The Girl Next Door (Shadow Agents #6)(37)
Author: Cynthia Eden

Her breath caught. “Kylie Archer.”

“From what we can tell, she was the first non–EOD agent.” His face hardened. “The agents you don’t know about yet were Jessica Flintwood and Frank Malone. They were partners, a team.”

Just like she’d been partners with Cooper.

“He killed Jessica first. He slit her throat, just like with the others. Then he took out Frank a few weeks later.”

Her eyelids flickered. “He kills a woman, then a man.” But…with Kylie and Lockwood, they’d been a couple. So had Melanie and Van. Her gaze widened. “Were Jessica and—ah, Frank, were they involved?”

He frowned at her. “What?”

“Were they involved?” She could see the pattern, it was right there. “A couple. Just like the others.”

“I don’t know…” His head cocked to the right. “They worked together closely. Agents aren’t supposed to cross that line, so if they were, they would’ve kept it quiet.”

“But he found out.” It made sense to her, but Cooper was still frowning. “He’s targeting the women first, then going after their men.” She didn’t know why, but the killer had a pattern, a routine that he was following.”

“Right now,” his voice roughened, “I’m worried he’s going after you.” A grim pause, then Cooper said, “He’s calling you, breaking into your house, targeting you.”

His words made her afraid, but she wasn’t about to give into fear then.

“But it’s not going to happen,” he promised her. “Because I am not going to let anyone hurt you.”

Before she could say anything else, his head lowered, and his mouth pressed to hers.

* * *

NOELLE EVERS JOLTED. “That’s it. That’s why he does it!”

Deuce Porter glanced at her. “Ma’am, that’s a kiss.” His smile was wide. “Maybe we should step out of observation and give those two some privacy.”

Mercer had sent her down to watch the interaction between Cooper and Gabrielle, because he’d thought Gabrielle might speak more freely to that agent.

Mercer had been right.

But what she’d learned, the profile that was developing before her, it wasn’t what she’d expected. “I have to see Mercer.”

Deuce’s brows climbed. “I thought you’d be talking to all of us. You know…figuring out which one of us has snapped and gone crazy.” He shrugged. “Though you’ll no doubt have a hard time picking just one candidate. I think we’re all a little crazy.”

“I know what he’s doing,” she said, excitement growing within her. “Why he’s doing it.” The why was the most important part. Once you understood a killer’s motivation, that made the perp vulnerable. You could manipulate him then.

Trap him.

She hurried for the door.

“Why?” Deuce asked, the question a growl. “I’d like to know why he killed my friend. Lockwood and I—we worked plenty of missions together. He was a good man. He didn’t deserve to go down like that.”

She couldn’t tell the agent why. She was only supposed to talk with Mercer. Just him.

Noelle opened the door and hurried into the hallway. She was in such a hurry to get to Mercer that she slammed straight into the man standing there.

Big, strong, with midnight-black hair and dark, golden eyes, the fellow caught her in an instant and held her in a steady grip.

“Dragon, you don’t want to be getting too close to her…” Deuce warned from behind her. “She’s Mercer’s profiler. She’s here to find out which one of us has gone psychotic.”

Dragon?

The man before her slowly released his hold on her.

“Of course, after what happened to you on that last mission, maybe you should be talking to her,” Deuce mused. “How many of your captors did you kill? And all without even a single weapon.”

She shouldn’t be hearing this. She should be rushing for the elevator and hurrying up to see Mercer.

Instead, Noelle found it hard to look away from that man’s golden eyes. She frowned at him, a pulse of recognition stirring within her. “Have we met before, agent?”

His lips curved in the faintest of smiles. “I’ve seen you, but I don’t think you’ve seen me, Doctor.”

Then he turned around and headed down the hallway. His movements were absolutely soundless, and he moved with an easy, catlike grace.

Deuce came to her side. “Be careful with him,” he murmured. “I mean it, Agent Evers. I’ve never seen a more deadly agent, and I’ve been here for almost seven years now. That guy doesn’t get close to anyone, and when he kills…” His breath rushed out. “We’re supposed to have remorse, aren’t we? We’re supposed to be more than just machines, following orders.” His hands shoved into his pockets. “People should matter more than just mission orders.”

Yes, they should.

She cleared her throat and hurried for the elevator. Noelle slipped inside.

She wasn’t in that elevator alone.

The man Deuce had called “Dragon” was there. He didn’t speak as they rode up that elevator together.

Goose bumps rose on her arms.

There was something about him.

One look, and he’d scared her.

One look, and he’d—

The elevator chimed. The doors opened. Noelle nearly tripped as she rushed out and toward the desk of Mercer’s assistant.

Before she could even ask to see the director, he was there, frowning at her. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

It wasn’t what had already happened that made her fear so much.

They went back into Mercer’s office. He closed the door, sealing them inside. She tried to calm her racing heartbeat. “Kylie Archer was involved with Keith Lockwood.”

His brow furrowed. “I already told you—”

“Your rogue killed her in order to get at Lockwood. She was the easy kill, the one who wouldn’t expect his attack. Then, while Lockwood was grieving, while he was weak with his loss, the killer went after him.”

The pairs made so much sense to her now. Once she’d realized that the first two victims were also intimately connected, she understood why the rogue was taking out the women first. Because he wants the men to suffer more. He wants them to mourn for what they’ve lost.

Mercer’s expression tightened. “He did the same thing with Melanie and Van.”