Before the Dawn (Killer Instinct 2)

Screw that. Tucker shoved his brother back, hard, slamming him against the wooden wall then pinning him there. “What the hell did you do?”

Jason’s mouth opened to respond, but then Dawn was rushing right past them. She’d leaped out of her chair and run for the door.

“Shit!” Jason bellowed. “Stop her! We have to stop her!”

Was his brother insane? The guy lunged up, but Tucker slammed him back against the wall. “What did you do?”

Jason head-butted him. The blow was fast and brutal and Tucker staggered back for a moment, and that moment was all that his brother needed. Jason shot toward the door, chasing after Dawn.

Stunned, Tucker glanced around the cabin. There was blood on the floor. Dawn’s blood. And she’d stared at him with such absolute terror on her face. No, no, it couldn’t be happening. Not again.

Not the fuck again.

Locking his teeth, he raced outside. His gaze flew to the left, to the right. He saw Jason, running toward the car that Tucker had just driven up in. Dawn was yanking at the driver’s-side door. Frantically, she clawed at the door handle, obviously desperate to get inside.

But I have the keys.

“Dawn!” Tucker yelled her name.

Her head whipped toward him. Then Jason was on her. His brother grabbed her head and slammed it against the car. Dawn sagged instantly and a fury unlike anything Tucker had ever known filled his whole body. He heard a roar and didn’t even realize that guttural cry had come from him, but in the next instant, he was on his brother. He ripped Jason away from Dawn. “Not her!” Carefully, he lowered her to the ground. His hand went to her forehead and he felt the blood on his fingers—

“Hell, yes,” Jason snarled. “Her.” Then he drove both of his fists into Tucker’s back. Tucker fell down, nearly landing on top of Dawn, but he managed to turn his body at the last moment. He came up again, swinging this time. A hard cut at his brother because the guy never had been able to take a left hook. Jason stumbled back at the hit, and Tucker went at him again. Punching. Kicking. Using every bit of knowledge he’d learned in the hellholes on earth. SEALs could fight dirty and he sure as hell did. In moments, Jason was beneath him on that ground, his face a bloody mess, barely able to lift up his hands and stop Tucker’s blows.

“She’s...going to die...”

Tucker froze with his hands still fisted.

Jason spat blood as he said, “She’s...running to the...river...”

He hadn’t even heard her flee. Tucker’s head whipped around, and sure enough, he saw that Dawn had fled. Only she wasn’t rushing down the old dirt road that led away from the property. She was running to the rotted dock that waited yards away. A dock that stretched out over the mighty Mississippi.

“Dawn!” Tucker yelled her name as he leaped to his feet. He left his brother there because Dawn was the priority. She mattered. “Dawn, wait!”

She cast a terrified glance over her shoulder and in that moment, with the stars glittering down and showing him her face, he realized...she’s afraid of me.

But...he was trying to help her.

“Dawn?” He ran toward her.

She backed to the edge of the dock. She was right over the water, just standing there. Too close because...

Dawn didn’t know how to swim. She’d told him that less than a week ago. A hushed, embarrassed confession. When she’d been six, she’d fallen into her aunt’s pool and nearly drowned. After that, she’d been terrified of the water. At her quiet confession, he’d felt protective. He always felt protective where she was concerned. He’d promised to teach her how to swim. Promised to make her whole life safe, always.

And now this is happening.

He’d told his brother that Dawn couldn’t swim. He’d told Jason how afraid she’d been and how Tucker had wanted to erase that fear.

“Don’t go into the water!” He lifted his hand toward her and realized that his knuckles were bloody from punching Jason. “Dawn, please...stop.”

She lifted her hands, as if she’d ward him off. “Don’t hurt me.” Her voice was a weak rasp and it utterly broke his heart. Until that moment, he hadn’t realized just how completely truly she owned his heart.

But when he felt it shatter, he knew.

“I wouldn’t.” He took another step toward her. The dock swayed beneath his feet. “Not ever.”

She shook her head.

She doesn’t believe me. He could see it. He risked a glance over his shoulder but saw that Jason was still sprawled on the ground. Quickly, he turned his attention back to her. “I don’t know what’s happening here.”

Her laughter was bitter, terrified, and it hurt him. “Your brother...is going to kill me.”

No. It wouldn’t happen.

Tucker took another step toward her. “We’re going to get in my car and we’re going to get the hell out of here.” He kept his palm open to her. He needed her to trust him. To take his hand. “Come on, baby. I swear, I won’t let him hurt you.” I won’t ever let anyone hurt you again.

She was shaking, but...

“He said you were...coming to kill me.”

Tucker shook his head. “No.”

“Did you...kill the others?”

What others? Nausea rose in his stomach. Wasn’t this what he’d feared? Oh, shit. Shit. He should have stopped this. Should have paid more attention to his brother.

He’s too much like our father.

That was the problem. They were both too much like dear old dad.

