Don't Look (Pike, Wisconsin #1) - Alexandra Ivy Page 0,122
way to get across the massive, empty space, which meant he had to hope he was close enough to make his move before Parker realized they weren’t alone.
Across the room he heard Lynne’s gasp of sheer horror. “You would have burned those helpless animals?”
Parker shrugged, clearly indifferent to Lynne’s outrage. Of course, he was a stone-cold killer. It was doubtful he even understood things like love, empathy, or regret.
“I had second thoughts after I returned to town. I decided instead to destroy your clinic,” the idiot blathered on. “I was certain that would hurt deep in your soul. The trouble was that I didn’t know how to do it. Not until I caught sight of Nash and your slut of a receptionist doing the nasty in your storage room.” His laughter echoed through the emptiness. “I realized I could kill two birds with one stone. Or rather kill two birdies and torment a bitch.”
Kir’s gaze darted toward Lynne. Predictably, her face was flushed with a seething fury. Lynne was the most even-tempered person he’d ever known, until it came to her beloved animals. But threaten one of them and she was like a crazy woman.
Terrified she was going to do something stupid, he straightened and waved his arms to attract her attention. If she said or did anything to alert Parker that he was approaching from behind, they were both dead. But that was a risk he had to take.
For a second she was too focused on her captor to notice his movements, then he watched the shock that spread over her face as she caught sight of him. Her lips parted, but Kir sharply shook his head, fiercely hoping she would understand he wasn’t ready to give away his presence.
Almost on cue, her lips snapped back together, and she returned her gaze to Parker. “You were the one who bought the drugs from Nash,” she said, obviously realizing she needed to keep the man distracted.
Kir released a shaky breath. Once again Lynne’s courage was on full display. Amazing.
Parker tilted back his head to laugh in twisted pleasure at her accusation. “He was so easy to manipulate. He had the brains of a slug.”
“What about the dart guns?” she asked as Kir took a silent step forward, and then another.
Parker shrugged. “I’d seen the kind you used in the clinic and ordered them online.”
Kir took two more steps, wincing as the cement crumbled beneath his feet. It wasn’t loud but the silence that filled the room was absolute. Not to mention the fact that the space was built like an echo chamber. Even the smallest noise reverberated.
Almost as if sensing his burst of fear, Lynne loudly cleared her throat. “And deliberately left them behind?”
“Of course.” Parker waved his hand, the light glinting off his knife. “I had to be tediously obvious to lead the dumbass sheriff in your direction.”
“And you left the photo on the shed?” she continued, her voice overly loud, as if she was deliberately trying to conceal his approach.
Kir didn’t let her efforts go to waste. Bypassing one of the metal columns that held up the high ceiling, he edged closer and closer to Parker.
“Yes, I couldn’t resist letting you know I’d seen the real you.” Parker sliced the knife through the air. Kir’s heart missed a beat. He couldn’t see the man’s face, but he sensed his increasing agitation. It was in the edge in his voice and the stiff angle of his shoulders. “The woman beneath the mask. Just like I revealed my mother for the weak coward she was.”
Lynne licked her lips. Did she feel the tension in the atmosphere? Probably.
“When did you take the photo of me?”
“Months ago. I’d gone into the clinic to see you and of course your receptionist was nowhere to be found. She was probably in the room with Nash. When I got to your office, I could see you sound asleep on your couch. I considered joining you to teach you how it would feel to have a real man holding you in his arms. But in the end, I decided not to soil myself.”
He paused, as if thinking back to that moment he’d seen her alone and vulnerable. The thought made Kir’s stomach cramp with what might have been.
Parker stepped toward Lynne. “Instead I took a picture to savor later.”
Lynne scooted backward, nearly out of the pool of light. “How did—”
“No more,” Parker abruptly interrupted.
Kir tensed as Lynne studied Parker with a wary gaze. “What?”