After the Dark

by Cynthia Eden

  Blake stiffened.

  Jason’s breath wheezed out. “In...his sights...he’ll...get...you...”

  “Let him come,” Blake rasped. “I’m ready.”

  Jason’s breath didn’t wheeze any longer. His body had gone still. His final words had been a threat. Blake looked around him. Captain Lewis was running toward the cabin. Samantha and Josh were trying to apply pressure to Bass’s wounds.

  There was no sign of Latham. No sign that the guy was out there, waiting for his shot.

  “Don’t worry, Cameron’s not here,” Samantha said.

  Blake’s gaze cut toward her.

  She kept working on Bass, not even looking up.

  “Cameron knew we’d find Bass. He left Jason Burke here so that we’d take him out.” Frustration was rich in her voice. “And we did.” Now her gaze darted up to hold Blake’s. “I told you all along... Cameron didn’t come here to help Jason. He wasn’t looking for some kind of partner in that messed-up kid. He came after Jason for one reason only.”

  To kill him.

  Her lips curled down. “We just did the job for him.”

  The chopper was closer. He could see it in the sky, could feel the rush of the wind from the blades as the pilot tried to find a place to land out there in the marsh.

  “Now...” Samantha’s voice rose over the howl of the helicopter. “Now we have to see what he’s got planned next.”

  * * *

  SAMANTHA STOOD NEAR the tall grass, watching as the helicopter lifted higher and higher into the air. She didn’t know whether or not Bass would survive. His wounds had been deep, one far too close to his heart, and there had been so much blood.

  Too much.

  Josh had gone with him on the chopper. More crime scene techs were rushing in on boats. The little cabin was going to be analyzed from top to bottom, every inch searched for clues.

  Jason Burke was dead. She turned and saw his body, still near the cabin. Slumped, legs twisted beneath him. Death by FBI agent.

  Blake stood over the fallen man, staring down at the body with tension evident in every tight line of his body. He was just a few feet away from Samantha, but for some reason...it seemed as if the distance was a million miles. He’s furious at me. Hates that I put myself at risk. But she’d known she could distract the guy, and she’d bought them precious time.

  She’d wanted to save both Bass and Burke. In the end, that just hadn’t happened.

  Her phone rang, vibrating in her pocket. She pulled it out and frowned at the screen: Unknown Caller. What a joke. She knew exactly who was calling her. Samantha put the phone to her ear. “He’s dead.”

  She turned her back on Blake and stared up at the sky. The chopper was high now, she didn’t even feel the rush of wind from its spinning blades.

  “Isn’t that what you wanted to hear?” Samantha asked, when there was only silence on the line. “You called to make sure we put a bullet in Jason Burke?”

  “I missed you.”

  His voice was the same. Deep and sensual. The voice of a lover.

  When he was a killer.

  Her eyes closed. She heard footsteps crunching behind her. “You wanted Burke to kill Agent Gamble.”

  “That would have been nice, yes.” Cameron’s words were smooth. He’d always been so fucking smooth. “I’m guessing that didn’t happen?” A long sigh. “Pity. But that’s okay. There are just some jobs you want to take care of yourself.”

  Her fingers tightened around the phone. “I want you to stay away from him.” She opened her eyes. The world was still as chaotic as it had been before.

  “If you don’t want Agent Gamble brought into the cross fire, then maybe you should have stayed away from him.” He paused. “Gamble took you away from me, Sam. You think I’ll let him have you now? That I’ll fade into the sunset and you two can go off living your fucking happy life?”

  She took a step closer to the water’s edge. “I’m not a thing to be had. Not by you. Not by him. Get that straight.”

  “You were mine. I knew it. You understood me, all the dark parts. We were alike. We are alike.”

  That was where he was wrong. “You aren’t experimenting any longer.”

  He laughed.

  “I’m not so sure you ever were,” she whispered. She’d never bought that story from him.

  “See...” His voice had turned into a rasp. “You did understand me.”

