by Clarissa Yip
Ryan nodded. “Probably a good idea, since we have to be back here in five hours anyway.”
Kane stood up and slipped his jacket on. He stared at the whiteboard. Nina Marshall’s picture and notes had been added to the collection. All homicides were connected to Burke. If he were alive, why would he kill them? Why stage his own death after killing the first two women? Why break his cover and risk warning Lauren?
“You got that look.”
He turned to his partner. “What look?”
“You know, the one that means that you might be onto something.”
I wish… “Nothing makes sense.” Kane moved up to the board. He pointed to the bow under Nina Marshall’s breast. “This shows me that the killer idolizes the work done, but what do the pearls represent?”
Ryan shrugged. “If it’s Burke, then he probably thinks he’s a classy lady-killer.”
Kane snorted. The bastard was a cheating SOB. “What would his motive be for killing? He had a good life, right?”
“Well, yeah. Plastic surgeon. Hot wife. Affairs all over. He could be a legend.” Ryan walked up next to Kane and nudged him in the side. “What’s going on with you and Lauren?”
Kane stiffened. He noted the change from your Ms. Burke to Lauren’s first name. “What do you mean?”
“She doesn’t seem to like you at all.”
“You’re not coming over again.”
Ryan laughed. “Jealous?”
Kane cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the board. “Who could the dead body be?”
“No idea.” His partner rubbed his chin. “Why hadn’t Lauren canceled Burke’s cell phone service before then?”
“Everything would have been burned in the fire. She wouldn’t have had access or known until she’d been able to get his mail or call up his credit card companies. It’s only been three weeks since Burke’s death.”
“But what if his partner had Burke’s phone? We need a reason to check Peters’s apartment.”
Kane ran a hand over his face. If the suspect were Peters, it would definitely seem more possible, but why would Peters kill Burke’s lovers? What did he have to gain from their deaths? They’d already let the guy go, and had nothing to nail him with. If only they could track Burke’s phone—
“Let’s go.”
Kane jerked his head toward the sound of Beckett’s voice.
“We got signal.”
“Where?” Kane asked, already moving into action.
“Residence of one Mack O’Connor.”
Another puzzle in the case. The phone had been turned back on in the last half hour, and the signal led them to an apartment midtown, belonging to Mack O’Connor. An employee of Dream’s Bridal.
Kane looked around the room. Once he received the clear signal from Ryan, he holstered his gun. The BlackBerry sat on the coffee table, with no victim or dead man in sight. He shoved a hand through his hair as the uniforms scoured the vacant apartment. The single bedroom opened up to the living room, small kitchen with table, one bathroom, and closet to the side. The place smelled somewhat stale as if it hadn’t been lived in for weeks, and the dirty dishes in the sink and empty pizza boxes confirmed the fact.
He heard Ryan order one of the uniforms to get prints on the device before his partner moved to Kane’s side.
“This seriously blows. I could have sworn we were onto something just now, but it’s another dead end.” Ryan growled in frustration.
Kane knew the feeling. The tension churning in his insides weren’t helping them solve the case either. “This is getting more complicated.”
“You think? Why would one of Lauren’s employees have Burke’s phone?”
Kane winced. He remembered Lauren’s white face when he’d left the house. He’d wanted nothing more than to hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay, but he couldn’t do that. He didn’t know how this case was going to play out. The more they found, the more complicated everything got. Her blank stare tore at him. The call confirmed that Burke was still alive. His eyes trailed over the light layer of dust on the coffee table. “I doubt we’re going to find anything. The perp was careful in strategically placing the phone. He knew we’d track the signal, but why here?”
“Well, at least we have another suspect to put on the list, but still no resurrection of a dead body.” Ryan moved aside for one of the officers to get prints. “You know what we’re going to have to do, right? No matter how much we dread this…”
Kane knew. Digging up Burke’s body may be the only answer they had at the moment. “We need to find this guy first. Maybe he’ll tell us how he got Burke’s phone.”
