by Katie Reus
“They’re not. They’re the real deal. Which I’m guessing you know. I thought you didn’t kill mothers.”
“Of course I didn’t! I would never.” He sounded offended that she’d even suggest it.
Amy resisted the urge to snort. He acted as if having some bizarre moral code made him superior. “If you don’t hurt mothers, then tell me who is targeting Serenity. She’s a mom now. A widow. Her little girl depends on her.”
Something in his expression changed but she couldn’t get a read on him. That was the problem with Michael Black. He had narcissistic personality disorder—or NPD. He had brief flashes of compassion, though she was certain those were mostly fake. He looked out for number one. Always had, no matter how his multitude of attorneys had tried to paint him as a misunderstood, bullied youth.
“No one is targeting her,” he said, sounding confident.
“They are,” she said bluntly, leaving no room for argument. “Someone killed her neighbor. And they’ve left these for her as presents, telling her that her time is coming. Someone is systematically hunting her. If they weren’t, I wouldn’t be here. My time is worth more than that,” she said, injecting anger into her words. “You know that.”
For the briefest moment, Amy saw fear flicker in his gaze. It was there and then gone so fast she might have imagined it. She would review the security recordings later to be sure, but she knew what she’d seen. Fear for a man like Black was foreign—and it did not make sense. She mulled that over in her mind as she plucked the plastic bags back up and put them in her briefcase.
She could practically see the tension in his shoulders growing as she hid his prizes from his view. “Who is your partner?” she asked as she snapped her briefcase shut.
“I’ve told you multiple times that—”
“Yeah, yeah, you didn’t have a partner. But I know you did. You weren’t smart enough to pull that off by yourself.” She leaned across the table, getting in his personal space.
She wasn’t worried about him attacking her. If he tried, she could restrain him no problem. He was a weak, pathetic little man who’d had to hurt young, college-aged girls to assert his dominance. It didn’t matter that he’d claimed he needed to cleanse them from their sins, to kill them before they became mothers and potentially ruined young lives. She’d never bought his shtick. He’d simply liked hurting women. Period.
“Whoever your partner is, they’re going down. And I’m going to make sure they get the needle too,” she whispered. In reality, she had no control over that, something he should know.
But her words struck home because fear popped wild in his gaze. He lunged at her, but she moved back, far quicker than him, and his chains jerked taut.
He raged, screaming obscenities as he tried to lift his hands higher than the few inches the chains allowed him. Spit flew out of his mouth, his eyes so wide she could see the whites all around them as he continued screaming that he was going to kill her.
Well, well, well. That was a very interesting reaction. Whoever his partner was, they mattered to him. This was somehow personal for him. And it gave her information she needed. She’d known he’d never give up the name of his partner, but he’d given her valuable information nonetheless. She picked up her briefcase and stepped outside, bypassing the guards who rushed in.
She waited until she and her partner were in the parking lot and completely alone before speaking. “I want information on every single guard who has contact with Black. He’s getting messages out to someone.”
“He didn’t like that little threat you made,” Frank said, pulling his cell phone out. His face was grim, but that was pretty much his resting expression. In his late forties, Frank had been assigned as her partner eight years ago when she’d been twenty-eight—and to everyone’s surprise they’d worked out perfectly. He could be grumpy, but he had a good instinct.
“He’s definitely covering for someone. My money is on it being a relative.”
Frank straightened. “Are you serious?”
She paused, mulling over his reaction. “Maybe. My gut is telling me this is very personal. Otherwise why cover for a partner? Especially someone with NPD. No… It wouldn’t be his parents. He hated them too. Lover, maybe.”
Frank simply snorted, giving his opinion with that one sound.
“Yeah, I know,” she muttered. “It definitely wouldn’t be a lover. He would have no love for anyone. No…it’s got to be blood. At least that’s what my instinct says. But he never had a kid. Not that we know of anyway.”
