Soul Seducer (21 page)

“You know, the guy has a heart condition. You saw him struggling for breath until he popped those pills.”

“So.”

“He’s here. He’s in jeopardy. Let me have him. You arrived first, but you can walk away. Leave him to me.”

Dimitri glanced back to the bed, at the still-breathing woman. “Can’t do it.”

Gaylen shook his head. “You’re here to take a young, innocent woman in the prime of her life. Hell, you took
Cassie
. Yet you won’t let me take a killer? Some hero you are.”

“My task is not to seek justice.”

“He’s a murderer. Remember what he did to that girl? Remember how he marred her flesh? Tortured her? What if that had been Audra? What if he’d raped her like the grunting pig that he is? Squeezed the life from her until her soft, warm flesh was cold with death?”

“Drop it.”

“Let me have him. Think about what he would do to Audra.”

“That’s a chance I’ll have to take.”

“You’d really let him slaughter Audra the way he did those other girls?”

The lie churned in Dimitri’s gut as he nodded. “I would.”

“Liar.”

“It’s the natural order of things.”

Gaylen let out a roar of laughter. “Who are you kidding, asshole? There’s nothing
natural
about the way you feel about her.”

~*~

Audra sat at the nurse’s station, entering patient notes into the computer. She was nearing the end of a twelve-hour shift and she dreaded it coming to a close.

When she wasn’t working, she had time to think. Too much time. Time to think about the deaths, about the ones still to come, about the crazy, mixed-up, irrational desire she had for Dimitri. How he’d made her feel. How, without touching her, he’d brought her to heights of passion no living, human man ever had.

So? What now? What possible kind of future could there be with him?

Not that he’d said anything about a future. He wanted to serve his sentence and go away. He’d promised to go away sooner, if they could stop Gaylen. For the first time, a small part of her almost wished that day would never come. Which was ridiculous. And self-centered. What kind of person wants a murderous demon to thrive just so she could grab a cheap, physical thrill? She didn’t
really
want Gaylen to succeed. Of course not. But she also didn’t want Dimitri out of her life.

“You’re an idiot,” she muttered.

Kyle walked up, coming behind the desk to take his place at the terminal. “Thanks for covering for me while I took a leak.”

“Not a problem.”

“Were you just talking to yourself?”

“It’s been a long day.”

Wow. Even when reapers weren’t around, she was a raving lunatic. A lunatic who was carrying a torch for a grim reaper. A non-human who took souls. And she thought she’d made a poor choice when she’d fallen in love with a gay man.

There was that word again. Love. No. It couldn’t be love. She wouldn’t let it be.

Why couldn’t she feel this way about Shane? Like Dimitri said, Shane was someone who could give her the future she wanted. The future that was quickly slipping from her grasp.

Her cell phone vibrated in the pocket of her scrubs and she pulled it out, looking at the display. A smile creased her mouth. Shane.

“Hello,” she said into the phone. “How did you know I was just thinking about you?”

“I didn’t. Any other time, I’d be thrilled,” he said, his tone flat.

“What’s happened, Shane? Has someone else died?” As she waited for the answer, her mind screamed,
please, no. I can’t take much more
.

“We found a body. A young girl. Her mother just identified her. Rumors will be circulating around the hospital in no time. I wanted you to hear it from me. It’s your friend’s daughter, Camellia. She’s been murdered.”

~*~

The night after Camilla’s body was found, Audra was scheduled to work a double. Mary Lou wouldn’t be in and they were short-staffed. Audra had stopped by her house after her shift ended yesterday, to offer her condolences. The woman barely even recognized her, she was so deep in her grief. Never had Audra seen a person so destroyed.

Who could have done something so horrific? Most likely, the same psycho who’d killed those girls in surrounding towns. It was inevitable his evil would come to Boon Springs. The town was a freakin’ magnet for tragedy and destruction.

