Thomas’s gaze trekked over the man’s face as stunned recognition flooded through him. I know him.
Noelle raced from her cover then. She didn’t go toward the killer. She ran for the sheriff. She fell to her knees and tried to apply pressure to the wound.
The man Aaron held began to laugh. “You think this is the end?” Blood dripped down the side of his face. “You have no clue!”
Aaron’s mouth twisted into a snarl, and he slammed his gun into the side of the man’s head.
The killer fell, and that sick laughter stopped.
Thomas’s attention jumped to Aaron.
The ex-SEAL shrugged. “What? I thought he was about to attack. Sounded like a threat to me.” His shoulders straightened. “Besides, Mercer wants this man brought in...by any means necessary.”
Mercer’s favorite order. Any means necessary.
“We’re losing him!” Noelle yelled.
Thomas glanced back. Two of the deputies were around Sarah. The others were standing nervously beside Noelle and peering worriedly at the sheriff.
“We have to carry him out of here!” She whirled toward Thomas. “Help me!”
Always. He rushed back to her side, but when he saw the sickly pallor in the sheriff’s face, Thomas knew the odds weren’t good for the man.
The memory of the perp’s laughter drifted through Thomas’s mind.
You think this is the end? You have no clue.
Hell. What would happen next?
* * *
SHE HAD BLOOD on her hands. Noelle stared down at her palms. Mercer had used his chopper to airlift the sheriff to the nearest hospital. She could still hear the whoop-whoop of the chopper’s blades.
Sheriff Hodges had been alive when they lifted off. Gut wounds could be so tricky. Would he be able to hang on and live long enough to reach the hospital?
Noelle wasn’t so sure.
“We did it,” Aaron said as he watched the aircraft rise. “Chalk up another capture for the EOD.”
She didn’t share his enthusiasm. “We lost Sarah Finway.” She turned toward him. “And Sheriff Hodges will be very, very lucky if he survives.”
“But Patrick Porter won’t ever hurt anyone else again.” Aaron nodded grimly. “We can be sure of that.”
She needed to wash her hands. She needed to change clothes. She also needed to interrogate Patrick Porter. I’m sure that’s not his real name. Patrick would be full of secrets.
Mercer and Thomas had secured the man in the sheriff’s station. She knew Mercer would be transporting the guy out of the area at the first opportunity.
She wanted her answers before that transfer. She wanted to know everything.
Noelle marched toward the station. Aaron followed closely, but he didn’t speak. There were deputies inside the station, just two men. The others had gone with the sheriff. Mercer’s orders. She knew he just didn’t want a big audience around for what would come.
Once inside the station, she headed toward the small bathroom first. Noelle washed the blood away and tried not to remember the desperate look in the sheriff’s eyes.
Failed.
Noelle knew that desperation would haunt her for the rest of her days.
A knock sounded on the bathroom door. “Noelle?” Thomas’s voice called. “I’ve got fresh clothes for you.”
She opened the door.
“Courtesy of Mercer,” he said as he lifted a bag toward her.
Right. Mercer the Magic Man. He could do anything. She took the clothes from him and started to shut the door. Thomas’s hand flew out, stopping her.
“He’s going to try messing with your head.” The words were a grim warning.
“I already know that.” She was used to killers and their mind games. Finally, an area that was her specialty.
“Don’t believe him. Don’t believe the lies he’s going to tell. Don’t trust him.”
Her head tilted. There was an odd note in his voice that made her nervous. “I know killers, Thomas. So that means I’m used to their lies.” Some killers could lie so perfectly. They’d fool lie detectors. Fool law enforcement. Deceive everyone.
But she was ready for what was coming. Noelle didn’t need Thomas to warn her.
“Mercer says...he wants to start the interrogation in five minutes. He’s hoping to transfer the guy out by dawn.”
That didn’t give them a lot of time. “Mercer wants containment.”
Thomas inclined his head. “He’s already working on the cover-up.”
Right. Because the world couldn’t find out that a trusted senator had been bent on destruction—or that he’d been working side by side with a suspected serial killer.
Part of the EOD’s job was to sweep away the dirty, dangerous secrets like this one.
Thomas’s hand dropped. “I’ve always wanted to protect you.”
She blinked at him.
“Remember that.”
Then he was gone.
Her hands tightened around the bag. She couldn’t shake the feeling there was more going on with this case. More... Something that had rattled even the normally controlled Thomas “Dragon” Anthony.
She changed quickly and made sure all of the blood was gone from her hands. Her fingers were trembling slightly, and she clenched them into fists as she drew in a steadying breath. The case wasn’t over. Not yet. It wouldn’t be over until they uncovered all of the secrets Patrick Porter possessed.
After another bracing breath, Noelle opened the door. She expected the narrow hallway to be empty. It wasn’t. Thomas waited for her, with his back propped against the nearby wall.
“Thomas?”
He stared down at his hands. “I’ve done things in my life that I regret.”
“We all do things that we regret.”
His head lifted, and he gave her a sad smile. “I was trained to kill. Designed to be a perfect weapon. Trust me. There are things in my past better left forgotten.”
Noelle cleared her throat. “Forgetting isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
He straightened from the wall and reached for her. “Are you sure about that?”
His hold was strong, hard, and a bright intensity burned in his gaze.
“More of your past is going to come out, baby, and I need you to trust me.”
Oh, but that did not sound good. “I do trust you.”
“Enough to forgive what I’ve done?”
“Thomas...” He was scaring her.
His hand rose and curled under her chin. “I’ve watched you for so long that you seem like you’re just a natural part of my life.” His gaze searched hers. “But there are still secrets out there, and I don’t want them to hurt you. I don’t want anything to hurt you.”