Kill Without Mercy

  He wished he could stay and see her excitement when she found the gift he’d left for her, but he wasn’t a fool. Not only was Rafe Vargas on constant guard, but there were new players who had recently arrived in town.

  He couldn’t afford to take any unnecessary risks.

  With a last, loving glance at the honey-haired woman, he turned to vanish among the shadows.

  Annie bit her bottom lip as they pulled in front of the small house, catching sight of the sleek red Jag parked at the edge of the street, along with a white SUV.

  Rafe had said his friends were flying in, so she assumed they’d rented the vehicles.

  Her stomach tied in knots at the visible evidence that they were inside, waiting. Last night she’d warned Rafe that their time together was limited.

  Not because she was afraid he would get ideas about “happily ever after,” but because she was afraid she would.

  Rafe Vargas was a custom-made heartbreaker.

  Handsome, sexy, fiercely protective, with just a hint of untamed danger.

  Her life was complicated enough without adding in a dose of unrequited love.

  Unfortunately, her little lecture didn’t halt the pang of regret at the sight of the flashy automobiles.

  Rafe’s friends were waiting inside. And if they were as good friends as she suspected, then they were going to do everything in their power to convince Rafe to walk away.

  She was trouble.

  It sounded ridiculous, but it was true.

  And not just because a psycho killer was quite likely hunting her.

  What did she know about relationships?

  She was the daughter of a serial killer. She’d barely dated. She had trust issues. She was in a job she was growing convinced she was going to hate. And while her foster parents had always loved her, she had no idea what it meant to be in a healthy family.

  See, trouble . . . with a capital T.

  Rafe’s friends would be fools not to do whatever was necessary to get her out of his life.

  “Maybe I should return to the motel,” she muttered, slowly climbing out of the truck.

  With a fluid speed Rafe was at her side, his fingers curling around her upper arm as he steered her up the crumbling sidewalk. “No way in hell.”

  “But if you have company—”

  “They aren’t staying here.” He overrode her protest, his eyes narrowing as the door was shoved open and two men stepped onto the porch.

  Instantly the air was saturated with testosterone.

  Her attention briefly lingered on the nearest male, with the skull-shaved head and rich honey skin. Teagan. The companion who’d been with Rafe when he’d found her roaming through her old house. She’d only seen him in the dark, but he was easy to recognize.

  This morning he was dressed in a long-sleeved spandex shirt that clung to every bulging muscle, and camo pants. A tiny shiver inched down her spine as she came into contact with the predatory golden gaze. Teagan might be some sort of security expert, but he looked like he invaded Third World countries on a regular basis.

  She turned her head to study the man standing at his side, her brows lifting in surprise.

  Unlike Rafe and Teagan, this male was dressed in sharply pressed black slacks and a white collared shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows. He was also blond, with a finely sculpted face that was a breath away from beautiful.

  Of course, he was as muscular as the other two men, although built along slender lines like Rafe. And equally scary, with his piercing blue eyes that watched her with a disturbing intensity.

  As if he could see into her very soul.

  Teagan flashed a mocking smile. “Is that any way to greet your besties?”

  “Annie, this is Teagan.” Rafe made the formal introduction. “And Hauk.”

  Hauk stepped forward, his blue gaze skimming down her body before returning to linger on her mouth.

  Annie would bet good money that the slow survey made most women weak in the knees.

  Hell, it would have made her weak if she hadn’t already met Rafe.

  Now...

  Only one man could make her melt.

  “Teagan didn’t lie,” he said in low, smooth tones. “You are beautiful enough to make a man lose all sense.”

  Rafe’s arm wrapped around her shoulder as he tugged her close to his side. “Back off,” he growled.

  Annie stiffened at the subtle insult, but she refused to rise to the bait.

  Instead, she offered a polite smile that included both men. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

  “At least one of us has manners,” Rafe muttered.

  The blond shrugged. “I just said she’s beautiful. It’s no wonder you’re not thinking clearly.”

