Throttle's Seduction: Insurgents Motorcycle Club (Insurgents MC Romance Book 7) (34 page)

“I’m Detective McCue. My colleague, Detective Ibuado, said you got some theory or something about these murders?”

Josh’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Yes, the Lingerie Bandit murders. Don’t you just hate that, when the press comes up with these names? It trivializes the victims.”

“Agreed. So, what’ve you got?”

Josh motioned for McCue to sit down, and then he shared his ideas and findings.

An hour later, McCue rushed back up to his office, adrenaline coursing through him. He headed over to the board with all the victims on it. “I think I just got my first major lead in the case. If this pans out, we may catch this sonofabitch before he kills again.”

“I thought you were taking a break?” Carlos said as he came near McCue.

“No time. You busy?”

“Not for this.”

“Good. We got our work cut out for us.” He rolled up his sleeves and settled in his chair in anticipation of a long day.

“I
’m banking on
you understanding that, until finals week is over, I can only see you for a few hours. Absolutely no sleepovers. I have to ace these tests to keep my scholarship in place.”

“Okay,” Throttle said.

“Yeah, you say that so easily, but last night, the night before, and the night before that, you stayed all night.”

“I don’t remember any complaints from you.” He chuckled, the deep tone making her skin pebble.

“I know,” she groaned. “That’s the problem.”

“I don’t see any problem in it.”

“Of course you wouldn’t.” She smiled; she was just as guilty as he was because whenever he was near, she couldn’t stay away from him. She craved him and wanted her skin pressed to his as they slept. He was her elixir, and she needed it like an alcoholic needed a drink.

“You gotta eat, right? I’ll come in a few hours and bring your favorite Chinese food. You can take a break, and then I’ll leave so you can study.”

The only reason he was acting so nonchalant about not spending the night, was because he knew she’d cave in like she had for the past three nights. But she had to study; she’d blown off too much time. “Okay, but come a little later. I’m going to start studying now.”

“No problem. I have church, and then I’m gonna play a game or two of pool. Do you want egg rolls and Kung Pao chicken?”

“Yes, but make sure the egg rolls are veggie this time. Tell them extra spicy on the Kung Pao.”

“You’re extra spicy, babe. Can’t wait for dessert.”

“You see? That kind of talk is deadly to a student during finals week. Dessert tonight will have to be a fortune cookie.”

He chuckled. “Be there in a few hours. If you need anything, call me.”

She placed her phone on the coffee table and slumped on the couch. She was hopeless; she knew damn well he’d crumble the fortune cookie over her naked body and nibble it up. Sighing, she decided to get a hard few hours of studying in before her good-intentioned plans went to hell.

The sun shining through her large window blinded her and she went over to close the curtains. As she pulled them, she noticed a police car driving slowly by her house. It was the second time she’d spotted the car in the last hour. A shiver ran up her spine. She closed the drapes and set the alarm. Taking out a bottle of sweet tea, she plopped down on the kitchen chair, opened her new laptop, and began to study.

Two hours later, she rose from the table and stretched, lolling her head from side to side to work out the kinks in her neck. She walked around for a few minutes before heading back to her studies when the doorbell rang. For a split second, her nerves snapped and her pulse quickened.
I’m not expecting anyone.
She padded to the door and looked out the peephole, relief washing over her. A big smile replaced her tight look, and she disengaged the alarm and swung the door open.

“Dr. Redman, how are you?”

He smiled. “I was hoping you’d be home. I knew I wasn’t going to see you until your final exam on Friday. I have good news. I found your laptop.” He produced her computer, his beaming face infectious.

“Great! Where did you find it? Did someone turn it in?”

“No. I found it in one of the supply cabinets in the classroom. Isn’t that strange? I have no idea how it got there.”

“That is strange. Maybe someone was taking it and stashed it when they were interrupted.” She shrugged. “I don’t know. I watch too much TV.” She opened the screen door and took her computer. “Thank you so much for bringing it to me. I had a bunch of notes on it that I didn’t backup. This is great timing.”

