Officer out of Uniform (Lock and Key Book 2) (4 page)

“Don’t get your panties all in a bunch,” Grey said. “You can’t blame me for asking. I know searching for the Levinson brothers a month ago was the most fun you’d had in a long time.”

‘Fun’ was the last word Henry would’ve used to describe the days he’d dedicated to the grueling search. ‘Meaningful’ was more how he’d put it. Worth doing. But fun…

No way.

“Don’t be a jackass, Grey. The warden is dead, and I’m telling you, there’s a really twisted piece of shit on the loose.”

“So what are you going to do?” Grey asked. “Even if it is Levinson, they’re not going to call us in right away. They might not even call us in at all – it’s been over a month since he escaped from prison custody.”

Henry’s gaze was drawn to the vase of roses strapped into the passenger seat. The flowers had been shaken and stirred, stems churning the water, petals trembling. But they were still whole. He would’ve called them beautiful if the bright red color didn’t remind him of blood now – blood everywhere, pooled on pine needles, congealing to sap-like consistency in the sun.

“I’m heading over to Sasha’s place,” he said with sudden certainty.

“What for?” Grey asked. “Another bikini emergency – does she need someone to rub sunblock on her back again?”

Grey chuckled, and Henry was pretty sure he heard Liam laugh too.

He resisted the urge to tell them both to go to hell. This wasn’t the first time they’d given him shit over the way Sasha had acted last time they’d all been at the beach together.

“I’m going to make sure she’s okay.” He didn’t rub it in Grey’s face that he’d slept with Sasha, although he could have – Grey was obsessed with Sasha’s friend Kerry, who hadn’t given him so much as a handshake, let alone sex. 

“Jesus!” Grey huffed. “Of course you are. Going to charge over there and be her knight in shining armor, protect her from the bad guys? Why does this work for everyone but me? I tried to get Kerry to come over to my place when the Levinson brothers first broke out and she just laughed at me.”

“I’d laugh at you too, Grey,” Liam said. “You can’t blame her.”

Grey swore. “Easy for you to say that when you pulled the same thing with Alicia. You two were probably doing it on the couch while you watched the news report on the escape. And now you’re engaged!”

“I was the first to blaze the trail,” Liam said. “I took a risk and it paid off. When you try the same thing with her best friend, it’s just creepy. She knows exactly what you’re doing – she’s not stupid.”

“What about Henry? Why isn’t it creepy when he goes to check up on Sasha?”

“I bought her flowers,” Henry said. “I was already going to head over there before any of this happened.”

“So what you’re saying,” Grey said, “is that she seduced you the other day at the beach and now you’re trying to be Mr. Romance to make sure it keeps happening.”

“Not at the beach,” Henry said. “My house. Afterward. If you want to impress her friend, try getting her some flowers. Women like stuff like that.”

“Thanks for the tip, Casanova. You’re just lucky Sasha set her sights on you. Don’t think it’s not obvious that she chose you to be her boy toy from the start. You’re not fooling anybody – you didn’t have to do shit to make anything happen with her.”

“Jealousy won’t help you, Grey,” Liam said. “Here’s something that might, though: I heard Kerry and Alicia talking the other day. Apparently she’s really into yoga. Maybe you could get a pair of those stretchy pants and wear them next time you see her to demonstrate a mutual interest.”

Someone they all knew was dead, and they were talking about yoga pants and Grey’s non-existent sex life. It wasn’t surprising, but it didn’t stop Henry from thinking about what really mattered, either: Sasha. Getting to her, and making sure she was safe.

It didn’t matter if Liam and Grey laughed. It wouldn’t even matter if Sasha laughed at him. He couldn’t let anything happen to her. The thought of her getting hurt was more unbearable than the thought of Grey in yoga pants.

Sasha was glued to the TV when someone knocked on the door, nearly sending her into cardiac arrest.

In a move straight from some sort of slapstick comedy, she slipped right off the edge of her seat and flopped onto the carpet, as graceful as a fish out of water.

Oh, God.
Who could possibly be knocking?

She glanced frantically toward the nearest window and the dusky evening beyond its pane. It was late in the day and she had no plans. After restraining herself from rushing to Henry’s and talking to her mom, she’d settled in for a little TV.

