WAY OF THE SHADOWS (9 page)

My control is shredding.

“I want in you,” he told her, and he didn’t see how he could be more blunt. “So you need to pull away. You’re weak, you need to rest and—”

Her head lifted. The fire had dried her damp hair. He could see the shine of her eyes. “I want you in me,” she said softly.

And he was lost.

His hands slid around her body, found the center of her need. He caressed her. Felt that last thread of his control give way—

Thomas thrust into her—drove into her until he was hilt deep. She might have been cold before, but right then, she was blazing hot. Her sex clamped tightly around him, and Thomas was pretty sure he was about to lose his mind.

Noelle pushed up, bracing her hands against the floor. Her breasts were so close, he had to lean up and take one into his mouth.

Then she started moving. Rising. Falling. The rhythm was maddening. He needed more. He needed deeper, but Noelle was going slow. Slow and sensual. Every glide of her body had his muscles aching with the effort to hold back.

He wanted to take, and he would, but first...

Noelle.

He kept stroking the center of her need. He knew now just how she liked to be touched. Knew the caresses she needed. Knew just how to make her eyes go blind and to make her gasp.

When she moaned his name, he smiled.

When she came, crying out, her body tensing, he took over.

His hands locked tightly around her hips. He lifted her body, up and down, again and again, driving in the rhythm he needed. When it wasn’t enough, when he needed more, deeper, he twisted with her, putting her beneath him on that rug.

And he took her. Claimed her. Pleasure flooded through him.

He kissed her when the release erupted. Kissed her and tasted life and hope. Tasted everything he’d ever wanted.

Thomas knew that, in an instant, he would kill to keep her by his side.

* * *

T
HE
STORM
HAD
PASSED
.
Noelle stared out at the sea of white around the cabin. In the distance, she could hear the rumble of snowplows.

The road in front of their cabin was covered, but she knew they’d be getting out of there soon enough.

Her gaze slid toward the trees that lined the property. Had the perp survived the night? She bet he had. But...

“My bullet hit him,” she said quietly. Thomas was behind her. Not talking. They hadn’t talked much during the remainder of the night.

They’d made love, and exhausted, she’d fallen asleep in his arms. When she’d woken up, he’d been dressed. Armed.

And the day had dawned.

“I grazed him,” Thomas said, as he drew closer to her. “Or at least, I think I did.”

Her shot had been at near point-blank range, so Noelle figured the wound she’d inflicted had to be bad. “He’ll need medical help.” She glanced toward Thomas. “I hit him in the chest. Not his heart, but enough of a wound that the guy can’t just keep walking around without treatment.” Not even close. “
If
he survived the storm, he’ll be looking for someone to patch him up.” So they’d check first with local doctors and veterinary personnel. Someone with medical training.

“He’ll look, unless he’s the kind of man used to taking care of his own wounds.”

Noelle thought of the scars on Thomas’s body. “You’ve done that.”

“When it comes down to either being able to stitch up yourself or dying, yeah, you learn to stitch that skin pretty fast.” His voice was grim. “I’ve dug bullets out. Hell, I’ve even cauterized knife wounds. In the field, you do what you have to do, and you keep going.”

The words of a soldier. But they weren’t looking for a soldier. They were looking for a killer.

Or are we looking for both?

The whir of the snowplow was louder.

“The sheriff will be coming for us,” Thomas said. “We’ll talk to Jenny and get her to describe the man who took her.” He glanced up at the now-clear sky. “And we’ll talk to Mercer. Find out what the EOD has learned about those victims.”

Before they did... “We need to talk first,” she said as she gave a determined nod.

His gaze instantly became shuttered.

“No more secrets, no more lies.”

He flinched at that. “I haven’t lied to you.”

It almost seemed surreal to have this conversation with him. After everything that had happened the night before, they should have been close. Heck, it didn’t get much closer than being someone’s lover. But there was a wall between them.

Secrets.

And, yes, despite what he’d just said...lies.

