Before the Dawn (Killer Instinct 2)

A heart. Jinx had gotten a heart tattooed on her hip. And there was a letter inside that heart. Not just one letter. Two. Initials? Yes, yes, they were initials. Initials in a flowing, cursive font. The heart was broken in two pieces, and thorn-tipped vines wrapped around the heart. The detail was incredible. Julia pulled out a magnifying glass just so she could study the tattoo more carefully. There was no mistaking those letters.

You got this tattoo recently. It’s a heart and I’m betting those letters are your lover’s initials.

And the first initial was a T.

* * *

DAWN PRIED THE last nail free from the wall. She yanked down the heavy chunk of wood. Damn but that had taken too long. Bowen must have put twenty nails in the thing. She dropped the wood and picked up her flashlight, shining it down into the little corridor.

So dark. So still.

Her breath blew out and she knew there was no going back. She needed to search Jinx’s place, but if she tried going through the door downstairs, one of the cops might see her—see her and stop her. Dawn made sure she had a gun, it was tucked into the back of her jeans, and with one hand still tightly gripping the flashlight, she climbed into the old chute. It was much bigger inside than she’d expected. The air tasted oddly stale inside, but there were no cobwebs. No dust.

Was that because the killer had used the secret entrance so much? Or because the cops had swept things down during their search?

Dawn moved slowly, inching along as she braced her body so that she wouldn’t slide down too quickly. When she reached the bottom, she shone her light at the wall, trying to find the way out. She saw a section of paneling that looked different, and she knocked on it.

Hollow.

Her fingers fumbled and she hoped, really, desperately hoped, that Bowen hadn’t been as thorough with the nailing down there and—

No nails.

The wood fell out when she shoved on it. Dawn moved easily through the space—and then she was standing in Jinx’s closet. It was completely dark in the closet, but the area...it smelled like Jinx. Jinx had always used raspberry body lotion and that scent seemed to be everywhere. For a moment, tears stung Dawn’s eyes, but she blinked them away. Not now. Hurry. Do a search.

She curled her left hand around the doorknob and eased open that closet door. The curtains were drawn in the bedroom, not letting in any light and not allowing anyone to peek inside. A good thing, considering she didn’t want the cops watching her.

Or arresting her for trespassing.

She paused near Jinx’s bed. The cops had searched thoroughly, but they didn’t know Jinx like she did. Jinx had liked to hide things that mattered to her. She’d always been worried about a robbery. At her last place, someone had broken in and stolen her jewelry, so Jinx had been determined to keep the things that mattered most to her safe this time.

Dawn was betting her friend had a hidden spot for her valuables. She just had to find the spot. She headed toward the bed and the floor creaked beneath her feet.

* * *

EXCITEMENT FIRED JULIA’S BLOOD. The tattoo on Jinx was fresh, and—obviously—it was one to recognize a lover. Those letters...those letters were a clue they needed.

She’d covered Jinx back up while she hurried to get her camera. She wanted to photograph the tattoo.

Macey had texted her just a bit ago, telling her that she’d be arriving any moment. She couldn’t wait to show the agent what she’d found. She grabbed the camera and—

The lab door opened.

“Macey, hurry back here!” Julia called out. “There’s a tattoo on Jinx, a fresh one by the look of things. It was on her left hip, hidden beneath her underwear, so I didn’t see it at first. I removed the underwear during my exam and I found it—”

Something hit her. Hard, fast, a blow straight to the back of her head. Julia didn’t have a chance to cry out. The camera flew from her fingers and her head slammed forward. Her cheek hit the side of the exam table, and she was thrust down, landing on the floor with a thud. For a moment, she didn’t move at all, too stunned.

“I’m not Macey.”

His voice sent terror clawing through her. Her hand fumbled out, trying to grab on to her instrument tray. It was just a few feet away.

He reached the tray before she did. He picked up her scalpel, and the light gleamed off its sharp edge.

