Hunted

by Cynthia Eden

  His head swiveled back toward her.

  She lifted her chin.

  He smiled. “Give it to me.” He took a step toward her.

  Since he asked...

  He grabbed for her arm.

  She stabbed him.

  * * *

  THE SOB HAD taken Casey.

  Fear was a cold knot in Josh’s stomach. Hayden had called him and told him the news, and he’d driven fast as hell to get to the line of houses under construction on the west end of the beach. The motorcycle howled as he raced down the road. He was ahead of the sheriff and his deputies—he’d been closer to the scene. And he was breaking every traffic law out there as he cut across roads and ran through lights to get to Casey.

  I shouldn’t have left her. He could still see her, standing in front of the hotel, wearing those high heels as her dark hair tossed around her cheeks. He’d even told her that he’d wanted her to be safe because that perp was still out there. The guy was hunting women like her.

  He’d been hunting her.

  Josh spun around a tight corner and saw the row of partially built houses up ahead. Which house was she in? He barely braked his bike—just jumped off the motorcycle and ran for the first house. “Casey!” Josh roared her name. He yanked his gun from the holster. “Casey, where are you?” Be alive. Be alive, Casey. Answer me!

  Because in his mind, he still saw Tonya Myers. She was in the water and her dark hair drifted up around her face. That can’t happen to Casey.

  He rushed through the first house, shoving plastic out of his way. Construction debris was everywhere, but the rooms were empty. No sign of Casey.

  Josh ran back outside. The light from dawn swept out over the water. “Casey!”

  How long had it been since the perp had called Hayden? Ten minutes? Fifteen? Twenty?

  It only took a moment to die. One moment.

  He rushed toward the second house.

  “H-help...”

  He froze. That call—it had come from the house before him. A temporary door was in place, one without a doorknob, and he just kicked that damn thing in. “Casey!” His bellow seemed to echo around him.

  And then he saw her.

  She was holding on to the makeshift banister that had been put in place on the stairs. She was trying to come down to him. A red imprint marked the left side of her beautiful face. There was blood on her cheek. She was too pale and she was shaking and—

  He bounded toward her.

  Her eyes widened when she saw him. She lifted her hand toward him, and he saw that she was gripping a blood-covered knife.

  “J-Josh?”

  “You’re safe.” He wanted to scoop her into his arms. Wanted to hold her tight and make sure she was okay. “Where is he?”

  She blinked. She looked lost. Scared. And...

  Hurt. He hurt her.

  Josh wanted to kill the guy.

  “I—I don’t know.” She looked around, her hand shaking but not letting go of that knife. “He... I stabbed him and he ran out of the room. He...left me.”

  Grim pride swelled inside of him.

  “Get me out of here,” she whispered. A tear leaked down her cheek. “It’s too much...like before. Get me out.”

  He didn’t know what she was talking about, but he had to touch her. Josh curled his left arm around her as he pulled her against his body. She didn’t let go of the knife. He kept a solid grip on his gun. If the perp had run from the room on the upper floor, he could still be hiding in that house. Josh wanted to search every inch of the place, but getting Casey to safety was his priority.

  She felt so delicate against him. And each time her body trembled, the rage he felt grew.

  I will find you, you bastard. I will make you pay.

  He led her past the broken front door and outside. He didn’t stop walking, not until they were near his motorcycle. Then he slid his hand under her chin. “Where are you hurt?” His voice was a rough growl. Her cheek was already darkening, the pink giving way to a bruise.

  “I’m...okay.” Her eyes said the words were a lie. Her head turned, and she looked around the scene. Her voice became a whisper as she said, “Where did he go?”

  Josh intended to find out.

  Before he could speak, he heard the approaching wail of a siren. The local sheriff and his deputies—about time. They’d search every inch of those houses. They’d find that perp.

  He started to step away from Casey but her hand grabbed his wrist. Her fingers curled around him, holding tight. “He’s going to kill me.”

  The hell he will.