“I want to know everything.” They were alone. Now was the time to put it all out on the table. “From the moment that you saw me—running in those woods—until the moment you left me tied in that cabin.” Because, yes, that part was obvious. She’d been left there with a dead man.

The sound of the plow grew louder. They’d tried to call the sheriff earlier, but they still had no service in the area. While they had a few more precious moments of privacy, she needed to hear the rest of Thomas’s tale.

Even though part of her was almost afraid to hear what he had to say.

Hiding from the truth won’t do any good.

“You heard me screaming in the woods, and you found me.” She looked down at her wrists. “I’d been tied up, bound—”

“And he was hunting you.”

Her head whipped up. Thomas wasn’t looking at her. He was staring out at the snow.

“I knew what he was doing pretty quickly. Another hunter always knows....”

She shook her head, but he didn’t see the movement.

“You were leaving a clear trail for him to follow. Broken branches, blood on the rocks. He expected to find you out there, but he didn’t expect me.” His voice was low and rough. “He jumped out of the bushes with a knife, and he went for your throat.”

Her hand lifted to her throat. “The man...the man found with me that day...
His
throat had been cut.”

Now he did look at her. His eyes blazed with emotion. “I wasn’t going to let him kill you. And, like I said, he expected you—” his right hand flexed near his side “—not me. I got that knife away from him, and he was the one who died.”

Her breath rushed out. “All of that was in the woods? But—but his body was found in the cabin.
I
was found in the cabin.”

He looked away from her. “I was working a case. Undercover. Domestic terrorists were in the area. I...I couldn’t be found with you. I couldn’t be caught up in an investigation about a missing teen girl and her dead abductor.”

“You left me.” Saying the words...hurt. Her hand lowered to her chest and rubbed over the ache there.

“Yes,” his voice was soft. “I left you. You kept trying to follow me, so I had to tie you up. I couldn’t have you walking from one danger straight into another.”

The pain in her chest seemed to get worse. “You were following orders.” Mercer’s orders. She’d thought Mercer was her friend. They’d met years before when she first joined the FBI. He’d taken an interest in her. Her supervisor had been in awe of the guy, and even though she hadn’t realized quite how powerful Mercer was, Noelle had known he was a man who could help her.

Only he’d actually been the man hiding her past from her.

The pain of betrayal was there, and she wondered if it always would be.

“That’s what a soldier does.” Anger roughened Thomas’s words. “And, yes, damn it, that was what I did.” He swung to face her. “I took you to that cabin. I...called in backup.”

“Mercer...”

“EOD agents put the body inside.”

She’d gone over the reports. There hadn’t been enough of the dead man’s blood in the cabin, so the police had thought his body had been dumped there, but they’d never been able to find the kill site.

The EOD were too good at covering their tracks.

“I didn’t want to tie you up. Your wrists were already raw and bloody.”

She blinked away tears.

“You wouldn’t stay behind. You kept trying to follow,” he said quietly. “I didn’t...I didn’t have a choice.”

“Actually, you did. You’ve known this for years, you could’ve said—”

“Before I left you at that cabin, I told you that you couldn’t speak to the police about me. I told you I was working a case and lives were on the line.” He yanked a hand through his hair. “At first, I thought you
were
covering for me. Doing what I’d asked because you promised me that you’d keep quiet.”

She frowned at him.

“Later...later I realized you just didn’t remember, and by then, I was in so deep at the EOD that telling you the real truth wasn’t an option.” His hand dropped. “I even thought it might be better for you. Not knowing. You seemed to be making a good life for yourself. You graduated at the top of your college class. You went to Quantico. You had a wide circle of friends. Hell, you were even involved with that jerk psychology professor for a time.”

She took a step back as realization slammed into her. “You were watching me.” That was her gut response. He wasn’t just quoting facts he’d discovered in some background report on her. The anger that hummed in his voice when he talked about her ex, Jim...it was too strong. Too personal.

He’d even told her before that he’d seen her, but she hadn’t seen him.

