Scream For Me: A Novel of the Night Hunter (For Me #3)(48)
Author: Cynthia Eden

“Maybe we penned him in here,” Dani offered. “We’ve got all the search units in the woods. The guy could still be here.”

Yes, he could be.

“If he had a place here and in Paradox”—Kyle blew out a hard breath—“then what’s to say he didn’t have a place in Deerfield, too? The guy might have a base in each state he hunts.”

He could, if he didn’t want to transport the victims. But more bases meant more risk. With more locations, there would be less control. The perp would always have to worry about someone finding his hiding spots. Finding his victims.

Had Jake Landers found him? Is that why he wound up dead?

Cadence thought that might just be the reason.

Kyle’s head cocked as he studied Cadence. “How did Landers die?”

“A gunshot wound to the chest.” The same way Christa had died.

It made sense. Landers had been a big, muscled guy. Taking him out in any close combat manner wouldn’t have been easy. To make sure you got the job done, why not use a gun?

“Could they have been partners?” Dani asked as she turned away from the sketched. “I mean, teams work together. We’ve seen it before.”

Yes, they had. Too recently for comfort.

But Cadence wasn’t buying the team angle on this one. “I pulled his records. Jake Landers was doing a stint in jail when Judith Lynn vanished.”

Dani seemed to absorb that. “So while he was in jail, someone made use of his place.”

It looked that way to Cadence.

“Then he came home,” Ben continued, picking up the story, “and found someone waiting on him.”

With a shotgun.

Ben shook his head. “We shouldn’t completely rule Landers out yet.” He glanced over at Dani. “Tear apart his background. I want to know the guy’s whereabouts for every disappearance, not just Judith Lynn’s.”

Cadence had been planning to request the background check, too, just in case.

It pays to be careful.

And sometimes, it paid to take risks. “There’s something I want to try.”

Kyle’s gaze had strayed back to the images, but at her words, he frowned, glancing over at her.

She braced herself for the explosion she knew was about to come blasting her way. “At this point, I think we should work under the assumption that one or more of these women may still be alive.”

Dani sat down, hard. Maybe she hadn’t sat. Maybe her knees had just given way. Cadence had her own knees locked.

Doggedly, Cadence continued, “Our priority isn’t just on stopping the killer. It’s on bringing these women in alive.” They’d already been prisoner for far too long.

If they were alive.

Keep hope. Keep it for Kyle. Kyle, who watched her with his haunted eyes and grim, determined expression.

“Just what is it you want to try?” Dani asked, sounding very, very wary.

Her friend knew her well. Too well.

“If we don’t find him soon, we know he will take another woman.” Maybe he’d go to Deerfield, or maybe not. Since he’d realized that they were following his pattern, then he might try to change on them again.

We have to try to control him. We can’t just follow the trail of death he leaves for us.

Kyle stalked toward her. “Cadence.” He knew her well, too. The hard glint in his eyes said he knew exactly where she was going with her plan.

She kept her chin up. “He told you that he wanted to take me.”

“Cadence, no.” Fury ripped through his voice.

She tore her gaze from him. Focused on Ben. She’d need his approval, not Kyle’s. “So I say we give him exactly what he wants.”

Kyle’s hands locked around her arms. “Are you crazy?”

No. She was desperate. “I’m a federal agent. I’ve been trained to handle myself in any situation that develops. No matter how dangerous.” She made herself glance into his blazing eyes. “The way I figure it, I might be our best bet right now. The guy’s leading us around, and the bodies are piling up.”

“So you want to give him another body?” His voice was a low, deadly rumble. He’d leaned in even closer toward her. “I’m not risking you.”

This would seem cruel to him but… “I’m not yours to risk.”

He blinked. One slow blink. Then his hands fell away from her.

She sucked in a bracing breath. “He was in those woods. I know it was him.” The deputy with the wrong boots. “He wants to take me, then I say let him. Wire me up, get a lock on me, and use me as bait. He takes me, and you follow.” She trusted the team. She trusted Kyle.

Even if he was staring at her with rage smoldering in his eyes.

“You follow,” she said, forcing the words out, “and I’ll take you to whatever hole he’s hiding in. Then, hell, maybe some of the other victims will be there or—”

“Or we have the guy in custody,” Ben cut in, the Brooklyn snapping in his voice and giving the words a hard edge, “and we make him tell us.”

Yes.

Either way, they’d stop chasing him in the dark.

“Let him take me,” Cadence said, “and then we can take him.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

It was the worst f**king plan he’d ever heard. Kyle glared at Cadence. She stood there, with shadows under her eyes, her skin too pale, her body too fragile, and the woman was willingly offering herself up as bait for the killer.

“He didn’t keep his last victim long enough for anyone to trace her,” Kyle said. The words were like razors, slicing across his throat. Cadence wasn’t looking him in the eyes.

Look at me.

“He killed the blonde, Valerie Tate.” They’d found her ID still inside her abandoned convertible. “And he dumped her body all in the same night. What if he does the same to you? What the hell then?”

Silence. He realized he’d shouted the last question at her. So much for playing it cool.

But this was Cadence’s life. It wasn’t about playing anything.

“He said he aimed for you at Christa Donaldson’s place. He said he was trying to kill you.” Kyle’s control had splintered. He couldn’t stand the thought of Cadence in jeopardy.

“He was lying to you.”

“You don’t know that!”

“I know he was trying to jerk you around. I know that if he just wanted me dead…” She licked her lips. “He could have shot me in the woods. We both know he probably had the chance.”