Power (36 page)

“You think? Well, I have a news flash for you, asshole.” Mad as hell now, Lori looked straight into his eyes. His turned wary and she loved that single moment of triumph. “Jess Harris is way too smart, way too sharp, and far too in demand for a generic piece of shit like you to keep her down. If the bureau cuts her loose, Chief Burnett will offer her a top position here, just you wait and see.”

That was pure conjecture, but Lori suspected there was no way the chief would let Jess get away again for reasons completely unrelated to her investigative skills. Whatever Spears did to her, Lori could not let him learn that she sensed the chief still had personal feelings for Jess. That could make him a target, too.

“That’s right,
Eric
,” she continued, capitalizing on his obvious need to analyze the idea of failure. “You can’t stop her, and if you think the bureau will stop trying to nail you just because you pulled a bait and switch, I’m afraid you’re going to be incredibly disappointed. They will get you—with or without Jess on their team.”

His gaze narrowed as if he worried she might be right, and then he laughed, the deep, guttural sound echoing all around her. “You’re quite good, Detective.” He leaned close again as if he intended to share a secret. “Here’s something hot off the wire just for you. That game is over. They will
never
achieve their goal.” He reached out, traced her cheek with his forefinger. She shuddered. “This is a new game and I need Jess to play.”

“You
need
her?” she bit out in disgust.

He shrugged. “Want her, then. Let’s not quibble over semantics. Will you help me, Lori Doodle?”

“Do I have a choice?” The answer to that was a big, flashing neon sign in her brain. Whatever she did or didn’t do, he would somehow find a way to use it. Tears burned her eyes. She blinked them back. She would not cry for this scumbag’s pleasure.

“You always have a choice, Detective.” His lips lifted again in that charismatic expression that masked the house of horrors beneath. “You have one now. Live daringly or die quickly. You choose.”

She laughed around the fear crowded in her throat. “Do you really expect me to believe that if I cooperate you’ll let me live? Wow, Santa’s here already and it’s only July. Give me a break.”

“Oh, I will. You have my word,” he promised. “For a bit anyway.”

That was what she thought.

“Consider your options carefully, Detective Lori Wells.” He put his face in hers again. “The longer you stay alive, the more opportunity you’ll have to perhaps see that urge of yours to fruition. Who knows?” He straightened, drew back to look her in the eyes. “You might just get that chance to watch me die. After all, no one lives forever.”

He stood, hauled his chair away from hers. “While you weigh your options, I’m going to find someone to keep you company.” He laughed. “Actually, I think I’m the one who needs company. You are b-o-r-i-n-g with a capital
B
.”

Lori’s heart rammed into her throat.

She had to do something… otherwise he was going hunting…

“Wait!”

He stopped.

“I can’t… Don’t leave me here by myself.
Please.
”

He turned around slowly. A grin spread across his lips. “Ah… so you’re ready to play, are you?”

His singular motive is pleasure.
Jess’s voice whispered in her ears.
The only way he can feel it is by torturing his victims in the most depraved ways.

“Yes.” Lori moistened her lips, wrestled back the fear. “I’m ready to play.”

Obsession

Impulse

“Breathtaking romantic suspense that grabs the reader from the beginning and doesn’t let up. Riveting. Debra Webb is a master storyteller.”

—Allison Brennan,
New York Times
bestselling author

“Compelling main characters and chilling villains elevate Debra Webb’s Faces of Evil series into the realm of high-intensity thrillers that readers won’t be able to resist.”

—
New York Times
bestselling author CJ Lyons

“Just when you think Debra Webb can’t get any better, she does.
Obsession
is her best work yet. This gritty, edge-of-your-seat, white-knuckle thriller is peopled with tough, credible characters and a brilliant plot that will keep you guessing until the very end. Move over, Jack Reacher—Jess Harris is comin’ to town.”