Because he was watching me?

“I needed to make sure you were all right.”

The growl of an engine grew louder. A snowplow? The sheriff? She didn’t look away from Thomas to find out. “How long have you been watching me?”

“It’s not... I check on you, okay? When I’m back in the U.S. Between assignments.” He seemed to be weighing his words and responding so carefully. “I just like to make sure that you’re safe.”

I’ll always be with you.

“The EOD gathered a lot of intel on your attacker, and we thought it was just one guy, working alone. You seemed to be the first victim he’d taken. Mercer believed that, with his death, it was over, but I...just needed to be sure.” He sighed. “I needed to be sure because at night, when I closed my eyes, I would still hear you screaming for me to help you.”

There it was. All of the secrets from her past. The truth she’d sought for so long, and now, hearing all of those details just made her feel numb. Like she’d just taken a dive into another ice pond.

But it made sense. His story explained the strange connection she’d felt with Thomas. The awareness. He
was
her past. The man who’d saved her in the dark.

He saved me, then left me.

No wonder her emotions had been all over the place with him.

She’d even...even wondered if she might be falling for him.

“Say something,” he gritted out, his eyes glinting.

“What do you want me to say?” That emotionless voice didn’t sound right. It didn’t sound like her voice at all.

“Yell at me. Curse me. Tell me I’m a jerk for keeping the truth from you.” He took another step toward her. “Tell me that I should’ve chosen you and turned my back on the EOD.”

Her eyes widened. “Is that what you want me to say?” As she stared into Thomas’s eyes, Noelle saw his guilt. Heavy. Thick.

“You were seventeen.” Another step brought him even closer. “You were terrified. You...you asked me to stay with you. You begged me to stay.”

She shook her head. The memory was right there. “And you said you’d always be with me.”

“I’m sorry,” he rasped.

So was she.

The growling of that engine was so close. She rushed away from the window and yanked open the front door. Noelle saw not one but two vehicles driving up behind the snowplow. One was the sheriff’s car and the other, a dark SUV. As she watched, they braked and the passenger door of the SUV opened. A man jumped out. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at him.

He wore a thick coat, but she could tell his shoulders were broad. His back was straight. He yanked off his woolen cap as he headed toward her. The closer he came, the more she noticed the gray at his temples, his stony visage....

“No way,” Noelle whispered. Sunglasses shielded the man’s eyes, but she knew they would be green—and sharp.

Another man flanked the guy, a man who walked with a tense alertness, which broadcasted his military background.

She knew the second guy was a bodyguard, even before he turned and blocked the sheriff from heading up to the cabin.

And the man striding so confidently toward them was none other than—

“Mercer?” Thomas said, shock in his voice.

He should be shocked. As a rule, the EOD boss didn’t do field work. He stayed in his office, and he pulled the strings. But, thanks to the recent attack at the EOD, there
was
no D.C. office.

“Inside,” Bruce Mercer snapped. “You never know who’s watching.”

He was the man who’d kept her past from her. The man who knew where all the bodies were buried in D.C.

And because he was there, right in front of her, Noelle knew the situation in Camden, Alaska, had to be very, very bad.

If Bruce Mercer was there, then death wasn’t far behind.

Chapter Eight

“Judging by the way Noelle is looking at me, I guess you told her everything, Agent Anthony?”

They were inside the cabin. Mercer was pacing near the fireplace while the man he’d brought with him—Thomas easily recognized Aaron Black—stood guard near the door.

For Aaron to be there,
with
Mercer, Thomas knew the situation had to be serious. He’d worked with the ex-SEAL before on cases that didn’t involve hostage rescue. They’d involved cleanup.

Target disposal.

Death.

“
You
should’ve told me the truth,” Noelle said, voice sharp. “As soon as I came on with the EOD. You should’ve—”

“I thought the past was dead and buried. Part of it was dead.” Mercer waved toward Thomas. “Thanks to Agent Anthony.”

His back teeth locked. Mercer wasn’t exactly helping the situation.