She should scream. As loud as she could. Blood was pouring from her cheek and the back of her head hurt so much she thought she’d vomit right there.

Scream.

Julia opened her mouth.

“No one is going to hear you. You’re fucking in the basement here. Scream as loud as you want.”

She did. With every bit of power she had. And she kicked out at him as she tried to scramble across the floor.

But he laughed and that scalpel swung at her. The first cut was on her arm. Fast, deep, a slice.

The second was a stab—a sharp piercing into her shoulder.

Oh, my God. I know these wounds...

She’d measured them on Jinx. “No!” She kicked out at him again, aiming for his knee. He grunted and went down and she crawled away from him. Julia tried to stand up, but her head was spinning. Blood dripped down her chest. She staggered forward. He’d hit her too hard. She knew her own symptoms—blurred vision, sluggish movements, nausea...concussion. He’s given me a concussion. If she didn’t get away from there, she knew it would be so much worse—

“You aren’t going anywhere.” He yanked her back. Pressed the knife to her throat. “I’ve got plans for you.”

He wrapped his arms around her and heaved her up against him. She fought him, twisting and punching, but he didn’t even grunt. And she realized that her blows were too weak. She was too weak. Her mind was still functioning, but her body was sluggish. He’d planned that, incapacitated her from the first blow, and now—

He yanked open one of the storage lockers that she used for her bodies. Cold air rushed out, wrapping around her.

“Perfect,” he whispered into her ear. “I’m going to make you like the pain...”

* * *

DAWN HADN’T FOUND anything under Jinx’s bed. Not tucked away in her drawers, not hidden in the dark spaces of her closet. She’d gone into the guest bedroom that Jinx used for her tattoo art—she’d forever been sketching new tattoo designs. She’d sketch in her workroom at Voodoo Tats, and she’d sketch at home, too. Trying to perfect her art before she picked up her ink. The cops had left Jinx’s sketchbook there. Dawn shuffled through the latest sketches in the book—a dragon, a snake, a heart. Beautiful work, and looking at those sketches made tears fill Dawn’s eyes. She shut the book.

Nothing was out of the ordinary. Nothing was sticking out for her. Frustrated, Dawn headed back into Jinx’s bedroom. As she neared the bed, the floor creaked beneath her feet again. She stilled and glanced down. Those wooden slats... Now her gaze started searching the floor, following the wood all around the room. And right there, near the wall to the right of the bed...

The slats there appeared brighter than the others. Newer? As if they’d been replaced recently?

Dawn hurried toward those slats. She knelt on the floor and pulled with her nails, trying to get a grip on a slat. It came up immediately, so very loose, nearly popping her in the face, and she stared down to see that a small dark space was under the slat.

A perfect hiding place. She reached inside and touched a metal box, one that felt cool beneath her fingertips. She pulled it up. Fireproof safe. She’d seen the kind in department stores. The key was still in the lock. Thank you, Jinx! She turned that key and the lid slowly lifted. Jewelry was inside. Rings. A heart-shaped necklace.

When she saw the necklace, Dawn stilled. Obviously, it was the kind of gift that a lover would give, but...there was something about it

... The heart wasn’t some simple design. It had vines snaking across the front of it. Thorns. A hard-edged, unique piece. One that would fit Jinx’s style perfectly.

It was the same design that Dawn had seen sketched in Jinx’s art room—in her tattoo sketchbook. She was making a tattoo to match this necklace.

The floor creaked behind her. Oh, shit. She knew that spot. She’d made the wood creak just like that when she walked across the room. Dawn sucked in a deep breath, then she lunged up to her feet. She threw the safe out of her hands and grabbed for her gun.

The man who’d been in the room rushed toward her.

Her gun pointed dead center at his chest. Her breath panted out—the quick pants seeming too loud in the silence of that room.

“You really want to shoot me?” Tucker asked her.

She’d locked her knees, but seeing that it was him—relief swept through her. She lowered the gun. “What are you doing here?”

