Fear for Me (10 page)

I will take you down.

“The judge has protection,” Anthony said as the elevator rose. “And so do you.”

The elevator dinged and its doors opened. He’d actually cleared this floor for his men, and for the rest of the task force that would be arriving soon. With word of Walker’s escape, the FBI had immediately jumped in the hunt, too. They were sending two agents to join the marshals, agents who’d probably enter a pissing match with the local cops—it was the usual way of things.

He pulled out a key card and opened Lauren’s room. “You’ll be safe here.” They were on the top floor, the best for security.

She glanced around the room. Her suitcase waited at the foot of the bed. “Looks like you’ve thought of everything.” Her head tilted. “Just when did you make these plans? I don’t remember you calling anyone from the courthouse.”

When the jerk cop had offered her a room at his place.

“I made the arrangements while you were talking to some of the waitresses at Easy Street.” Covering his bases was the only smart plan.

She gave a faint nod.

He locked the main door. Made sure to put the extra bolts in place.

“What are you doing?” Lauren demanded. Her voice wasn’t so calm right then. It had definitely edged up an octave or two.

There was only one bed in the room. Big, king-size. In his fantasies, he joined her on that bed. Instead, Anthony headed for the connecting door.

The door was unlocked, linking his room to hers—again, per his instructions. “My key opens your room, and my own.”

Lauren didn’t speak. Huh. That was new. The woman always had plenty to say.

So he did the talking. “If you need me, I’ll be just a few feet away.”

She still wasn’t speaking. The woman who could tear into any defense attorney in the country at a moment’s notice wasn’t responding. He hesitated on the threshold of his room. He didn’t want to leave her.

He wanted to turn back, take her into his arms, and pretend the last five years hadn’t happened.

But he’d been the one to walk away back then. To turn away from Lauren. He glanced back at her.

For an instant, he could have sworn he saw pain in her eyes, but then her mask was back, as strong as ever.

Anger pulsed through him and he swung back to fully face her. “Why do you always do that?”

Her shoulders stiffened. “Marshal, you don’t know me well enough to say what I always—”

“Cut the
marshal
bullshit.” His control was too frayed. She wasn’t going to deny what they’d been to each other. “I know you. I know you drink chocolate milk for breakfast, your favorite color’s blue, and you never go to see a movie that you
think
might have a sad ending without Googling the damn thing first.” His breath hissed out from between his clenched teeth. “When you come, your eyes get even brighter and you make a little moan in the back of your throat.”

“Anthony—”

That was an improvement. At least he wasn’t
Marshal
. But it still wasn’t enough. “I
know
you,” he bit out as his eyes swept over her. “As well as anyone can know you. As well as you let anyone know you.”

She stepped back. “You’re not supposed to do that.” Her voice was a whisper. “You’re not supposed to make this personal.”

It was personal. Always had been. He crossed the room and curled his fingers around her shoulders. He pulled her closer, but it wasn’t
enough
. He wanted her flush against him. Wanted her under him. Wanted
in
her.
Hold back. Don’t do it.
“What else would it be for us?”

She lifted her chin, exposing the pale column of her throat. He knew her, all right. Knew she’d always liked it when he kissed her throat. The sensitive spot right over her racing pulse.

“There isn’t an us anymore. There hasn’t been. Not since you walked away.”

She’d been an ever-growing obsession for him. He’d needed her, day and fucking night, and she—she’d been so controlled. Holding all of her emotions in check.

Except when they were in bed. That was the only time she let go.

“I asked you to stay, but you didn’t.”

His eyes narrowed. There was anger in her voice. “You didn’t give me a reason to stay.”

“I wasn’t reason enough?” Then she shook her head and jerked against his hold. “Let me go, Tony.”

Tony.
She’d called him that, years ago. Her voice whispering with desire.

“You were right about us,” she said, “it was just sex. The sex ended. We both moved on.”

He’d left town, but he’d never been able to
move on
. Not really. Every place he’d gone, she’d been with him. In his memories. Fucking always. When he’d seen that picture in Walker’s cell…

I carry a picture of her, too. Does it make me as fucking twisted and obsessed as Walker?

Judging by his past, yeah, it did.

“Who I’m with shouldn’t matter to you,” Lauren said.

Maybe if he kept telling himself that another hundred times or so… “I think about you.” A confession that was torn from him. “Too damn much.” He turned away, and this time, he did cross the threshold that would take him to his cold, empty room. “But that was always one of our problems.”

She didn’t call out to stop him. He shut the door behind him. Held himself still.

Lauren didn’t know about his family. Few people did. Those secrets were buried, just like his parents were.

The father who’d been too obsessed. The mother who’d just wanted to get away.

Death had been his mother’s only escape.

I won’t ever be like him.

Yet when he was near Lauren, those needs—too strong—rose within him.

From the other side of the door, he heard the floor creaking. Lauren, coming toward him. Coming after him?

His heart began to beat faster. He turned and flattened his palm on the door.

Then he heard the lock click.

His smile was grim. He should have damn well seen that one coming.

The motorcycle braked in the woods. The only light was from the moon and stars, glittering faintly in the sky.

Stacy jumped from the bike. Scurried back. “Ben, this isn’t funny.”

He climbed from the bike. Took off his helmet. Tossed it to the ground as he faced her. “No, it isn’t.”