“We thought the man who’d taken you—”

“Justin Hardin,” Noelle bit out. “His name was Justin Hardin.”

Mercer would know that. The man knew everything.

“We thought he was working alone. Our intel was wrong. We didn’t realize just how mistaken we’d been until you uncovered those photographs at the senator’s place.”

Now he understood why Mercer was in Camden. “You identified those girls.”

“Yes.” Mercer turned sharply on his heel and faced Noelle. “They were taken from different states. Two even from different countries,
before
you went missing. The geographical area was so wide that we never connected the dots together.” He exhaled. “That was a mistake that we have remedied now.”

Noelle’s arms were crossed over her chest. “Those girls were all taken that long ago? Then they—”

“I don’t believe any of those girls are still alive.”

Noelle’s shoulders sagged.

Thomas narrowed his gaze on Mercer. “Since when does the EOD get involved on a serial’s crime?” They didn’t, not unless...

“The girls were taken from different states and different countries.” It was Aaron who spoke. His voice was low and devoid of accent. “The techs at the EOD matched all of those abductions with ports of call that Senator Lawrence Duncan visited while he was enlisted in the navy.”

Noelle shook her head. “He didn’t do this! He’s dead, and Jenny Tucker was abducted
after
Duncan’s body had already been found. Her mother saw her leave the house that morning, and we know Duncan was killed during the night.”

“Our mistake before,” Mercer said, cutting through her words but sending a sympathetic glance her way, or at least, as sympathetic as Mercer got, “was thinking there was only one killer involved. Obviously, there were two.”

Red flashed on Noelle’s high cheekbones. “Justin Hardin is
dead.
”

“Hardin was hunting you,” Aaron said. His gaze slid to Thomas. “We, um, learned that from Agent Anthony. He was the man after you in those Alabama woods.”

He wanted to cross to Noelle’s side. This situation was so messed up.

“But Hardin had a partner.” Aaron’s head inclined toward Noelle. “One we missed.”

“You’re
still
missing the truth!” The red grew darker on her cheeks. “If there was a second killer, there would be more victims.” She pointed at Mercer. “You said the girls were all taken before me. The killer wouldn’t just stop after my abduction. He wouldn’t simply
quit
killing. It doesn’t work like that. Killing would be a compulsion for him. He’d keep taking victims because he
had
to. If we’re dealing with a serial, he’d have a ritual that he followed and—” Noelle broke off as her eyes widened. “Hunting.”

“Yes,” Mercer said softly.

Thomas was lost. His stare drifted between Mercer and Noelle. What was he missing?

“He kept killing, but he changed his prey.” Noelle’s gaze seemed unfocused, and Thomas knew she was trying to profile the man they were after. “He was hunting girls before, teenagers, but... Something changed.”

“Maybe the fact that his partner died?” Aaron tossed out. “Maybe that sent the guy into a tailspin.”

Noelle rubbed her temples. “He’s hunting. Last night, when he lured Thomas and me outside of this place, he was
hunting
us.”

Mercer frowned. “He was here? What the hell? Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

Because they hadn’t exactly had the chance. Thomas locked gazes with the director. “We pursued him in the storm last night. Noelle shot him, but he got away.”

“He got away because of me.” Noelle’s chin came up. “The attacker threw me onto weak ice and I fell through. Thomas had to pull me to safety.”

Aaron lifted a brow. “Uh, you went through the ice?”

“I survived.” Her voice was cold. Noelle started to pace. “He’s a hunter, and he knows this area.” Noelle’s gaze snapped toward Thomas. “He started by hunting girls—they both did—but... After the partner died, maybe our guy realized he needed more of a challenge. He had to go for tougher game.”

“And that’s precisely what he did.” Mercer nodded grimly. “I got Sydney to pull up every piece of intel we had on the late Senator Duncan.”

Thomas knew Mercer was referring to Sydney Ortez. The woman was a genius with computers and information retrieval.