“Glad I could help.” He turned and began to walk down the stairs.

“Would you like an iced tea? I was just taking my study break.”

He glanced at his watch. “I guess I can spare twenty minutes. I told my wife I’d help her with one of the committees she’s on.” He came back up the stairs. “Should we have it out here?” He pointed to the wicker chairs.

“It’s too hot out, and the mosquitoes are awful in August. We can go inside. It’s nice and cool.” He followed her inside. “When you’re dean of the college, your wife will have to be on a lot of committees, won’t she? That’s what I’ve heard.”

He sat on the couch. “Yes. It’ll be demanding, but she loves all the social stuff. Much more than I do.”

From the kitchen, she called out, “I also have lemonade. Would you rather have that?”

“Lemonade is great. You have a nice place here.”

“It’s comfortable.”

“Are you doing okay with your studying? Do you have any questions?”

“As a matter of fact, I do.” She handed him his drink, grabbed her notebook, then flopped on the couch at the other end. “Let’s see. Oh yeah, how do you get the formula for productivity to balance out? I’m still confused about that.”

Dr. Redman explained how to arrive at the answer, and Kimber wondered if she’d ever be as smart and knowledgeable as her professor.

*     *     *

“You might as
well give me the thousand bucks ‘cause I’m gonna win the game,” Throttle said as he sank two more balls in the far-left pocket.

“Fuck,” Bones said under his breath. “Just a damn lucky shot.”

“Like the last five have been? Own up to it—I kicked your ass in this game.”

The other brothers laughed, and Rosie and Wendy yelled out accolades to Throttle as he sank another ball. Hawk came up beside him after his shot. “I need to talk with you.”

“Fuck, dude. I’m in the middle of kicking Bones’s ass. Hang tight.”

“It’s urgent. Now.”

From the tight look on his brother’s face, Throttle knew something was up. He handed his cue stick to Rags. “Make me proud, brother. We’ll split the dough.” He followed Hawk to his office.

“What the fuck’s up?” he asked as he leaned against the wall.

“A real good friend of Cara’s works for the sheriff’s department, and he and Cara were talking shop about the murders happening in town.”

“So?”

“Cara mentioned how Kimber thought she’d been targeted and how the Insurgents beefed up the security, and he told her something that had her spooked like hell.”

Icy fingers grabbed his spine. “Go on.” His face was tight, and a dull throb banged against his temples.

“Josh thinks he found a common denominator with some of the murdered women. Three out of the six murdered so far have gone to Pinewood Springs Community College. He also went back through the cases of the women who were assaulted only and found four of them were also students.”

Throttle felt the color drain from his face. “Fuck,” he muttered. “Kimber goes there. Fuck!”

“Yeah.” Hawk spread out his hands on his desk.

Throttle pulled out his phone and dialed Kimber.

“Hiya,” she said.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. Oh, my laptop was found. Isn’t that cool?”

“You didn’t mention that to me a couple hours ago.”

“That’s because I didn’t know. Dr. Redman brought it over. Wasn’t that nice? He thought I might need it for finals.”

His heart raced, nearly exploding as his adrenaline spiked. “Is he still with you?”

“Uh-huh.”

Fuck!
“Babe, listen to me. Act totally normal and don’t freak out. Don’t interrupt me either. You’re in extreme danger, and you gotta keep the prof talking until I get there. You got it?” He looked at Hawk and mouthed, “I’m outta here. Call the fuckin’ badges.” He knew the cops were ten minutes away to his twenty-five. Even if he hauled ass—which he planned on doing—he was still fifteen minutes further. A lot of harm could happen in a few minutes.

“Not really.”

“Just act normal. Keep talking to me about whatever the hell you want but don’t ask me any questions about what I’m telling you.” He ran out to the parking lot; he had to get to her.

“That’s just great.”

“Good, babe. You got it. Don’t tell the prof I’m coming, okay?”

