âHe said...he wonât stop. He will kill me.â
The siren was louder. Closer.
Another tear slid down her cheek. âHe said heâd been waiting for me...that the waiting was over.â
His body brushed against hers. âHeâs not going to ever touch you again.â Josh intended to make sure of that. âYouâre safe.â
But she shook her head, and Josh didnât think she believed him.
The sheriffâs patrol car whipped around the corner. The lights flashed from the top of the car.
Caseyâs hold tightened on Josh even more.
âYouâre safe,â he said again, but Josh knew that she didnât believe him.
Chapter One
Josh Duvane broke from the surface of the water, pulling the regulator out of his mouth and then shoving back his mask. âWe found her,â he called to the team up on the boat.
He heard someone swear. Probably the local sheriff. Josh knew the guy had been hoping to find the victim alive. No such luck. Josh swam to the boat. The ocean water lapped against him, dark and rough because a storm was coming. If they were lucky, theyâd be able to get the victim up before the storm hit.
A big if.
He grabbed for the ladder on the back of the boat and pulled himself up.
âAre you sure itâs Tonya?â Sheriff Hayden Black asked as he reached out a hand to Josh.
Tonya. Tonya Myers. The twenty-two-year-old college coed whoâd vanished a week ago. And, yes, unfortunately, he was sure. âItâs her.â
He glanced back at the water. The waves rocked against the boat. As one of the FBIâs elite USERT membersâUnderwater Search and Evidence Response Teamâhis job routinely took him to the deepest depths. He searched for clues, he searched for evidence and, on damn unfortunate daysâdays like todayâhe searched for the dead.
âThat makes three bodies,â Hayden gritted out. The waning light glinted off his blond hair. âThree bodies in the last three weeks.â
And that was why Josh was there. The FBI knew they had a serial hunting in the quiet coastal town, and Josh had been sent to provide backup to the local Bureau teamâand to the sheriff.
Josh and Hayden had crossed paths in the past. Once upon a time, theyâd trained together as SEALs. Theyâd worked together on a few missions years ago, then had gone their separate ways. Josh had joined the FBI and Haydenâhell, Josh never would have figured the guy for a small-town sheriff.
I would have figured wrong.
âThis town has already had enough heartache,â Hayden muttered. âThe people need peace, not more fear.â
More divers went into the water. Josh had done his job and located the body. His team would work to bring the victim to the surface.
âWe just put one killer behind bars.â Hayden raked a hand over his face. The sheriffâs star on his uniform gleamed. âTheodore Andersonâs trial is barely over. Now some other jerk is terrorizing my Hope.â
Not just terrorizing the town of Hope, but killing mercilessly. The victims taken were all women in their twenties, attractive, fit. And they werenât locals. Hope was a beach town along the Florida Gulf Coastâpopular in the early summer for its pristine white beaches. The victims had been tourists.
The killer had a twisted MO. He took the women, then he immediately called the sheriffâs station, taunting the authorities. Telling them to hurry and find the victim before it was too late.
But so far, theyâd always been too late. Each victim had been stabbed to death. The first two victims had each been stabbed five times, and then their throats had been slit. Josh was betting that when the ME had a chance to check the body of Tonya Myers, heâd find the same wounds on her.