Before the Dawn--A Novel of Romantic Suspense

  Her phone vibrated again.

  Waiting at the shop. Hurry.

  Her fingers tapped across the screen. Be there in twenty.

  She jumped from the bed. She was still dressed—dressed in the clothes she’d worn yesterday. Maybe the cops would let her get in her place later that day so she could change. She felt like hell and she probably looked that way, too.

  Her phone vibrated. Dawn glanced at the screen.

  Come alone. No cops, no agents.

  Malone had never been exactly wild about the police. He had a criminal record, and he’d been viewed with suspicion more than a few times. If he wanted to talk with her in confidence, she could see where he wouldn’t want an audience around.

  And she needed to talk to him. He’d been a father figure to Jinx. The guy was probably a wreck. She should have called him herself last night.

  Dawn went to the bathroom and freshened up as much as she could. When she came back out—

  Tucker was standing at the foot of her bed. His hair was wet, as if he’d just come from the shower. He wore khaki pants and a white button-down shirt. He lifted up a bag that he held in his hands. “I had clothes delivered for you.”

  She hurried forward and took the bag. Inside—yes!—she found her clothes. “Thank you.” She turned away, heading for the bathroom.

  “Dawn.”

  Her shoulders tensed. “I need to change, okay? Give me a minute.” She pretty much ran into the bathroom. As fast as she could, she switched her clothes. And maybe...maybe she didn’t look too hard at herself in the mirror. After everything that had happened, she didn’t want to see herself. Not yet.

  Some things don’t change.

  When she went back into the bedroom, he was still there.

  “The team isn’t quite done at your place,” he said. “So you’ll need to stay here—”

  “I’m going to meet Malone.” She lifted her chin. “I need to pay my respects to him. He was pretty much the only father Jinx had.” She checked her phone, this time avoiding Tucker’s gaze. “He texted. I told him I’d be there soon, so I need to go.” She tried to brush around him.

  He caught her wrist. And at his touch, an electric current seemed to travel through her whole body.

  That was what he’d done to her. One night, and she was attuned to him again. When they’d been together in the past, their bodies had become so sensitive to each other. He’d been able to just touch her, and she’d reacted.

  Fear had stopped that, for a time.

  But the desire was back now. The passion that he stirred so effortlessly inside of her. It was there again, and even the fear couldn’t hold it back.

  She knew her emotions were twisted when it came to Tucker. She was twisted. Messed up. Wrong? Dawn didn’t know. She just understood that he got to her, on a primitive level. She couldn’t stop her feelings. When it came to Tucker, there was no holding back.

  “I’m coming with you.”

  Dawn shook her head. “He doesn’t want cops or FBI agents around. He’s not exactly a fan of law enforcement.”

  His gaze sharpened. “Too bad. You’re still under protective custody, and I’m not letting you walk out of here alone.”

  Not letting you. “That pisses me off.”

  Now his brows rose.

  “You’re taking over my life. A life I worked hard to build. You’re locking me away.” She glanced around the hotel suite. “You can’t keep me sealed away from the rest of the world. You’re not the only one who doesn’t like a cage.”

  He swore—and he let her go. “I just want you safe. This bastard is gunning for you. You think I’m going to turn my back and let him take you away from me?”

  His wording there...it was odd. Possessive.

  “I have a job,” she said flatly. “My own business. People who depend on me. I can’t just hide and wait for some killer to be captured. That could take days. Weeks.” Months.

  “I’m going to get him.” His eyes shone with determination. “I worked up his profile. We’re going to a briefing with the coroner today. Our team is ready to hit the ground running. This is what we do, Dawn. We catch bastards like him and we lock them away.”

  “And I help people,” she said quietly. “I find people who are missing. I help wives get justice. I help those who feel like they are out of options. My clients are counting on me, and I won’t let them down.” She nodded. “Just like I won’t let Malone down. I’m going to see him.”

  “Dawn...” Frustration showed on his face. “I’m not doing any of this to hurt you. You’re a target. To let you out on your own would be the height of irresponsible behavior. The bastard is killing. I can’t have you becoming his next target.”

