can tell because the stab wounds they received after they died are deeper and more savage. I believe the medical examiner will agree with me on that. He took their eyes and he carved up their bedroom. Clothes, blankets, mattress, even the carpet. He entered their apartment through the rear door. They hadn’t locked it. It looks as if he just walked right in with no problem.”
Jaxon suddenly reached out to Lucian, the first public gesture she had made toward him. She was exhausted without hesitation his fingers laced, warm and solid, through hers. And he was right. She didn’t feel alone anymore. I am responsible for so many deaths, Lucian. I feel as if my soul is black.
You are not responsible. Hear me when I say this, Jaxon. Tyler Drake murders people because he is a sick man, not because of you. If it was not you he had fixated on, it would be another.
Her mouth curved in a semblance of a smile that never had a chance of reaching her eyes. You’re sure of that? You don’t know what it’s like to know that people you care about are dead because the only crime they committed was being your neighbor. Lucian, I don’t want this to touch you.
I have been judge and executioner for nearly two thousand years. I have destroyed so many I cannot count that high, nor would I want to. I am a predator, honey. You are a sweet, compassionate angel. A miracle. My miracle.
Thank you. She said it simply, meaning it.
I love you, angel, Lucian said in his black-velvet sorcerer’s voice, and he meant it.
A ghost of a smile touched her mouth before she resumed her assessment for her boss. “Drake went to kill Sid after that. There’s a smear of blood in the hall beside Sid’s door. I’ll be willing to bet it’s Shelby’s. Blood never bothers Drake. Sid answered the door. He never looked through the peephole, although I cautioned him numerous times. He was a wonderful man. He trusted everyone. He played with children in the park, taught them chess, spent half his monthly check on food for the kids in the neighborhood. He gave them things to do and a place to go when their parents weren’t home or when there was trouble. He didn’t deserve what Drake did to him.”
Lucian felt her falter then. She crumbled inside, her silent screams louder than ever. On the outside she appeared calm, but she was sick, fighting back the nausea gripping her. Immediately he wrapped his arms around her, turning her against his chest. His heart matched the exact rhythm of hers. You are not alone, never alone. Drake can never separate us. You can reach for me over time and space, and I will be with you.
I can’t bear this. Sid was so sweet. You would’ve liked him. Tom and Shelby were nice people. They had no children, and they treated me like a daughter. Their only sin was that they liked me. And you met Mrs. Kramer. There was no one nicer. This is all because of me. If I hadn’t gone to your house, let them publish our engagement in the newspapers, Drake wouldn’t have done this.
Drake is totally responsible, honey, not you. He was patient, repeating it over and over, wanting his words to sink in.
He’ll get to you. He will. You and Barry. She stiffened, her eyes suddenly wide with terror. “He’s going after Barry, Captain. Drake will do it—I know he will. He’ll access your computers, torture someone, I don’t know how, but he’s going to go after Barry. Drake’s different now. I can’t explain it—I just feel it. Something’s wrong with all of this. In the past he always killed because he perceived others as a threat to his family. This was rage. This was because he wanted to kill. Part of him was Drake, because he performed like Drake, he took their eyes, but he wasn’t exactly the same. He doesn’t kill with this kind of rage. He’s different.” She shook her head. “I have to get to Barry. He isn’t safe.”
“No one knows where we stashed Radcliff,” Daryl protested. “I want you to go to the station and write up your report. Every detail. We need it, Jaxx.”