Games We Play (16 page)

Nick fished out his phone from the front of his jeans. “I’m calling this in and requesting some lab assistance to collect the sample. Don’t move.”

“I don’t plan on it.” After he finished calling in backup Nick asked that she explain everything that happened while he was downstairs. “He was hiding under the bed waiting for me.”

“Why didn’t you call me when you thought something might be wrong?” Nick moved the bed skirt and reached under for anything the unsub left behind or planted.

“I wanted to catch him off guard and kill him. I didn’t anticipate how fast he’d be. My gun was out of my reach before I hit the floor. This guy is in his forties but he’s very fast and fit. We need to add that to the profile being cooked up.”

“Yeah
,
that’s right on the top of my priority list.”

“Is there something on your mind?”

Nick returned to her side, staring down at her face hard with serious dislike. “We’re partners for this mission and you have to treat me like one.”

“I already said I wanted to catch him off guard. It had nothing to do with trying to cut you out or trying to prove something. I didn’t want him to get away but that didn’t turn out so well.”

“No,” he lightly touched his hand to her bruised and bloody cheek. “it didn’t. You’re scaring me Sasha Madden.”

“We have a point on our side now and I’m counting that as a win.”

“Of course you do.”

In minutes the loud heavy steps of backup rushed up the staircase. Noah and Gage were the first in the room. “I hear we missed the party.” Noah commented as he went to the window and peered out.

Gage kneeled down next to her opposite of where Nick was. “You ok?” he touched his hand to her hair as the question gently
left his
mouth.

“I’m fine, I really am. I hate that he got away without a bullet hole but he’s showing his desperation and he’ll make another mistake. We’re getting closer to nailing him and that makes me happy.”

The crime scene investigator made her way inside the bedroom. “Give me some room boys.” Nick and Gage moved and the older woman took the empty space to sit her kit down and collect the samples from Sasha’s nails. “Wherever this guy is he’s hurting. You dug in nice and deep.” The woman, Katherine Howard, drawled.

“I keep them sharp for this very occasion.”

The lab technician grinned and finished her work. “Try not to find anymore trouble and I’ll make sure to get this processed right away.”

“Will do Mrs. Katy.”

The woman stopped on her way out the door and faced Sasha again, the more she looked a slow smile formed across her face. “I thought you looked mighty familiar. When this is over we need to catch up.”

When they were alone it was Gage to ask, “You know her?”

“She’s the sheriff’s wife and I used to have Sunday dinners at their house. She’s one of the few people I miss from this place.” Sasha managed to sit up as she spoke with only a few groans. The floor wasn’t carpeted and while hardwood was lovely to look at it hurt like a son of a bitch. “I’m going to wash my hands now.” Alone in the bathroom the reality of what
happened started to settle in. T
he killer had been in her bedroom waiting to hurt her, scare her, all for his sick pleasure and to prove he can. His blood stained her fingers and her blood was ugly and sticky on her face.

It was still a win, she reminded herself and turned away from the mirror. After washing her hands she went back out to face the questions bound to come. The sheriff’s department was going to want a statement before they left.

Sasha met with two deputies downstairs in charge of taking hers and Nick’s statement while Sheriff Howard was talking to the crime scene unit outside. “We’re trying to see if he left us any foot prints we can use.” He explained as he joined the crowd in the kitchen. “Has the ever lovely Mrs. Katy left?”

“Yes sir.” The deputy answered. “She wanted to get a rush on the DNA samples collected.”

Deacon clasped his hands together. “Sounds good, sounds good. Do we need to get an EMT over here?”

Sasha shook her head. “It’s nothing more than a cut and I can handle cleaning it up later. How did it go with Candice’s family?”

“As expected, they’re angry and mourning her loss. There isn’t a Maple Oaks resident that doesn’t want this SOB captured. I have lots of calls and paperwork waiting for me, are you sure you want to stay here?”

“Yes sir.” She gave him a big toothy smile. “We can handle ourselves.” Sasha didn’t want to remind him how she trained for these situations as was her pretend husband staying by her side.

His smile wasn’t as big or as joyful. “That’s what worries me. I’ll be going then and if anything else no matter how minimal happens you call me.”

Sasha sat back in her chair as Nick walked the sheriff and his deputies out and thanked them for their assistance. After swearing up and down she was fine and yes she and Nick would be safe Noah and Gage soon left as well.

When Nick joined her again he went right for the cabinet and pulled the first aid kit free. “Let’s get that cleaned up. Do you still feel like eating?”

“Yup, believe it or not I’m starving.” Sasha sat like a good patient and let him clean up the gash across her cheek and bandage it closed.

“Does it hurt?”

“Not enough to be a cry baby about it.”

“What about your wrist? You’ve been holding on to it.”

Sasha hadn’t realized that and looked down to see she was cradling her wrist to her chest. “He twisted it and in the middle of trying to log evidence it slipped my mind.”

Nick’s caring gaze was quickly shifting into something less pleasant. “It could be sprained or broken and you just forgot? You won’t stay at this job long if you’re reckless.”

“Because Pete has a problem with it?”

“No, because you’ll be dead.” He reached back into the first aid kit and pulled an ace free. “Can you move it?”

“Yeah.” It hurt but she was able to move her wrist everyway she was supposed to. “Is there something else on your mind you didn’t get out earlier? I don’t know why you’re acting like an ass.”

“Caring whether you live or die is acting like an ass?”

“I’m not fatally hurt in any way and you’re overreacting yes. If this is how it’s gonna be we might have to rethink our earlier plans. You can’t treat me like less because you’re worried and you can’t try to protect me from the same career you lead. We have to be equals on the field and at home.”

