His face was pale, his mouth pinched, his eyes swirling with shock. “What in the world did you just do?”
She blinked and clenched her fingers into fists. “I set myself up as bait for the asshole—right in your hometown, no less.” In addition to turning the psycho’s attention onto Heath, which he wouldn’t like. The killer would have no choice but to make a move on her instead of some other helpless victim. It was time to set a trap. “Now do your job and find this guy.”
CHAPTER
7
Even from a distance, Anya could feel fury coming from the stand of trees beyond the many gravestones. She had to be imagining that, right? No way could Heath be angry enough that she could feel it. She took several deep breaths and tried to convince herself.
Reese grabbed her arm. “You’re crazy. Seriously crazy.”
She gently extricated herself. “No. This guy is fixated on me, and it’s time to take him down.” Her sister had been brave, and she could be, too. The killer wouldn’t get the chance to kill another woman. It was time to end this.
For Loretta.
“You’re going back into custody right now.” Reese motioned her toward the row of cars.
“No.” She planted her feet. “Loretta had the right idea.”
“Loretta was abused and strangled,” Reese burst out, his handsome face blooming red. “She was trained and dangerous, and this guy still got her.”
Anya’s knees wobbled. The images cut into her sharper than any blade. “I know.” But she had one shot to help find her sister’s killer, and she was taking it. “I respectfully decline your offer of custody.”
Reese shut his eyes as if trying to keep his temper fully in check. Mourners moved around them toward the cars. “Listen. I get it. I really do. But if I let anything happen to you, Loretta will haunt me till I die. So work with me. And by the way, you suddenly have a fiancé?”
She kept her face calm. “Heath and I had a whirlwind romance, and he proposed quickly, but it’ll stick. We’ll stick.” She lied through chilled lips. “Heath is a detective, so we definitely fit the profile.” Part of the killer’s motivation was the pain he inflicted on the living . . . not just the redheaded women. The family members of his kills were his victims, too. She’d used every bit of her education to work up the profile on him. “The killer will think I just betrayed him in his bizarre fantasy by getting engaged to another man. It’ll infuriate him.”
“You’re crazy,” Reese muttered.
“Yeah, but time is short. The killer is probably looking for his next victim now.” The guy waited anywhere between one and five weeks before striking again.
Reese shook his head. “The killer also goes after cops now. Maybe he has his sights on another cop.”
“Maybe, so let’s get busy.” The chill attacked her, and she shuddered. “I’m not being stupid here. Heath really is a private detective, and I’ve hired his firm to help with this. They were working with Loretta, so I’ll keep them on retainer in a protection detail while this is going on.” Was it called a protection detail? She’d seen that on television somewhere.
Reese shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
“I’m not giving you a choice.” She was fairly certain the FBI couldn’t force her to remain in custody since she was neither a witness nor a suspect. “You know I’m the best bet to find this guy.”
“Only because you just set yourself up on every damn news channel,” he snapped.
“He started it.” God, what had she done? For the first time in her life she was taking a huge chance to the point of being reckless . . . but she wasn’t stupid. “This is our only way of getting this guy, and you know it.” When she did get him, she’d make him pay.
Two agents motioned for Reese, one of them talking rapidly on the phone. Reese furiously waved Agent Dingman over. “She doesn’t go anywhere.”
Dingman nodded and clutched her worn wool coat around her body.
Anya dipped her chin at the agent and moved toward the gaping hole in the ground. “I just want a moment,” she said.
The woman’s eyes softened. “I’ll be right over here. Take your time.”
Anya stepped lightly over the ice to reach her sister’s casket. “I’m sorry I got you involved with this,” she whispered, tears finally flowing freely. “You were everything strong and good in the world, just like my dad. I love you, big sister.” How had this happened? How could Loretta really be dead? A sob rolled from Anya, and she bit her lip.
“Anya?”
She turned suddenly and looked up to see her ex. “Carl? What are you doing here?”
He brushed snow from his sandy blond hair. “I saw the news and came right away.” He gingerly grasped her arm. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
