by Apryl Baker
“No, it’s okay. I mean, you guys have every right to come in. It’s your place.” She turned toward Nikoli. “Thanks for letting me stay here. I appreciate it.”
“No problem, Angel.” Nikoli enveloped her in a hug. “Anything for my favorite bartender. You holding up okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Nikoli snorted. “If I had a penny for every time Lily said that, I’d have a small fortune.”
Lily’s blue eyes iced over. “Is that so?”
Nikoli’s grin spread across his face, and he winked at Angel before turning his attention to Lily. “Now, dushka…”
“What did you just call her?” Angel interrupted him, appalled. He did not just call his girlfriend a douchebag, did he?
“Dushka.”
“And how many times have I told you not to call me that?” She threw her mane of heavy black hair over her shoulder.
“I can call you a prude instead.”
Angel giggled, remembering Kade’s face when she’d called him just that last night.
Nikoli looked between the two of them, his grin fading to suspicion. “What’s so funny?”
“Your brother.”
“Kade?”
“I called him a prude last night when he got all embarrassed over your closet.” Laughter bubbled up at the memory of his face. “He was like a virgin on prom night.”
Nikoli chuckled. “I would have paid good money to see that.”
“I told you we should have cleaned out the closet.” Lily picked up some of the bags and moved to the kitchen. Nikoli rolled his eyes and did the same, leaving Angel to follow them.
“You just miss all those silk bindings.” Nikoli moved up behind Lily, and Angel noticed how he didn’t touch her for a moment. It was odd, like he was giving her time to get used to him. When he leaned down and placed a kiss on her neck, she tilted her head and closed her eyes.
“Perhaps you miss being tied to the bed.” She let out a wicked little laugh herself when his breath hissed out.
“Yeah, maybe we’ll collect a few things before we go.” Nikoli’s eyes had gone all sleepy with desire. His arms swept around her, and he nestled Lily under his chin.
“Still a manwhore.” Lily shook her head in mock disgust.
Nikoli let out an outraged gasp but hugged her tighter. “But you love your manwhore.”
“Yes, I love you.” She leaned into him, turning her head up so he could kiss her properly.
Angel turned away and walked into the living room, leaving them alone for a few minutes. Manwhore? Well, some of the college girls called him that, but she hadn’t been aware Nikoli knew about it. Angel sat back down on the couch and picked up her pizza to munch on while they played lovey dovey. To be that young and in love. She smiled, remembering the first few months of her and Kade’s relationship.
“Sorry.” Lily came and sat on the couch with her. “We can get carried away sometimes. How are you, really?”
Angel didn’t know Lily all that well. She’d only met her twice, both times when Nikoli dragged her to the bar. Sweet girl who had Nikoli wrapped tightly around her finger. No small feat in itself.
“I’m good, I promise.”
“Did Nikoli tell you that I was kidnapped myself?”
“What? No, he didn’t.”
“They thought it was the serial killer, but it turned out to be a stalker I didn’t even know I had. I was terrified, trapped in a trunk, no phone, no way to get out. Then when the car wrecked, all I remember is the pain and the realization I’d never see Nikoli again. I wasn’t fine after it. I told everybody I was, including the manwhore over there, but it wasn’t true. I was scared all the time, and the nightmares…” She shook her head and closed her eyes for a minute. “I still have nightmares.”
“I’m so sorry.” Wow. She’d never known that. Angel remembered Nikoli coming in and saying something about an accident, but he hadn’t said a word about an abduction.
Lily smiled warmly at her, and Angel understood why Nikoli said everyone loved this girl. He’d came into her bar one night ranting that he couldn’t even get close to the girl without everyone blowing up his phone warning him off her. The kindness in Lily’s eyes said more about her as a person than most people’s actions did. She was a sweetheart. How Nikoli managed to land her was beyond Angel. The boy was a manwhore in the truest sense of the word, or at least he’d been before Lily.
“The reason I’m telling you this is because I understand some of what you’re going through, and if you need to talk, I’m here. Or I can recommend a good therapist for you. She’s excellent. Helped me a lot.”
“You mean the quack who adores me?” Nikoli came back into the main room and plopped down between the two of them.
“She’s not a quack,” Lily admonished. “She just thinks you have severe commitment issues.”
“I do not.”
Lily gave him an are-you-kidding-me look. “Nikoli, how many poor girls did you chew up and spit out since you came to BU?”
His expression turned wary. “That is something we’ve agreed to disagree on, Lily Bells.”
“You are the manwhore of Boston University.” Angel grinned when his expression soured.
“I am not a whore. I am a connoisseur of women.”
Lily and Angel both burst out laughing at his haughty reply. He looked so pious.
“Besides, I’m committed to you, aren’t I?” he challenged.
She leaned her head against his. “Yes, you are, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have issues. Especially after what happened between you and Kade.”
Happened between him and Kade? Angel’s ears perked up. What was she talking about?
“That was a long time ago, Lily Bells, and Kade I got past it.” The steel in Nikoli’s tone shut down any questions either girl would have asked. “Angel, you have groceries in the fridge for at least a week. Is there anything else you think you need?”
