Deadly Dance (22 page)

“And then the CIA came calling.”

“Not until after I’d gotten my Ph.D., actually. And then they approached me about coming to Sunderland. I was good at flying under the radar—and I’d learned early to read people. Skills they said they could use.”

Again she sighed, and he pulled her closer, knowing
that he couldn’t slay her demons, but nevertheless still wanting to.

“So does Avery know?”

There was silence for a moment as she considered the question. And then she shook her head. “I didn’t want anyone to know. I’d killed the memory. As far as I was concerned that girl was dead.”

“So no one at the CIA knows?” He wasn’t sure why it mattered, but the idea that she’d trusted him above anyone else was important somehow. He felt humbled and honored and overwhelmed all at once.

“I’m sure they know something. It’s in my records. But you’re the first person I’ve confided in since I told my neighbor.” She paused for a moment, turning her face away. “You believe me, right?”

“Of course, I do,” he said, his voice overly loud, emotion getting the better of him. “I just can’t imagine.”

She lifted her hand to his face, a little smile playing across her lips. “It’s all right. It was a long time ago. I’m sorry I took it out on you. It’s just that those words…” she trailed off on a shuddering sigh.

“Remind you of something horrible,” he finished for her. “I understand. And from now on, I promise to only compliment you on your brilliant mind.”

He felt the gurgle of her laughter and for a moment felt like the king of the world, conquering the beasts.

“It’s okay if you think I’m… I’m hot,” she whispered, her nose still buried in his chest. “Just not… not beautiful. Okay?”

“Hot it is,” he said, lifting her chin so that he could see her eyes. “And for the record, if I knew where to go, I’d kick some ass.”

She was silent for a moment, but she didn’t pull away. And then she sighed, her gaze still locked with his. “He’s dead. Which means it should be over, but some part of me just can’t let go.”

“You trusted him. And it was the ultimate betrayal. That’s not something you can just throw off. No matter how much you want to. But maybe it’s time to put it in the past where it belongs.”

“And how am I supposed to do that?” she asked, her gaze still holding his.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But I do know what it’s like to have something horrible happen that affects your every waking thought. So maybe we can try to move on together? I’ve no idea what that means, so we’d be taking a huge risk, but I’d like to try.”

She studied him for a moment, and then she nodded. “I think I would, too. As long as it’s with you.”

He wasn’t sure that anyone had ever looked at him with that kind of trust. And he prayed that he wouldn’t let her down.

She reached for him then, and he kissed her, a soft gentle covenant. She’d shared her most secret place and he was determined to honor that faith. Even though the idea still scared the holy shit out of him.

He wanted her. More than he remembered ever wanting anyone. It was as if she were a part of him, and he needed her to function. Hell, to survive. And suddenly he realized that he was falling for her.

The thought should have scared him—but it didn’t.

He lifted his head, searching the dark blue of her eyes. “You’re sure about this?”

She nodded. “Wherever it takes us. However it ends. I’m good.”

He was humbled again by the fact that she didn’t ask for anything. No promises. Nothing. She wasn’t like any woman he’d ever met. He pulled her close, resting his head against hers, feeling the rise and fall of her breathing.

And for the first time in his life, Harrison Blake considered that maybe he might be better off with someone by his side.

As long as it was Hannah.

H
annah surfaced from sleep to the tantalizing aroma of coffee. She rolled onto her back, enjoying that blissful moment when her mind was clear—no clutter or baggage. Then someone cleared his throat and her eyes flew open.

Harrison.

He was standing by the bed, coffee cup in hand, dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt. With his tousled hair and multicolored eyes, he looked even more appealing than the caffeine he was holding.

In the light of day, she wasn’t as certain that telling him had been the right thing. She’d held on to her secret for so long it felt strange to know that someone else knew. Especially when that person was Harrison. Still, it was done. And she wasn’t one to spend time on regrets.

They’d made no promises last night. And she wasn’t going to ask for them now. She’d just have to live in the moment. Which was easier said than done, but if it
meant more time with Harrison, then it was worth the effort. She’d meant what she’d said. She was in it for the ride, no matter where it wound up taking them. She sighed, stretching as he sat down beside her, putting the cup on the bedside table.

“Morning, sunshine,” he said, with a crooked smile, bending to drop a kiss on the end of her nose. “I thought you could use a shot of coffee. I just went with what was in the cabinet. I hope that’s okay.”

“It’s fine,” she said, pushing her hair out of her face as she sat up, pulling the sheet with her. “You been up long?”

“About four hours,” he offered, his eyes dropping to her breasts. Desire blossomed, and their gazes locked, her breath catching as she let herself get lost in his eyes. “And as much as I regret saying it, there’s not time for anything more than coffee.”

Disappointment mingled with shock as she shot a look at the clock. “Oh, my God, it’s almost noon. Why did you let me sleep when there’s work to be done?”

“I figured you needed it,” he said, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “You went through some pretty heavy stuff last night.”

She nodded, reaching for her glasses, not ready to talk about it again. “As I recall,” she said, moving on to a better memory, “there were good bits, too.”

“Just bits?” he probed, waggling his eyebrows. “I seem to remember hours and hours of—”

She hit him with a pillow, and he flipped her underneath him, his body hard against hers. He stared down at her for a moment, then dipped his head, slanting his mouth over hers, his kiss hard and possessive, but then he pushed away.

“Avery and the guys are on their way over here,” he said, his expression regretful.

“Now?” she squeaked, grabbing the sheet as she jumped out of bed. “Why didn’t you say so?”

“I was a bit distracted.” He shrugged, his eyes tracing the lines of her body beneath the sheet.

