Page 35 of Obsession (Temptation 4)

Lachlan

I stared blankly into space as I listened to what I could only assume to be a truncated version of the information Agent Curran had shared with Nikko and Julia earlier in the evening.

How Nick broke into a couple’s home.

How he held them captive for what I imagined to be a harrowing twelve hours.

How he forced that innocent woman to have dinner with him, all the while calling her Julia, pretending she was the ex-wife Nick was still obsessed with.

The woman I loved more than anything.

The woman I was petrified to lose.

How he shot her husband, making it appear like suicide, before stabbing the woman.

It was all so depraved. So brutal. So tragic.

“There’s, uh, something else,” Nikko stated, pulling my attention back to him, my grip on Julia’s hand tightening with every second.

“Something else?” I asked in a shaky voice.

He nodded, his expression even more dire than it was as he informed me of the home invasion that took the life of an innocent man.

When I left for California, my biggest concern was making sure Julia remained within these four walls where I knew she’d be safe from that animal’s psychotic obsession. Never did I think something like this would happen.

“Nick also raped Christine.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, drawing in a deep breath. I couldn’t say I was surprised. With all the deaths attributed to him, he’d raped each woman first. It went without saying that he’d do the same to Christine.

“With a knife.”

I flung my eyes open, muscles tensing. “What did you say?”

Julia lifted her gaze to mine. “Nick used the blade of a knife to…to rape her.”

I blinked repeatedly, her statement not immediately registering. When it finally did, it felt like an arrow pierced my heart, an indescribable anguish filling me. Standing, I dug my fingers through my hair as I paced around the room, trying to make sense of this.

“A knife?” I repeated after a moment, stopping in my tracks. “He…” I trailed off, unable to finish my question.

Nikko nodded. “Yes. Instead of his genitalia, he used—”

“I got it,” I interrupted, feeling queasy.

And not for the poor woman who was forced to endure that, although my heart certainly went out to her.

I was on the brink of expelling the contents of my stomach over the idea this was what Nick wanted to do to Julia.

MyJulia.

“When did you learn about this?” I demanded, every muscle in my body quivering as I attempted to remain calm.

“Why does—”

“Agent Curran came over at the start of the fifth inning,” Julia interrupted Nikko. “He informed me, Nikko, Wes, and Londyn about the attack.”

“The start of the fifth?” I swallowed hard, a painful rock lodging in my throat. “So when we spoke after the game…” I shifted my gaze toward Nikko. “And when I called you right before my flight took off…” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “You both already knew and didn’t tell me?”

Julia stood, making her way toward me. “What good would it have done? You deserved to celebrate your win. Not have it tarnished with such…gruesome news.”