He motioned behind him to the closet that she’d left open. “Following you.”

Her gaze shot toward the window. “The cops out there—”

“You seriously think I can’t manage to get past two rookies? And that’s all they are. Freaking amateur hour out there. You aren’t safe with them.”

Her mouth had gone dry. She still gripped the gun in her hand. “I thought... You said you were supposed to stay away from me.”

“I was.”

“Then why are you here?”

He took another step toward her. “Because I need to be with you. I lost you before...” His lips twisted. “Saved you, lost you...all at the same time, and that shit gutted me. You were the one thing that I needed most in my life, and then suddenly, you were gone. Everything was gone.” His hand lowered and curled around hers—around the hand that still gripped the gun. “I can’t have that happen again. I won’t. You are my priority.”

“Your job—”

“You matter more.”

She could see it in his eyes, the emotions he’d been holding back from her. She wanted to throw her arms around him. Wanted to hold him tight, but...

Not there. Not in Jinx’s apartment. Not in a place that still carried her friend’s scent. A place that was full of memories—good and terrifying. Not there. “I think I found something.” She made herself step away from him. “Come with me...”

She led him back into the art room and grabbed for the sketches she’d seen before. “I found a heart necklace in Jinx’s safe...and I’m sure I saw the same sketch for that necklace in here...”

* * *

MACEY HEADED TOWARD the coroner’s lab. She’d stopped by the police station to talk with Samantha—she’d wanted to know more about the interrogation with Tucker. Samantha had been worried, saying the police captain seemed to just be focusing on Tucker, and if you focused too much on the wrong man...

You missed the killer right in front of you.

The lab doors swung open. Detective Torez rushed out, nearly hitting Macey.

“Oh, sorry!” He grabbed her arms, then quickly let her go. “Didn’t mean to...um, collide with you.”

She frowned at him. Samantha had told her that Torez had been questioned and released, but she hadn’t expected to find him there. “Were you talking to Dr. Bradford?”

“No. Julia isn’t in there.” He rubbed the stubble along his jaw. “Was hoping to find her. Anthony called and asked me to meet him down here so we could figure out what’s happening with the case...”

She heard footsteps padding behind her, she glanced back—

Anthony was pacing toward her. He slowed when he saw her and Torez. “Did something happen? There a new lead?” Excitement lit his eyes.

But Torez shook his head as he walked away from the lab’s entrance. “No, there’s nothing. Julia must have stepped out and taken a break. Maybe even gone to her dad’s place for a bite to eat.” He shuffled toward his partner. “And I... Man, Jinx is in there. I just—I have to get some space, okay? I’ll check back in with you later.” He hurried down the hallway, not saying another word.

Macey watched him go and then she turned her head, glancing at Anthony.

He was staring straight at her. “I think we need to talk.”

Her brows rose. “Then talk.”

He glanced down the hallway. The check-in clerk was at his desk. The guy had been on break—he’d gotten back just when Macey arrived. Now the fellow was typing on his computer, not seeming to pay them much attention.

“How about,” Anthony murmured, “we go outside? It’s always cold as ice down here. And to be honest, the place creeps me out. I’m not as comfortable with the dead as you are.”

It wasn’t about comfort. “Fine, let’s step outside.”

Some of the tension eased from his shoulders. Silent now, they walked outside. The day was growing late, but the heat was still as heavy as always in the city. It banished the chill from her skin.

“I need to talk to you about Dawn.”

She kept her arms loose at her sides, waiting.

“I’m...worried.”

“There’s a serial killer loose in this town, a killer who seems to be targeting Dawn. I’m worried about her, too.”

He looked away. “That’s not what I mean.”

She waited.

“I can’t go to Tucker with this... Hell, he wouldn’t believe me, anyway. He’s so tied up in her, I didn’t realize just how badly until I started seeing them together.”

Her eyes narrowed. She’d been watching Tucker and Dawn together, too. There was a tension in the air between them. And the way Tucker looked at Dawn... He never got over her. He tried, I think. But I don’t think he ever let her go.