  Winding up dead wasn’t on her to-do list. And it hadn’t been on Jinx’s, either. “What happened to Red?”

  His jaw hardened. “He was stabbed in the chest and in the throat. No one at the motel saw or heard anything, and the poor bastard died choking on his own blood.”

  God. She sucked in a hard breath.

  “I don’t buy coincidences. I don’t think that the only witness we had just randomly got killed in some robbery or some shit like that. The killer we’re after...he found Red. He eliminated him. I don’t want him doing the same to you.” His shoulders squared. “So I get that Malone is your friend. I get that he doesn’t like cops, but what you need to get... I won’t risk you. I can’t. So if you want to go and see him—fine. But you’re doing it with a shadow. You’re doing it with me.”

  Damn it. She got what he was saying, she really did. She didn’t want to take unnecessary risks. But she also wasn’t the hiding type. She wanted to fight. She wanted to catch that bastard who’d hurt her friend and so many others. She wanted to do something. And not just sit on her ass waiting for the bad guy to find her. So she nodded once, decisively, and said, “Then this is the way it will work.” Not an argument, not a plea, just flat speech. “Be at my side, but don’t cage me. Don’t pull rank and cut me out of the investigation—that’s not working for me. This is my life, and I’ll stay with you.” Dawn hesitated. “I’ll stay with your team, but not as someone who sits on the sidelines. I will be a part of this investigation. I won’t be a prisoner.”

  He was quiet a moment, and she didn’t realize she was holding her breath until he nodded. “I’ll clear it with Agent Dark.”

  What? Yes, hell, yes! “Good.” She glanced at her phone. “Now we need to hurry. Malone is waiting, and that man does not like to wait. He’s going to be pissed enough when you show up with me.” She’d have to deal with that anger and calm Malone back down. She brushed by Tucker.

  “We’re not going to talk about it, are we?”

  Dawn stilled. “It?”

  “Last night. The sex. The secrets.”

  “No, we’re not talking about that right now.” Dawn glanced over at him. “Unless you’ve decided to really trust me?”

  “I do trust you.”

  “Then stop holding back.” She faced the front again. “Because you’re the one pushing me away this time.”

  * * *

  VOODOO TATS WAS DARK. The closed sign hung from the front door, a bit crookedly.

  Tucker stared at the building, his gaze sweeping over the windows. “Doesn’t look to me like Malone is here.”

  “He’s here.” Her fingers swiped over her phone. Tucker knew she’d gotten another text on the way there. “He said the back door is unlocked. To come in that way.” Dawn slanted him a quick glance. “You can wait outside while I talk to him. The guy is going to be torn up, and Malone isn’t exactly the kind of man who likes for others to see him hurting.”

  Yeah, he could buy that, based on his previous chat with the guy. Malone had struck him as the hard-as-nails type. But the place looked deserted, and the idea of Dawn
just sauntering inside alone...

  Hell, no.

  “I need a few minutes to talk with him alone before you come in.”

  Without answering, he moved to the side of the building. A narrow alleyway waited there. Dawn slipped ahead of him, moving easily. It was so quiet out there. The streets were empty, the town barely awake. She turned up ahead, moving to the back of Voodoo Tats. Dawn reached for the door and, sure enough, the handle turned beneath her hand. She opened the door and started to walk inside.

  “I don’t like this.” Tucker’s gaze swept the alley. “I don’t like this scene one bit.”

  She’d looked back at him. Her lips parted as if she’d argue with him.

  “Take out your phone.”

  “Tucker...” A warning edge had slid into her voice.

  “The phone, Dawn, now.” And, yeah, he was biting off orders, but every instinct he had was screaming at him. The setup was wrong. The place was empty. The guy was telling her to come in the back door? All alone? Fucking ambush. That was what this felt like. Some kind of trap.

  Glaring, she pulled the phone out.

