It had been a long time since the last one, nearly a year. But now, the time was at hand.
In his mind’s eye he saw her, Jenna Hughes. Remembered spying her in town earlier…
The woman of his dreams.
His obsession.
Oh, how he wanted her.
Tonight would be perfect.
He opened his eyes and stared upward, watching the snow fall, keeping his eyelids wide so that the icy little droplets would touch his bare eyeballs and sting just a bit.
Jenna—beautiful, beautiful woman.
But the timing wasn’t right. For her. The cold not yet deep enough. The hoarfrost not covering the trees and shrubs and windows. No, he wasn’t prepared for her.
There were others to be sacrificed for her. They had to come first.
Paris Knowlton.
Faye Tyler.
Marnie Sylvane.
Zoey Trammel.
A few of those who would precede her. No matter how much he ached for her, he would force himself to wait.
And he knew who would be next, he thought, his blood so cold it seemed to congeal in his veins.
He’d already found her.
She wasn’t perfect.
Not like Jenna.
But she would do.
For now.
CHAPTER 10
“Okay, girls, we’ve got the Jeep back,” Jenna sang as she walked into the kitchen, dropped three bags of groceries onto the counter, then peeled off her jacket. She didn’t add that despite four-wheel drive, the trip home on the icy roads had been unnerving. “Girls?” she repeated when no one answered. She stopped in the center of the kitchen, feeling the snow melt in her hair. “Allie?”
Why did the house feel so empty?
She bounded up the stairs and expected to find Cassie, headphones covering her ears, in her room, but the bedroom was empty, the bed unmade. “Cassie? Allie?” She hurried past the bathroom and into Allie’s bedroom, but it, too, was vacated, the television flickering, the volume on mute, her Game Boy left on her rumpled pillows.
Don’t panic. They’ve got to be here. Where could they go? It’s a blizzard outside.
“Hey, kids, this isn’t funny!” she said, hurrying down the back stairs again and making a sweep of the den, dining area, and living room. “Allie! Cassie!”
She stopped near the fireplace and listened. All she heard was the moan of the wind and she wondered how long the lights would last.
Where’s the dog?
The hairs on the back of her neck raised. “Critter?”