Target (A prequel Story)

  Jenna took a dainty sip of water. “Just because y’all don’t say y’all, doesn’t mean I can’t say y’all as much as I want to.”

  Caisey grabbed her plate and Grams’ and took them to the kitchen. Who said she had to wait around? Jake trailed in with his dishes and she bumped his shoulder at the sink. “Doing okay, kid?”

  He bumped hers back. “Sure.”

  “Need anything?”

  He shook his head. “Don’t worry. You’re not slacking on your godmother duties.”

  “Good.”

  And then Caisey was alone in the quiet kitchen, listening to the animated conversation still going on between Jenna and Grams at the dining table.

  Home was a pocket of safety. But one day the evil in the world would cross their doorstep. Despite her daily fight against it, there was nothing Caisey could do. She didn’t want crime to touch her family, but it could. She knew that as well as anyone. She did her job, but was it enough? As soon as one conviction was brought down, another criminal rose up. It was relentless.

  Wasn’t there something she could do, something to stem the tide of evil and protect her family? Caisey braced her hands on the counter and hung her head, praying if there was something that she would know what it was.

  There was nothing worse than feeling inconsequential.

  “Caisey, your phone is ringing.”

  **

  Liam led Andrea past the officers and into the building where she worked. The security guard’s jowls were red and his hairline was damp with sweat. He hefted himself over to them and stuck out his hand. “I’m really sorry about this, Ms. James. I know this is a hard time for you. I’m sorry about your sister. Really sorry.”

  Andrea gave him a pleasant smile and squeezed his hand. “Thank you, Steven.”

  It took a considerable amount of pulling, but she extricated her hand from his. Liam gave the guy a look, letting the security guard know he hadn’t missed it. Liam produced his badge. “Special Agent Conners.”

  The guard’s eyes widened and then maxed out. “Uh…um.”

  Liam led Andrea down the hall to the elevator where she leaned back against the mirrored wall and folded her arms. “That was rude.”

  “That guy has a crush on you.”

  “That doesn’t mean I should be rude to him. Steven is nice.”

  “Maybe.”

  Liam didn’t know why she didn’t put her accountant brain to the task and come up with the fact a serial killer was stalking her. What if it was Steven? She didn’t know what the killer looked like. Liam had seen the Chloroform Killer and there was no way Steven was him. But still, the thought should at least cross her mind.

  Instead she smiled. “So cynical.”

  Liam shrugged. “It’s better than being dead.”

  Andrea’s lips pressed together.

  He blew out a breath. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

  She looked aside. “Thank you for apologizing.”

  The lights on the fifteenth floor were all on and a crowd of police officers and FBI agents moved in and out of the rooms. Andrea’s office was at the end of the hall, full of the same team of technicians who had swabbed, tested and catalogued her apartment. She pushed out a long breath.

  “You okay?”

  Instead of answering, Andrea stepped over the debris that looked like papers, what had been a glass-topped coffee table, and pieces of stuffing from her chairs. She moved to the desk and looked around. “This is just mean.”

  “Is there anyone you can think of who might have done this?”

  “You mean someone this angry at me?” She motioned to the room. “There’s only one person I can think of.”

  Yeah, there was only one person Liam could think of, too.

  “Knock, knock.” Caisey strode in and stopped short. “Whoa, I wasn’t expecting this.”

  “Me either.” Still, he shot his partner a look and then glanced back at their charge. “Are you okay, Andrea?”

  “I had my laptop at home with me, so I don’t think this is about work. I challenge anyone to get through the security features on the desktop computer. I was told it’s better than what the military has.”

  “Why do you need all that?”

  Andrea turned to Caisey. “We deal with a number of sizeable, international companies. And those are the ones I’m allowed to tell you about.”

  Liam didn’t want to be so superficial he was impressed by the scope of her work, but the truth was he was proud of who Andrea had made herself to be, especially given her sister’s emotional issues and their family dynamic. Andrea had climbed a steep ladder and claimed a successful life of her own.

