Chapter 1 #2
The criticism stung. Mostly because he was right. She’d been careless, overconfident. Told herself she could handle it. That she wasn’t afraid.
But that was before she felt the cold steel against her skin. Before she heard him whispering threats in her ear. “I know. I screwed up. Won’t happen again.”
She peeled away a Band-Aid’s backing and pressed the adhesive over the cut. The flesh-colored circle was amazingly discreet.
Something in her tone must have registered with him, because his voice softened. “We’ll catch him. I promise you that.”
“Let’s focus on today.” She flipped the visor closed. “We have a four-hour drive to Union Correctional, and I need coffee.”
Blade didn’t start the car. He turned in his seat to study her with those piercing blue eyes that always seemed to see more than she wanted them to.
“Are you sure you’re up for this? We can reschedule. Damien Sullivan isn’t going anywhere.”
“I’m fine,” she insisted despite the tremor in her hands that she couldn’t quite control. “It’s just adrenaline.”
“Tori—”
“I said I’m fine!” She gritted her teeth, wishing she hadn’t yelled at him. The look of hurt on his face made it worse. He’d seen her through just about everything in life; it made sense he’d want to do that now. “I’m really okay. Promise. I need this.”
He didn’t look convinced, but nodded anyway. “Okay. But if you change your mind—”
“I won’t,” Tori said, tucking the bloodied wipe into a small plastic bag and sealing it. Evidence. Just in case. “Now drive, Detective, before the morning traffic turns our four-hour trip into six.”
He started the engine, casting one last glance her way before easing out of the parking lot. She turned to look out the window, watching as the gym where she’d learned self-defense receded in the side mirror.
She absently pressed her fingers to the wound on her neck, feeling the sting of it. A reminder that she was dealing with someone dangerous. Someone who had gotten close enough to hurt her. Someone who had promised he wasn’t done.
“He said that I think I understand the darkness, but I don’t.”
Blade glanced over. “What?”
“It’s what he said.” The hot breath in her ear. The pressure of the knife. His fingers digging into her arm. “He’s wrong. I understand darkness better than most.”
“So, what are you thinking? Profile?” Blade shifted into work mode.
She exhaled, taking a few seconds to create professional distance. “Male, late twenties to early thirties. Comfortable with weapons.”
“That narrows it down to about half the men in Florida,” Blade muttered.
“He’s also controlled. Educated. Narcissistic, with delusions of grandeur,” she continued. “He sees this as a game between us. He’s not just stalking me, he’s on a mission only he understands.”
“A mission for what?”
She stared at the road ahead. The sun began to peek over the horizon, casting long shadows across the asphalt. “That’s what I need to figure out.”
Blade pulled into a drive-through and ordered his usual coffee and sausage biscuit. Tori asked for a double Americano, extra cream.
“You want anything to eat?”
“Nah.” Her stomach churned at the thought of food. Food meant chewing. Swallowing. Basic functions that required her throat to work normally.
Blade paid and pulled back onto the highway. “So, you want to tell me what really happened back there? Because I know you. You’re a third-degree black belt. You teach self-defense classes. There’s no way this guy got the drop on you unless you let him.”
The question she’d been dreading. The car suddenly felt ten degrees warmer. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying you weren’t fighting back. Not really.” His eyes flicked to her, then back to the road. “Why?”
For a moment, she considered deflecting, making a joke, changing the subject. But this was Blade. He deserved honesty, even if it made her sound crazy.
“I needed to understand him,” she admitted. “I needed to hear his voice, feel his presence, gauge his confidence.”
“You risked your life for a psychological assessment?”
“I took a calculated risk.” She sipped her coffee. “And now I know things about him I didn’t before. He’s escalated and injured me. Things the police can’t ignore.”
Blade shot her a look that was half concern, half grudging amusement. “You really are something else, you know that?”
“So I’ve been told.” She leaned back in her seat, trying to ignore the phantom sensation of cold steel against her skin and the whispered promise of more to come.
“Should I be worried about you?”
“Remember when I ankle-picked you at the gym last month? I think I can handle myself, chico.”
Blade laughed, and she felt her smile reach her eyes this time. “Now quit driving like a Florida snowbird. We’ve got a killer to interview, and it would be rude to keep him waiting.”
He shook his head. “One of these days, Dr. Crew, your curiosity is going to get you killed.”
“Maybe.” She smiled again. “But not today. Today, the only thing that matters is what Damien Sullivan knows about my parents’ murder. And not even a knife-wielding stalker will keep me from hearing what he has to say.”