After the Dark (Killer Instinct 1)

He was gone. Maybe in his room? She climbed from the bed, pulling the sheet with her and then wrapping it around her body, toga-style. She tiptoed toward his room, but when she reached for the connecting door, she found it locked. Samantha pressed her ear to the door and heard nothing.

She lifted her hand and rapped on the door. “Blake?”

Again, nothing.

Her eyes narrowed as she turned away from the door. He’d just slipped away without a word? If he’d gotten new evidence on the case, she figured he would have woken her. He should have woken her.

Then she stilled. Something had woken her. Samantha glanced around her room, but nothing was out of place. Moving quickly now, she donned her clothes, and she took her father’s gun out of her small bag.

She put on her holster and she pulled a jacket down to cover the weapon. She opened the door that led to the hallway. Samantha looked to the left and to the right.

No one was out there. But...

Something woke me. She pulled her door shut behind her and paced down the hallway. She’d taken five steps when she heard...

A gurgle.

And...a thud.

Her steps quickened. She saw that a door on the left was ajar. The gold plate next to that room called it the “Magnolia Room.” Each guest room in the bed-and-breakfast had its own name. She’d been staying in the “Azalea Room.” Samantha crossed the hall and put her hand on the Magnolia Room door. “Is everything okay in there?”

Another gurgle. No, that did not sound as if things were okay.

She pushed open the door with her left hand even as her right instinctively went for her gun. She stepped inside—

Darkness.

The room was pitch-black. The only light came from behind Samantha as it spilled in from the hallway. Fumbling, her hand went to the light switch. The light flashed on and—

Blood. Blood all over the white bedsheets. Blood on the bed’s headboard. Blood on the wall near the bed and—

The victim’s shoulders jerked. “Get help in here!’ Samantha yelled, hoping someone in another room would hear her. “Get help!” She raced across the room. All she could see of the victim was her bare back and the blond tangle of her hair. She scrambled around the bed and—

Janice?

The reporter’s throat was sliced open. Blood poured all around her, and Janice’s eyes were wide, desperate, terrified. Her lips were opening and closing as she struggled to speak, but the only sound that escaped her was that terrible gurgle. Samantha lunged across the bed, and she put her hands over that deep wound. Janice’s blood immediately soaked her fingers. It just kept pumping. Far too much.

I’m losing her. She is dying right now!

It was a brutal attack, one that had gone so deep. He knew exactly what he was doing. And the wound was...

Fresh.

The killer had been there just moments before. He’d sliced Janice’s throat, left her to bleed out on the bed because he knew she wouldn’t be able to cry out for help, and then he’d just strolled away, even leaving the door to the room slightly ajar.

I was too far away to hear the gurgles she made. So what had woken Samantha?

Dear God...did he knock on my door as he walked down the hallway and left her?

“Who did this?” Samantha demanded.

Janice’s body was jerking.

“Janice, look at me. Look at me.” There was no time left. She could feel it. “Did Cameron Latham do this to you?”

Janice’s wild eyes held hers.

“Was it Jason Burke?” She knew the reporter had gotten a picture of that man at the press conference.

A slow shake of Janice’s head.

If it wasn’t Jason, it had to be Cameron. Only, he’d changed his appearance like I thought, and she didn’t recognize him.

Janice’s eyes were closing.

“No!” Samantha yelled. “Don’t you do this!”

A shocked gasp came from the doorway. Samantha looked up and saw an older couple, both well dressed and horrified, standing in the doorway. “Call an ambulance!” Samantha shouted at them. “Get this woman help!”

But...Janice wasn’t struggling for breath any longer. Her body had gone still.

He just killed her. He was here minutes ago.

The bastard might not have gotten away, not yet.

Samantha lunged from the bed. She ran toward the door, her gun at the ready. The woman there gave a sharp cry and threw up her hands.

“I’m with the FBI!” Samantha yelled. That was true. She was working with them. Just not for them. “Call the authorities! Call Police Captain Lewis!” She shoved the couple out of her way as she ran down the hallway.

When she passed her room, her gaze jerked toward her door and sure enough—damn it! She saw the faint swipe of red blood on her door. He had knocked. The bastard had knocked when he passed because he wanted me to see what he’d done.

As if she’d needed it, that blood was further proof that Cameron was the killer she sought. She shoved open the back door at the bed-and-breakfast and surged into the lot. Blake’s rented SUV was gone; she saw the empty parking spot immediately. A few other cars lined the lot, most with out-of-state tags. But...

No one is out here.

She spun around. “Where are you?” And she knew, she knew that Cameron had been there. “Damn it, Cameron, why? Why did you kill her? Why the hell did you do it?”

Then she heard the growl of an engine, one coming in fast. She spun around and saw bright headlights aiming right for her. She lifted her gun, her heart racing, and the vehicle slammed on its brakes. She was trapped in that bright field of lights.

An SUV. I know this vehicle—

Blake jumped out and ran toward her. “Samantha!” His frantic gaze flew over her. “Tell me that’s not your fucking blood.”

She shook her head. “Janice...the reporter...she’s dead in there.” She pointed to the bed-and-breakfast. “He brought her here...because I was here...” She knew he’d picked that place deliberately. “And he killed her while I slept right down the hall.”

