Lost in Bliss

Chapter Ten

Rafe got into the SUV and put it in reverse. “Is there a reason you can’t take your own vehicle back? Won’t you miss it? Where did you park, by the way?”

Brad frowned as he snapped his seatbelt closed. “Down the way a little. I didn’t know what I was getting into, and you hadn’t been in touch. I can get it later. Why the hell is News 9 out here?” Rafe shot Jana Evans the finger as he drove by. The very sight of her made Rafe want to put his fist through something. This had to be one of Laura’s worst nightmares, and he’d brought it down on her head. Now everyone was pissed at him. “That’s a really good question, one of many I have to ask Joe.”

“Well, I have a couple of questions for you. You want to explain to me why you were in the same bedroom with Cam Briggs?

Seriously? Give me another explanation, man. I knew you two were close, but…”

“I don’t owe you any kind of explanation,” Rafe stated flatly.

He didn’t want to go into it. A couple of people knew he was involved with Laura, mostly coworkers who had been around when Laura was a member of the team, but he’d never talked about her with Brad. Brad was his partner, but Rafe had kept his distance. He’d kept his distance from everyone for the last several years.

Until last night.

Brad kept droning on about some shit, but Rafe’s brain had gone back to the night before.

It had been perfect. He’d taken her, his cock sliding in and out until he couldn’t tell where he began and she ended. He’d pumped into her, giving up his cum while his tongue slid against hers. He’d tasted her at one point. Cam had held her, her back to his front. Cam’s legs had held hers apart, her pussy on full display and available to his lips and tongue. Her pussy was sweetly pink and swollen from use.

Rafe had tenderly washed her with a warm cloth before he’d settled between her legs and licked every inch of her. When he’d looked up her body, Cam’s hands had been there, holding her down when she tried to wiggle, keeping her still so Rafe could have his way.

Cam was his partner.

Brad was just a fellow employee.

“What’s this new information?” Rafe asked, cutting off whatever diatribe Brad had gone on.

Brad stopped and turned to him. His eyebrows rose over his angular face. “You like this girl, don’t you? Were you involved with her before she left?”

Rafe tightened his grip on the steering wheel as he turned out of the small cluster of cabins in the valley toward the center of town.

He’d been here less than twenty-four hours, but he was learning his way around. “It doesn’t matter.”

Brad’s eyes narrowed. “It matters, Rafe. If you’re involved with this woman, it affects this case. She’s the only person we know of who’s survived this guy. She’s a victim. You don’t fuck victims.” Rafe stopped the SUV in the middle of the highway. “She’s Laura Rosen. She has a fucking name, and you’re going to treat her with some goddamn respect.”

Brad’s whole face fell. “Shit, you’re in love with her.” Rafe cursed himself. Brad was very by the book. Joe knew about him and Laura, but Joe understood. He’d agreed to keep it quiet and not take Rafe off the case. Brad could make a stink. Rafe didn’t want to find himself on the sidelines. This was just one of the reasons he hadn’t gotten close to his “partner.” He would never have been able to keep something like that from Cam when they had worked together.

There was a long sigh. “I’m not going to say anything. I don’t know why you think I’m such a dick.”

Rafe slid a glance his way.

“Fine, I’m a dick,” Brad replied. “I’m a thrice-divorced dickhead with very few friends. I’m not going to out you. You’re my partner.”

“Joe knows.” He’d poured his heart out to the SAC after Laura had disappeared.

“Then you’re fine. I’m not going over Joe’s head, but you have to be careful. There’s a reason we don’t get emotionally involved with any case.” Brad sat back. “Okay. As long as we’re putting all our cards on the table, I received a package yesterday. It came to my apartment, but it was addressed to Laura Rosen.” Rafe’s gut clenched. “Why would he send a package to you? He doesn’t send packages. He’s sent notes before.” De Sade had sent a couple of notes to both the Bureau and the newspapers, but he’d never sent a package before. And why would he send one addressed to Laura?

