Page 119 of Kiss of Deceit

“Any crime with minors excludes people from the program. Along with a couple other charges.” He shifted on the mattress, getting closer to me. “You never answered my question.”

I bit my lip. “The truth fixes things. But…what are we doing here, Kole? This isn’t a normal town. I can’t stay here past my internship. I have no idea how long you have to stay here for. Ontop of that, we have a murderer on the loose. Nothing about this is simple.”

“I think you’re scared.”

I stared in his direction, unable to see him in the dark. “Scared of the killer? You don’t know me that well if that’s what you think.”

“I think you’re scared of me. Your feelings. You’re terrified to trust.”

This man knew me far too well.“Even if that’s true, it still doesn’t change anything.”

“How about we take it day by day?” He inched closer, his breath hitting my cheek. “Do you want me to sleep in your bed tonight?”

I squirmed under the blankets when his lips grazed my cheek. “Yes.”

“Then I will. No talk of the future. We just live for right now.”

I scoffed. “That goes against my every instinct.”

“You don’t have to be alone,” he murmured, a note of pleading entering his voice. “Not when you’re with me.”

My heart skipped when he kissed my cheek softly. I wasweakwhen it came to Kole. My usual anger was absent around him. I didn’t think of my past as much. When I thought he was a possible monster, the dread had consumed me. I wanted to be with him. And right now my want was overshadowing my instinct.

For once, I didn’t fight it.

I turned my head, letting my lips meet his. A deep groan escaped him before he deepened the kiss as he rolled on top of me. I wrapped my arms about his neck as his tongue clashed with mine.

Taking Kole’s advice, I ignored the small nagging voice. I was living for right now, even if it was just for the next few hours.

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

kole

I leaned against the wall,watching Dani pace for the hundredth time. Susan was typing away on her computer, ignoring everyone else. Harry kept glaring at her every few seconds since he couldn’t go outside and smoke. There were a few other people in here, but no one was talking. We were in the backroom of the police station doing nothing but waiting.

“I would have been fine at home,” Adella mumbled from beside me. “I should have brought liquor. This is going to be a long fucking night.”

“You were going to walk home alone,” I said gruffly. “The killer isn’t done. And I’m not going to let you be the next victim with a knife in her chest.”

A laugh bubbled from her. “So nice to know you still care. I was starting to wonder since you spend all your time with your new roommate.”

Her light teasing had a smile tipping my lips for the first time since I walked into the police station.

“Are we really just going to wait in here all night?” Dani grated out, her eyes flashing with annoyance when she looked atSusan. “We should be out there, looking for him. Three tonight. He’s going to try to kill again, and we’re doing nothing to stop it.”

“We’re doing everything we can,” Susan replied curtly, not looking away from her screen. “If anyone is in trouble, they can call the emergency line and then we’ll respond.”

“The others could have been murdered in their homes last night,” Dani argued. “There were never any calls placed.”

“We can’t search everyone’s houses,” Harry piped up. “So if that’s the case, we would be no help anyway.”

“We’re hiding,” Dani forced out through clenched teeth. “We should have search parties combing the town?—”

“Not enough manpower,” Harry cut in.

“It would put more people in danger if we did that,” Susan said. “We would have to call in more resources.” She paused, glancing between me and the medical intern that was here. “The locals like to handle things on their own here. Though that will soon change if this isn’t stopped. We will do what we can in here tonight. We’ll have a list of new people to question by morning.”

Tension blanketed the room when no one responded. Dani threw a look at me as if wanting me to intervene. When I shook my head, she scowled and started pacing again. I could deal with her anger. It was better than her being on the streets at night when the killer seemed to have a special interest in her. The asshole even knew her birth name.