  Her heart twisted in her chest. “You just like killing. You like the power.”

  “My prey is weak. They can’t touch me. They can’t even come close...no one can. The FBI...they aren’t going to find me. They aren’t going to catch me. They aren’t going to stop me.”

  Confident bastard.

  “But I will stop them.” And he laughed. “Bass was the first to fall.”

  Time to rain on his little sick parade. “Bass is still alive, Cameron.”

  And she heard it...the fast inhalation of breath that was his sign of surprise. Didn’t see that coming, did you? “Your little buddy Burke? He didn’t go by whatever plan you had for him. He didn’t kill Bass.” He came real close, but I won’t tell you that. Because she needed to crack that confidence of his. “And he didn’t kill Blake. But he did try to kill me.”

  Silence.

  “If you want to come for me, then do it.”

  “You know I don’t want you dead.”

  “Then what do you want from me?” Confess to what you’ve done. Deliberately, she said, “You left Janice’s blood on my door...you wanted me to see what you’d done—”

  “You were so close...it was almost like you were there while I was fucking her.” He paused. “And killing her.”

  Her breath eased out slowly. Got the confession.

  “I’ll see you soon, love,” Cameron promised her.

  The call ended.

  She stared at the water.

  “We got the trace.” Blake’s voice was low, controlled, and coming from right behind her. “Let’s get in the chopper and get the bastard.”

  Because a second chopper had been brought in for them. A chopper that waited just a few feet away. Even before they’d left the Fairhope police station, heading out on the airboat, she’d told Blake that Cameron would call her.

  He’d have to call. He’d have to make sure that I survive this scene. So they’d taken precautions. They’d had the FBI monitoring her phone.

  And now...now they just might have him.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CAMERON ENDED THE CALL. He smiled. “It was good to hear her voice.” He put the phone down on the table. Looked around the house.

  Such a nice, homey place. And that view of the water...killer. He could completely understand why Samantha loved the place. Sure, the home was on the small side, but that view...gorgeous.

  He paced toward the man who sat—dead silent—in the chair before him. “I realized I needed to take care of you, of course. Couldn’t have you running around, telling stories about me. And Samantha...well, I can predict her movements, too. I knew she’d have someone tracing that call. She’s so...upright, that way.” He let his eyes widen. “Boringly by the book, if you know what I mean.”

  The man stared back at him. Well, he had to do that—stare. He didn’t have a choice.

  Cameron had sliced off his eyelids.

  A new trick.

  And a message.

  Samantha, I want you to see what you really are. Stop pretending. Stop hiding. You can’t ever hide from me.

  “Sorry about the mess,” he murmured, glancing at the man’s face. “But I’m a PhD, not an MD. Every new slice is fresh ground for me.”

  Silence. Only to be expected. “They’ll be here soon.” Cameron nodded. “So I have to go. Not quite time for
my big reunion with Sam. I’ve got someone else to clear out of my way first. She really needs to see his true colors, and I think this scene...” He waved his hand around the house. “I think this will help. A man can only take so much—” he slapped his gloved hand on the fellow’s shoulder “—before he breaks. And believe me, I intend for Blake Gamble to break.” His grip tightened on the fellow’s shoulder. “I had a perfect life before he came into it. He wrecked everything.” Rage cracked in his voice. He cleared his throat and continued, “So everything that happens now, it’s all on him.”

  * * *

  HE WAS IN her home. She’d gotten the address while in midflight. Samantha’s stomach was in knots as the chopper flew over the water. Blake was at her side. He had on a headset, and his gaze was directed below. She could feel the fury rolling off him.

  Fury, not fear.

  I’ve got enough of that for us both.

  Because she knew it wasn’t over. There wasn’t going to be some easy scene in which Cameron just surrendered to the authorities. He wasn’t the surrendering type. He was more the take-everyone-down-with-me sort.

  And he was slippery. Always two steps ahead. When they got to her house, would he even be there?

