“Yes,” she replied. He was talking. If he wanted to stroll down memory lane recounting all the ways he was smarter than the rest, she would go with him. “I brought Jana with me because she was more outgoing than me.”

“She was a whore, dear. She hit on every man in the place. But I digress. I was able to fire you for talking about a case to the press. I thought no one would miss you for a night or two. I didn’t realize that you had made…friends with both Kincaid and Briggs. They went looking for you. When they couldn’t find you, they made a stink. I was called away to start investigating your disappearance. By the time I was able to get away from work, you had already made it out of our little hideaway.”

A little sob threatened to escape. She’d always wondered why he’d left so abruptly. Cam and Rafe. They had saved her then, too.

They hadn’t known it, but their need to find her had saved her life.

She would live through this. She would do it because she loved them. She didn’t need survival instincts this time. She had them.

“I think you’ll find the ropes are properly tied this time. The last time, I was a bit too eager,” Joe said, testing them again. He pulled at the ropes he’d tied. Laura noticed there was a sheet underneath her covered by a layer of plastic. It was like last time. He’d be able to easily destroy the evidence without leaving pesky blood or fibers behind. She wondered if his baldness was real or if he routinely shaved his head. Hairs left behind at a crime scene had gotten more than one killer caught. “Like I said, you were outside my normal prey, but so much closer to what I truly hunger for.” She shivered. “What do you hunger for, Joe?” He smiled. “I like hearing my name for once. I like hearing it coming from you. We’re close, you and I. To answer your question, I want someone soft and real. Those whores are close to death anyway.

Most of them thank me when I finally put them out of their misery.

Not you. You fought like you had something to live for. It made the game so much sweeter.”

“I’ll fight this time, too.” She would. And if he believed the experience would be good, maybe he would prolong it. She would survive. She would live through anything if it meant getting back to her men.

He ran a gloved hand along her torso, obviously admiring the scars he’d placed there. “I read you lost your womb, dear.” Temper. She had to watch it. She wanted to spit on him. “The surgery to repair my intestines and uterus didn’t go well. I bled out, and they performed a hysterectomy. I was lucky to live.” And she could see that now. She’d been lucky. She’d lost something precious, but she hadn’t lost her life. Rafe was right. They could have a family if they wanted one. They could adopt. Their lifestyle would be a challenge, but she knew people who could cut through red tape. Stef Talbot had offered his help in the past, and she’d turned him down because she didn’t want to be a charity case. It wasn’t charity, she realized suddenly. It was love. It was caring. It was family.

“You’re getting emotional, dear.”

Laura felt the tears running down her face. She felt his hands on her body. It felt like the ultimate violation. She preferred his violence to this slow, torturous petting. “How are you going to get out of this, Joe? Rafe and Cam know the Marquis de Sade is someone in the FBI.”

He chuckled and reached down. At least his hands were off of her.

When he came back, there was a small brush in his hand. It was pearl handled and had old-fashioned bristles. Laura felt every muscle in her body tense. She remembered what he could do with that feminine looking brush. He’d beaten her with something very similar. In between “sessions,” he had used it to brush her hair.

“You’ve made it impossible for me to continue, but I think you’ve freed me in some ways, too.” He reached over and started caressing her hair with the brush. His motions were languid as though he deeply enjoyed this part of his ritual. “My time with the FBI is done. I have a car waiting for me. I’ll make it to Mexico and on to some friends in South America. I have an appointment with a plastic surgeon. Thanks to my dearly departed wife, I have quite a bit saved up. She had a trust fund, you know.”

Just how long had Joe been killing? She’d written in her profile that there had to have been an inciting incident that started the killer on his path. “Your wife cheated on you.” Joe started. He stepped back, pulling the brush from her hair.

“Yes. I gave the bitch everything, and she preferred the gardener. She even got herself pregnant.”

That explained it.

“Marla was just like my mother. Dear mother left me with an alcoholic, abusive father because she needed to follow her heart. She also left me with my idiot brother. He came in handy, though.” He took a step back, the brush at his side. “Now, little rabbit, it’s time for some punishment. Do you know what the Marquis used to say? He said it is always by way of pain that we arrive at pleasure. He was right. Your pain is my pleasure.”