Blake grabbed her and pulled her close.

Damn you, Cameron, why?

He’d killed before as part of an experiment, or so he said. But now...now he was different. Everything was different.

* * *

“BASS’S RENTAL CAR was found parked behind an abandoned restaurant, just three miles from the marina.” Blake paced in Lewis’s office, his body tight with tension—and so much fury he was about to choke. “We can assume he was taken shortly after the discovery of Tammy’s body. And when he made that phone call to me, he was under duress.”

“Jason Burke likes to tell people exactly what to say,” Samantha murmured. “That’s kind of his thing.”

“Yeah, but that kid had been taking women. And not killing them right away,” Josh fired back. He was positioned near the window, arms folded over his chest, frowning hard at them all. “We’re talking about the executive assistant director of the FBI. The guy wouldn’t have gone down easily. And his body was transported. There was no sign that he was dragged away, no marks in the dirt. The only thing we found was a half-smoked cigarette.”

“That’s because Jason had help,” Samantha said simply.

And this was the shit Blake didn’t want to hear, but he’d already figured it out for himself.

“Cameron Latham is here,” she added. “And he’s working with Burke.”

“Fuck me,” Lewis muttered. He was slumped behind his desk. “This is supposed to be a quiet town. A safe town. It’s not supposed to be freakin’ serial killer central. We were a number-one tourist spot in the state. Do you know what this will do to us?” His eyes squeezed shut.

Blake wasn’t worried about the town losing

that number-one spot. He was worried about more victims. “The FBI is monitoring Bass’s phone,” he said. “The minute it is turned back on, we’ve got him. They’re already triangulating the location of the last call he received.” And they’d better be contacting him again about that ASAP. “As soon as we get that—we’re on the move.”

“On the move...” Josh swiped his hand over his face. “That’s great, but what if Bass is already dead? I mean, why the hell would the perp take him anyway? I thought this was all about—” But then he stopped, dropping his hand.

The tension in the room notched up as Blake threw a glare at his friend.

“You thought it was all about me,” Samantha finished. She stood near the door, her body held perfectly still.

“You’re the one Burke wanted,” Josh said, voice softer now. He winced. “I’m sorry, Samantha. I didn’t—”

“Cameron doesn’t want me dead. That’s the last thing he wants.” She started to pace.

Blake stepped into her path. She’d washed the blood off her hands. Janice’s blood. But she was far too pale, and she wouldn’t look him in the eye. “You know him.” Fucking intimately. “Tell me, what in the hell is he doing?”

“He’s done experimenting.”

“What does that mean?” Josh demanded. “And, hell, I thought you said he’d be here to stop Burke, not team up with the guy.”

“Appearances can be deceiving.” Then she rubbed her eyes. “What I mean is...he will turn on Burke. Cameron is just using the guy now. Cameron wanted Bass out of the way, and he got Burke to help him. Cameron won’t eliminate Burke until he’s done with him.”

Blake thrust back his shoulders. “Tell me more.”

“Cameron said he was experimenting before. Seeing what it was like to kill. Seeing what his victims experienced. Testing them, testing himself.” Her lips pressed together. “He’s evolved now. He knows what he likes...and I think Cameron likes killing.”

“That’s just wonderful.” Lewis slapped his desk. “Fantastic.”

Samantha shook her head. “No, it’s not. Because Cameron is very good at killing.” Her gaze finally lifted and met Blake’s. “Janice knew Cameron. She’d been researching him, pressuring me to help her co-author a book on him. That was one of the many ideas she pitched to me over the last few months.” Sadness flashed on her face. “She was pushy and aggressive, but she was smart, too. I saw that room. I saw...her body. She’d...she’d been with him.”

“You’re saying she’d fucked Cameron Latham.”

Samantha flinched, and Blake realized he’d snarled the words.

Her chin shot up. “Yes, that’s what I’m saying. So for her to do that—to get close to him—it means he’s substantially changed his appearance.”

“You already told us that,” Lewis noted grimly. “You warned everyone at the press conference that he’d look different.”

“Warning is one thing, but people...they tend to think that they’d recognize a killer. But the bittersweet truth is that they don’t. She didn’t. She let Cameron get close to her, and he killed her.”

Now Josh was the one to surge toward her. “How do you know Burke wasn’t the one who slit her throat?”

“Because someone had to stay with Bass.”

A killing team. This shit is just getting worse by the moment.

“You don’t think Bass is dead yet?” Josh asked, hope in his voice.

“I don’t. Not yet. But I think he will be, if we don’t find him soon.” She lowered her gaze to the floor and seemed to puzzle things out for a moment. “Burke is younger...too young for Janice, too fresh-faced in his pictures. She wouldn’t have gone with him. Not just walked away.” Her gaze lifted and held Blake’s. “We need to talk to her cameramen. They’re always with her. Maybe one of them saw her hook up with someone earlier. Maybe they can give us a description, and we can get it out to the public before Cameron changes again.” She nodded decisively before she turned toward the door. “We just have to hurry—”

Blake caught her arm. “What would Latham have wanted with Janice? Why did he kill her?”