  Sergeant Tucker came in, nodded to Liam and Caisey and turned his attention to Andrea. “How are you holding up, Ms. James?”

  She gave him a small smile that cracked at the edges. “It doesn’t look like anything is missing, just tossed around.”

  He nodded and handed her his card. “I’m sure the FBI is taking excellent care of you, but don’t hesitate to let me know if you need anything.”

  “Sure, thank you, Sergeant.” Andrea tucked the card in her pocket and pulled her coat tighter around her, as though warding off a chill. “Can we get out of here?”

  Caisey moved to her and swept Andrea along with the force of her presence, herding her out the door. “Sure we can. How about we go somewhere and get a hot chocolate? You’re probably ready for a break and I know this great little bookstore with a café that puts those huge marshmallows on top and whipped cream.”

  Andrea moved with her, toward Liam. “That actually sounds great.”

  Liam decided he wouldn’t mind one of those, either. For the sake of work, of course. Andrea’s mental and emotional stability wasn’t part of their assignment, but no one wanted to guard someone who was losing it. The more focused and together Andrea was, the easier this would be. And if it made his heart warm to help her, then so be it.

  His phone rang. “Conners.”

  “It’s Agent Wing. You should get back here, the Chloroform Killer is in her apartment.”

  Chapter 11

  ANDREA SHIFTED FROM one foot to another. Why couldn’t they just let her in there? It was her apartment.

  Finally Caisey came out and strode over to Liam’s car, sliding her gun into the holder on her hip and clipping the strap down. She opened the rear door. “It’s clear. And there’s something you should see.”

  Andrea climbed out and glanced at the agent who’d been guarding her in the car. The older man nodded. Her apartment was full of cops, but still managed to be cold like the time the heater broke, making her shiver. Her eyes burned with the need to blink, but she had to know what he’d touched. Or left for her.

  “It’s on the coffee table.”

  The thing she needed to see was a white box, small enough it was probably meant to hold a bracelet, or some other token of affection. Andrea shuddered. Why was he fixating on her? There was nothing special about her at all. It made no sense.

  Andrea reached for the lid. Her stomach clenched but she wasn’t one to drag out something like this.

  Caisey’s hand grabbed her wrist and at least two cops yelled. Andrea straightened. “I was just going to open it. Isn’t that why I’m here?” Why were they all staring at her?

  Beyond Caisey, Liam’s eyes softened. “You’re not wearing gloves and its evidence, that’s all.” The tension seemed to bleed from his shoulders. A police officer gave Liam some latex gloves and he took the lid from the box.

  Curled up inside was the thin gold chain of Kiera’s necklace, the gold darkened with something that—when not dried—was probably bright red liquid.

  Andrea’s eyes burned again, and she blinked but they filled with tears until moisture spilled out and ran down her cheeks. How could he know she wanted Kiera’s necklace?

  She brushed past the outstretched hands and fled to her office. Andrea rounded the desk and sank to the floor beside the chair, her breath coming
heavy.

  She pulled up her knees and wrapped her arms around them, squeezing like she could expunge the pain by sheer force of will. Grief swelled in her like a wave until she was crying out.

  “Andrea.” His voice was hard, but when she looked up she saw the fear in Liam’s eyes. “Andrea.” Her name was a groan, and he handed her a wad of tissue. He sat on the carpet next to her and pulled her to him.

  **

  Liam stroked her back because that was all he could think of. What else would help? As much as he hated it, the reality was that nothing he said or did could take this pain away from her.

  Eventually her sobs tapered off to shaky breaths and she started to pull away. Liam let her go, but rubbed from her shoulders to her elbows and back, trying to stop her shudders.

  Andrea pushed hair from her face. “Sorry. I’ll be fine now, if you want to go do your thing.” She rubbed her cheeks.

