Page 28 of Once Vanished
We’re done.
The connection terminated abruptly, leaving Leo staring at a blank screen.A cold sensation settled in his stomach—not quite fear, but a distinctly uneasy feeling.
We’re done?Leo wondered.
Had their working relationship suddenly ended, just like that?Over a fit of pique?Was ShadowCipher really that petty?Leo would never have guessed it.
But he decided it didn’t really matter.ShadowCipher had already done everything Leo needed, supplied all the services Leo had paid for.ShadowCipher had also given Leo tools that he could use without the hacker’s help.
For example, Leo knew perfectly well that forensic technicians had mirrored the phones of Riley and her family, leading them to think they could monitor all his communications with them—read their messages and listen to their conversations.That was true, but only as long as it suited Leo—and so far, ithadsuited Leo.What those technicians didn’t know was that Leo now had the power of shutting them out exactly when he wanted to.
And that was all he really needed.He needed no help from ShadowCipher to proceed with his plans for tomorrow.
Tomorrow.
The word sent a thrill through Leo that banished his momentary concern.Tomorrow he would take a life, watching the light fade from human eyes.He’d orchestrated deaths before—his sister’s suicide had been his masterpiece of psychological manipulation—but he had never experienced the intimate act of killing firsthand.
Leo rose from his chair and walked to the window, carefully drawing the blanket that covered it slightly aside, standing to the side of the frame where he wouldn’t be visible even if someone happened to glance that way.Darkness had fallen completely now.In the distance, the lights of Washington DC glittered, oblivious to his presence on the periphery.
“Sleep well, Riley,” he whispered to the night.“Tomorrow you’ll understand what true loss feels like.”
He imagined her face when as events unfolded as they surely would—the horror, the self-recrimination, the devastating knowledge that she’d failed to protect someone she cared about, someone in her own family.The thought warmed him from within, a delicious anticipation that surpassed any physical pleasure he’d ever known—at least this far.
Leo let the window blanket drop into place and turned back to his workstation, mind already cycling through the details of tomorrow’s plan.ShadowCipher’s petulance was not his problem.Nothing would interfere with what he had set in motion.Nothing would rob him of the exquisite experience awaiting him.
His first kill.His initiation into a realm of power few ever truly understood.
Leo smiled in the darkness, savoring what was to come.
CHAPTER TWELVE
The alarm clock’s insistent beeping had fallen silent thirty minutes ago.Susan Martinez moved through her morning as she always did, with the rhythm of someone who never truly left duty behind.As she fastened her service belt, the weight of her badge and weapon settled against her hip, a tangible reminder of responsibilities in the world beyond these walls.
Susan paused before the full-length mirror, adjusting her collar with a swift, efficient motion.The dark blue of her police uniform contrasted sharply with the soft and warm colors of their bedroom—a visual reminder of the two worlds she inhabited.Behind her, beneath a mound of rumpled blankets, Carlos remained asleep, his breathing deep and even in the quiet morning air.Carlos wouldn’t get up for hours yet, a luxury his data entry job afforded him.Work from home, set your own hours.Some days, she envied that freedom.
She’d already eaten her breakfast—scrambled eggs and wheat toast with a cup of black coffee, consumed while standing at the kitchen counter, scanning yesterday’s reports on her phone.Carlos would fix his own breakfast later.
Susan moved back to the bedroom, perching on the edge of the bed.She reached out, her hand finding Carlos’s shoulder beneath the blankets.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” she murmured, giving him a gentle nudge.“I’m heading out.”
Carlos stirred, eyelids fluttering before opening to reveal dark eyes still clouded with sleep.His lips curved into the same drowsy smile that had melted her heart for twelve years now.
“Already?”he mumbled, voice thick with sleep.
“It’s six-thirty,” Susan replied, her tone teasing.“Some of us have actual start times.”
Carlos grunted, shifting to prop himself up on one elbow.The blankets fell away, revealing the faded Nationals t-shirt he’d worn to bed.His hair stood in unruly spikes, and the stubble on his jaw had grown just enough to catch the morning light.
“The coffee’s made,” Susan said.“There are plenty of eggs, and bread for toast.The leftover casserole is for dinner tonight.Don’t eat it for breakfast.”
“That was just one time,” he protested, more awake now.His free hand caught hers, thumb tracing the calluses that years of service had left on her palm.“You got a briefing today?”
Susan nodded.“Uh-huh.Nothing special, just the usual morning rundown.”She didn’t mention the text she’d received last night about a missing girl—an FBI agent’s daughter.The case would likely be assigned today, though probably not to her.No point in burdening Carlos with every shadow that crossed her professional path.
“You know what I wouldn’t miss?”she said, changing the subject.“Alarm clocks.You get to sleep until your body decides it’s had enough.Must be nice.”
“Mmm, it is,” he agreed, his smile broadening.“Though I miss waking up with you around.”