Page 14 of Only for Him

Silence stretches between us.

“You see what’s happening here, right?”

I nod, but I can’t speak. Something sharp shivers up my spine, radiating electricity to every nerve ending.

“I’ve seen this before. Unhinged psychopath gets a fixation on a young detective. Starts leaving breadcrumbs. Testing boundaries. Nothing good comes of this. Trust me.”

I stare at my own face in the photo, the rigid line of my spine, the blank, angry stare while my hair blurs from my mid-turn.

The framing feels intimate. Deliberate.

Like I’m being touched without permission.

Like I’m being chosen.

I turn it over and my stomach fills with disappointment when I see nothing but white.

“I can pull you off the case,” Russo says. “Kick this back to Manhattan. Let them handle it.”

“No,” I say.

“You sure, Giselle?”

I look at the photo until the details burn into my retinas. In the photo, Serena’s earring is visible, and it practically gleams in the dim light. I wonder ifheunderstands the significance. If he understands my own need for control.

But one thing is for sure.

The words on the body are an invitation. This photo is an RSVP.

Someone is reaching for me from the darkness, and like a madwoman, I’m responding yes, I’ll be there.

Wouldn’t miss it for the world.

“I want to find him,” I say. “Before he decides to escalate.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” His voice softens.

But I don’t listen. Not anymore.

I hand over the photo to be bagged and dusted, even though I know there won’t be any prints.

When Russo and I leave, I’m careful not to look back.

I know what I’ll see. Myself, reflected in a thousand mirrored surfaces, and my name carved into the world.

And lurking in the darkness, a pair of blue eyes staring at me.

Slowly, something quieter stirs in my chest.

Not fear.

Something worse.

Curiosity.

6

GISELLE