Ripper (28 page)

I was watching the GPS. It said we had another five minutes until we got there. Gray had been cranky ever since I forced him into the truck. “I thought you wanted to solve this case.”

“Kelsey, I do,” he said with only the slightest bit of condescension. I forgave him because he was a big bad Texas Ranger and I was a twenty-six-year-old PI who’d had her license for less than eight months. “But I don’t see how going to a cemetery is going to help. I seriously doubt he’s burying these girls. He probably puts the bodies somewhere and waits for them to decay.”

“Joanne’s only been dead for a week,” I pointed out. “It’s entirely possible she isn’t gone yet.”

He sighed and turned where the bossy GPS voice told him to. “Possible, but not likely. I think you’re trying to put off the inevitable. I told you I would handle Helen Taylor.”

Now I wasn’t so forgiving. “She’s my client. I’ll handle her. If you think this is such a wild goose chase then take me a few miles back and I’ll get my car and do it on my own.”

I needed to pick it up anyway, but I’d put it off since I was going to the vampire club that night.

His hands tightened around the steering wheel. “That’s not going to happen, Kelsey. Look, your part of the case is over, sweetheart. You were hired to find out what happened to Joanne Taylor and you did. Case closed. There’s absolutely no reason for you to do this.”

My heart clenched a little. Why was he pushing me aside?

Last night and the night before, he’d been all about us solving the case together. He’d told me how much he needed me. He’d said he couldn’t solve the case without me.

Today, I was supposed to go my merry way? I thought briefly about how casual he’d been at breakfast, like a man completely satisfied with the outcome of the night before. I’d thought he’d been happy because he had me right where he wanted me, madly in love with him.

Maybe, I allowed for the first time, he’d just been satisfied he’d seduced me and could move on. It wouldn’t be the first time a man had lied to a woman to get into her pants. It might be the most elaborate lie, but not the first.

“I thought you needed my help.” My voice sounded even. That was good because I kind of wanted to go straight to screaming harpy.

He sighed. “You did a good job. You got me new info. Now I need to handle the case on my own. I’m trained to do this, Kelsey. I have all the resources I need to get the job done.”

“You can’t get into the vampire club.”

“I’ll deal with that problem when I have to.”

What kind of plan was that? “And I’m supposed to do what? Go back home and forget this ever happened? Go back to pulling police reports for lazy liability adjusters?”

He turned his deep blue eyes to me. His mouth firmed and he was ready for a fight. “Yes, that’s what you get paid to do. If you don’t get back to it, you’re going to lose your business and then what will you do? You worked hard for it.”

Then what would I do? This was coming from a man who told me he was marrying me and would treat me like a princess. He had more money than god, but I needed to worry about my business?

And he was wrong. I hadn’t worked hard. I’d spent most of the time playing solitaire or napping or chatting in the weird little café across the parking lot. Now that I was on a case that meant something, I realized how hollow my job had been before. I’d been drifting like I always had. Now I saw something I could be really good at. I could make a difference. Marcus had said last night that my work was important. I liked the sound of that.

“Look, sweetheart. There’s no reason for us to fight.” Gray’s voice went all kinds of smooth. He reached out to play with my knee as he took the last turn. “I have a lot of work to do on this case and you need to get back to your work. I talked to Jamie this morning. He’s going to stay with you for a while so you can get back to your office. I’ll see you on the weekends, okay? Once this case is finished, we can sit down and really talk about the future.”

He was dumping me on my brother. My entire body went cold. I hadn’t seen it coming. All my instincts went haywire around this man. It shouldn’t be so shocking that he was the one who ripped me apart.

“Sure, Gray. That’ll be fine. Why don’t you turn around and drop me off at home.” I had to turn off my emotions or I would lose it in front of him, and my dignity was all I had left. I could call Liv and she would help me get my car. Once I was mobile, I could continue on my own. I had that Zack guy’s number. I would call him ASAP and he’d put me in touch with Marcus Vorenus so he’d know where to pick me up tonight. I had my little black dress and it would have to do. Maybe Liv could talk me through the whole hair thing over the phone.

I thought about anything other than the fact that Gray was dumping me after one night.

“Sweetheart?”

I turned to him, perfectly clear eyed. “Yes, Gray?”