  “You think I’m going to just leave you in here?”

  She frowned.

  “I do need you to tell me about the necklace.”

  She looked away, smoothing down the edges of her clothing. “It was Kiera’s. The necklace she always wore. The one I asked you for.”

  He nodded. “And the key?”

  “It’s for a storage unit. Kiera had stuff, photos and some furniture. Things from her life with Brad that she didn’t want to throw away, or risk getting lost or damaged since she was always moving from place to place. I convinced her to let me rent her a small unit where she could keep those mementos so they would always be safe.”

  “That was very…pragmatic of you.” At any other moment he would have laughed. It was seriously cute how responsible she was. Liam was sick to death of flighty women who never took anything seriously. “Thank you for telling me that.”

  “I’ll be okay now.”

  He nodded, not that he’d thought otherwise. “I’m glad.”

  Andrea was way too used to relying only on herself and he knew now that a measure of her strength came from her faith. He wanted to think it was because of his presence. But he wasn’t going to kid himself that he’d made that much of an impact on her in only the few short days they’d known each other.

  Her nose crinkled. “I just figured you’d have stuff to do, with the box, and the other cops.”

  “Caisey can handle it. She’ll give me all the time I need while I’m giving you the time you need.”

  “I don’t really need…uh, you, uh…anymore. But thanks. I really am good now.”

  She didn’t need him?

  Her eyes widened. “I don’t mean I don’t need you. The killer is still after me, obviously. That’s not what I meant. I just…”

  “It’s okay, Andrea.” But his body had gone solid and he dropped his hands. If she wanted to be self-sufficient, he had to let her do that. “I’ll let you get cleaned up and then we can figure out what we’re going to do next.”

  Liam forced himself to walk away. If Andrea wanted to do this on her own, that was fine. If she wanted him to protect her but not get involved with her personally, fine. He understood overbearing parents who didn’t understand you, and self-destructive siblings. It turned out they had more in common than he’d even thought possible. But if Andrea couldn’t see that, then he wasn’t going to wait around for her to figure it out.

  **

  Caisey saw the look on his face, but just couldn’t joke him out of this. Andrea was breaking his heart, and if Caisey didn’t like her so much then she’d want to punch her. Still, maybe Liam needed this. Maybe it would be good for him. He’d been so controlled for so long he needed shaking up, and what better way to do that than a relationship? The best ones always flipped you upside down and tied you in knots so you barely knew what was going on.

  She should know.

  But that was a long time ago. Long enough that it well and truly qualified as ancient history.

  “So what’s up with the necklace?”

  Liam rubbed a hand down his face, his go-to action for frustrated and tired. “It’s Kiera’s.”

  “So he’s toying with her, or reaching out in his way. It could be an apology, if that was likely, just as much as it could be meant to mess with her head.” Caisey paused. “You think the break-in at her office was a distraction?”

  “But we still had a team watching the apartment.”

  “He doesn’t know that. And it’s not like he got caught. They barely knew he was here before they saw he’d come and gone already. Or he’s so cocky the team on surveillance didn’t bother him in the slightest.”

  She wanted to shoot Wing and Stern a dirty look for being incompetent, but she tried not to act like that in public. Would she have done better if it had been her watching the apartment? They were good agents, but that didn’t change the fact none of this was right. She’d rather be irrationally indignant than a staunch realist. That was just sad.

  Liam was worried. “You think he’s going to try again to make contact with Andrea?”

  Caisey bit her lip. “Nothing about this is your typical serial-murderer scenario. I mean, he was obviously angry to discover it was Kiera, what with the way he disposed of her. Now he’s back to making contact. So is he going to try again? Does this come to a head when he abducts Andrea for real this time?”

  “I won’t let that happen.”

  “What else would make him stop? I don’t think he’ll just give up and move on to someone else.”

  “We’re going to stop him. That’s how.”