  “Local cops were supposed to be at your house.” Blake’s voice crackled in her headset. Her gaze jerked to his face. “Lewis sent them out last night to keep watch when we went to the bed-and-breakfast.”

  She’d known a patrol was there.

  His lips flattened, and then he said, “They aren’t answering their radios.”

  That knot in her stomach got tighter. “They’re dead.”

  His face hardened. “We don’t know that.”

  She did. “If they were in his way, they’re dead.” No experiment, but a total change. Cameron wasn’t holding himself back any longer. When he’d fled months ago, he’d stopped caring about any rules or restrictions. And she was afraid he liked what he was doing. He’d developed a taste for blood.

  And other people’s pain.

  “More patrols are being sent to your place. Both from Fairhope and neighboring cities. I told them to surround the house but to stand down until we got there.” His eyes glittered. The chopper began to lower. “If Cameron is in there, we’re taking him down.”

  But he wants you, Blake. You’re the one he’s after. Cameron had only missed a target once, and that target had been her. She reached for Blake. Her fingers curled around his hand and held tight. “Be careful.”

  One dark brow lifted.

  “I need you to stay safe.” Something happening to him wasn’t an option for her.

  His hand turned and linked with hers. “And I need you to not make a target of yourself again. You can’t trust this guy, Samantha. You can’t manipulate him. You can’t play mind games with him.”

  That wasn’t—

  “If you see him, you fucking shoot him.”

  That wasn’t the way the FBI worked. They took in the bad guys. They didn’t put them down like rabid animals.

  “He will kill you,” Blake said, certainty in his voice.

  She shook her head—

  “He isn’t your former friend. You have to see him the same way you do every other perp.”

  She saw Cameron for exactly what he was.

  “We end this,” Blake said grimly. “And he doesn’t walk away.”

  The chopper lowered onto the bluff. She stared at her house, saw the lights flashing from the police cars that were all around it. Ice squeezed her heart. He isn’t going to be waiting inside. It had taken them too long. There was no way that Cameron would just be sitting there, a grin on his face.

  When the chopper neared the ground, she dropped her headset. She jumped out of the chopper and ran with Blake. Uniformed officers hurried to meet them.

  “Found the patrol car in the driveway.” One of the officers pointed to the left. “No sign of Officer Daniels or McGinnis. Both of them were supposed to be on duty.”

  That ice around her heart started to spread.

  “Keep the perimeter here secure,” Blake ordered. “Every side of the house. I’m going in, and you make sure no one else comes out.” He glanced at the officers close by. “Cameron Latham is extremely dangerous. We know he’s altered his appearance, but just not how significantly yet. Stay on guard. You got it?”

  There were quick, nervous nods.

  Blake turned toward her.

  “We’re going in,” Samantha said flatly. “You said I, but we—”

  Blake shook his head. “You’re staying out here.”

  The hell she was.

  “Two officers are missing. I need to search the house, and I need to do it now.” He checked his weapon and wouldn’t meet her gaze. “But for all I know, Latham has the house wired to blow.”

  No. “He wouldn’t. Burke was the one who set the bomb, Cameron wouldn’t—”

  He grabbed her arm and pulled her close. “Why? Because he’s your friend?” Anger glittered in his eyes. “You think he wouldn’t blow up your house because he likes you?”

  It wasn’t about like. “Cameron hates bombs. He hates fires. That was one of the reasons I knew he’d come after Burke.” Samantha fought to keep her voice steady. Blake couldn’t go in alone. “Cameron’s parents died in a fire. That’s not something he would ever use. He hates fire.”

  “Maybe so, but I’m not risking you.” He nodded toward the officer behind her. “Keep Samantha Dark here. Put her ass in a patrol car and make sure she stays there until I come back.”

  He had not just said that.

  But the cop was nervously putting his hand on Samantha’s shoulder. “Ma’am?”

