Her eyes teared up, and she couldn’t hold his gaze. She brushed snow off her legs to the floor, watching the white fall and melt almost instantly. “I just did what I thought I could to catch the guy who murdered my sister. Not once did I consider what it would mean to you.” Guilt heated inside her as she realized she would’ve done it anyway. “I’m sorry.”
“Jesus.” He turned back to the snowy road outside the windshield. “Don’t start being sweet now.”
She looked at him again. In profile, his face was sharp angles and hard lines. “I’m not. It’s just, I had an idea, and I ran with it. I’ve studied killers, and I think I know how this one thinks. He hurt my sister, Heath.” Her voice broke. “I got her involved.”
He turned toward her. “About that. What don’t I know, Anya?”
She blinked.
“The things you said to him. About him courting you . . . What has the FBI kept out of the news?”
Heath was no dummy. Anya bit her lip. “The killer is focused on me and has been since the beginning. He sends me a letter after each kill.”
“You’ve been his focus since the beginning?” Heath turned back to the road, his shoulders looking tight. Tension rolled through the vehicle. “So you called your sister?”
“Yes.” Pain flushed through her, pricking every nerve. “I got her killed.”
“No. A psycho killed her,” Heath said, reaching out to press his hand over hers. “Not your fault, Anya.”
Yet it was. “She was my sister, and I owe her. I can’t sleep until we catch her killer.”
“Agreed.” His shoulders slowly relaxed beneath the worn leather jacket. “I have two brothers, and if anything happened to either one of them, I’d lose my fuckin’ mind. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to save them, and if I couldn’t, nothing would stop me from seeking vengeance.”
“Are these genetic brothers or the ones who probably have matching scars on their hands?” She hadn’t been able to get his hand out of her head. That scar he’d shown her had provided insight into him, and she wanted more.
“Those two are blood brothers. But I do have a genetic one,” he said, his voice thoughtful. “He’s a good guy. Just met him.”
There were more out there like him? He was being incredibly fair, to see her side and admit his own motivations in life. “Man, you guys hit the genetic jackpot.”
He barked out a laugh. “Oh, darlin’. You have no idea.”
What did that mean? “So you’ll help me and pretend to be my fiancé?”
He tilted his head and blew out air. “I promise I’ll hunt this guy down no matter how long it takes.”
She stiffened and leaned back against the leather seat. “That wasn’t an answer.”
He looked her way again, his eyes a startling green and brown tinged with goldish flecks. “It was an answer—just not the one you wanted.”
The snow thickened outside, lending a sense of intimacy to the vehicle. His natural masculine scent filled the cab, and her body softened. She studied his implacable face—where there was no softness. “If you want in on this case, you have to work with me. Also, do you know where I can get a gun?” She should’ve gotten one in the Pacific Northwest.
“No. How about we make a deal? I’ll send you to an incredibly safe place for a while, and then I’ll find this guy. I promise.” Heath turned back to the icy road.
She sighed. “I’m not weak, Heath. I’ve been assisting the FBI with a profile, and I can get into this guy’s mind.”
He leaned his head back. “Why me?” he asked quietly.
She blinked. “Huh?”
“Why did you choose me as your fiancé? You had the agent and maybe even your ex to choose from. He’s not in law enforcement, but as a professor, he is an authority figure. Does he also teach psychology?”
“Yes,” Anya said. “Abnormal psych.” How perfect was that? “The jerk.”
Heath kept his hands light on the wheel, but every line of his hard body showed capability and command.
She swallowed and ignored the warming of her abdomen. She had to stop looking at those hands. He’d shown her honesty, and she owed him the same thing. “Well, everyone in the FBI would’ve known I wasn’t Reese’s fiancée. Plus, I think he could’ve had me arrested or put somewhere for impeding an investigation or something like that—if he knew for sure I was lying.” Reese would’ve done it to keep her safe for Loretta’s sake.
“And the ex?” Heath’s hands tightened on the wheel.