“You didn’t have to do that, Nik. I could have gone after work and picked them up.”
“I know, but why put yourself more at risk than you have to? This guy is serious business, Angel. It’s not good to take chances. I’m surprised Kade’s even letting you go to work.”
“Your brother, as arrogant and bossy as he is, can’t stop me from working. I have bills to pay.”
“You think he’s bossy and arrogant?” Nikoli’s eyes zeroed in on her.
“Annoying bastard too,” she said darkly.
“Ohh, now, what is this? Do I detect more than hostility, perhaps?” Nikoli’s voice turned sly. “Perhaps a little attraction?”
“Your brother is the last person I would ever want anything to do with.”
“Did he do something to you?” Nikoli’s expression darkened. “If he did, I’ll beat him.”
The phone rang before she could reply, and Lily bounced up to answer it. She frowned, but then said something into the phone before hanging it up. “Are you expecting a package, Angel?”
“No.”
“Someone from the front desk is on their way up with a package for you. It was dropped off a few minutes ago.”
“Who knows you’re here?” Nikoli stood, his eyes growing more and more alert.
“No one except Kade and the detective from last night. Not even my boss knows I’m here.”
They waited silently until a knock sounded at the door. Nikoli opened it and took the package, thanking whoever delivered it. It was a simple brown box, like any mailing box you’d buy at Walmart or the post office. It was addressed to Angel with the apartment number emblazed on a printed off label.
Nikoli set it down on the kitchen island, inspecting it. His bent his head, listening.
“What are you doing?” Lily joined him at the counter.
“Listening for ticking.”
“Good Lord, it’s not a bomb, Nikoli.”
“It might be,” he grouched.
“You’ve been watching too much Castle.”
“Kate’s hot.
”
“Castle’s hotter.” Lily gave him this innocent smile that belied the devilment in her eyes, and Angel found herself laughing despite the seriousness of the situation. The two of them were too cute. If she wasn’t as fond of Nikoli as she was, she could almost hate them for being so happy when her own broken past was currently mocking her every time Kade so much as entered her line of vision.
“Let’s just open the damn box.” Angel walked over to the knife block and pulled one of them so she could open the box. She picked it up and turned it upside down to open it. She didn’t want to slice through the address label. She was a big Criminal Minds nut herself, and at times like these, she was glad she’d picked up on a few things. Like not damaging address labels.
As she flipped the box back over, a small white cloth fell out with a handwritten note. Her hands started to shake even before the strands of red hair tumbled from the pristine fabric. She recognized the writing on the note. It was the same as from the night before.
“What the fuck?” Nikoli reached for it, but Angel stopped him.
“Don’t touch it. Call your brother.”
“What…”
“It’s him.” Her voice started to shake as badly as her hands were. He found her.
She couldn’t take her eyes off the note.
Soon, my Angel.
Chapter Nine
The parking lot was crawling with police. Kade frowned when he pulled in. This place was only a few blocks from the bar where Angel worked. It made him worry all the more about leaving her at the apartment alone, but there was no help for it. Two officers had been on their way over when Kade exited the building, but it didn’t stop the dread from twisting his stomach into knots.
Bailey motioned him over as soon as he saw Kade. He was standing in the back of the lot, where an abandoned blue Honda waited, the driver’s side door open. He noticed a purse on the ground when he rolled to a stop beside the detective.
“Well, it goes to reason he’d need to replace his last victim. We just weren’t expecting it to happen this soon.”
Kade peered to the left and saw one of his team members talking on his phone. Jeremy Bradford was a guy Kade didn’t know all that well. He was new to the team, but if the boss sent him, he had to have faith in the guy. Angus wouldn’t have sent him someone useless.
“Bailey.” Kade handed the guy a coffee. He’d stopped to grab some to try to wake up. Sleep had not been his friend last night. He kept dozing off into a world of memories that haunted him. Coffee was his new best friend.
“Thanks.” Bailey took the cup and popped the little plastic flap before blowing into it to cool the liquid. “Name’s Julie Helton. Twenty-four. Looks to have been taken after her shift. Red hair, brown eyes.”
“Shit.”
“She does look a lot like your girl.” He handed Kade the victim’s wallet enclosed in an evidence bag. It was placed so the inside was exposed and her driver’s license was in full view. The girl did look a lot like Angel, right down to the shape of her face.
“What time did the store close?” Kade asked, the dread tightening in his stomach.
“About three. There were two closers, according to the manager. My guess is she let the other girl go while she locked up, or perhaps she was texting on her phone while she stood beside the car. It’s hard to say what happened.”
“He took her while we were just a few blocks away?” Anger curled like a snake over every inch of Kade’s body. Bold bastard. Kidnapping a girl with the police combing the streets. “Did we get video footage?”
“I wish.” Jeremy frowned at his phone. “The manager said the camera back here is busted. Happened a few nights ago when some kids were messing around. He reported it to their corporate office, but they haven’t sent anyone to fix it yet. And where’s my coffee?”
“Didn’t know you were here.” Kade searched the ground carefully, looking for clues that might have been missed. “Did forensics find anything?”
