Fifth Regret (Heaven Sent Book 5)

by Mary Abshire

  “What?” he asked, noticing her big eyes. Dressed in dark jeans and a matching tank top, he put one hand on his hip. “I did the best I could. I’m not fucking perfect.”

  “It’s fine.” She brushed aside her bangs before running her hand over her head. “I haven’t had short hair in a long time. I can’t even pin it back like I used to.”

  “It will grow back.” He approached her. “Look at it this way, your new style goes well with your new identity.”

  “What is my new name?”

  “Penny Reed. I got all the documents yesterday. We’re good to go when you’re ready.”

  “Penny? Where did you get that name from?”

  “Are you fucking going to criticize everything?” Both hands were on his hips this time. The muscles in his arms stood out more. Given his chocolate-colored skin, bald head, and model-like features, he appeared more flamboyant than intimidating.

  “No. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to sound like I’m complaining.”

  He passed behind her and stopped near the door. “Matt is on his way. Do you need help getting dressed?”

  “I’ll do it on my own,” she said, staring in the mirror.

  One of his brows rose. “Are you sure?”

  “I need to start doing things myself again.”

  “You’ve only had a few days of rest. Don’t expect miracles.”

  “Tell Andrew to get ready for a new woman to walk out of the bedroom.”

  He turned to face the door. “I’ll wait for you in the living room. Yell if you need help.”

  Emily followed him out of the bathroom. A pair of tights waited for her on the bed. One of the men had bought her clothes to wear since she’d arrived with only a bloody shirt and underwear. She needed to find out who’d purchased the items so she could thank him and pay him back.

  Troy shut the door on his way out. Emily sat on the bed, next to the pants. Menial tasks such as donning clothes took a great deal of effort. The slightest movement tugged on the stitches. Still, she needed to get back on her feet and into the swing of things. Andrew had waited long enough for her. She hadn’t seen a demon’s name and address inked on his arm since it had been covered the last time she’d seen him. A new name had to be on his skin by now. She suspected he would be ready to hunt for the next demon.

  She lifted her legs onto the bed. Bending forward hurt less than bending down. She took the tights and tossed them near her feet. Trying not to move her back much, she wiggled her toes under the waistband. She slid her feet into the pants and then scooted them closer with her heels. Holding her breath, she reached to pull the tights up while she straightened her knees. Stings crawled over her back and she gritted her teeth. To complete the last part, she swung her legs over the mattress. On her way to stand, she brought up the tights. The minimal pain didn’t compare to the agony she’d endured while she’d built up her strength to escape in Mexico.

  A pair of white shoes sat on the floor near the dresser. Considering the soreness of her skin, she decided not to push herself. Besides, she couldn’t tie the strings since three fingers were out of commission on one hand.

  “Troy!” she called out.

  He walked into the room seconds later.

  “I need help.” She pointed to the sneakers.

  “Sit on the bed.”

  He collected the shoes before he kneeled in front of her. She lifted one foot at a time for him. While he tied the laces, she glanced at the open door. The suite seemed quiet. She also found it strange Andrew hadn’t peeked in.

  “Is there anything else the princess desires?” Troy asked as he stood.

  “Where’s Andrew?”

  His gaze jerked to the open door and then back to her. When he didn’t say anything, her heart began to race. She left him and headed out of the bedroom.

  Her eyes widened as she walked into the empty suite. The computer case and duffle bag on the sofa belonged to Troy. She’d seen them plenty of times and recognized them. Seeing no other luggage, she began to think Troy had been the only one who’d stayed with her the last few days.

  “Where’s Andrew?” she asked as Troy passed her.

  He leaned his backside against the sofa. “He’s gone. For good this time.”

  Chapter Three

  Andrew pushed open the door to his hotel room with his shoulder. Heavy bags from Best Buy hung from his wrist. He held the keycard between his fingers. In his other arm, he carried a cold case of beer and his dinner in a sack. Cool air graced his heated skin as he entered the dark room. The brown walls and carpet, along with the orange covers, fit the style of the 1970s, but the price for staying was cheaper than other hotels in the area. As long as he had modern amenities, he could tolerate the ugly colors.

  He passed the television on the dresser and headed straight for the small table in the far corner. Trying not to drop the liquor, he bent his knees to set the box and food down. Once his hand was free, he placed the rest of the bags in a chair.

  Hot from the thick humidity, he scrubbed his un-bandaged arm across his damp forehead. He tried to say in air-conditioned buildings or in the car, but the small amount of time outside had elevated his temperature quickly. Louisiana heat sucked.

  The scent of the cheeseburger and fries seeped from the brown sack. He didn’t feel hungry, but he needed to eat something. He hadn’t eaten much since he’d left Emily days ago. His appetite had died along with his heart. Nothing had any flavor anymore either. To keep moving, he’d force the food down. But first he wanted to set up the new laptop he’d purchased.

  What’s taking you so long? I would’ve been looking for information after settling into the hotel, bitchy imaginary Emily said.

  He removed the box with the laptop from one of the bags. “First of all, it took me two days to get here from Borrego Springs. And since then I’ve been busy.” He broke the seal on the box before he opened it.

