Page 37 of Unholy Bonds

She knew Victor. It wasn’t hearsay for her.

The anger in her voice was not obvious, but it was there. I instinctively knew that this woman wasn’t a reporter. She wasn’t reporting a crime someone else had committed—at least not this one.

She was a killer. She was me. I was her. We were so intricately and oddly the same.

And she knew my story.

I had to find her and permanently silence her—if it came to her and me, I’d choose me in a breath. After all, she wasn’t as innocent as I had previously believed.

To protect myself and those who were closer to me, I had to kill this woman. I knew that much.

“Where in the world are you hiding, K.Y. Wolff?”

16

INSTINCT

YARA

It was a good morning.

Detective Rosario had taken the threads I gave him so diligently until he was in front of Millicent Wark’s door. It took him a while to find the knife I had discarded in her neighbor’s yard, but they eventually found it. Millicent’s fingerprints on the murder weapon and a trace amount of Victor’s blood were the ultimate piece of the puzzle, and she was done for.

Fucking perfect!

“Thank you for doing the rest of my work, Detective.” I wanted to dance. The feeling of exhilaration was another thing I loved about killing. I took a bite of my dark chocolate, whistling under my breath. “And that’s a wrap, ladies and gentlemen,” I whispered, feeling invincible.

Every death gave me power. Every death quietened the little girl screaming inside me with fear. She was safe now, comfortably hiding under her blanket.

“Now for the next victim—hmm… who should we choose, Kat?” I tapped my metallic silver heel on the floor, taking another bite of the dark chocolate I always kept with me. “How about this pedophile who was—”

I stopped talking when I heard a gentle rap, followed by a voice. “Doctor West?” Detective Rishi Patel called.

I quickly closed my laptop, tapping my finger against the table as I looked up. “Come in, Detective.”

“Thanks, Doctor West.” The door opened to reveal Rishi, tall, handsome, and disheveled.

“Detective Patel? Is something wrong?” I stood up from my chair and walked toward him. He gave me a strange little smile… he was nervous.

“You know the favor we talked about…”

He kept looking at me like he was afraid I might kick him in his ass. I had known Detective Patel since the time I joined as Doctor Mikael’s assistant, and the detective was calm and composed most of the time, even in the face of the most twisted cases.

“You know, I don’t bite. But I might use the rib spreader,” I said with a chuckle. He paled. “I’m kidding, Detective. I only use my tools on dead bodies.” And assholes who deserve it.

He cleared his throat, looking almost desperate.

“A friend of mine… wishes to discuss Victor Bane’s autopsy report with you.” The detective’s voice trailed off as he shifted from one leg to another nervously.

“What about it?” I said as I narrowed my eyes, and he uneasily shifted from one foot to the other.

“I told him your autopsy report is bullshit.” The door swung open, and in walked Ryden fucking Sinclair in all his damaged, twisted glory and with that sexy-as-sin scar on his lower lip.

My body tensed.

Hell. What’s he doing here? Kat hissed. This isn’t part of the plan.

I had considered every scenario about how our meeting would finally happen, but I never imagined him barging into my life like this. I wasn’t ready for him, ready for this.

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