[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

He wanted to grab the detective and toss him against the nearest wall.  Listen. The killer is playing a
game with me. You ve got to see that. He might ve left a message for me in the damn kills
themselves. Just let me see the bodies, okay? I won t touch anything. You can stand there the whole
time and watch me.
Alex s jaw tightened.  One condition.
 What? Trace snapped.
 Save me some time. I can go and dig into Claire s past and find out who this Ethan Harrison is, or
you can tell me now.
Trace raised a brow.  So I m doing your detective work for you.
 You are such a dick. You already did the work, tell me and we both know I m going to research
later to make sure you re not just blowing smoke up my ass.
Fine.  Ethan Harrison is Claire s ex-boyfriend. She met him when she was a junior in high school& 
So young to meet such evil.
***
 I didn t have a lot of money growing up. Claire s blue gaze seemed focused on the past.  But that
never seemed to matter. So my clothes weren t new. So I didn t go on big vacations. My family was
happy. I was happy, and then I-I met him.
 Ethan?
 He was the most handsome boy I d ever seen. The first time he smiled at me, I swear, I felt that
smile go straight through me.
Skye knew exactly what Claire meant. She felt that way when she got Trace s rare smiles.
 I worked at a diner in town, and he came in there one day. Everyone was whispering about him. His
dad was a senator, and Ethan& he drove this cherry-red convertible. All the other girls wanted to
ride with him. Her voice dropped.  They wanted to do everything with him, but Ethan seemed to
only want me.
Hearing the pain in the other woman s voice, Skye hurt for her.
Claire s lashes lowered as she stared at the floor.  I hadn t dated before Ethan. I was nervous and
scared, but he seemed so patient with me. He sent me flowers. Waited for me after work. He seemed
so perfect. She glanced up.  It didn t take me long to realize that perfect was just a lie.
***
 A few months after Sara came to work for me, she told me about her sister. Trace remembered the
way Sara had approached him. She d been so hesitant. So protective.
 Claire had a boyfriend when she was a teen. He was charming to Claire and her family, at first, but
the deeper the relationship went, the more his real side started to show.
Alex cursed.  Let me guess, that real side was ugly.
 If Claire was late for a date, he thought she was cheating on him. He started by yelling at her,
threatening her, and then& he hit her.
 Bastard. Trace heard the fury humming in the one snarled word.
Trace nodded. Yes, Ethan Harrison was one sick bastard.  Claire was scared. She broke things off
with him. Her parents sent her out of town because they wanted her away from the guy. Trace s lips
twisted.  He had connections, you see. To an Alabama senator. That was his old man, and the punk
was used to getting authorities to look the other way whenever he got a little rough with his
girlfriends.
Red stained Alex s cheeks.
 But something was different this time. Ethan didn t want to take no for an answer. Not when it came
to Claire. He went to see Claire s parents, and when they wouldn t tell him where she was& 
***
 He killed them, Claire whispered.  One shot to the head each. First my mother. Then my father.
Th-the police said that based on the blood& they were probably kneeling. He made them kneel, right
in front of him, then he shot them.
Skye jumped from her chair and hurried to Claire. She opened her arms, then stopped.
I don t like to be touched.
 He found me, Claire said, still staring into her past.  Right after that. I think he must have searched
the house until he found a note that I d sent to them. He came looking for me at the cabin. He had the
gun with him.
 I m so sorry, Skye whispered.
 I didn t know they were dead when he arrived. I d been trying to reach them, but no one answered
my calls. He was walking toward me on the dock. She gave a sad shake of her head.  It was an old,
rickety dock at my grandfather s fishing cabin. Ethan s convertible stood out there like a sore thumb.
But he didn t care who saw him. He didn t care what anyone said. He was coming for me.
 He didn t get you, Skye said, her voice hard.  You re safe.
Claire blinked. She seemed to see Skye once more.  He did get me that day. He found me on the
dock. He put the gun to my head. He made me get on my knees.
Dear God.
 And he pulled the trigger. He laughed when I screamed and he told me that he d already used those
bullets.
On Claire s parents.
 He told me that I could be his or I could be dead.
***
 The senator couldn t cover up two dead bodies. The cops started a manhunt, and they found Ethan
two days later he was in the woods with Claire.
Trace could still see Sara in his mind. She d stood in front of his desk, her voice soft, emotionless, as
she d told him this tale.
 A sniper shot Ethan in the leg. The cops got Claire away from him.
 The leg? Alex s eyes turned to slits.  He should ve aimed higher.
Yes, he should have. But the senator had been standing behind the sniper, and it had been his call.
 They took Ethan in and that s when the SOB got real creative. His daddy got him the best lawyers he
could, and they claimed that Claire was the mastermind. That she was the one who d seduced Ethan
and pressured him into killing her parents. He was just an innocent boy who d been led astray.
 Tell me the jury didn t buy that bull. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]