  You spent too much time looking around in stores and at casinos.

  “I had to get money first and I couldn’t stay at one casino. They would get suspicious. Once I had enough money, I had to get new clothes and supplies.”

  He hadn’t known how expensive computers were or how much he’d need to survive on, so he’d visited multiple casinos to win money. After all his purchases, he had around thirty-two thousand left. He hoped it would last a couple weeks at least.

  I don’t know why you bothered buying shaving goods. You haven’t touched a razor in almost a week.

  “I’ll shave eventually. I just don’t feel like it yet. I’m trying out a new look. Now let me be.”

  The bitchy imaginary Emily helped him move on from the real Emily. The more she complained, questioned, and argued with him, the less grief he had to deal with. He’d been drowning in heartache until he’d imagined a different side of the woman he loved. The irritating Emily distracted him. Maybe he was losing his mind, but he still managed to function.

  He took the silver laptop and power cord from the box. The representative at the store had spent a good hour showing Andrew all the different computers and comparing the details. Most of the gibberish Andrew hadn’t understood, so he’d asked for the most reliable laptop available. According to the rep, the ones with an apple logo were the best. After Andrew plugged in the cord, he powered on the computer.

  You’ve already spent some time following the demon around. You know he’s a cop. What kind of information do you think you’ll find about him online?

  “I only tailed him from his home to the gym and then to his job. I don’t know anything else about him. I thought looking online would be worth a shot. Besides, I need the experience. This is my first time doing research on my own.”

  Andrew followed the prompts to complete the set-up process. When he made it to the main screen, he stared at it, feeling dumber than a box of rocks. He couldn’t recall how to access the Internet.

  Remember what the sales man told you?

  The metaphoric light bulb shined. He clicked on the icon
. A new screen appeared and asked for a password. Andrew recalled the front desk person had written the code on the envelope for his room pass. Finding the paper near the television, he grabbed it. He typed in the letters and numbers. The screen changed to the main Google page.

  Not bad for a man who died in 1989.

  “I spent a lot of time watching you.” He died before computers had become standard household products, but he’d seen Emily work on one enough to figure out how to use it.

  Watching me do what? Her imaginary voice sounded sensual, playful.

  He grinned as he typed in the demon’s name and city in the search box. “Watching you do everything.”

  He leaned back in the chair as the page filled with information. His thoughts returned to Emily. He missed how she would tease and play with him. She liked to dress in her underwear and put on a show for him. It never took long for his erection to wake up. Her smile, her sexy body, even hearing her voice was enough to arouse him.

  The screen loaded with information for the city, but nothing for the name he’d entered. The demon was a cop, so he maybe he hadn’t committed any crimes to make the news. Andrew flipped to the next screen. After scrolling down the list and finding nothing of value, he decided to give up his quest. Demons were good at hiding their crimes. Since this one worked in law enforcement, he would know how to keep his evil actions hidden.

  Andrew reached for his dinner. He removed the cheeseburger and fries and then set them on the sack. As he chomped on a few fries, he stared at the blank television. An idea came to mind.

  He typed Lafayette Louisiana local news in the search box. The page loaded with various links to news channels in the area. He clicked on the first one and scanned over the headlines. One in particular caught his attention. In a neighboring town called Abbeville, a female body had been discovered in a ditch. The woman lived in a town called Jennings. She had two kids and worked at the local Walmart. An autopsy was underway, but detectives believed the woman was the twelfth in a string of murders based on the evidence at the scene. Similar to the other victims found, this one had been zip-tied, badly beaten, raped, and then stabbed. So far, the killer had left bodies in Abbeville, Capitan, Woodlawn, Milton, and Youngsville over the last two years.

  A serial killer is on the loose. Maybe it’s the demon.

  “Well, we know the killer is a man and he targets small towns outside the city. But I have no way of knowing if the demon is connected.” Andrew took a bite of the cheeseburger.

  Maybe he’s a detective on the case. He could be covering evidence. He could know the person responsible.

  “Sure, anything is possible.” He ate more fries. The food had no taste.

  If you follow him more, you might be able to find out.

  Andrew took a few more bites of food before he shoved everything back into the sack. The smell started to nauseate him. No matter what food he ate, it lacked flavor and his stomach often revolted. Giving up on dinner, he tore open the case of beer. The bottles were still cold, but moisture had built up on the glass.

  Drinking more now?

  He downed half the beer and then swallowed. “It helps me sleep.”

  I can help you sleep.

  He finished the bottle. “If you were with me now, I would spend every minute making love to you instead of sleeping.”

  He opened another browser window. After the Google search box appeared, he entered the words serial killer near Lafayette Louisiana.

  The screen loaded with various links to articles. He clicked on the first one about a nineteen-year-old victim. Her poorly decomposed body had been found in a swamp. Time of death couldn’t be determined. She left behind two kids. The report stated she’d last been seen leaving her job at Piggly Wiggly.

  Another article indicated a twenty-three-year-old victim had last visited a bar. Her body had been found off a small road near a wooded area.