“Yes, I’d like that a lot.”

“Try to go over and punch the panic button on the alarm system. Just keep calm. If you punch it, you’ll get some rough guys over in a flash to help you out.” He jumped on his bike.

“You want me to look up the number?”

“Yeah. Get over there and push it.”

“I’ll see if I can find the number.”

In the background, he heard a male voice. “What are you doing, Kimber?”

“My boyfriend wants me to give him a number. It’s on the table by the door.”

“The biker?”

“How did you know he’s a biker?”

Throttle yelled, “Push the fuckin’ button!” He hauled ass down the highway.

“He’s giving you instructions, isn’t he?”

“What? No. Stop it. What are you doing?”

“Babe, push the button. Run if you have to.”

A sinister laugh echoed through the phone.

Then it went dead.

“W
hat the fuck
are you doing? Let go of me!” Kimber pushed at her professor, but his grip was too tight. “Why’d you hang up my phone?”

“You think I’m stupid? He told you, didn’t he?”

“Told me what?”

He chuckled, easing up a bit on her arm. She pulled away and made a mad dash for the alarm system to hit the panic button, but he lunged for her, knocking her against the wall. He was strong, and as she tried to kick and scratch him, she realized she was no match for him.

After she hit him in the chest with her elbow, he took out a hunting knife and brought it close to her throat. “I normally don’t bring such a big knife to my targets’ homes, but I brought extra security because of the biker.”

Dizziness overtook her and her limbs grew shaky and weak.
Dr. Redman is the monster who’s been killing and raping all the women. And the underwear thing? He’s a fucking psycho. Don’t panic—that’s for later. You have to keep your head straight or you’ll never survive.

“How’d you know I was dating a biker?” she asked casually as though they were chatting after dinner.

He licked his lips, his gaze lingering on her chest. “I’ve watched you all semester.” With a strong pull, he dragged her to the bedroom and tied her hands behind her back, his knife aimed at her body the whole time. Then he pushed her on her back.

“Throttle’s going to be here any minute, and he’s got a lot of his friends coming with him. Please don’t do this. It’s over. You don’t have to do this.”

With an incredulous look, he shook his head. “I can’t stop. I
have
to have you. See you in your panties and bra. You don’t understand. No one does.”

Cold clamminess chilled her to her core, and the sound of her heartbeat thrashed in her ears as she struggled to loosen the ties. No luck. He opened her top drawer, picked up a handful of her undies, and brought them to his nose, breathing in deeply. Softly, he said, “I’ve been to your house before, when you were at work. I love the lime-green panties I took.”

She watched in horror as he took her cherry-red bikini bottoms and sniffed the crotch while he grabbed his erection and moved his hand up and down.

“The biker tried to spoil everything for me, but I didn’t give up—I never do. My wife tells me that’s one of my strengths. When he had you put the alarm in, it ended my visits when you weren’t home. Then he had a series of goons watching you when he wasn’t around. It took me a while to figure out how I was going to please you. Then I thought about taking your computer. It was ingenious. And here we are, together… at last.” He came over and ran his finger down her the face. “My only regret is that I can’t savor you. I know he’s coming. It’s a shame, but life can’t always be perfect, can it, Kimber?”

“You’re a fucking sicko. Why do you do this shit? You’re not going to walk out of here alive.” A primal scream ripped from her throat, and the way his eyes widened, she knew she’d startled him.

He pulled a roll of duct tape from his pocket, cut a piece, held her flailing head still, and slapped the tape across her mouth. “I can’t have you making a scene. You understand.” He walked back to the dresser and picked up the knife, then came over to the bed. He cut off her T-shirt and bra, then gazed at her breasts as he licked his lips. He put the knife on the mattress and grasped the waist of her shorts. When he started pulling them down, she bent her knees and shoved her legs against him with all her might. Taken by surprise, he lost his balance and fell off the bed. In that second of opportunity, she pushed herself up and ran out of the room.