had to have faith that they were the people she believed them to be. Without that, she had nothing.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Kelly was pacing in her living room. Troy had been gone for three hours. He called about an hour ago to let her know that they got the warrant to search Daniel’s home, but no one had seen Daniel himself for days. She knew it would be awhile before he could tell her if they found anything, but she was going stir-crazy. The officer waiting with her was a nice guy, but it was weird having him standing guard in her own home. At least James and Ryan were coming over soon. They had to close up the clinic and pick up some food, but they would stay with her till Troy came home. She could definitely use the distraction.

  Carson picked up his head and curled his upper lip. She had never heard her dog growl before, but the noise coming from him now sounded dangerous and feral. Before she could look to see what had his hackles up, he bounded off the chair he’d been sleeping on and raced for her back door. She spun around to look at the officer behind her. He was getting his gun out and motioning her to get behind him. What the fuck was going on?

  Just as she ran behind the officer, she heard a thunderous crash as her back door burst open. Carson was salivating and barking, sounding so deadly she felt shivers race up her spine. Daniel Milton calmly walked into her home and raised a gun on the officer.

  “Stand down! Police! Drop your weapon!” the young man in uniform yelled. Right as Carson leapt forward and bit into Daniel’s leg, he shot off a round and the officer went down. It all happened so fast. Kelly was staring in shock as Daniel tried to kick Carson away, swearing and hitting him all at the same time. Kelly raced into the kitchen and grabbed her phone, running for the front door as she called 911. Before she reached the foyer, she heard an
other shot and dropped the phone as the operator began speaking. Her heart was beating so fast she saw black spots. As she reached for the doorknob, she felt her hair being pulled hard, snapping her head back and causing her to lose her balance. She stumbled back, right into Daniel. He was breathing hard as he put the gun to her head with his other hand.

  “Did you really think I could be stopped, Kelly? Nothing could ever prevent me from having you. You were supposed to be mine. I would have treated you like a queen, you know. Now I’m going to have to punish you instead. I really wish you hadn’t been such a disappointment, Kelly. I want you to know that killing you really will break my heart.” Daniel was backing them away from her front door. She was terrified to fight him right now when he had that gun on her. She thought her best chance at buying Troy time to come get her would be to act submissive to him. Let him think she’d do whatever he asked. ’Course, she also didn’t really have a choice.

  “You don’t have to kill me. I didn’t know that you wanted to be with me. I’ve been waiting for a strong man. I can see how strong you are now. We can still be together.” Jesus, she didn’t even know what to call him.

  Daniel started to laugh, spewing spittle on her neck. “I don’t think so, Kelly. I would have been an amazing Master to you, but you’re not worthy of me anymore. You’ve whored yourself to Davis. Why would I want you now? Flynn told me you were nothing but a little slut. I tried to tell him he was wrong about you, that you were the one. I’m not happy that you proved him right, Kelly. I do not enjoy being made a fool of.” Flynn? Holy God, how the fuck did he know about Flynn? Before she could ask, there was a banging on her front door. Thank God, someone was here. Daniel pulled her head to the side, “One word, bitch, and I’ll shoot whoever comes into this house. We’re going out the back and into my car. If you don’t cooperate, I have no problem killing you before I have my fun.”