Which had turned into watching the news, which had scared the hell out of her.

What if there was a murderer at her door? Sure, it might be a dramatic conclusion to jump to, but then again… Cypress was a small town, and one thing was for sure: a murderer was out there
somewhere
. As much as she’d like to think she was just being paranoid, she knew Kerry or Alicia would’ve called before coming over.

Sasha rolled, her gaze darting toward the kitchen as she pushed herself up. When she stood, her heart was speeding and her legs were a little shaky. When another knock came at the door, she wanted to throw herself down on the floor again, where it would be harder for anyone to peek in at her through the windows.

Why, God why, had she ever rented a first floor apartment?

Shaking her head, she took a deep breath and darted out of the living room. Luckily for her – and unfortunately for any serial killers – she knew her way around a kitchen. In fact, she’d be willing to bet that few people in Riley County were more skilled with a knife than she was.

Without skipping a beat, she grabbed her Shun Premier chef’s knife. It was so sharp, you could practically cut yourself by just glancing at it. Great for use on both meat and vegetables – even ripe ones – it was without a doubt the most dangerous item in her home. She gripped it with her right hand and grabbed her favorite 12” stainless steel skillet with her left, just in case. She could use it as a bludgeon, or a shield if needed.

Armed with some of her most treasured tools, she approached the front door and rocked up onto her tiptoes, peeking through the peep hole. What she saw took her breath away, and she nearly dropped the knife onto her vulnerable bare toes.

“Henry!” she breathed a moment later, tucking the skillet under her arm and wrenching the door open. “It’s just you!”

He stood on her doorstep with a dozen red roses. His grey eyes widened. “You were expecting someone else? I hope…”

She became conscious once again of her death-grip on the Shun’s handle. “I was worried you might be a serial killer. Have you seen the news?”

He frowned and cast a quick glance over his shoulder. “Can I come in?”

“Sure.”

He stepped inside quickly, closing and locking her door before she could even blink. A little of the tension seemed to go out of his shoulders once he had the locked door at his back, but not much. He laid the roses down on the counter, but not before Sasha saw that his knuckles were white against the florist’s cellophane wrapper.

“If you saw the news, why did you answer the door?” he asked.

“Because it was you, of course. I looked through the peep hole.”

He nodded toward her hands. “The fact that you picked up weapons makes it look like you were considering opening the door even if it wasn’t someone you knew.”

“Well… Maybe. I wasn’t going to just ignore it. It would be rude not to at least see who was there.”

Henry frowned. “Being a nice person can get you killed. In a situation like this, politeness is just stupidity.” He was in full-on Grumpy Bear mode now, growling and frowning like he had his own personal storm cloud hanging over his head. “What’s worse – someone’s feelings getting hurt, or you
actually
getting hurt?”

Apparently it was a rhetorical question. He strode purposefully across the room, to the windows. The muscles in his arms rippled as he yanked the kitchen curtains shut, then moved on to the living room, where he did the same. He seemed to have forgotten all about the bouquet of red roses he’d brought with him.

“Uh, Henry?” She laid her weapons down on the counter.

He turned to face her. “Where’s your bedroom? The curtains shouldn’t be open in there either.”

Sasha tipped her head toward the short hallway. “On the left.”

He made a beeline for her room, and she followed him. “Are you going to fill me in on why you’re closing all my curtains?”

“So no one can see inside.”

He sounded serious, but she wriggled her eyebrows anyway. “I take it this means you have something really wild planned for us.”

He frowned at her – not exactly the reaction she’d been hoping for.

“You saw the news – there’s a murderer out there. You can’t just walk around in here with open curtains. That’s like putting yourself on display, especially this time of day, when it’s getting dark. People can easily see in. You could be shot, or—”

“Whoa. I saw the news, sure, but I wasn’t aware that this murderer was interested in
me
.”

Henry’s eyes were lightless. “Everyone in Riley County is in danger. That includes you. I assume you haven’t forgotten what happened to Liam and Alicia a month ago.”

