The Heart Of A Killer Part 23

aCan I see the house now?a He shook his head. aNo.a aRoman, please? Iad really like to walk around. Maybe we can have a drink, sit in the living room and talk.a aYou want to sit and talk?a aYes. Letas forget about everyone else and be just you and me.a His eyes gleamed with excitement. If she only had a sledgehammera aOkay. Iall come help you stand.a He moved toward her and she caught sight of a red dot hovering against the window shade.

Laser sight. Someone was outside. SWAT? G.o.d, she hoped so.

She stood as he came toward her and prayed like h.e.l.l SWAT could tell the difference between Roman and her.

The window broke with the shot, but Roman hit the ground, pulling her down with him.

s.h.i.+t. Theyad missed. Roman rolled, scrambled to his knees and dragged her in front of him.

Everything happened so fast after that. Roman jerking her out of the bedroom. Gla.s.s breaking as someone came busting through the window.

This wasnat going to end well for one of them.

Dante had Roman in his sights and he was going to take the shot, f.u.c.k Pohanski and his order to wait for SWAT.

aYou sure about this?a Gabe had asked.

aIam sure Iam not waiting.a aThen Iam right behind you.a Anna was in there and Roman was insane. He had one missiona"get in there and get her away from him. The rest of Pohanskias team could stand around with their d.i.c.ks in their hands when they got there, but he was going in.

As soon as he saw the silhouette and knew it was Roman, he sighted and took the shot. He saw the shadows moving after the shot and knew head missed. So he took off at a run and threw himself through the window, taking the chance that Roman wouldnat hurt Anna.

He rolled and came up, rifle aimed and ready to fire.

Roman was nowhere to be found. Bathroom was clear except for one dead woman in the tub that had to be Tess. He looked at Gabe and they both grimaced.

Dante moved out of the room at a careful pace, listening for sounds of breathing, looking for shadows in corners, anything that would give him a clue where theyad gone. He knew they wouldnat leave the house because by now Roman realized the place was surrounded.

Gabe was right behind him, moving in unison, with his back to him, checking to make sure they wouldnat be ambushed.

Dante stopped, listened, heard nothing and moved into the next bedroom. Empty, so they moved on.

Small house. There were only so many places Roman could hide. He heard a sound and stilled, his head turning in the direction of the noise. He made steps toward the door and turned the k.n.o.b, opened it.

Stairs. Bas.e.m.e.nt.

aIam going down alone.a Dante turned to Gabe. aHalfway down and stop at the overhang. Cover me. If it goes bad, take him down and donat wait for SWAT.a aYou got it.a Dante moved down the stairs, trying not to make noise, but it was an old house and wooden stairs creaked. Dammit.

He got to the bottom and hit the concrete floor. It was dark. His eyes were trained and he could see fine. Head hit plenty of targets on a moonless night.

He scoped out the bas.e.m.e.nt. It was littered with boxes and old furniture as he moved his way around. There was a storage room, but he already knew where they were. He stilled long enough to hear them breathing.

At least Anna was still breathing. If she was alive then there was hope head get her out of here.

He moved toward them, keeping himself covered by various beams and boxes because he knew d.a.m.n well Roman had a weapon on him and wouldnat hesitate to take him out. He had his vest on, but he wasnat stupid.

aRoman, let her go.a Dante held the sniper rifle up against his shoulder, pivoted and pointed at Roman. He was backed into a corner, crouching, with Anna held against him, facing Dante, Annaas body aligned perfectly with his. Roman wasnat stupid, either. He had to know theyad bring SWAT.

aI have a knife pointed at her, Dante. You so much as move one f.u.c.king hair, I kill her.a A knife? Why not his gun? Where was his gun?

The tip of the knife was positioned at her neck, right at her carotid artery. One sharp cut and shead bleed out before medics could get to her.

So far Anna hadnat said a word. Maybe she was letting Roman play his game.

He kept his voice calm and level. aWhy are you doing this?a aYou canat have her. Sheas mine. Why did you have to come back? Shead have been mine if you hadnat come back.a He heard the crack in Romanas voice, knew he was breaking down, but couldnat feel sorry for him.

aYou tell him, Anna. Tell him how youare mine.a He saw her face. There was no fear there, only calm. She smiled at him. A signal.

aI wonat tell him that, Roman, because I donat love you. Youare sick. You killed my father. You lied to me. All these years, you lied to me about who you really were. You killed Jeff and George and you beat my father to death. You killed Tess, too, for no reason. Do you really think I would allow someone like you to have me? If you think that, then cut my throat now, because Iad rather be dead than be with you.a aWhat? You said in therea"a She smiled at Dante. aI lied. I love Dante. Iave always loved him and heas the only one Iall ever love.a Roman raised up and Dante saw the rage on Romanas face. He knew Anna was going to make her move. He raised his rifle and took aim, but Annaas heada"her entire bodya"was in the way.

aYou b.i.t.c.h!a Roman spun her around. Anna shoved him hard and Roman took a swing at her with the knife. She dropped to the floor.

