Raine finished straightening up the kitchen, not that there was a lot to clean. Callum kept everything neat and orderly, a man after her own heart. But she washed down the countertops, making sure to get any crumbs.
The sound of the carport door to the house opening surprised her. Callum had only been gone a few minutes. He must have forgotten something. The door clicked closed behind her as she tossed a paper towel into the garbage.
“I thought he’d never leave.”
She whirled around at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. A man stood about ten feet away, dressed all in black. He was tall and muscular, like Callum. But unlike Callum, he was blond and pale, as if he spent most of his time indoors.
Dark eyes stared back at her with a disturbing, feral intensity. Then he smiled, a cold, cruel smile. And she started to shake.
“Who are you? What do you want?”
“Ah, that’s right. You haven’t met me yet, have you, dear? Maybe you haven’t even heard about me. You and that investigator you hired have been focused on the Scoggin fellow.” His lip curled in a sneer. “Trying to give him credit for one of my kills. You got him in a tizzy by performing surveillance on him. He wrote down your license plate number, figured out who you were. When more investigators showed up, watching him, he knew you must have been behind it.”
She grasped the edge of the kitchen island, her whole body shaking now. “Credit for your kills? You mean Nancy? You killed her?”
“I killed them all, darlin’. Including Nancy. And I didn’t appreciate hearing on the news that Scoggin was wanted for her death. I work hard on my projects. I may not want anyone knowing they were mine. You know, the whole prison thing. But someone else taking credit, well, I can’t have that. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Raine Quintero, I’m Drake Knox. And the pleasure, I assure you, is about to be all mine.”
His smile widened, showing perfect white teeth that reminded her more of a badger’s than a human being’s. “And I must say, I’m flattered by how white your face just turned. You must have heard of me after all.”
Her gun. She had to get her gun. It was in the guest bedroom, in the side table drawer. Could she reach it before he reached her?
She inched her way around the island, toward the family room. He arched a brow as he watched, not the least bit concerned, which made her even more terrified. Images of his victims, the police photos she’d bribed a clerk to give her, appeared in her mind’s eye. All had been strangled to death. But before that, their killer had tortured them. The coroners in each case had theorized the victims had been bound, cut, beaten and raped. For hours.
She had to get her gun. Distraction. She needed a distraction.
“Are you saying Scoggin trashed my house?”
He cocked his head like a bird watching a worm wriggling on the ground, just before he snatched it up. And killed it.
“Let me guess,” he said. “You thought it was that silly Hagen fellow. Low-life little criminal whose entire résumé consists of petty theft and drunk driving. That sort of thing. I can see him trashing your place, I suppose. But once your shenanigans got Scoggin in the limelight, well, he just couldn’t control his temper.”
She reached the end of the island. She was about fifteen feet away from him now. He still hadn’t moved.
“How...how do you know all of this?” One step away from the island, toward the family room part of the open concept room. Could she get the couch in between them before she took off running for the bedroom?
He smiled, seemingly amused as she dared to take another step toward the couch. “My apologies for the confusion, Raine. Can I call you Raine?” He waved a hand, as if waving away his question. “Of course I’ll call you Raine. After all, we’re about to become great...friends.”
Oh, God. Please help me. Another step. Why wasn’t he moving? Why did he seem so confident that she wasn’t going to get away? It didn’t matter. She had to get that gun. Another step.
His only reaction to her movements was to continue watching her, and to put his hands in the pockets of his black jacket. “I should clarify, instead of starting in the middle of the story. Scoggin went on the run, that whole BOLO thing—after trashing your place. As luck would have it, the minute I heard on the news that he was wanted for my work, I looked into his past and figured out he had a cabin up in the mountains. Or, to be more accurate, his ex-wife did. She got it in the divorce. I figured he’d head there if he wanted to hide, rather than to his own home or places he was known to frequent. So I went there first, and waited. Let’s just say he was quite forthcoming in answering all of my questions.”
She took another step, and swallowed, hard. “You killed him?”
“Of course.”
Her stomach dropped at how casually he spoke about murdering someone. “And Hagen too I’m guessing.”
He rolled his eyes. “Hagen isn’t worth a thought in my head. Scoggin, on the other hand, as I already explained, had to be taken care of.”
“What does this have to do with me? I’ve never done anything to you.”
He frowned, looking aggravated. “You’re not listening. Scoggin. You’re the reason I was forced to stray from my plans for UB to take care of Scoggin.”
She blinked. “Your plans for UB? I don’t understand.”
He watched her take another step. Twenty feet away now. She’d reached the opposite end of the couch. Did she dare try to gain the last few feet to the entrance of the hallway before she took off running?
“I’ve been keeping an eye on the Unfinished Business team for months, ever since the local police announced that UB was going to take on my cold cases, investigate my kills. And I’ve been tracking them the same way I track my victims. I have GPS locators on some of their vehicles. Including your boyfriend, Mr. Wright’s. Have for a while now, even before he came to Athens.”
He laughed. “Isn’t that funny? You finally find your Mr. Right, pun intended, and you’ll never be able to have that bright shiny future you’ve probably fantasized about since you were a little girl. It’s how I knew he was staying here. I’ve been watching you, and was delighted that you were both together. First, I’ll take care of you, for causing me such trouble. Then, when your prince charming arrives, I’ll take care of him.”
She took off running.
A crackling, sizzling sound filled the air. Something hit her between the shoulder blades. Blinding hot pain shot through every nerve in her body, dropping her gasping and writhing to the floor.