Fear For Me: A Novel of the Bayou Butcher (For Me 2)

Anthony glanced over and caught the slight flare of Cadence’s golden eyes. “How do you know that?” Cadence asked.

Anthony looked back at Lauren. A furrow appeared between her brows. “I heard a phone ring. The guy called Walker. Told him.”

“Are you certain?” Cadence pressed as she edged closer.

“I know the sound of a phone.” Now Lauren’s voice was clipped. Annoyed. “He left me so he could answer it. That was when I managed to break the chair and get to my feet.”

Anthony remembered the sight of the broken chair. The duct tape.

The knives.

“I heard him. He told the person on the phone…” She drew in a deep breath. “That he had me.”

He’d suspected Walker had been using a partner to get out of jail, but this was different than having a getaway buddy.

Anthony kept silent now, waiting for Lauren to finish.

“He yelled into the phone, ‘We were going to kill her.’ We.” The word vibrated with fear and fury. “Not just him…we.”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

A fast glance at Cadence showed the profiler was watching Lauren with hawk-like intensity.

“I ran for the door,” Lauren said. Her hand lifted. Touched the back of her head. “He stopped me. Said we’d finish soon when…‘he’ could join us.” Her hand dropped. “Then he slammed my head into the door and I passed out, I guess. I’m not really sure what happened. I woke up and saw the swirl of ambulance lights.”

What happened was that Walker had raced out of there. Anthony hadn’t given chase, but Wesley had joined the K-9 team and started hunting as quickly as he could. When Anthony had checked in just a few minutes before, Wesley had told him that the dogs had followed Walker’s trail to the water’s edge.

The bastard sure liked to use boats for escape. The cops were out on their own boats then, too. Cops and deputies—any damn one his marshals had been able to find—they were hunting on the water and on land. Looking for signs of Walker and where he’d taken his boat.

“Walker’s been working with a partner all along.” Lauren’s words were bitter. “Since he killed my sister. He told me that he watched her being killed. They killed her! Walker and whoever that sick freak is who helped him!”

Cadence was near the bed. “You’re sure Walker said he watched?”

Anthony glared at Cadence. Had she missed the whole sister part? This interview was ripping Lauren apart.

“Yes,” Lauren hissed. “He watched.” Her lips twisted into a chilling smile. “He said Jenny started the circle, and I would finish it.”

Cadence inhaled on a sharp breath.

“He could be bullshitting,” Anthony said. He wouldn’t put it past Walker to screw with Lauren’s head. Another way to punish her. “Maybe he heard about your sister—”

“You didn’t even know about her,” Lauren said as her shoulders slumped. “I don’t talk about Jenny very much. Not anymore. It hurts too much.”

It also made him understand her more. Made him understand why she was so determined to get justice for the victims out there.

She’d never gotten justice for her own sister.

The hospital room door opened again. Paul entered and his gaze flew to Lauren, heated. Anthony hated the emotion he saw there.

The cop still had strong feelings for Lauren.

Join the club, buddy.

No, there was no club. The detective just needed to back the hell off.

“I brought some fresh clothes for you,” Paul said as he advanced toward Lauren.

Anthony scooped the bag of clothes out of his hands. “I thought you were staying at the scene.”

Paul’s eyes narrowed on him. “I needed to check on Lauren.”

“You need to find Walker.”

Paul bared his teeth in a tiger’s smile. “I thought that was your job, Marshal. Fugitive apprehension and all.”

Fuck this. Anthony’s hand fisted around the bag. “If you had let me take the shot, I would’ve apprehended the fugitive, and Lauren wouldn’t be in this hospital right now.” But Paul had jumped between him and his prey. “You pull that shit again, and I won’t hesitate.”

Paul swallowed. “I didn’t think you could stop him without hurting her.”

“You think she isn’t hurt?” His voice dropped but he knew Lauren could still hear him. “I had that bastard in my sights. Don’t ever stop me again.” The words came from him in a lethal snarl as Anthony fought hard for his control. He was walking a razor’s edge, and he knew it.

“Paul…” Lauren’s voice was quiet, a softness in the storm brewing inside of Anthony. “He knew about Jenny. He said he watched her die and that he knew where she was buried.”

Paul swore.

As he watched the detective’s reaction to the news, Anthony realized Paul knew all about Jenny Chandler. Lauren had shared her past with the cop, but not with him. That fact made his anger twist even more until he realized…

I never shared my past with her. He’d deliberately tried to keep their relationship only in the moment. No past. No future. That had been them.

The whole no-future bit sure had changed when he’d realized Lauren was facing death. Her future had become the most important thing to him.

Paul shook his head. “He was messin’ with you—” the detective began.

“Why does everyone say that?” Lauren’s voice rose, breaking. “He knew things about her…about what she said at the end. And his eyes…I believe what he said. I believe every word. He was there when Jenny died.” A sob took the last of her words.

It was time he took Lauren out of there.

“You can talk to her again tomorrow,” Anthony said, glancing between the profiler and the detective. “She needs rest, dammit.” He wouldn’t let her fall apart in front of them.

“Lauren…” Cadence hesitated. “Did he look the same as his prison photos? Has he altered his appearance?”

“I couldn’t see his face perfectly, not with the shadows. There was just a lantern in the cabin.” Her lips pressed together. After a moment, she said, “His hair was short. And I think he had a beard growing. Stubble on his jaw.”

“Did he mention the name of whoever was on the phone?” Cadence asked. “Did he give you any hint about who—”

“He never said his name.” Her breath sighed out as she looked up at Anthony.