Keep Me Close (Lazarus Rising Book 2)

  She edged closer to him. “Were you involved with her?”

  “If I say yes, will that make me a suspect in her murder?”

  She knew who’d killed Jennifer, but Cecelia didn’t respond.

  Benjamin sighed. “No, I didn’t have sex with her. You know I’m quite picky about my partners.” He advanced toward her. “There has to be something very special about them—”

  Cecelia held up her hand. “Trust me, you don’t want to come any closer.” Or she knew the door would be flying open.

  He frowned and glanced toward the door. “You are not with the soldier. Tell me you’re not.”

  She didn’t tell him a damn thing about her relationship with Flynn.

  “He won’t keep you satisfied. You know you need a partner with an edge. Some rule following soldier won’t ever be able to give you what you need.”

  You don’t know Flynn.

  “I mean, does he even know why you’re a shrink? Why you have such a need to understand killers?” His gaze held hers. “Because I know.”

  She cleared her throat. “You didn’t have to act as if we’d never met.”

  “Did that for you, sweetheart. I know I was your dirty secret back in the day. The good girl walking in the dark…”

  “You weren’t my secret.” Not then and not now.

  He glanced down, seeming to study his hands. “What did you think of me? Really think of me, back then?”

  “Are you asking me to analyze you? Because I’m not here to get in your head, Ben. I’m here to learn about Jennifer.”

  “Tell me what I want to know, and I’ll tell you what you seem to need.”

  Fine. “You thought you were beyond redemption, so you threw yourself into every sin you could find.”

  His jaw hardened.

  “You couldn’t forgive yourself for a past that wasn’t your fault, so you kept punishing yourself by stripping away every single bit of humanity you had.”

  He held up his hand. “You know, I think I remember why we broke up.”

  Her lips started to twitch.

  Benjamin smiled at her. One of his rare, real smiles. But then the smile vanished. “I didn’t have sex with Jennifer McKenzie. I knew her kink, and choking a woman—well, you know that’s never been something that got me off.”

  “But someone here at Sin did have sex with her.”

  “Yes, some high roller who came in, tossing cash around, asking to rent out the room down the hall. He dressed like money, acted like a dick, and Jennifer seemed all about him.”

  “I’m going to need a better physical description.”

  “About six-foot-one, one-hundred-eighty pounds. Blond hair. Cold eyes.” He shrugged. “He watched the crowd from upstairs, and then he pointed at Jennifer. I swear, it was like the guy knew her kink even before they ever spoke to each other. I heard him tell the bouncer Jennifer would be perfect. He—” Abruptly, Benjamin broke off.

  “Don’t stop,” Cecelia urged. “Tell me the rest.”

  His gaze rose to hers once more. “He told Gage—the bouncer who brought you in here—he told Gage that usually, he had to work a while before the women would take the rope.”

  Her cheeks went cold. She thought of the victims in Georgia. The dead women…

  “Okay, now you’re looking as if you’ve seen a ghost.” His handsome face went hard. Angry. His dark eyes glittered. “He really kill Jennifer?”

  “I think he’s killed at least five women.”

  “Fuck.”

  “We’ll…we’ll need any video footage that you have of him.”

  “I don’t have any. No cameras on the second floor, and the guy was always real careful to make sure the cameras on the first floor never caught him. Those cameras are well hidden, but he seemed to know exactly where they were.”

  With his enhanced senses, Bryce would.

  “Anything else?” Cecelia pressed.

  “Yes.” And Benjamin’s voice roughened. “He reminded me of the guy standing right outside this door. Acted like a trained killer, holding himself in check with rigid control. The good soldier on the outside, but when you look in the eyes, you see the truth.”

  “And what truth would that be?”

  “You’re the shrink. Tell me…”

  “Ben…”

  “Where did you find her body?”

  “In her home. In her bed.”

  “He had sex with her before he killed her?”

  “It looks that way, yes.”

  His nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed. “If I see the guy who hooked up with her, you want me to call you.”

  She handed him her card. His words hadn’t been a question, but she still said, “Yes.”

