Seeking Evil (Looking Into The Mind Of A Killer Series) (4 page)

The pressure that had been building since the call last night
ratcheted
up another level. He
’
d do whatever he had to do, kiss the AD
’
s butt as much as necessary, but he couldn
’
t let himself get pulled from the case until he knew Anna was safe.
“
Thank you, Mark. I should know something
today
. I
’
ll update you the minute we have anything.
”

“
You
’
d better, Delaney. Or poster boy or not, you
’
re gone.
”

When he stepped into the house and saw her for the first time he froze. Time froze. His breath froze in his chest.

One year, four months and twelve days hadn
’
t been enough time to purge his feelings for her.
She’d endured destroy most people yet Anna was stronger than eve she realized. She was so b
eautiful. She
’
d be thirty-one in four
months’ time
and yet
she still reminded him of the
young
woman he’d met that first time
.
The night Aaron brought an innocent looking college coed to dinner to meet his partner.
Anna would be the type of woman age and time befriended.

Their time apart hadn’t softened her reaction to him one little bit.

She spotted him in the foyer the second Rick
’
s gaze shot his way.

Rick needed answers
John
couldn’t manage
because the wind had just been knocked from his body by green eyes that rivaled the ocean outside in beauty.

He doubted that she was even aware she
’
d gotten to her feet in perfect time with him stepping into the living room. She placed the dog she
’
d held in her arms on in the seat she
’
d vacated.

“
What are you doing here?
”

The edge of John
’
s mouth quirked upward
s
at the volumes of bitterness contained in those simple words.
God, h
e still loved her.
She
still blamed him for Aaron
’
s death. And the baby
’
s.

“
Anna. It
’
s good to see you. You
’
ve met my partner, Agent Garner.
”

The room around them shrank to just the two of them. The deluge of
feelings
sparking between them was enough to challenge the strength of
a
nuclear power plant.

He watched her struggle and finally capture her
s
. Ann
a
picked up the dog,
sank back down to the sofa, and reached for the hand of the woman seated next to her while Rick carefully considered the display and came up with the correct conclusion.

John stepped forward and offered
his hand to the woman seated next to Anna.
“
I
t
’
s good to see you again, Beverly. I
’
m sorry it has to be under these circumstances.
”

Once their hint of civility had passed, John turned his attention to Rick and the only
reason he had in being in her life again.
The note. He had to keep reminding himself, business was the only thing happening
here
.

“
W
here are we so far?
”

Rick glanced from John to Anna then back to his notes.
“
I
’
d just begun to get the background information. M
r
s
.
—
Ms
," Rick hesitated
,
uncertain
of
how to address Anna. She wasn't Mrs. Sorenson anymore.
Hadn’t been for a while.
Aaron had made sure of that.

John nodded for Rick to continue.

"Right
…
Anna
told
me the note was in the yesterday
’
s mail. There was no postmark, the note would have been placed in the mailbox by…someone.
”

John took the only available seat, a small tapestried chair that
wasn’t designed for
comfort.
“
Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary lately
, Anna
? Any calls, anyone following you, any unusual activity in the neighborhood
?
”
He
tried to make eye contact but she was looking anywhere but at him.

It was her sister who answered.
“
Not that I
’
m aware of, but I just arrived
yesterday
.
”
She smiled apologetically and glanced at
Anna
.

John couldn
’
t tell if it was just that she realized she couldn
’
t ignore this thing any longer or maybe she just didn
’
t want to disappoint her sister, but he could feel her accepting his interference in her life.
She
shook her head.
“
No, Bev, there was something. The night before you arrived. There was a car parked across the street at the Miller house. Its lights were off.
”

John ignored his promise to let Rick take the le
a
d.
“
What type of car? Did you report the incident to the police?
”

Her answer was brittle. He understood why. She was a professional. She knew the importance of that piece of information.
“
I don
’
t know what type of car. I told you it was dark and the light
s
were off.
”
She
’
d caught a glimpse of the anger simmering in him and attempted to amend her tone.
“
I think it was a four
-
door sedan o
f
some sort. Probably black or gray. Something along those lines. I didn
’
t get the license. It scared the hell out of me though.
”

John had little doubt she would have kept close tabs on the neighborhood. That
’
s why she
’
d chosen such a nondescript, quiet place to call home.
“
Has it been there before?
”

“
No, never. And whoever was in the car hasn
’
t returned. It could be just a coincidence.
”

She didn
’
t believe it, but she
needed him to
reassur
e her that the nightmare hadn’t begun again.
He couldn
’
t.
“
I doubt it. Not in light of the note. Where is it
,
by the way? We
’
ll need to take it with us.
”

Anna handed
her
dog to her sister. Without a word, she got to her feet and left the room. The second she was out of earshot, Bev
’
s worried gaze drilled his.
“
Please help her. I don
’
t know what
’
s happened between you two but she
’
s barely keeping it together. I
’
m worried she won
’
t make it through this thing—
”

She broke off
right before
Anna
returned
. John didn
’
t doubt for a moment the truth behind her sister
’
s concern.

Anna handed him the plastic bag containing the note.
“
Bev and I both handled it but I thought…
”
s
he offered when she caught his surprise at her careful handling of the note.

All the dread that he
’
d shoved aside returned when he saw the familiar red paper. The childlike writing. The past reborn.

“
Dammit.
”
John handed the note to his partner for inspection. He hadn
’
t needed to read the note to know it would be same.

He couldn
’
t leave her here. She would never agree to come back to D.C. with him. Or going into protective custody for that matter. But he and Rick would have to be back in
Washington
by tomorrow if they wanted to keep chasing the killer. AD Warren had pretty much made that clear.

“
I have to go to work. I can
’
t close the store for two days in a row.
”
Anna
’
s innocent observation sent three sets of stunned reactions her direction.

John
’
s denial came quickly.
“
You
’
re kidding, right? There
’
s no way you
’
re going anywhere. Do you realize how serious this is?
”

The look she gave him would have sent even the strongest of men
craw
fishing
.
“
I think I do. I think I
,
of all people
,
know exactly how serious this is, but I can
’
t give up any more of my life to this thing. I can
’
t. If I do…
”

She might not ever return from it. Yes, there was little doubt in John
’
s mind that Anna was just one more nightmare away from disappearing from them forever, but he couldn
’
t let her risk her life. He couldn
’
t. He owed it to her, Aaron, the baby. He couldn
’
t lose her to this thing like he
’
d lost Aaron.

He had
again
to try to get through to her.
“
Anna, I need you to come with us—
”

Her re
sponse
was swift.
“
No. I
’
m not leaving my home.
”

He
’
d expected
t
h
is
reaction. The passion. The anger. All fueled by fear.
“
What you really mean is you
’
re not going back there
with me
.
”

Their eyes locked. It was just the two of them again.
“
What I mean is I
’
m not going
anywhere
with you.
”

Rick
’
s
curiosity
had
spiked and yet he tried
to
calm
the storm.
“
I
’
ll contact the
Miami
branch as well as the local PD. We can have someone stationed outside. One of our own here with her—
”

“
No. I don
’
t want that either
—”

John reached the end of the negotiation
s
. He was only willing to bend so far. Even for her.
“
Then I
’
ll have you arrested for impeding a federal investigation.
”

Anna
’
s mouth slammed shut on her reaction to those words. To her credit, she
’
d recognized John
’
s mood as dark. She
’
d certainly seen it enough in the past. They
’
d argued fervently about the case, about their
relationship
. About Aaron
's secrets, the divorce…
and the
ir
future.
T
hey
’d
made love with just as much passion.