She put her hand to her shoulder, to the wound that was still bleeding. She was covered in blood, they were near the edge of the water, and he knew there were plenty of gators out there. He could hear their cries. “Let’s get out of here.” He took another step toward her. He was just going to have to grab her and pull her to his car. He wanted her away from that death-soaked place. Right the hell then—

He lunged for her. But Dawn jumped back and fell into the water. She sank like a stone and his heart stopped. In the next second, he was diving off that dock after her. No way was he going to lose Dawn. Not her. Not her. The words were a mantra in his head. He swam until he touched her, until his hand wrapped around her body, and then he kicked them up to the surface. He felt something brush against his body but he didn’t stop. The gators were there, he knew the blood and thrashing would just be drawing them in closer, and Tucker knew that he was getting Dawn out of that water.

He pushed her toward the dock and helped to heave her body up onto the old wood. Water streamed down her body as she crawled across the rotting dock, and Tucker hauled himself right up after her. He reached for Dawn.

Jason’s laughter froze him.

“That was impressive,” his brother said. “Very hero-like, the way you dived in after her.”

Tucker was on his knees. Dawn was about two feet away from him, and Jason...he had a gun pressed to her head.

“This isn’t how I planned things.” Jason’s left hand swiped at the blood that fell from his busted lip while his right held that gun against her temple. “But it can still work.”

Tucker didn’t look at Dawn’s face right then. He couldn’t.

“You knew it would happen,” Jason said. “Only a matter of time, for us both. The urge was always there. The violence—it’s a rush, isn’t it?”

His hands fisted at his sides. “Let her go.”

“You won’t believe what I’ve learned. I want to show it to you. Share it with you. But this one...” He jabbed the gun into Dawn’s temple. Dawn didn’t make a sound. “She’s messing things up. You think I didn’t see it? Even years ago, you watched her too much. But you didn’t touch her. Hands off, right, bro? You broke that rule this time, and everything changed.” His shoulders slumped. “So maybe it’s your fault this is happening to her.”

/>

“Jason...”

“It’s your fault she’s dying.”

Tucker reached his right hand beneath the leg of his wet jeans. He grabbed for the knife he kept there, but he made sure not to let his brother see the weapon.

“She has to die. I mean, if I let her go...she’ll run to the cops. She’ll tell them what happened. They’ll lock me up. You don’t want that to happen, do you?” Jason demanded, a desperate edge creeping into the words. “You don’t want me in a cell? A cage?” His voice roughened even more. “We’ve both been in a cage before. We swore neither of us would go back.”

Yes, they had sworn that.

“Choose.” Jason stared straight at him, his eyes glittering. “Choose right now and let her know it. Tell her the truth that we’ve always both known. Blood is thicker than anything else. Blood binds.”

Tucker rose to his feet, making sure to keep the knife behind him and out of his brother’s sight. “Blood comes first.” Those were the words their father had battered into their minds.

Jason nodded and he lifted the gun away from Dawn’s head.

“Tucker?” she rasped his name. “Please, don’t...”

“You do the honors,” Jason said. He offered the gun to Tucker. The guy was smiling at him, as if this was some kind of game.

It wasn’t a game.

Dawn tried to crawl away.

Jason yanked her back. He locked one hand around her throat. The other still held the gun, but now the barrel was pointed down at the dock.

“She’s more of a fighter than I thought,” Jason murmured. “Sometimes, they don’t fight at all. They just beg.”

My brother is a monster. And Tucker had let this happen.

Dawn was clawing at Jason’s hand, but his brother didn’t even seem to feel the pain. He just stared straight at Tucker, that stupid smile on his face as he choked Dawn.

With his right hand, Tucker reached for the gun. But at the same time, his left hand came up in a rush—and he drove that knife straight at his brother’s chest.

Jason let out a bellow as he staggered back. He freed Dawn and she scrambled away.

Tucker snatched the gun from Jason. Then Tucker twisted that weapon around in a fast, practiced movement, aiming it at Jason even as his brother yanked the knife out of his chest.

“Don’t!” Tucker snarled when Jason took a lunging step toward him. Dawn had run down the dock, heading back toward the old cabin. “This is ending, right here. You aren’t hurting anyone else.” Dear God, Jason...how many people have you already hurt? He was afraid to find out that truth.

“You stabbed me.” His blood was dripping on the dock. “To save her, you stabbed me.” Fury burned in this words. Disbelief.

“I will kill you in order to save her.” Just so there was no confusion. But it doesn’t have to be this way. He moved his body, making sure to block the exit off that old dock, stopping any attempt Jason could make to charge after Dawn. “Jason, drop the knife.” Jason still gripped it tightly. “Drop the knife and put your hands up.”

Jason didn’t drop the knife. “What are you going to do? Call the cops? Play the hero?”

His phone was in the car. “Yeah, I’ll be calling the cops.”

“I said no cage!” That rage was getting hotter. “You know that! You know I can’t handle that!” And Jason laughed. A wild sound. “Just as I know you won’t kill me. You can’t. That knife barely even went into me. You weren’t trying. Just for show...”

He was coming forward.

Tucker couldn’t hear the thud of Dawn’s footsteps any longer. Where was she? “Don’t take another step.”