“Nothing.” Bailey shook his head. “Why in God’s name would the manager let a young girl walk to her car by herself, knowing there’s a serial killer out hunting?”
“We’ll issue a public safety warning for employers to make sure their employees are escorted to their cars after dark.” Jeremy squatted next to where the purse lay. “Is this where they found the purse? I know they took the wallet out of it.”
“No. Forensics took photos of the scene before they disturbed it, though.” Bailey took another sip of his still steaming coffee. “It was a few feet away.”
Kade wanted nothing more than to smash his fist through something. He couldn’t get past the fact the unsub had snatched another woman right out from under their noses. They’d literally been five blocks away. You could even see this parking lot from the street. Why had none of the patrolmen seen the car?
It was a what-the-fuck moment if there ever was one.
“Kade?”
“What?” he barked, the cold fury in his voice evident to everyone. He needed to roll it back a notch. Neither Jeremy nor Bailey deserved his temper right now. “Sorry. This whole case is just frustrating me.”
“I know.” Bailey’s quiet words echoed the sentiment in Jeremy’s eyes. “It got real for you last night, personal. We understand that.”
“I don’t,” Jeremy said. “How did it get personal for you?”
Kade took a shallow breath. “Angel makes this personal for me.”
“Angel? One of the witnesses? She saw our unsub, didn’t she?”
“Not just any witness.” Bailey’s voice had gone low. “She’s his wife.”
Confused brown eyes burned with curiosity. “Wife?”
Kade nodded, trying to regain control of his temper. Bailey needed to learn to keep his mouth shut.
“I didn’t know you were married.”
“He forgot,” Bailey crowed.
“He forgot?” Jeremy eyeballed Kade with disbelief. “How in the hell do you forget you’re married? My wife would hit me upside the head with anything she could lay her hands on if I forgot anything about our marriage for one second.”
“It’s complicated and nobody’s damn business.” He directed this at Bailey, who only grinned wider. “I’d appreciate some discretion. What do you think our unsub would do if he found out he was targeting the wife of one of the lead investigators? What would he put her through if he discovered how personal this case just became?”
“Kincaid’s right.” Jeremy rolled his head from side to side to relieve some of the aching muscles. “This guy? He’s impersonal in his choice of victims. That’s evident from the lack of pattern. Give him a reason to make it personal, and we get all kinds of new depravity. He’s the type to torment Kincaid for the rest of his life with all the brutal things he did. And knowing Kincaid, it would eat him alive.”
“Profiling me now?” he spat out, even though he knew every word Jeremy spoke was truth.
“I profiled every person I worked with the first week I was there. You were a little harder than the rest, but now with this new information, it all clicks into place.”
There was no arrogance, maliciousness, or mirth in the statement, only honesty, but it still rankled. He didn’t like anyone profiling him. He didn’t want anyone to see past the façade he put up. There was a darkness underneath that no one needed to see.
“Is there anything left here we need to see?” Kade turned the conversation back to the case. He’d rather keep his private life private and their concentration on catching this unsub before he had a chance to get near Angel.
Bailey shook his head, and Kade turned on his heel, stalking back to his SUV. He left the two of them to follow him to the police station. Hopefully, a preliminary forensics report would be waiting on them at the police station. They would have gone over the asphalt and what they could see from the inside of the car. The actual search of the car would take place at BPD garage. That would take some time, but he and Bailey had a lot of work to do in the meantime
. They had to go talk to the parents of the woman discovered last night, as well as the parents of the victim just abducted.
He hated talking to victims’ families. It was hard, but it was the job. His father once told him to never ask someone to do what you weren’t willing to do yourself. Kade applied this to everything in his life, especially the tough situations like these.
He would look them in the eye and promise to bring their daughter’s murderer to justice.
And he would.
Even if it was the last thing he did.
***
The place was quiet, a slow, grinding melody playing so low it was hard to make out the words. It wasn’t a song he recognized, but he found it enjoyable. The interior of the bar was just as soothing. The smell of the deep mahogany wood swirled around him. The people who worked here cared enough about the place to even baby the woodwork. Clean and welcoming. That was his first impression of O’Grady’s. He was pleasantly surprised, to be honest. Most bars were smoky and dirty. At least the ones he frequented.
He wandered over to the L-shaped bar and took a seat, his eyes drawn to the well-lit back bar. It highlighted all the best liquors the bar served. Not that he was here for a drink. He needed to do some recon and test out his new look. Thanks to some bleach and a pair of scissors, he sported short blond hair and eyebrows. So pale a blonde, his hair looked almost platinum or silver. The contacts changed his eyes from blue to brown. But it was the fresh cuts that truly changed his appearance.
“Hello, handsome.”
The bartender who set a small napkin down in front of him was neither of the two women from the night before. This one was tall, her light caramel skin making her baby blues seem all the brighter. Pretty. Had he not already decided on the redhead, this one would have suited him beautifully. She still might if his angel proved to be as elusive as he expected.
He grinned lazily at her, but the effect was ruined when he grimaced, the pain in his wounds stinging.
“You look like you ended up on the wrong side of knife fight.” The cute bartender winked at him, not trying to conceal her curiosity in the least.
