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DEEP IN THE NIGHT, a man intent on evil watched the woman of his dreams. He recorded her every move this last week. Every night he sat outside her house, not moving a muscle. Content waiting to find out if she was truly his soulmate.
Now that he knew the answer, he would see that she joined the others. His mother assured him she would take good care of this whore. His blood coursed through his body in anticipation of spilling her blood.
His palms grew sweaty, and his heart pounded in his chest as the thrill of the kill took over his body.
***
THE MUSIC THAT FILLED the club vibrated through her body as she made her way to the dance floor. It had been over a week since she heard from him. Gabrielle probably scared him off by being so brazen. She let her inner personality show through a little too much for him.
This was where she came to be her true self. She could let her hair down and party. Here, she had complete freedom to be whoever she wanted. More importantly, no one knew who she was.
The bar was extremely busy tonight. She was anxious to go wild on the dance floor and be whisked away by a guy for a night of hot sex. It was so much fun the other night as the dominatrix that tonight she wanted to be a submissive. She watched in utter anticipation as a handsome man made his way to her. He was a little older than what she generally went for, but she found him intriguing. It could be the way he carried himself, almost as if he could care less if anyone paid attention to him. It was as if he would rather just blend in than stand out.
He came over and asked, “You want to dance?”
Instead of answering, she simply wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a full body kiss. She wanted to dance with this man, but not on the dance floor. She had something more intimate in mind.
As soon as they turned into the alleyway, she pushed him against the cold brick wall and kissed him hard. At first she wanted to be the submissive, but now, she wanted to be the one in control.
As the kiss deepened, she thought about how exciting this was. She was kissing a man who she didn’t know. As the thrill of the moment took over, she was unable to think of anything else. She planned on completely losing herself in the heat of the moment.
She smiled up at him and asked, “Did you like that?”
Instead of answering, he twirled her around to where she was the one up against the brick wall. Her partner never had a chance to defend himself before the knife struck deep in his back. It made a sluicing sound as it was pulled out.
Before her foggy mind could realize something was terribly wrong, it was too late. Everything happened in slow motion. It was as if she watched what was going on from afar. Sinister orbs glowed from the dark shadow of a man. Fear paralyzed her.
Standing in front of her was the man she thought she loved. His face distorted in a mask of rage. The eyes staring down at her were as cold as ice.
She didn’t even see the flash of the blade as he brought it up against her neck. Her body quickly turned cold as the blood poured from the huge gash in her neck.
She looked down at her body slumped there in a contorted position. She tried to scream as the man pushed her hair out of the way and stared down at her face with a malicious sneer. She couldn’t bear to watch as he mutilated her face. She couldn’t even fathom the thought that she was murdered. Suddenly, whispers surrounded her, welcoming her into their fold. She told herself this wasn’t real, it was a nightmare.
***
HUTCH KNEW A CALL THIS early in the morning meant only one thing, another murder. Without bothering with makeup, she threw her hair into a haphazard ponytail and dressed. After slipping on her tennis shoes, she headed out the door.
She made it to the crime scene before the other detectives. She was already dodging several reporters who’d made it here before Ledet and Bryant. What was keeping the two men? Ledet usually arrived before either of them.
A pair of headlights closing in on the crime scene announced Ledet’s arrival. He looked disheveled tonight, which was highly unlike him. Something about his intense glare hardened his handsome features and distorted them into something fearful. It worried her to see him like this.
She was at least grateful that he arrived before Bryant. There was no denying the intense dislike Bryant felt for her. It radiated off of him even though he tried to hide it.
In the background, she heard one of the other officers mentioning that Hutch must have had another vision about a dead body. She wasn’t sure how anyone found out about her abilities, but she hoped they kept it quiet. This didn’t need to be leaked to the press.
Hutch was unsure if this poor woman was killed by the same man. The MO was all wrong. A man and woman were killed. Besides, Hutch never had a vision to announce this murder.
Even now, she could not pick up any vibes. She closed her eyes to get a feel for what happened here. Darkness closed in around her, and she stepped inside of it. She let the images float around her, waiting for them to come into focus, but nothing happened. She did not see anything.
As she was about to give up, a sharp image shot through the darkness. It disappeared before she could make out the image. It was as if the killer didn’t want her to read this scene. How was that possible? This gift should come with an instruction manual, something short and to the point. She had to seek Rayne out later on to see if she knew if this poor woman and man had joined the others.