“You know you’re the only girl for me.” Jack quickly unlocked the door to his place and pushed it open. “Or rather, the only girl willing to put up with me.”
“Cute.” Cassie rolled her eyes and stepped inside.
Jack watched from the doorway as she ambled slowly around the room. His condo was sparingly furnished and even more sparsely decorated. As a semi-new bachelor, home-making was low on his list of priorities.
“That’s an impressive view,” she said, stopping in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows. The entire skyline of the city spread before them.
“I’ll put your bag in the bedroom,” Jack said quietly. He hoped it didn’t sound too presumptuous.
“Thanks.” She kept her back to him as she stared hard out the window.
Jack didn’t spend a lot of time in his condo. Before Cassie had moved away, he spent most of his free time at her place. Over the last three months, he had only come home for sleep. The rest of his time was spent at work, or at the gym. Anything to keep his mind off the woman that had stolen his heart. But now she was here with him and it all felt a bit too surreal.
Despite being a bachelor, Jack was used to keeping a clean home. When he saw his spotless bathroom and perfectly made bed, he gave himself a mental pat on the back. Being anal-retentive was finally working in his favor. He removed his suit jacket and draped it on the bed. His gun came off next and he put it on his nightstand
“Shall I order dinner?” he called to Cassie as he deposited their bags at the foot of his bed.
“That can wait.” Cassie had followed him into the bedroom unbeknownst to Jack. “I’ve got a different kind of hunger that needs to be satiated first.”
“Cassandra Miller, are you trying to seduce me?” Jack’s heart thumped happily as she sauntered closer. Sometimes he forgot that they were still in the earliest stages of a romance, the time when all you wanted to do was be with the other person, usually naked.
“Do I have to try?” she countered with a smirk.
They both knew that she didn’t have to do anything other than exist for Jack to want her. Every fiber in his body was on edge as she came closer and her hands immediately began working the buttons of his dress shirt.
“I’ve been waiting for you my whole life,” she said, looking up at him with her wide, beautiful green eyes.
“I’m here now,” he said, catching her face in his hand. Cupping her chin, he leaned down to kiss her. “And I’m never going anywhere.”
It was almost two hours later when they finally ordered dinner. They ate in bed, Jack in just his boxers and Cassie wearing his dress shirt. She laughed as he told her stories about his childhood growing up with three brothers.
“I’d like to meet them,” she said, biting into a fry. “Do any of them live close by?”
“We mostly scattered. Paul is in California, Ted is in Texas, but my youngest brother, Harry, is out in the burbs. I see him and his family pretty regularly.” Jack smiled thinking about his brothers. “Harry’s kids turned out surprisingly adorable.”
“They must take after their uncle.” Cassie winked at him and Jack felt a happiness in his chest that he had never known was possible. He had never felt this way with Lillian, not even in the beginning days of their marriage.
Jack finished off the last bite of his burger and then crumpled the paper wrapper in his hand. “You never talk about your family.”
“Not much to tell.” Cassie made a face. “My mom died when I was young and my dad remarried. Then he died a couple years ago. You met my step-mother in the hospital.”
The day after Cassie was found, a stunning woman in her mid-fifties had appeared in the hospital room. Hillary Miller was a force of nature. Beautiful like her step-daughter, but also distant and cold. She spoke to Cassie like an acquaintance rather than a beloved family member recovering from a horrible tragedy.
“She’s a diplomat?” Jack asked, trying to sound neutral.
“She works for the British ambassador. Spends most of her time overseas.” Cassie shrugged. “Been that way since I was a kid. My dad used to travel with her a lot, so I spent a lot of time alone.”
“That must have been hard.” Jack was lucky that his own mother was warm and loving, making up for his alcoholic father.
She shrugged again. “That’s life. No use dwelling on it. Still, I used to wish for a bunch of siblings back in the day. It would have been nice to have a house filled with noise.”
“You say that now, but you’ll change your tune after a family holiday at the Stone residence.” Jack put the rest of their trash in the take-out bag and sat it on the bedside table. “My family can drive anyone crazy.”
“I can’t wait,” Cassie said with a big smile. “Did you just invite me to meet your family?”
“I guess I did,” he said with a laugh as he settled back against the pillows. “This is, what, our third date? Seems like appropriate timing.”
Cassie curled up next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. “Do they know about me?” she asked timidly.
She wasn’t just asking if they knew that Jack was seeing someone. Cassie was worried that they knew what had happened to her.
“No. I don’t tell them the details of my job.” Jack put his arm around her. “My mother will be thrilled when I introduce you. I’m pretty sure she thought I was a lost cause.”
“It’s a good thing I found you then.” Cassie sighed and softly caressed his abdomen, letting her fingers trace the scar that he would never be able to erase.
“Without a doubt, the best thing that ever happened to me.” Jack closed his eyes, soothed by the feeling of her skin on his. He waited for almost an hour until he was sure that she was asleep before sliding out of bed. Tucking a blanket around her, he leaned down and kissed her forehead. She stirred, but didn’t awaken.
