âIf heâs back, heâll come for me.â Rachel spoke the words with certainty.
âThen heâll have to get through me,â Dylan fired back, unable to hold those words inside any longer.
Her eyes widened.
He put his hands on her. He had to touch her. His fingers curled around her slender shoulders. âHe isnât going to have the chance to hurt you. Iâll stop him. Iâll do anything necessary in order to make sure he doesnât have the chance to get to you again.â
âAnd what am I supposed to do?â Her body brushed against his. âHide? Stay in the shadows while you hunt? Thatâs not who I am, Dylan. You know that.â
He did. He knew everything about her.
Prologue
âYou shouldâve walked away and dropped the charges. Hell, you shouldâve just given the case to someone else to prosecute. To anyone else.â Sadness coated his words.
So did fury.
Rachel Mancini jerked against the ropes that held her. Terror clawed through her body. Heâd tied her to the chair, secured her so completely.
After heâd drugged her.
The drugs were still in her system. They made her limbs feel sluggish, but the drugs did nothing to numb the terror coursing through her body.
âYou should have listened!â
She blinked and found him right in front of her. Adam Wright. The man sheâd been dating for the past three months. The man sheâd fallen for so easily. He was charming. He was handsome.
He was also a killer.
His hand lifted and she tensed, expecting him to hit her. Instead, his fingers skimmed lightly over her cheek. It was a familiar caress. Heâd touched her that way dozens of times. This time his touch seemed to burn her.
âI didnât count on you, Rachel,â Adam said, his voice dropping to a low growl. âThe kills are always so easy. I do the work. I get the cash.â
This couldnât be happening to her. She and Adam were supposed to go away this weekend. Their first vacation as a couple.
Sheâd just finished prosecuting her latest case earlier that day. Rachel was a Marine Corps Judge Advocate, and sheâd been working on the biggest case of her career. Private First Class Quincy Langam had been accused of murdering two senior officers. Rachel was sure the man was guilty, and sheâd done everything possible to give justice to Langamâs victims.
Adamâs hand dropped away from her face. He pulled out the gun that had been holstered at his hip. âI was paid to kill you.â
Her hands twisted against the ropes. Her wrists were bleeding. The flesh had cut quickly against the thick, hemp rope. Rachel ignored the pain. Maybe the blood would help her to slip free of the binds. âI thought you cared about me.â All of those months. The flowers. The dates. The laughter and the talking that had gone late into the night. Everything had been a lie?
âI donât care about anything.â His words were cold now, hollow. The emotion that had blazed in his voice and eyes just moments before was gone.
Adam lifted the gun and aimed it at her.
âPlease!â The cry broke from Rachel. This was the man whoâd kissed her? Whoâd talked to her about a future, a new life? They were supposed to build a life together. âDonât do this, Adam!â
âItâs your fault.â His jaw hardened. âYou shouldâve let someone else handle the case. I couldâve killed that prosecutor, and youâd be free.â
She latched on to what heâd said as she realized just who had sent Adam after her. âQuincy? Quincy Langam hired you?â Keep him talking. If Adam was talking, then he wasnât shooting her.
He nodded and didnât lower the gun. He also didnât shoot her. âQuincyâs family has a lot of money. Money can hide so much.â
âLike the fact that Quincy is a cold-blooded killer?â
Adam smiled at her. âNo, heâs not cold-blooded. He attacked in the heat of the moment. One of those passion kills. He found his girlfriend with another man, and he erupted. He killed them both. The fact that they were senior officers never mattered to himâit was all personal.â Adam gave a little shrug. âAll passion, like I said.â