Chet hugged his arms tighter around her. "Why would you think you'd lose me? I'm not letting that b.a.s.t.a.r.d get to any of us. You can take that to the bank."

Lori prayed that was a promise he could keep.

He caressed her back, trailed his fingers long ribs. "I got a call today."

She s.h.i.+vered as he cupped her breast. "From?"

"My doc."

Her heart beat a little faster. "What did she say?"

"I have an appointment with the surgeon next week. He'll do the necessary tests and we'll go from there. We should know soon if the reversal is possible."

"Sounds to me like a celebration is in order." She went up on her knees, straddling his waist. "You up for it, Sergeant?"

"Always, Detective."

With him guiding, she eased down onto his erection. Her eyes closed and she moaned. She had never wanted anyone the way she did this man. No one was taking him away from her.

Not his ex-wife and definitely not Eric Spears.

15.

Dunbrooke Drive, 11:50 p.m.

Jess sat crossed legged on the floor in the library or office or whatever Dan called this room. She stared at the make s.h.i.+ft case board she'd cobbled together. A strip of tape, the kind used for wrapping Christmas gifts, held each photo and note to the edge of a bookshelf. Made her feel right at home.

Almost. She still missed her place. Her stuff was there. Here she had Dan, a more than decent trade off considering she loved waking up next to him. The thought made her feel warm and safe, despite the images hanging in front of her.

Get your mind on the case.

The first victims were murdered in the house where she was born. But why hadn't she received a video as she had with Logan Thomas. Serial killers rarely deviated from their pattern unless an unantic.i.p.ated occurrence or reaction forced change. Then again, were these two women really serial killers in the true sense of the word? Or were they merely thrill killers on a rampage, disorganized and manic in their murder methods but highly organized on entrance and exit protocols?

Had Templeton and Burgess been their first kills? Their fingerprints weren't on file in the usual databases. The blonde looked very young, nineteen or twenty. Was SPU witnessing the birth of pure evil? The evolution of cold-blooded killers?

Jess wrapped her arms around her waist. To protect the people she cared about, including herself, if given the chance she would kill Eric Spears. Right now, without hesitation. It wouldn't matter if he were unarmed or debilitated. Hatred hardened her heart. She would kill him.

Did that make her a monster, too?

Jess turned away from the images of innocence slaughtered and drew in a shaky breath. Two decades of experience a.n.a.lyzing killers had taught her that all humans possessed the potential for evil. Some never crossed that, at times, blurred line. Others not only crossed it but plunged into an abyss of darkness where right and wrong no longer existed. They thrived on desire, greed, fear and rage.

Crossing the line was always accompanied by motive, some precipitating event or emotion that served as an impetus to the act of evil.

But what about these murders?

If Spears had initiated these heinous acts, had he paid the killers or were these kills some sort of initiation into his twisted club? The Eric Spears fan club. Anger burst so fast inside her that her ribs ached. With her whole being she hoped to live to see him die a slow, excruciating death of utter agony.

She hugged herself more tightly. There were lots of reasons she intended to see that Spears lost this game. To that end, she needed this time alone to sort through and a.n.a.lyze the events of the day. Dan had grudgingly taken her by the office so she could get the copies she needed for creating this homework board. Cook had caught her there and briefed her on what he'd discovered which was basically nothing. None of the friends or coworkers of the two female victims knew the male victim and vice versa and not one recognized the blonde suspect.

She'd had high hopes for that discovery.

"I see you found a way to do your homework."

Jess glanced over her shoulder. "I told you I can't think without my case board."

He sat down on the floor beside her and put his arm around her. "You should work at home more often. I like the outfit."

As tired as she was, as worried as she was, she had to laugh. After a nice, long hot bath she'd shoved her damp hair into a claw clip and grabbed the most comfortable thing she could find to sleep in. "This Crimson Tide t-s.h.i.+rt of yours has seen better days."

He leaned over, kissed her cheek. Gooseb.u.mps rushed over her skin. "I've had it forever."

"I know." She looked into those blue eyes that still had the power to make her heart beat faster. "I remember it." She knew exactly how it looked stretched across those broad shoulders and that gorgeous chest that was temptingly bare right now. How nice it would be to lose herself in Dan's arms and forget all of this but that wasn't possible.

Jess closed her eyes and willed back the emotions crowding in on her.

"He's trying to get to you, you know." Dan trailed the tip of his finger along her jaw. "Digging up the past, trying to make you feel guilty for what he's doing."