It was time for Jack to get back to work. There would be time for sleep after he found Jenny and Mallory. Every time he found himself getting lost with Cassie, he remembered Jenny’s husband. That man was depending on Jack to save the woman he loved. That wasn’t something that could be taken lightly.
Jack brewed an entire pot of coffee and settled in at the desk in his home office. A lot of detectives didn’t like to bring home their work. They would stay as late as they had to at the station to get their work done just so they didn’t have to bring home any files. But Jack never understood that approach. Even if he didn’t bring home the files, it wasn’t like he could truly leave the case behind until it was solved.
It had been months since Jack had looked at Mallory’s file. It was much thinner than the others because of the lack of information about her disappearance. She had been younger than the other women, just sixteen at the time. The initial investigating officer had believed there was reason to assume that she had run away. Her home life had been quite terrible and she was doing poorly in school. The runaway conclusion seemed to be logical at a glance. It was only when Jack started digging deeper that he saw the inconsistencies in that theory.
Mallory had a group of close friends, all of whom were well-behaved youths. None of them had criminal records, nor skipped school regularly. Mallory also had a younger sister whom she was devoted to and had helped raise. It seemed unlikely that she would have left her behind. Even Mallory’s teachers had agreed that she wasn’t a good candidate for running away. Despite her poor grades, she liked coming to school because it got her away from her home environment. She had even been staying late to get extra help from some of her teachers. By all accounts, it seemed like Mallory was trying to improve her situation.
In his five years as a detective, Jack had seen way too many girls like Mallory end up on the receiving end of a man’s cruel punishment. Sometimes it was a jealous boyfriend, other times a spurned love interest. Sometimes it was just a completely random encounter. Each time, Jack engaged in self-reflection and felt a sense of rage at his gender. How did any man think he had the right to treat any woman so cruelly? It was som
ething that he would never be able to understand.
“How long have you been doing this?” Cassie asked from behind him.
Jack, again, hadn’t realized that she was there. “It’s still the middle of the night. You should go back to bed.”
He turned to find her standing in the doorway, looking very much like an angel in his flowing white shirt. Her dark hair was messed in an adorable way that made him wish he could take her back to bed.
“You never went to sleep, did you?” She frowned. “You need to take care of yourself, Jack. Staying up all night isn’t going to help anyone.”
“I’m fine, darling. Don’t worry about me.” He gestured to his mug. “I’ve had too much coffee to be able to sleep anyway.”
Cassie crossed the room on the balls of her feet, making no noise. “I’ll always have to share you with them, won’t I?”
There was a sadness in her eyes as she glanced toward the open files on his desk. Jack had never thought about it that way, but she was right. Those women demanded his attention and that couldn’t be ignored, no matter how much he would rather be with Cassie.
“You will always be my top priority, Cassie. But I can’t just turn my back on them. They deserve to have someone devoted to them, too.” He caught her hand and pulled her forward until she settled into his lap.
“I agree. I just wish your days and nights didn’t always have to be filled with such darkness.” She draped an arm over his shoulders and skimmed the back of his neck with her fingers.
“You are the light in my darkness. As long as I have you, I have something good in my life to chase away the evil.” He slipped his hand through the opening of her shirt until his fingers touched soft skin. “You’re cold. You really should go back to bed.”
“I’d much rather be here.” She pushed closer to him. “Maybe I can help you with the case. It might help me deal with my guilt over leaving Mallory behind.”
Jack hesitated. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Please. Let me help. Tell me everything you’ve got so far and maybe I can help plug the missing holes.” She gave him a pleading look that tore straight to his heart. “I’m ready to do this, Jack.”
“Alright. But not like this.” He pulled his hand away. “I can’t concentrate on anything else when you are pressed against my body half-naked.”
“I’ll get dressed then.” She kissed him softly before standing. “For the record, I can’t concentrate on anything else even when you’re fully clothed.”
Jack moved the files to the kitchen table where there would be more room for them to work. He wanted to have some space between himself and Cassie as they talked so that both of them stayed focused. They would also be closer to the coffee which was a deal-breaker. Outside, it was still dark except for the city lights twinkling below. In a couple of hours, the sun would begin to rise over the lake and Jack’s condo would be cast in bright light.
“Better? Or does denim turn you on?” Cassie strolled into the room in a pair of jeans that hugged her curves and a fitted t-shirt.
“Everything about you turns me on, but I promise to exercise some self-control.” Jack watched as she poured a cup of coffee, looking perfectly at home in his kitchen. That made him smile.
“Stop grinning and get to work,” Cassie said when she caught him staring. She settled into a chair across from him, rather than the one right next to him. It was a wise decision.
Jack started at the beginning, digging into the details of each woman’s disappearance in chronological order. Each of them had vanished shortly after leaving their homes and they had been out for a walk or run. The suspect seemed to like victims that were athletic and active. All except one victim met those conditions.
Kendra Higgens was a beautiful girl, but she was also about 50 pounds heavier than any of the other victims. Nowhere in her file was there any evidence that she had been a runner or a member of a gym. Jack was certain that this difference wasn’t insignificant. Something had caused Carver to change his victimology.
