Sophie Oak - Lost in Bliss

Our best option is to find this bastard and take him out,” Cam said.

“Otherwise, we’re running for the rest of our lives. Let’s get dressed, and I’ll get on this. She’ll be safe with Nate and Logan. It’s broad daylight, and she’s going to a police station.”

“I’ll lock her up if I have to,” Nate offered.

“He likes to do that,” Caleb said with a little growl.

“If you don’t like to go to jail, you should pay your parking tickets.” Nate pulled out his radio. “Logan, can you read me? I’m bringing Laura in with me. Can you tell me who is at the station from the FBI?”

“The athletic asshole who got his face beat on and the asshole who looks like a professor,” Logan replied over the radio. “I guess the corporate-looking asshole is still at the crime site.”

“Thanks, Logan. Very professional.” Nate sighed and turned back, giving Cam a stern look. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a second radio. “Be better than Logan. Please.” He handed the radio to Cam. “There you go. It’s set to contact the station or me or Logan.

And unlike our cell tower, it’s Farelly brothers proofed. I’ll keep you updated on who’s where at all times. I guess the SAC decided to stay and supervise the forensic team. He said he wanted to view the autopsy when it’s ready. I bet the other two will go to that, as well.”

“I do not need an audience. I already have to tape the thing.” Caleb ran a hand through his hair. “I hate bureaucracy. I hate autopsies. I hate all this crap. I’ll wait in the car.” The doctor might hate bureaucracy, but the man had major pull if he’d managed to overrule Joe.

“I’ll go wait with the doc. He can be an obnoxious son of a bitch, but he knows what he’s doing,” Nate said. “When Laura’s ready, we’ll go. And if you two need anything, let me know. I still know people in Washington, and I know Stef’s dad has some pull.” The sheriff walked off to get in his Bronco, and Rafe was left shaken. Just a few minutes ago, the world had seemed damn near close to perfect, and now it felt like it could fall apart at any minute.

“Come on, man, let’s get dressed,” Cam said, urging him inside.

He clutched that radio in his hand. “The quicker we start eliminating suspects, the faster we know who she’s safe with. Except for Brad. I don’t care if he has a rock-solid alibi for every murder. He’s still an asshole.”

“Agreed.” After the way Brad had talked to her, Rafe couldn’t really consider him a friend.

But was he a killer?

Hopefully the answer was somewhere out there. Rafe had to pray Cam could find it.

* * *

“Sweetie, are you okay?” Holly asked the minute they were alone.

Tears threatened and Laura couldn’t give into them. If she broke now, she wouldn’t be able to stop. “Please, Holly. I can’t talk about it right now. Just tell me what happened with Caleb.”

“He spent the night on the couch,” Holly said with a sigh.

Laura walked into the bedroom and pulled out a clean pair of jeans and a yellow blouse. She tried to still her racing heart. She was pretty sure they could hear it in Del Norte. She forced herself to answer in an even voice. “That’s disappointing.” Holly opened Laura’s closet and started looking for something to wear. She was shorter than Laura, but they shared as often as they could. She pulled out a simple black T-shirt and cotton skirt. “I asked if he wanted to share my bed, just to sleep, you know, since he wouldn’t leave.”

“I bet I know what he said.”

“No.” Holly did a damn fine impression of the man. She shrugged out of her nightgown and pulled on the clothes. “You didn’t have the same trouble.”

Holly was staring down at her bed. The sheets were twisted and tangled. Of course, there were also clothes scattered through the house. If Holly hadn’t picked up on that clue, her destroyed bed was a dead giveaway.

“I love them.” Laura shimmied into fresh underwear, wishing she had time for a shower. Maybe she could use the one in Nate’s office.

Nate had a decent bathroom. She understood the necessity to move quickly, but she smelled like sex.

“I know. Everyone knows.” Holly gave her a soft smile. “I’m happy for you. I’m just going to miss you.” That was bugging her? “No, you won’t. I’m not going anywhere.

They’re moving here.”

Holly gave a little squeal. “Yes! That’s awesome.” She sobered a little. “Now I can watch another of my friends be happy and settle down.”

