Once again, Nikki found herself sitting beside Detective Stiles’ desk. She’d been here so many times the past couple of days it was starting to feel like home. Her heart jumped when the door to the big room opened and Joe walked through. Their eyes met instantly. He walked straight toward her never breaking the connection. She loved his eyes. They had been the perfect combination of warmth and spice when he’d held her in his hallway.
Now they were angry and cold.
He pulled the chair Stiles would normally sit in and sat in front of her taking her hand. “It’s burned beyond recognition. They’re going to check dental records and then DNA if that doesn’t work. There’s still hope.”
Nikki tried to smile, but couldn’t. She had given up hope the moment the call had come in. All she cared about now was ending this insanity before anyone else got hurt. Primarily, Joe. She really needed to put some distance between them.
“Right, hope,” she said, pulling her hand out of his hold. “What’s the plan now?”
To keep her hands busy rather than reaching for him, she picked up the cup of sludge Detective Stiles had given her when they arrived at the station.
“Stiles wants to put you in protective custody.”
She shook her head. “No, I need to be available.”
“Available?” Joe said. “You want to stand out on the street corner and invite this maniac to take a shot at you?”
“No,” she told him standing to put more distance between them. “But hiding only makes her kill someone else. I plan to be somewhere she can find me. She’ll call if I’m alone. I know she will.”
“There is no way I’m letting you out of my sight before this is over. Accept it. It isn’t going to happen.”
“What isn’t going to happen?” Stiles asked walking up to them.
“She wants to let the killer know where she is so they can have a chat.”
Nikki took a deep breath as she glared at Joe. “That is not what I said, Joseph Fitzpatrick.” She noticed Stiles grin when she called Joe by his full name. She’d done it out of habit. Her students hated it when she called them by their full names. When she was irritated with them, she found doing so usually got their attention. When she aimed a glare at Stiles, he sobered.
“Okay,” Stiles said, “What did you say?”
“I want to be alone somewhere she can find me. I’m sure she’s watching every move I make. She knows I’m here. I can feel it. She’ll call, as she always does and this time I’ll be ready for her. I’ll listen to her instead of reacting. There has to be something I’m missing in her clues. If I can figure it out, we can stop her before she strikes again.”
“Or she can stab you and leave you to bleed to death,” Joe said sarcastically.
“Damn it, Joe. I have to do something. People are dying. They’re dying because of me.”
“This isn’t your fault,” he said. The strain of keeping his voice down had veins popping up on the side of his neck. Nikki wished she could stroke them and calm him, but they didn’t have that luxury.
“Okay,” she said, trying to wrestle down the frustration in her voice, too. “I didn’t ask for this and I have no idea what triggered it. But,” she held up her hand as Joe started to interrupt. “For some reason, I am the killer’s main focus.”
“Then why hasn’t she come straight after you? Why the others first?” Stiles asked.
Nikki turned to him. “Joe and I were talking about that earlier. I’ve decided it’s not just something I know, it’s something I did. Somehow, sometime, I made this person very mad, made her suffer even. My guess is she wants me to suffer like she did.”
“What did you do?” Stiles asked.
“That’s the part I haven’t figured out yet.”
“So you want to be a hero. Dangle yourself in front of the killer like a carrot to find out?” Joe asked sarcasm clear in his voice.
Nikki closed her eyes and prayed for the right words to explain to him. She knew she shouldn’t, but realizing it was the best way to get her point across, she stepped closer to him. She took his hands in hers before looking into his eyes.
“I’m not a hero, not even brave. When you told me Darin was dead, I thought the nightmare that was my past was over. I thought it meant I didn’t have to be afraid of every knock on the door or ringing phone. You don’t understand how free I felt at that moment.
“Someone is trying to take that freedom away from me. I’m tired of being afraid. Tired of living behind security systems, and hiding in hotels, I want my life back. I want a chance to,” she frowned a little and touched his face. “I want a chance to have a real life.”
A real love, she finished in her head.
Stiles cleared his throat behind her. “She’s right, Fitzpatrick. I know it and you know it. If a victim can’t regain some power over their tormentor, they spend their life waiting for the next time.”
“I don’t like it. It’s too dangerous,” Joe said resting his head against hers.
“I don’t either, But it’s our only choice,” Nikki said squeezing his hands. “She’s getting braver more reckless, she killed the security guy the same way she killed Darin. She set a car on fire in broad daylight. If we don’t stop her soon, who knows what she’s capable of doing. I don’t want to find out.”
When he squeezed her hands in return, she knew he was on board with the plan.
“Let’s set it up,” he said to Stiles. “Make sure we have every possible angle covered. I don’t want this bastard to get within a mile of Nikki.”
~~~~~