Em.” He winked. “It’s not every day a gorgeous woman tells me I’m irresistible.”
She burst out laughing. “Oh, heavens. How are we going to fit your ego into the truck?”
Bennett’s phone rang, cutting off any reply. He pulled it from his pocket. “Knox.”
The sheriff’s voice filtered out. Emilia couldn’t distinguish the words, but Claire’s tone was clipped and short.
Emilia’s insides froze. She gripped the side of the truck door, the cold metal cutting into her palm. Bennett hung up and turned to face her. He didn’t have to say anything. She already knew.
The killer struck again.
Six
Bennett gripped the steering wheel with both hands as his truck flew down the freeway to the crime scene. In the passenger seat next to him, Emilia sat stiff and quiet.
The warmth of their earlier conversation was gone. Bennett didn’t regret telling Emilia the truth about his feelings, but he needed to accept the reality of their situation. The relationship had nowhere to go. Bennett’s life was in Fulton County. His job, his family, the ranch that had been worked by his grandparents and great-grandparents. It wasn’t feasible for him to leave, and Bennett wouldn’t blame Emilia for putting Fulton County in the rearview once this case was concluded.
Serial killers. It’s what brought them together. It also tore them apart.
Bennett exited the freeway and steered his truck toward Creekside Park. His muscles tensed as the flashing lights of emergency vehicles came into view. He maneuvered as close to the entrance as possible before killing the engine.
Emilia reached for the door handle. Bennett placed a hand on her arm. “You don’t have to do this. No one will think less of you if you don’t.”
“Thank you for saying that. But I do have to do this.” Her mouth hardened and her eyes flashed with determination. “A woman is dead, and I will help find the man who did this and make sure he’s put in jail for the rest of his life.”
Bennett knew Emilia meant every word. It didn’t matter the cost to herself. She would seek justice.
He admired her. For her strength and resilience.
They got out of the truck. The cold bit into Bennett’s cheeks. He zipped up his coat, thankful for the thermal layering. As unlikely as it seemed for this part of Texas, there were predictions of snow for Christmas. Bennett held up the crime-scene tape and Emilia passed under it. They gave their names and rank to the deputy standing guard before heading toward the trail he indicated.
They trudged down the pathway until Claire came into view. The sheriff met them halfway. Her expression was grim.
“Thanks for coming so quickly.” Claire’s breath formed a cloud of condensation with each word. “Emilia, I’m sorry to ask this, but I need your expertise. Yours, too, Bennett. I need to know if we’re dealing with a copycat or the original killer.”
Bennett nodded. “Of course.”
“Additionally, this murder appears to be connected to the threat against Emilia. I’d like for us to continue working together.”
He was grateful. Claire had primary jurisdiction and could make things difficult by being territorial. Instead, her focus was on getting justice and stopping a murderer. It was a complete turnaround from the former sheriff.
Bennett nodded again. “Anything you need, just ask. I’ll assist in any way I can.”
“Ditto,” Emilia said. “And thank you, Sheriff, for keeping us in the loop.”
“No need to thank me. We all have the same goal here: to catch the killer and put him in prison so he can never hurt anyone again.” Claire led them to the body. “Our victim is Kathy Rose. Twenty-four. Works as a waitress for a diner near the freeway.”
Bennett’s chest tightened. Kathy was on her back, her hands positioned on her stomach. She was dressed in her underclothes. Cuts snaked down her arms and legs, and she’d been stabbed in the heart. In her hands was a poinsettia bloom.
Rage slipped through Bennett. Someone had taken this young woman’s life in a brutal and terrifying way. All murder made him angry, but this…this was something else. His hands twitched. He ached to form fists and punch the nearest tree. But none of that would help.
Instead, he would channel his anger into finding Kathy’s killer. She deserved justice.
He scanned the crime scene again. “The resemblance to the other victims is eerie. Same positioning of the body down to the poinsettia bloom, same cuts on her arms and legs.”
Cuts that—Bennett knew—mirrored the scars Emilia had. A memory flashed in his mind of finding her hiding