  He slid the card between his fingers, moving it quickly, the way a magician would play with a card he’d just taken from an audience member. “When you get bored with the soldier, come see me.”

  The door swung open. “Don’t fucking count on it.”

  Benjamin sighed. “Eavesdropping?”

  Not exactly.

  Aaron pushed in behind Flynn and marched into the center of the room. “Benjamin Larson?”

  “Right. And you’re…” Benjamin’s gaze swept over him. “FBI. Have to be FBI with that boring suit and the holster poking out at your side. You really need to work on being less obvious.”

  “Oh, sorry, does it look like I give a flying fuck what you think?” Aaron asked with a broad smile.

  Cecelia backed away. Benjamin wasn’t going to tell them anything else that was useful, but she knew he would call her if Bryce came back into Sin.

  She turned toward Flynn. His face was carefully blank, but his gaze burned. Uh, oh. She was going to need to explain this to him…

  “He likes to watch.”

  Cecelia froze. She glanced back over her shoulder and found Benjamin’s dark gaze on her.

  “That’s one of his kinks. Learned that early. Bastard tried to bribe me so that he could find people to watch, without their knowledge.” His very white teeth flashed in a smile. “But being the upstanding member of society that I am, I refused the guy.”

  He likes to watch.

  Cecelia already knew that.

  Benjamin’s gaze sharpened as he stared at her. “When he wanted to watch, he asked about a redhead.”

  Flynn swore.

  “Red hair, hazel eyes, five-foot-seven…he was quite specific.” Benjamin’s head tilted. “You came here asking me if I knew the guy, but I think the better question might be, do you know him, Dr. Gregory?”

  Frowning, Aaron glanced back at her.

  She had already schooled her expression. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Larson.”

  She turned and walked slowly from the room. The pounding of the music from the band blasted up at her, and she walked down the hallway, not looking at the rooms around her. She didn’t want to think too hard about what might be happening behind those closed doors.

  Her heels tapped over the stairs as she descended to the first floor. If anything, the crush in the club had grown worse.

  “Want to tell me about him?”

  Flynn had been with her, every step of the way. His fingers curled around her elbow, and he pulled her away from the crowd, moving her so that Cecelia’s back was against a nearby wall, and he blocked her view of the dance floor.

  “This isn’t really the time,” she replied softly. She wasn’t ready to bare her soul right then and there.

  “Bryce knows you were involved with Benjamin Larson.” No emotion was in Flynn’s voice. None in his eyes, either. He seemed…cold. Far too cold to be the lover who’d burned up the sheets with her. “That’s why Bryce picked this club when there are dozens of others in the area. He knows Benjamin was involved with you. And he deliberately told Benjamin that he was looking for a woman who matched your appearance. Bryce knew you’d come here, he knew you’d talk to your ex…Bryce is just jerking you around.”

  Her stomach was in knots. “My relationship with Ben
jamin isn’t common knowledge. It never was.”

  “And we’ll get to why the hell that is…because you’ll be telling me the secrets you share with him.” Again, his voice was flat and cold and no change of expression crossed his face. “We have to believe that Bryce is digging up your past. He’s in your past, finding out everything he can about you. The man is obsessed, and every move he makes shows that obsession.”

  Yes, it did. “I’m his target.” She gave a hard shake of her head. “I’m the one he wants, so why in the hell do we have to bury Jennifer McKenzie?” It just wasn’t right.

  His gaze blazed. “You tell me. You’re the shrink. I’m just the soldier, remember?”

  “SEAL,” she snapped back at him. “You were a Navy SEAL before Lazarus. You’re one of the smartest men I’ve ever met, one of the most determined, so don’t try to throw words at me. Especially words that weren’t my own.”

  His head inclined toward her. “My mistake.”

  She didn’t like this. Didn’t like the way he was acting. Didn’t like the coldness that hadn’t been in him before.

  “Why did he kill Jennifer?” Flynn pushed. “Why did he kill all of those other women?”

