by Katie Reus
Seeing Wilson provided an interesting dilemma. He might not even recognize her tonight. She was dressed completely out of character, wearing a short leather skirt, a leather bustier and a jet-black wig as well as non-prescription, trendy-looking glasses. Not a stellar disguise, but if he had on beer goggles, it would be enough.
He sat down next to her at the bar, his baby blue eyes doing a once-over of her before he motioned at the bartender.
Take him, the voice whispered.
Yeah, he didn’t even seem to recognize her, though his interest was clear. Wasn’t like they’d ever dated or hung out in the same social circle, but damn.
His not realizing it was her pissed her off. It was like she was invisible until people wanted something.
Before the night was out she’d make sure he paid for that. Yes, yes, take him. Make him suffer. The voice was louder tonight.
She waited until the bartender took his order and placed a beer in front of him. “How are you doing tonight?” she purred to Wilson.
Seeming surprised, he turned to look at her, a charming grin spreading across his face. “Better now, darlin’.”
Oh, barf. She knew he’d dated dozens of women in Verona Bay, and “date” was a loose term for what he did. He was a pig. After tonight she’d be doing the women of Verona Bay a favor.
“Why don’t you finish your beer, then you and I get out of here?” She grinned at him, knowing he’d take the bait. A guy like this was so damn predictable.
He seemed positively stunned, but grabbed the green bottle and slapped a bill on the table. She’d only been drinking Sprite with lime and she’d already paid. So she slid off her seat and linked her arm with his as he chugged down his beer. Real classy.
As they stepped out into the cool air, her mind started working overtime. She could take what she wanted from him tonight. She could do whatever she wanted to him and no one would ever know.
“You look kinda familiar.” His words were slightly slurred, telling her he must have been drinking long before he got there.
“I just have one of those faces.”
“You’ve got a gorgeous face.”
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Which car is yours?”
“That big ol’ Ford is my truck, darlin’.”
She inwardly winced at the faux cowboy accent. Did he think this shit was charming? He must. And so must a bunch of other women, because as far as she knew this fool never wanted for female company. Gross.
He went around to the passenger side and lifted her up because it was so jacked up. Clearly he must be overcompensating for something with a truck this big.
As he made his way around to the other side, she glanced around the parking lot. She’d been here enough times that she knew they didn’t have working video cameras. It was one of the reasons she came here. She wore different disguises, didn’t bring her cell phone or pay with a credit card either. She liked to be anonymous, to have no way for anyone to track her.
It was easy to pick up guys when she wanted to leave no trace behind. She liked dressing up as different people. It gave her a rush. When she was herself, she was simple and boring, but disguises and makeup turned her into someone else. Someone other people wanted to know, wanted to be friends with.
Tonight she could be whoever she wanted to be—a seductress.
As Wilson got into the driver’s side, she quickly slid over and straddled him, shoving her leather skirt up to her hips. A rush of heat flooded between her legs as she thought about watching the life drain out of him.
“Hell yeah, you’re a feisty little thing.”
Oh, he had no idea. “Let’s see if you can handle me.” She reached between their bodies and rubbed her hand over his growing erection. It didn’t feel too impressive through his pants but that didn’t matter for what she had planned.
As he started pawing at her, tugging her panties to the side, she reached over with one hand and grabbed her purse. It wasn’t large, but was big enough to pack a compact Taser.
He cupped her mound, just jamming his finger in her, not even taking his time to get to know her. She gritted her teeth at his lack of finesse. What the hell did women see in this fool?
“Damn, girl, you’re already wet. Is this all for me?” He made a gross groaning sound as he gyrated his hips.
She was wet, but not because of him. She was turned on because of what she was going to do to him.
“Oh yeah, all for you cowboy,” she purred as her fingers clenched around her weapon.
He wasn’t paying attention to anything but her pussy as he kissed at her neck, the scent of beer and his cologne filling the air.
