Torn - Cynthia Eden Page 0,69
his face as he took that phone from her with a quick jerk. “What the fuck?”
“It’s your number,” she said, pulling the covers tighter. “You—”
“I left my phone on the damn beach.” His eyes were slits of rage. “I dropped it there when I bent to pick up Melissa. Sonofabitch. It’s—”
“Him.” She knew it, absolutely, and felt sick as she thought of the texts she’d exchanged with the killer. “He must have still been on the beach. Melissa—her wounds were fresh. He must have been there, watching . . .” Watching her die. “And he took your phone.”
Wade was scrolling through her texts now, and the fury on his face just deepened. “Fucking bastard. He wants you.”
“No, he’s just playing with me.” She climbed from the bed and wrapped the sheet around her body. Her guts were knotting but a cold rage burned within her, too. “Now let’s play with him.” Play with him. Trap him. Whatever worked. “Let’s track your phone. I know you have the app. Let’s do this.”
He gave a grim nod. When he whirled to leave her bedroom—he’s going to get his iPad, he’ll log in and check to find the location of his missing phone—another text came through. She glanced down at the screen. The bastard was busy. Taunting her and—
How did it feel when you killed your father?
Her gaze shot up from the phone and locked on Wade’s back. He was in the doorway, rushing out of the room so fast.
She had to delete the text. He couldn’t see it.
The phone vibrated again. Helplessly, her attention turned back to the screen.
He deserved what you did. I understand. I understand so much about you now.
Victoria shook her head. He understood nothing.
Her fingers tapped on the screen, though, because she wanted to keep him talking to her. I want to understand you.
She sent the text. Held her breath. He didn’t write back, not right away. The seconds seemed to pass by so slowly. Each moment lingered and her heart raced. That fast drumbeat filled her ears.
The phone shook in her fingers as the text came through to her. You will.
“Sonofabitch!” Wade burst back into the room. He had on his jeans and a T-shirt, and his eyes blazed. “The bastard is in the alley right behind this building. He’s right outside!”
Had he been watching her room? Watching her, all that time? Just waiting?
Then she realized that Wade had a gun in his hand. She knew that he usually kept the weapon close, but right then—
“You aren’t going out there, not without me,” Victoria told him as she started grabbing her clothes. She dressed in record time, jerking on her underwear, shirt, and jeans, and then nearly tripping as she fought to get her shoes on her feet before tumbling toward the door—and Wade.
“We should call the cops,” Victoria said. “Get Dace over here.”
“After we get the bastard, we will.” His face was tight with a hard fury, his eyes deep and cold. “He was coming for you. You were his next target. That shit isn’t happening. I won’t let it happen again.”
Wait? Again? Yes, he’d said again but—I’m not Amy. Her chest ached as she stared up at him.
“Stay with me, every single moment, got that? Every—”
Her phone vibrated again. See you soon. Oh, hell.
“Wade—”
He’d read the text, too. He swore, then said, “Let’s go, now.”
Right. They rushed outside together. She saw that Wade made a point of hiding his weapon. The better not to scare any of the pedestrians milling on the street. But they didn’t head out to the main street. She and Wade immediately ducked around back, into the alley. It was a long, narrow passage, one that stretched behind the historic homes.
They pressed close to the alley’s walls, staying covered as much as possible. Wade went first, checking the scene and—
“Bastard.”
She saw a phone, positioned very carefully in the middle of the alley.
Wade kept searching, but the alley was empty.
See you soon.
Victoria ran past Wade and toward the mouth of the alley. She rushed out and looked to the left, then to the right. People were all over the place. So many cars—even a horse-drawn carriage—filled the street.
Men. Women. Children.
A killer?
Yes, she thought he was there. Damn him, he was there, hiding in plain sight.
Victoria took a step back and she bumped into—
She whirled around.
“Easy,” Wade told her softly.
No, no, there was nothing easy about the situation. The killer had been jerking her around. He’d been right outside their B&B. Now he