  “He said...he won’t stop. He will kill me.”

  The siren was louder. Closer.

  Another tear slid down her cheek. “He said he’d been waiting for me...that the waiting was over.”

  His body brushed against hers. “He’s not going to ever touch you again.” Josh intended to make sure of that. “You’re safe.”

  But she shook her head, and Josh knew that she didn’t believe him.

  The sheriff’s patrol car whipped around the corner. The lights flashed from the top of the car.

  Casey’s hold tightened on Josh even more.

  “You’re safe,” he said again, but Josh didn’t think she believed him.

  Chapter Four

  She was the story.

  Casey hunched her shoulders as she sat in the back of the ambulance. The EMT had checked her out thoroughly, over her protests. The guy wanted her to go to the hospital, and she figured he’d be forcing her there soon enough. After all, she knew the routine. She’d have to be examined, evidence would have to be taken from her. They’d clean beneath her nails, they’d take her clothes, they’d—

  “Tell me what happened.”

  Her gaze lifted and she saw Hayden standing at the back of the ambulance. The doors were open and the fury on his face was undeniable. The sheriff was definitely not so controlled any longer.

  And neither was Josh. Josh stood beside Hayden, and the FBI agent’s face appeared carved from stone. His eyes blazed as he stared at her.

  The FBI and the local authorities had been searching the scene, but they hadn’t found the man who’d taken her. He’d just...vanished.

  She saw a coast guard ship out on the water, darting around. Did they think the perp had escaped by sea? She didn’t remember hearing the roar of a boat. She’d just heard the growl of a motorcycle—Josh, rushing to the scene. I will never fear motorcycles again.

  “Casey,” Josh said her name softly. “Look at me.”

  Her gaze slid back to him. She was sitting on the stretcher in the ambulance. The space was too small. There were too many little machines and the place smelled of antiseptic.

  “Tell us what happened.”

  She already had, hadn’t she? At least once? Maybe twice. But if they wanted to hear the story again... Casey pushed back her hair with a weary hand.

  Josh swore and he bounded into the ambulance with her.

  “Your wrists...”

  Oh, right. Those were bandaged, too.

  His hands caught hers, his touch incredibly gentle. His tenderness kept surprising her. He seemed so rough. Not a guy who could use such care, but when he touched her, he always seemed to handle her as if she were delicate glass.

  She wasn’t, though. Far from it. Her gaze darted to her bandaged wrists. “The rope was tight and when I cut myself free, I sliced the skin a bit.” She hadn’t even felt the pain at the time. Her gaze shifted back to his face. Her shoulders rolled back in a shrug, as if to say... Doesn’t matter.

  Josh glanced at the watchful EMT. “Give us a minute.”

  The EMT hurried out, but stopped to say, “I’m ready to take her to the hospital and—”

  “And I
’m not done with my witness,” Hayden cut in. “You heard the agent. We need a minute.”

  The EMT nodded, ducking his head as he backed away.

  Josh’s fingers slid carefully over her hand. “Start at the beginning.”

  The beginning? She didn’t want to go back there. “He got away.”

  Josh just stared at her.

  “That means he’ll kill again.” She had to say those words. Her chest seemed to burn. “It’s what he does, right?”

  “You got away,” Josh pointed out. “You’re the first one, Casey. The only one who got away from this perp.”

  Because he’d killed the others. Dumped them in the ocean and hunted again. A shiver slid over her. “He said he’d been waiting for me.”

  Josh shot a quick glance at Hayden. The sheriff didn’t speak.

  “Is that what he always says?” Casey wondered. “Does he tell his victims that he’s been waiting for them? Because he...he acted as if I were special, somehow. Like he’d been...he’d been trying to get me for a while.” Nausea rose within her as she realized that, of course, they didn’t know what he always said. As Josh had just told her...she was...

  The only one who got away.

  “Go back to the beginning,” Hayden instructed her quietly. “I need to know everything about this guy.”