Mercer continued, “It seems that the senator’s enemies—a few in the U.S. but particularly abroad—had a tendency to vanish.”

“They were hunted,” Thomas surmised. “By the senator?”

Mercer hesitated.

“He didn’t get his hands dirty,” Noelle said, and her words sounded so certain. “Not in the attack in D.C. and not when we were pushed off the road that first night. Duncan was a background guy. A puppeteer...”

Just like Mercer?

“He had others do the bloody work for him,” Aaron said. His hands were loose at his sides.

“Yes.” Noelle licked her lips. “If the earlier abductions all matched up with the senator’s ports, then Duncan probably knew the killer. He knew what he was doing.”

Of course, the senator wouldn’t have stopped the killer.

“I was looking at it all wrong.” Noelle kept pacing. “I thought the pictures we discovered at the senator’s place were trophies. Mementos to remind Duncan of the victims, but they weren’t.”

“So what the hell were they?” Aaron asked. His blue eyes were narrowed and his jaw was locked.

Noelle stopped pacing. “They were blackmail material. He knew the killer’s identity, and Duncan used those images to get the killer to do
his
dirty work.”

“Like an attack dog on a leash.” Thomas saw the situation perfectly now. “But if that’s true, then something in those photos should tell us our killer’s identity.”

Mercer nodded. “And that’s where Noelle comes in.” He advanced toward her. “You’re the one who can figure this one out. You’re the one who can put the pieces of this puzzle together and help us determine just who this sick bozo is before he has the chance to hurt anyone else.”

* * *

H
E
WAS
STILL
bleeding and he was getting weaker by the moment. The bullet was lodged in him. He had to get it out, but every time he tried to get a hold on the thing, he just made the wound bigger. Deeper.

The snowplows were out, clearing the little town of Camden. He was in the shadows because that was his custom. He’d spent most of his life hiding, one way or another.

When you had a monster inside, you had to be careful. If the world saw you for what you really were, they’d destroy you.

His father had told him that. His father had seen him for exactly what he was. His old man had hoped the military would change him. Focus him. And, in a way, it had.

Because in the navy, he’d met Lawrence Duncan.

He watched as a bundled woman made her way to the small pharmacy in town. Figured that place would open first.

He would’ve preferred to find a veterinarian or some kind of doc, but the pharmacy tech would have to do. There wasn’t anyone else who could help him, not now.

He made his way across the street. Saw the blood that dripped from him and splattered down in the snow. He should clean up his trail. But...

Too weak.

He pushed open the pharmacy door. The lights weren’t on. Power wasn’t back on in the town. He’d tried to use a phone before, but he hadn’t been able to connect. The storm had knocked all communication down.

“We’re not quite open yet!” A cheery voice called out. “Give me just a few minutes, and I’ll help you.”

He pulled his knife from its sheath. He walked down the narrow aisle. Saw the woman as she shrugged out of her coat. She was built like Noelle, long, slender, almost delicate lines. But her hair was a dark black, not a red.

“Be with you soon!” She said, not glancing back.

Her mistake.

He grabbed her and put the knife to her throat as he jerked her back against his chest. “You’ll be with me right now.” He had a ski mask over his face, so he twisted her around toward him, all the while keeping that knife right at her throat.

“Please...” she whispered.

He shook his head. “I’m not planning to kill you.” Not yet, anyway. “Because you’re going to help me, aren’t you?”

The knife cut into her neck.

And she nodded.

* * *

“J
ENNY
...” N
OELLE
KEPT
her voice low and gentle. She didn’t want to upset Jenny. The girl had already been through enough.

She was at Jenny’s house. Jenny’s mother was behind the girl, pacing nervously, and the sheriff watched from a position near the door.

“We need to take her over to Harrison County Medical,” the sheriff said, voice tight. “Get her thoroughly checked out and—”

“No!” Jenny’s desperate cry seemed to echo in Noelle’s ears. Jenny glanced over her shoulder. “Mom, you promised I wouldn’t have to go anywhere! I don’t want— I need to stay here!”

