Before the Dawn(50)

Red was still alive. We missed the killer by minutes. Damn minutes. They'd already checked, hoping there was some kind of video surveillance system in place at the motel, but there was nothing.

Just blood left behind in a killer's wake.

"Dawn is safe, right?" Anthony questioned Tucker, and there was something in the detective's voice...a deeper edge of worry that had Tucker turning his head toward the other man and studying him a bit harder.

"She's safe," he replied curtly.

Anthony held his stare and stepped closer. "Is she?"

What in the fuck?

"Is Dawn really safe with you?" Anthony's voice had gone quiet and cold. "I know this has to be a damn nightmare for her. She and Jinx were close. Those two damn women lit up when they were together. Fastest friends you ever saw."

"I didn't realize you knew Jinx." Is Dawn really safe with you? The guy's words echoed in his head and Tucker found himself clenching his hands into fists.

Anthony's lips turned down. "Who do you think hooked up Dawn and Malone? The guy wanted help with his daughter, but Captain Hatch wasn't giving me the go-ahead for the investigation-and I knew Dawn would find that girl. She doesn't give up." Admiration lit his gaze. "And she doesn't back down."

The man sure seemed to know a lot about her.

"I knew Jinx and Malone long before Dawn did. And hell..." His fingers raked over his face. "I was the one who went to tell Malone about Jinx's death. That's why it took me so long to arrive here. I wanted to give him the news in person. Thought he deserved to hear it from me." Faint lines of strain bracketed his mouth. "I hate telling people their loved ones are gone. Worst fucking part of the job." He shook his head. "No, check that. Having a killer get away, knowing he's still out there, possibly hunting his next victim right this minute... That's the worst." His eyes sharpened on Tucker. "So I ask you again...is Dawn safe with you?"

"I'm a former fucking SEAL, and a trained FBI agent. I know how to keep a victim safe." He had to bite back the fury rising in him. "I would never let anything happen to her."

"Because it's so personal to you." Anthony's voice was still quiet.


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So was Tucker's. Lethally so. "All the more reason to keep her safe."

Anthony's lips tightened. "You think it's not personal for me, too?"

And there it was. The undercurrent that Tucker had sensed when Anthony was near Dawn.

"You're her past," Anthony said. "And when I talk about danger to Dawn, I'm not just meaning the prick out there killing. You're bad for her, Agent Frost. I know it. You know it. And so does she."

Fucking hell.

"So maybe someone else should be in charge of keeping Dawn safe. The NOPD knows how to protect victims, too." His eyes glittered. "And being with me wouldn't wreck the world that Dawn has built for herself."

Tucker took a step closer to the detective. There were eyes on them. Cops. Reporters. Local FBI agents. "Dawn isn't for you." The warning carried only to the man before him.

But Anthony gave a grunt. "You really think she'd ever be truly happy with you? You made the woman run screaming before. When she looks at you, deep down, we both know...she'll always see him."

Tucker's greatest fear. Right there.

Anthony glanced around, as if making sure they weren't being overheard, and then he said, "So how about you just focus on profiling this bastard. Let me take care of Dawn. Before you screw up her world even more."

Tucker's back teeth clenched. His control cracked. He reached out toward Anthony.

"Agent Frost."

He stiffened. Tucker knew that feminine voice, one rich with command. His gaze jerked to the left. Samantha Dark stepped forward from the shadows.

"Agent Frost... I got to the scene as fast as I could." She hurried toward him, her steps brisk and her heels clicking across the pavement. "Once my flight touched down, I went to see Macey and Dr. Bradford. Sorry I didn't get here faster when the call came in." Samantha's gaze swept toward Anthony. "And you must be...Detective Deveraux." She offered her hand. "Glad you called us in on this case."

"Yeah, me, too." Only he didn't sound especially glad as he shook her hand. "Though I wasn't expecting the bodies to pile up so fast on me."

"No." Her voice was emotionless. "And they shouldn't have. The fact that you have three dead in this city now-dead that could all be linked to the same killer-means that we are dealing with a very unstable predator."