Cadence slowly walked from the back exit over to Lily’s parking space. Her nose twitched at the acrid scent in the air. “Do you smell that?”
“Gasoline.” The one word was clipped.
Yes. Just past Lily’s parking space, long green grass grew in a wild tangle. She bent near the grass. “The scent’s stronger here.”
Kyle had followed her. “The SOB drained her gas, then dumped it here.”
Sure looked that way.
Cadence rose. “He was out here, waiting for her.” Or he’d even been in the bar, watching her.
Cadence turned around and stared at the long rear wall of Striker’s.
Why did you pick Lily?
What was it about Lily that had caught her abductor’s eye?
“He planned out every moment,” Kyle said, and she looked over to see him glaring at the parking space. “He could have taken her right here, if he’d wanted. It was so late, no one would have even noticed what was happening in the darkness.”
Cadence pulled in a slow breath. When she profiled, she used the victims to help her. She saw the killer through them.
But Kyle tried to get straight into the minds of the killers. Sometimes, he seemed to get into their minds almost too easily.
“He wanted her alone,” Kyle continued, his voice deepening. “Far away, so it didn’t matter if she shouted for help.”
Goose bumps rose on Cadence’s skin. She was conscious of the secure weight of the holster under her arm. “He was watching her out here.” He’d had to be. He’d emptied her tank, made sure she would break down, and he’d followed her, waiting for the perfect moment to attack.
Waiting for that long, lonely stretch of road.
“He had it all planned out, every minute.” Kyle faced her. “He’s done this before.”
She was very afraid he had. “We’re already checking for missing persons.”
“We’re going to find them. Sonofabitch, we’re going to find them.”
The clench in her gut told Cadence that Kyle was right.
Heavy rope cut into her wrists and ankles. Lily had been jerking and twisting against the rope, and she’d made the skin raw and bloody beneath her binds.
He smiled as he stared down at her. He’d been so quiet when he came in. She didn’t even realize he was there.
Her blindfold was in place. Not because he didn’t want her to see him, but because he didn’t want her to see anything. Soon, Lily would learn he controlled her life. What she saw, what she heard, what she tasted.
What she felt.
Everything.
You’re mine, Lily.
She would never be free of him.
She was on the bed he’d prepared, hunching and turning on the bare mattress. She still wore her clothes, and he’d let her keep them, for a time.
Breaking prey too quickly could lead to disastrous results. He’d learned that over the years.
He stepped closer to her. He pushed against the wooden door, letting it creak so she’d realize she wasn’t alone.
At the faint sound, Lily stopped struggling. Seemed to stop breathing.
“Lily.” He whispered her name. He loved her name. Delicate, beautiful. Like she was.
Lily didn’t belong at Striker’s, waiting tables and serving drunk fools. She sure didn’t belong with the twisted SOB who cared about his drugs more than he cared about her.
Lily is mine. She belongs with me. He’d show her that.
Grunts and moans came from behind her gag. He could remove the gag, let her talk, let her scream. No one would hear her screams here.
No one ever heard the screams here.
In silence, he crossed to Lily’s side.
His fingers trailed over her cheek.
She jerked back, shuddering. More grunts. Moans.
He shook his head. “You have a lot to learn, Lily.” He bent and pressed a kiss to her temple. She tried to head butt him.
He smiled. One free pass, Lily. Punishment will come next. “It’s okay, I have plenty of time to teach you.”
Just as he’d taught the others.
If Lily didn’t learn her lessons, if she didn’t do exactly as she should…
She’d join the ones who’d disappointed him.
CHAPTER THREE
They’d spent hours searching the woods. Long, grueling hours of trudging through the heat. Chasing after the dogs.
They’d turned up nothing. Not even the faintest of scents had been detected by the canines. They’d searched the woods. Searched abandoned houses in the area. Old cabins. No matter where they went, they couldn’t find a trace of Lily.
Night had fallen. The heavy, thick darkness that Kyle knew meant—
“We have to stop searching for tonight,” James said as he ran a weary hand over his damp forehead. The captain had been alternating between checking in the town for Lily and combing the woods. The damn seemingly endless woods. “The men are exhausted, and the dogs are so worn out, they can’t track anymore.”
Not that there seemed to be anything to track.
Kyle figured Lily’s abductor had taken her away in a vehicle. There were no scents to track around Lily’s car. The guy must have taken her that way. After he’d gotten her in his car, the SOB could have just kept driving, leaving Paradox in his rearview mirror.
Lily’s face was being splashed across the TV screens in the Southeast right then. The FBI had opened a tip line for anyone who had information on her.
They were trying everything they could to find her, but so far, they were turning up nothing.
No prints had been found on her car—well, no prints other than Lily’s and her mother’s. The driver’s side door appeared to have been wiped clean. No one at Striker’s remembered seeing anything unusual the night she’d vanished.
No one could remember anything that would help Lily.
“We’ll be back out here at oh six hundred,” James said as he inclined his head toward Kyle.
Right, 0600. As soon as light streaked across the sky, the search would start again.
But what would happen to Lily during those dark hours?
What had already happened to her?
James turned away. He took a step and stumbled.
Kyle reached out and grabbed his arm to steady him. “You okay?”
A muscle flexed in James’s jaw. “Just a slip.”
Was it? Because Kyle had just noticed that the captain’s hands were shaking again, too. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”
James shook his head. “It’s been a long day, and I’m not quite as strong as I used to be.” He gave Kyle a grim smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back and ready to go tomorrow. I’m gonna help you find Lily and the SOB who took her.”