Intense

Lester Seed still haunted my dreams. Lester was one of the smartest, most dangerous men I had ever come across, even as an FBI agent who dealt exclusively with smart and dangerous men.

And I was terrified that he was back. He was supposed to be dead, shot in the chest by my gun. He was supposed to be buried somewhere deep, deep down.

But the girl without the fingers and the other bodies that kept cropping up said otherwise.

I shook my head, trying to dispel the ghosts.

Maybe it was a coincidence. Maybe it was just a copycat. But I had a feeling, a sinking stone in my gut, that made me think something horrible was going on. Something that was just outside my reach.

“You almost done?” I heard Laney call.

I looked up, surprised. I must have been in the bathroom for a while.

“Yeah,” I called back, hastily pushing the file back into its hiding spot. “Just finished.”

I glanced down at my feet. I wasn’t done with Lester. He wasn’t letting me go.

I opened the door and quickly shut it behind me.

“You’re going to turn into a vampire if you stay in there any longer,” Laney said, smiling.

I grinned back. “If only you knew.”

7

Laney

She looked pissed.

“I don’t believe it.”

I watched as the woman leafed through the pictures Easton had just handed to her. She was in her mid-fifties, not exactly in the best physical shape, but I could tell she was still pretty underneath all that stress. Frankly, she looked haggard.

“I’m sorry,” Easton said, “but it’s true.”

“Marcy would never do this.”

I leaned up against the filing cabinet and frowned. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Jenkins, but it’s the truth. I was there, too.”

She gave me a dirty look. “Who’s this?”

“My assistant,” Easton said.

“What’s some silly little girl doing helping you?”

I gaped at her. I had never met a stranger that just randomly insulted me. Easton glanced at me and then back at Mrs. Jenkins.

“I’m sorry about your husband, Mrs. Jenkins, but this is the truth.”

She shook her head violently. “No. Not with Marcy.” She looked at me. “This is your fault, I bet. You took these pictures. You don’t know what you’re doing.” She seemed hysterical.

I couldn’t believe she was blaming me, but I was beginning to understand what Easton meant. People came to him when they were desperate. In a lot of ways, he was a last resort for these people, and they often were not exactly in the best way mentally or even financially. Easton’s job was to confirm suspicions, but very often the truth was so much worse.

I wondered if anyone was better off knowing. At least this woman knew not to trust her best friend and her husband anymore. At least now she could move on, even if it was painful.

“I took the pictures,” Easton said. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Jenkins.”

She leaned back in her chair, defeated.

The look on her face was almost heartbreaking. I had never seen an adult look so broken down and depressed before. She was probably on the verge of tears.

I walked over to her and knelt down next to her chair. “I’m sorry. It’s going to be okay.”

And then it happened so fast. Easton went to say something as I reached out to comfort Mrs. Jenkins. However, she reacted so fast that I didn’t have time to even think about it. Suddenly her arms whipped out, knocking me back and away, sending the mug of coffee on Easton’s desk sprawling.

“Get away from me!” she shrieked.

I sat back on my hands, covered in coffee. The woman looked like a dog backed into a corner. Easton quickly moved around his desk.

“Are you okay?” he asked me.

“Fine,” I said, standing up.

Mrs. Jenkins stared and slowly regained control of herself. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m fine.”

“Clean up in the bathroom,” Easton said softly in my ear. “I’ll take care of her.”

“I’m really fine,” I said back, and he nodded.

I walked off, back toward the bathroom. I shut the door behind me and leaned up against the wall facing the toilet.

I was fine, but shaken. I had never seen a person react like that, with such animal instinct and revulsion. Easton had probably been trying to warn me away from trying to touch her; he’d probably seen that before. For me, though, it was totally new, and it seriously shook me.

I let out a breath and looked down. Right then, something caught my eye. It looked like the corner of a file folder poking out from behind the toilet. It was just a corner, but it was definitely there.