Page 7 of The Hero She Loves

Jenna sat at the scratched-up,wooden table, watching Parker Conroy making coffee.

Even without Vander telling her his past, she would’ve known that he had military training. The man emanated a dangerous vibe.

He was tall, lean, with black hair shaved short. He’d pulled a shirt on—unfortunately—covering the etched muscles that had been on full display earlier. The man was in top shape, with zero body fat.

The shirt also covered the scars she’d seen. They were on the right side of his torso and ran up his neck to his strong jaw. They’d looked like knife cuts and burn marks. She had no idea how he’d gotten them, but it had to have hurt like hell.

He turned and carried two mugs to the table. He shoved his chair out, the feet scraping on the floor. He sat across from her, but she felt his presence.

There were no smiles, or jokes, or fidgeting. Just a serious look on a face that was almost handsome. His mouth was a flat line and his eyes were brown. Although, that word didn’t do them justice—they were a mix of dark-brown and gold. Tiger’s eyes.

Once, when her father had taken her to the zoo when she was a kid, a tiger had come right up to the glass and stared at her. She’d seen its eyes, felt its intense, predatory stare. Parker Conroy had a lot in common with that tiger.

“Talk,” he said.

A man of few words. Okay, so he was hot, but grouchy as hell.

Jenna didn’t mind. She’d take grouchy over sleazy and insincere any day. She had to interact with federal agents and marshals like that daily. Men looking to climb the ladder by using charm and sleaze. Hell, she’d been dumb enough to date one.

She’d learned a long time ago that men only showed you what they wanted you to see. They kept their dark secrets locked up.

“The fugitive’s name is Kyle Olson,” she told him.

“Aw, hell.” Parker sat back in his chair.

“You’ve heard of him.”

“Yes. He’s bad news.”

“I know. I’m aware that he was released from Ghost Ops.”

Parker made a sound. “Booted out.”

“I don’t know the particulars. All I got was a bunch of redacted reports, and most of it is classified.”

Parker nodded. “The man liked killing, a little too much.”

“Were you on the same team?”

Parker shook his head. “No, but what interaction I did have with him, I didn’t like.”

“After he left the military, he laid low for a while.” She sipped her coffee. “He moved around a lot—Arizona, New Mexico, Texas. Then, he murdered a man outside Fort Worth. It appears they got into a fight in a bar. Olson waited outside, then beat the man to death.”

Parker tapped a finger on the table. “I’m not surprised.”

“It seems Olson got a taste for it. He wasn’t linked to other murders at first, but several investigations have since connected him to several other cases. Same MO. He meets a guy in a bar, they get aggressive and get into an argument, then Olson kills them.” She spun the mug around. “He likes to use his fists.”

Parker sipped his coffee and watched her.

“Then he escalated,” she said.

A muscle ticked in Parker’s jaw. “How?”

“His next victim was in a bar with his girlfriend. After an altercation, Olson followed them home. It appears he incapacitated the male, and made him watch while he raped the female, then killed them both. Five couples were murdered before he was identified as the perpetrator. He slipped up and left some blood at the last scene. Then he went on the run and ended up in Alaska.”

“Hell.” Parker frowned, then met her gaze. “I’m not up here because I’m on the run, by the way.”

She shot him a faint smile. “Vander vouched for you.”

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