I wouldn’t take the sweetheart thing personally anymore. He probably called all of his conquests sweetheart. He probably forgot their names.

He pulled into the cemetery parking lot. He calmly put the car in park and twisted his big body around to look at me. “I don’t like the look in your eyes.”

“Well, you don’t have to put up with my looks if you take me home.”

He tried to pull my hand into his, but I tugged it away. “Baby, I’m trying to protect you. Your part of the case is over. You can get out.”

“You’re trying to get rid of me,” I stated plainly. He needed to know I wasn’t going to fight him on it. He didn’t want me. That was cool. It wasn’t. It was a gaping wound in my chest that was never going to heal, but I wouldn’t cry around him. “Not a problem, Sloane. I know the drill. Take me home and I won’t sit around and wait for your call. I have to say, the whole ‘I love you’ bit took it a little far. I would have fucked you without it and probably sooner. Go easier on the next girl.”

“Hey,” he said, his voice an angry huff, “I don’t deserve that.”

I wasn’t willing to argue with him. He’d tell me he didn’t mean it that way and that he really would call me. He probably would the next time he needed someone willing to play dirty games with him. He was pretty hardcore, and I bet it scared some women off. When he got hard up, he’d remember my name. He’d lie because that’s what men did and he’d get pissed off when I didn’t believe him. It was better to argue about something substantial.

“I won’t be some clinging vine and I won’t be the vengeful ex, but I expect something from you, Sloane. If you see me around I expect some professionalism from you. I am still on this case.”

“Your case with Helen Taylor is over.”

I pulled out my ace in the hole. “Yes, the case with Helen is over, but I have a new boss. My case with Dev Quinn is just getting started. He gave me a large retainer last night and told me to solve this thing. I’m his new in-house PI.” I threw open the door as his eyes were widening. I hopped out. I would call someone to come get me so I didn’t have to spend another minute with him. “Why don’t you be on your way, Sloane? I’ll continue my wild goose chase and you can start looking for your next lay. Don’t worry about me. I’m sure Quinn can send a car to pick me up.”

I slammed the door behind me and willed the tears to shrivel up before they started down my cheeks. I settled the strap of my bag across my chest and walked up to the cemetery gates. They were old and made from wrought iron. At this time of the day they stood open, welcoming visitors.

“Kelsey!”

I ignored the bark from Gray and hoped he would take the hint and leave. I strode into the cemetery, letting the sights, sounds, and smells wash over me. It was peaceful and heavily wooded. The headstones marked the passage of the town’s pioneers. The newest stone I could find was from the thirties. This place was more about history than real world use. It would be a place for classes to come and learn about history or art students to do those grave stone rubbings they sometimes did. At night, it would be for teens making out or trying to scare the crap out of each other. It was perfect for what our Ripper would want to use it for.

“Don’t think you’re walking away from me like that,” Gray said, hauling me around by the elbow.

“Stop,” I ordered and there must have been something about my voice because he did.

The grass. It had been disturbed. There was a faint line, like something had recently driven over it. I knelt down and looked. There were two lines and they were too small and close together to be tires. I shivered as I realized what they were. Feet, splayed out as someone dragged them along.

“He killed again last night.”

“Yeah, I know,” Gray admitted.

I rolled my eyes. He really did want me out of the loop. So much for our grand partnership. He was out of luck. I stood up and followed the line. Here and there I got the faint impression of a footprint in the ground where the grass was thinner. It wasn’t a sneaker because the print was flat, but I would bet it was a man’s foot. I walked along and Gray followed me silently. I followed the trail up a small hill and into a secluded part of the cemetery. No one could see us from the road.

“Kelsey, I can smell something,” Gray said, stopping me.

“What is it?”

“Decomp,” he replied. “My senses are better than yours. At least my nose is.”

“There’s a fresh body here?”

“More than one,” he replied grimly. “Though only one is really fresh.”

Despite his protests, I headed up the hill. When I got to the top, I searched around and there it was. In the far back, I could see where the ground had been disturbed. He’d tried to pat it down, but nothing could fully cover it up.

“Here,” I said, standing over it. “We dig here.”