"I know." She opened her eyes and smiled at him. "He seems to know more about my past than I do." The idea made her heartsick. "We made love in that bedroom of your old apartment."

A faint smile touched Dan's lips. "Over and over. I wanted you more than I wanted to wake up the next morning."

"I was so angry with myself for wanting you that much." She angled her head, studied the face of the man who had never permitted her to fall in love with anyone else. Not even the man she'd married. She'd cared about Wesley Duvall, but she'd never been able to love him the way she loved Dan. "Once I was back in Virginia I couldn't look in the mirror for days."

"You were too hard-headed to admit you still felt something for me."

Ten years ago Dan Burnett had been a handsome mover and shaker in this city. He still was. It seemed impossible that he had experienced the same uncertainties she had. "I was afraid you were rebounding after your divorce. I couldn't take the risk."

"We wasted a lot of time."

They had. They really, really had. "Too much," she agreed.

He tilted her chin up and looked into her eyes. "We have the rest of our lives ahead of us. No one is taking that away. No fear, okay?"

She nodded and reached up and caressed his jaw. "You are the one thing in all this that I am absolutely certain of. I hope you know that."

He looked away for a moment before meeting her gaze once more. "Your trust means a great deal to me."

She smiled. "We will get through this. Spears thinks he's smart. Finding out where I was born wasn't so hard. He just asked my aunt. But," she felt a trickle of that old uncertainty, "how did he know about that night we spent together?"

"Maybe he didn't. Maybe he was showing us he knew where I lived, too."

"I don't know." She chewed her lip. "Seems like he chose those two places because they were significant to my life. I just don't know how he could know that one thing."

Dan dropped his head. She frowned. What was this all about?

"We need to talk." He lifted his gaze to hers once more.

She didn't like what she saw in his eyes. He couldn't know. Hayes wouldn't dare. "Bout what?"

"Today when you couldn't reach me-"

"You were at Birmingham's historic cemetery, I know." She twirled a finger in the air in a whoop-de-do gesture. "Was the mayor there, too?" The city's hierarchy loved making a production out of every little thing.

He shook his head and looked away again.

Uh-oh. "What is it you don't want to tell me?" Like she could chastise anyone for keeping secrets. She had become a consummate secret keeper.

A huge lump rose in her throat. She was going to have a baby. His baby. She couldn't keep putting off that conversation. "You're right," she admitted, "we do need to talk." She had put this off long enough.

"Spears sent me a text," he said.

Cold invaded the comfortable warmth being near Dan had provided. Why couldn't it have been something simple like a rendezvous with Annette, his most recent ex-wife? Then again why was she surprised? Spears had visited her aunt. G.o.d only knew what he would do next. She'd already checked twice tonight with Lily to see that her surveillance detail was in place and that she remembered not to take anything for granted. 'Be aware' had to be her mantra.

"What did he say?" Jess braced for the rest.

Dan tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "He said he'd left something for me at the cemetery."

Tension coiled tighter inside her. When would this stop? She pushed the feelings away, had to be strong. Why was she having such trouble doing that lately? Dammit. "So you went to Oak Hill."

Worry darkened his eyes the way clouds blackened the sky right before a storm. "He had a headstone made with my name on it."

Any chance of holding back her emotions evaporated. She shot to her feet and started to pace. Don't fall apart. Don't fall apart. "Was there a date of death?" He wasn't telling her everything. She could see it on his face. Dan had never been any good at hiding what was on his mind.

"In a manner of speaking." He stood, set his hands on his hips. "Very soon. That was the date. Very soon."

She stamped out of the room. Boy, did she need some coffee or Pepsi or something. Maybe one of those one pound Hershey bars.

Dan trailed behind her. As she rummaged through the fridge for her favorite cola, he waited patiently for her to calm down enough to be rational. That was another thing he did. Always.

She grabbed a bottle, twisted off the cap and had a long swallow of Pepsi as she elbowed the fridge closed. Then, she glared at him. Wished he didn't look so good. Wished even harder she didn't notice. If she hadn't been so flipping mad she would have told him how s.e.xy he looked in those sweatpants even at a time like this. But she was too ticked off right now. And too d.a.m.ned scared.

She lowered the bottle and wiped her mouth with her forearm. "Did you call Gant?"

She certainly had. One of the first things she'd done after she left Wanda's house was to call Gant. She followed the proper protocol since he was in charge of the Spears investigation. He hadn't said a d.a.m.ned word about this headstone business. Knowing Dan, he'd insisted that Gant let him tell her.