“So why are they coming here?” she asked, sipping her coffee as she headed for the bathroom. “Did someone find something?”

“Me, actually,” he said, still watching her. The color rose in her cheeks, and she tried to remember the last time she’d felt this much hope. “God, I wish I could come in there with you.” He half rose from the edge of the bed, but the doorbell rang.

“I’d say I was saved by the bell,” she sighed. “But I’m not sure I actually wanted saving. So what did you find?”

“A name. We’ve got a hit on the killer’s DNA.”

Hannah poured herself a second cup of coffee and swallowed a yawn. The team was gathered around her dining room table. Drake as usual was propped in the corner. Simon sat at one end, with Avery at the other. And Harrison was huddled over his computer, the scene somehow comforting in its normalcy. She sat down next to Drake and opened her laptop.

“So what have we got?” she asked, signing on to the computer to access her databases. “You said you had a name?”

“Yeah.” Harrison nodded. “But it’s not making any sense at all. The match came from Interpol.”

“Someone international?” Her head jerked up, as she shot a glance first at Harrison and then at Avery.

“Seems so,” Avery confirmed. “The hit was for a
Martin Vanderbeek. A Swede who was caught in the sweep of a suspected arms trafficking ring in Vienna. There wasn’t enough to hold him. So he was released. Only reason they had his DNA was that he’d been drinking with other suspects at a local bar. The authorities took the samples as part of the investigation.”

“So you’re saying that a foreign national, one who may or may not have been involved with an arms deal, is our serial killer?” Hannah shook her head, wondering if maybe this was just a bad dream.

“Well, this is where it gets interesting,” Harrison said. “Turns out his ID was fictitious. The real Vanderbeek was dead. So this guy just assumed the identity. No doubt covering a multitude of other sins. Only the local authorities didn’t discover the fact until the man was long gone.”

“Let me guess, after that he just fell off the map.” Drake walked over to pour himself more coffee.

“Yeah, and even worse,” Avery said, “the case files were lost when the evidence warehouse burned down a few years ago.”

“So how’d we luck into the DNA?”

“As a matter of protocol, basic information on the case was passed on to Interpol. The operation crossed international boundaries, so they were involved in the takedown from the get go. Anyway, some tech there entered the pertinent details into their database.”

“And there haven’t been any other hits on the DNA?” Hannah asked. “Something that might give us this guy’s real name? Or at least another alias?”

“Nothing so far.” Harrison shook his head, his frustration evident. “We were kind of hoping you might be able to figure out another angle.”

“Did they fingerprint him?” she asked, frowning as she typed the name into her computer.

“Hang on,” Harrison said, scrolling through a document on his screen. “Yeah, got it right here, I’m sending it to you now.”

The file downloaded, and Hannah transferred it to a program she’d created to cross-check fingerprints against various databases both locally and internationally. “I’ll run the print and see if we can get a hit.” She hit a key and the program started comparing prints in the databases to the one taken from the DNA match. “In the meantime, do we have a mug shot or a photograph? We can run facial recognition software as well. It might give us something more.”

“Already on it.” Harrison smiled, sending Hannah’s stomach lurching in its wake. “I’ve got the program running now. I’ve linked it to Homeland Security and our database at Langley. But I figure it’s a long shot. The only picture that survived is one Interpol has of the scene; the suspects are standing off to one side. One of the agents present at the time remembered Vanderbeek and identified him for us. But the picture is grainy at best.”

“If this guy was smart enough to use an alias in the Viennese sting, he’s probably too smart to have his photo readily available anyway.”

“What I still don’t understand,” Hannah said, watching her computer as the fingerprints flashed across the screen, “is how some international thug wound up here at Sunderland murdering women and pretending to be a wanted American serial killer.”

“I’ll grant you it doesn’t make any sense at all.” Avery shrugged. “But then nothing about this has followed any real logic.”

“When you worked the case for the cyber killer,” Drake asked, his attention on Harrison, “was there any kind of international component? Something with the victims that might have pointed to a foreign connection?”

“No.” Harrison shook his head. “In fact, we profiled that it was someone local. And I see no reason to believe we were wrong. But the case hit the airwaves big time. It’s not unreasonable to believe that someone overseas could have heard about it. Either at the time or after the fact.”

“Speaking of which,” Avery said, “word on our killer here has gone national. The wire services picked it up after Jasmine’s body was found.”

“And it’s traveling even faster on the Net,” Hannah said. “I was just searching to see what was out there, and I came back with over a hundred thousand hits.”

“Great, now the guy is headline news.” Simon blew out a frustrated breath and drained the last of his coffee.

“It’s definitely going to bring unwanted attention to the college, which means security threats for us,” Avery said, “but so far I’ve managed to keep the campus closed. It’s actually helpful that neither murder occurred on college ground. But the sooner we find this bastard, the better for all of us.”

“Has anyone talked to Tina today?” Hannah asked, suddenly feeling guilty. She’d spent her night with Harrison while her TA had been cooped up in the admin building mourning her friend.

“I haven’t talked to her, but I spoke with Reid this morning,” Simon said. “He told me that she didn’t sleep much, but she’s coping better than expected. Reid’s moved inside the apartment. Her request. So at least she’s not alone.”

“And her boyfriend is driving up from the city tomorrow.” Avery leaned back, crossing his arms over his massive chest. “He’ll take her back to New York, assuming nothing happens to warrant us keeping her here. Reid will go with them to make sure they get there safely and then continue to keep watch until this is over.”

“Good,” Hannah said, still feeling ashamed not to have at least called. “Her parents live in Brooklyn. She’ll be better off with family.”

“What about the videos?” Drake asked. “Don’t we need her here for that?”