Gray already had his cell phone in hand. “This is Lieutenant Sloane for Nicole Ward. Hey, I got a weird one for you.” He gave this Nicole person our present address. “Bring along whatever you have for soup. Yeah, one partial and several decomposed wolves. Thanks.” He shoved his phone in his back pocket. “The forensic specialist will be here in fifteen minutes. Don’t touch anything. She’s an expert with supernatural cases.”

“I’ll try not to damage your evidence with my fumbling, Sloane,” I said acerbically as I forced myself to be content with looking around. There was another place that looked like it had been recently disturbed.

“I don’t deserve that, either,” he said in a gruff voice. “Where the hell is this coming from, Kelsey? You’re acting like a scorned woman, but I haven’t scorned you, quite the opposite. I love you. I’ve already told you I fully intend to marry you, so what’s up with the hell hath no fury act?”

“You have a funny way of showing your affection, Sloane.”

“My name is Gray,” he insisted. “You can’t go back to last names just because you’ve decided you’re pissed with me and you can’t lie about working for Quinn because you want to set me off.”

“I can do whatever I want, Sloane. You want to shove me off at my brother, fine, but don’t expect me to walk away like some obedient little woman. It ain’t happening. And I’m not lying about Quinn. I have a lovely check for twenty-five grand that I intend to cash at my earliest convenience.” I walked a couple of yards to the other pile of earth. It was well trampled down and little shoots of grass were starting to come up.

“What the hell did you do for twenty-five thousand dollars?” The question was ground out of Gray’s mouth, and I could see his eyes getting dark. He clenched his fists at his sides.

“Nothing, yet.” I have to admit I enjoyed the fact that I could have some sort of effect on him. I was mad. Shouldn’t he be, too? “Tonight, I’m going to the vampire club with Marcus to talk to the original gangsta himself. Quinn is letting me into the club so I can interview the vamp who claims to be Jack the Ripper. Then I’m supposed to check in with my new boss tomorrow.”

“You aren’t going anywhere, Kelsey.” His hands shook. Strangely, it didn’t make me any less reckless. I knew he wouldn’t hurt me. Well, he wouldn’t physically hurt me. “If you don’t want to stay at home with Jamie then you can hole up at my place, but you are off this case. You will not be going into that club. I forbid it.”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s not dangerous, Sloane. No one’s going to bother me. Marcus explained it all and he set up our cover. After last night, everyone thinks I’m his mistress so they’ll back off.”

The tree next me sort of exploded as Gray shoved his fist through it. I managed to hold my ground and when he looked at me with red-tinged eyes, I shook my head. “I thought we weren’t contaminating the scene.”

“Fuck the scene,” he snarled and got into my space. “What did you do with that vampire?”

“I walked around with him and I talked to him,” I explained. I didn’t let the halfling back me up a single inch. “He introduced me to some people and they drew incorrect conclusions. He treated me like I had a brain in my head. I liked him.”

“Yeah, you like him? Get to know him fast because I swear I’m gonna kill him,” Gray said. “I’ll rip his heart out and then we’ll see how he feels about sniffing around another man’s woman.”

“Nice, Sloane,” I shot back. “Very caveman-like. I don’t get the righteous indignation. You’re shoving me to the side. Am I not allowed to have a life after Grayson Sloane is done with me?”

He enunciated his words carefully. I got the feeling he was rapidly reaching the end of his patience with me. “I am not done with you. You are the most frustrating woman I have ever met. You’re going to make me pull out every piece of hair I have and damn it, woman, I won’t look good bald. Let me make this plain to you. You’re mine. I’m trying to protect what’s mine. He killed again last night and this morning I got a letter saying you’re next.”

My mind flooded with the possibilities. “That’s perfect. I can be bait. We set me up and let him come after me.”

He stared at me for a long moment with his mouth hanging open. It wasn’t the first time I had gotten that reaction from him. I wondered if a lot of things knocked the words out of him. Somehow I doubted it. I thought it was probably a reaction he only had to me.

“Are you going to kill another tree?” I asked after he was quiet for the longest time.

“No, Kelsey,” he said, a little breathless. “I think I’m gonna give you my gun and let you shoot me. It’ll be for the best. It’ll be a hell of a lot quicker than the heart attack I’ll have someday.” He took a deep breath. “That is the stupidest thing you’ve ever said.”