Laura zipped up her jeans. “Sweetie, that man is crazy about you.” Holly sat on the bed, utterly dejected. “No. That man is just plain crazy. I don’t know how to deal with him. I swear it’s easier to deal with the mobster. At least he talks to me—well, he writes to me because his handlers won’t let him call. Caleb is a mystery. He won’t talk about his past. All he seems willing to do is boss me around. I’ve already been married to one man who turned out to be a bully. I don’t need another.”

Laura turned to her friend. “I don’t think Caleb is anything like Scott. And you know it. I’ve seen the way you look at him.” Holly’s hands twisted in her lap. “Someone fixed my roof. You know I had that leak? Someone from Del Norte showed up yesterday morning with a work order and fixed the bad section. He’s coming out next week to replace the whole thing. Do you know how much that costs? He had a paid receipt, but he wouldn’t tell me who paid it. Just that they paid cash. Do you think that was Stef?” Stef Talbot was known for his acts of anonymous generosity, but she doubted it in this case. Jen would have blabbed. It was the best thing about Stef getting a wife. She loved to gossip. “No. It was Caleb, and that is the most un-Scott-like thing he could do.” Holly’s ex was very powerful, but he wouldn’t help anyone. He was all smiles on the television when he was campaigning, but off TV

he was an asshole of the first order. Sort of like…

Laura sank to the bed. Jana was dead. Tears filled her eyes. How could Jana be dead? Nate had said she’d been left behind with a note addressed to Laura. Guilt pressed down on her.

“How close were you?” Holly always seemed to know what she was thinking.

“She was a horrible bitch. We hadn’t been close in years, but I didn’t want her to die. God, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.” Laura put her hands on Holly’s shoulders. “You stay with Caleb today. You don’t walk away or let him out of your sight. You should be okay as long as you’re in the clinic, but don’t you dare go outside without him.”

Holly’s green eyes went wide, but she nodded. “I won’t. I think I should stay with you.”

Laura forced herself to move. If she stopped, she would dissolve into tears, and she couldn’t do that. Rafe and Cam had a job to do.

They needed to get those files. Once they had what they needed and she’d pacified the feds that she wasn’t going anywhere, she would really like to get a look at those files. She’d seen the Marquis de Sade.

She’d looked at his work and known who he was deep inside. Now she needed to see the man he presented to the world outside. She needed to find the man the monster hid behind. Maybe if she looked for the mask he wore every day, she could put the two together.

Maybe the motel was a better place to hole up than her cabin. Less windows, less places to hide. Internet.

“You can’t stay with me. You’re in danger if you’re with me, and I think Caleb would say no.” There was no way she was letting Holly stay close to her. She’d panicked when Nate had said her friend was dead. Nell was underground with Henry, so her mind had seen Holly’s body, cold and still. She hugged Holly. “Stay with Caleb.

Promise me.”

“All right.”

There was a knock at the door. “Laura, we need to get dressed and go. I put together some toast and eggs. You can eat it fast. I made you coffee, too.” Cam sounded hesitant. If she didn’t watch it, they would go with her when she needed them working.

“Sounds great.” She squeezed Holly’s hand and went to force breakfast down her throat.

* * *

He waited, his breath pulsing in and out of his body. It was a rhythm, and he could hear the thud of his own heart. Had she gotten the news?

He’d left her a gift. Her greatest enemy, torn to shreds. Not shreds, exactly, but he had neatly eviscerated the bitch. She’d cried and begged for her pitiful life. She’d thought that her career would save her. Dumb animal. It had been anticlimactic to push the knife through her belly and watch as she writhed on the blade. He had watched, sitting back and letting her believe she was alone. He would never again underestimate one of his lady loves. She had cried and begged and found some deity that she’d never believed in before. It had been predictable and utterly pathetic.

She’d been an unsatisfactory substitute for what he really wanted.

His rabbit.

Now that he’d seen her again, he knew she was the one for him.

His cock hardened. The thought of her was the only thing that got him hard anymore. There had been that one woman, but she was gone and she’d been a whore. His rabbit was a whore, too. She couldn’t help it.

She was female.

She had to be put down, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy her before he did it.

It would be a true gift. An honor to bestow.

It was the least he could do before he killed her.

Cam stared at the computer screen, willing the damn thing to move faster. It seemed like forever since they’d both kissed Laura and let her leave with the sheriff. It had been one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do, but she wouldn’t back down. She’d been adamant about getting this “interview” over with. Laura wasn’t one to procrastinate. She was a “rip the Band-Aid off” kind of girl.