  “Don’t ma’am me!” she snapped back. “Blake, you need me! You need backup, you—”

  An SUV rushed to the scene, braking hard. Two men jumped out, men she recognized from the FBI. Special agents who’d worked with her and Blake.

  “Tucker Frost and Alex Castell. Bass ordered them down right after he landed in Alabama. And I got the call they arrived just before we took off on the airboat. I told them to stay at the station, to wait and see what developed.” Blake’s voice was curt. “So I have backup. Don’t worry about that.”

  She was worried about plenty. “Don’t shut me out!” The uniformed cop was actually pulling her back then. Damn it, damn it!

  “I’m not shutting you out. I’m protecting you.”

  He was pulling FBI rank on her!

  Tucker and Alex had already donned bulletproof vests, vests with FBI blazoned across the front. They tossed an extra vest at Blake. He caught it easily, and as he put it on, his gaze found hers once more. Emotion blazed in that stare.

  She was right beside the patrol car. This wasn’t right. “He’s not even inside! Cameron is gone! We need to have men searching the woods—searching the beach!” She looked out at the water. Boats bobbed out there, so many on this cloudless day. “We need to search every vessel! We need to—”

  “Put her in the car,” Blake said quietly. “And keep a guard on her every moment.”

  The officer opened the door.

  This sucked.

  Tucker glanced her way, his face worried. And he mouthed the words, I’ll watch his back.

  She and Tucker had trained together, back in the day. The Quantico days. He’d been set for profiling, too, but something had changed, and he’d focused less on behavioral analysis and more on violent crimes fieldwork.

  Blake turned away from her, rushing toward her home. Tucker and Alex were right with him as they headed for the house.

  And she was trapped in a patrol car, surrounded by cops.

  * * *

  BLAKE WENT IN FIRST, and the scent of blood and death was heavy in the air. Son of a bitch. He glanced to his right and saw Tucker Frost coming i
n behind him. The guy’s face was locked in tight, angry lines.

  Walking in and finding a dead cop on the floor was enough to piss anyone off.

  And the guy was definitely dead. His throat had been slit nearly from ear to ear, and the blood had already pooled beneath his body. Blake crept toward the body. Where the hell was the dead cop’s partner?

  It was silent in the house, eerily so.

  Not good.

  Alex Castell swept to the left, opening the guest room door. No one was inside.

  Blake followed the scent of blood forward. And he found missing cop number two.

  Only, this guy hadn’t been killed with a knife. The gunshot to his chest had taken him out. Blake pressed his fingers to the cop’s throat. No pulse. And the man’s skin was cold to the touch. Lividity had already set in.

  While they’d been chasing Burke down in the Delta, Cameron had been killing in Samantha’s house.

  “Where is he?” Alex barely breathed the words.

  Blake motioned toward the hallway. He could see that Samantha’s bedroom door was shut. He opened it and went in fast, but—

  The room was just as they’d left it. Nothing disturbed.

  His gaze narrowed as he stared at the white door that led to Samantha’s office. He stalked forward, yanked open that door—

  And saw the back of a man’s head. Someone was sitting in Samantha’s desk chair, staring at her computer screen.

  “Put your hands up,” Blake snarled. He could just see the man’s dark hair.

  The guy didn’t move.

  “The game is over, Latham.” Blake advanced on him. He grabbed the chair, spinning it around. “It’s—”

  Not Cameron Latham.

  “Oh, fuck,” Alex muttered. “That is sick.”

  The man’s eyelids had been cut away. His eyes—lifeless—stared straight ahead. His throat gaped open, and blood soaked his shirt.

  And the guy...he was familiar. Blake’s gaze swept over him, trying to see past the horror, and he realized...

  The cameraman. Janice Beautfont’s cameraman. He was staring at the guy who’d been on Samantha’s doorstep days before. At a guy who’d been tortured to death from the looks of him. Slices were up and down his arms. His hands were tied tightly to the chair arms, and he’d been positioned...