“I think I know why.” Brad gingerly touched his nose, looking in the passenger side vanity mirror. “I don’t have a family, and my building doesn’t have security cameras. And I’ve filed the last three official updates on the killings. I think de Sade has been watching for any sign of her.”

“How could he have known?”

Brad slumped back. “Because we have a leak somewhere. Jana Evans being here in this tiny piece of hell proves it. I’m sure she’s already filed a report back home. It will be the top story on the evening news. If reporters already have the story, why couldn’t de Sade? The package was sitting in front of my door when I went home yesterday afternoon.”

That would have been right around the time Joe had called. They had moved damn fast. And de Sade had done his homework, as always. He was everything Laura’s profile said he would be. Ruthless.

Intelligent. He had to have known that Brad’s building didn’t have great security. Damn, he probably had a file on every agent on the case. It would be easy, if he was law enforcement. “What was in that package?”

There was a little hesitation that let Rafe know it was going to be bad. “A single pair of women’s underwear. A small, pink thong.” Fuck. Laura had been found naked with only a thin sheet wrapped around her bleeding body. Among the clothes she listed as missing was a pink thong. Rafe had to swallow back the bile that threatened to come up. “No note?”

“No, but the message was clear. He knows we’ve found her. We have the lab working on DNA, and the box has been sent to forensics, but you know we won’t get anything off it. He’s too careful.”

“He does seem to have a working knowledge of forensics and how to avoid detection,” Rafe murmured.

“Yeah, anyone who watches TV does these days. I don’t buy that this guy is one of us. And you shouldn’t, either. I don’t want to argue about this. The Marquis de Sade is not an agent. He’s some asshole who has connections, I can buy that. We need to check into Jana Evans.”

Rafe had already thought of that. Jana herself wasn’t capable of breaking a nail, but it was obvious that whoever de Sade was, he was carefully watching the reporter. “I agree. Run a check on everyone around her, including that cameraman of hers.” She’d worked with this particular cameraman for as long as Rafe had known her. Bob Lewis or something. It couldn’t hurt to run a check. Including financials.

Brad pulled out his phone and started making notes. Rafe had to give that to Brad. He was an asshole, but he was organized. He was always on top of things. Cam forgot. Cam’s brain was always flitting around. Rafe had been the one to write things down. Sometimes Brad’s brutal efficiency bugged the shit out of Rafe.

Rafe sped down the road. It wasn’t like the locals were going to pull him over. The sheriff had his hands full of Feds, and the disgruntled deputy had Laura. “So why did Joe decide to go mobile?”

“Joe was worried about that package. He thought it was best if we came out here and talked to the vic…to Laura again. She’s our only connection. We need her.” Brad was silent for a moment. “We need you, too. I need to know that you can keep your head on straight.” Up ahead, Rafe could see the truck Wolf had driven off in parked in front of the Sheriff’s Office. Two Broncos sat in the parking lot, too, and several black SUVs. It looked like the gang was all here.

Woohoo.

“My head is on straight,” Rafe assured his partner. “I promise you, my brain is thinking about this case twenty-four-seven.”

“That’s what I want to hear, man.”

Rafe pulled into a parking space. His brain might be on the case, but Rafe had the sinking feeling that his brain wasn’t in charge anymore.

He knew he wasn’t in charge of anything when he walked through the double doors of the Bliss County Sheriff’s Department. It was utterly transformed from the quiet little station house he’d visited yesterday. Rafe had dropped by the station to officially introduce himself and inform the sheriff why he was in town after Cam had finished talking to the conspiracy kook.

There were folding tables and laptops everywhere. The sheriff stood in the middle of it all, a pained expression on his face. A small brunette in a long skirt and a button-down shirt stood next to him, a clipboard in her hand. She chewed on her lower lip as she carefully wrote on the paper. Rafe sought his memory. Hannah? Hope. The sheriff’s secretary’s name was Hope something. She’d been quiet as a mouse during yesterday’s interview with Nate Wright.