Somewhere beneath all the frustration, she understood she was the pot calling the kettle black. But that was irrelevant at the moment, at least in her mind.

"I did. He sent Agent Manning over for a look. Crime scene unit lugged the d.a.m.ned headstone to the lab. One of the clerks at Birmingham Monuments said the man who placed the order claimed he was my cousin. He said it was a joke."

Jess reminded herself this could be just another one of Spears's distractions, like the message at her childhood home. He wanted them off balance.

Except three people were dead. People Spears had never met before and who weren't his type at all. One woman was still missing. "What did Gant say about the headstone? He certainly didn't have anything new to tell me."

Dozens of young, beautiful women had been murdered by Eric Spears, aka the Player. The Bureau had been on the trail of the Player for years. Jess had figured out who he was... had almost nailed him. But she screwed up and he'd walked away, free to continue his sprees of torture and murder. But now he was a wanted man. Despite the Bureau seizing his company, SpearNet, and every other known a.s.set, Spears evidently had endless resources they didn't know about, probably in countries that wouldn't cooperate even if they did know.

But the most terrifying part about all of this had nothing to do with his a.s.sets, it was the reality that he no longer had anything to lose.

His life as Eric Spears was basically over. If he intended to remain a free man, eventually he would need to use those many a.s.sets to fade into obscurity. This big production he'd set in motion was his end game. The final public curtain call for the serial killer known as the Player.

And Jess was the award for best performance.

How many people was she going to let die before she gave him what he wanted?

Fear, dread, rage, all of it swirled like a hurricane inside her. Only she couldn't give him what he wanted. Another innocent life was depending on her. Yet, if they didn't stop him while he was still playing this game with her, he might never be stopped. The concept of how many people he could potentially kill in his lifetime was inconceivable.

"Gant added the headstone to his growing list of moves Spears has made without leaving a traceable path." Dan shook his head, physically and mentally exhausted just as she was. They were both barely hanging on by a thread. "What else could he say?"

Jess set her Pepsi on the counter and went to him. Arms locked around his waist, mostly to keep herself steady or maybe just so she couldn't turn tail and run, she pressed her cheek to his chest. "There's something else we should talk about."

"This sounds serious."

"It is." She'd managed to find a hundred ways to put this off but now she looked forward to the weight that would be lifted. Lieutenant Hayes was right. Carrying this load alone was too much. She and Dan needed to do this together.

A vibrating sound echoed around them. Dan glanced toward the island. Jess didn't have to look to know it was his cell phone.

"Go ahead." She dropped her arms to her sides and stepped back. "It could be Gant." Dan hesitated. "Take the call," she insisted. Her secret would keep a few more minutes.

Jess put her face in her hands and rubbed her eyes. She was so tired. Maybe Spears's real goal was too wear her down. She was exhausted, that was true enough, but she wasn't allowing him to win. She might have suffered a few stumbles lately but she would regain her footing. The deep sound of Dan's voice soothed her frayed nerves. She smiled. Being here with him was right.

No matter what Corlew or Katherine or anyone else said, this was where she belonged, with Dan.

"On our way."

Those three words chased away the warm fuzzy feelings. She didn't have the wherewithal to even ask what had happened now.

"That was Gina."

"At this hour?" Jealousy reared its ugly head. So sue me. She was only human.

"One of the calls to the station's hotline panned out." He took Jess by the elbow and steered her toward the hall. "There's a man on his way to Gina's station right now who swears he knows who the blonde is and where she lives."

"Finally." Jess's tension eased a fraction. "Some good news."

It was about time they caught a break.

Channel 6, Thursday, August 26, 1:20 a.m.

Jeremy Kendall was twenty-five years old. He was good looking in that emo guy sort of way with his black skinny jeans and extra tight black s.h.i.+rt. Dark eyes and even darker hair cut in that swing style that hung low across an attractive yet pale face. The kid needed a little sun. He had two eyebrow rings and a tongue stud that affected his speech ever so slightly. He was also the manager of an ultra cool dance club, he claimed, called Raw for those who liked living on the edge.

"Jeremy, you understand that time is of the essence here," Jess explained, "if you're not certain about this we don't want to waste city resources trying to find this young lady."

He smiled at Jess. "You are so nice but-fair warning-she is not a lady." He tapped the blonde's image. "This one's a straight up hard core b.i.t.c.h who would not only scratch out your eyes she'd eat them, too."