Chapter 2
2
TEN YEARS LATER
T he clink of the metal bar hitting the supports echoed in the early morning gym. Cam was in an old facility mostly used by local boxers and, at this hour, he had the place to himself. He had given up on the other, more populated sports gyms, hating the crowds and the looks that came his way from a few of the women running in designer gym wear on the treadmills. He was not interested; he barely had time for himself, and a high-maintenance woman would not fit into his lifestyle. Not that he was against having a relationship—he just hadn’t found the right woman yet. So, for now, the occasional fuck buddy would work just fine.
Cam worked the free weights, pressing as much as he did years earlier. He loved the burn, the time to focus on muscle groups, and the results. A large man, he worked his body like a machine. One that would perform whatever task he called it to.
Swiping a towel from the bench, he wiped his face before slinging the material over his neck. Glancing at the clock on the wall, he headed home, needing a shower and wanting to have time to grab a bite of breakfast before going to work.
Just the thought of work brought a smile to his face. He knew he was a lucky fuck. Or maybe luck had nothing to do with it , he thought for the millionth time, seeing the Saint medallion around his neck. His grades in high school had sucked but he attended Richmond Community College and earned an Associate degree. He started out as a business major, only because he could not think of anything else that interested him, until he met another man at the gym one morning who was in police science. Police Science—who would have ever thought that would have interested me?
Changing majors, he graduated with honors, was accepted into the police academy, and worked his way up the ladder, finally taking on an undercover operation bringing down a local gang that was making inroads with a national gang.
Last year, his cover had been blown after two years, but the operation was successful. Working undercover had been rewarding, but difficult. And a man his size was too easily recognizable. I needed a change. Through his contacts, he met his new boss, Jack Bryant.
Jack’s business, Saints Protection he knew that most women would react as she did—anger and disgust when he was gone so often. I’d like to have what Ma and Pop have, he realized, his thoughts now turning to his parents. But this life? Maybe I’ll never have that happily ever after.
Just then Jack walked down into the command center, and they all sat at the main conference room table.
“Boss? You’re kinda scaring us,” Cam commented. Seeing Jack’s raised eyebrow, he continued, “You seem sort of happy.”
Jack caught the smirks of the others around the table and hung his head chuckling. “Okay, okay, have your fun.” He looked back at Cam and said, “If you bunch of women want your gossip then here it is. I have approached Ms. Bridwell about renewing our relationship and she agreed. There. Now are you happy?”
The men offered heartfelt congratulations accompanied with head jerks in approval before they got down to business.
The Saints began earnestly analyzing the compiled data on the serial killer and reporting on their aspect of the investigation. The meeting lasted for several hours, but Cam did not mind. The chance to get to the killer before he struck again was paramount.
Their data-mining genius, Luke, had left his job with the CIA as a software engineer and now spent much of his time in the command center coordinating their investigations. He was typing furiously, only stopping to slurp more of his potent coffee, trying to enter all the information from Monty, who was still in contact with his former FBI agents.
The killer was only striking women at colleges. In a lull in the discussion, Marc said, “Spent the weekend at home with my family.” His face mirrored the frustration the group felt. “Gotta sister at Dominion College. Sophomore. Pretty. Nice. Decent student. ”
“Damn, man,” Luke bit out.
“Spent the weekend with her and my parents and even though she’s home for the summer, we talked about her not going back until this is over with.”
“Some serial killers are not caught for years, Marc,” Jack said.
Nodding, Marc agreed. “Yep, but I’d rather her not be at risk than to take that chance.”
“This is exactly why the governor gave us this task. We’ve got to find this fucker and shut him down.”
Cam’s mind wandered back to his family, whom he had not visited for the past month because he had been so busy with the case. I need to get back and see the family this weekend.
Walking out of the hospital after a graveyard shift into the warm, early fall sun, Miriam Delaro’s body had to adjust to the temperature change. She tilted her face to the sky, her long, dark ponytail falling down her back. Her blue nursing scrubs provided little warmth. The hospital is so friggin’ cold , she thought as she climbed into her old car. As she glanced at the mirror, her tired eyes stared back. Driving to the apartment that she shared with her sister, Rebecca, her mind was on overload. The busy night in the emergency room, the upcoming wedding, needing to find a new roommate, the irritating Dr. Sose…augh!
Driving on autopilot, she pulled into her apartment’s parking lot seeing her sister’s fiancé’ s car there. She liked Thomas—he had a decent job, got along with their parents, and he adored her sister. The two of them were in the process of moving in together, much to the ire of their parents who wanted a wedding before they lived together. He’s just so boring. At least Rebecca has boring—I’ve got no prospects right now!
Walking into the apartment, she met him as he was coming out, carrying another box of Rebecca’s clothes. Bending down to kiss her cheek, he smiled as he greeted her.
“Hey, Thomas,” she called. Looking past him into the kitchen where her sister was already holding out a plate for her, she grinned. “Oh, girl, you’re a lifesaver. I didn’t get to eat on last night’s shift.”
Her sister blew Thomas a kiss as he left and then turned to Miriam. “Well, eat up, sis. I need to make sure you don’t lose weight, or we’ll have to have the maid-of-honor dress taken in.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Miriam said, while digging into the scrambled eggs topped with cheese. “I’ve been eating like crazy lately, so I’ll be lucky if the dress doesn’t have to be let out!” Her sister handed her a diet soda with a wedge of lemon squeezed into the glass and floating on top.
“How you drink that with breakfast food, I’ll never know,” laughed Rebecca.
As Miriam ate, she watched Rebecca staring at her. Her sister’s dark hair was cut to swing above her shoulders, but her face was so similar to her own that they were often mistaken for twins. Looks were not the only way the two girls were alike—it was as though they could read each other’s minds.
“You know,” Rebecca began. “Thomas has some nice, single friends?—”
“Stop right there,” Miriam shouted over her mouthful of toast. “I love Thomas for you, but his friends are just not my type.”
“And what type would that be? Tall, dark, mysterious, gorgeous, standing on the bow of a pirate ship or riding over their plantation?”
Miriam blushed, her sister knowing her penchant for reading romance novels long into the night. They used to hide them from their mother and then Rebecca stopped being her reading buddy. Now, she just read them and dreamed alone.
“There’s nothing wrong with wishing for the handsome prince,” Miriam said, her sharp expression belying the wistfulness in her voice.
Walking over, Rebecca hugged her before taking the plate from her hands. “You can always dream, but just don’t forget to be practical.”
Looking around, Miriam said, “It’s going to be weird not sharing a place with you.”
“I know.” Rebecca’s voice was laced with a mixture of eager anticipation and nostalgia. “Are you going to be okay living by yourself?”
Laughing, Miriam responded, “Of course. And it’s not like you’re terribly far away. Hmmm, let’s see? About ten minutes?”
“Okay, smartass,” Rebecca grinned.
“Seriously though, I will miss having you around all the time. But you and Thomas need to build your own life and I’ve got…well, I’ll be fine.”
The sisters hugged before Rebecca left the apartment heading to her job as a kindergarten teacher and Miriam walked to her bedroom. After a quick shower, she fell onto her bed with barely the energy to pull the covers up over her. As she drifted off to sleep, she heard the faint sounds of the TV in the living room that Rebecca had left on. Her dreams of a handsome prince became tangled with a newscast about an earthquake in Mexico.