For the SUV to be abandoned there...
“The driver had to go someplace,” Hayden said. He looked around, but there was no sign of another civilian vehicle, just Deputy Hollow’s patrol car and his vehicle—Hayden had gotten Jill to drive over with him. “Not like the guy just vanished into thin air.”
“We can check the car for prints,” Jill said as she stood near him. “The suspect probably left plenty of evidence behind. He was looking to ditch the car and make a break for it. Our run-in at the cemetery probably scared him.”
Hayden still wasn’t so sure of that fact. During the past ten years, he’d learned to never ignore his instincts. When he was in the field, they always warned him when danger was coming. Right then, his instincts were screaming at him.
Jill was being watched at the cemetery. Now the vehicle her watcher used is abandoned and the driver is long gone. He turned toward her. “I think you should have protection tonight.”
She laughed.
He didn’t. “I’m serious, Jill. This scene...” He waved his hand. “It’s not right. It’s...off...and you know it.”
“I’m an FBI agent, I think I can manage to look after myself tonight.” She turned away.
He followed right on her heels. Hayden reached out and curled his hand around her shoulder.
She looked back at him, frowning. “Hayden...”
“Even FBI agents need protection.”
“Look, I get that things are personal between us, but I just have a few scratches. It wasn’t anything life threatening.”
“He tried to run you down!”
“Because he panicked.” She looked over his shoulder, gazing at the abandoned SUV. “Prints are going to turn up in there. You’ll find the guy, I have no doubt. The streets of Hope will be safe again.”
But would she be safe?
Jill didn’t seem worried.
Hayden sure as hell was. Because...
This is you, Jill. And I will always protect you.
* * *
HE’D MADE A mistake at the cemetery. He should have stayed farther back. Should have kept his distance.
But he’d wanted to get closer.
She’d looked so sad as she stood there, staring at the grave. She’d seemed such perfect prey. All alone. Prime for the taking. But...
Then he’d heard her voice, barking with authority, reminding him that she wasn’t the girl he’d known before. She was an FBI agent now and he hadn’t been able to tell if she was armed.
If she’d had her gun...if she’d shot at him...
I don’t want to die. That was his truth. He wasn’t anywhere near ready to die.
So he’d run. Fast. Hard. He’d fled and when she’d come rushing out of the woods, well, he’d taken that opportunity to end her. But he’d missed. She’d seen his car, and he’d had to dump it.
No big deal. He’d taken the vehicle when he’d been in Jacksonville. Taken it because...
Some habits die hard. I always liked to keep a throwaway vehicle close, in case I find a special girl.
Jill West was a very special girl to him. Very special, indeed. The one that got away. The one that had changed so much for him.
He glanced up at her beachfront cabin. It was dark now because she was gone. Probably out hunting for him. Never expected that I’d be waiting at home for you, did you, Jillian? But here he was...
And he’d stay in the shadows. He’d wait until she came back. And then the real fun would begin. Because he’d carefully considered the situation with her. He didn’t want to launch an attack straight at her, no, with her FBI training, that wasn’t a fight he wanted.
He’d take the easy way. The better way.
He’d attack Jill when she was vulnerable. And the most vulnerable time for a woman? For anyone?
That would be during sleep. When Jill slipped away in her dreams, he’d go to her. He’d wait and bide his time and he’d watch. But the moment her guard was lowered, he would be there.
And, Jill, you will pay for everything that you took away from me.
Chapter Five
Her little rental cabin was dark when Jill pulled into the narrow drive. She’d stayed at the scene with Hayden, she’d helped search the area, but the driver had been long gone. Maybe he’d slipped away on some of the trails in the area. Maybe he’d had another ride waiting.
The maybes hadn’t mattered. One fact was clear—he was gone, and it was highly doubtful they’d find the guy that night.
Hayden had taken her back to the station. She’d gotten her car, refused his protection one more time, and she’d pretended not to see the frustration that had filled his gaze. Spending the night with Hayden wasn’t a good idea. She knew that.
Her feelings for him were too raw. When he’d been bandaging her hands in that little bathroom, she’d stared at him and just ached.
Too many memories were between them. Too much desire still remained.
