A minute later, she heard the front door close behind him.
For a long time after he left, she lay in bed staring up at the ceiling with tears running down her cheeks. She couldn’t take much more of this.
* * *
Don’t miss the latest gripping novel
in the bestselling Fatal series
by New York Times bestselling author, Marie Force,
FATAL INVASION
Available from HQN Books November 27, 2018.
If you liked After the Dark, you will love Before the Dawn, the next book in the Killer Instinct series by New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Eden!
CHAPTER ONE
“I’m going to teach you to like pain.”
Dawn Alexander felt the tears trailing down her cheeks. She could only stare at the man who stood above her, a man with a face that was so heartbreakingly familiar, and shake her head.
Her hands were tied behind her back. The rough hemp rope bit into her wrists. She’d strained to break free for hours, and the rope had sliced into her wrists as she struggled. Each ankle was bound to a chair leg.
And Dawn was in hell.
He smiled at her. A smile that was wide and charming. A smile that flashed the dimple in his left cheek. “Right now, you don’t understand how good the pain will be. You still cry out when I hurt you.”
He’d hurt her plenty. The nightmare wouldn’t stop.
He lifted the bloody knife and pressed the tip to her cheek. “But soon the real fun will begin. By the time I’m done, you’ll be begging for the knife to slice you deeper.”
He means I’ll be begging for death.
“Please,” Dawn pleaded then as she had for hours. But he hadn’t listened to her. The man she’d thought was her friend had turned into a monster before her eyes. “Just let me go.”
His bright blue eyes hardened as he stared down at her. “You came into my life, Dawn. You came to me. You tried to come between me and the one person who matters most.”
Her breath sawed out of her lungs. They were in a small cabin, far away from the busy streets of Baton Rouge. The man before her—she knew him. She’d known him for years. Jason. Jason Frost. Everyone in the area knew him. Tall, handsome, smart and strong… Jason had been the star athlete on the football team. The guy most likely to succeed. Sure, there were plenty of stories that had swirled about his family—or rather, his father—but Jason, with his perfect looks and easy charm, had been the one all the girls loved.
But not me. I didn’t love him.
Because she’d lost her heart to his younger brother. She’d fallen fast and hard for Tucker Frost the first time they’d met.
She’d been thirteen. He’d been sixteen. She’d been so taken by him that no other boy had ever been able to compare. But when he’d turned eighteen, Tucker had left her. He’d joined the Navy, gone far away. She’d heard people say that he’d become a SEAL.
And he’d just…vanished.
Until a few weeks ago. Until he’d come back and she’d turned around and found him standing in the library at Louisiana State University. He’d been looking for her. And she’d been lost.
“Does Tucker know what you’re doing?” The broken whisper came from her. That had been her darkest fear as the hours had slipped by and her pain had continued.
Jason had picked her up from her dorm room. He’d said that Tucker wanted him to give her a lift out to their place. She’d gone so easily, so happily, never hesitating. Only he hadn’t driven her to their home. He’d taken her away from the city, to the edge of the Mississippi River. To this little cabin.
The first time he’d hit her, she’d been stunned. Too stunned to move. The second time, he’d hit her so hard she couldn’t move.
Jason tilted his dark head down, seeming to give her question deep thought.
Her heart pounded frantically in her chest. “Tucker won’t like this,” she said, desperate. “You’d better let me go. You don’t want Tucker angry—”
His head lifted. His eyes—eyes the exact same shade as Tucker’s—met hers. And he smiled again. Tucker’s smile. Oh, God. “Of course he knows. Why do you think he came to see you when he arrived back in town? You’ve been on our list for quite a while.”
Her heart stopped. Dawn shook her head. No. Anger was there, beating just below the terrible fear. Tucker wouldn’t do this.
Not Tucker.
He’d…he’d seemed to care about her. They’d always been close, secretly so before he left for the Navy. Nothing romantic or sexual, just…friends. They’d been friends when they were kids. He’d walk her home. He’d make sure she had all her books.
