Page 30

There is blood in the water…

I blink awake with a gasp, having dreamt of the night I killed my attacker, the fog of the drugs having done nothing to douse the fury and helplessness of my attack. Kane had been right to bury the body. I wouldn’t have gone to jail, but I would have been considered mentally compromised. Even if I’d been reinstated after counseling, every step I took would have been analyzed.

Kane rolls over and wraps himself around me, his scent flaring in my nostrils, and for a moment, I sink against him and allow myself the vulnerability of needing this, of being human . Once again, he’s brought me back to him. And this moment has Elsa sliding into my thoughts, and I realize I’ve been distracted by Ghost. I don’t even know if Elsa has a boyfriend, or girlfriend, or whatever. Does she have anyone helping her, supporting her?

I roll away from Kane and grab my phone from the nightstand, punching in the autodial for Tic Tac. “Lilah,” he murmurs groggily. “You know it’s five a.m.?”

“No, but thanks for the time update. Do you do temperature, too?” I don’t wait for his grumble. “I need—”

“Stuff. Right. What?”

“Elsa. Does she have a boyfriend? Girlfriend? Close friend? Someone that might help us look for her? Or someone we need to be ready for because she has help?”

“I know the answer. And that answer is no. She dated a guy in the military who got killed in a chopper accident.”

“Fuck. She’s nothing but tragedy.”

“Agreed. She seems to have stayed to herself after she lost him.”

“Where did he live?”

“Maryland.”

“That checks out,” I say, and I sit up to find Kane scooting up the headboard, not at all surprised about my abrupt burst into action. He leans over and kisses me, to whisper, “Coffee.”

I cover the receiver and say, “Please.”

Lucas comes on the line. “Morning, cousin, and fuck you for getting us up this early.”

“At least you’re sober enough to be up, and after what you pulled yesterday, I hope you’re hungover as hell.”

“Fuck you.”

“You already said that.”

“You deserve to hear it again,” he grumbles. “What are we doing right now?”

“This is how Lilah works,” Tic Tac explains. “Her mind starts working and she calls me. And I guess you, too.”

“Why the hit list now, not back when Clyde killed himself?”

“Things simmer and burn,” Lucas replies. “And when it burns, it burns really fucking badly.”

He’s not talking about Elsa right now, but himself. “There’s usually a trigger. Try to find out what it is. Maybe she found out Clyde was murdered.”

“That would make sense,” Tic Tac says. “We’ll get on it.”

“I need to know if Elsa had ties to the Hamptons.”

“She did,” Tic Tac replies. “When she and her brother were kids, they came up here for Christmas. It was a tradition. And I only know that because Jack was on Elsa’s socials for the firing range. She posted a photo of her and her family, way back when she and Mark were kids, with a note about the tradition.”

Good ol’ Jack , I think. He’s irritating as fuck , but efficient. At the moment, his savvy feels worth the torture, but then again, I’m not enduring said torture right now. “Find out where they stayed when they were here or favorite spots. Maybe places Mark frequented. Elsa’s not going to go to Mark’s house, not unless she’s stupid, and she’s not. She’ll go someplace that feels safe. If it’s Elsa. We still don’t really know for sure. I’m going to shower. I sincerely hope you are too, Lucas, considering you were disgusting last night. Call me or text me.” I disconnect.

Kane walks into the room, shirtless, in pajama bottoms, with two steaming cups in his hands. I throw my legs over the edge of the bed, and he sits down next to me. “Morning, bella.”

“Morning,” I say, sipping the warm brew. “Delicious. You made my favorite hazelnut coffee.”

“Seemed like you needed it. What woke you up so abruptly?”

“My mind attacked me with randomness. You know, I assumed that the reason Elsa and Mark’s phones are both in Maryland means they wanted an alibi for the murders.”

“It would have worked if Mark hadn’t ended up dead.”

My brows dip, and I’m not sure why my mind is pushing back. “Yes. True.”

“What are you thinking?”

“You told me I was assuming, and that’s unlike me. Am I wrong to assume Elsa is the assassin? No,” I say before he can answer. “Ghost is after Elsa. It’s Elsa.”

“Ghost is a self-serving narcissist. That frames everything he does. He’s either the killer after a payday or a killer after a payday. That’s all he knows. Either Elsa is on the hit list, or she is the hit list. There’s no other reason Ghost would be here.”

Me , I think.

He might have come for Mark, or Elsa, or both, but is he lingering for me? I’m not saying that to Kane. I don’t say it, but it’s on my mind. It’s still on my mind after I’ve showered and Kane has headed off to his meeting.

Dressed in my serious FBI gray pantsuit with a black silk blouse underneath and high heels I could slice a throat with, I stand in Purgatory and just think. And think some more.

I’m missing something, and I’m going back to Mark’s place to figure out what.