“What if it makes him angrier that I’m not there? What if he does something out of character—”
“That’s the point, isn’t it? All suspects screw up and show their hand when they least expect we’re watching.” Newman studied her, his chocolate brown eyes looking into her angry gray ones. “Get some sleep. You look like shit.”
“Sleeping will not help me, Newman. I still don’t have an accurate profile. Having me leave isn’t going to change a damn thing!”
“I made up my mind. I don’t want to hear you anywhere near this investigation. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir,” she spoke through gritted teeth.
Newman gave her a nod and turned his back on her as if she were a petulant child. He nodded to one officer, who stood straighter. He was obviously eavesdropping on the conversation. A smirk laced his lips as he stared down his nose at Autumn.
“Do you need an escort, Miss Taylor?” Newman asked when she didn’t move.
She glared openly at the police captain. “No, Sir. I know my way out.”
She didn’t give him a backward glance as she walked out the front door. Her hands balled into fists and her teeth ground together. Staff at the club averted their gaze as she stepped out.
Autumn wanted to scream and rail at the gods for what happened. She could do her goddamned job. What the hell was this murderer playing at?
It was pouring when she trudged outside. The rain was like a sheet of water as it gushed from the sky. Autumn squinted through the downpour as she searched for a taxi. There was no way she was walking to the subway in this.
Her phone rang suddenly. “Taylor.”
“Did you find my gift?”
She stood stock still. The hairs on the back of her neck tingled. She knew that voice, she just couldn’t place it.
“Who is this?”
“Don’t recognize me?” There was amusement in his tone, as if this were a game. “Come on, Autumn, think hard… it’s been a while.”
“I don’t know what fucking game you’re playing—”
“Ah-ah-ah, that’s no way to talk to an old friend.”
She should go back. Let Newman know the fucker was on the phone.
“By the way, while you’re trying to figure out what to do, I had a little…visit. Who knew the indomitable Autumn Taylor, crime scene analyst extraordinaire, had a heart for a beast? You don’t seem like a cat person. Or any kind of pet, for that matter. You're so…” he paused as if searching for the word, “stoic.” And then a snort of laughter.
He was in her apartment.
“I wouldn’t leave the life of an animal that is dangerous in the hands of a stranger. And she was so pretty. I liked her eyes. But not that much.”
“What the fuck did you do?”
Her breathing was heavy as she raced into the street and slammed her hands on the hood of the next cab that stopped. The wipers slashed rapidly across the windows as she became a drenched rat. The driver laid on the horn and yelled at her through the windshield. She didn’t care. Running into the passenger seat, she told him, “You’re going to drive to this address as fast as you fucking can. Do I make myself clear?” Was it the gun she pulled from her holster that did the trick? The driver opened and closed his mouth like a guppy and moved in and out of traffic.
There was a chuckling sound on the other end of the phone. “Look at that. Autumn has a heart hidden beneath all that armor.”
“If you hurt one hair on him…” A tremor hitched in Autumn’s voice. Dune was the only thing she cared about in this world. She’d saved him. She would not let him die.
“How fast can you get through early afternoon traffic, Autumn? Fast enough to save a life? Or will you just make it in time to see the life of your precious pet get blown to bits?”
“Drive faster!” She shouted at the driver.
“What you want me to do, hit a car, lady?” The driver’s eyes widened, so the whites were showing as he sped up. His gaze on her gun in the rearview mirror as she cocked the hammer. The driver barely stopped as a person crossed the street.
“Are you here, Autumn? Tick…tick…tick… The clock is almost running out of time.”