Ryan grimaced. “I dunno. The bed looks slept in, but the smell in this place…”
Kane wiggled his nose. He bent and took out his pen from his pocket, then carefully lifted up the flap of the pizza box. One slice of moldy pizza lay in the middle of the cardboard.
“That’s gross.” Ryan coughed.
Kane stood up and assessed the area. The man was definitely not a neat freak. Clothes thrown over the side of the bed, empty beer cans on the floor, and he thought he saw a rat scurry by. “Let’s just go down the hall and question the neighbors.”
Ryan nodded. “I need to get the hell out of here before I gag.”
“Didn’t know you had such a weak stomach.” Kane smirked.
His partner snorted. “You probably just have better gag reflexes than I do. I don’t hang out at the Dumpsters like you do.”
“If I did, then you’d be there with me.”
“Get a life, Hollister.”
Kane grinned. Just as they reached the door, he heard his name and whipped around. Beckett waved a black leather case. “What’s that?”
“Oh, you’ll love this.” Beckett sat the case in his gloved hand and carefully opened the flaps. Scalpels held in by a leather strap gleamed under the kitchen light.
Kane’s eyes widened when he saw the inscription in the leather. Property of Gabe Peters.
Ryan cursed. “Now we can get a warrant on Peters.”
…
“I’m sorry we have to put you through this. But we need to know if the body buried is in fact your husband.”
Lauren stared at the fine print in front her. Her fingers trembled as she lifted the pen and quickly signed her name on the line. Then the captain swiped the sheet off the mahogany table.
“Ms. Burke, I promise everything will be restored to the way it was buried once we get what we need.”
She nodded. Numb, yet coherent enough to know they wanted to dig up Daniel’s body. The truth was soon to be revealed, and she couldn’t bear to find out. Kane stood behind her. His presence gave her comfort, but she forced herself not to rely on him. After he called Officer Wendall, her guard had brought her to the station into the meeting room. Kane and his partner had shown up and informed her of the procedures needed to be taken to further the investigation and close the case.
And Mack. Oh my God. She couldn’t believe Mack would have anything to do with her nightmare.
She shuddered just thinking about Daniel’s phone call, warning her. It couldn’t be him, could it? Part of her wanted him to stay dead; another was relieved that he may not be. What did this mean?
The tension blossomed in her chest. She was still married if that were the case. Back to square one. But this time, she had terrors to carry along with her overdue divorce.
“Lauren.”
She turned her head to the sound of the voice. The captain walked out of the room and Kane moved to her side. “We can go home now.”
Her heart ached at his words. She didn’t have a home. She didn’t want to go to his house, but then she didn’t want to return to her mother’s house, either. She had nowhere to go.
Desperation gripped her insides. Kane wrapped an arm around her and helped her out of her seat. She heard commotion outside and lifted her head. She gasped.
Gabe, flanked by two uniformed officers, yelled and jerked
as they pulled him along. She watched him pass. His eyes met hers for the barest second before one of the men gave him a push. He called her name and her whole body trembled.
“It’s almost over. We found the murder weapon and empty bottles of isopropyl alcohol in his trunk. Along with boxes of pearl necklaces… He’ll be charged for arson and murder.”
She couldn’t believe Gabe had done all this—had killed all those women. And he’d been after her. She didn’t understand. It was too much to take in.
She swallowed hard and avoided Kane’s gaze. She felt so alone with him standing next to her. Almost dead. Worse than when she’d found out her own mother had died.
“Are you going to be okay, Lauren?”
She looked up at Ryan; the concern in his expression tore at her. She nodded and started for the exit.
Kane said something to his partner and caught up with her at the elevator. He wrapped an arm around her waist, and Lauren quickly moved away. She didn’t want him touching her, comforting her. If this case was over, then Kane was going to leave again—leave her all alone like he had four years ago.