She had his dossier memorized. Michael Black had been her first big case. Stopping him had put her name on the map. Even if that game warden hadn’t caught him, her team had already figured out who he was. They simply hadn’t known where he was hiding out.
“There’s something we aren’t seeing right now. But we will.” She always got her guy. And even though this case had made her career, it still felt unfinished. She’d always thought he had a partner—someone mentally weaker than him. Someone he could control.
But there had been no way to prove it and he hadn’t admitted to anything. Her bosses had wanted everything closed up neat and tidy. His murders had rocked the Southeast. Since he’d been the one behind the actual murders, she’d been fine with nailing his ass to the wall, but if there was someone else out there… She wanted them too.
“This isn’t a simple copycat case,” she said, talking more to herself than Frank as she headed toward the private airport. “It feels personal, targeted toward Serenity specifically. But why now after all these years?” She wasn’t looking for an answer, it was just easier to talk out loud. Thankfully she and Frank had been partners long enough that they were used to each other’s quirks. He let her talk to herself and she didn’t give him grief when he ate tuna casserole in the car.
Next to her, Frank was making calls, instructing their team to dig even deeper into all the guards who had access to Black.
She slipped her Bluetooth in her ear when she saw Oliver Baker, one of her people, on her caller ID. “We’re almost to the airstrip.”
“Good. There’s been a kidnapping in Verona Bay. We’re rolling out as soon as you get here.”
“Shit.”
Chapter 15
“Tell me what you think about this Bianca,” Special Agent Amy Lin said to Serenity as she shoved her phone back in her pocket, done with whoever had called.
Wearing skinny jeans, a white button-down shirt and a loose black jacket, she looked much the same as she had all those years ago when Serenity had first met her. Her jet-black hair was pulled up into a ponytail, her dark eyes vivid against her pale skin, and she didn’t seem to have aged at all. She was petite, probably about five feet even, but she had a presence that somehow made her seem taller, larger than life.
Serenity glanced around her shop, watching as one of Amy’s agents worked. “What do you want to know?” Bianca Copeland had been bashed in the head, knocked unconscious, only to wake up and realize that Adeline had been taken. Her purse and all its belongings had been left behind with her car door still open. Thankfully Bianca hadn’t been knocked out too long so she’d been able to call law enforcement almost immediately. But it was still too late because Adeline was gone.
“What kind of person is she? Could she be behind this?”
Serenity blinked in surprise. “I don’t particularly care for her. We’re not close, but no, I don’t think she could have taken Adeline. She runs Sweet Spot… Which you already know.” She forced herself to stop rambling and focus. “If I’m being brutally honest, she’s not the type of woman to have a lot of girlfriends. She rubs people the wrong way. But she is great at business and runs her shop with efficiency. She has a fairly quick turnover, at least in retail terms. She keeps employees almost one year exactly before they get tired of her micromanaging. I have no clue if she has a boyfriend, or girlfriend for that matter. I assume she’s heterosexual because of the way she interacts with men but…I don’t know enough abou
t her. I get together with the quilting group every Thursday, which I’m sure you already know. But usually those get-togethers are about businesses. All local owners and employees are welcome but it’s usually the same group of us talking about tourism and ways to boost upcoming events or festivals.”
Amy nodded, but it was clear she knew some of this already. Which made sense. She would have already talked to the sheriff and gotten as many details as possible since she’d arrived last night, right after Adeline’s kidnapping.
Serenity tightened her jaw, forcing herself not to break down. Her friend had been taken and she needed to keep her shit together until Adeline was found. Freaking out would do no one any good. “I’m surprised you’re able to spare so many agents,” Serenity said as one of Amy’s people finished installing another security camera inside her shop. There was a team of two working, one sweeping for any type of recording device and the other installing cameras. She had basic cameras she’d bought online but these were high-tech, tiny, and transmitted back to whatever command center the Feds had.
