And they still had no leads.
Nor did they know how much time would pass before he struck again. And since they didn’t know who he was or how he was choosing his victims, they had no way to protect the person or people he would target next.
* * * * *
7:18 P.M.
Luke Sleigh.
Why couldn’t she get him off her mind?
Summer didn’t want to be thinking about him. She didn’t want to be thinking aboutanyman.
And yet, thinking about Luke she was.
She had been ever since she’d fled Aggie and Nick’s house last night. She’d gone straight home and straight to bed, ready for Valentine’s Day to be over, but she hadn’t been able to sleep.
She’d kept remembering the feel of Luke’s hand holding hers and the spark she’d felt. Why was her body doing this to her? She didn’t want to be attracted to a man. She was perfectly happy on her own. Over the last few years, she had settled herself into a pattern she was comfortable with, and now Luke was ruining that. He was stirring up thoughts, feelings, and desires inside her that she had no wish to revisit.
But every time she tried to forget about him, she felt that zap that had passed between them when she shook his hand. Summer wanted to believe she had imagined it, but she couldn’t, the look in Luke’s blue eyes had confirmed that he’d felt it too.
He’d invaded her dreams too.
It had been such a long time since she had dreamed about a guy, and this morning she had woken up feeling odd. A small part of her brain wanted to see why she felt this attraction to Luke, she wasn’t going to, but she couldn’t even remember the last time she had wanted to.
As determined as she was not to see if anything could develop between them, she just couldn’t stop thinking about Luke. All day long she had found herself sitting in her office at work, her mind wandering to daydream about him. Maybe it was because he was Nick’s brother and therefore she knew he had to be a good guy.
Essentially, that was the crux of her issues with men. She didn’t trust her own judgment. She had been fooled once with almost deadly consequences, and she just couldn’t risk putting herself in that position ever again.
If she could entertain the thought of entering into another relationship, Luke would definitely be the kind of man she would want to date. He was safe, and that was very important to her. She needed someone she could count on indefinitely, who would never hurt her, who would love and support her. She needed someone who …
With a start, Summer stopped herself. Why was she worrying about what she would look for in a partner when she had no intention of dating?
She had to stop this.
She had to stop thinking about Luke.
And yet no matter how hard she tried, she could not dislodge him from her mind.
It was just the timing, she convinced herself. Valentine’s Day was a tricky one for her, and that she had run into Luke Sleigh twice was just messing with her head. She really had to just let it go and …
“Arrgh,” she yelped as a hand rested on her shoulder. She looked up, half expecting to see Luke, and let out a sigh of relief. “Hope.”
“You are jumpy today,” her friend said as she sat down at the table in the small restaurant that was their favorite for after work dinners. “What’s up with you?”
“Nothing,” Summer answered quickly. She’d already been peppered by Aggie with questions about Luke, and she did not want to endure another interrogation from Hope.
Hope arched a dark brow. “Well, at least you have another year until Valentine’s Day rolls around again.”
Summer felt her cheeks heat in embarrassment. She had never once in all the years she’d known Hope and Aggie mentioned hating Valentine’s Day, and yet both her friends seemed to know.
“You don’t have to be embarrassed,” Hope said as shrugged out of her coat. “You hate the day, but you’re not ready to talk about why. That’s fine. For now. When you’re ready you know I’m here.”
Tears pricked the backs of her eyes. It had been a long time since she’d had someone to sit down with and just talk to, she had burned those bridges a long time ago. She hadn’t wanted to, but she couldn’t stay there any longer, and the abrupt way she’d left things had ended those relationships. She has always told herself it didn’t matter, that it was easier to be alone and that her old friends and family were better off without her, but the truth was she was lonely, and she did miss letting people get close.
“Are you okay, Summer? Are you in some sort of trouble? Do you need help?” Hope’s brown eyes watched her anxiously.
She wasn’t quite sure how to answer that. She wasn’t in trouble, but maybe she should have been. Maybe that might have assuaged some of the guilt that nearly crushed her on a daily basis. “I'm not in trouble,” she finally said.