LITMIR.BIZ

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shooter could have harmed or killed anyone else who happened to be in that house just so he could use the window to launch the attack. However, it was also possible that her neighbor was working for Eric. Or maybe Eric had simply hired some thug to break into the house and fire the shots. Either way, Kellan wasn’t seeing how Gemma would be able to do anything to put an end to this.

      However, Gemma must have thought she could do something because she moved, levering herself up on her arms and lifting her head. “I’ll try to bargain with Eric. It’s me he wants.”

      Kellan put her right back down on the ground. “You don’t know that. Don’t get Owen and me killed because we’re trying to protect you.”

      Yeah, it was harsh, but it worked because Gemma stayed put. Besides, it was partly true. He didn’t wear a badge for decoration, and that meant he’d do whatever it took to keep her safe.

      Even though Kellan seriously doubted that it was possible to negotiate with Eric, he took out his phone. He was about to shout out for Eric to call him, but before he could do that, his cell rang, and he saw Unknown Caller pop up on the screen. He hit the answer button and put it on Speaker so he could keep his hands free in case he had to return fire.

      “Want to talk, do you, Sheriff?” Eric asked.

      Just hearing the sound of the killer’s voice caused the anger to roar through Kellan. He hated this man for what he’d done, and Kellan wished he could reach through the phone line and end this piece of slime once and for all.

      “Call off your hired thug,” Kellan warned him.

      “I will...in about four minutes, give or take some seconds. That’s about when the city cops will get there.”

      Kellan wasn’t sure if Eric had heard Owen say that, but it was just as possible the shooter across the street had relayed that info to him. Not just that info, either, but every move they were making. It was highly likely that Eric wasn’t anywhere near Gemma’s house.

      “Why are you doing this? Why now?” Kellan demanded while he continued to keep watch around them.

      That included keeping watch of Gemma.

      Her breathing was way too fast now, and it was possible she was about to have a panic attack. God knew what kind of psychological damage had been done to her because of what had happened a year ago. Of course, she was hearing the voice of the man who’d nearly killed her, so Kellan doubted she was going to have much luck reining in her fear.

      “Why now?” Eric repeated. “Well, duh. Because it’s nearly the anniversary of your daddy’s death. Which I’m sure you remember in nth detail. I’ll bet Gemma remembers it, too.”

      They did. It was impossible to forget that in only three days, it would be a year since their lives had been turned upside down. And apparently Eric was going to make sure they recalled it by giving them a new set of grisly memories to go along with it.

      Kellan tried to fight off the images from that night, but they came anyway. The storm with lightning slicing through the sky. Ironic that it was the lightning that had given him glimpses of what was going on. Just flashes of the horror that had started before Kellan had even gotten on the scene.

      When Gemma had figured out too late that Eric was a serial killer the FBI had been after for years, she’d called the sheriff, Kellan’s father, Buck, and he’d told Gemma to wait, not to confront Eric until he got there. Instead, she’d attempted to stop Eric when he tried to leave. Eric had then taken Gemma and her best friend/research assistant, Caroline Moser, hostage. Kellan’s father, Buck, and another deputy, Dusty Walters, had gone in pursuit, only minutes ahead of Kellan who’d gotten the call after them.

      His dad and Dusty had come upon Eric’s vehicle that had skidded off the road because of the storm. The accident had happened in front of an abandoned hotel with the mocking name of Serenity Inn. A crumbling Victorian mansion with acres of overgrown gardens and dark windows that had looked like darkened eye sockets. Eric had forced the women at gunpoint onto the grounds, and Dusty and his father had followed.

      That’s when Kellan had arrived.

      Just in time to hear the crack of the gunfire, and then seconds later, he’d seen his father lying, bleeding—dying—on the weed-choked, muddy ground.

      Kellan had ordered Dusty to call for an ambulance and stay with Buck while he went in pursuit of Eric who had slipped into the house with the women. Because of more of those flashes of lightning, Kellan had seen Eric shoot Gemma in the shell of what had once been the grand foyer. He’d seen her collapse, and while he was saving her life by stopping the blood flow, Eric had escaped with Caroline in the dark maze of rooms, halls and stairs. Kellan hadn’t even managed to get off a shot for fear of hitting Caroline.

      For all the good that’d done.

      While Kellan had been saving Gemma, Eric had shot through one of the windows at Dusty, killing the deputy instantly. Kellan hadn’t known it then, but his father was already dead.

      Later, they’d found Caroline’s blood in one of the rooms. No body though. No Eric, either. Just a dead sheriff and deputy who’d been doing their jobs and an injured profiler who hadn’t done her job nearly well enough.

      “You screwed up the investigation,” Eric went on. “You didn’t get things right when it came to solving your father’s murder.”

      “What the hell are you talking about? You killed him. I got that right.” Kellan snapped. Then, he reminded himself, again, that Eric liked playing the tormenter, and what better way to do that than by implying that Kellan had botched something as important as the investigation that followed the murder and Gemma’s attack?

      “You need to take a second look at the details of your father’s case. The devil is in those details,” Eric went on. “That’s what this warning is all about.”

      “Warning?” Kellan questioned. “You had someone shoot at us. That’s more than a warning.”

      “My man didn’t hit you, did he?” Eric said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

      In the distance, Kellan heard a welcome sound. Sirens from the responding police officers. Now, he had to hope that the cops’ arrival didn’t cause the gunman to open fire again.

      “Time’s running out,” Eric added, which meant he’d likely heard the sirens, too. “Gotta go.”

      Of course, he wasn’t staying around for this. And his hired gun must have felt the same way because Kellan saw him run from the window.

      Getting away.

      That was better than trying to gun them down again, but Kellan hated that the shooter would escape. Kellan wanted to chase down the idiot and make him pay for what he’d done. But that would mean leaving Gemma—and she’d then be an easy target for Eric.

      “One more thing,” Eric said. “My advice would be for you to run because things are about to get very...loud.”

      Eric ended the call, and it didn’t take Kellan long, just a couple of seconds, for him to realize what was about to happen.

      “Cover us,” Kellan shouted to his brother.

      He hooked his arm around Gemma’s waist, dragging her to her feet, and with her in tow, Kellan started running toward the unmarked cruiser. Good thing, too.

      Because behind them, Gemma’s house exploded into a fireball.

       Chapter Three

      Gemma clutched her hands into fists to try and stop herself from shaking. It didn’t help, but maybe it made it less noticeable to Kellan who kept glancing at her while he carried on his phone conversations.

      She hated feeling like this—with the nerves and fear all tangled in her stomach. But what she hated even more was that Eric

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