He blinked. “Why?”
“Because I’d like to think she found love during her life. That she’d found somebody.” Anya clasped her glove-covered hands together.
Reese lifted his head. “I wanted to go public, but she was a stickler for the rules.” He smiled a sad smile. “I actually liked that about her.” The agent’s pain was almost palpable and barely drowned out the tension emanating from the many other FBI personnel. They’d lost one of their own, in the most heinous scenario possible. Many were pale, most had set jaws and determined eyes. They were going to find this asshole. The words weren’t said, but they flowed throughout the group.
Anya swallowed and tried to find comfort in the fact that these people would stop at nothing to avenge her sister. But it wasn’t good enough. Her hands shook and her lungs heated. Standing on the sidelines wasn’t enough.Shewould find the asshole.
He wanted to include her in his psycho plan? Fine. She was smart and trained. He’d regret it. He’d regret everything.
A light snow began to fall, and a shiver wound down her back. The hair at the nape of her neck stood up, and her body tensed. Instinctively. She looked around slowly, trying to find movement in the dark shadows hovering around trees and headstones.
Nothing.
Yet shefeltsomething. Eyes on her.
She hugged her coat tighter around her torso and kept searching. Who was watching her?
A serial killer was out there . . . focused on her. Was he close? Did he want to see Loretta’s funeral? Bile rose in Anya’s throat. Before she could completely panic, a figure stepped away from a stand of snow-covered pine trees.
Heath Jones.
She drew in a sharp breath and took him in. Tall and broad, he stood in a battered leather jacket with long jean-clad legs encased in thick motorcycle boots. Aviator sunglasses protected his eyes from the meager sun, and snow fell unchecked onto his dark hair. A dark scruff covered his hard-cut jaw, and even though those odd eyes were covered, she could feel his gaze on her.
Tingles exploded unexpectedly in her abdomen. Her breath heated and quickened, the feeling not unpleasant but definitely a warning of some sort. Every inch of her wanted to run for him, to seek a risky shelter with him. What was wrong with her?
He seemed to be the opposite of her father, and yet . . .
As if acknowledging that she’d seen him, he raised a hand and then stepped back into the shadows.
Within a second, she couldn’t tell where he was.
Why had he wanted her to know he was there? She’d already given Reese Heath’s information, so it was too late to stop her there. Although she hadn’t told Reese about the kidnapping or the fake marshals. The detail on her had been light before, and if she told him, they’d definitely increase their forces. Of course, the light detail was how she’d ended up with the fake marshals briefly. They didn’t have anything to do with Loretta’s case, and that was all that mattered right now. So why was Heath there? The man had seemed to have a healthy respect for Loretta, so perhaps he attended just to pay respects.
Yet why stay in the shadows and away from the FBI?
There was no doubt in Anya’s mind that Heath Jones had a plethora of secrets, but that was his problem, not hers. In fact, couldn’t she use that? A man like Heath, one so definitely dangerous and mysterious, would be a huge insult and challenge to the serial killer. If she focused her attention on Heath, wouldn’t the killer take it as an insult? That she’d chosen Heath instead of him? A plan formed in her mind so quickly she nearly stopped breathing. If she had to use Heath’s secrecy and masculinity to avenge her sister, she would. Her vision narrowed to a tunnel, and she straightened her shoulders.
She patted Reese’s hand. “Excuse me for a moment.”
He glanced down and then was distracted when two agents approached him with what sounded like meager updates.
With another hard look into the shadows, she turned on her high-heeled boot and maneuvered very carefully through the snow to the roped-off area. The reporters scrambled toward her along with several camera operators.
“Anya,” she heard Reese call from behind her.
She gave the cameras a sad smile, her mind rapidly turning over the facts of the profile she’d created on the killer. Oh, she could get into his head. Make him show himself. “I’m Anya Best, and Special Agent Loretta Jackson was my older sister. She was brave and proud, and she served her country with passion and dedication.” Tears pricked Anya’s eyes, and she blinked them back.
Deliberately, she flicked her red hair over her shoulder to bring attention to the bright color. Then she leaned toward the closest camera. “Stop courting me, asshole. I’m tired of your game and am getting bored. In fact, I’m recently engaged to a real man, unlike you. My fiancé is Heath Jones of Lost Bastards Investigative Services out of Snowville in Washington State. You don’t like anyone in law enforcement, right? I’mmarryinga guy who chases down jerks like you.” The guy preferred his victims to have living relatives in the law enforcement arena. He probably got off on the pain he caused family members.
“Snowville?” one of the reporters yelled.
“Yes.” The location was perfect, considering the Copper Killer Task Force was actually operating out of Snowville. Heath had said he was looking to relocate to the Pacific Northwest, right? Snowville could be the next office site for him. Whether he liked it or not.
The reporters started shouting at once, asking questions about the investigation.
She held up a hand and they went silent. “I think the Copper Killer is a stupid, weak, pathetic name that actually fits you, dickhead. I’m too much for you, which is exactly why you’ve never made a move on me.” She lowered her chin and let her eyes blaze, defying everything the killer thought she was. “You can’t get me. I want you to understand, we know what a coward you are, and we’ll get you.I’llget you.” Then she smiled and drove in the final nail, even as her stomach rolled over. “I don’t want you. Never did and never will. In fact, I can’t even remember when we first met. If we even have met.” The ultimate insult, considering the man was obsessed with her.
Without another word, she turned on her heel and headed back to Reese.