“Lauren. Talk to me.” She heard the slight tremor in his voice. Good. She took comfort in his pain. He didn’t love her. He had memories of his dead sister to keep him alive. She had nothing.
She didn’t reply. There was no need. She had nothing to say to the man who didn’t want her. Even though he’d promised to protect her, she couldn’t let it matter. He was just doing his duty, and she’d more than anything forced herself in his care. He told her it’d been a mistake. She wished she’d never met him, never fallen in love with him, never married another man out of desperation, and she paid for her sins until this day. The elevator doors closed and she turned to face the blinking numbers.
“I know all this is a lot to take in. I understand, but once we find—”
“No,” she croaked. She knew what he wanted to say. Once they found Daniel. “You don’t understand. So don’t pretend to make it better for me when it’s never going to be the same.”
She heard his frustrated sigh and saw him run his fingers through his hair out of the corner of her eye.
Kane would never understand her. As long as he kept to himself, she had no one.
The drive to his house was quiet. Once the car pulled to a stop in the driveway, she got out before he turned the engine off. Kane jogged to catch up with her and they climbed the porch together. She waited until he unlocked the door and did his usual inspection before letting her past the threshold. She started up the stairs and heard him call her, but she ignored him. She wanted to get as far away as possible, lock herself up in a dark corner, and embrace the shadows.
A hand gripped her elbow just as she reached the bedroom door, and Kane whirled her around. She slowly raised her gaze to his face. The anger in his stare somewhat comforted her, but she held still.
His fingers dug into her forearms. “Stop it. Just stop it,” he ground out.
“Stop what?” The lack of emotion in her voice must have alarmed him. He gave her a gentle shake.
“This. Don’t do this.”
Her chest tightened. The monster in her threatened to claw out—all the years of suffering, enduring the emptiness, the loneliness that ate at her, knowing that no one was going to love her—she tore away. “Leave me alone, Kane. Just leave me alone.”
His eyes hardened as if pained. She didn’t care. “I can’t leave you alone.”
The pounding of her heart rushed to her ears, drowning out the cracking of the walls inside her. Air rushed out of her lungs; her eyes burned as the dam broke. She gasped to breathe. “I have no one. And it’s better that way. It’s always going to be just me.”
Kane lifted his arms and she shook her head. If he touched her, she’d break right there. She couldn’t have that. He closed the distance and tilted her chin up. “Lauren, you’re not alone. You have me.”
A sob tore past her lips. His words speared through her. He gathered her in his arms and kissed her. Frozen, she didn’t move until his tongue sought hers. Her body came alive. No longer the unyielding, cold woman she’d become over the years, a passionate being burst through the cool exterior and took over.
Reaching up, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back with all she had. Kane groaned. She didn’t know if it was from pain or relief, but it didn’t matter. Desire surged through her entire body.
He backed her into the bedroom. Her hands jerked at his jacket. She heard a rip when she grabbed at the buttons of his shirt. His holster and gun landed on the floor with a thud. A franticness took over both of them. Kane broke off, and she whimpered when he drew her shirt over her head, but his mouth immediately covered hers again. Need speared through her as she undid his belt and he unbuttoned her jeans and tugged at them. He lifted her up and threw her on the bed, then fell on top of her.
She couldn’t bear to be away from him. She needed him at that moment more than she needed to breathe. Her fingers dug into his hair, pulling him closer. Her breasts cushioned against his chest ached for his touch. She writhed against him. The smoothness of his skin teased her nipples, and she moaned. Their mouths ground together in desperation. She felt him kick off his pants before he shifted over her, never breaking contact of their lips as his hands slid up her calves and parted her legs. He moved between them. The head of his shaft rubbed against her folds and her hips jutted up to meet him. His hand covered her breast, thumb teasing the nipple in delicious circles. His mouth burned a trail down the collar of her neck to her chest, then replaced his touch with another. His lips closed over the tight bud. Mind-numbing sensations shot through her. She clutched him closer. His teeth nipped her skin and her body arched against him, seeking his hardness.