Amy gave her a curious look. “We’re going to do everything we can until this person is caught. I always knew he had a partner. My bosses are backing me up on this.”
Serenity simply nodded, exhausted and terrified for her friend. She hated that they were here installing cameras to help guard her when they should be out looking for Adeline.
As if she read her mind, Amy lifted an eyebrow. “My team is currently looking at every security camera downtown—the locals are being very helpful. We’re also looking into other leads. We’re going to find your friend.”
Yeah, but would Adeline still be alive? For a sharp moment she remembered waking up in that cabin, tied to a board, her body restrained, her sister mere feet from her. She swallowed hard, hoping Adeline wasn’t in the same agony. Could she be alive?
Again, the woman who had the uncanny ability to read her freaking mind said, “The fact that she was taken and not killed on site is a good thing, whether you want to believe it or not.” She gave Serenity a pointed look. “I don’t say this in a flippant way, but my profilers think your neighbor’s murder was…interesting.”
“Interesting how?” she demanded. She only knew that Carol had been poisoned, but didn’t have any other details.
But Amy simply shook her head and pulled her buzzing phone out of her pocket. “Hold on.”
Thoroughly dismissed, Serenity rubbed a hand over her face. She hated this, hated the not knowing, not being able to help. Harper was currently in school, which was being monitored on site by a federal agent. Amy definitely wasn’t messing around, something she was grateful for. Now that Amy had made a name for herself and had the capital to back it up, she was apparently using all of it for this case. Because Serenity knew that if this hadn’t been linked to Michael Black, the Feds wouldn’t have been called in so quickly. Or at all.
Even though she didn’t want to be here, she was going to keep the shop open at the Feds’ urging. They didn’t think it was likely the person would strike out at her here—somewhere so public—but they wanted all options covered. And at least they could control this area. So for now one of Amy’s agents would be working the cash register, though Serenity would still be paying her other employee. It didn’t feel like enough. Nothing did.
Finding Adeline before it was too late was the only thing that mattered.
“Can I get out of here?” she asked as Amy ended her call. She’d closed for the day so that the agents could do their job and she wasn’t in the mood for walk-ins anyway. She couldn’t deal with people in general right now, not when her best friend was missing. “I need to pick up Harper soon anyway.”
“Yeah. But I still want an agent staying inside your house.”
Serenity shook her head. “We’ve been over this. I’ve got a security system and cameras—which your team now has access to. You said yourself someone will be keeping watch in my driveway and if the alarm is triggered, they’ll get an alert. I don’t want some stranger in my house.” Whoever was taunting her wasn’t invincible. If for some reason they got past the Feds, Serenity had a security system and a gun. Not that she wanted to use it, but her house was protected. The person doing all of this wasn’t a ghost or some supernatural entity who could walk through walls.
Amy’s jaw tightened but she nodded. “I know you’re careful about security. More so than most of the population. And I seriously doubt that whoever this is, is going to target your house anyway. Hey…what’s changed in your life recently? Anything big?” she asked as Serenity picked up her purse.
“Nothing. I mean, I haven’t even been back a full year. The move home itself has been pretty big.” At the time she’d been so sure it was the right decision. Now? Hell, now she didn’t know what to think. Harper had adjusted so well to small-town life and was thriving. But someone clearly didn’t want Serenity here.
Amy tapped her finger against the countertop. “I know. I’m just trying to get a feel for what’s going on, if something happened to trigger whoever is doing this.”
“What, like I caused this?” she asked dryly.
“Hell no.” Amy’s dark eyes flashed. “I’m just trying to get in this perp’s head. Did you start dating anyone? Or sleeping with anyone? Multiple someones?”
Serenity paused for a moment. “No. There’s no one.”
Amy’s gaze narrowed ever so slightly. “What was that pause?”
“There was no pause.”
“Bullshit.”
