Lisa clutches my arm from my bedside, easing closer as she brushes her fingers over my cheek. “We’re going to find out if that’s the truth,” she promises.
I jerk away from her touch, and look to the doorway where Lana is standing with Craig. Lisa’s hand falls away completely as Lana glares icy daggers at her, then her gaze softens as she meets my eyes.
She stays on the other side of the room, and my stomach tightens. She had to see all that. She’s probably been scared out of her mind.
Craig gauges our silence, and decides to break it. “Our Scarlet Slayer is who saved you,” Craig announces, freezing the blood in my veins.
Hadley stands, going to Lana as my girl’s gaze returns to Lisa. My still groggy head is struggling to keep up with everything going on.
As Hadley whispers into Lana’s ear, Craig’s words register.
“What?”
He nods. “It’s confirmed. He even left a message.”
He hands me his phone, zooming in on the image for me.
Touch him again, and I’ll burn the town to the ground with everyone still in it.
“He used the blood of Justin Hollis to write it,” Leonard says from the corner, studying me, his eyes flicking over to Lana, then back to me again.
“The fucking hell?” I ask, confused.
“He’s protective of us,” Craig says on a sigh. “First Hadley, now you and Donny.”
“In short, one of the deputies attacked you, and you were saved by a ruthless serial killer who gets off on being stabby,” Elise quips.
I look back at Lana, motioning for her to come to me. She looks hesitant at first, but she finally makes her way to me with slow, measured steps. As soon as she’s close enough, my arms go around her waist, and she shakes in my grip, her body trembling as she buries her face in my neck.
“You have to go home,” I say softly, squeezing her tighter. “If the sheriff is bold enough to come after me, he’ll come after you too.”
“Unlikely,” Leonard says, watching us with a curious expression. “She’s actually probably safer here than at home, where Johnson could use her against you. He’s not brilliant, but he’s smart enough to have figured out by now that your attachment is deep.”
And again, my job is putting her at risk.
Lana keeps her arms around me and her face in my neck, her grip tightly digging into my back.
She’d have been so much better off if I’d never come into her life.
It’s like we’ve been cursed from the very beginning.
“I need to go check on something,” Leonard says, walking out of the room.
“Could the rest
of you give us a minute?” I ask, looking around at everyone.
“No,” Hadley says with a shrug. “It’s too dangerous. Deputy Director Collins may not see how things have escalated, but we do. We’re taking turns watching you.”
“Leonard just walked out alone,” I point out. “I doubt I’m the only target.”
“You’re the primary,” Hadley says immediately. “You’re the one with the power to stand up to Johnson. He outranks us all, but he’s even with you. Collins had to make a damn good case just to send you along and not let the director bulldoze this case completely.”
Hadley’s pissed. Lana is shaking. Everyone in here is on edge and uneasy.
A serial killer had to save me from a sheriff’s deputy. The world is officially upside down.
Lana kisses the side of my neck, a chaste show of affection as she blows out a long breath.