—Cindy Gerard,
New York Times
bestselling author, award-winning author of the Black Ops, Inc. series

“Debra Webb’s name says it all…”

—Karen Rose

“Debra Webb has done it again with
Obsession
—which may well be her best book yet—a top-notch thriller that will keep you riveted to the page and wanting more. Webb is a writer’s writer, who delivers the kinds of books we all wish we had written.”

—Robert Browne, author of
Trial Junkies

“With her extraordinary thriller
Obsession
, Debra Webb joins the ranks of Stephen King (
Misery
) and Thomas Harris (
The Silence of the Lambs
). This gifted author turns the search for missing persons into a novel that is chilling, unusual, and impossible to put down.

—Peggy Webb, critically acclaimed author of
The Tender Mercy of Roses
, a literary thriller written as Anna Michaels

“
Obsession
is certain to please Debra Webb’s existing fans and gain her a legion of new ones. An engaging, edgy thriller that’s a one-sit read—with the lights on!”

—Vicki Hinze, top-selling author of
Beyond the Misty Shore

“Webb keeps the suspense teasingly taut, dropping clues and red herrings one after another on her way to a chilling conclusion.”

—
Publishers Weekly

“Outstanding reading. Take a deep breath and enjoy!”

—
Romantic Times

“Impossible to put down.”

—
Romance Novel TV

“Bestselling author Debra Webb intrigues and tantalizes her readers from the first word.”

—
SingleTitles.com

“Masterful edge-of-your seat suspense.”

—
A Romance Review

“Romantic suspense at its best!”

—Erica Spindler
New York Times
bestselling author

“Fast-paced, action-packed suspense, the way romantic suspense is supposed to be. Webb crafts a tight plot, a kick-butt heroine, a sexy hero with a past and a mystery as dark as the black water at night.”

—
Romantic Times

Special Agent Jess Harris has spent more than a decade studying the many faces of evil. In her determination to stop a serial killer, she broke the rules, and it cost her everything. With her career in need of resuscitation and her love life dead and buried, Jess jumps at a chance to advise on a case that has the top detectives of Birmingham, Alabama, stumped. But the case forces her to confront all the reasons she put her hometown—and her first love—in her rearview mirror.

Four young women have gone missing, and Police Chief Dan Burnett will do anything to find them before it’s too late—even if it means asking for help from the woman who has spent a decade avoiding him. Jess agrees to lend a hand and welcomes the diversion of a new case, a new life to save to make up for the victims she’s lost. But then the unthinkable happens: the crazed serial killer from her past follows Jess to Birmingham. The situation is becoming increasingly desperate—and time is swiftly running out…

The Player is a master in the art of torture and murder. No one had ever gotten close to capturing him until Special Agent Jess Harris targeted him with her relentless determination. Jess’s actions may have cost her a job with the bureau, but the Player still wants his vengeance and he’ll make Jess pay in ways she never imagined. The first victim is Jess’s friend—and the killer won’t stop there. With each new death, Jess becomes more certain that the only way to stop the Player is to give him what he
really
wants: her.

Chief of Police Dan Burnett is determined to give Jess her confidence and her life back. With an offer on the table, a position as deputy chief of a new division, can Jess risk staying in her hometown and putting those around her in more danger? Or will she walk away to protect everyone she loves—including Dan, who just may want her back in his arms? The stakes are high, and a single impulse will determine who survives the Player’s final, deadly game…

Since the accident that nearly took her life, Chloe suffers from acute agoraphobia. Living alone above her family’s bookstore, she spends restless nights terrified by strange visions… until a mysterious stranger appears and offers her salvation. Chloe is drawn to the ethereal, gorgeous Nathaniel—but her haunted soul warns her there is more to him than meets the eye.

An archangel who roams Earth collecting souls of the newly departed, Nathaniel is the sole witness to the accident that should have taken Chloe’s life. Seduced by the purity of her soul, he defies Providence by saving her life. But his attempt at kindness marks Chloe for damnation and makes her an unwitting pawn in a game of unholy ambition. Now together she and Nathaniel must fight the demons of Hell itself—for a love that defies the boundaries of Heaven and Earth.