“So did you come here to be my personal bodyguard?” She couldn’t resist a little smile, even if the memory of what Alicia and Liam had gone through did make her go cold.

“I had a feeling you wouldn’t be taking any precautions, left to your own devices.”

“Hey! I was ready to defend myself when you showed up.”

He gave her what might’ve been a pitying look. It was an expression she’d never seen on his face before. “A kitchen knife and a frying pan? It’s pretty resourceful, I’ll give you that, but I think our killer is more heavily armed. And much more dangerous.”

“How do you know? The news report only said that Riley Correctional Center’s warden had been killed at his home, not how.”

Henry’s frown deepened.

This conversation wasn’t exactly how Sasha had imagined their reunion playing out.

“I’m the one who found the warden. Found his body, I mean.”

A bolt of shock arrowed through Sasha, making her stomach flip. She hadn’t expected
that
. “Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, so how did it happen?”

She braced herself for his reply. She’d never met the warden, but he was a local … in a small Southern town like Cypress, deaths were noticed by the community. She felt a twinge of sadness, a sense of dread. Violent deaths didn’t happen often here. It wasn’t at all difficult to feel bad for someone she didn’t even know.

Henry averted his eyes, and as she stared at his face in semi-profile, she was aware of lines she’d never noticed before. Shallow and fine, stress markers around his mouth and eyes. He was 32 – she knew because weeks ago she’d asked Alicia, who’d asked Liam – so not old enough to have real lines yet. This was the first time she’d ever noticed a flaw in his skin, other than the heavy scar tissue on his back.

“You don’t want to know,” he finally said.

“Yes I do. They’ll announce it on the news eventually… If the killer’s really a danger to everyone, like you say, I’d like to know what we’re up against.”

For a few moments, he said nothing.

Eventually, he met her eyes. “You ever hunt?”

“No.”

“Know anyone who does?”

She shrugged. “Not well. I guess I’ve had a few acquaintances who were into hunting. I know a lot more fisherman than hunters, though.”

“Well, when you hunt deer, you hang your kill up for a few days so the meat is tender. Hunters use hoists and gambrels to string up animals.”

Sasha nodded as a feeling of foreboding swept over her. “I’ve seen deer hanging up like that – I know what you mean.”

“The warden was hanging up like that, in a tree at the edge of his property. Strung up by his ankles by the road, with his throat cut. I think he was shot first – there was a hole in his chest.”

Sasha’s stomach roiled, and her mouth went dry.

“Oh.” For once, she couldn’t think of much to say. “That’s … awful.” Awful didn’t even begin to cover it.

“He was a big hunter,” Henry said. “Brought deer home every fall. He was a great shot – I went to the shooting range with him and some other guys from work a couple times. He…”

Henry grimaced, and a part of Sasha withered up inside as she watched his perfect lips twist into an expression of deep uneasiness.

“It’s just a shame he died like he did,” he finally finished.

“I’ll say. Sorry if I pushed you to tell me about it… I can’t imagine being the first to find someone like that.”

“Better me than someone else. Can you imagine if someone had driven by there with kids in their vehicle? Jesus… At least it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

“It’s not?” Now it was her turn to frown. What he’d described sounded like something out of a horror movie. What were the odds that he’d encountered anything like that before?

He shook his head. “I don’t mean the part about the hoist and gambrel, exactly – I mean death. The mutilated body… War is just as cruel as all that. Worse, really. You see things you can’t forget. All that blood just sort of sticks with you, in your head. There’s a body count permanently etched somewhere inside your brain.”

“Oh.” She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had so little to say. How could she possibly relate to what he’d experienced? She’d never witnessed anything more morbid than road kill.

He just nodded. “So that’s why I closed your curtains. I don’t want to risk whoever did that getting you in his crosshairs.”

She shivered. “Well, I guess I can’t argue. I definitely don’t want to end up strung up in a tree.”

Henry grimaced, and the expression was actually scary. “That’s not going to happen.”

She couldn’t help but notice the pallor of his skin. Normally it was a light golden tan that looked gorgeous with his blond hair, but at the moment, he looked downright pale. She knew it wasn’t just the lighting in her apartment. “Are you okay, Henry?”