She flipped on the Taser and jammed it against his neck. He jolted against her, his entire body trembling in shock as his hand fell away from her.
Now she got even wetter—getting rid of him would be fun. Especially since he didn’t even seem to recognize who she was. He deserved this, and she’d be doing the town of Verona Bay a favor for getting rid of him. She’d make sure he suffered too.
As she slid off him, she started to drag his body over to the passenger side when she saw a couple stepping out of the woods at the edge of the parking lot. Adjusting their clothing. Oh, shit.
She hadn’t even thought people would be getting busy in the woods when it was so cold out. Hopefully they wouldn’t even notice her and Wilson.
“Wilson, that you?” someone shouted.
Double shit. She vaguely recognized the couple as two redneck assholes, Beau and Clarice.
She slid off him and adjusted her skirt. As they stumbled over to the driver’s side window, she grabbed her stuff and jumped out of the passenger side, her boots thudding against the gravel of the parking lot.
“I think he’s had too much to drink. He couldn’t even get it up for me,” she shouted in her best Southern accent as she made her way to her car.
She heard the man guffaw loudly even as they opened the door to check on their friend.
Heart racing, she picked up her pace and slid into the front seat of her car. As she tore out of the parking lot, she glanced in the rearview mirror. Wilson probably had no idea what had happened. Which was just as well.
Going after him without proper recon had been poorly thought out. It had just seemed so easy running into him tonight. And that voice had urged her on, telling her to do whatever she wanted.
But she needed to take people without the threat of being caught. She needed to have some control. She wasn’t going to be stupid like her father. She was going to prove to him that she was a hundred times better than him.
She didn’t need anyone to help her. Unlike him. He’d never have taken all those girls without her help. He’d never been there for her growing up. Had never even acknowledged her. But she’d helped him anyway. And look how stupid he’d been. She wasn’t going to be like him.
She wouldn’t end up in jail, stripped of her power.
Chapter 22
Serenity looked around the table, humbled that Lucas’s family had invited her into their home. Louise had also invited Maris over because the two of them were lifelong friends and she’d known how close Maris and Serenity were.
His parents were at one end of the long dining room table, joking around with Easton, who’d shown up late then devoured a plate of food, wearing a Verona Bay FD T-shirt that stretched across his muscular chest. She could understand why so many women of the town all fell for him.
But not all, because while she could see that he was attractive, he didn’t even compare to Lucas. No one did.
Lucas and Harper were intently discussing something a few seats down, and it sounded as if they were “arguing” over what kind of cupcakes were better. Which just made her smile.
“It’s good to see you smile,” Lincoln said quietly across the table from her.
She glanced at him. “It feels weird to. But I’m grateful Harper hasn’t been touched by the ugliness of everything.” She kept her voice low, for Lincoln�
�s ears only. “With the exception of Paisley’s mom coming in to my place earlier.” That had been a shock.
“She was drunk and upset. I’ve talked to her since then and she feels terrible.” He wasn’t excusing her, just stating a fact.
Serenity wasn’t even angry. Not anymore. She had a daughter and she could understand blind panic and fear. She couldn’t imagine herself ever reacting in such an unhinged way, but the woman was terrified. “Have the Feds told you anything? Anything they might not tell me?” He might not be able to say one way or the other, but it didn’t hurt to ask.
“No. But I have been interviewing different people from their list of potential suspects.”
“From what I’ve heard, the list is long.”
He nodded, his expression grim. “Yeah, that’s the problem. There are too many possibilities.”
“Do you have any maybes on your list?”
“Kinda. And there are a lot of them. And the only tying factor is that they were in college with us.”
“Oh, wow.” That didn’t narrow anything down at all, which just made that hard knot in her stomach tighten even more.
“Exactly.” He looked just as frustrated as she felt.
“Are you keeping an eye on Autumn?”
He jolted at the mention of his neighbor, Autumn Perez.
