You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war.
—Albert Einstein
I glance down at my phone, reading the latest text from Lana.
LANA: I’ll call you tonight if you’re free. Sorry I missed your call earlier. It’s been a crazy few days. <3
“Oh, heart emoji! Shit’s getting real,” Craig says over my shoulder, earning an elbow to his gut.
Rolling my eyes as he grunts and coughs, I text her back.
ME: Tonight should work, as long as no one calls in with any leads. We know who the killer is, and we’ve been blasting his face all over the news. You were right. It’s definitely one of the paid-under-the-table custodial workers. He managed to escape though, so there’s a city-wide manhunt underway.
LANA: Be careful. He’s always been overlooked, and with the new bout of attention, he’s likely to enjoy the thrill of notoriety. He may crave more attention and come after you if the buzz wears off too soon. Killing the lead FBI agent who ran the hunt against him would give him even more attention.
I’ve never wanted to date a profiler, simply because work and sex don’t mix well together in my experience. Lisa, for example, is a thorn in my side since things ended years ago, and now she’s under my command.
It’s awkward. It’s frustrating. And she uses our past against me every chance she gets.
Lana, however, is the perfect woman. Someone who understands what I do without being right at my side while I’m doing it. It’s literally the best of both worlds.
Which is why I’m still worried she’s too good to be true.
ME: It’s a slim chance he’ll come after me. And if he does, it’ll save me the trouble of trying to track him down.
LANA: I’m serious, Logan. Guys like him could fixate on someone like you.
ME: He’s a rapist. A serial rapist. He needs a female to relieve his urges. He’s more than just a serial killer, which makes the likelihood of him coming after me very slim.
LANA: Anyone who has always lived in the shadows and suddenly gets brought into the light is going to get the high. Especially someone like him. Sexual sadists thrive on the power. It gets them off. Power over you could become an easy surrogate for the power he holds over his female victims.
ME: I like that you care so much.
LANA: I like my orgasms. I want more.
That has me laughing, and I put my phone away as Craig comes up, filling me in on the latest information.
It was supposed to be an easy bust, but someone tipped him off. Had to. Or else he has tabs on the police station somehow. But the guy reads like an open book of our profile.
Now finding him is getting harder. He got paid in cash and never had a checking account. His apartment was a cash-weekly sort of arrangement. His entire life is paperless, tied to no electronics or trails. Even his power bill was included in his rent, furthermore concealing any trails he might have.
He left his phone behind.
He took his clothes.
He’s in the wind, and it could be months before he resurfaces if we don’t find him now.
***
Four days later, there are still no leads, and I groan as I load up with my team to come back home. Gerald Plemmons. That’s the name of the Boogeyman. Putting a face on him has helped alleviate the fears of some of the city, but he’s still out there.
One day, he’ll kill again. Unfortunately, until he does, we may not be able to find him.
As soon as I step off the jet, I haul ass to my SUV and drive like hell to Lana’s house. She’s not expecting me, and I can’t reach her on her phone. It keeps going straight to voicemail, so I hope I don’t piss her off by just showing up.
It seems to take forever to get there, but when I finally do, I pound on the door with purpose.
The sound of hurried footsteps puts me at ease. I don’t see her Mustang here, so I’m happy to hear her talking through the door. I’m not so happy to hear what she’s saying.
“You have a key! Use it, Jake! Stop making me walk all through the house—”
Her words die when she swings open the door.
In a towel.
Still mostly wet.
“Logan!” she says, shocked as her eyes widen.
I don’t give her time to think before I’m kissing her, pushing the door shut behind me with my foot. Her hands go to my hair, and I lift her, groaning when I feel her bare ass against my hands.
The towel falls loose and gets stuck between our bodies as I continue to kiss her and carry her back to her room. She kisses me just as fiercely, letting me know she doesn’t mind the fact I’ve shown up unannounced.
It’s been a week. A solid week since I’ve seen her.
My hand slides down the curve of her ass, moving until I find what I really want. My fingers skate across her slick pussy, feeling her wet and ready for me. As much as I love foreplay, it’ll be skipped tonight. Maybe after I get a little bit of this addiction tempered, we can slow things down, and I can give her body the attention it truly deserves.
“I take it you missed me?” she asks against my lips, tightening her legs on my waist as I finally make it to her room.
“Very much.”