Nick’s eyes dropped down to the sneakers he still wore. “I’ve always cared whether you live or not and I don’t like seeing you hurt.”

“I know. During the Silvino case when all those gunshots went off my heart stopped thinking you got hit. I almost jumped on you when you walked out of that warehouse perfectly fine.” Sasha thought it was time she be honest too and tell him it wasn’t always dislike between them and the transition into something more wasn’t as insane as it first sounded.

Nick smiled and the tension started to lift. “You should’ve.”

Chapter 21

Nicholas wasn’t letting Sasha out of his sight and he didn’t care if he was overreacting or not. There was a pissed off sadist out there with her in his sights and there was no telling what he’
d
try next. The problem with the 7Xs killer was he held no fear in being caught and so far the bureau hadn’t done anything to shake his foundation. He was going to come at them again, Nick was sure of it as he lay on the couch with Sasha asleep in his arms.

He was scared for her and doing a rotten job at hiding it. Unable to sleep he was focused on his thoughts and staring at her. Her brows were slightly pinched as she slept and he wondered what she was thinking about. He hoped it wasn’t the case and her guilt for not being able to save Candice Shelburne. There was nothing any of them could’ve done in time.

His eyes moved down the sleek arches of her eyebrows over the tip of her nose and stopped at her mouth. Her set of full bee stung lips always drew him in. He remembered the exact day thirteen mouth ago when Pete called him in to meet their latest recruit. Sasha had tried to stand tall and appear calm but he felt her nervousness as soon as he stepped into the room and zoned right in on how she was biting her lower lip from inside her mouth. From that day on he always looked at her lips every time they were together. His fetish was only worsening as he now knew what it felt like to kiss her.

Nick smiled at the reply of her words earlier. She was willing to give them a try, she wanted it to work out, and she cared about him. All good things. Now they just had to get the hell out of Maple Oaks.

Sasha turned from her back onto her side and still asleep she was completely unaware the hell she was putting him through. The back of her body fit perfectly over his chest and groin. There was only a small space down by their legs were she wasn’t snug to him.

There was no way he was getting any sleep now. His pants grew tight and he started to panic, she needed all the sleep she could get and he didn’t want a poke waking her up or the embarrassing conversation that would follow about how she wanted to wait and he was shit out of luck. Nick forced himself to think unpleasant things like Noah burping after a huge plate of his mother’s food, Pete’s long detailed accounts on the latest fishing techniques, Sasha naked…oops no that wasn’t helping. Nick thought of his mother’s face and that did the trick.

Some point during the sexual torture and long thoughts he fell asleep. His eyes started to open when he felt his arm trying to be lifted, the same exact arm that was over Sasha’s waist holding her to him. Hmm, she was trying to get up without waking him, he mused and decided to see what her plan consisted of because so far she couldn’t move his arm.

A slight groan left her mouth as she gave up momentarily and dropped her hands from his arm. “Why are you so heavy?” she grumbled under her breath.

Nick tightened his grip. “Why are you trying to escape?” his voice was still laden with sleep as he buried his face in the crook of her neck.

“I was trying to let you keep sleeping so—”

“So you could go upstairs and retrace the scene without me?”

“I was going to say so I could go pee but sure we can go with your idea too. Are you going to let me up now?”

He kissed her neck and released his arm. “Sure.” It was nice to wake up with her in his arms and she wasn’t even weird about the whole thing. They were trapped in the middle of a gloomy situation but even so there was a reason to have hope and she just gave it to him.

There was a big bursting feeling in his heart, the same type of feeling his younger sister would use to describe what love felt like and he’d tell her to stop reading so many romance novels. Now as it was happening to him he didn’t think the feeling was so fake anymore.

Nick got up from the couch and went to brush his teeth and get ready for the day. After washing up he climbed the staircase to join Sasha in the bedroom. He fully expected to find her pacing around the front of the bed mentally recounting the fight with the unsub but instead he was treated to a better show.

Sasha was standing in front of her closet searching for something to put on and as she searched she stood with her back facing him and giving him a clear view of her panties. These had a leopard print.

He asked, “Do you have some weird fetish with animal print underwear?”

She shrugged, her long hair covering her shoulders and back. “It was a sale and I’m not very picky.”

“Does the front match?”

She laughed. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Yes, I desperately want to know.” With another laugh she turned and gave him a quick glimpse of her bra and it didn’t match the leopard print. The bra was black, sexy, full, and forever imprinted in his mind. “Tease.”

“Hey, I don’t see you giving me a peak of your underwear.”

“I would if you wanted one.”

“You have no decency Nicholas McBain.”

He moved behind her, his hand trailing over her neck and turning her face for him to see. “None.” He kissed her and the dress in her hands fell to the floor.

She turned around and fully kissed him back with no reserve. With the air clear and them on the same page she was no longer shying away from the attraction between them and gave into it with all her might.

Her kiss was searing across his mouth and he wanted to know the heat of the rest of her body, her skin against his. Nick reached for his shirt and hiked it over his head and let it fall wherever it may.

What started off as a morning teasing game rapidly shifted into intense sexual need to the point of being painful. Nick pulled her close to his chest and reached for her legs, when they were wrapped around his waist he carried them over to the bed. He touched his hands to the naked smooth surface of her legs and waist. He wanted to feel everything, to have her naked beneath him and calling out his name. Every night that week he had many of dreams that started this exact way but this was no dream, she was real against him and it was going perfect until she pulled back.

“Nick, wait.” Her breathing was scattered all over the place and she held her hands between them as she tried to catch it.