Page 90 of Unholy Bonds

I closed my eyes for a second, pushing away the random thoughts and concentrating only on Nikki Singh.

I remembered every dead person that had ever come to my table.

“Eighteen years old. From India. Hanged, but it wasn’t the cause of death. The ligature mark on her neck was different from the impression of the rope on her skin. I ruled out suicide, of course. She was strangled and then hung. Hyoid bone fracture indicated the killer was pushed by rage. There were petechial hemorrhages and abrasions along her arms, closer to her stomach. Scars on her body and broken bones indicated that she went through severe physical abuse, but I also found defensive wounds. The rape kit came back negative, but we found traces of dried semen in her clothing, and along her thighs. He tried to rape her, but Nikki was a fighter.”

Ryden didn’t say a word as he watched me, his eyes wide with wonder. “You’re so fucking amazing.”

I smiled a little, feeling proud. Praise never affected me. I didn’t care what a man thought about me, until Ryden Sinclair. God, he was messing me up. “It’s my job.”

“It’s more than a job, isn’t it?” he said softly. “You care.”

He was wrong, but I didn’t tell him that.

“The case is still open, isn’t it? So, what about Nikki Singh?” I asked Ryden.

“I think she was murdered by the same one who killed Sofia Martínez.”

“Sofia Martínez?” I asked, wondering why I did not know this girl. “Is it when Doctor Mikael was still here?”

“No. She was killed seven months ago. Three months before Nikki was murdered.”

“I was on personal leave. Doctor Tobias did the autopsy, I think. He’s… good, but he isn’t me.”

“What? He isn’t humble like you, Doctor West?” The teasing glint in his eyes made me shake my head. When he laughed, truly laughed, there were lines at the side of his eyes that made me want to lean closer and count them.

“So, you think it’s the same person who killed Sofia and Nikki?” I asked, suddenly curious.

I knew why I didn’t know Sofia and where I was. I was hunting the fucker who killed my best friend. The Strangler. I had chased him from Green Bay, Wisconsin, to Cincinnati, Ohio. I had gotten very close, so fucking close, building a perfect trap, and then he slipped away from me, once again, into the fucking air. It was as if he knew I was there waiting for him. Perhaps he did.

“My instinct tells me so,” Ryden said, rubbing a finger against his stubble, looking frustrated.

“Science is not instinct.”

“I know, I know, Doctor West, but when you do what I do, chasing criminals for years, you’d know that this is not random. He chose both the girls for some reason.”

“The connection?” I asked as we reached my car. Ryden leaned against it, crossing his arms, looking very comfortable.

“Where were you hiding? Sofia’s case was popular. But the connection, I think, is a tattoo.”

“Are you sure? If the DPD had found the tattoos, they wouldn’t have stopped looking.”

“Sofia’s tattoo was… messed up, but I’m 95% sure it’s the same tattoo.”

“The remaining five percent?”

“Well, I could be wrong. I wasn’t stupid enough to not admit that.”

“I can take a look at Sofia’s report if you want,” I said.

His eyes perked up as if I had just offered myself to him on a silver platter. Well, I had done that a few times, and he hadn’t looked this excited then.

“I don’t know how to thank you,” he whispered.

“You can kiss me again and buy me dinner when you’re free?” I said with a smile, opening my car door. Before I could enter, he caught me by my arm, whirling me around until I was pressed up against the car. He kissed me until my legs became liquid. When he pulled away, I was leaning against him, my body seeking the support of his.

“I’ll always be free for you.”

That was… not something he should say to me.

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