But when he’d come back recently, when he’d come back as a man and found her at LSU, they’d stopped being just friends. They’d become so much more. He’d become everything to her.
Not Tucker.
The knife lifted and her breath came a little easier.
Then the blade sank into her shoulder, going deep, and he twisted the hilt. Dawn choked out a scream.
He laughed at her. “Surely you’ve read the stories in the paper? I mean, the press seems to be giving our kills a great deal of attention.”
Our kills?
“They even gave me a name.” He pulled out the blade and gazed at the blood on the weapon. “The Iceman.” He nodded once, as if satisfied with that name. “But they are so clueless. They don’t know why I freeze the bodies. They don’t get it at all.”
OhGodOhGodOhGod. Yes, she’d heard the stories about the Iceman in the paper. The guy who’d been abducting women for the last few years. The man who froze their bodies and…kept them. Kept them so very long before he would call the cops, tipping them off to the locations. And those poor women would be found, so perfectly preserved, in freezers.
She looked up at Jason. His thick, dark hair. His perfect features. His gleaming eyes. That dimple. Dawn could only shake her head.
“The press should have realized it wasn’t just one man committing the crimes,” he said. “I mean, really, it’s more like Icemen than Iceman.”
“Not Tucker.” Her breath heaved out. “You’re lying!”
His eyes narrowed. “Why?” That bloody knife came back to her cheek. She knew he was going to cut her face. Dawn tried to brace herself for that pain. “Because you think you know him? Because he fucked you?”
She felt her face flame. Yes, he had. And Tucker had been her first. Her only. She loved him. She trusted him. She—
Jason laughed. Hard, deep laughter. “You are so clueless. Blood comes before anything else. Tuck has my back. He always has. He’ll be here soon, and he’ll prove the truth to you.”
The tip of the knife pressed into her cheek, a shallow cut, taunting her.
“And you’ll see the truth for yourself.”
He turned away from her.
Dawn twisted her bleeding wrists behind her, struggling as hard as she could against the rope. Terror clawed at her insides as the stories of the Iceman’s kills ran through her mind. All the victims had been young women—pretty, single. When their bodies had finally been recovered, they had been covered in slices. Stabbed again and again. Tortured. Then frozen in time…as if…as if the killer wanted to savor them.
I won’t be another victim.
“They’re alive when I put them in the freezer.”
For an instant, her struggles ceased. Stunned, she could only stare at his broad back.
“I make sure of it,” he added. “The cops haven’t released that part to the media, but I always put them in the freezers when they’re still breathing. I like for them to feel the cold sliding over them. I know it makes them long for the pain again.” He looked back over his shoulder at her, and his profile… It is so like Tucker’s. “I told you, before I’m done, you’ll grow to like the pain.”
No.
She yanked hard at the ropes and Dawn thought she felt them give…just a bit.
She also heard the growl of a car
’s engine outside the cabin.
His smile stretched. “Right on time. I’ll go greet Tuck, then the real fun can get started.”
She opened her mouth, ready to scream. She’d done that before, screamed endlessly, but he’d just laughed and said that no one was around to hear her.
This time, though, he leaped forward and slapped his hand over her mouth.
Anger hardened his face. “I’ll be the one to talk with Tuck first.” Then he slapped a gag on her in mere moments. He shoved it into her mouth, bloodying her lips even more, and then tied it behind her head. He stood in front of her as that growling engine came closer, and he leaned down, until they were eye to eye. “We are going to have so much fun with you.”
He kissed her, putting his mouth right over the gag.
“I’ll fuck you, too,” he promised.
The tears fell again, but he’d already turned away. He rushed toward the cabin’s door. Toward Tucker. And she kept yanking on the ropes that bound her wrists. He’d been so busy with the gag that he hadn’t even checked to see if she was still securely tied.
The joke is on you, bastard. I’m not. The rope around her left wrist broke free.
* * *
Tucker Frost parked his car and jumped out of the vehicle. A thousand stars glittered overhead as he approached the old cabin, a place that he damn well hated.