  “Hauk—”

  “Rafe, they’re worried about you.” Annie hastily interrupted the brewing fight. “That’s what friends do.” Pulling away from his tight grip, she headed up the stairs. “I’ll go inside so you can talk.”

  “I won’t be long,” Rafe promised, his voice tight.

  “Take your time,” she muttered.

  Ignoring the lingering glances from the two visitors, Annie took a wide path around their solid bodies to head for the door. It wasn’t that she was afraid they would hurt her. It was just a natural reaction to the sheer male power that sizzled around them.

  Intent on her escape, Annie nearly missed the scruffy book that had been left on the porch swing.

  Coming to a sharp halt, she felt an unexplainable fear blast through her.

  “Oh, shit,” she breathed, her gaze locked on the cover of the book.

  There was an etching of a stuffed bunny along with a faded title: The Velveteen Rabbit.

  It could have been left there by anyone. It might even be a book that one of the men had found among the stacks of boxes she’d glimpsed on the porch and in the sheds in the backyard.

  But it wasn’t.

  She knew that with absolute certainty.

  A warm arm wrapped around her waist, tugging her against a hard male body. “Annie, what’s wrong?” Rafe asked in concerned tones.

  She pointed at the porch swing. “That.”

  Rafe muttered a curse, reaching toward the book.

  “No. Don’t touch it,” Hauk abruptly commanded, moving to stand next to the swing. “Teagan, go inside and get a large manila envelope.”

  Tension coiled through the air as Teagan disappeared and Hauk reached into his pocket to pull out a silver switchblade. Pressing a hidden trigger, a three-inch blade slid silently from the handle.

  Then, with a slow caution, he slid the tip of the blade beneath the cover of the book and pulled it open to reveal the words that had been scrawled in black marker across the top of the page.

  Three for a wedding . . .

  Annie’s stomach churned as Rafe slowly turned her to meet his carefully guarded gaze.

  “Does it mean anything to you?” he demanded.

  She bit her bottom lip, not fooled by his seeming lack of emotion. Beneath his brittle composure he was a volcano ready to explode.

  “I have a vague memory of someone reading me the book when I was a child,” she admitted, that irrational fear still crawling through her. “Along with a million other kids.”

  “What about the quote?” he pressed.

  She swallowed the lump in her throat. She struggled to call up some memory, no matter how intangible. The effort scraped against her nerves until she wanted to scream, but she couldn’t come up with anything.

  She shook her head in frustration. “I’m sorry . . . I don’t remember ever hearing it.”

  Rafe turned toward the silent Hauk. “Was this here when you arrived?”

  The blond-haired man gave a decisive shake of his head. “Nope.”

  Teagan stepped out of the house carrying a large brown envelope and wearing gloves.

  “You didn’t notice anyone hanging around?” Rafe asked the man as he gingerly grabbed the edge of the book and slid it into the en
velope.

  “We were in the kitchen,” Teagan muttered.

  Hauk glanced toward the street, then the high hedges that framed the yard. “The house is too isolated for the neighbors to have seen anything.” He pointed out the obvious.

  Pressing the flap closed, Teagan straightened with a low curse. “It’s also too isolated for traffic.” His golden gaze measured the distance between the narrow road and the house. “I don’t remember hearing any cars go past. Do you, Hauk?”

  “Nope.”

  They all grimaced, realizing the intruder had to have walked to the house to deliver his gift, perhaps even lingering in the hedges while they’d been completely oblivious to his presence.

  “It makes sense he would have come on foot,” Teagan said, returning the book to the porch swing.

  Annie shivered, burrowing closer to the solid protection of Rafe’s body.

  Hardly the behavior of Wonder Woman, but right now she just wanted to feel safe.

  “How did he know I was here?” she rasped.

  Hauk cocked a brow, as if her question had caught him off guard. He glanced toward Rafe. “Have you swept your truck for tracking devices?”