Jenny’s mother caught her daughter’s hand and held tight. “You’re not going anywhere.”

The sheriff growled.

Noelle squared her shoulders. “I know the officers collected your clothing last night.”

“Evidence,” Jenny whispered as her gaze dropped down to her lap. “They said it was evidence. They—they sent me back home in borrowed clothes this morning.”

Noelle glanced toward Jenny’s mother.

“The storm trapped us at the sheriff’s station. That’s as far as the ambulance could get in that weather.” Her gaze cut to Hodges. “But my girl is fine now. She doesn’t need a hospital.” Her breath heaved out as she pointed at the sheriff. “And he asked us questions all night, so I don’t see why we have to answer any more now!”

“I promise, this won’t take long.” Noelle saw Jenny flinch. She wanted to reach out and touch the girl, offer comfort, but Jenny seemed frozen before her. “I need you to describe the man who took you.”

“I
did
already!” Jenny’s voice broke a bit. “I told the sheriff...he was tall, wide shoulders. He had dark hair and stubble on his face.”

“Caucasian, African-American—”

“Caucasian,” Jenny whispered.

“Were there any marks on his face? Any scars or tattoos that you noticed?”

Jenny shook her head.

“What about his eyes? What color were they?”

“Brown. I think they were brown.”

“Good, Jenny. You’re doing really, really well.” Noelle knew interrogations with victims had to be handled carefully. If you pushed too hard, victims could break. If you didn’t push hard enough, they might not be able to tell important details. “When he spoke to you, did the man have any accent?”

Another shake of Jenny’s head was her answer.

Okay. Time to try a different tactic because, unfortunately, the man Jenny had just described could be
anyone
. “When we found you in the cabin, you were screaming.”

A tear leaked down Jenny’s cheek. “He told me that I had to scream.”

“Because he wanted—”

“He wanted you to die.” Jenny glanced up at her. “You’re Noelle, and he said you had to die.”

Chill bumps rose on Noelle’s skin. “He mentioned me by name?”

“Yes.”

“What did he say?”

“I wasn’t...good enough. But you—you would be more fun. So I had to scream so he could see you. He said...he said he just wanted to see you.”

No, he’d wanted to kill her. He’d wanted to kill them all.

“He told me that he liked to see his girls.”

The photos.
“Did he take any pictures of you while you were in that cabin?”

“Yes.” Shame burned in that word. “I was crying and begging him, and he was taking my picture. He was...filming me with his phone.”

Because the sicko didn’t use a Polaroid any longer, but he still needed the memories of his victims.

“This is very important.” Noelle leaned toward Jenny. “Did you ever hear him talking with anyone else? Did you
see
anyone else with him?”

Jenny bit her lower lip. “I don’t...I don’t think so.”

“Are you sure, Jenny?” Because the man had worked with a partner years before. Maybe he was up to his old tricks. Two hunters.

A game? A competition?

“I only heard him. No one else.”

Noelle smiled at her. “Thank you, Jenny. You’ve been very helpful.” She rose from the couch and turned for the door.

Jenny grabbed her hand. “When am I going to stop seeing him?”

Noelle stilled. Then, slowly, her gaze slid to find Jenny’s.

“Every time I close my eyes, he’s there.” Jenny swallowed and the little click of sound was almost painful to hear. “When will that stop? When will he get out of my mind?”

“When I catch him and lock him in a cell. Then you won’t ever have to worry about seeing him again.”

Jenny nodded and she let go of Noelle.

“Thank you for your time.” Noelle inclined her head to Jenny and Jenny’s mother. Then she left because looking at Jenny was far too much like looking at herself.

The sheriff followed her out. Noelle had been given a new coat from the sheriff’s department, one that fit better, and it helped to block the chill in the air.

The door shut behind them. “I need to head back to the station,” Noelle said. Thomas and Aaron were out running down leads and searching the area. They thought if the perp was looking for medical aid, he might be staying close to the town—and they were determined to find him.