“What did I say?” she asked.
“Nothing.” His expression went carefully neutral. And wasn’t that interesting. “I didn’t even realize you two were friends until recently.”
“Yeah, I like her. She’s not from here, and even though I am, sometimes I feel like an outsider since I was gone for so long. She keeps to herself, but she is very sweet.” And smart, with a sarcastic edge that Serenity found refreshing. Autumn never acted like Serenity was broken or needed to be “handled.” She said what was on her mind but was incredibly mindful of people’s feelings. The woman seemed very authentic, which was refreshing.
Lincoln nodded. “She’s a good neighbor. I talked to her about staying safe.”
“Good.” Serenity wanted to push him further but decided against it since it was clear he did not want to talk about her.
When Lucas motioned to Lincoln that he wanted to talk to him, Harper jumped up and started dancing around in her “new” cowboy boots. Her little girl was a lot of energy, but Lucas’s family, especially his parents, seemed to not mind at all. They seemed to adore Harper, which made her feel less guilty about staying here.
As Lincoln stood, Maris sat down next to her, an exhausted smile on her pretty face. “So how are you doing?”
“As decent as can be expected.” As she took a sip of her red wine, her gaze was drawn to where Harper was happily stomping around, attempting what she assumed was line dancing. Lucas’s parents seemed to think it was hilarious as they encouraged her.
“I’m glad you’re staying here. At least you’ll be safe.”
She snorted as she absently ran her finger up the stem of her wineglass.
“You know what I mean.” Maris touched her arm gently. “I’m just so sorry this is happening.”
“Thank you. Look, can you be honest with me? Is everyone in town gossiping about me?” Serenity was fairly certain Maris would be straight with her. There wasn’t a dishonest bone in the woman’s body.
“There is a little gossip, but mostly it’s just people scared and worried. Especially now that Paisley has gone missing. People just want to pitch in and help, and most everyone is feeling helpless.”
“Really? Bianca and Chloe came by the shop as we we’re closing up today and they were pretty decent. But…I don’t know, I just feel like everybody is judging me.”
“Why would anybody be judging you? This isn’t your fault.” Maris’s tone was blunt and to the point as she pushed up the sleeves of her sweater to her elbows. Today her sweater had dancing llamas wearing top hats. The silliness was incongruent with her no-nonsense attitude.
“Whoever is doing this is doing it to taunt me, so it is kinda my fault.” She knew it wasn’t true, but logic didn’t have a strong foothold right now when guilt was eating away at her.
“Whoever is doing this is doing it because they’re an asshole,” Maris murmured, glancing over to make sure Harper couldn’t hear her. “This isn’t on you.”
She lifted a shoulder. “I still feel guilty.”
“Nah, you’re just worried for your friends.” She reached out and squeezed Serenity’s forearm, her expression sincere.
“Whoever is behind this sent me a video.” She kept her voice low. She knew she wasn’t supposed to tell anyone but this was Maris, and of all people the woman could keep a secret. She ran a private shelter for women escaping their abusers. If anyone was a vault, it was Maris. “It was of Adeline chained to some kind of radiator thing. She was asleep or unconscious, I’m not sure. But breathing, thankfully. She was wearing the same clothes she was last seen in. And they’ve been leaving me little mementos. Jewelry taken from Black’s original victims.”
Maris sucked in a sharp breath. “Jesus. So was that bracelet on your windshield the real deal?”
“According to the Feds, yes.”
She cursed again. “I’m really sorry.” Maris paused, eyeing her for a long moment.
“What is it?”
“I have no idea if this will help or even if it’s important, and I don’t know what the Feds are looking for, but Norah has been talking a little bit of garbage about you. It’s benign stuff, but she’s one of the few people who thinks that everything has been brought on by you. Or your presence in town.”