  She shivered. How was it so cold? “I was at my hotel. I’d just...I’d just gone inside after you dropped me off.” She nodded toward Josh and his jaw hardened. “I went onto the balcony for a moment.” Her gaze dropped to her feet. Her bare feet. “When I went back inside, the lights were off, and that was wrong because—” her head was pounding “—I’d turned on the light. It should have been on. I thought maybe there was a short, and I was going to call the front desk but...” Her gaze rose once more to meet Josh’s. She swallowed the heavy lump that had risen in her throat. “He was already in the room. He grabbed me.” Her fingers fluttered over her head. It was aching. Pounding. “He slammed me into the wall. At least twice, I think. I blacked out.”

  Josh swore, the words long and low and vicious.

  “I don’t remember how I got out here. I just woke up, and I was on the floor.”

  “I already sent a crime scene analysis team to your hotel,” Josh said, his voice flat. “Maybe the guy left evidence behind that we can use.”

  The FBI and the local authorities were already working closely together, so she wasn’t surprised that a team was already combing over her room. There was also a team at the scene there, going into the partially constructed houses, checking them one by one—starting with the house she’d been inside. Her chill got worse. “Do you think... Did he kill them all in that house?”

  Josh and Hayden shared another hard look.

  Maybe that look was answer enough.

  “There was plastic on the floor,” she whispered. “When I woke up, he had me in that upstairs room, tied up, and there was plastic beneath me.” Just like a scene from a horror show.

  “Are you sure you didn’t see his face?” Josh pressed.

  The pounding in her head grew worse. “He had on a ski mask. And the eyes—where the ski mask holes should have been, something like mesh covered his eyes so I couldn’t see them. I didn’t see his face. Didn’t see his eyes, but I—I did see his hands.” She eased out a slow breath. “He’s Caucasian. Big—over six feet. Strong. Not heavy, but muscled.” A killer in his prime. “His voice was rasping and low.” Her body swayed as the nausea rolled within her again. For a moment, she thought she might vomit right then and there.

  “Casey?” Josh’s hand closed over her shoulder.

  “She needs to get to a hospital!” The EMT was back. “The woman suffered head trauma. She needs medical attention and I am insisting, Sheriff, that you let her go.”

  Hayden nodded. “I’ll talk to you again, Ms. Quinn.”

  Josh started to back away. She tensed and actually thought about grabbing him and making him stay with her.

  But she didn’t. Casey let him go. Josh jumped out of the ambulance. The EMT hurried back in to her side.

  “You okay, miss?” he asked.

  She was so far beyond okay.

  Other reporters had already made it to the area. She saw Deputy Finn Patrick trying to hold some of them back so they didn’t contaminate the crime scene. His dark hair was mussed and he appeared shaken. Cameras were rolling. Cameras that would focus on her.

  I am the story.

  Would her past come to light now? Probably. When the right people went digging, it was easy enough to find secrets.

  But maybe...maybe someone already knew her secrets.

  The man who’d taken her. The man who’d gotten away.

  Josh stared at Casey a moment longer, then he slammed the ambulance doors shut. The siren screamed on.

  Her eyes closed.

  “You’re safe now,” the EMT assured her. Josh had pretty much said the same words.

  But she wasn’t so sure that she was safe.

  I think he’ll come after me again.

  * * *

  JOSH WATCHED THE ambulance drive away—the reporters had to clear a path so the vehicle could get by. The reporters were definitely already swarming the scene. Casey’s story would be huge.

  A survivor.

  His hands fisted. He’d wanted to stay in that ambulance with her. “Make sure that a deputy remains with her at the hospital,” he snapped to Hayden. “Someone needs to be with her every moment.”

  Hayden nodded. “Finn! Finn, get over here.”

  The young deputy rushed toward them. Sweat had already slickened the sides of his dark hair. “Sir?”

  “Follow the ambulance. Make sure that Casey Quinn is guarded at all times.”