“He wanted information.” She paused. “On me. Maybe even...on us.” Her breath came faster as her voice lowered. “I think he killed her, and then I think...he came to my room. He knocked on my door. He left her blood on my door because he wanted me to see what he’d done.” Her voice went even softer as she said, “Because he knows what I’ve done.”

What she’d done?

Her gaze held his. Pain and shame were in her eyes. Shame? Oh, hell, no. “Fuck him. He is going down.” Before he could say more, his phone rang.

Samantha flinched.

Snarling, he pulled out the phone, but he saw it was his FBI contact. With Bass missing, he was the lead in the area, and all calls from the Bureau were coming to his cell. He pushed the button to activate the speaker option. “Tell me you tracked his last call.”

“We got to within about five hundred yards,” Michele Kind said, her voice breaking with excitement. “But that call, according to my maps, it came from the swamp. Way past Five Rivers Delta. You’re going to need a chopper or some kind of boat to get there because no roads lead out that far.”

“Give us the coordinates,” Samantha ordered.

She and Lewis had moved to lean over his computer. Michele rattled off the coordinates for them, and Samantha quickly typed them into the system. Lewis gave a low whistle. “There are tons of old cabins out there. Places that aren’t listed on any map. We need someone familiar with the area to show us the best spots. And a chopper ain’t going to do the trick, because the damn thing would just be going up and down every five minutes as we searched each cabin. And there aren’t a whole hell of a lot of places out there where a bird can land, anyway.”

Samantha looked up, her expression tense. “That’s not a particularly traveled area. Only certain low-bottom boats can go in that far, so bringing in a big Coast Guard vessel isn’t going to happen.”

“An airboat,” Lewis said, snapping his fingers. “That’s what you need.” Excitement lit his gaze. “A buddy of mine does an airboat tour up that way, and he goes out five times a day. He knows that area better than anyone damn else.” He looked at his watch. “The guy even has a dawn tour that is scheduled to start soon. I’ll call him, get him to bump his customers, and we can fill up that boat of his with our team. His boat is supposed to be in the area, so it shouldn’t set off any alarms for the perp.”

The airboat sounded like their best option. And they’d follow it up with air assistance that would come in when they found their target. “Let’s get our asses on that boat.” He wasn’t sure just how much longer Bass had left.

If he was still breathing.

* * *

CAMERON STARED OUT at the water. The sun would be rising soon, chasing away the dark. A pity. After all, he loved the dark.

He put the phone to his ear as he stared at the water. It rang once, twice and—

“Why didn’t you come back?”

He nearly rolled his eyes. Jason sounded like a whiny bitch, and he didn’t have time for that crap. “You need to kill Bass. Do it now and leave the shack.” He refused to call that tiny cabin by any other name. He’d been the one to show Burke the remote spot. He’d found it on a previous scouting trip to the area. Because I’ve been watching Sam, for so long.

“Kill him? But...I haven’t played yet.”

Played?

“He made the phone call so well. Didn’t even fight at all.” Jason’s words came faster now. “He’ll do anything to be let go.”

“No, he won’t. He’s playing you. Trying to lull you into a false sense of security. You give him one opening, and the guy will gut you like a pig.”

He heard Jason’s sharp inhale.

“Don’t believe me?” C

ameron murmured. “It’ll be your funeral.” He started to hang up—

“Dr. Latham!”

Desperation had been in Jason’s voice. The guy always had such a deep need for recognition. Someone needs a father figure. Understandable, since Jason’s own father had turned his back on the guy ages ago. His father had known something was off with his only son. He’d sent the kid to shrink after shrink. Like that had done much good.

“I...did a good job so far, didn’t I?” Jason pushed. “I found Samantha Dark, I got your attention and I took out those two women.”

“You did a great job,” Cameron assured him softly. “And you need to keep that up. So listen carefully. Take a knife, go in there with Bass and slit his throat. Leave him tied up, don’t give him an instant to escape. Just slit his throat and be done with him.”

Silence. Silence meant there was a problem. Cameron pinched the bridge of his nose. Leaving Jason with Bass had been a risk, but he’d needed to get back to town. He’d wanted to see Samantha’s press conference up close and personal.

No. I won’t lie to myself. I needed to see her...and Blake.

Fucking Blake Gamble. “You have to kill Bass,” Cameron said, voice thick. “You kill him, and then you kill Blake Gamble.”

“Me? A-alone?”

No, with a damn army. Yes, alone. “Blake Gamble knows where you are.” The guy should know. If he didn’t, he would soon. The FBI would be realizing that Bass had vanished. They’d start tracing his phone, finding the origin of the last call he’d made. And that is another reason I need to be far, far away from that little shack. I won’t be there when this shit goes down. “He’s going to come for you, so you need to be ready.”

More silence.

He forced his jaw to unclench. “I left a gun there for you.” Bass’s gun. “I put it in the bag that I placed near the front door.” It was as if he were guiding a baby. Time to eliminate the kid. “When Blake comes for you, don’t hesitate to shoot. You take him out, understand? You take him out before he has a chance to hurt you.”

“And...then I’ll meet up with you?”