Page 139 of Nowhere to Hide

“He may have been keeping tabs on us, but I don’t know if he wasn’t able to travel or maybe he even has a day job that prevents it.”

She made a humming sound. “I didn’t think about that. The normalcy of his real life versus what he’s been doing.”

“Yeah. Profiling isn’t my wheelhouse.”

“There’s still more you’re not telling me.”

I cupped my hand around her knee. “He’s killed again.”

Her hand shook as she set down her glass. “He did?”

I rubbed her leg. “Twice.”

“Oh, God.” The tears spilled down her cheeks silently. “Because of me.”

“No. Because he’s a piece of shit. It’s not because of you.”

“Because he can’t get to me.”

I set my untouched beer down and pulled her into my arms. “Because he’s sick.” I kissed her temple, then her tearstained cheeks. “Because he can’t get what he wants. And he’s not getting through me. He’s never getting to you.”

“You can’t know that.”

I settled her on top of me until she straddled me. She drew in a quick breath as her muscles stretched. “Is this okay?”

She nodded. “Yes.” She pressed her face to my neck and encircled my shoulders. “Don’t let me go.”

“I won’t. I promise.”

I rubbed her back until she finally relaxed.

She didn’t know The Kendrick Group version of me. She knew the obsessive fucked-up grief-stricken man, but she didn’t know the focused part of me that was damn good at my job.

I’d be that man again for her.

I had no fucking choice.

CHAPTER 28

CILLA

I must have dozed off.I came to halfway down the hall in Locke’s arms.

I turned my face into his neck. “You must be so tired of carrying me.”

“Not a chance.”

He set me down on the edge of the bed and helped me out of my sweater. I hadn’t bothered with a bra after my shower. His eyes heated at the skimpy tank I wore, but I could feel him withdrawing.

I took his hand and put it over one breast. “I need to forget for a while.”

“Cilla, you need rest.”

“I need you.” I slipped under the hem of his shirt and touched his muscled belly. I pushed it up and pressed a kiss along the furred skin at the top of his sleep pants. “Just you.”

He reached behind his head and tugged his shirt up and off. “As if I could tell you no.” He framed my face with his big hands.

The kiss was slow and drugging. He was unhurried in his pace, making me a little crazy. I wanted to lose myself in him. Push all the shit away in the way only he seemed to be able to do.