“Special Agent Kincaid,” Nate called out. He pushed through the crowd, his hand out. “Am I happy to see you.” That was a surprise since the sheriff hadn’t been happy to see him yesterday. Rafe shook the man’s hand. “Sheriff, I’m sorry about this. I had no idea they were coming. Despite what everyone thinks.” Nate had an easy smile on his face. “I believe you. I know how service is out here. Though you folks don’t seem to have the same problems. Your boss brought satellite phones.”

“Well, we have the best equipment. We’re not going to rely on locals when we can bring our own things. You should sit back and watch how it’s done, Sheriff.” Brad patted the sheriff’s shoulder condescendingly and walked off.

“Don’t shoot him,” Rafe said with a sigh. “He’s arrogant.” Nate shrugged it off. “I’ve dealt with worse. Hell, I’ve been worse. We need to talk.”

Rafe nodded. For some reason, he trusted Nate Wright. He’d learned a little bit about the sheriff. He was once a DEA agent. He wasn’t some lightweight. “And we will, once I get a lay of the land.

And it’s best if we don’t do it here.” Rafe wasn’t sure what the FBI coming to Bliss meant yet, but it never hurt to have allies. He had a feeling the sheriff would be a powerful ally.

“Sure, I suspect we can sneak off for lunch and no one will notice.

Your boss has already ordered in. He’s taken over my entire office.

Seriously, I hope I didn’t fucking act like this when I was a fed.” Rafe could only nod. He knew how it went. When the FBI decided it was taking over, local law enforcement was pretty much fucked. Up until now, it seemed like the right thing to do, but Rafe kind of liked Nathan Wright. He seemed very competent, but Rafe knew that Joe would cut Wright out. He would do it because no FBI SAC was going to truly trust the locals. And Rafe was pretty sure, in this case, that was a mistake.

“Where’s the special agent in charge?” Rafe had already looked around the small office and hadn’t seen Laura. Joe would have her.

Rafe had worked with Joe for years. He knew how Joe operated. Joe would have been all over her the minute Laura entered the room.

“Do you have an interrogation room?”

“A small one,” Nate replied. He pointed down a narrow hallway.

“She’s in there. Briggs went in with her. I thought she was going to punch him at first, but he managed to smooth talk her into letting him in there with her. The SAC said you could go in when you got here.

Do you need anything? Hope is making a run to Stella’s for coffee and breakfast.”

Rafe’s appetite had fled long before. There was nothing now but an angry lump in his gut, but he hoped it was different for Laura.

“Laura likes her coffee dark with just a hint of sugar. Can you make sure Hope brings her a dark roast with one sugar packet? And a bagel. She likes bagels with cinnamon cream cheese.” A hint of a smile played on Nate Wright’s mouth. “I believe that’s what she asked Hope to bring her, though she didn’t ask for the bagel.

I think she’s eating Holly’s banana bread.” Rafe nodded and walked through the hall toward the small closed door. He stopped. It felt like the walls were closing in on him. He’d been here before, back in DC. It was all the same. Narrow hallways and neutral colors leading to a room where questions were answered in monotones. Rafe had been in a hundred of these rooms. The fact that Laura sat in one now made him edgy. She was on the wrong side of the table. She was on the vulnerable side.

He hated that.

There was a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. There was one reason and one reason only for the BAU to come out here and talk to Laura Rosen. She’d given them all the information she had. Her case was five years old. There was a chance they had come out here to simply talk to her—but Rafe discounted that possibility. Brad’s snippet of information made that scenario implausible. They didn’t want to talk to Laura. They wanted to use her.

For bait.

Fuck. Why had he told anyone? He should have taken a leave of absence and come here with Cam with no further agenda than seeing her again, holding her again. He’d fucked up, and Cam and Laura had every right to be pissed with him.

And yet, a certain amount of rage choked him. She’d walked out.

She’d left without a goddamn word. Didn’t he have the right to be angry?

She wouldn’t be safe until he took down the Marquis de Sade.

She’d be looking over her shoulder for the rest of her life.

Rafe walked through the door.