  “Call him,” Tucker ordered. “Talk to him. Make sure your buddy Malone is here.” He didn’t want a text. He wanted to hear the guy’s voice.

  She dialed the number, putting it on speaker so he could hear the phone ring. The back door to the tattoo shop was open and—

  He heard the phone ringing inside. Malone’s phone was there, but the guy wasn’t answering. He saw the worry flash on Dawn’s face as the phone continued to ring.

  And then voice mail picked up.

  Her finger swiped over the screen, ending the call without leaving any message.

  “You brought your gun, didn’t you?” Tucker asked her softly.

  “Yes.” Her expression had changed completely. She didn’t appear angry with him any longer. Now she was worried, tense—the same way he felt.

  Tucker nodded. “I’m going in first.” Because Malone could be in there...and if he wasn’t answering his phone, the guy could be hurt. That was option one. Another option—this could be a trap and, in that case, he wanted them both to be ready. “Stay behind me.”

  He pushed the door open fully. “Malone!” Tucker called out. “It’s Agent Frost! I want to talk with you, now.”

  But there was no response.

  He stepped forward and...his foot slipped on a piece of paper. He glanced down and saw...roses. A sketch of roses.

  “That’s my tattoo design,” Dawn whispered from behind him.

  His gaze slid along the hallway. There wasn’t just one piece of paper there. Dozens of pages were scattered on the floor—copies, all of the same image. The cluster of roses that Dawn had on her shoulder.

  “Malone!” Now his voice was a rough shout. “Show yourself!”

  Nothing. Silence.

  He strode forward. Turned to the right...

  “This was Jinx’s work room,” Dawn said, her voice barely carrying to him.

  The room had been trashed. Everything inside had been smashed. Mirrors broken, her tattoo inks thrown across the room. Utterly destroyed.

  And right in the middle of that chaos, he saw a phone.

  Tucker marched forward and stared down at the screen, making sure not to touch the phone. He didn’t want to contaminate the scene and destroy evidence.

  Missed Call.

  Malone’s phone. He whirled around.

  Her phone vibrated. Another text.

  She pulled out her phone, stared at the screen and blanched.

  “Dawn?”

  “It’s...her. This time, the text is coming from Jinx’s number. And it’s her.”

  He grabbed her phone—and saw that the image she’d been sent was of Jinx. A very alive Jinx. The woman was tied up and she was in the freezer, staring up with horror stamped on her face.

  “He sent it from her phone. He has Jinx’s phone.”

  The killer had her phone, and he’d lured Dawn to the tattoo shop. He’d set a trap and Tucker had let them both walk right into it. “We’re leaving, now.” He grabbed her elbow. “Come on—”

  “No! We have to search the whole place! Malone could be here—he could be hurt. The bastard who killed Jinx and Red—he could have gone after Malone, too.” She jerked away from him. “We have to search for him! We have to—”

  Her phone vibrated again. Another text that had come from Jinx’s phone.

  I see you.

  The SOB was watching them. Tucker caught Dawn’s arm and dragged her from the back room. He did a fast sweep of that building, looking for Malone, but no one else was there. Just them...

  And the longer we stay, the more danger we are in.

  “We’re getting out of here, now.” He headed for the back door.

  Her fucking phone vibrated again. Tucker looked back, glancing down at the screen.

  You were supposed to be alone.

  His eyes narrowed. Too bad. She’s fucking not alone. “When we go outside, you stay behind me. We’ll go straight to the SUV.” He’d get her away from the scene and then he’d call in backup to search the shop and he’d get a crime scene team out to dust for prints. The team needed to find Malone, and he wanted to scout the area.

  He rushed outside, moving fast, sweeping the scene, and Dawn was right with him. She didn’t hesitate at all as they rounded the back of the building and then headed for that little alley.

  He was going in first and—

  A gunshot blasted. He saw the glint of the gun just before it fired and he jumped to the side, grabbing Dawn and taking her down with him. He felt the heat of the bullet burn across his arm, and then he heard the thunder of frantic footsteps, racing away.