  Oh, hell, he was sending the kid after her? The deputy rushed to his patrol car, and Josh muttered, “You think that’s the best plan? A woman survives a serial killer attack and gets the junior ranger for a guard?”

  Hayden lifted a brow. “You got a problem with Finn?”

  Yeah, he did.

  “He’s young, but he’s good at his job. Protecting her will be his priority—”

  “Sorry, Sheriff,” Josh said curtly. “But the FBI has ranking jurisdiction here.” The instant they’d confirmed the presence of a serial killer, the FBI had assumed control of the investigation. “And I’ll be taking Casey Quinn into protective custody.”

  Hayden’s eyes widened. “Will you now.” Not a question, not really.

  The ambulance was gone. And Josh didn’t like having Casey out of his sight. There were some local FBI agents on the scene and he knew he could leave them in the area to help with the search. “I’m going after her.” I should have been in the ambulance with her.

  “You think the killer will go after Casey Quinn again?”

  “I don’t know what he’ll do, not yet. This is the first time one of his victims has gotten away.” At least, the only victim they knew of escaping. “For all we know, he’ll immediately go gunning for her again, and if that happens, I want more than just Deputy Patrick standing between her and danger.” The kid was still green behind the ears.

  “You want to be standing between her and the threat.”

  Josh’s chin notched up. “She stabbed her attacker. I think that shows that she’s capable of protecting herself... But her attack...it could very well have enraged the perp.” No doubt about that... My money says the guy is somewhere, choking on his rage. “That means he could fixate on her. He could come at her with all he’s got or...” His sentence trailed off.

  “Or...?” Hayden prompted.

  Josh glanced at the line of unfinished houses. “Or he will grab the next available victim who matches his profile. He’ll let his rage out on her.” Which meant they needed to be on guard—all of them.
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  “For someone who said he wasn’t a profiler, you seem to know your killers pretty well.”

  He definitely wasn’t a profiler. “I work on evidence collection. I don’t poke into the heads of killers.” His buddy Tucker did that. And Tucker Frost was scheduled to arrive in town any moment. The guy had just finished up a case in Colorado and now he was working on the profile for the killer in Hope. The FBI brass hadn’t been satisfied with the work of the other profiler who’d been in town, and when Tucker finished his last case—he’d been immediately reassigned to Hope. When Tucker arrived, Josh knew the guy would want to speak with Casey right away. She would be key to the investigation.

  “I have to make sure she doesn’t say too much to the media.” Another problem. Since she was a reporter, Casey would no doubt want to run live with her story. That wasn’t going to happen.

  He turned on his heel and headed for his motorcycle.

  “Duvane!” Hayden’s voice thundered after him.

  He glanced over his shoulder. He liked Hayden—the guy was tough, smart and didn’t generally take crap from anyone. But then again, Hayden was a former SEAL, and most folks knew better than to mess with SEALs.

  “Is this personal?” Hayden asked him, voice quieter.

  Personal?

  Hayden eased toward him. “You dropped the reporter off at her hotel last night?”

  Josh nodded.

  Hayden’s head cocked to the right. “Didn’t realize you two knew each other so well.”

  They didn’t know each other well. So his reaction to her shouldn’t be as intense as it was. But... “She’s a victim. And my job is to protect victims.” Lately, it seemed as if all he’d done had been to discover the dead. Casey wasn’t dead, and he damn well wasn’t going to let anything else happen to her.

  Hayden’s stare was assessing. “Better watch yourself. Once emotions get involved, the cases become even harder.” His lips twisted in a humorless smile. “Trust me—I know exactly what I’m talking about.”

  Josh knew the guy was speaking from experience because the woman Hayden loved, Jill West, had been targeted by Theodore Anderson. Theodore had first kidnapped Jill when she was just a kid, but Jill had managed to escape him. Years later, she’d returned to Hope, determined to finally solve the mystery of her past. But her return had set off a deadly chain of reactions... In the end, Jill and Hayden had both been fighting for their lives.