Hurt lanced through Serenity, sharp and fierce. “Norah has?” She owned the local quilting shop and had always been friendly to Serenity. More than, even. She bought pet toys from her and she’d opened up her place to local business owners on Thursday nights. She rarely ever showed up to the meetings, but she let them use her facility.
“It’s just the fear talking, but yeah, she’s had a few ugly things to say,” Maris said. “No one is agreeing with her, but I’ve been keeping an ear to the ground.”
Serenity shoved out a jagged breath, surprised at how much hurt she felt over this. “Thank you for telling me.”
Maris had started to say something else when a chime rang through the air. Serenity knew that the Jordans had a security system and cameras here—and someone had to drive down almost three-quarters of a mile of driveway just to get to the front door. And they’d be caught on camera doing so. Not to mention there should be a Federal agent parked in the driveway keeping an eye on the place.
She frowned, looking down the table at Louise and Jack.
“We’re not expecting anyone,” Jack said. Tall and handsome, he was an older version of Lucas.
Lincoln stepped forward. “I’ve got this.”
Lucas was right with him, and to her surprise he pulled out a small pistol. Good lord, she hadn’t even realized that he’d been carrying a weapon. Though she shouldn’t be surprised. Of course he was. Both he and Lincoln—followed quickly by Easton—hurried out of the dining room and disappeared from sight.
Moments later they returned, with Amy Lin in tow.
She looked around the room before focusing on Serenity. “I’m really sorry to bother you.”
Serenity shoved up from her chair, fear curdling in her gut, the wine she’d just sipped roiling around. “It’s fine. What’s happened?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to know if you had some free time to go over some things.” She kept her words vague, something Serenity understood.
Some of her fear eased. If something had happened, she was pretty sure Amy would tell them all.
“We’ve got Harper,” Louise said. “Go do what you need to do.”
“I’ll come with you,” Lucas said.
“It’s okay. Just stay here with your family.” She would love to have him with her for this, but she couldn’t justify leaning on him even more, on becoming more of a burden.
He looked surprised, then hurt, bu
t she knew this was for the best.
“I’ll drive and bring you back.” Amy said.
After kissing her daughter goodbye—and thinking about kissing Lucas but deciding against it in the end because she didn’t want to confuse Harper—she headed out.
“You want to tell me what all this is about?” Serenity asked once they were on the road.
“We’ve narrowed down our suspect pool.”
She glanced over at her in surprise. “Seriously? How?”
“A lot of cross-referencing. Unfortunately we haven’t been able to find any incriminating emails, texts, random property owned where they might be hiding Adeline or Paisley…nothing. I don’t think whoever did this is necessarily brilliant, but they are covering their tracks. And this is personal. The biggest mistake they made was sending you the mementos. It gives us something to go on.”
She rubbed a hand over her face. “Anything else from Black?”
“No, but we are working an angle on that end. I believe he’s getting messages out of the prison, and sooner or later I’m going to figure out how. Or more specifically, through who.”
“What…like through a prison guard?” she asked.
“Don’t sound so surprised. It happens far more than anyone wants to think about.”
“Where are we headed?”
“A safe house.”
She nodded, not asking any more questions. By the time they’d made it, she found that it was a two-story house in a normal-looking subdivision. But inside, the living room had been turned into a conference room basically. It was clear the Feds had been working overtime. She looked at a whiteboard they’d set up.
“Normally we’re more high-tech, but it’s easier to set things up this way here. And these are our suspects.” Amy went to stand next to it, hands on hips.
Serenity’s stomach twisted as she looked at the board, at the twelve familiar faces. “Why these people? Other than they attended college with me at the same time as Black’s murder spree?”
“None of them have truly confirmable alibis for when the bracelet was left on your vehicle, when Mrs. Rose was murdered, and the other women taken. And all of their cell phones pinged off the tower closest to Mrs. Rose’s house during the time of her murder. Which doesn’t mean much because this town is so small, but it’s another thing linking them to the area. We’re working with what we’ve got here.”