“I stepped over the line.”

She wasn’t sure what that was supposed to mean.

“Friends don’t dig into your past, right? Well, I dug into Dawn’s.”

Hardly the crime of the century. She’d dug into Dawn’s past, too. “Dawn’s past is out there for the world to see. Jason Frost took away her anonymity.”

“You ever think he might have taken away more than that?”

“I’m not sure I follow you.”

Deep lines bracketed either side of his mouth. “You know she was in counseling.”

“Considering the nature of her attack, that’s only natural.” She’d been through her own counseling. During her darkest time, she needed that lifeline to keep her alive. “Most victims seek out counseling so that they can deal with the trauma of their attacks.”

His gaze was hooded. “After her counseling, do you know that Dawn immediately started learning how to shoot? She enrolled in martial arts classes? She started studying to be a PI?”

“Sounds as if she gained strength—”

“It sounds as if she wanted to kick someone’s ass.”

Macey’s brows lifted.

He cleared his throat. “I just... Shit, I think I need someone from outside to tell me that I’m being crazy. That the suspicions I’m having can’t be the case.”

She swept her gaze over him. His body was tense. “What suspicions are you having, exactly?”

“I worry that...Dawn isn’t who she appears to be.” He thrust back his shoulders, as if preparing himself for some kind of battle. “I don’t think she stopped blaming Tucker.” His words came out in a fast rush. “I’ve known her for a while now and I’m telling you...that woman is layered up with secrets and emotions. She doesn’t let people get close. She keeps everyone—even the people she calls friends—at a careful distance. But I’m supposed to buy that after just a few days, she’s gone back to being intimately involved with the brother of the man who tried to kill her? The brother of the bastard who sadistically tortured her for hours?” He shook his head. “Calling bullshit. That’s not what vic

tims do.”

“I think we can both agree Dawn isn’t a typical victim.” She kept her voice measured.

“She’s a woman who wants vengeance.” Sweat trickled down the side of his face. “She’s got a lot of rage inside of her...and she’s smart. So much smarter than people seem to realize. Do you know the woman went to LSU on a full scholarship? She was supposed to head to law school, already had her scholarships lined up for that, too, but the attack changed everything. It changed her.”

“Why don’t you just tell me what it is that you suspect—”

“It’s too pat. Her finding those gloves. Them being so perfectly preserved that we could still get evidence off them. Jinx being right below her with that connecting dumbwaiter tunnel. We just have Dawn’s word that she didn’t know it was there. But...what if she did? What if she knew... What if Dawn has been involved in this mess from the very beginning?”

She shook her head. “No, that doesn’t fit—”

“Doesn’t fit what? The profile that you and Tucker made up? The guy is blinded by her. He looks at Dawn and sees the woman she was seven years ago. The victim. He doesn’t see who she is now.”

“But you see her?” she asked carefully.

His lips thinned. “I think I may be starting to. It was Captain Hatch who sent me to question her, just following procedure, but now that I’ve started lining up the dots...”

“What is it that you think you see?”

“A woman who is shaped by her past. A woman who has wanted to destroy the man she held responsible for her pain.”

Her arms crossed over her chest. “You’re saying she’s after Tucker.”

“I’m saying that she could be setting the man up for a very big fall. Revenge is a powerful motivator. It’s not logical, it’s not always sane, but it can consume you. I’ve seen it happen. I know what it’s like when it destroys a life.” He exhaled on a ragged sigh. “Think about it...maybe Tucker really was involved with Heather Hartley—”

“He denies that involvement.”

“Because he might not want to look guilty as fuck! Look, if a woman I’d been screwing turned up dead, killed in the same manner my psycho brother used to off his victims, I might not be excited to have a full disclosure about our relationship, either. Maybe Tucker was involved with her, and then he ended things. But Dawn found out—she used Heather to draw him back to this city. She could be making every single move to incriminate Tucker.”