  “No, but this is a small town,” Rafe said, his voice as tightly controlled as his expression even as his eyes smoldered with a violent fury. “It’s hard to keep secrets.”

  “I’m going to have a look around,” Teagan announced, clearly feeling the need to do something.

  A man of action even if he was some sort of computer geek.

  And Rafe, being Rafe, instantly went into protective mode.

  “Why don’t you go inside?”

  His words were more a command than a suggestion, but Annie refused to budge.

  “This concerns me,” she reminded him. She was happy to have his support, and to follow his lead when he was obviously an expert in security, but she wasn’t going to have vital information kept from her. “I think I should be a part of the conversation, don’t you?”

  Hauk cleared his throat, his lips twitching. “I’d be careful, amigo.”

  “Thanks,” Rafe muttered. “I don’t like the thought of that bastard watching you react to his twisted gift.”

  She froze, her skin prickling with sheer horror. “You think he’s watching?”

  Rafe’s eyes smoldered. “Yeah, I think he gets off on seeing you scared.”

  “God.” The word was wrenched from deep inside. From that place she’d locked away when she was just a child and woke up in a bomb shelter with a pile of dead bodies.

  Rafe leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead. “Go inside, sweetheart.”

  Her heart thundered in her chest, but she fiercely refused to give in to the panic. Instead she forced herself to consider the gift from the stalker’s viewpoint.

  It was easy enough to imagine him taking delight in creeping around the house unnoticed. Especially if he knew that Hauk and Teagan were inside. He would feel . . . smug, superior. She could also visualize him placing the book on the porch swing and gleefully hiding somewhere to watch her discover it.

  But what was he expecting when she found his book?

  Terror?

  Outrage?

  Horror?

  “It doesn’t feel twisted,” she at last muttered.

  Rafe frowned down at her. “What?”

  She struggled to put her vague confusion into words. “If he wanted to frighten me, then why didn’t he send pictures of the other women he’s kidnapped? Or even a threatening note?” she asked. “The Velveteen Rabbit is something you use to entertain a child. It doesn’t make sense.”

  Hauk closed his knife and slid it back into his pocket. “She has a point.”

  Rafe gave a slow nod. “Do you recognize the quote?” he asked his friend.

  Hauk pulled out his phone and swiftly typed in the words that had been printed in the book. “It’s a little vague.”

  “Wait.” Rafe was abruptly struck by a sudden thought. “Add in ‘one for sorrow and two for luck.’”

  Hauk sent him a curious glance. “Do you recognize it?”

  “No.” His voice was hard. “But it was written on the note that was shoved under Annie’s motel door.”

  Hauk grimaced, returning his attention to his phone as he searched for the meaning. “Got it,” he at last said. “‘One for sorrow.’ It’s an old English nursery rhyme.”

  Rafe scowled. “Does it have any meaning?”

  “Magpies. Bad luck.” Hauk grimaced before he quoted the entire rhyme. “One for sorrow, two for luck, three for a wedding, four for death, five for silver, six for gold, seven for a secret, not to be told, eight for heaven, nine for hell, and ten for the devil’s own sell.”

  Rafe shook his head. “I’ve never heard it before.”

  Hauk glanced toward Annie. “Could it be someone from your past? Someone who knew you as a child?”

  She hunched her shoulders. Once again she felt the vague sense of familiarity. As if there was a memory that danced just out of reach.

  Unfortunately there was no way to know if it was genuine or a product of her fear.

  “I truly don’t know.”

  Rafe stroked the back of his fingers down her cheek, his gentle touch helping to ease the quivers that raced through her body. “Annie, was it your father who read you the book?”

  She paused, gathering her courage before she forced herself to dredge up the images she’d kept buried for years.

  She had spotty memories of her father sitting on the edge of her bed, sometimes reading from a book and sometimes telling her stories he made up off the top of his head. Her favorite had always been the one about a princess who slayed the dragon and saved the prince from the dungeons.