When she climbed up the long flight of wooden steps that led to her cabin, Jill felt a bone-deep weariness. She unlocked the door. The wind blew off the ocean, bringing her the salty scent on the breeze. Jill looked back at that water. The waves gleamed beneath the moonlight. The water had always soothed her, even when she’d been at her absolute worst.
The water...and Hayden. Her two constants in life.
Jill turned away from the ocean. She shut the door behind her and flipped the lock. There was no security system at the cabin, so she took a few moments to do a quick search and to double-check all of the locks on the windows and on the screen door that slipped away from the kitchen and led back to the big front deck. Side effect of the job...being hypervigilant. She’d seen too many horror stories, firsthand.
Jill headed into her bedroom. When she passed the TV, the floor gave a low groan. She couldn’t help but tense at the sound. This day has been too long. Now she was nearly jumping at—quite literally—nothing. She’d shower and crash into bed. And maybe, if she was lucky, she wouldn’t dream about two bright headlights coming toward her. She wouldn’t remember the heat of the engine as it growled beside her.
If she was lucky.
* * *
HAYDEN SLOWED HIS vehicle as he slowly drove by Jill’s cabin. One light glowed in her cabin. Jill was still awake. She’d refused his multiple offers of protection.
And he got it, he really did. She could take care of herself. Hell, yes, he’d read the stories about her work. Jill had often been in the headlines, particularly when she worked high-profile cases. She’d taken down some of the worst scum out there. He knew she was smart, tough and absolutely deadly with her gun but...
But this is Jill. If something happens to her, I worry I’ll lose my damn sanity.
His hands tightened on the steering wheel.
And, as if on cue, the light in her cabin turned off.
Jill was in, safe and sound, for the night. Time for him to get the hell out of there. He accelerated but... Hayden couldn’t help glancing back in his rearview mirror.
This is Jill. If something happens to her...
* * *
WAKEFULNESS CAME IN a sudden rush. One instant, Jill had been completely asleep, lost to her dreams, but in the next, her eyes were wide-open and a cold chill iced her blood.
She didn’t move in that bed. Her heart galloped in her chest. She had an animal awareness crawling over her—something is wrong. Something had woken her, but she didn’t know what. She didn’t move so much as a finger as she tried to figure out what had brought her awake with such a sharpness.
Then...she heard the scraping. A small, faint sound. And...
She knew what caused that sound. When she’d opened the sliding glass door before—the door that led from the kitchen to the front deck, the screen had scraped when the door
slid open. Wind and time had damaged the screen and when the door slid open a few inches, the screen scraped.
But she’d checked that door before bed. She remembered checking the lock. The door had been closed. There was no reason for it to scrape now.
Unless someone is out there.
Her fingers slowly moved toward the pillow on the other side of her bed. Before she’d gone to bed, she’d put her weapon there, wanting it to be close just in case. Her fingers touched the gun.
And she heard a groan.
This time, the sound was a little bit louder. As if the groan had come from the den. And again, she knew that sound...when she’d walked in front of the TV out there, the floor had groaned beneath her feet. There was a weak spot of wood. A spot that creaked when someone stepped on it.
Someone is out there. Someone is coming closer.
She’d shut her bedroom door. Locked it but...
Did she hear the soft click of that lock turning? Was it her imagination?
Jill took a deep breath. Her index finger slid off the safety of her gun. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness and she was staring straight at her door.
It was opening.
“Freeze!” Jill yelled. “Freeze or I will shoot.”
The door stilled. Each breath she took seemed far too loud.
Then...
Laughter. Cold. Mocking laughter. “You think you’re the only one with a gun, Agent West?”
Oh, damn.
“You should have left Christy Anderson alone.” The snarled words came from her doorway.
She dived for the side of the bed even as the thunder of a gunshot filled the room. You missed! She stayed low but Jill lifted up just enough to fire back.
But he was running. She could hear the thunder of her intruder’s footsteps. Jill didn’t hesitate. She jumped to her feet and rushed after him. “Stop!” she yelled.
He wanted too much.
Hayden glanced down at his hands. Too tight. He forced himself to let her go.
“He said something else.”
Hayden shook his head, not following her.
“Before he fired at me, in my bedroom, he said...he said I should have left Christy Anderson alone.”