Dante hit Roman with one shot to the chest. He flew back, the knife dropping out of his hands as he fell.

Dante ran toward Anna. All he saw was blood. Panic hit him with a gut punch. He couldnat lose her.

Anna grabbed onto her arm to stanch the flow of blood and stared at Romanas body on the ground.

His eyes were lifeless. He was gone.

She waited for a sense of triumph, of vindication. But all she felt was empty inside. It was over. Dante and Gabe were safe. It was all that mattered to her.

She lifted her gaze to Dante as he ran over to her, laid his rifle down and drew her against him. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wrapped it around the wound on her forearm.

aIam okay,a she said, laying her head against his chest. aRomanas dead. Weare all alive. It canat get much better than that.a The tactical team burst in through the bas.e.m.e.nt door. aSuspect is down,a Dante said. aWe need a medic in here. Annaas wounded.a Gabe came flying down the stairs, too, SWAT right on his heels. He skidded to a halt in front of them, then let out a long breath.

aJesus Christ,a Gabe said as he looked at Anna and frowned. aYouare bleeding.a aIam okay.a He nodded. aThen Iad say that battle came out on the right side.a Anna settled back against the wall, still trying to catch her breath as a medic started working on her arm.

Pohanski and his team came in, looked at her, at Roman.

aIam all right,a she said.

He looked at Roman. aJesus Christ. This is a mess.a He swept his hand over his head. aRomanaa aI didnat know,a Anna said to him.

Pohanski shrugged. aWho did? What kind of sick f.u.c.k was he? I guess we have some digging to do on him.a He looked at Anna. aYou get fixed up. You,a he said to Dante, adid good.a He walked out. aThe media is going to love this s.h.i.+t.a aI still canat believe it was Roman,a Dante said.

aHe was in love with me, deluded himself into thinking if he got rid of all of you, Iad forget you existed and the two of us could live happily ever after.a Dante stared incredulously at her. aI had no idea he was so screwed up.a aNeither did I. He fooled us all.a aHow the h.e.l.l did he pull it off? He was attacked in the alley. There was video, right?a Gabe asked.

Dante nodded. aHe probably hired a guy to beat him up and stab him and kill Hannesey. Then gave him an escape car so he could hightail it out of there.a aIad like to know who Roman hired,a Anna said.

aWe may never know that,a Dante said.

aHow can someone be that messed up?a Gabe asked. aHow could he hurt the people he was supposed to care about?a Annaas eyes welled up with tears. aI donat know. Weall never know.a aAnd how could none of us see it?a Gabe asked.

aWe saw what he wanted us to see,a Dante said.

aSerial killers and psychopaths are good at hiding who they really are. They can appear so normal,a Anna said. aThatas whatas so scary about them.a aI guess.a Gabe crouched and kissed the top of Annaas head. aI wouldnat want your job, honey. You deal with some f.u.c.ked-up people.a Dante pulled her against him. aYou did good. You kept him sane until we got here.a aI was a victim once,a she said, feeling nothing as she stared down at Romanas body. aNever again.a She realized as the teams came in to work the scene that through it all she hadnat once had a panic attack.

Huh. Maybe she was getting tougher. Finally.

It was now or never. Decisions had to be made.

It had been a week since Romanas case had been wrapped up, and Dante had no reason to still be here. Head given his statements. All the loose ends had been tied with a big, fat bow. Anna had ended up getting eight st.i.tches in her arm. The cut hadnat been too deep. Thank G.o.d. Seeing Roman slash her with that knife had made his heart stop. He still relived that moment over and over again.

d.a.m.n, shead been brave.

But now it was over.

He could go back to work. His work. His job. Wherever he wanted to go, because he had that level of freedom. Or not go, if he so chose, because he had that freedom, too. Head put in his time. Death-defying time.

He could go back to it if he wanted. Head always loved his job, as harrowing as it was sometimes.

Or he could stay here.

Only one person could help him make that decision, and theyad danced around talking about it for seven d.a.m.n days now.

He was still staying at Annaas place and she seemed to be content with that, hadnat kicked him out, hadnat asked him to stay.

Actually, she hadnat said a G.o.dd.a.m.n thing at all. Shead done her job, filed her reports, been debriefed, given her interviews. At night she came home with him and they made love and talked about everything except the fact that he should probably be leaving.

For some reason by the time they came home, they were too tired to do anything other than eat and climb into bed.