  “Liam—”

  “I know what you’re going to say, and yes, this is personal. But I’m not going to let him terrorize someone else the way he’s done to Andrea and Kiera and the other victims.” He folded his arms. “There’s just no way. This has to stop.”

  What would she do if the Chloroform Killer turned his attention to her? Would she deal with it with the same strength Andrea was? Caisey liked to think she was strong, but how would she know unless it actually happened?

  **

  Andrea folded her pajama pants and tucked them into the little roll-on suitcase she traveled with. Her nose was all stopped up and her head was pounding, so she took the usual mix of over-the-counter meds she fell back on when she got a sinus headache, and simply carried on. She heard someone at the door to her bedroom, but she didn’t look up, just closed the suitcase lid and zipped it.

  “Going somewhere?”

  Andrea set the suitcase on the floor and pulled up the handle. “You think I’m going to stay here? A serial killer was in my home.”

  He stood like he was braced for her to hurl something at him. Why did he think he needed to protect himself from her? Andrea was the one who kept getting hurt. Liam was one of the best things in her life right now. There was nothing typical about whatever was between them, but he’d said he hoped it might grow to something more after the danger was over. Maybe that wasn’t such a bad idea. She needed something good to look forward to.

  But that was before. Was he just planning on doing his job and letting her walk away now? Was she supposed to want him to be there more? She liked the feel of him comforting her. She just wished it wasn’t so embarrassing. She wasn’t a shallow person, and didn’t much worry about what she looked like, but Andrea didn’t like people thinking bad about her. Or that she was needy, like her mom. Did Liam want a woman who needed saving? Maybe that was what had drawn him to her, the fact she was in trouble.

  As much as she didn’t want to go home, about the safest place she could think of was her parents’ house and their security fence.

  She straightened her spine. “I’d like to go to my parents’ home for a while. I think it might be the best thing for all of us.” Except, she really meant it was the best thing for her. After all, she was the one being targeted. Wasn’t she allowed to be a little bit selfish, given the circumstances?

  Liam’s lips pressed into a thin line. “We’ll have to make arrangements. If you’re going to stay with your parents there needs to be room
for Caisey and I. Space for a team to watch the property. We’re not going to just let you go without protection.”

  She wasn’t an idiot. “You think I don’t know that? You want to catch him, and I’ll screw up your case if he gets me. If he kills me, like he killed Kiera—” Her voice broke.

  Why was this so hard?

  Liam’s arms wrapped around her, the heat inescapable as his hand moved up her back to her neck.

  “I’m sorry.”

  But his hand drifted up, and then his fingers got lost in her hair. Andrea barely drew a breath before his lips were on hers. For a full minute she couldn’t even think. There was nothing in the world that had ever felt like this and she wanted to submerge herself in it.

  Liam pulled back and she went with him. Andrea opened her eyes and saw his face.

  Oh, no. He was—

  “I shouldn’t have done that.”

  How on earth could he be sorry for that? Andrea lifted her chin. “That was the best kiss I’ve ever had.”

  Liam’s head jerked. So he hadn’t expected her to say that. Well, that wasn’t her problem now, was it? His lips twitched. “It was, wasn’t it?”

  “So what are you going to do about it?”

  Chapter 12

  SO THE TIMING was awful, Andrea wasn’t going to pass up something that felt like that. She’d lived her life for too long by the tenet, “if it feels good, it’s probably wrong”. It was time for her to have a full life of her own for once.

  “Okay, then.” Liam huffed out a laugh. “But that doesn’t change the fact I’m here to do a job. I need you to let me concentrate on the case, and keeping you safe from the Chloroform Killer. When that’s done, maybe we could go to dinner?”

  “I’d like that.”

  He glanced down at her suitcase for a second. “Are you sure you want to go to your parents’?”

  “They have a security system.”

  “You’ll be putting them in danger.” She wanted to argue, but he held up his hands. “I’m not saying you have to stay here, but we can find somewhere else that’s secure.”