How long had it taken Saria and Bijou to make their way back to the Inn and tell Drake? Drake had brought a generator and lights to the crime scene. He’d had to retrieve those items and make his way back. Had the killer been there all along? Had he watched Saria taking pictures of the crime scene and then finished his ceremony? Bijou had been there as well. How close to both women had he been?
Saria and Bijou had to have interrupted the ritual ceremony the killer was compelled to conduct after each murder. The compulsion was so strong that he’d stayed concealed in the swamp and then, after the women left, he’d finished his ritual. That was the only answer to the discrepancy between the photographs.
His heart reacted to his conclusions, going a little crazy at the thought of either Saria or Bijou so close to a vicious serial killer. He wiped his hand over his suddenly dry mouth. He was going to have to try to talk to Saria whether she liked it or not and try to point out that not only had her life been in danger, but her friend had been in jeopardy as well.
The killer had balls. He’d proved that enough times. He murdered his victim, taking his time harvesting the bones and then conducting his bizarre ritual where others could come up on him at any time. The fact that he could be discovered didn’t seem to faze the killer at all.
Remy picked up Saria’s photograph of the entire altar, comparing it with the forensic photographer’s picture. The most interesting thing of all was the altar contained no blood spatter whatsoever. Not on any of the objects, so Remy was certain the altar was constructed after the murder and harvesting of bones took place. But . . . Remy studied the pictures. There wasn’t a single drop of blood on the ground inside the altar. The scene was messy, all around the altar and beyond it, but not the ground where the altar had been constructed.
“He covered it,” he said aloud. “He had to have covered the ground where he was going to make his altar. He didn’t want any blood spatter on his precious altar.”
Remy sighed again. He wasn’t getting any closer to understanding the killer. Even the photos and the files that the FBI had sent from the previous murders weren’t helping. He had no idea if anything on the altar was significant. It appeared to be a voodoo ritual, but if it was, it was like none he’d come across in all his years there in the bayous. Voodoo was a part of his community and he respected it and those who practiced it. Whatever the killer was doing had nothing to do with the voodoo he knew.
He smelled lavender and almost before the scent could compute he heard the low murmur sweeping through the bull pen. A low wolf whistle had him turning his head, his heart giving a quick leap and his cock jerking at that now familiar scent.
Bijou walked through the bull pen, turning heads as she made her way toward him. She was dressed in a pair of jeans that hugged her curves lovingly and a simple rose-colored shirt that looked as elegant as she was. Her thick cloud of hair was pulled back in a long intricate braid, but tendrils had escaped and curled around her face, drawing attention to her bone structure, flawless skin, beautiful eyes and fantasy mouth.
Remy swore under his breath. Did she have to be so damned sexy? Couldn’t she walk like a normal woman? She had to be aware she was surrounded by men leering at her, but her hips swayed and she had that little smile fixed on her face that made him crazy. His leopard jumped right along with his heart. She was truly breathtaking. He couldn’t blame the other men for gawking, but he didn’t have to like it—and his leopard hated it. The beast raked and clawed and snarled. Bijou Breaux certainly brought out the animal in him every time she got close.
He shook his head and stood up. He knew that little smile that never quite reached her eyes. She looked like money, a little haughty, elusive and completely unattainable. She also had her gaze glued to him, making him feel as if he were the only man in the room. Her white knight charging to the rescue when she didn’t even know she needed rescuing.
His heart did a crazy dance in his chest. Bijou could get up in front of thousands of people on a stage and sing her heart out—he knew—he’d watched a few of her concert performances on YouTube. She detested being Bijou Breaux in person. She looked relaxed, but he knew better. He knew her. He could read her, and sweeping through the bull pen was difficult for her with so many staring at her. She had her eyes on him because he was getting her through it. She was pretending no one else was around. No one but him.
Remy covered the distance between them with long, purposeful strides, his eyes holding hers. The moment he reached her, one hand circled the nape of her neck while he leaned in to brush a kiss on her temple, staking his claim, as well as indicating she was under his protection by drawing her in close to the shelter of his body. When he lifted his head, his formidable gaze swept the bull pen, putting everyone back to work instantly.
His leopard was close to the surface, the itch under his skin, his jaw aching and his teeth feeling sharper to his tongue. He had a feeling his eyes had gone cat, glowing as they changed color. He breathed her in, uncaring that his coworkers had never seen him act this way toward a woman. He wanted them to see and understand the warning he was giving them.
“Blue.” He deliberately called her by his nickname for her, making it intimate. Connecting them. “You brought the letters to me.”
“You gave me an order.” She didn’t look left or right, but kept her gaze on his face.
Her sultry voice sent heat through his body. It obviously didn’t take much for her to ensnare him or his leopard. “That’s a fact,” he agreed, wrapping his arm around her waist and turning her back toward the door. “Let’s do this over lunch. I’ve been here all night and I forgot to eat this mornin’.”
The moment he touched her skin, electricity arced between them. He felt the current rushing through his body and jumping back to hers. The beat of her heart echoed through his. His leopard pushed at him hard. He pushed back, taking control quickly.
“That’s not good for you, Remy,” she said, her frown drawing his attention to her full lower lip. “You need a keeper.”
“Are you applyin’ for the job?”
Her blue eyes darkened and her lashes swept down, veiling her expression. “I’ve heard you’re quite bossy. I’m afraid I wouldn’t do very well under those circumstances. I’ve been told I have problems with authority figures.”
He found himself laughing. He remembered saying that very thing to her when she had been about thirteen and he’d dragged Saria and Bijou out of a party at his own father’s bar. He’d been home for a brief visit and he’d caught the two of them in the bar. She’d been sassy, and he’d given her a lecture as he’d driven her to Pauline’s Inn. He’d taken both girls there, certain they’d behave for Pauline when they wouldn’t for anyone else.
“It’s the truth.”
“I just have never recognized anyone that could be a real authority figure,” Bijou contradicted in her smoky, sexy, melt-a-man-in-his-tracks voice.
He wrapped a length of her long, thick braid around his fist and pulled to keep from kissing that tempting mouth of hers. “You aren’t lookin’ in the right place, Blue. Open your eyes.”
She laughed, a soft, sensual sound that went straight to his groin. Laughing was so unexpected and so unlike Bijou, but just as sexy as her voice.
“I’m afraid to do that, Remy, especially if you’re applyin’ for the job. You’d be . . . bossy.” She laughed again, soft and low, sending hot blood pounding through his body.
“You’ve spent too much time with my sister,” Remy pointed out, and stopped in front of the door to the small café just down from the police station.
Bijou stiffened and halted abruptly. “You want to eat out? In a restaurant? In public?”
“Where else?” He tightened his hold on her. “You’re safe with me.”