I don’t even give her time to think before I drop her to the bed, and start undressing. She watches me, scooting her naked body up on the bed as she tosses the towel away.
When she bites down on that bottom lip, I finish stripping and grab her ankles, jerking her down the bed. A small squeal of surprise escapes her, but I roll on the condom, adjusting myself between her legs on her very high bed.
As soon as I’m lined up, I thrust in, feeling her walls squeeze against the abrupt intrusion. She moans and arches her back, looking like every fantasy I’ve ever had.
Gripping her hips, I set a harsh rhythm, fucking her with abandon, letting her moans and gasps fuel me and guide me. When she goes stiff and her pussy clamps down on me, heat spreads through my spine, and an electric current rolls over me in the form of pleasure.
Her mouth parts as she grips the sheet beneath her, her fists twisting in the soft fabric on the messy bed.
My pumps grow lazy until my hips still completely, and she pants while grinning up at me.
“Hi,” she says, laughing lightly.
I laugh too before dropping to her.
“Hi.”
Rolling over, I toss the condom into the trashcan beside the bed, then face her again, running my finger along her cheek.
She forces me to move up more comfortably on the bed when she moves, making sure she can lie down.
“Who’s Jake? And why does he have a key?”
Her smile spreads like she’s enjoying a private joke.
“Jealous much?”
I narrow my eyes, and she snickers while tossing a leg over my hip and pillowing her head on my bicep.
“He’s my business partner. He just left a few minutes ago, and I thought he might have forgotten something. He thinks it’s funny to make me jog through the house instead of using his key. He acts like I’m going to confuse him for a robber and accidentally stab him or something.”
I don’t like Jake having a key to her house, especially since I don’t know him.
“What’s his last name?” I ask, fully prepared to do a complete background check on this guy—and see what he looks like.
I really am jealous.
Fuck.
“He’s a silent partner, and it’s in our agreement that I don’t give out his surname. Sorry, but that’s how it is. Our latest business thing took a few days longer than expected, but we decided to be thorough. Besides, we’ve known each other forever. He’s like a brother to me. Don’t worry. I can assure you nothing sexual is going on.”
“Is he gay?” I ask hopefully.
She grins broadly. “He’s bisexual, but he tends to lean toward men more than women.”
“It’d be better if he was gay.”
When she laughs, it’s a cute sound, so carefree again. I swear she seems lighter and happier every time I see her.
I frown when my fingers come back red from the side of her head.
“Are you bleeding?” I ask, worried as I try to inspect her hair. How fucking rough was I?
Her eyes widen as she stares at my fingers. “Um…no. That’s from some painting I was doing with Jake. I guess I missed some.”
I rub the red substance between my fingers. It’s definitely blood.
“Don’t lie to me,” I say, trying to look, but she angles her head away and jumps out of bed.
“Fine. It’s blood,” she groans. “Jake’s blood. Not mine. He cut his finger, and I guess it got on me. I thought I got it all out in the shower.”
She goes to the bathroom, and I follow her in, watching as she starts washing out her hair.
A little stream of red flows out, but to my relief, it stops, which means she’s really not bleeding.
“Why wouldn’t you just say that?”
She shrugs, not looking at me. “You’re all freaked out about Jake. I thought not mentioning him anymore would be a good idea.”
I blow out a breath, and her eyes meet mine in the mirror.
“Sorry. I don’t mean to sound like a jealous ass.”
She gives me a tight smile.
“I have no right to lie to you and make you feel guilty about it. Sorry,” she says, sighing as she looks down at the ground.
Tilting her face up, I bend down, brushing my lips over hers.
“Looks like we’re both still figuring out how to do this thing. It’s a learning experience,” I tell her, smiling when she groans and presses her head into my chest.
“You’re so good,” she says quietly. “I’m afraid I’m going ruin all the best parts about you.”
“Not possible. You’re good too, Lana.”
She tenses against me, and I get worried when her grip tightens around my waist. I’m not sure what happened in the past five minutes, and she’s become impossible to read.
Instead of probing her with questions, I just hold her until she finally sighs against my chest.
“I’ve missed you too,” she finally says after a long spell of silence.
“Then let me take you out on that date.”
She peers up, arching an eyebrow. “Lobster and wine?”
I nod.
She grins. “Then orgasms.”
I laugh as she skips out of the bathroom, her good mood back. She’s an enigma, and I think that’s half of her appeal.