“And you’re sure you haven’t had any communication with…” Joe stopped in the middle of his sentence, his face serious as he glanced up at Rafe.

The small room was filled to capacity. There was a long wooden table. A recording device was sitting in the middle, the red light flashing, indicating that it was on. Laura’s golden-blonde head was turned away from him, but there was no mistaking who sat beside her.

Cam’s broad shoulders filled up too much space. He’d obviously moved his chair so he could sit as close as possible. Cam’s hips brushed against hers.

Rafe felt a burning jealousy fill his soul.

“Special Agent Kincaid, it’s nice of you to join us,” Joe said with a welcoming smile on his face.

On the other side of the table, Edward Lock sat beside Joe.

Edward was an older man, but there was nothing soft about him. He kept in shape, both body and mind. He was studying Laura, his razor-sharp gray eyes assessing her the way he would an unsub. Rafe had the sudden urge to punch him in the face.

“Come and join us, Special Agent,” Joe offered. There was one chair left to the right of Joe. “I was just filling in Special Agent…I mean Laura on the case. It’s been a while. We’ve been catching up a bit while we waited on you.”

Laura finally turned, her blue eyes shifting up. Her face was utterly blank, but he didn’t miss the way her hand curled around Cam’s.

Fucker.

Rafe had a choice, and it was so clear to him now. He had to choose between the career he’d spent years building and the woman he’d obsessed over. She seemed to have already made her choice. It should be simple. She’d chosen Cam. Rafe could move to the FBI side of the table with no remorse, just a never-ending ache in his heart. She’d made her choice without even bothering to listen to his side of the story. It was the same thing she’d done when she’d walked out of the hospital. She hadn’t bothered to let him know if she was alive or dead. She hadn’t given him a single thought.

He could choose his career with the same ruthless selfishness that she’d used when she’d walked away.

Rafe walked around the table, pulled out the chair—and moved that fucker, because he was done with picking his job over the needs of his heart.

She’d walked out on him and ripped his heart in two. She was currently choosing his best friend over him without giving him a chance to explain, and he would sit at her side until he keeled over because he loved her. He knew that now. He knew it in a way he couldn’t have known before she’d left. The last five years had taught him something. He was ready for a marriage. He was ready to move on to a place where his job was something that took care of the people he loved. Hell, that was all this place had been for the last five years, anyway. It had become a place that paid for Cam to look for Laura.

He and Cam had been functioning as a unit. Rafe wanted his place acknowledged.

Laura slid a glance his way.

Rafe kept his eyes on Joe. “Perhaps you would like to bring me up to speed, Special Agent. Special Agent Conrad told me some new evidence has come to light that makes the unit believe de Sade is working again and taking an interest in former Agent Rosen.”

“He had her panties, Rafe,” Cam said with a brutal frown.

Laura sighed. “Yes, I wish the bastard hadn’t kept those.” At least Cam was looking at him. There was a file in front of Joe that Rafe reached for. There was a stack of photos. On top was an evidentiary photo of a small, pink piece of silk.

“Do you recognize this?” Rafe asked, not quite able to look at Laura.

There was a long, charged pause. “Yes.” Edward sat forward now, pushing his glasses up his elegant nose.

“You were wearing these when the Marquis de Sade took you?”

“She said she recognized them,” Cam said with a frown.

“I need a formal acknowledgement that these belong to you, Miss Rosen,” Edward said with his usual condescension. “There’s no point in denying it. We’ll have DNA confirmation by tomorrow. There was a drop of blood on the waistband and other biological excretions on the lining of the drawers.”

Laura flushed, and Rafe thought seriously about putting the Harvard-educated agent’s nose through the back of his head.

“They were mine,” Laura said with a huff. “I was wearing them when he took me. He gave me some form of sedative. When I woke up, he’d taken my clothes off. Hopefully the next package contains a Michael Kors dress. I miss that dress. It made my boobs look spectacular.”