Her breath rushed out. Her eyes widened. She stumbled back. Her eyes were wide as she stared up at him. “Jon?” Then she shook her head. “Y-you shouldn’t be here. The cops—a marshal—was just looking for you!” Her voice trembled with fear.

She was right to be afraid.

Then her gaze dropped to the motorcycle. “That’s Ben’s bike.”

It was. The streak of yellow-and-gold fire rushing down the side was rather distinctive. The fire was set to reflect in the darkness—a rather interesting touch, he had to admit.

“Where’s Ben?”

The insects had quieted down. Her stark whisper carried so easily in the night.

“Ben let me borrow his bike,” he said, unable to stop the smile that slid across his face. This was gonna be so much fun. “But don’t worry about him right now. This is about us, just us.”

Terror was stamped on her face. She’d never looked at him that way before. Stacy had been the one to get dragged from the courtroom as she shouted his innocence. She’d been the one to tell him, again and again, that the truth would come out eventually.

The truth had come out. She’d been too blind to see it.

“What changed?” he asked, actually curious. It wouldn’t alter his plans, nothing would change them, but he did want to know when she’d lost her faith in him.

Her hand rose to her neck. Fumbled with the small gold chain there. “I found it.”

“Found what?”

“That woman’s necklace. Ginger Thomas! You put her necklace in my jewelry box!” She screamed the last at him. There was no one around to hear her screams, but he wouldn’t let her scream for long.

He shook his head. “I didn’t put the necklace in your box.”

She shook her head. “You did! You killed those women and you—”

“I didn’t put the necklace in your box,” he said once more as he closed in on her. Stacy didn’t even try to run. Maybe it was shock. Maybe it was fear. His hands locked around her, and he jerked her up against him. “But just so you know, I
did
kill those women.”

Her mouth dropped in surprise.

“And I’m going to kill you.”

She tried to scream. No time for that. His knife sliced across her throat.

She stared at him, her eyes desperate and wild, as a faint, keening gurgle came from her throat.

“You shouldn’t have fucked around on me, baby. When I told you that you were mine forever, I meant it.”

He yanked the knife away and watched her knees buckle. She hit the ground even as her hand rose and tried to stop the blood flow.

Nothing was going to stop that. While she couldn’t scream any longer, he bent over her.

He’d known he’d come back for Stacy. To punish her. She’d promised him forever, but she hadn’t even come to visit him in prison. Not once.

The knife sliced over her arm.

Not one single visit…

Another slice.

Tears poured from her. So did blood.

It was her cry that woke him. Soft, but scared, it penetrated the light layer of sleep that surrounded Anthony and his eyes flew open. In the next instant, he was on his feet and running for Lauren’s door.

The sound came again. A gasp, a sob. Hard to tell. He just knew one thing for certain. It was coming from her.

“Lauren?” He raised his voice. Pounded on the door. “Lauren, open the door.”

There were no creaks of the floor. No sign that she was coming toward him.

Another gasp. So weak and whispery.

He grabbed his gun. Tension had tightened his body. He lifted his foot, and he kicked in the damn door.

The lock shattered, chunks of wood near the door frame went flying, and the door swung back beneath the blow.

The room was dark inside, but he could make out Lauren’s form in the bed. She lurched up, breath heaving, and screamed.

He was on the bed two seconds later. “It’s okay!”

She’d yanked the sheet up to her chest. Moonlight spilled through the curtains, revealing and concealing her, but he was close enough to see her eyes, and when he lifted his hand, he felt the wet tear tracks on her cheeks.

“You’re safe, baby.”

Her head turned. Her gaze fell on the gun in his hands. “Hard to believe…” Her voice was husky, and he shouldn’t have found it sexy right then, shouldn’t have found her sexy when she was
scared, but he did. He always found her sexy. “Hard to believe I’m safe…” she said again, her voice getting a little stronger. “With the gun so close to me.”

Right. Carefully, he put the gun down on the nightstand. He turned on the small lamp so he could see her better. He wiped her tears away.

She flinched. “I’m okay.”

“You didn’t sound okay.” He knew fear when he heard it.

Her grip tightened on the sheet. “It was just a nightmare.”

He stared at her.

“Karen was my friend. I can’t get what he did to her out of my head.” Her head tilted down, and the curtain of her hair fell around her, concealing her expression from him. “I know she had to be so afraid. In so much pain, and…no one was there to help her.”

He pulled her against his chest. Wrapped his arms around her. Held her. “She’s not in pain anymore.”

Lauren shuddered. “That
doesn’t
make me feel better. I close my eyes, and I hear her. Begging me to help. But I can’t. I can’t do a damn thing.”

He tightened his hold on her. “Yes, you can. We can catch the bastard.”

“Before he comes to butcher me, too?”

The question was there, heavy between them, and her words burned right through him. “That’s
not
happening.”

Her laugh was bitter. Broken. “Tony, we know how these cases go. Criminals want payback against the DA. Against the judge—against the cops who arrested them. We get threats all the time.” Her head lifted. She stared up at him. “Walker’s different. He likes killing. He likes hurting. And since his victims tend to be women, he’s locking on me.”

“I won’t let him get to you.”

“You can’t be my shield twenty-four hours a day.”