She wanted him in her. Right now.
His fingers skimmed over her stomach, her hip bone, until they found her heat. They slipped between her cleft, rubbing her folds, testing the wetness. She whimpered again. His masculinity and strength wrapped around her, providing a security blanket. She canted her hips against him, his fingers teasing her to insanity.
Kane growled at her movements. She bit his lip. “I need you,” she moaned.
He lifted up a little and stared down at her, his eyes wandering all over her face. She felt his hesitation as he was poised over her. She tightened her arms and brought her knees up to his side, rubbing against him. “Fill me. Make me feel better.”
A groan sounded from his chest and he surged. Lauren cried out at the first thrust. Her legs circled his narrow waist, drawing him in deeper. The coldness around her heart dissolved. Warmth enveloped her whole body. He started to move. She rose with each movement, taking as much as he was willing to give.
“Lauren,” he gasped.
She looked up into his face. Sweat broke out across his forehead. Control guarded his features, but she could see he was on the brink of losing himself. She needed all of him. Her inner muscles squeezed around him each time he met her womb with measured thrusts. A feral growl rumbled in his chest. She bit his shoulder.
His control snapped. He hammered into her. She held on tighter. All thoughts and reservations fled as he pushed in and out of her. His movements became frantic. She reveled in his power. Her head hit the headboard. Kane drew her leg over his arm, the other arm pressed against the wall to steady them both, but he didn’t stop. He continued rocking into her, each stroke deeper and harder than the next.
Finally her body tensed. Her core tightened; her muscles spasmed around him, gripping him harder as her release struck. She cried out, not recognizing her own passionate scream. Stars broke through her vision as he pounded away.
He shifted until his groin rubbed against her tight bundle of nerves. She gasped at the sensitivity, and the storm gathered in her core once again. He thrust once. Twice. Three times. An animalistic groan filled the room as Kane gathered her close. The tension in her stomach seized her whole being in pleasurable shudders. She came again, milking him, demanding all of him.
With a loud whoosh of air, he collapsed against her, trapping her against the headboard of the bed. Her body went limp, strength depleted, and she just lay under him trying to catch her breath. His chest pressed against her ear, heaving loudly.
Kane somehow found the strength to move. He wrapped his arms around her and adjusted his legs and they fell backward onto the sheets with him still buried in her as if he couldn’t stand withdrawing from her warmth. His shaft twitched when she gave him a squeeze. “Don’t move,” he warned.
A chuckle broke past her lips. She nuzzled his jaw and bit his chin before laying her head on his shoulder. Even though she should have been tired, exhilaration ran through her. His heavy pants comforted her, and she tightened her arms around her neck. His hand stroked her spine, and she sighed. Her eyes adjusted to the dark and she noted the four red gashes on his shoulder. She must have scratched him. Brushing her lips over his skin, she felt him throbbing in her. Heat stole over her again.
His palms moved over her back and covered her bottom. Kane growled again. The sound sent a wave of pleasure through her. She loved everything about him—the sounds he made, the way he ran his hands through his hair when he was frustrated, but most of all the way he loved her.
It’d never been this intense. Not that she could remember. She lay still, noting his breathing evening out. His grip slackened some, but tightened around her when she tried to move.
She lifted up a little and saw that his eyes were closed. Studying his features, she trailed a finger over his rough cheek. His face softened as he let out a quiet breath. Exhaustion lined the dark areas under his eyes, and a wave of sympathy washed over her.
His job was rough, and had become his life. Just as hers had.
She waited for the usual emptiness to settle in her gut. Instead, she met a lightness she hadn’t felt since she was younger—a sense of freedom.
She smiled to herself and laid her head back down his shoulder.
Kane told her she wasn’t alone.
Chapter Fifteen
Kane adjusted Lauren on the bed until they were both lying with their heads on the pillow and the blanket over them. He gathered her in his arms and relaxed. The position of the moon from the window told him he had a few hours before the sun rose.
