Before the Dawn(51)

Anthony's gaze trekked back to Tucker. "That's what I'm afraid of."

Another cop called out to him.

"Excuse me." Anthony stepped away.

Tucker watched him go.

"Your hands are fisted," Samantha noted.

He forced his hands to relax.

"It appeared to me as if you were about to lunge at an officer of the law." Again, no emotion was in her voice. "Something you want to tell me?"

Deveraux wants Dawn. He's not getting her. Not when her scent was still on Tucker's skin...the sweet scent that had finally pushed past the cloying stench of blood and death. Not when Tucker could still hear her sighs and her moans in his ears. Not when he could feel the silk of her skin.

Not when I want her more than anything else.

"Personal connections can work to our advantage. Your link to Jason and your understanding of his crimes is beneficial to this case." She reached out and touched his arm. "But your link to Dawn Alexander could be a liability."

Slowly, his head turned. His gaze met hers.

"If you're so consumed by her that you don't see the threat coming, you won't be any use to her. So I'm asking you-and I need you to tell me the truth right now-is your control in place when you're around her? Can I count on you to do your job?"

To protect Dawn? To hunt the killer? "Yes," Tucker said with certainty.

But...was his control in place around her?

Hell, no. Only Tucker didn't see that as a weakness, either. The fact that she was the one person who made him wild, who pushed him over the edge...that just meant that he would do anything for her. He wouldn't rest until she was safe.

There were no limits for him, not when it came to Dawn.

Never when it came to her.

* * *

TUCKER OPENED THE door to the hotel suite. He took a few steps inside, his shoes sinking into the thick carpeting. If Dawn was sleeping, he didn't want to wake her.

"You should really let me know before you decide to waltz right in." A lamp flashed on and he saw Bowen sitting up on the couch, a gun cradled in his hand. "You know, knock politely at the door. Something to signal that you're coming inside and not just sneaking around like a perp in the dark."

Tucker stilled.

Bowen studied him a moment. "Judging by your face, I'm guessing it was one hell of a scene."

It was. More shit that would haunt his nightmares. "If I'd arrived just ten minutes sooner..."

Bowen stood up and holstered his gun.

"Red was still breathing when I arrived," Tucker added. "But I knew he was dying, and I knew there wasn't anything I could do to save him." He'd hated that helplessness. His gaze slid toward Dawn's room. The door was shut. "Did you tell her?"

"Yeah." Bowen ran his hand over his face. "She got quiet and went in her room. I don't think she's the kind of woman who lets others see her pain."


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No. "Dawn's very private."

His hand dropped. "She was pissed as all hell at you for leaving her behind."

He paced toward her room, caught himself and stopped. "I'm glad you kept watch on her here. One dead body a day should be enough for anyone."

"You were afraid the killer would be there, that he'd be watching. That he'd go after her."

Tucker turned his head toward Bowen. "I'm still afraid of that." It was just the two of them, and he heard no sound from Dawn's room, so he figured he could speak freely to the other agent. "It's all about her. The first kill-Heather Hartley-she wasn't even living in this city. The killer brought her here."

"Because Dawn was here."

He nodded. "Dawn told me that she'd been feeling as if someone watched her for the last few weeks. That someone was in her home." That son of a bitch will pay. "I think the guy was accessing her place from Jinx's, coming and going as he wanted. Since Jinx was continuing on with her life as normal during that time, we have to assume the perp is someone she knew. Someone she felt comfortable giving the security code to her building...and a key to her house."

"A lover," Bowen surmised.

That's what Tucker thought, and it was good to talk over his theories with a teammate. He stepped away from Dawn's door as he focused more on Bowen. "He was using Jinx in order to get close to Dawn. When he was ready for his games to really start, that's when he eliminated Jinx and left those roses for Dawn. He wanted her to know that he'd been studying her. That he'd learned her secrets. Jinx probably told him everything she knew about Dawn, not realizing what was happening until it was too late."