Jason should hate the place, too. He had no idea why his brother wanted to meet him there. The cabin held only bad memories. Memories Tucker wished that he could forget. He’d gone halfway around the world in an effort to banish that hell from his mind.
Insects chirped all around him. Frogs croaked, and down near the water he could hear the deep growl of a gator. Swamps weren’t quiet—most folks had that wrong. Swamps were loud and busy, all the time. Especially at night.
And he hated this one swamp in particular. It was too full of dark secrets.
“About time you got here!”
His gaze lifted at his brother’s voice, and he saw Jason bound out of the cabin. “I’ve been waiting over an hour for you to show up.”
Tucker rolled back his shoulders. “I stopped by Dawn’s dorm. I needed to talk to her.” Because he’d gotten orders to ship out. A new mission. He wouldn’t be back for a few months and he’d wanted to tell her the news face-to-face. Hell, he hated the idea of leaving her. Little Dawn Alexander. Who would have thought that she’d come to mean so much to him, so fast? He cleared his throat. “But she wasn’t there.”
Jason glanced back toward the cabin. “You don’t say…”
Tucker yanked a hand through his hair. He and his brother stood at a similar height, and their bodies were built along the same rough and ready lines. “Why did you want me to come out here?” Before his brother could answer, Tucker gave a bitter laugh. “Unless we’re out here to torch this place, I don’t really want—”
“We’re not torching it.” Anger crackled in Jason’s voice, surprising him. “I don’t like fire.”
Tucker’s brows flew up. “And I don’t like this place.” Too many bad memories. “You shouldn’t, either.” Not after the hell that had happened to them there.
Jason rocked back on his heels. “Family comes first.”
That was a phrase that seemed to echo in Tucker’s mind. It was a phrase his father had used too many times.
Jason cocked his head and studied Tucker. “You believe that, don’t you?”
He didn’t speak. Tension snaked up his spine. This scene was wrong. “Why are we out here?”
Jason glanced back toward the cabin. “I fixed it up while you were out saving the world. Looks good, doesn’t it?”
It would never look good to Tucker. We should have destroyed it long ago.
“When you came back, I knew things would be different.” Jason focused on him once again. “I have a surprise for you.” He nodded once. “Inside the cabin.”
The tension Tucker felt grew even worse. “I don’t like surprises.”
But his brother just laughed. “You’ll like this one.” Then he came forward and slung his arm around Tucker’s shoulders. Tucker forced himself to relax. This was Jason, the guy who’d always had his back. The guy had been looking out for Tucker his whole life. When he’d been a kid, Jason had made sure no bullies were ever dumb enough to tease Tucker about his worn clothes or the fact that his lunch box was empty most days. Jason had always been there to take care of him.
He’s my blood. The only blood that matters.
Tucker blew out a long breath. If Jason wanted him to go into the cabin, then he would. Hell, he’d do just about anything for his older brother. With Jason’s arm still slung around his shoulders, they headed up the rickety stairs and toward the door. Jason was talking and laughing, and the guy seemed happier than Tucker had seen him in years.
Jason opened the door with a flourish. “After you, bro.”
Tucker headed inside. The old floorboards creaked beneath his feet, the way they’d done years ago. But the place didn’t reek of the stale scent of old beer. Instead…
What is that scent?
“Open the door on the right.” Jason’s voice had hitched up. “Your surprise is in there.”
Okay, he’d play along. For the moment. Then he needed to tell Jason about his new orders. His brother wasn’t going to like that he had to leave again. Jason hadn’t understood when Tucker had enlisted. But Jason didn’t get it. If Tucker didn’t let the dark energy swirling inside him have an outlet, then trouble would come.
Tucker grabbed for the doorknob. He pushed it open and—
Terror.
For an instant, Tucker just stood there. He stared into Dawn’s beautiful green eyes—eyes that were glassy with terror. Blood and tears trickled down her cheeks and she was yanking at the rope around her left ankle. Her shirt was covered in blood. Her body marked by bruises.
And she looked at him as if he were the devil himself.