But Jason did. “I’m going to slice her all over. I’m going to make her beg.”

Tucker’s rage burned, too. “You aren’t touching her.”

“You’re going to help me. You’re going to be at my side, the way you always are. You understand me. You want the same things I want.”

Jason was a foot away from him.

Tucker shook his head. “I want Dawn.” He eased out a low breath. “Drop that knife, now.” But he knew Jason wasn’t going to do it. “Don’t—” he began, but it was too late. Jason had surged forward. He didn’t swing at Tucker with his knife. Tucker wasn’t his goal. He slammed his body into Tucker’s, shoving him out of the way.

Because Jason wants Dawn.

But Tucker wasn’t letting that happen. He caught his brother, held tight when Jason fought and then...

He fired.

The blast of that gun seemed deafening. For a moment after that terrible thunder, there was no sound at all. Even the insects had stopped chirping, as if they were afraid. Jason was staring at him, his face easy to see under the bright, full moon.

Shock.

Betrayal.

Then Jason was plunging that knife at Tucker, slicing down his arm, slicing his hand and trying to make Tucker drop the gun.

He didn’t drop it. Tucker fired again.

Jason staggered back.

“You won’t touch her again.”

Tucker fired once more. His brother was on the edge of the dock, he staggered back—

And fell into the water, sinking deep with a splash.

CHAPTER TWO

Seven years later...

SECOND CHANCES DIDN’T come around often. If a man was lucky enough to have one, then he should grab on to that opportunity and hold tight to it with every bit of strength that he had.

It was a good thing Tucker Frost was strong.

He hurried into the conference room at the FBI’s Washington, DC, office. It was early June and the sun glinted through the window, shining right through the blinds. The other agents were already inside, seated at the round table. Their laptops were out. Their manila files were open. Their phones were on the tabletop, probably already turned to mute.

He took the last seat, had his laptop out and open in seconds and was adjusting the volume on his phone when Samantha Dark delicately cleared her throat.

“I want to thank all of you for joining me on such short notice.”

The meeting had been called ten minutes ago. He’d been outside the building, already anticipating just how he’d be spending the weekend.

“I know that our unit is still in the development phase, but you were all handpicked to join this team because I know that you bring a unique set of skills and a perspective for targeting killers that others just can’t imitate.”

Her voice was low, calm, and she turned her golden stare on all of the agents at the table.

Samantha Dark.

He was damn glad she’d come back to the FBI. He’d always respected Agent Dark. From the very first moment that they’d met at Quantico, he’d known just how sharp she was. Samantha had been the profiler to watch, but when her ex-lover had turned out to be a vicious serial killer, she’d retreated, pulling away from everyone close to her. He’d hated that.

But Samantha was back now. She’d stopped not just one serial killer on her last case, but two, and since she’d also managed to save the life of the FBI’s executive assistant director, Justin Bass, she’d been given carte blanche to try her experimental unit.

“Some folks would say,” Samantha began as her stare turned pensive, “that we aren’t the best ones to profile killers. They’d say our personal connections to murderers are weaknesses.”

His jaw locked.

“But those people would be dead wrong.” She gave a grim nod. “The fact that we’ve had serial killers intimately involved in our lives means that we understand them like no other person can.” She paused. “They were friends. They were lovers.”

She’d taken down the lover who’d tried to hurt her and who had hurt so many others.

“They were family.” Now her golde

n stare came back to him.

Beneath the table, his hands fisted. Blood always comes first.

Then her stare tracked to the red-haired agent on his left, Macey Night. “They have been our tormenters.”

From the corner of his eye, he saw Macey stiffen.

But then Samantha’s focus was on the last agent at that little table as she stared at Bowen Murphy and said, “And they have been our prey.”

Bowen inclined his head toward her.

“We have all been in life-and-death situations with serials. We know how dangerous they are. We don’t underestimate them. We see them from a unique perspective that no one else can fully appreciate.” She exhaled as she moved around the table. “And that perspective is going to help us. It will allow us to think outside of the box. It will allow us to notice things that others cannot. It will allow us to stop the perpetrators before they take more innocent victims.”

Hell, yes. That was what he wanted. Why he’d agreed to join this group when Samantha had approached him. He’d been working in Violent Crimes for years now, but going back to profiling, it was exactly what he needed.

Maybe the guilt will finally stop. If he could stop enough serials. If he could make a difference, if, if, if.

“You all know that there are currently 25 to 50 active serial killers hunting in the United States.” Her lips thinned. “Or at least, that’s the number we’re supposed to be working with.” The number that the FBI bandied about to the media.

“I think there are more,” Bowen said, his voice rumbling. “I think there are hunters who are so good at killing, the authorities have no idea they’re out there. They’re flying right beneath the radar, picking victims that no one will miss, and they’re getting away with murder.”

“That’s where we come in,” Samantha said with a nod. “Part of our job will be to try to find those unknown killers. We will unmask the ones who are hiding in shadows. We’ll find the victims that they don’t want anyone to know about.”

“That’s easier said than done,” Macey murmured.