“What about the construction worker theory? It makes a lot of sense. Kendra was even found at a construction site,” Cassie said.
“I had our techs run the names of the construction companies and workers that were at each site on the applicable days. There was no connection to all of the women.” Jack consulted a paper torn from a legal pad where he had scribbled a note. “Only one man was present at multiple locations – Ronald Ferris. He worked three of the sites, all of them jobs done by the city. No criminal record, no suspicious behavior.”
“Do you have his picture?” Cassie asked.
Jack shook his head. “Still working on it. The city is making us go through a lot of paperwork to get more information. I stopped by his last known address earlier today, but no one was home.”
“What about the house? It had to be close to where I was found. Have you been able to narrow the location?” Cassie was starting to sound as flustered as Jack already felt.
“We estimated a six-block radius around the spot where you were found. But that still leaves hundreds of possible homes. And there’s always the possibility that he moved locations after you escaped.” Jack handed her a map of the location. “We did canvas the area, but no one found anything that looked like a serial killer lair.”
“Did you show them examples of lairs on your Pinterest board?” Cassie said with a smirk.
“This is funny to you?” Jack rubbed at the back of his neck. Being hunched over a desk for hours was not good for his posture. “Can you please just trust that I’ve done my job?”
Cassie looked at him in surprise. “I wasn’t trying to question your ability to do your job, Jack. I’m just trying to get caught up on the investigation.”
“I’m sorry. I’m just cranky from lack of sleep. You didn’t do anything wrong.” Jack leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes.
“You should go lay down. Get a couple of hours of sleep before morning.” Cassie looked at him with concern.
“If he had you right now, there’s no way I would sleep.” Jack was sure that he was getting close to something important, if he could just clear the fog from his head. “I’m going to make more coffee.”
“You’ve had a lot of coffee already,” Cassie said, standing before he could. “Let me make you some breakfast while you take a cold shower. That should wake you up.”
Jack had to admit that sounded like a better plan than overdosing on caffeine. “Alright. Just try to resist the urge to join me, okay? I know it’s going to be tough for you.”
“I’m not sure how I’ll survive,” Cassie said with an elaborate eye roll. “Get out of here before I change my mind and make you do the cooking.”
He didn’t have to be told twice. Now that he had his heart set on a shower, he was determined to follow through.
After cranking up the cold water, he stepped under the steady stream. The first few seconds were a shock to his system, but he quickly adjusted. His aching muscles would have preferred a hot shower, but now wasn’t the time to relax. He waited until his fingers and toes began to go numb before turning off the water.
Staring into the mirror over the sink, he rubbed absently at the stubble on his chin. Jack shaved every workday morning without fail, determined to control the type of persona he presented to the world. A fresh shave paired nicely with his pressed shirts and tailored suits. But Jack had come to realize that a perfectly curated image didn’t guarantee success in his job. He returned to the kitchen unshaven, wearing ripped jeans and a faded t-shirt.
“You look better,” Cassie said, a smile lighting up her face when she saw him. “How was the shower?”
“Lonely.” Jack broke his own rule and moved in for a kiss. When he tried to pull away, she wouldn’t let him.
“I like scruffy Jack,” she said, rubbing his cheek with the tips of her fingers. “It’s like I’m kissing Detective Stone’s slightly wayward twin brother.”
“You don’t have to s
ound so excited about the prospect of kissing another man.” Jack’s hands moved over the curve of her hips.
Cassie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “We should get back to work.”
“In a minute.” Jack moved his hands to her lower back. “Dance with me first.”
“Dance with you?” She smiled uncertainly. “You’re kidding, right? There’s no music.”
“Is there a rule that we can only dance when there is music?” Jack started moving slowly, swaying to an imaginary rhythm.
“Not when you move your body like that,” she muttered, pressing closer to him. Her arms were around his neck and she pulled his head down until their eyes were level. “Do you remember when we danced in the fountain?”
The memory flashed through Jack’s mind as clearly as if it had just happened. He could remember every single detail. He saw Cassie’s dark hair fluttering as he spun her around, he felt the rush of desire when he caught her in his arms. “I’ll never forget that moment. You looked so beautiful bathed in sunlight.”
“When I slipped and you caught me in your arms, I felt so safe. I had never thought I was going to feel that way again. But you brought me back. You saved me, Jack.” Cassie fingers grazed the hair on the back of his neck, sending a sharp shiver down his spine. “I’ve been madly in love with you ever since.”
“I always knew I was an excellent dancer,” he joked. “It’s all in the hips.”
“Some of it’s in the lips,” she purred before kissing him.
Altogether, the moment only lasted a couple of minutes. To Jack, it felt like time stopped while Cassie was in his arms. He could block out the ugliness that waited for them at the kitchen table and focus only on how good it felt to be with the woman he loved.
Then the moment was over and Cassie suggested they get back to work. They had already covered every fact that Jack knew about the women. He was so familiar with their files that he could recite most of the details by memory.
“Do you think the nurse was different for a reason? Was she special in some way?” Cassie wondered. “It’s very strange that he would change his victim type just the one time.”
Perfectly Broken Page 8