Tucker shook his head. No, this was wrong. This was wrong. “Dawn?”
Jason slapped his hand down on Tucker’s shoulder. “Surprise! Had her waiting for you.”
A gag was in Dawn’s mouth. A purple bruise along her delicate jaw.
Tucker whirled on his brother, knocking that hand aside. “You did this to her?” A dull ringing was in his ears and rage burned in his veins. “You hurt her?”
Jason’s eyes widened. “Easy, bro.” The words were low and warning. “You know you have to watch that temper of yours. Control, right? It’s key?” But his lips were curving. “You lose it and you become just like our old man.”
Screw that. Tucker shoved his brother back, hard, slamming him against the wooden wall then pinning him there. “What the hell did you do?”
Jason’s mouth opened to respond, but then Dawn was rushing right past them. She’d leaped out of her chair and run for the door.
“Shit!” Jason bellowed. “Stop her! We have to stop her!”
Was his brother insane? The guy lunged up, but Tucker slammed him back against the wall. “What did you do?”
Jason head-butted him. The blow was fast and brutal and Tucker staggered back for a moment, and that moment was all that his brother needed. Jason shot toward the door, chasing after Dawn.
Stunned, Tucker glanced around the cabin. There was blood on the floor. Dawn’s blood. And she’d stared at him with such absolute terror on her face. No, no, it couldn’t be happening. Not again.
Not the fuck again.
Locking his teeth, he raced outside. His gaze flew to the left, to the right. He saw Jason, running toward the car that Tucker had just driven up in. Dawn was yanking at the driver’s-side door. Frantically, she clawed at the door handle, obviously desperate to get inside.
But I have the keys.
“Dawn!” Tucker yelled her name.
Her head whipped toward him. Then Jason was on her. His brother grabbed her head and slammed it against the car. Dawn sagged instantly and a fury unlike anything Tucker h
ad ever known filled his whole body. He heard a roar and didn’t even realize that guttural cry had come from him, but in the next instant, he was on his brother. He ripped Jason away from Dawn. “Not her!” Carefully, he lowered her to the ground. His hand went to her forehead and he felt the blood on his fingers—
“Hell, yes,” Jason snarled. “Her.” Then he drove both of his fists into Tucker’s back. Tucker fell down, nearly landing on top of Dawn, but he managed to turn his body at the last moment. He came up again, swinging this time. A hard cut at his brother because the guy never had been able to take a left hook. Jason stumbled back at the hit, and Tucker went at him again. Punching. Kicking. Using every bit of knowledge he’d learned in the hellholes on earth. SEALs could fight dirty and he sure as hell did. In moments, Jason was beneath him on that ground, his face a bloody mess, barely able to lift up his hands and stop Tucker’s blows.
“She’s…going to die…”
Tucker froze with his hands still fisted.
Jason spat blood as he said, “She’s…running to the…river…”
He hadn’t even heard her flee. Tucker’s head whipped around, and sure enough, he saw that Dawn had fled. Only she wasn’t rushing down the old dirt road that led away from the property. She was running to the rotted dock that waited yards away. A dock that stretched out over the mighty Mississippi.
“Dawn!” Tucker yelled her name as he leaped to his feet. He left his brother there because Dawn was the priority. She mattered. “Dawn, wait!”
She cast a terrified glance over her shoulder and in that moment, with the stars glittering down and showing him her face, he realized…she’s afraid of me.
But…he was trying to help her.
“Dawn?” He ran toward her.
She backed to the edge of the dock. She was right over the water, just standing there. Too close because…
Dawn didn’t know how to swim. She’d told him that less than a week ago. A hushed, embarrassed confession. When she’d been six, she’d fallen into her aunt’s pool and nearly drowned. After that, she’d been terrified of the water. At her quiet confession, he’d felt protective. He always felt protective where she was concerned. He’d promised to teach her how to swim. Promised to make her whole life safe, always.
Kick A** Heroines Box Set: The UltimatumFatal AffairAfter the DarkBulletproof SEAL (The Guardian) Page 112