  Oh, no, you son of a bitch. You’re not getting away that fast.

  “Stay here,” he snarled at Dawn and then he leaped to his feet. He took off running down that alley. He could see the guy in front of him, a guy wearing a black hoodie and running hell fast. Tucker pumped his legs faster, ignored the blood wetting his shirt and rushed after the bastard who’d dared to take a shot at them.

  * * *

  “STAY HERE?” DAWN jumped to her feet and stared after Tucker with her mouth hanging open. She was pretty sure the guy had been shot. And he’d just run away, acting as if he weren’t hurt at all, but...

  She looked down. That was definitely blood on her shirt. Blood that wasn’t hers. She checked her gun. Good. She was—

  Her phone vibrated, jerking on the pavement. It had fallen from her hand when she and Tucker had jumped for cover. She bent to stare at the screen.

  Got you.

  But...Tucker was racing after the guy who’d fired at them. So the shooter couldn’t be texting—

  She heard the faintest rustle of a footstep behind her. Dawn started to whirl around, but then she was hit from behind. Hit hard and fast. He shoved her forward and her head slammed into the brick wall on the side of the building. Her finger jerked on the trigger of her gun and she fired a wild shot, one that seemed to echo in her ears.

  * * *

  TUCKER LUNGED FORWARD and tackled the bastard who’d been running so fast. They’d already crossed the street and rushed into another alley. This shit ends here. He hit the perp hard and they tumbled onto the ground. He rolled the guy over, glaring down at the bastard. “FBI, you son of a bitch—”

  It was a kid. A too-pale teen with acne on his face and terror in his eyes.

  This isn’t the killer.

  “Who the fuck are you?” Tucker demanded.

  The guy was shaking—shuddering. “I...I dropped the gun, man!”

  Yeah, he’d dropped it when they were running. Dropped it—thrown it at Tucker. Same fucking thing.

  “S-said he’d pay me if I fired... Just a
shot to scare you... Didn’t...didn’t mean to hit you—”

  And another gunshot blasted.

  Tucker froze.

  The kid was staring up at him in absolute horror and a gunshot was echoing in his ears. The blast had come from behind them.

  Dawn is back there.

  “Guy g-gave me a couple hundred.” Spittle flew from the kid’s mouth. “Just to scare you. Just to—”

  Tucker yanked out his cuffs. He locked one cuff around the kid’s wrist and the other he snapped around the pole on the side of a Dumpster. “You stay the fuck here.” He jumped to his feet and spun around. His heart thundered in his chest as he ran back toward Dawn.

  * * *

  SHE COULD TASTE blood in her mouth. She’d busted her lip when he’d rammed her head into the bricks. He slammed her hand down hard, nearly breaking her wrist, and the gun dropped from her fingers.

  Fine, you bastard. You want to play rough? She drove her left elbow back at him, hitting him as hard as she could. He grunted and eased his hold on her, just for a moment. The moment she needed. She lurched free of him and rushed toward the mouth of the alley.

  “I’m going to teach you to like pain.”

  She stumbled.

  “We’ll get Tuck, and then the real fun will begin.”

  She whirled around. Those words were from her nightmares, from the past that she wanted to forget.

  He was there, holding her gun, his face covered by a black ski mask. His voice was rasping at her as he pointed that gun at her chest.

  “You think you know him?” He laughed. “Guess again.”

  “Dawn!” Tucker bellowed her name.

  The bastard in the mask lifted her gun and she threw her body to the side.

  Footsteps thudded away. She pushed herself off the pile of garbage that she’d landed on as she realized that the guy was running away. Leaving her there. He hadn’t even tried to shoot at her.

  “Dawn!” Tucker’s voice was closer. Desperate. She shoved to her feet and turned toward him.

  “He was here!” She grabbed Tucker’s arms. “He was just...here.” She pointed toward the alley but the guy was gone. Tucker took off running and so did she. Her gun was gone—the bastard had taken it. When they got to the back of Voodoo Tats, she still didn’t see him. Her head jerked to the left, to the right.