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Jonah cried out in pain. “Nothing…did nothing⁠—”

“Bullshit.” But…something about this scene felt wrong. The fire alarm kept shrieking. The operator on the phone had just told him that she’d get a crew to him, but that no other calls had been made for that location and… “You killed Rochelle. You attacked Kimber.”

“N-no…” Jonah’s head twisted weakly in a negative shake.

“I’m going to check on Kimber,” Shelby nodded quickly. “Let her know that we have him. And I’ll see if there is another victim out back who needs help.” Shelby cut her gaze to Hunter. “You have him secured?”

Yes, yes, he had Jonah secured but…

Shelby ran out of the back door, straight into the storm.

But something felt wrong.

He glared down at the detective.

“It’s…not me…” Jonah gasped. “Not.”

Then who the fuck was it? Hunter took a step back, and his foot crunched something on the floor beneath his heel. His gaze whipped down.

Pearls. Bloody pearls had spilled across the kitchen floor.

His gaze followed those pearls, and he realized that Ms. Rochelle was holding something in one fisted hand.

A string of pearls. Pearls, like the ones that Kimber wore.

His gut screamed at him, and he raced for the back door. “Shelby!”

Shelby darted out of the diner’s back door, the gun gripped tightly in her hand. She needed to get to Kimber, but she’d also wanted to see if there was another victim outside. Someone who might need help.

The cook is dead. Ms. Rochelle is dead. She’d seen the life go out of Rochelle’s eyes. She’d watched it leave, and the sight had been horrifying.

Rain bit into her skin, coming down harder, and Shelby⁠—

Almost tripped.

On the body that was slumped near the side of the building, half-hidden by shadows. She caught herself, staggered, and strained to see in the darkness and rain…and…

Was that Gabriel? The professor?

He let out a ragged groan. She bent close to him. “Gabriel?” It was so hard to see. Not enough light spilling from the building. “Gabriel?” She reached out to touch him.

But electricity flooded through her before she could. A hot, hard surge and she trembled and shook, and, for one wild moment, Shelby thought that she’d been hit by lightning.

“I see you.” A sing-song voice. “I see you hiding in the dark. You won’t get away from me.”

The gun fell from Shelby’s grip. Her whole body fell, and her knees hit the cement with a painful impact.

The lightning kept surging through her.

She tried to turn and look up at her attacker. The pain was coming from her back. The lightning had hit Shelby in the back. She twisted her head more.

“I see you!” Kimber chimed and then she sprayed something into Shelby’s eyes.

It burned and burned and burned. Mace. She’s spraying me with my own mace. Just as Kimber had hit Shelby with a taser—probably the taser that had been in Shelby’s purse.

Shelby screamed when the mace hit her. She’d screamed with the electrical jolts, too. She just hadn’t realized it, and where was Hunter? Wouldn’t he be coming to help if he heard her scream?

“Shelby!” Hunter’s desperate roar.