He snapped the brush back, and Laura cried out when she felt the sting along her skin.

She tugged at the ropes, but they wouldn’t come loose.

Another strike and she cried out again. Fire licked along her flesh.

“We’re going to have a fine time, you and I,” Joe said with a ghastly smile on his face. “And I have a note written out for those dolts you call lovers. They weren’t smart enough to find me, and now they’re going to lose you.”

“Think again.” Laura’s head came off the table at the sound of Rafe’s voice.

Rafe stood in the doorway that led from the kitchen to the dining room. He was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Her breath caught. There wasn’t a single thought that he could be hurt. He was here to save her. Everything would be fine now.

Joe shrank back. He dropped the brush, an almost bored look on his face. “I didn’t expect that.”

“I’m sure you didn’t. You never expected anyone to put it together,” Rafe replied.

A little smirk lit Joe’s face. “It took you long enough. Do you have any idea how much fun it’s been to watch you chase your tail?” Rafe ignored him. “Does he have a gun, bella?” Laura shook her head. “Not where he could get it before you could shoot.”

Joe shrugged as though he’d been caught in a little lie rather than exposed as a serial murderer. “Well, I suppose you’ll take me in now.”

Cam came in from the opposite direction, from the living room.

Both of her men carried guns leveled at Joe. “That would be the procedure.”

Cam looked down at her, his eyes seeming to take in every mark on her body.

“And you’re a good little boy, aren’t you? Both of you. I’m counting on that, you know. Let me tell you idiots how this is going to go. You’re going to take me in, but you’ll find most of the evidence is utterly tainted. Good luck pushing through a case where the lead investigator is also the suspect. You won’t have a shred of evidence that will hold up. I made sure of it. I’ll get out on a technicality, and you should know, I’ll come for her again.” He smiled. “Perhaps this will be a fun little game, too. I know I’m smarter than any judge.” Laura wanted to be sick. He really would. And he was right. All of the evidence was contaminated.

Joe reached a hand out for her. “You’re mine, little rabbit. Bars aren’t going to keep us apart. This game isn’t over until I hold your heart in my hands.”

“We’re not playing games, Joe,” Rafe said, his eyes cold.

He nodded at Cam and fired. Her men fired one shot a piece. Joe’s body staggered under the impact. Two holes opened up in his chest, bright red blood blooming through his clothes. His eyes flared, and he looked down at her. He reached a hand out toward her.

Rafe moved quickly, shoving the dying man away. “You don’t touch her. Not ever again.”

Cam’s face came into view. “Baby.” He put a hand on her hair, and she could hear the emotion choking his throat. “Baby, are you okay? God, he hurt you.”

She shook her head, wanting so much to get her arms around him.

“I need a knife!” Rafe called out.

Cam pulled off his own shirt and covered her with it. “Wolf and Logan are here, baby.”

Wolf entered the room, looking down at the body on the floor.

Logan followed after him. Wolf passed Rafe a knife, and he went to work on her bindings.

“I’ll have you out in a moment, bella,” he promised.

Logan was already on his radio. “Yeah, Sheriff, we’re going to need to call in some help. We found her. Laura’s fine, but Deputy Briggs and Special Agent Kincaid were forced to put the suspect down. He was going to kill her.”

Rafe turned back and sent the deputy a grateful smile. He passed the knife across to Cam who cut through the last of her bindings, and she was free. Rafe pulled her up and into his arms. She was deliciously crushed. Even the pain from the strikes she’d received now just reminded her that she was alive and they were here.

“Bella, I was so scared.” Rafe didn’t seem to care that her ass was hanging out, but Cam came around the other side and covered her with his body. His arms wound around her.

“I was terrified,” Cam admitted.

“I’m fine.” Laura sighed and let herself sink into their warmth. “I knew you would come for me.”

She felt a tremble go through Rafe’s body. “Always, bella. Never, ever doubt it.”

When they carried her out, she didn’t look back. That part of her life was done, and it couldn’t hurt her again.

Chapter Twenty