  Andrew took another beer from the case and continued reading about the murders. His stomach soured. One report about a sixteen-year-old almost brought the few bites of food he’d eaten back up. Some of the victims were black and others were white. Three had been married. Four had boyfriends. Eight had children. Six had left cars on the side of the road. Police reported mechanical issues with the vehicles.

  Or maybe the victims had been pulled over and the killer tampered with the car.

  “The vehicle issues is a common characteristic, but so is the number of women who had children.”

  Maybe the women knew each other. Maybe the killer knew all of them.

  “The police would’ve looked into that.”

  Andrew shut the laptop. “There’s nothing that shows the demon is connected to the murders. I’m getting off track.”

  What have we learned about demons after you’ve dealt with four? We know the male ones like to force themselves on women. We know they love to kill. They all enjoy hurting others and creating misery.

  “Sure, but there’s still nothing to go off of to think the demon is the serial killer.” He rose from his chair and ambled in the room. “I checked for anything about him online and nothing showed up.”

  He can’t be a good cop. He’s a demon. There has to be something somewhere. What about checking Facebook?

  Imaginary Emily had him on the right track. The demon had to be a dirty cop. But that didn’t make him a serial killer. Maybe the demon tampered with evidence so criminals wouldn’t go to jail. Maybe took bribes. There was a slew of possibilities.

  Andrew sat on the bed and ran a hand over his head. “My task is to destroy the demon, not to find out about his crimes. They don’t matter.”

  Okay. Fine. What’s your plan then?

  “I’m going to follow him more. I need to find a place where I can kill him, a spot where I won’t be seen. I’ll need to learn his patterns and where he visits.”

  He’d purchased a knife from Walmart to use as a weapon in case he’d have to stab the demon. He’d also found a gun in the glove box of Matt’s car. The poison would’ve come in handy, but he’d left it in Borrego Springs before he’d taken off to Mexico. Even without it, at least he had options.

  Good. That’s a start. Find out more about him through his actions and where he goes.

  He stared at the mess near the table. He hadn’t unpacked the carrying case for the laptop or discarded the beer bottles. The remains of his dinner needed to be tossed too. He had little desire to do anything except think about Emily.

  As he scratched his cheek, he realized he still had the wedding band on his finger. Back in Missouri when he’d been pursuing a demon who’d been a mother and a nurse, he’d convinced Emily to act as his wife in an effort to get close to the demon. He’d enjoyed playing the role of her spouse so much he’d continued to wear the ring. But now he was alone.

  He tugged the ring off and held it. The cheap piece of jewelry had been purchased to support a tale of fiction, yet it held meaning to him. For a short time, he’d been married to Emily. She’d been happy as his wife. He couldn’t help but wonder if she would have married him for real if he’d stayed with her. Sadly, he would never know. With a heavy heart, he set the band on the nightstand.

  Feeling glum, he kicked his shoes off before he crawled over the bed. He lay on his side, wondering what she was doing. Three days had come and gone. She had to know he’d left. How did she take the news? Was she angry or sad? How was she feeling now? How were her wounds? Did she find his note? He had so many questions. He’d considered purchasing a phone to call Matt, but he had decided he would be better off not knowing. Even if he got answers, he’d want to hear more about her. And if she had chosen to hate him, then he preferred not to know. His best option was to avoid contact with anyone who knew her.

  Closing his eyes, he remembered the woman he’d met and fell in love with. He wanted the sorrow to go away and he tried to ignore it, but regret continued to gnaw at him. With thoughts of her running her fingers through his hair and kissing him, he began to fall asleep.
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  Chapter Four

  Emily stared at Troy’s non-emotional face. “What do you mean he’s gone for good?”

  “He left.”

  She clenched her uninjured hand at her side. Anger and fear rushed through her, elevating her heartbeat. She took a step closer to him. “Did you hurt him? I swear, if you did—”

  “Do you really think I would kill him?” He crossed his arms.

  “Yes.”

  He scoffed. “Well, I didn’t. Maybe I should’ve.”

  “Then where the fuck is he?”

  “Gone.”

  “Where?” She raised her voice. “Tell me where he went.”

  “I don’t know where. He left. He probably ran off to kill the next demon.”

  Emily lowered her gaze as confusion chiseled away at her brain. Andrew loved her. Days ago, he’d wanted to be her nurse, take care of her, help her get better. Why would he leave to go after the next demon so soon when she hadn’t recovered? He didn’t have deadlines to meet. His priority should’ve been for her. Andrew’s departure made no sense.

  On the way back from Mexico, they’d argued about her taking risks after she’d already vowed she wouldn’t. He’d been very upset with her since she’d broken her promise not to go off alone. She’d told him repeatedly she wouldn’t venture on her own again. Maybe he didn’t believe her. Maybe she’d lost his trust. Could he have left because he feared she would make the same mistake again? But he’d acted as if he’d believed her. He’d wanted to help care for her when the doctor had arrived. She remembered pleading with him to leave because she didn’t want him to see her shredded back. Could he have taken her request too literally?

  Emily met Troy’s dark eyes. “Did you talk to him before he left?”

  His pursed lips and cold eyes gave her the answer. “I had a few words with him.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He said he was leaving.”

  “That’s it? Did he say why?”