DANE SINCLAIR
DANE HURRIED DOWN the stairs and into the living room. "She's gone."
"What did she do? Make a rope out of sheets and climb out the window?" Tuesday tossed the remote control on the couch and stood.
Dane's panic receded. Marissa hadn't left. Not unless she'd gained the power of invisibility. "She didn't come down the stairs. I don't think she'd have jumped out the window."
"Did you check all the rooms?"
"Yes, I checked all the rooms Most of them are empty—no furniture. There's a balcony in the master bedroom. The sliding glass doors were closed, but unlocked."
"I'll check upstairs. Maybe you missed something."
"I'll look outside. Brent lives in the boondocks. There's not another house for miles. Maybe...maybe she decided to take a walk and clear her head."
Tuesday frowned. "Without telling us? That's not like her."
***|***|***|***|***
MARISSA VANDERSON
"HONESTLY, I DON'T know what you're—" Marissa grimaced as the man who held her wrist dragged her through a rough patch of tall grass.
"Shut up. I want my Lillie back. You're the key."
"Lillie? Lillie who?"
"Don't act stupid."
"I'm not. My IQ is quite high."
"So is hers." He stopped and looked at Marissa over his shoulder. "The only person she gives a shit about is you. If I've got you, then I've got her." His gaze narrowed. "I'm smart, too."
A cold finger of fear swept her spine. If only she hadn't gone onto the balcony for a breath of fresh air. If only she hadn't answered his child-like pleas for help. He'd been hiding behind a tree, waiting for her as she tried to find the source of the pitiful cries.
"I don't know Lillie. I swear!"
"For someone so smart, you sure are dumb."
"Marissa!" Dane's voice echoed through the forest.
"I'm here!" she yelled. "Hurry, Dane! There's a—"
The crazy man covered her mouth and pulled her against his chest. "Shut up."
Marissa gagged against the heavy scent of cheap cologne and the lingering stench of beer. Whew. When was the last time this guy washed his shirt?
"Marissa! Where are you?"
Her heartbeat kicked up a notch as she realized Dane's voice sounded farther away. The darling idiot was going in the opposite direction.
Her captor must have had the same thought because he loosened his grip, giving her just enough space to maneuver. She stomped his foot, rammed her knee into his groin then jabbed his throat.
He doubled over grabbing his crotch with one hand and his neck with the other.
She turned and ran toward the house.
***|***|***|***|***
KADE MURPHY
"I SWEAR THIS GUY read a textbook or something. Serial Killing For Morons," muttered Kade.
He looked at the pretty young woman and felt grateful, goddamned grateful, he wasn't looking at the beautiful, forever-still body of Lillian. What would happen if Michael caught her? His guts clenched. "A red scarf at every scene? Lillie hates red. If he's killing her over and over again, why the scarf? I've never seen her wear one."
"Maybe he wears one," answered Pete. Kade looked at his partner. His new partner. The guy who'd replaced Lillie when she disappeared. The young psych major shrugged. "Cross-dressing isn't out of the realm of possibility."
"It is for this asshole. Did you read the case file?"
"Yes, sir. Michael William Feeney. He witnessed the murder of his mother, testified against the murderer, a man named Casey Crumb—who was the dead woman's husband and his stepfather. Crumb went to jail, and Mr. Feeney and his girlfriend, who was also present at the murder, went into the Witness Protection Program."
"Michael set up Crumb. Michael wanted to get rid of his mother and get control of his girlfriend. He's smart, Pete. Smarter than you and smarter than me, but not smarter than Lillie." Kade stood and motioned to the waiting men from the medical examiner's office that he was finished inspecting the body.
The crime scene investigators had finished their jobs before he'd arrived, and they were already processing evidence from the scene.
"I understand that Ms. Greene was a fine Marshal, sir."
"Is, Pete. Lillie is a fine Marshal. Don't use the fucking past tense when you talk about her." Kade turned a fierce glare onto the kid. "In fact, don't talk about her at all. Got me?"
Pete nodded so vigorously, his glasses slid to the end of his nose. "Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."
Kade sighed and rubbed his jaw. "Go talk to the owner of the Paradise Club. Get us some useful information, okay, Pete?"
"Yes, sir!"
The boy scurried away, visibly relieved to be out of Kade's range. He smiled grimly. Lillie had never cowered before him. She'd argue with him toe-to-toe, not caring about his mean-ass reputation, his seniority, or his physical strength. Beautiful, tough, smart.
God, he missed her.
And for all his resources, his twenty-odd years in law enforcement, and his so-called investigative skills, he hadn't been able to find her.
Where the hell are you, baby?
***|***|***|***|***
MARISSA VANDERSON
MARISSA RAN, HER leg muscles straining, her heart pounding, her eyes blurred with tears. She knew, to the depths of her soul, that man intended to do her harm.
But there was more...he wanted her because of this Lillie woman.
Lillie...Lillian.
Change one letter and it would spell...WHAM!
Her breath left her chest in a painful whoosh as she smacked into a solid object.
Her fuzzy mind calculated the possibilities of hitting a tree, but a tree didn't have arms, and this object did. It was also muscled, strong, and...what the hell had happened to her vision? She couldn't see—Dear God, she was blind!
"Marissa!"
Dane's voice seeped into her consciousness and she relaxed into his embrace.
"Dane. I'm so glad it's you."
"What happened to you?" She felt the gentleness of his fingers as he tilted her chin. "And why are your eyes closed?"
Closed? Oh. Her eyelids fluttered open and she peered at Dane. He looked angry, relieved, and scared. For her?
"Don't you ever— ever —run away again? Do you hear me?" He hugged her fiercely.
"I didn't run—"
"Tuesday's about ready to call the police. Or SWAT. Hell, the FBI."
"I hardly think—"
"Damn it, there's nothing we can't work out, okay?"
"I realize that, Dane. But a man dragged me away into the woods. I just—I just escaped him."