“You know why. We’re soul mates and have been since that first touch.” His voice was gravelly.
First touch? This guy had touched her? She tried to remember anyone she’d dated who sounded even remotely like him. Everyone had been cleared, but maybe the FBI had made a mistake. “You sound odd,” she said.
He laughed again. “Some of the gas got into my mask. I’ll be back to myself in no time, don’t you worry. Have I told you how lovely you look here in our mountain hideaway?”
“Um, thank you.” There had to be a way for her to get free. “I think this would be more fun if I could see you, too.”
He kept chopping, each slice of the knife a reminder of what he’d do to her later. “You will in good time. For now, let’s chat while dinner cooks.”
How could she convince him to let her live? Nausea boiled up inside her, burning her throat. “I don’t want to die,” she whispered, her eyes filling beneath the blindfold. A tear slipped out and ran down her cheek, cooling it.
“None of us wants to die,” he said conversationally. “We’re meant to be together. We’ll live forever.”
Crazy. The man was freaking crazy. “Why did you kill those other women?” she asked, her voice trembling. God, she needed to get her hands on that knife.
“They reminded me of you,” he said, stopping his chopping. “I thought I could be happy with them for a while, maybe. I don’t know. Each time I wanted them, but then they weren’t really you, and I was so sad. So very sad. I took their pictures to show you that you were special. Better than any of them.”
She bit back a sob. He’d always be sad because he was freaking insane and would never find what he was looking for. No way would she live up to his fantasy of her. She had to think, but images from the previous victims kept flashing through her brain. Okay. She had to set herself apart. “You wanted me from the beginning.”
Silence for a moment, and then, “Of course. It has always been you.” He was right at her ear again.
This time she didn’t jump. If she confessed she couldn’t remember him, it might set him off. He might say he wanted a soul mate, but he was playing with her like a bully torturing ants with a magnifying glass. This is what he got off on. She had to actually engage him. “I called you out, remember? I was tired of you playing this game.”
He settled a hand on her shoulder. “Games are so much fun, though. Did you like the pictures I sent to you?”
“No,” she said, knowing to go with honesty. “They scared me.”Don’t flinch. Don’t flinch. Don’t flinch.Her mind tried to take her away, and she forced herself to stay in the moment. It was her only chance to get free. She was strong enough to do this. “I knew you’d find me,” she said, keeping her voice calm when all she wanted was to scream her head off and struggle against the bindings at her wrists. She hadn’t thought he’d get to her—she really hadn’t. “I didn’t expect the full-on assault, however.”
He laughed, the sound throaty. Then he released her, and soon the chopping commenced again. “Those private detectives are pretty good, actually. Your fiancé just didn’t expect anybody to find your real headquarters. The decoy was very convincing, I’ll admit.”
Anya breathed out. He was again a short distance away. She tried to blink beneath the blindfold to dislodge it. Nothing. “What about the other woman you took earlier today?” What was her name? “Jolene? Jolene Landers?”
“Ah, sweet Jolene. Now, she was a screamer,” he said amicably. “Didn’t even have pretty hair like you do. She was a red herring, Anya. I just took her to throw off the wolves, you know.” The knife scraped across wood, probably a cutting board of some sort. Did he kill his victims with the same knife he used to cook dinner?
“Where is Jolene now?” Anya asked, unable to keep her voice from trembling this time.
“Not sure. Do you believe in heaven? Or hell?” he asked.
Terror exploded in her chest. She took several deep breaths to calm herself. God, she had to hold it together. “Yes. Do you?”
“Not really. I figure we’re already there. This is hell for some, heaven for others. Sometimes it switches.”
Her mouth went dry. “Where are you?”
“At the moment, now that I’ve found you? I’d say heaven. How about you?”
She ran through what she knew of him. He was brilliant and no doubt read people very well. Lying to him would be a mistake, and yet she didn’t want to provoke him. “I’m not sure yet. Being blindfolded doesn’t help me to decide.”
“That’s a fair point.”
She wanted to know more about Jolene, but he seemed disinterested. “My favorite color is green.” She had to personalize herself.
“I know that.” A pot clanged. “You wear green a lot, and have for years.”
Years? God. Who was he? “What was I wearing the first time you saw me?” she asked, her voice trembling.
“You don’t remember?” His voice lowered.
“My clothes? No. I don’t keep track of clothing,” she burst out.