  Profile. Distance yourself. See the killer. “Because he likes what he does. He enjoys power, and the ultimate power comes from death.” She swallowed. “And he targeted Jennifer…I think he did that to bring me here.” The music was too loud. The voices were drifting all around her. Too many people. Too—

  “I feel the bastard,” Flynn suddenly said, his face tightening with rage.

  Her knees locked.

  “Like a poison in my head, his emotions are hitting me right the hell now.”

  “Flynn?” Alarm flared in her.

  “He’s eager. Ready. He wants to find his prey, to stalk, to attack…”

  Flynn’s hand slammed into the wall beside her head.

  “He’s in my head. Showing me what he wants to do.” His voice deepened, roughened, with every word. “Showing me how he wants to take that rope and wrap it around your neck—”

  She knew why Flynn seemed so cold. He was trying to battle the rush of emotions. Bryce was powerful, she knew that. And he was like a poison, exactly as Flynn had said. A poison that destroyed the good parts of people.

  “Block him,” Cecelia urged. “Do it right now. Shove him out of your mind.”

  Flynn’s other hand came up and pressed to the wall behind her. He was caging her with his arms and his body. “He likes hurting people. Likes having that power…” His head lifted. Their eyes met. But his stare was glassy, distant. “He wants that power over you. He keeps showing me you.”

  Her hands rose and pressed to his cheeks. Stubble slid under her palms. “Focus on me.”

  A furrow deepened between his brows. “I see you…in my head.”

  “No, you see the image he gives you. Because he’s trying to control you.”

  “He’s trying to drive me insane.”

  Yes, that, too. “Focus on me.” She rose onto her toes and her body pressed against his. “See me, feel me, right here and right now.”

  “Wants to hurt…”

  “You don’t want to hurt anyone. You don’t want to attack. That’s all him. He’s pumping you full of hate because he wants to distract you. If you’re distracted, then he can attack.” And she knew an attack had to be coming. Bryce had lured them to that club. Put out breadcrumbs for them to follow. “Reach for me.”

  He just stared at her.

  “I know you have psychic power—all of the Lazarus subjects do. Try to reach for me. Try to get in my head. Forget what he’s doing to you…reach for me.”

  She wasn’t getting through to him. Cecelia could see that. So she pulled his head down toward her. She pressed her lips to his. “Reach for me.” She kissed him again, desperate now. She wanted him to feel her. To only know her. To—

  The images hit her, they slammed into her head, one after the other.

  Her own body. Naked. Spread out on a bed. A white rope circled her neck, and she clawed at the rope.

  Death.

  Pain.

  She tried to pull back, but Flynn was holding her now. Holding her so tight. He kissed her with a fury and desperation. And the images—

  Changed.

  The rope vanished.

  She was still on the bed, but now Flynn was with her. He was leaning over her. His fingers were lightly trailing over her throat. His head bent, and his mouth brushed against her neck. A soft, tender kiss. The touch of a lover, not a killer.

  Flynn was beating Bryce, he was pushing the other man out of his head. Flynn was winning.

  Then a surge of pure rage hit her, blinding and scary, suffocating in its intensity. She grabbed tight to Flynn, her nails digging into his jacket.

  “I’ve got it, baby,” Flynn promised, voice ragged. “I’m shoving the bastard out.”

  She’d just felt Bryce’s rage, she knew it. It had burned so hot and dark.

  Her eyes opened. Flynn stared down at her, and the rage—it was gone. It didn’t surround her, didn’t terrify her. Flynn’s gaze was a burnished gold, and the faint lines near his mouth seemed deeper. “He’s here,” Flynn rasped. “I need to hunt him.”

  Over his shoulder, she caught sight of Aaron. He was frowning as he advanced toward them. “I’ll stay with Aaron,” she said quickly. “You go.”

  But Flynn shook his head. “Another trap…”

  “Maybe, but I will be with an FBI agent. An armed one. If Bryce is here, we can’t let him slip away.”

  Flynn’s hand flew out and he grabbed Aaron’s shirt as the special agent closed in on them.

  “Hey, what the hell!” Aaron began angrily.