  “No.” She gave a slow shake of her head. “No, I don’t think so.”

  “Your mother?” he asked.

  She lifted a hand to her throat as a strange, choking darkness suddenly surrounded her. It felt as if . . .

  As if she was being smothered.

  Sucking in a deep breath, she forced away the frightening sensation.

  “I can’t remember,” she said in husky tones. “I’m sorry.”

  Wrapping her in his arms, Rafe cupped the back of her head and pressed her face against his chest. “It’s okay, sweetheart,” he murmured.

  Annie leaned against him, silently wondering if it would ever be okay again.

  Rafe kept Annie locked tight in his arms as he struggled to contain the fury that boiled through him.

  He had to give it to the sick, psychotic bastard.

  He had balls.

  He’d not only dared to come to this house, but he’d strolled up to the porch like he was a Sunday visitor leaving a fucking casserole on the porch.

  And now Annie would never feel safe here.

  God. Dammit.

  As if sensing he was on the verge of a complete meltdown, Hauk moved to provide a necessary distraction. Leaning forward, he snatched the book off the swing.

  “We need to get this to Max,” the older man said. “He might be able to pull some prints.”

  Rafe closed his eyes and counted to ten. Then counted to ten in Spanish, French, and Farsi.

  Once he was certain he’d contained his violent urge to punch something, he cleared his throat and met his friend’s worried gaze. “Yeah, I have some photos to send as well.”

  “Photos?”

  “I’ll explain tonight over a beer,” Rafe assured his companion, his thoughts centered on Annie. Right now all he wanted was to take her inside and make her his famous scrambled eggs with chorizo and red chili sauce. It was guaranteed to cure any ill. “Where are you staying?”

  “I assumed you would offer me your bed,” Hauk murmured, his gaze sliding to the woman who was nestled against him. “I don’t mind sharing.”

  Another distraction.

  Or at least it’d better be.

  Rafe narrowed his gaze. “You keep looking at her like that and I’ll run your ass out of town.” br />
  Hauk gave a short laugh. “Teagan and I have rooms at the motel,” he said. “Lucas preferred to stay in LaClede since he was convinced Newton didn’t have . . .” Hauk rolled his eyes. “Appropriate accommodations. I swear to God, those were his words.”

  Rafe widened his eyes. He hadn’t been expecting that.

  “Lucas is here?”

  “Arrived just an hour ago.”

  “Why the hell did he come?”

  Hauk held his gaze. “You know why.”

  Yeah, he did.

  It was the same reason he’d asked them to build a business together. And why Max was in Houston, tracking down Turkish paper at the same time he was trying to help Rafe protect a woman he’d never even met.

  They were more than friends.

  They were brothers.

  There was the sound of footsteps before Teagan vaulted over the low railing that framed the porch.

  “Looks like someone came through the hedge,” he said, nodding toward a narrow opening that’d been carved into the overgrown bushes.

  Annie tensed, and Rafe tightened his arms, not yet ready to let her go. “Any indication of a vehicle?” he asked.

  Teagan shrugged. “Impossible to say.”

  “Damn,” he muttered.

  “I’ll put a couple of cameras on the outside of the house,” Teagan promised.

  “And one of us will always have an eye on the place,” Hauk added, his tone warning the subject wasn’t up for debate.

  Not that Rafe intended to argue.

  The more protection Annie had, the better.

  Of course, it couldn’t be that simple. Pressing her hands to his chest, Annie stepped away from him to glance toward Hauk.

  “Maybe it would be better if you didn’t,” she said.

  It was Teagan who responded. “Why?”

  “If the person leaving the notes realizes you’re watching the house, it might scare him away.”

  “That’s the point,” Rafe growled, tugging her into his arms.

  Stubborn woman.

  She tilted back her head, a scowl on her pretty face. “Wouldn’t it be better if we could use his interest in me to catch him?” she demanded. “Or even follow him to find the women he took?”