Toward the end of her first shift, Audra slipped into the break room to recharge for the evening ahead. Dropping coins into the soda machine, she punched the Mountain Dew button. Not her usual choice, but she’d need the caffeine jolt for what lay ahead.

A few minutes into her break, Kyle stuck his head inside the room. “You have company.”

“Who is it?”

“Your friend. The one with the little girl.”

“Tell her I’ll be right out.”

When Audra saw Riley, she immediately knew something was wrong. Riley’s porcelain skin was blotchy from tears. Her suit jacket was askew, her blouse untucked, and her normally sleek silvery blonde hair was mussed as if she’d been running her hands through it.

“Riley? What is it? What’s happened?” Audra’s heart sped up. Had Gaylen gotten to Sadie? No. Riley would be a hysterical mess if that had happened, not just unkempt and distraught.

“It’s—Oh, God.” A visible shudder ran over her body.

Audra Riley by the arm. “Let’s go over here and sit.” She led her to a lounge area where they settled on chairs next to one another. “Tell me. What’s wrong?”

Riley took in a shuddering breath before speaking. “I don’t know if you noticed lately how Sadie’s been tiring easily. Her skin has looked a little…ashen. I took her to the doctor and he ran some tests.” Riley’s stricken eyes rose to Audra. “She has Dilated Cardiomyopathy.”

Audra’s gut clenched. The condition wasn’t necessarily fatal, but it could be if not caught quickly enough, or properly treated. “Which doctor did you take her to?”

“Doctor Gunderson.”

“Good. He’s the best. What did he say, exactly? How progressed is it?”

Riley shook her head. “He’s confident we caught it early. He said with the right treatment, right medications, she’ll be fine. He said we might be able to avoid surgery. I wanted to ask you, because I knew you’d know. And you’d tell me the truth.” Tears choked her voice, brimming and spilling down her cheeks. “You love Sadie, and you’ll tell me the truth. Is my little girl going to be okay?”

Audra scooted forward to take her into a hug, stroking her back. “Yes, she’ll be okay. He’s right. All we have to do is make sure she gets the care she needs, and she’ll be fine.”

Riley pulled away. “But that’s just it. I’m a terrible mother. What if I let something happen to her?”

“Terrible mother? What are you talking about?”

“I work so much. I’m hardly ever around. I mean, I don’t even know if it’s okay to take her trick-or-treating. Is she strong enough to handle it? I didn’t even ask the doctor. I didn’t even bother to think about it. All I think about is work.” She shook her head and ran a hand through her hair. “I’ll cut back. Get a partner or give away some of my cases. I have to be there for Sadie.”

Audra held onto her hand and squeezed. “She should be fine to go trick-or-treating. Just watch for signs she’s getting tired. And, you’ll do great. I’ll help. We’ll both be there for Sadie. And Brent. He’s a good father. You’re a wonderful mother. We’ll take care of her. Don’t worry, okay?”

Riley nodded and wiped her tears. “You’re right. She’ll be fine. Thank you.”

“Of course.” Audra forced a reassuring smile, but a knot of dread sat like a boulder in her chest.

Yes, the condition was manageable in the early stages. Yes, they would take good care of Sadie. Yes, everything should be fine with treatment. But, what Riley didn’t know and what Audra couldn’t tell her, what sent a wave of terror rushing through her soul was that, now, Sadie would always be in jeopardy. The illness had given Gaylen a weapon. The most powerful weapon he could possibly wield.

~*~

Dimitri wandered down the hospital corridor, looking for the killer. Just to see what he was up to, he told himself. He wouldn’t take action, no matter what. He just wanted to keep an eye on the sick son of a bitch. No need to worry about Audra, though, even if he had a right to, which he didn’t. It seemed the sicko’s taste ran to younger girls. Sweet, vulnerable innocent teenagers.

For the most part, they’d been runaways, untraceable phantoms that few would even miss. And, he’d confined his murderous rampage to other locations. But this last girl had been different. She’d been a beloved child of someone the guy knew. Someone he worked with. And she’d been killed right here in Boon Springs.