  Flynn glared at him. “You stay with her every second. You keep your hand on your gun, and you keep her safe. If she gets so much as a bruise, I will be kicking your ass.”

  Aaron’s cheeks flushed. “And where in the hell will you be?”

  “Hunting.” Flynn looked back at Cecelia. He pressed a quick, hard kiss to her lips. “You gave me back my sanity.”

  Then he was gone. He slipped into the crowd and seemed to absolutely vanish.

  “What was that about?” Aaron demanded.

  She swiped her tongue over her lower lip and still tasted Flynn. “Let’s…let’s finish talking to the staff members.”

  “That mean you aren’t giving me an answer?”

  It meant she couldn’t give him an answer.

  Cecelia glanced up, and her gaze went to the upper floor, to the VIP area. Surprise rocked through her when she saw Benjamin staring back at her. His arms were propped up on the wooden railing, and his dark gaze was locked straight on her.

  Chapter Seven

  The bastard had been in his head. Again. Flynn had been convinced that he could keep Bryce out of his mind, but he’d been dead wrong.

  Now the guy was close, and Flynn wasn’t going to take chances. Sawyer. He sent out the fast, mental call straight to his friend. He and Sawyer could always reach each other, their connection was like a private hot-line. Was the deeper link there because they’d known each other before Lazarus? Flynn didn’t know, he was just grateful for the link that let him communicate with Sawyer, anytime and anywhere. Get your ass to the club called Sin. Bryce is here.

  He felt, more than heard, Sawyer’s response, and he even had a fast image of Sawyer rushing toward his motorcycle. Sawyer loved his bikes—the bigger, the better.

  Flynn stood in the middle of the dance floor. His hands were at his sides, and he stared straight ahead. His nostrils flared as he pulled in the scents around him. Bryce was such a tricky SOB—

  The crowd parted, and Flynn saw Bryce. The guy was standing not fifteen feet away. Standing so close, but Flynn still couldn’t pick up the other man’s scent. A woman stood in front of Bryce. A woman with dark brown hair that fell around her shoulders. A woman wearing a short, black skirt and a soft, green blouse. The woman’s eyes were closed. She’d posit
ioned her body in front of Bryce, and she was dancing slowly, sensually in front of him. Bryce had curled one hand around her waist, and the other hand was around her throat.

  Bryce stared at Flynn. Smirked. Then connected psychically with him. One jerk of my hand, and she’s dead right here.

  Flynn didn’t move. Someone bumped into him from behind, but he didn’t so much as twitch.

  Bryce was backing away with his dance partner, steering her through the crowd and toward the rear of Sin. Let’s take this someplace quiet.

  Now Flynn advanced. He stalked forward through that crowd, moving easily. Keeping his gaze on Bryce. The SOB wasn’t getting away.

  You want to play hero? Bryce taunted. Let’s see how well that works for you.

  The woman’s eyes opened. They were a blue—bright, sky blue. She didn’t fight Bryce in any way. Her body was lax and supple in his grip. The guy was pulling her through the back door of Sin, and she didn’t seem to care.

  Flynn sucked in a slow, deep breath, and he followed Bryce into the night.

  ***

  “I need to know what’s happening,” Aaron snapped. “Cecelia, I’m in charge of this investigation. I’m the FBI agent, remember?” His voice rose, but it was still hard to hear him over the pounding music.

  She craned her head, trying to locate Flynn. He’d vanished in the pack of people.

  “Look, I’ve talked with all the bartenders, and the wait staff gave me jackshit to go on.” He tugged her toward the front door. “If I’m supposed to be protecting you, I can’t do it in this throng. Let’s get out of here.”

  “Buy Flynn—”

  “Text the guy, shit, it’s easy enough to do.”

  It was. And she did feel way too exposed right there. Bodies were crowding in on her, and Benjamin still had his eyes locked on her from the second floor. The creepy quotient was too high.

  She and Aaron hurried back outside. They moved away from the long line of would-be party goers who still waited for their chance to enter Sin. Aaron’s car was parked half-way down the block, and their steps thudded over the sidewalk as they hurried toward his vehicle.