Before the Dawn(100)

Anthony gave him a slow smile and that dimple winked. "I knew you wouldn't be able to resist coming for a visit. Blood always tells, doesn't it?"

"No," Tucker growled back. "It doesn't. It doesn't tell a damn thing about a man."


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Anthony's smile slowly disappeared. "You keep saying that to yourself." He leaned forward and his voice dropped to a whisper. "Keep saying it, especially late at night, when you're in bed with Dawn. You keep saying that blood doesn't tell. You keep telling yourself that you're not just like Jason. That you're not just like me."

Tucker didn't speak. An old interrogation technique. Just wait out your prey. He knew Anthony wanted to talk, so he was going to let the bastard talk himself blue.

Anger had the lines on Anthony's face deepening. "What was so fucking special about you? Why did dear old fucking Jamison Frost want you and Jason...but not me?"

Tucker laughed. "Is that really what this shit was all about? Your daddy issues? You were jealous because you weren't part of the screwed-up family unit?"

Anthony slammed his cuffed hands onto the tabletop.

The guard immediately stepped forward, but Tucker shook his head.

"You know nothing about me!" Anthony roared.

Actually, he did know plenty. Since Anthony's arrest, the FBI had torn the man's life apart. They'd found more than a few skeletons in his closet.

"Jamison Frost fucked my mother. When she got pregnant, he didn't believe that I was his. He thought she was just tricking him. She said...she said he told her to get rid of me. He did nothing for her. We were practically homeless my whole life. She was always on drugs, always so high she couldn't take care of herself-much less me. She screwed men for money so she could keep her habit going. I lived in filth and I had to try to pretend to the teachers at my school that everything was all right. That I was just fine while my father lived his life with you, and he never gave me a backward glance."

"And you think that's such a bad thing, right?" It was Tucker's turn for a smile.

"Better than a drug-addicted whore, better than sleeping on the ground, better than-"

"The beatings started when I was five. They didn't stop until my father was dead."

Anthony blinked. Then he sneered. "Poor little Tuck, he got spanked and he-"

"I was beaten by my father, I was locked in closets and left to starve. I was abused worse than any animal." He knew Samantha would hear his words but he didn't care. Right then, his words didn't matter. Anthony's did. "Believe me, if I could, I would have traded my life with yours." 

"Bullshit."

"And if I'd known about you...when I turned eighteen...when I was working to get my life together...I would have come to find you, and I would have tried to help you."

Once more, Anthony leaned forward. "Like I wanted your help."

"No, no, I don't guess you did. It's strange, though. I mean, you've been a cop for almost seven years. Why? I thought you helped people, but that was just a lie. A mask."

"We both wear masks." Anthony cocked his head. "Seven years...easy to do the math. Seven years ago, I learned what Jason was."

"We both learned what he was that day." And Tucker had gone on to join the FBI, wanting to stop killers. On the surface, Anthony joining the PD appeared similar to his motivation, but...

We are nothing alike.

"I learned Jason was sloppy. He wasn't careful enough with his kills. He let you stop him. He thought you'd choose family over everything else, but you didn't. You chose her."

And once more, Tucker just waited for the guy to continue. Silence was key.

"I wanted to see what it was like." Anthony dipped his head forward. "To take a life. I wanted to see if I could get away with it. Being a cop...it was training for me. I learned about the crime scenes. I learned about investigations. I learned how to make evidence go away." He gave a whistle. "I also learned which prey to use. If you don't want to catch attention, don't go for the pretty college coed. Go for the people who live in the shadows. The ones no one will miss."

Tucker's gut clenched. "How many have you killed?"

Anthony widened his eyes. "I'm not saying that I've killed anyone during those seven years. But if I had killed, I would have chosen prey that lived on the edges of society. The useless addicts. The ones who wouldn't even have the sense to fight back."

"Addicts...like your mother?"