What was happening? Was the guy spiraling out of control? Changing his MO? If so, what other changes might he make? Might he not be so specific when it came to victims? Might he start to go after older women? Women he worked with, maybe?

Dimitri put a halt to that line of thinking. No matter what the asshole did, it wasn’t Dimitri’s job to stop him. What the hell was he, a cop? Speaking of cops. What was it with Dunham? Maybe if he’d concentrate on his job instead of Audra, he could catch the bastard.

He spotted him at the end of a hallway, just outside a door. Was there a potential victim on the other side?

Meandering closer, Dimitri saw it was a locker room. That didn’t mean there wasn’t a victim inside, but the likelihood that he was stupid enough to kill someone right here in the hospital was pretty slim. He
looked
that stupid, but that didn’t mean he was.

Dimitri followed him inside. The guy strolled casually—too casually—between the rows of lockers. He was up to something, no doubt.

He stopped in front of a locker, spun the dial, then opened the door. The way he was acting, it wasn’t his locker, but he’d known the combination. Maybe whoever owned it didn’t keep anything valuable inside and wasn’t cautious about keeping the combination secret.

Dimitri’s suspicions were confirmed when he pulled a pair of lacy, black women’s panties from the locker. Actually, they
could
belong to him. Who knew what the freak was into? Dimitri’s curiosity brought him closer, and he peeked over the guy’s shoulder inside the locker.

A sudden hot rush of rage almost made him turn human, just so he could tear the guy apart with his bare hands. He recognized some of the items in the locker. A pink canvas book bag. A gray Rock Louie T-shirt he’d seen her wear.

He knew whose locker it was, even before he saw the cocksucker bring the panties to his nose and inhale, murmuring as if in the throes of passion, “Audra...Audra...”

~*~

As predicted, the night shift on Halloween was insane. Audra was sent to the ER to help out. Although they’d scheduled extra staff, it still wasn’t enough to handle the flood of whack-jobs. The last patient she treated was a college student who’d tried to high jump over a bonfire. She was certain alcohol was involved in his decisions. She most definitely hoped that was the case, otherwise, things didn’t bode well for this generation of college graduates.

Finally, the excruciatingly long night came to an end. For her, anyway. The eleven to seven shift would have their share of crazies, too.

Just after Audra arrived home, Cassie materialized in her living room.

“I need a favor,” the girl said quickly. “I need your computer, then I need you to do something for me.”

“I’m exhausted. What do you need me to do?”

“I’ll explain later. Where’s your computer?”

Audra sighed heavily, then led Cassie into the computer room. Cassie perched on the chair. Her hands began to fly across the keyboard. In a few moments, the printer whirred, and Cassie plucked a sheet of paper from the tray and handed it to Audra.

Audra looked down at the photo Cassie had printed. A young guy sat atop a large blue dragon, brandishing a sword.

“What’s this?” she asked Cassie.

“I need you to give it to Shane. But, I need you to sneak it to him and not let him know you’re the one who gave it to him.”

“Why?”

“Because, that would just start a bunch of questions about your involvement, how you knew. I need him concentrating on the facts, not getting all clouded with what you know and how you came by the information.”

“But I don’t know anything.”

“Right.”

Good Lord. A reaper speaking in riddles. That was exactly what she needed tonight.

“Okay, fine.” Audra sighed. “I’ll take it to him tomorrow if it means that much to you.”

“No! It has to be tonight.”

“Tonight? I’m not even sure if he’s working.”

“He is. I already checked. I really need you to do this. Tonight.”

Audra frowned. “I’m sorry, Cassie, I—”

“Please! I’m begging you, please. Can you please just trust me? Just help me?”

Because Audra knew that the girl needed to be trusted, and so few people had helped her in life, she said, “Yes. Of course. I’ll trust you. I’ll help you. I’ll take it to him tonight.”