And once in bed? Yeah, deep conversation was over. All they wanted was each other, and that required very few words.

So he decided he was going to talk to her at the precinct today. Head corner her in the coffee room if he had to, but they were going to settle this once and for all.

Maybe she was tired of him and she wanted him to leave, and she didnat want to hurt his feelings, so she was waiting for him to grab a clue and get the f.u.c.k out of town. Maybe the bad memories would never go away for her, and he was part of the past she didnat want to relive over and over again.

Was he that dense he just couldnat see it?

And maybe he hadnat said anything himself because he didnat want to hear those words from her.

But shead said she loved him.

And he said he loved her.

But sometimes that wasnat enough to build a foundation on.

s.h.i.+t. Quit being a p.u.s.s.y and just go get it over with.

He marched into the office and saw her sitting at her desk, rubbing her brow. She was busy. He could come back later.

He hesitated. Then pushed his feet forward and stopped at her desk. aI need to talk to you.a She lifted her gaze to his. aIam working on a case, Dante.a He hauled her out of her chair. aNow.a She glared at him, then her arm where he held her. aAre you out of your G.o.dd.a.m.n mind?a aWeare having a coffee break.a He led her into the coffee room and shut the door.

aFirst, do not ever manhandle me like that again.a aI love you.a She opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. aI love you, too.a Then she frowned. aWhat is this about?a aItas time for me to leave.a aOh.a She crossed her arms and leaned against the counter. aSo are you leaving?a aI donat know. Am I?a Her brows rose. aIam not your mother.a aWhat the f.u.c.k is that supposed to mean?a aIt means I donat make the decisions for you. Last time I looked you were a grown-up. So are you leaving or arenat you?a d.a.m.n, the woman infuriated him. aI guess not.a aFine, then.a aFine.a This wasnat going the way head planned. She seemed irritated. And he was p.i.s.sed off.

Time to regroup. aAnna. Letas start over. I love you. I want to marry you. I want to have lots of babies with you. I donat want to leave. I want to stay. Do you want me to stay? Will you marry me and live with me and have kids with me?a Her eyes looked as if they were going to pop right out of her head.

aUh, what did you just say?a He c.o.c.ked his head to the side and crossed his arms. aYouare going to make me repeat it?a aOkay. No. Wait. You love me. I know you love me. But you want to do the whole marriage-and-babies thing?a aYes. Does that surprise you?a aI donat know. Yes. No. I donat know. Everything about you surprises me, Dante.a He came over to her and put his hands on her hips. aI want a family, Anna. I never had one until you and the Clemonses and the guys. And I came back after twelve years and I had it again and almost lost all of you. I almost lost you. I donat want to leave. I donat want to lose you again. I want to have a place to call home. I want to have kids. I want to put down roots, not travel all over the world. And I want to do all of that with you.a Her lips quirked. aYou do?a aYes, I do.a aWhat will you do for a living? Not much call for black ops in St. Louis.a He arched a brow. aDo you know that for sure?a She punched his arm. aSeriously.a aWell, I hear the FBI is interested in hiring me for their local field office.a aAre you kidding?a She snorted.

aIam not kidding. Based on my outstanding qualifications, I can pretty much write my own ticket.a aYour currentauhaemployer will let you do that?a aYes. Theyall let me go.a Head been making inquiries. Plans. About their future together. Anna had never thought much about marriage and family. Shead figured shead be married to her job as a detective for the rest of her life.

Until Dante had swept back into her life and turned it all upside down and sideways.

Shead gotten used to having him in her bed at night, and at her kitchen table for coffee and breakfast in the morning.

And she didnat intend to let him walk out of her life again.

She wound her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. aI love you. Letas get married and make babies.a aWhen?a aIam free this weekend and Iave never been to Vegas.a He drew her against him and kissed her in a way she would never tire of being kissed. Wholly, and with his entire heart. When he drew back, he said, aI like Vegas.a This time when her scar throbbed, it was because her heart was beating so d.a.m.n fast she felt as if her chest would explode.

Now whenever she touched her heart, it would be because it was filled with love.

The past was dead. She was so ready for the future.

Acknowledgments.

To Linda McFall, for believing in me enough to make this happen. Thank you for this.

To my editor, Krista Stroever, for your wonderful ideas, brilliant brainstorming and infinite patience in driving this book to its conclusion. Thank you!

To my agent, Kimberly Whalen, for getting me there, keeping me there and calming the waters along the way. I couldnat do this without you.

To my friends who are my rock every daya"Shannon Stacey, Maya Banks and Angela Jamesa"thank you for letting me vent, throw things, cry and whine incessantly. Having friends I know I can count on means more to me than I can possibly say. Youare the absolute best.

ISBN: 978-1-4592-1520-7.

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