Serenity inwardly smiled, despite the situation. Amy had always been blunt, and while she had been incredible after Serenity had been found, she’d never treated Serenity like a victim. In the very beginning, sure, Amy had treated her with kid gloves, which Serenity had appreciated. But after that, Amy had simply treated her like a person. “I’m not dating anyone.”
“What about the sheriff’s brother, Lucas Jordan? I know he’s been staying with you.”
Oh damn, bull’s-eye. She turned away from Amy and moved to one of the shelves, straightening little baskets of dog treats. “We’re not dating or anything. We’re just friends.”
“Could it appear as if you’re more than friends?” Amy’s tone was neutral.
“Yes. Rumors have been flying about us.”
Amy simply nodded, her expression taking on that slight haze that said the federal agent was deep in her own head.
Which was her cue to go. “Well I’m gone, then. You know where I’ll be if you have more questions.” And she also knew that Amy had an agent who’d be tailing her around. Which was fine with her. Having a private escort who was fully armed? She’d take it.
When she headed down Main Street to where she’d parked her vehicle, she felt as if there were hundreds of eyes watching her. It wasn’t true, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched regardless. Most of the shop owners downtown already knew about the FBI’s presence. It wasn’t exactly a secret, even if they were being very subtle about installing cameras at her place. After Adeline’s kidnapping, everyone in town knew something was up. This was a small town and outsiders stood out.
As she slid into the front seat of her car, she wanted to cry in frustration. But she kept it together, frowning when she heard an unfamiliar ring tone coming from…somewhere inside the vehicle.
Her frown deepening, she glanced around her SUV. There was a phone tucked into the center console and it wasn’t hers. It was one of those Tracfones.
Invisible talons of fear scraped down her spine as she grabbed her own cell phone and dialed Amy’s number even as she picked up the cell phone from the console. “Who is this?”
She could faintly hear Amy’s voice on the other end of her phone, but couldn’t talk directly to her as a modulated voice said, “Hello, Serenity. I have something you want.”
“Where’s Adeline?” she shouted, knowing that Amy would hear her. The other woman was smart and trained enough to pick up that something was going on.
“If I
told you, that wouldn’t be any fun. But she is alive. If you want to see her again, go to the Little Children’s Park in Bishop’s Creek.”
Bishop’s Creek was one town over and only a half-hour drive. She kicked her vehicle into gear. “Bishop’s Creek?” she asked.
“No calling in your Fed friends or the sheriff. I’m watching your every move.” The sound of the machine-like voice sent chills down her spine.
“How do I know Adeline is alive?” She glanced at the vehicle pulling up behind her—being driven by one of Amy’s people.
“You don’t. Now toss your cell phone out the window—and you better ditch your Fed friend. Tick-tock.”
Tick-tock. God, this sick asshole had done all of this to get to her. “I’m throwing my phone out the window now,” she said, hoping Amy could hear her. She didn’t actually believe this caller was going to let Adeline go but she couldn’t not follow these instructions. Because what if Adeline’s life was depending on her doing this?
Knowing the agent was behind her eased some of her fear. But not much of it as she rolled down the window and tossed her cell phone out.
“Good girl. Now you better hurry or I might get impatient and kill Adeline.” The line went dead.
Her heart rate kicked up as she pressed on the gas. It was far too much to hope that Adeline was alive and waiting at the park for her. But she sped up regardless.
She made it there in record time, and when she pulled into the nearly deserted parking lot, she wasn’t surprised when the agent pulled in next to her.
A text popped up. Told you to lose the friend.
It’s the FBI, she texted back. I don’t control them and you didn’t give me a chance to lose them.
There was a long pause, then another text came through. A video. It took a moment for it to load, but when it did, all the air left her lungs.
She ignored the knock on her driver’s window as the video played. Adeline’s dark, curly hair was limp against her face, her wrists chained to a radiator and she was— Oh, God. No, she wasn’t dead. Serenity could see the rise and fall of Adeline’s chest. She was just sleeping.
