28 Days: a Romantic Suspense

“And you are now?” Coulter asked, a brow raised.

“Yes.” He sobbed and his eyes burned with hatred as he said, “I was ready to kill her…my mother…and as much as I hate her, I would never forgive myself if I acted on it. It was time to turn myself in to protect her…and to finally be free of her.”

Saige met Coulter’s gaze and saw the same doubts shining in his eyes. Was Paul really the killer or was he lying to escape his mother?

“I know what you’re both thinking. All you have to do is send my DNA for testing and it will be a match to the one that was never identified in the shack where Saige was held.”

Coulter nodded and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, calling in the arrest.

The sheriff arrived with the cavalry, and once they hauled Paul to the station, the sheriff, Coulter, and a deputy medical examiner carefully opened the box.

Sheriff Hodges cursed and Coulter’s face tightened with anger before he met her curious gaze.

“It’s the missing jewelry from the college girls.”

Blood thundered in her ears and her vision started to dim.

Quinten would be freed.

Coulter caught her as she passed out.

Day 15

3:00am

* * *

Coulter had one hell of a headache when he came out of the interview room. Not only had Paul Lewis told them enough about each and every crime scene, going back to Kelsey Louise Ingram, the second college girl killed, he’d also told them how his own parents had treated him. Nothing should surprise him anymore, but he was.

He pressed a finger and thumb to the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, praying the headache wouldn’t turn into a migraine, and then...he smelled coffee—real coffee and not the junk they dished out at the sheriff’s station.

His eyes snapped open and his heart fluttered in his chest.

“Amber?” he whispered, thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him. “It is you.”

She smiled while he stared at her like an idiot. Her riot of fire-orange hair was loose down her back and she looked like she was fresh out of college in her jeans, t-shirt, and sweater. But just the sight of her made him wake up.

“Figured you’d need this.” She handed him the cup. “I decided to drive up to take his DNA myself…I missed you.”

“I shouldn’t be glad you’re here in the middle of the night, but I am.”

“Good.” Amber turned and smiled at someone to her right, but he couldn’t take his eyes from her as his libido took on a life of its own.

She slipped her hand into his and gave a tug. “Saige is waiting for you.”

Well, that snapped him out of his lustful thoughts. “She’s still here?”

“She is. Wanted to wait and talk to you before she left.”

“Okay.”

Amber led him down the hall and toward the waiting room where they found Saige. He offered her a tired smile when she met his gaze. “Have you given them your statement yet?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I have a copy and the nice deputy sheriff faxed a copy to Daniel Sterling.” She shrugged. “Daniel hadn’t been too happy to be woken this late, but when I told him why it couldn’t wait until morning, he was awake and waiting for the fax. He has it now and will wait to talk to you tomorrow, um, later today before he goes to the governor.”

Coulter slumped down in the chair opposite and smiled when Amber sat next to him, her hand slipping back into his. He’d never had anyone to offer him comfort before, and he liked it. A lot.

He turned his attention back to Saige. “Saige, this is the Amber McGregor. She’s the ME in Tampa, who I’ve worked with on several of the cases involving Paul. She’s here to administer the DNA test and see if it is a match with the DNA in the evidence file. Later today, an agent will be here to do a polygraph test. I’m trying to cover all bases, but we have a confession. He’s told us things that only the killer would know. Even though we have all that, I can’t help feeling that something is off.” He rubbed at his brow again, his headache becoming intense.