Deadly Fear (Deadly 1)

Samantha flushed and dropped her gaze. “Ah… yeah. That’s me.”

“And you’re Luke Dante…” Low, husky.

Monica.

“The bad-ass from the South who managed to bring down the Sorority Stalker all by yourself.” One black brow rose. “Impressive.”

Not really. He’d stumbled onto the ass**le when he’d been tracking down witnesses. He’d gotten lucky—another two inches, and Carl Malone’s knife would have driven into his heart, instead of just giving Luke his latest tough-guy scar.

He forced a smile. “I do what I can.”

Hyde glanced between them. “So I’m guessing you also know our lead profiler, Monica Davenport.”

Yeah, he did. “We’ve met.”

Glacial blue eyes held his.

“Good.” Hyde reached into his briefcase and yanked out a stack of manila files. He passed one to Luke and handed another to Monica. “You two are heading out on a plane to Jasper, Mississippi, in about…” A quick glance at the gold watch on his wrist. “Three hours.” Two more folders were tossed to Kenton and Samantha. “You two are backup.”

Luke’s hold on the file tightened when Hyde added, “The sheriff down there thinks he’s got himself a serial.”

Monica cocked her head. “Does he?”

“Don’t know—that’s for you and Dante to figure out. The guy’s got two dead bodies. Different CODs, but the sheriff thinks he’s looking for the same killer.”

Usually a serial used the same manner of death for his victims. Almost like performing a ritual again and again. Two different causes of death didn’t seem to fit—

“Read the files,” Hyde ordered. “Then get your asses on the plane.” He clapped his hands once. “That’s it, get back to work—and damn good job.”

Luke blinked and glanced down at the file. Kenton patted him on the shoulder. “Get ready to pop that cherry, man, looks like you’re up—”

Luke cut him off, firing out, “Thought we were working together, partner.”

A wide grin. His dad would have called it a shit-eating grin. “Ah, man, that was just bullshit. Teams change here every week. You trust us all, or you don’t trust anyone.”

Good to know.

Kenton leaned toward him. “Good luck with Ice. You’re going to need it.”

Ice.

Monica shoved the file into her bag and walked toward him. The room had emptied, fast. Other than Kenton, he and Monica were the only agents left.

“You screw up, she’ll eat you alive.” Another slap on his shoulder. “Have fun down South.”

He’d just come from the South. Hot as hell weather. Humidity that killed. And southern drawls that he loved.

Drawls like the one that whispered just beneath Monica’s words.

Monica brushed by him, not even saying a word.

Well, damn. So much for a big, warm welcome.

He kinda would have expected a bit more from the woman who’d once given him the best sex of his life.

Ice… his ass.

Shit but she had bad luck.

Monica sucked in a deep breath. Then another one. And another. Her heart thudded against her ribs.

Here. Of all the divisions and teams in the Bureau, Luke Dante had come—

“What do you think of the hot guy?”

Her eyes snapped closed. Samantha.

“Did you see him?”

It would have been kind of hard not to see him, considering Luke had been in the meeting with them. Her lashes lifted.

A long sigh from Samantha, then she said, “When he turned those eyes on me—and did you see those eyes?—I swear I felt my skin burn.”

Kicking with her right foot, Monica swiveled her chair away from the window and turned to face the agent. “May I help you with something, Sam?” She let more than a hint of impatience slip into her voice. She didn’t have time to listen to Sam moon over Dante. She sounded bitchy. So what?

Being a cold bitch let her avoid conversations like this one. Usually.

This wasn’t Gossip High. This was the FBI, for God’s sake. But Samantha, who’d just celebrated her twenty-third birthday, had a hard time respecting boundaries.

Samantha’s eyes widened behind her glasses.

Kid genius. Super smart, but not too socially savvy.

“Uh… I—I… was just…”

Great. Now Monica felt like she’d kicked a puppy. One with really big brown eyes.

“Hyde wanted you to have this.”

Another file.

Monica reached for the file. “Thanks, Samantha.” Apologize? She probably should, but the words stuck in her throat.

For someone who was supposed to be so adept at figuring people out, she pretty much sucked at the social scene, too.

Samantha whirled around and hurried for the door.

“Sam—”

She froze.

“Thanks for the file,” Monica said softly.

A curt nod.

The door clicked closed behind the other woman. Didn’t slam, just… closed.

Monica shook her head. Oh, yes, she knew how to make friends fast. It had always been a strength for her.

She glanced at the file, flipped it open—

And saw the ravaged body of a woman.

Blood and death—now that was what she understood.

Hyde stopped Monica just as she was leaving the office. His dark eyes were hooded as he stared at her. “You okay with this case?”

They were in the hallway, just beside her door. She glanced to the left, then the right, making sure they wouldn’t be overheard. “I told you I didn’t think bringing Dante on the team was the best plan.” Oh, she’d told him more than a few times.

But Hyde shook his head. “Not talking about Dante, we need him.” A long exhalation. “You work the killers, he works the victims. It’s the perfect setup.”

Perfect, maybe, but that didn’t mean she had to like it.

“If you need me on this one, you call right away, got it?”

She nodded. Hyde was always there if she needed him. If any of the agents needed him. “I will.” But she could handle the case—and Luke Dante.

CHAPTER Two

So… are we gonna talk about it?”

Monica froze at the deep voice. Her notes were spread in front of her, the shade on her window firmly closed—because she really hated to fly—and with only about ten minutes left on the private flight, it looked like Dante had decided to get chatty.

Great.

“I mean… we’re gonna be working together, and we can’t pretend the past didn’t happen.…”