It was all Rafe could do not to laugh. That was his Laura. She was rebellious to the end. She’d faced de Sade and lived. She could certainly handle the FBI. She didn’t need him to be her protector. Was that what she’d tried to tell him by walking away? Had she really simply not wanted him after he’d failed her so miserably?

“Why Brad? Why would they send it to Brad and not me or Rafe?” Cam asked.

“Well, son,” Joe said, leaning forward. “I think this boy likes to screw with us. He genuinely enjoys playing the game, and you aren’t FBI anymore. I have to ask you something, Cameron. Have you talked to that reporter at all? Have you mentioned Laura’s whereabouts to anyone at all?”

“He barely managed to tell me,” Rafe muttered.

Cam’s face reddened, and Rafe didn’t miss the way Laura’s hand tightened over Cam’s. She seemed to be reminding him he was on a leash.

Edward tapped his long fingers along the table. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves with accusations. The Marquis de Sade is nothing if not organized. It wouldn’t shock me at all to discover he’s been watching. This is all a game to him. He would keep tabs on the major players. Despite Briggs leaving the FBI, I think the killer would still watch him. After all, he’s a potential link to the most important person in de Sade’s life—Laura Rosen, the one who got away.”

“It doesn’t make a lick of sense,” Cam said, his previous irritation seeming to dissolve into frustration. Laura had handled him perfectly.

“He’s been quiet for years. He gets one sniff of her and he’s back?”

“It’s possible that the incident with me threw him off his game,” Laura said. “Serial killers have been known to stop killing for years and then start up again.”

Edward adjusted his glasses in that scholarly fashion that set Rafe’s teeth on edge. He was always so far above everyone else. “I believe he simply entered another portion of the game and changed his tactics a bit. He’s smart. “

“Yeah, you’ve said that before,” Rafe replied. Edward had always seemed fascinated with this particular case. Edward had also been the one to declare that Laura’s profile was amateur and unworthy of real assessment.

Joe sighed as he looked around. He finally focused in on Laura.

He pushed the folder toward her. “I would like for you to look at what we’ve gathered since you left. I would really like your take on this.

You, of all the people in the world, know this guy. Help us. Help us catch him.”

“She needs to stay out of this,” Cam said.

Laura let go of his hand. Her fingers crept across the table toward that folder.

Rafe’s heart rate shot sky high. “She needs to come into protective custody. We need to get her out of here.” Laura’s eyes never wavered from that manila folder. Her hands caught it, and she slid it toward her. “I’ve tried hiding, Rafe. It didn’t work. What I’m rapidly discovering is that no matter how hard you try to hide, your past always catches up to you.” Joe’s face was in a brutal frown. “We need her, Rafe. You have to see that. She’s the closest we’ve ever come to catching him. He wants her.”

Laura casually opened the folder. “He’ll come for me.” Cam looked at Rafe over her head. His blue eyes were practically begging Rafe to do something, anything.

Rafe’s fists clenched into tight balls of anxiety. He’d brought her to this. “You are not using her for bait. I won’t allow it.”

“You don’t allow or disallow anything, Special Agent Kincaid.” The fine edge of authority bit through the air. Joseph Stone had been a special agent in charge for a very long time. He hadn’t gotten there by allowing his underlings to tell him what to do, but Rafe didn’t have a choice.

“Nor does he have any control over me.” Laura’s voice had gone cold, professional. She opened the file, and Rafe knew he’d just lost this little war. “I’ll need an hour or two to go over this. I know this isn’t standard procedure.”

“Letting a witness read confidential files?” Joe relaxed back into his chair. “No, but you’re not just any witness. You know I never agreed with the decision to fire you.” She waved it off. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Then I’ll leave you to it.” Joe and Edward got up.

“I’d like to be alone,” Laura said, never looking up from the file.

“Laura,” Cam started.

But Rafe knew she was done for now. He would have to find another way to get to her. If he pushed, she would retreat even further.

It was time to regroup.

“Come on, brother,” Rafe said. “Let’s go see what’s going on out there. She’s safe enough in here.”

The door closed between them. Rafe prayed it hadn’t closed forever.